Your Money: Loyalty programs and the era of the $20,000 family car insurance bill

October 21, 2024

	By Mike Dang

Welcome back from the weekend — hope it was a good one.

I’m at the tail end of booking various flights for some travel I’m taking at the end of the year. For many years, I’ve been a loyal Delta Air Lines flyer. I have a credit card that gives me lounge access when flying with Delta and enough status with the airline’s loyalty program to be given upgraded seats more often than not.

Last year, Delta announced major changes to its frequent flier program that would make it more difficult for passengers to attain status, causing many travelers to rethink if loyalty is worth it. I’m currently in this boat — er, plane. Theoretically, if I book all of my remaining flights with Delta for the rest of the year, I’ll reach the lowest status level for 2025. But these calculations don’t seem worth it anymore and I think I’m ready to be done with chasing status.

Maybe this is the wrong decision, but it feels very freeing. If you’d like to change my mind or put forward an argument for why these loyalty programs are worth it, feel free to reach out to me: mike.dang@nytimes.com

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