How to get elite status in less than 60 seconds

Buenos días from beautiful Cartagena, Colombia! I’ve been dying to make it here for years now, so I’m very excited to knock off another bucket list destination (and enjoy some much-needed warm weather 😎).

Today is an exciting day, so let’s jump in:

• ✈️ Spirit Airlines status match

• 🏃🏼‍♂️ Mike on the Move: Airline Compensation, Part 2: Electric Boogaloo

• 🤣 Travel meme for the road

✈️ Spirit Airlines status match

We’ve talked about status challenges and status matches a few times here at Daily Drop, but it’s been a while. In fact, it was when we still had the word “the” in our name… ah, those were the good ol’ days, huh?

Anyway, let me give you a quick refresher:

Sometimes, airlines and hotels will offer you elite status for a limited time if you have elite status with another airline. For example, if you have United Elite Status, Delta will give you the equivalent of that elite status with their program to try out.

Most times, you’ll then need to complete certain requirements (such as flying a certain number of flights) in order to maintain that status… key word there is “most.” 😉

Status matches are generally offered by the bigger, full-service airlines that can afford to be a little more aggressive about acquiring good customers.

But not today.

Spirit Airlines is offering a status match currently that is, dare I say, very good.

You can now match status from 16 different airlines OR 16 different hotel programs to get 12 full months of Spirit Airlines elite status, no other requirements are needed.

You can find a full list of eligible airline and hotel programs on Spirit’s website.

Here’s how it works:

• Simply fill out their online form, which takes less than 60 seconds (allegedly)

• If you have any level of elite status with any of the 32 programs, you’ll get 12 months of Spirit Airlines elite status

• You’ll receive either Silver or Gold status, depending on which level of status you match from.

• You’ll need to pay a fee of $49 for Silver status or $99 for Gold status

So let’s break this down a bit.

Obviously, you should aim for the best level of status (Gold), meaning you want to use your current highest elite status for this offer.

For example, if you have Marriott Silver status and Hilton Gold status, use your Hilton status for this match.

Next, let’s talk about those fees, which are actually a steal when you crunch the numbers.

Silver Status with Spirit isn’t anything special, but you still get some decent benefits that would probably be well worth that $49 fee, even if you only fly with them a few times a year.

However, the real savings come with Gold status.

Spirit Airlines is a low-cost carrier. They don’t make any money off of selling tickets - they make their money from things like checked bags, seat selection, onboard meals, and other ancillary fees.

Gold status gives you pretty much ALL of those things that you’d otherwise have to pay extra for, meaning that the super cheap ticket you buy is actually super cheap.

Take a look at the benefits of Gold elite status:

Essentially, you’d be able to travel as though you were on a full-service airline, but your overall cost would only be a fraction of what you’d pay with those airlines.

But I’m going to show you how much money you’d save on a given flight:

Let’s say you live in the beautiful(ish) city of Detroit and want to take a spontaneous trip to New Orleans next week.

Oh, look at that, the flight is only $28!! Amazing, let’s book it.

You’re a heavy packer, so obviously you need a carry-on and a checked bag, so let’s add those to the cart:

As someone with obnoxiously long legs, you need to pay for an emergency exit row and fly in some comfort, too. Let’s add that to the cart, too…

And since you’re ALWAYS running late, let’s make sure you get some priority security access, as well as the flexibility option in case you miss your flight and need to change it.

Now that that’s all done, let’s go ahead and pay.

Wait… what the heck? The flight’s $220 now?? I thought it was $28!!

The real cost of Spirit flights is all of these add-ons.

With Gold status, you’d get ALL of these things, and more. 

Even a single flight with all of these options would cost you an extra $190, far outweighing the $99 fee to get these on every flight for 12 months…

As you can see, this is actually an incredible opportunity to save money on Spirit, which is already saving you money due to their low fares. I’d seriously consider this if you live in the U.S. or plan to travel around the U.S. a bit over a 12-month period.

🏃🏼‍♂️ Mike on the Move: Airline Compensation, Part 2: Electric Boogaloo

Last week, I told you about how you can collect compensation from airlines for voluntarily giving up your seat on a plane and getting rebooked on a future flight.

Today, I want to tell you about how I used that tactic (and a few others) to book a $4,000 business-class flight for $0 and 0 points thanks to racking up small vouchers here and there.

In addition to volunteering for later flights, you can earn travel vouchers and other compensation for other reasons, including:

• Service issues on a flight

• Delays and cancellations

• Broken in-flight entertainment

Most airlines have a Customer Relations page online where you can submit a form indicating service issues like the ones I mentioned. Oftentimes, flight attendants can even issue you vouchers on the spot if you kindly ask them.

Just last week, I sent in two complaints to Air Canada about two separate flights where my in-flight entertainment screen was broken.

For one flight, I was awarded a 15% discount on a future cash booking with them. For the second one, I was given a $150 voucher. 👇

And if you’re worried about being “that person” who complains about little things, don’t be; these are part of the agreement the airline makes with you when you book a ticket with them. When they fail to provide these things, they are in violation of that agreement.

Of course, that doesn’t mean you need to be mean or rude about it; ALWAYS be polite to your flight crew.

Okay, here’s where things get REALLY fun…

I was looking at flights to get myself to India for a trip this Summer and was upset to see that flight prices were absolutely insane…

One of the best options was to fly non-stop to Dubai from Toronto in late June for $2,000… in economy… 🤮

After seeing this, I cried. Just a little, though.

Out of curiosity, I went through the list of vouchers, coupons, and discount codes that I’ve collected over the last few months.

I was delighted to see that I had about $1,800 worth of Air Canada vouchers. After using that 15% coupon I mentioned earlier, I was able to book that flight just with my stack of airline vouchers.

Furthermore, I used my Air Canada upgrades to instantly upgrade to business class. 🤩

So now I’m booked in a lie-flat seat for 14 hours that would normally cost over $4,000, all for $0 and 0 points, thanks to racking up vouchers from these various methods.

So here’s the moral of the story:

When you have an issue of any magnitude with a flight or flight service, make sure you reach out to the Customer Relations department for the airline in question.

As I mentioned last week, if you have the chance to get delayed voluntarily, the compensation can be even more significant.

🤣 Travel Meme

That’s all for today, my friends! Before I go soak up some rays on the beach, tell me:

Have a great day and see you all tomorrow! ❤️

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