Module 119 - Points and Status-Centered Lifestyle

Navigating life with loyalty points

What is points and status-centered lifestyle

So, what am I talking about here when I say points and status-centered lifestyle? The answer or explanation is very simple – it’s going about our day-to-day activities using loyalty points acquired through various business and financial institutions with whom we do business on the regular basis.  If you ever traveled by plane, then you should have seen various promotions and advertisements by different airlines and credit card companies offering x amount of points or miles as promotional opportunity in exchange of you applying and being approved for a specific credit card and/or airline loyalty program such as: AA Advantage, Citi, American Airlines, and many other companies, so when such offer is presented to us, we ask ourselves – Do I need it? Is it worth it? What’s in it for me?

Do I need it? Is it worth it? What’s in it for me?

These are very good and proper questions to ask before taking any action, because, you definitely want to make sure that: a). you can afford it, b). make sure whatever is being offered as an incentive for signing up actually makes sense in your specific situation. Because, look at it this way, why would you need x number of airline miles if you never travel by plane, or x number of hotel-related points for being member of hotels loyalty program if last time you stayed in the hotel was 10-15 years ago. However, if you travel all the time by plane, frequently use car rental service, and stay in hotels on the regular basis, then being enrolled in one or multiple loyalty programs available today could absolutely make sense in your situation.

Speaking from my personal example, having TSA Pre-Check and being a member of multiple loyalty programs offered by various airline, hotel, car rental, and credit card companies helped me save great amount of time and money while traveling for business or personal reasons. One of my favorite loyalty programs is American Airlines Advantage program, because, of the benefits such as: ability to move up your boarding group and board the plane faster as you acquire a set number of AA points and achieving a specific status, such as: Silver, Gold, Platinum, etc. The higher your status, the sooner you can board the plane and get to your seat. Speaking of airplane seats, as a Gold member of AA Advantage, you may be able to upgrade your seat assignment when booking your flight. So, sitting in the middle seat of the crowded place may no longer be a requirement, instead, it may be an option. These are just some of the benefits that AA Advantage loyalty program may offer. Oh, almost forgot to mention, probably one of the best benefits of the AA Advantage program, in my opinion, is using points acquired to book flights whether you are traveling domestically or internationally. This option alone could be a huge money saver, especially for someone who travels regularly.

Other loyalty programs that I personally enjoy are the ones offered by major hotel chains, such as: Marriott, Starwood, Hilton, etc. Once enrolled in a specific hotel’s loyalty program, you can begin acquiring points for each night you stay at a specific hotel. The more nights you stay, then more points you acquire. As number of points accumulated grows, so as your status within a specific hotel loyalty program. Having a specific status level may offer benefits such as: room upgrades, special perks, late checkout, etc. So, if you travel often and stay in hotels during your travel then being a member of hotel’s loyalty program may be something you would want to consider.

Loyalty Program Availability = Customer Retention Strategy

Airline and hotel loyalty programs are only two examples of points and status-based membership programs available today. However, every day there are more businesses and financial institutions that choose to be offering their own unique loyalty programs. This is a way for a specific business to earn your continued business and your long-term loyalty with them. It’s a wonderful customer retention strategy for virtually any business. Even most gas stations now offer their own version of loyalty programs. So, every time you pump gas, you can earn points, which can then be redeemed for merchandise online or dollars off your total gas bill. One good example here is Plenti program. I use Plenti card every time at participating gas stations when I pump gas, and often use points collected to reduce my total gas bill. The other cool thing about most loyalty programs is that it’s typically free to sign up once you are conducting a business or a customer of a specific business or financial institution.

Why am I writing about loyalty programs and how this topic applicable to personal development, growth, and lifestyle design?

Where I believe this point is applicable is the creation and life in comfort, ease and style, not to mention the benefits of time and money savings when participation in various loyalty programs available today. This is especially important to be aware of various programs available today with various businesses that we already conducting our business with or are customers of. In this case, why not utilize the benefits that may already be available to us. It sure feels great when you can use airline and hotel points acquired to book your next vacation.

I hope that you found this article post useful, and perhaps you will now consider exploring various loyalty program benefits that may already be available to you today. If there’s an opportunity to save money and time while traveling more comfortably, then why not?

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I hope you enjoyed reading this module as much as I enjoyed writing it, and hope that you found it to be very useful for you or someone else that you may know. Please feel free to share this post if you know someone who may benefit from reading it same way you did

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