What's the Difference Between 'Airline Elite Status' and 'Frequent Flyer'?

If you're thinking about joining a frequent flyer program in 2024, you might have questions about some of the airline lingo. What does it mean to be a "frequent flyer"? How can you get free flights and perks, and what gives someone "elite status" with an airline?

Think of it this way: A frequent flyer program is like a customer loyalty "fan club" for airlines, and elite status is like the VIP room in the club. Joining a frequent flyer program can help you get discounts and extra perks, but elite status is when you get welcomed behind the velvet rope and get complimentary bottle service. (Elite status programs sometimes really do give you free drinks.)

Let's look at a few of the most common differences between being in a frequent flyer program and having elite status with airlines.

Frequent flyer program: A customer loyalty "fan club" for airlines

If you love to travel, and you fly several times per year, joining an airline frequent flyer program could be a smart move to save money on flights. Airline frequent flyer programs are typically free to join; you can get frequent flyer miles starting from the first flight you book as a member of the program. You can also join multiple airlines' frequent flyer programs, if you don't want to be limited to just one airline.

Airline frequent flyer programs are like joining a customer loyalty fan club for your airline. You'll get special offers, you can earn rewards, and you can gradually build up a balance of frequent flyer miles that help you earn free flights, free upgrades, or other perks. But if you're going to join a frequent flyer program, you'll probably want to take the experience even further -- and enter the exciting world of airline and travel rewards credit cards.

Want more free flights as a frequent flyer? Try airline credit cards

Many airline frequent flyer programs offer airline credit cards, or have partnerships with other travel reward credit cards. These credit cards can help you earn frequent flyer miles or comparable rewards points with everyday purchases -- and you can convert those miles and points into airline tickets, business class upgrades, and more.

Some of the best airline credit cards give you a multiplier for every dollar you spend on airline tickets, hotels, restaurants, or other categories. Many of the best rewards points credit cards also have welcome offers. This helps you get tens of thousands of extra frequent flyer miles just for signing up for the card and spending a certain amount of money after account opening.

For example, American Airlines offers a credit card through its AAdvantage® frequent flyer program called the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®. With this card: Earn 75,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $3,500 in purchases within the first 4 months of account opening. You can also earn:

• 2 AAdvantage® miles for every dollar you spend on eligible purchases with American Airlines (such as plane tickets), at gas stations, and at restaurants
• 1 AAdvantage® mile for every dollar you spend on other purchases

When you get enough frequent flyer miles, you can redeem them for free flights, or "award flights." How much your frequent flyer miles are worth depends on the airline, your travel dates, and your choice of seat -- business class seats will cost more miles than basic economy. I did a quick search on American Airlines' website (AA.com) to see what I could get for 50,000 frequent flyer miles.

I searched for flights from my home city of Des Moines, Iowa departing in late January/early February 2024. Here are a few options:

• Des Moines to Seattle: Main cabin starting at 23,000 miles round trip, first class starting at 50,000 miles round trip, plus $11.20 of fees that must be paid in cash
• Des Moines to London Heathrow: Main cabin starting at 45,000 miles round trip, plus $449.10 of cash, or 49,500 miles round trip, plus $181.70
• Des Moines to Cancún, Mexico: Main cabin starting at 45,500 miles round trip, plus $117.44
• Des Moines to Miami: Main cabin starting at 17,000 miles round trip, plus $11.20

As you can see, your frequent flyer miles will go farther depending on destination and timing, just like when you buy airline tickets with money. But if you sign up for the best airline credit cards, you could earn free flights surprisingly fast.

Elite status: VIP room of airline frequent flyer programs

Once you're earning frequent flyer miles, you might want to take things to the next level and get elite status. Elite status is like entering the VIP room of the airline fan club: you can get free upgrades, airport lounge access, and other perks. Getting elite status can also help you earn frequent flyer miles even faster, turbo-charging your ability to earn free flights.

However, getting elite status is not the same as earning frequent flyer miles -- not all miles or flights count toward elite status. Each airline has its own process, rules, and brand names for elite status.

For example, to get AAdvantage Gold® elite status on American Airlines, you need to earn 40,000 Loyalty Points, which you could get by purchasing $8,000 of qualifying airfares on American Airlines in one year. One option for getting elite status with Southwest Airlines is to fly 20 one-way qualifying flights in one year.

Bottom line: If you're just getting started with a frequent flyer program in 2024, it might not be worth chasing elite status. Focus on getting frequent flyer miles, earning travel rewards from your credit card spending, and maximizing the value of your travel experiences.