Officially, the highest tier of elite status within airline loyalty programs in the United States is Delta Diamond Medallion status, which brings access to lounges and complementary premium upgrades that befit the most loyal members of programs like Delta SkyMiles
. Nonetheless, a higher, hidden, more secretive tier to the Delta SkyMiles program offers an even more ridiculous slate of benefits, such as first-come, first-served benefits across the Delta network.
This system is not exclusive to Delta Air Lines, and similar arrangements exist for America’s next two largest loyalty programs. The American Airlines AAdvantage program, which has a full slate of elite status tiers, often does not advertise ConciergeKey, its ultra-elite status for only the most loyal of customers. For United Airlines, the story is the same, with the extremely few United Global Service Customers able to enjoy benefits unlike anything else available to MileagePlus members.
Photo: United Airlines
But what, at the end of the day, is the purpose of having these kinds of unbelievably exclusive programs, which Simple Flying has analyzed to require tens of thousands in annual expenditures on the airline just for consideration? The answer, at the end of the day, relates to the pure nature of how airline loyalty programs operate. Let’s take a deeper look at what role Delta360, United Global Services, and ConciergeKey.
These elite status benefits come at a price
Legacy airlines like United, American, and Delta make their money off of an extremely select few passengers, the most elite business travelers that fly constantly with the airline. More importantly, there are employers, those who book tickets not just for themselves but for their employees on an airline.
Photo: American Airlines
These customers provide a critical portion of a legacy airline’s revenue, as they will book tens of thousands worth of tickets for their employees annually. For example, the owner of a Miami-based law firm might spend extensively on sending not just himself to visit clients on a given carrier, but also the dozens of other litigators at his firm. Furthermore, these kinds of customers almost always purchase premium tickets in first or business-class cabins and book them closer to departure when prices are sky-high.
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5 Things You Didn’t Know About United Global Services: The Airline’s Secret Invitation-Only Tier
United Global Services members had access to unique benefits.
At the end of the day, these elite statuses are more about exclusivity than benefits
Let’s take American Airlines ConciergeKey as a good example here. The benefits brought along by this elite status tier include all those offered by lower status tiers, but still bring a handful of extras to the table, including all the following:
- Unlimited premium cabin upgrades
- Complimentary access to extra-legroom seats
- Complimentary food and beverages when flying in Economy
- Private SUV transfers between gates when making a tight connection
- Boarding before any other passengers
These benefits, at the end of the day, are designed primarily with exclusivity in mind, as they are intended to provide the most loyal American Airlines customers with VIP treatment, according to One Mile At A Time. Boarding before anyone else waiting in line at the gate or being shuffled between gates in a private Cadillac is primarily intended to make a ConciergeKey member feel even more elite than those who are waiting for their flight up in the Admirals Club.
At the end of the day, the most exclusive tier of status on these airlines is designed to provide even more comfort and ease to those who are among an airline’s most important revenue-producing customers. Spending more on average than a hundred regular customers do in a year, there is good reason to make sure these customers are satisfied.