Why Chase Airline Elite Status?
As you may know from my previous blog posts , I’m usually Oneworld-loyal. In fact, I’d guess 98% of my flights since the year 2000 have been on Oneworld airlines (OW). So, I’ve always striven for elite status, mainly because the higher statuses confer international lounge access regardless of service class (e.g., “economy” or “business”). And I just like airline lounges. Holding Oneworld Sapphire status grants you access to all OW Business Lounges. The top-tier Emerald status allows you access to all OW Business and First Class Lounges. As an American Airlines frequent flyer, “Platinum” status is equivalent to OW Sapphire, and “Platinum Pro” and “Executive Platinum” are equivalent to OW Emerald. In short, if you have OW Sapphire or Emerald (irrespective of Oneworld airline), you have access to the lounges. One caveat: if you are an American Airlines elite member traveling domestically in North America (AA sees the US, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean as "North America"...