If you travel extremely frequently, like every week or every other week, the benefits save you quite a bit of time and make the general air travel experience su

If you travel extremely frequently, like every week or every other week, the benefits save you quite a bit of time and make the general air travel experience suck a little bit less. For example, the priority security screening line for passengers with status meant I could sleep an extra half hour on Monday mornings. On the other hand if you don't travel that often at all, you probably won't see much benefit. By reducing capacity and increasing the number of required miles to claim reward tickets, the airlines keep moving the goalposts. I'd imagine there are plenty of people out there who choose a given airline because of the prospect of getting something for nothing through the loyalty program, but travel so rarely that they'll never accrue enough miles to get any reward tickets.