Loyalty status provides enormous benefits when traveling. This includes free upgrades, priority boarding, late checkout, spending credits, bonus points and miles, and much more. Loyalty status is so important to some that at the end of the year, they’ll make the one last trip to get the miles or stays needed for the next level of status.

This post is not about how to maximize your miles and points and which credit cards will get you the most benefits. For that, I use The Points Guy. This post is about brand commitment and getting the most from that brand loyalty.

Earning Loyalty Status

Through my years of traveling for work and personally, I have earned lifetime status with both United Airlines (Star Alliance) and Marriott Bonvoy, so I’m no longer chasing miles and stays at the end of the year. Though I may take a few extra trips if I am close to achieving the next level of status or earning some promotional bonus miles.

Loyalty status requires commitment to a brand. And for me a bit of luck, as the brands I committed to eventually consolidated to give me the miles and stays needed for lifetime status – Continental into United and Starwood into Bonvoy.

There are credit cards that give you automatic loyalty status, but again commitment to the brand is needed to reap the benefits. For example, the American Express Platinum card currently offers Gold Status for Marriott Bonvoy. To get the benefits and earn points for future stays, it is then best to consistently stay at Marriott properties.

Brand loyalty does mean that you may not be getting the cheapest plane ticket or the best hotel deals. Instead, you get other benefits, some with real monetary value and some intangible. And of course, you’ll earn points towards flights and free hotel stays with that brand.

Airline Loyalty

When booking air travel, I will always look for a United flight first. Because of my status, I know I will be in an early boarding group, have free check-in bags, be put on the upgrade list, and earn bonus points.

All these things, help reduces the stress of traveling. And when I do encounter an issue, I have a dedicated number to call, and I’m not waiting on hold with the masses.

United does not fly everywhere I want to go, so I will look next at Star Alliance partners. The benefits will depend on the partner, but it will usually include at a minimum priority boarding and sometimes lounge access.

However, sometimes it just doesn’t work out and I have to fly another airline. If that’s the case, you will still want to sign-up for a loyalty account to earn points. You may never earn enough points to use for an upgrade or a flight just by flying, but credit cards offer the ability to transfer points to partners, so that combination may work out in your favor.

Recently on a trip to Bonaire, I could not find a reasonable routing on United or a partner airline, so I looked into Delta. The ticket was more than I wanted to pay so I looked into miles. I definitely did not have enough Delta miles for the flight outright, but I was able to transfer some AMEX points and got a flight using points and only paying for taxes.

Hotel Loyalty

As with my airline, I will typically start with looking for Marriott Bonvoy properties, but unlike with United, I may not always choose a Marriott even if there is a nearby property.

This is because I consider hotels and other accommodations part of the travel experience, and sometimes there is just a cooler, more unique, or more historic hotel or lodging option than a Marriott.

However, showing up at a Marriott property is like going home for me. I always know what to expect, get room upgrades when available, have concierge-level access, and receive bonus points for my stay. On long trips or after days on the road, this can be very comforting.

Choosing an Airline and Hotel Brand

It doesn’t matter which airline and which hotel chain you choose, though I would consider a few things:

Choosing an Airline for Loyalty Status:

• Predominant airlines flying out of your closest airport(s) or what airlines can get you to the places you want to go with the minimal number of stops
• Is your closest airport(s) a hub for any airline; United made sense for us as we grew up in San Francisco, where SFO is a United hub and then in Tampa, it’s the only airline that offers a direct flight to SFO – a destination we travel to often because of family
• Confidence in the airline to get you to where you want to go on time and with minimal issues

Choosing a Hotel Brand for Loyalty Status:

• Large hotel chains with different tiers of hotels so you have roadside budget options as well as luxury resort options and everything in between
• Domestic and international hotel locations for the most options for the places you want to travel