Help! I'm being held captive by my frequent flyer program

Little did I know, but eventually I would indeed be taken hostage. Not by a criminal organisation or a terrorist group, though. No, I have instead become a hostage to my frequent flyer program.

As I write this, I'm cruising at about 11,000 metres above the ground on my way to Bangkok. Not because I particularly wanted to go to Thailand this month, but because if I didn't fly somewhere this far by the end of February, I would lose my current level of frequent flyer status.

It may seem ridiculous, but at least as a travel writer I can usually justify a random trip somewhere. Online, though, you'll find whole forums full of people doing the same thing, discussing the best "status runs", the name for flights taken solely to reach or retain a certain airline status. And at the less extreme end, I regularly have friends discuss how they're planning a holiday a particular way because of their frequent flyer program. I would guess there are tens (or even hundreds) of thousands of Australians who do this to some degree... even if it's not actually in their best interests every time.

Before we go any further, a quick explanation of what I mean by "status". When you take a flight, you can earn two things - points and status credits. Points are the currency you use to buy things like flights, upgrades, and products from the airline's store. Status credits, on the other hand, have no purpose other than to determine your frequent flyer level each year, and reset to zero annually.

There are tangible benefits as you reach higher levels. Both Qantas and Virgin Australia use similar terminology, starting with the basic level and moving up to silver, gold, and then platinum. Silver will get a few perks like extra baggage allowance and priority check-in, gold will get you benefits like business-class lounge access, while platinum offers special treatment including international first-class lounge access with Qantas, and no-fee fly-early flight changes with Virgin Australia.

But it's these very perks that can be a poisoned chalice. Once you hit gold status, you'll want to enjoy your benefits and use the lounge before your next trip. To do that, though, you'll need to book a flight with that particular airline or one of its partners - and often that ticket will be much more expensive than some of the competitor airlines.

I know this from first-hand experience many times... yet still I keep falling into the same trap. It's like a form of Stockholm Syndrome or, in the case of this trip, Bangkok Syndrome. I fly with a particular airline just so I can retain my status, then I continue to use that airline just so I can use those benefits. An expensive cycle I can't escape.

So, it raises the question: is it actually worth chasing frequent flyer status?

For many people, the answer will be no - at least, it's not worth going out of your way to try to achieve it. To maintain gold level with Qantas, for example, you would need to do the equivalent of a business-class return trip between Sydney and London, plus a couple of short domestic economy flights. On current pricing, that would cost you about $12,000. If that's pretty much all the travel you were going to do that year, you could instead find a business-class fare on a different full-service airline for about $8000. Because you're in business class, you'll get all the perks of gold status anyway, and you've saved yourself thousands of dollars.

Another way to retain gold status with Qantas would be to do about 60 discount economy flights between Canberra, Sydney, or Melbourne in a year. Again, if you're not wedded to one particular airline, you'll be able to choose whichever carrier is cheapest and save yourself some money. But if you're flying that frequently, this is where I think it's worth paying a bit more to get elite status.

Firstly, the time you'll save with priority check-in and priority boarding does have a value when you're in airports that often, not to mention the advantage of a quiet lounge where you can grab a coffee and do a bit of work. Perhaps most importantly, though, you become a priority customer when something goes wrong, and that can really matter. Last year, travelling home from Europe with a colleague, our first flight was delayed so we missed our connection. I was put on the next flight, she was put on one 24 hours later... just because of the difference in our status (for the record, we ended up getting her on the same flight in the end).

So, the conclusion here? Despite the cost, it's worth chasing frequent flyer status if it's because you're a frequent flyer. But if you're chasing it just for the status, you're better off giving yourself the flexibility to choose any airline and using the money you save for something else to make the flight more enjoyable.

It may be too late for a hostage like me, who's caught in a love/hate relationship with his captor, but you, you've still got time to escape. So, fly, fly and be free! And don't worry about me, I'll be fine with my glass of champagne in the first-class lounge.