Danger Zone

Fine, I'll admit it...I am addicted to rewards points. In the same why that an alcoholic craves alcohol, I crave some type point, mile, bonus or what ever the business calls their rewards for every purchase I make. It's controlling my life.

I was 20 years old when I started traveling for work. Knowing little about sales and even less about frequent flyer miles I decided to sign up for a Delta Frequent Flyer number. My intentions where to earn enough for a free trip. Status, segments, total miles and upgrades meant nothing to me at the time...all I was looking forward to was a free round trip.

My career took off quickly and I found myself on an airplane most every week. I never noticed or payed attention to my miles until I received my first upgrade to first class after reaching Delta's Silver Medallion status of 25,000 miles flown. I remember the flight well, IAH-SLC, breakfast flight, seat 4b. Things were now different, I didn't wait in line with the common crowd, I boarded first, hung out in a special room before the flight and they even called me Sir and it wasn't used in a term like "Sir, you are making a scene." My traveling life quickly changed after this. Soon I was on my way trying to reach the different levels of status, Gold, Platinum and Diamond. The addiction grew when I discovered that hotels and rental car companies had similar programs.

It's come to the point now where I no longer fly for free round trips...in fact, its hard for me to even cash in my points. I refuse to fly airlines where I do not have status and can not earn miles regardless if their flights are cheaper or quicker. I'm willing to drive 90min one way to stay at a Marriott or Hilton vs. another brand, all because of points earned. I only rent from Hertz, regardless of how bad their customer service is. I'm sick.

We should applaud the travel industry for their ability to create customer "loyalty" though points programs because I am not alone in this addiction. Next time you are at the airport and you see all the blank faces of the people sitting in first class or the people that bypass the lines at hotel check-in, my guess is that they share this same addiction I have.