If you fly for work / alot... Read this thread.

I wish I had seen this when I used to have to fly every weekend for work three years straight...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AeYIUyZXKE

No real secret there, but getting elite status takes A TON of flying. I used to have to go to India a few times a year, I would get to gold status (50k mikes) every year but that was about it. This wouldnt get me much, I could board first and get in to some of the lounges and if there were upgrades I could get them after the 1k (100,000 mile) folks did. I never got an upgrade on an international flight. I would have almost killed to sit in business class for first class during 12 hour flights.

A guy I used to work with had Global Services status with United. It is a black card that doesnt "officially" exist. You have to be invited in to the club. Needless to say, he got an upgrade EVERY time. But he flew international every week, several hundred thousand miles a year.

Not sure how anyone who flies more than a few times/year wouldn't know how that system works. None of these details are hidden.

The video is about getting it quickly like 20 flights going from LA to NY.