Southwest Airlines decided its loyalty program needed three tiers instead of two. The carrier replaced A-List and A-List Preferred with a system that requires you to climb more ladders to earn the right to board a plane slightly earlier than people who hate themselves less.
This is what passes for innovation in 2026. Take something that worked fine and complicate it so a consultant in Dallas can justify his retainer. Some guy with a PowerPoint convinced the C-suite that frequent flyers were getting too comfortable with only two status levels. Can't have that. People might actually understand where they stand.
The absolute f*cking genius of airline loyalty programs is convincing millions of travelers to obsess over imaginary points that expire and status levels that reset annually. You know what else resets annually? Your self-respect after you realize you flew 50,000 miles for the privilege of boarding in Group B instead of Group C. Congratulations on your upgraded mediocrity.
Southwest made its name on simplicity. No assigned seats. No bag fees. Just show up and fight for a middle seat like nature intended. Now they're out here creating a three-tier hierarchy so Karen from Scottsdale can feel superior to Karen from Tucson in the boarding queue.
Retail traders will absolutely lose their minds trying to optimize this. They'll build spreadsheets calculating the exact number of flights needed to hit each tier. They'll book connecting flights through Houston instead of direct routes because the math works better. They'll convince themselves this is smart planning and not just Stockholm syndrome with a beverage voucher.
The real move is flying Spirit and accepting your fate from the start.
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