Have you flown this month and noticed extremely long upgrade lists on flights? January is notorious for long upgrade lists for First Class because there’s more elite members than anytime else during the year.

Those who have you earned airline elite status last year still have it until the end of January. New elite members who earned their status late last year are reaping the benefits as well. Well your elite qualifying miles reset on January 1st, your status doesn’t drop until February 1st.

However starting February 1st this all goes away, as those who didn’t re-qualify for elite status or dropped a level, their status will be updated.

As an example, here’s how the Delta Medallion year works:

• 2020 Medallion Status is earned through flight and spending activity for the 2019 calendar year (January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019); 2020 Status is valid from the day it is earned until January 31, 2021.

Hang in there a few more days, and if you hold elite status on any of the big airlines including Delta, American, or United, except to see shorter upgrade lists and yourself higher on the list next week!

Are you dropping a tier or even dropping completely your airline elite status this year perhaps due to switching loyalty to a difference airline. Feel free to share your comments below.