Just now elite perks are within reach of the many.

During August, the five largest U.S. mainline carriers operated at 85.97 percent of capacity. In layman's terms, those planes were flying full. It's been that way all summer. There is an alternative to flying shoehorned into an undersized coach seat, fuming about the nickel-and-dimeing that may have doubled your ticket price, gorging on over-salted pretzels and tap water. Elite members of most airlines' frequent flier programs get upgrades, which means flying in first class for the price of coach.

Achieving elite status is usually daunting, requiring more flights in 12 months than the average traveler takes over several years.

But this recession has forced airlines and hotels to slash prices and up the ante in luring customer loyalty. So elite status is in reach.

ELITE, FREE AND EASY

Sometimes airlines and hotels just give elite status away.

Virgin Atlantic recently offered instant elite status to new members of its Flying Club program.

Hyatt offered complimentary Platinum status in the Gold Passport program for 120 days, plus a fast track to extend that status through February 2011.

While such offers have increased markedly during the current travel downturn, they're generally not well publicized. So be on the lookout and act quickly if the opportunity arises.

ELITE MILE PROMOS

Double elite-qualifying mileage promotions from American, United and Continental run through Dec. 15. Normally, it takes the equivalent of five round-trip cross-country flights to earn the 25,000 miles for entry-level elite status in most programs. The double-mile offers halve that. Also, US Airways is offering 1,000 elite-qualifying miles for every 10,000 redeemable miles purchased on its Web site in September.

ROLLOVER MILES

Rolling over miles or points in excess of those needed for elite status to the next year is good for both consumers and the airline or hotel that offers them. If you earn 35,000 elite miles in 2009 — 10,000 more than the 25,000-mile qualification, but not enough to reach the next tier at 50,000 miles — carrying over those 10,000 miles into 2010 gives you a head start on qualifying next year. For the company, it keeps customers engaged instead of tempting them to switch loyalty to a second program after reaching elite status in the first.

Delta recently made rollover miles a permanent feature of its SkyMiles program.

JUST CHARGE IT

Members of United's Mileage Plus program now have their choice of four credit cards linked to the program, three of which generate both redeemable and elite-qualifying miles.

The Continental Presidential Plus MasterCard offers cardholders 2,000 so-called Flex elite-qualifying miles for every $15,000 charged to the card. The Flex miles don't expire and can be applied toward elite qualification in any year the member chooses. Cardholders also earn 25 percent more elite-qualifying miles for Continental flights, and receive instant Platinum status in Hyatt's Gold Passport program. Predictably, the price tag for such benefits is steep: $375 a year.