Programs: US*S, Fairmont Plat, Marriott Plat, HH Gold, SPG Gold, IC Gold Amb
Posts: 3,276
~67k to SE
So... I'm here near the end of the year back in HarperLand after a year and a half in HKG and TPE (well, at least when I wasn't away). Earlier this year I was so disgusted by TPAC Tango that I pledged to quit AC for good. (and now I see TATL Tango) After burning copious amounts of AC/US miles for all my personal travel this year on top of a RGN-SFO in F I'm satisfied with my travel this year but I'd still like to do at least one more personal trip... I'm pretty much addicted to travel and if it were totally up to me I'd be in a new place every week. Of course, life doesn't work like that for most people, myself included. I'm not really one to ask for direction on what is effectively my personal life on FT or any other internet forum, but I can't really think of a better place to sort out this mental dilemma which has been bothering me for quite some time. Let me outline my situation for you:
Programme Status:
AC: Currently SE. I really notice the difference between E and SE. After vowing not to fly AC, I've broken my pledge with 2 flights on AC (UA codeshares) in September. I treasure IKK and Concierge service (even during award travel) and I'm not sure how I'd deal without them next year. I have ~33k miles on AC, a body in its 20s and spare time this month and December, enough to do a bunch of UA MRs.
UA: Currently Silver. No time to chase UA status for next year, I'm only using it until January for the E+ and the (slim) hope of UDU
DL: No status. This one took me by surprise this year as I took an unexpected few flights on AF in the spring and the RGN-HAN-NRT segments on VN in August. I have ~20k MQMs and I'm debating whether I'll take the plunge to try for 25k, seeing as I intend to fly KE and CI somewhat regularly next year.
Finances:
Not exactly bankrupt but not great. I recently finished a short-term contract in SJC and now I'm in YYC just trying to pull all the loose strings in my life together. I also have a lawsuit going on right now (as the plaintiff) but it is not affecting me financially at the moment and it remains to be seen whether I'll be able to recover my money. I would say that I can afford to put ~$3.5k forward to pay for a crazy MR spree to requalify for SE. (enough for a bunch of EWR-HNL runs) I used to buy paid C but that's definitely out of the question for the time being.
Necessary travel this year:
I have to be in NYC, LAX, CHI and RDU before the end of the year. I expect around 8-9k miles from these flights and most of them would be paid for. I would also like to visit a friend in YYZ before the holiday season gets into full swing.
Stuff I have going on:
Not currently working, so I have a lot of spare time. I'm ending my little sabbatical in January. I have a couple of distance-ed courses on the go; I'm just taking them for personal interest but they're for credit so I obviously want to get respectable scores.
Travel plans for 2013:
My first plan is to move back to TPE for personal reasons, hopefully in January. I have nothing tying me down so I can pretty much move on a whim. After that, I plan to return to NA to attend a top 15 full-time MBA programme in the US starting in September. I will need to borrow significantly to be able to pay for tuition. I expect to do some travel during the programme for both consulting study trips and personal travel. I am targeting work which will require frequent travel between Asia and NA after I finish my MBA and if I can maintain status throughout the programme it would be much less painful to resume flying regularly.
So due to poor planning... I could end the year with nothing to show for all my travel. I actually almost enjoy doing MRs but I also don't want to reach too far for status which continues to get diluted just to satisfy what can be described as an addiction. Help would be appreciated!
Programs: US*S, Fairmont Plat, Marriott Plat, HH Gold, SPG Gold, IC Gold Amb
Posts: 3,276
Quote:
Originally Posted by hearna
So you want to be AC*SE next year for travel from ASIA-USA if I understand? Why would you not try and top up your UA*MP status?
I have very little idea what my travel plans will be next year other than a YYC-TPE flight to go back to Taiwan and a TPE-ORD/NYC flight in September when I fly to the US. The reason I'm not too keen on trying to UA status is that I have 0 UA EQMs right now and I would rather fly AC whenever possible. I'm open to MRing for UA Gold but then I'd lose IKK and have to pay for UC membership.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hearna
No, 40k is a big stretch; 67k is a guy with way to much time on his hands haha
I have very little idea what my travel plans will be next year other than a YYC-TPE flight to go back to Taiwan and a TPE-ORD/NYC flight in September when I fly to the US. The reason I'm not too keen on trying to UA status is that I have 0 UA EQMs right now and I would rather fly AC whenever possible. I'm open to MRing for UA Gold but then I'd lose IKK and have to pay for UC membership.
Pretty much, yes.
I think you will see fairly quickly that your YYC-TPE as well as ASIA-USA flights will all fall onto UA flights to earn miles; versus paying what seems to have become a fairly large premium to fly AC on a mileage earning fare!
Status is over rated these days. The benefits are nothing like they once were even 5 years ago.
You did have some thing to show for your travels- great experiences on a reward ticket. It just didn't happen to earn miles.
I agree with worldtraveller here; with 3.5k you could probably squeek by if you are very flexible on dates and such; but chances are it would mostly all be UA anyways; so why not credit it to UA and get some sort of mid level tier status with them, if you really do feel the need to blow the money?
Programs: AC E75, SPG Plat, HH peon-by-choice (ex Gold)
Posts: 7,629
Agree with the comments that:
1) Status is over-rated. Especially for someone who's going to blow/borrow a ton of $ to finance their education.
2) AC SE will mean nothing if you're not willing to pony-up for the ~50% higher TPAC Tango+ fares (as opposed to Tango).
You current status will extend until Feb 28th, 2013 so why not just start any runs on January 1st. That way, even if you drop on March 1st, you'll start to get early recongition as you climb the ladder and any status you get will extend until March 2015.
Programs: US*S, Fairmont Plat, Marriott Plat, HH Gold, SPG Gold, IC Gold Amb
Posts: 3,276
Quote:
Originally Posted by yvr76
You current status will extend until Feb 28th, 2013 so why not just start any runs on January 1st. That way, even if you drop on March 1st, you'll start to get early recongition as you climb the ladder and any status you get will extend until March 2015.
That is an idea, I could do some UA runs in January (25k in January to re-qualify Silver shouldn't be too hard and I could lean on AC*SE until Feb 28) and build towards some sort of meaningful status on UA to last me until January 2015.
Thanks for the ideas everyone, they're very helpful.
That is an idea, I could do some UA runs in January (25k in January to re-qualify Silver shouldn't be too hard and I could lean on AC*SE until Feb 28) and build towards some sort of meaningful status on UA to last me until January 2015.
Thanks for the ideas everyone, they're very helpful.
Just get UA to match you to Gold (via Delta if needed) - fly 17500 miles instead of 67000 to keep it!
Next year, just continue building on that - with status.
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