Programs: AA EXP/1.5MM, SPG Platinum, HHonors Gold, National Exec Elite
Posts: 679
Ironically, I want to spend my last miles to put me over (sometime at the end of the year) buying a 40oz bottle of Miller High Life. I think it would be fitting that my 1 millionth mile comes from something called the High Life...
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Don't worry about tomorrow... its already happened in Australia.
I too must say thanks to the FT community. I'm only at 643K, but considering I was at 50K 4 years ago, I've done better then I thought. A special thanks to Tom911, brp, and JonNYC for all the knowledge they've shared with us.
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I need Bear Grylls to teach me how to parachute
Programs: Starwood Platinum, AA 2 mm EXP, Citibank Platinum...
Posts: 679
Congratulations, Professor.
Paraphrasing a fictional prof of some reknown: You made your miles the old-fashioned way: you earned them. You deserve a hand. A good hand, given your handle.
I went back to determine when I wrote something similar and see that it was May 25, 2005 when I passed the magical (and once-thought mythical) million miles. I mean, c'mon, before then I'd have said: "A million miles? That's like flying around the world 40 times. You'd have to be crazy." And it had taken 19 years and the demise of TWA to put that many miles in my AAcount.
Crazy I must be, because as of today, two and half years later, the tally is just shy of 1.8 million (1,796,875 to be exact) and "No" I didn't fly another 30 r-t-w's. It's not that impressive: staying EXP year after year adds at least 200,000 miles per, and then there're the rent-a-cars and Starwood point dumps and dining out, but it's really the ease, not the difficulty, of piling up these points that strikes me the most.
I'd be remiss to say that without the occasional visit here it would have been impossible. This is a profitable place on more than one level. Entertaining? Sure. Infuriating? Sometimes. And pretty darn helpful time and again.
So all the rest of you pat yourselves on the back, too.
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, Marriott PLT Premier, HHonors Silver, SPG, Avis First
Posts: 4,228
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bostom
Crazy I must be, because as of today, two and half years later, the tally is just shy of 1.8 million (1,796,875 to be exact) and "No" I didn't fly another 30 r-t-w's. It's not that impressive: staying EXP year after year adds at least 200,000 miles per, and then there're the rent-a-cars and Starwood point dumps and dining out, but it's really the ease, not the difficulty, of piling up these points that strikes me the most.
Since you mention SPG points and rental car miles....if your rental car company allows crediting your rental to SPG, you may want to do that instead of getting AAdvantage miles. For example with Avis, they both earn 50 points/miles per day. Plus, there is no FF miles tax when earning SPG points! You'll get more flexibility in which program you choose to use the points/miles, and if you transfer to AA, you'll get the 25% bonus with lots of 20,000 SPG points to AAdvantage miles transfers
Location: New York or an aluminum tube at 30,000+ft.
Programs: Nearing AA-1MM, BA, VS, DL
Posts: 832
Quote:
Originally Posted by atxtraveler
Ironically, I want to spend my last miles to put me over (sometime at the end of the year) buying a 40oz bottle of Miller High Life. I think it would be fitting that my 1 millionth mile comes from something called the High Life...
INDEED! Hope you can find a place that sells 40oz and takes credit cards. There aren't too many of those where I live. Even if you find one there might be a $10 minimum so you might have to share the high life....Congrats to all. I'm only at about 850K....
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“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatrioitic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."
- Theodore Roosevelt
Editorial in the Kansas City Star May 7, 1918
Programs: Starwood Platinum, AA 2 mm EXP, Citibank Platinum...
Posts: 679
What more can I say?
I dunno, for now I'm speechless but gimme time and I'll think of something.
Seriously, Mileslave's post is a perfect example of that which we speak: information that's of value. Merci. Gracias. Danke.
One question (not that you need to jump back) but do SW have do the kind of bonuses I almost always find from AAdvantage? Getting the 750 bonus miles, or double or triple miles, OR THE WONDERFUL AVIS OFFER LAST YEAR BASED ON HOW LONG YOU WERE AN AADVANTAGE MEMBER - THANK YOU AVIS - has become sort of addictive. Does Starwood ever do something similar?
I went through some junk/records I had filed so I can piece together some milestones on how I did it.
I joined AAdvantage on June 23, 1992 mostly because I was planning backpacking trip to Europe during christmas break. I joined all of the major programs at that time because price was going to determine what flight and airline I took. I did not fly AA then. My first AA flight was on Sept 8, 1995. It was a $100 rt "courier flight" JFK-LHR, this is how I got started with AA as I took 3 more trips to Europe this way with the courier company using AA each time and I got miles on 3 of 4 trips. So to pool miles the loyalty program worked like AA wanted it too. All because a company in NYC used AA. Then to seal the deal in late 1998? there was a strike. Just after the settlement AA offered a very short window of double miles and double elite miles. So i grabbed a $280 rt base fare CLE-BRU for a long weekend, that got me Plat for the first time. Lastly in 99/00 found FT, my first account here was lost due to a forgot password and old dead email.
And from the there many long weekends to Europe, numerous trips to Vegas (yes I do play), adding of segments when logical, and a very small number of late year mileage runs only if needed to get to 1MM.
Also good job to the others who are on the edge or just over the mark.
Thanks again
David
Last edited by Poker Professor; Nov 2, 07 at 5:13 pm..
Reason: one more thought, syntax
Programs: AA EXP 1.9MM, HH Gold, SPG Gold, Traveler's Aid JFK Volunteer
Posts: 5,879
Quote:
Originally Posted by Poker Professor
My first AA flight was on Sept 8, 1995. It was a $100 rt "courier flight" JFK-LHR, this is how I got started with AA as I took 3 more trips to Europe this way and and the courier company used AA each time and I got miles on 3 of 4 trips.
I'm surprised you got miles for courier flights! These days, courier tickets are probably issued in some weird booking class that do not earn miles.
Paraphrasing a fictional prof of some reknown: You made your miles the old-fashioned way: you earned them. .
Invoking Professor Kingsfield nice
In tribute: I came here with a skull full of mush and I leave thinking like a frequent flyer.
Thanks to those who think I earned them I feel that way. Value was the key to my quest. I feel I did my best in that respect. I would have got there a bit faster if I set value aside from time to time, but that would have defeated the purpose... for me. I feel good I never spent more than $580 all-in many transatlantic flights $440 or less. I just wanted to a small amount of detail to any other casual flyer that it can be done.
That said I have high respect for business flyers, explicitly those 80-100k and more. They fly for a living, large part of their job or own small business. All of the above earn their miles, just all in different ways and for different reasons.
I hope the true spirit of FT endures and we can all learn from each other no matter what our goals are.
Last edited by Poker Professor; Nov 2, 07 at 10:13 pm..
Programs: UA 1K, AA Gold 1.8MM, DL Gold, CO Plat, HH Gold, SPG Gold, Marriott Gold, Hyatt Diamond
Posts: 1,127
Today is My Day 1MM and Lifetime Gold
Thank you FT for all your help.
I joined Aadvantage in September 2000 and never flew them much as was in a NW predominant city and earned 1.3 million total program miles with them.
Then the "roach choice" program at NW and I defected to all the other airlines based on the current promotion available.
But this lifetime thing with all miles counting kept haunting me. Could I make it? I flew the promos ie: any two from NY to FLA, DAL to ???, ORD to out west, starting using a Starwood card, kept using the idine "thingy" and here we are.
The last biggies to send me over the top: ORD-LAX 2 times for 25K. I did it twice. A starwood transfer 50K AA, Goldpoints transfer (from shutterfly) 21K and the rewards network 20 miles per dollar with "rate a dine" and 5 mile bonus. (I bought a $600 gift card from Aunt Chiladas, best grilled wings on the island)
In retrospect, I wish I had started with AA and it would be lifetime Plat by now. And as the "old guy" (57), my advice to the youngsters here: Think about AA. They aren't going anywhere and you'll have a lifetime of benenfits.
And FT, you are the best group of online folks to hang with.
then I would spend the miles difference on a dinner or something special !
