I added everything up, and found that after my last trip LIH-HNL-ORD-TPA on Dec 20th, that I would be a bit short of true PremEx on UA.

With a spare day in SF, today, Nov 18th, with the requirement that the run could not delay my return home to HI and Mrs LIH Prem and the LIH Premettes on Sun Nov 19th, I found a decent fare to MKE, via ORD.

UA158 SFO 0610 ORD 1220 1846 Miles
UA1646 ORD 1405 MKE 1448 500 Miles
UA1887 MKE 1534 ORD 1615 500 Miles
UA149 ORD 1714 SFO 1950 1846 Miles

Total Miles: 4792
I was surprised that united.com showed the actual mileage for ORD-MKE at 67 miles! What a flight. How long is the drive?

It was more expensive than if you did it with a Sat night stay, but less than 25% of the price of an SFO-ORD-SFO run!

I don't know if it's worth it, but I'm going to spend 45 minutes in Wisconson today http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Thanks to the FT member that pointed out the interesting pricing between SFO and MKE on another thread.

-David


[This message has been edited by LIH Prem (edited 11-18-2000).]

The drive is about 90 minutes.

I got this one, too. Spent a couple of hours at the bar at MKE talking over the election with Wisconsinites, then came home. LOTS of miles for $159, with the added triple-mileage offers for upper-tier members. The used book store in the airport is pretty good, too.

Warning to others (since I had to do this one two or three years ago to requalify, too): It is VERY likely you will get delayed at ORD, and end up with a bus trip to MKE, which will most likely screw up any plans you have to do this in a day. Staying over a Saturday night would probably make life a lot smoother.

I'm trying to understand what you did. Are you saying that you were already in SFO, in the midst of a trip, and had a "spare day" before returning to Hawaii? That's what it sounds like. What did you do? Call UA and ask for discount fares to MKE that same day? I would have thought you needed to pay top dollar at the last minute like that. $159 was mentioned. Did you really fly SFO/ORD/MKE/ORD/SFO for $159 at the last minute?

I'm doing a SFO/ORD/GRR (Grand Rapids).

Same cheap price as MKE, but on a 737, instead of one of those little jobs.

$250.

Dan

Yes, I was in the middle of a trip and in SFO, and I had one day to do it, so, no, it wasn't $159 for me.

Yes. it easily could have gotten screwed up, but it didn't this time. In fact, I got upgraded on 3 of the 4 legs of the trip.

Some of the flights between ORD and MKE are on a 737. I flew out and back on one of those. I got off the plane, and went to the same counter and got my boarding passes for the return flight on the same plane before walking around MKE airport for about 20 minutes. I sat in 1C on both legs and talked to the same nice crew. The 67 mile flight never got above 7,000 feet and was handed off from the MKE tower right to ORD approach, I believe.

I also talked election politics with a Wisconsonite on the plane on the way back to ORD http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

-David