Mileage Run Discussion - With DQEM, is a 38,000-mile AA MR from LBB possible?

The wife has been thinking about trying to hit EXP. After all the DQEM bonuses for recent flights have posted she should be around 62,000 for the year. Is it possible to hit EXP with only one MR starting and ending in LBB at a reasonable (obviously debatable) fare, using a weekend in November?

Gonna be real tough if you truly can only travel on a Saturday and Sunday.... you cannot even do Australia or Asia with that restriction.

I should have clarified that part of Friday or part of Monday could also be considered.

After I posted, I saw a similar thread, so apologies for the doubling up. However, not being in one of the easily accessible hubs (being in the boonies in LBB) changes things just a bit.

watch for good fares lax/sfo-jfk....4 trips will do it....if one can sleep on the plane, it could be possible to do 2 in a weekend....good luck....

possible? yes. cost effective? likely not.

you could send her to DEL, detouring to W. Coast on the way back. that would not be cost effective, though, and doing MR's through DEL are rigorous.

The wife has been thinking about trying to hit EXP. After all the DQEM bonuses for recent flights have posted she should be around 62,000 for the year. Is it possible to hit EXP with only one MR starting and ending in LBB at a reasonable (obviously debatable) fare, using a weekend in November?

Having spent a good deal of time looking at MR deals (including cost effectiveness), about the best deal I found on a cost/mile basis was LBB-DFW-FRA-DFW-LBB. (It can also be done through Chicago if extra segs are desirable for whatever reason.) The DFW-FRA is flight 70 on 777, and can be done departing LBB at 12:40 on Saturday, arriving FRA 7:05 Sunday morning, with the return flight 71 departing FRA at 10:30 Sunday morning, getting in to DFW in time to take the 4:20 on in to LBB (or a later flight if you're trying to avoid the turboflops in December). It can be had for ~800ai.

As noted by benzguy80, if price is no object, LBB-DFW-ORD-DEL-ORD-DFW-LBB is I think the longest single destination on AA metal (without monkeying about with the routing to hit every intermediate airport possible), but it's something on the order of $2600 r/t, and totals 17,572 EQM's before doubling (so 35,144 after doubling).

Good luck. :)

Oh, and as a side note ... I booked my MR to FRA for the weekend before Thanksgiving (departing Fri afternoon, getting back Sunday), for about $820ai ... and having checked a bit thereafter, the fares have only gone up marginally. Keep in mind that the AA metal part of the previous reply (in reference to DEL as a destination) is important, as according to the AA email, the DEQM promo only applies to flights on AA metal, and doesn't apply to codeshare/OW partners.

Oh, and as a side note ... I booked my MR to FRA for the weekend before Thanksgiving (departing Fri afternoon, getting back Sunday), for about $820ai ... and having checked a bit thereafter, the fares have only gone up marginally. Keep in mind that the AA metal part of the previous reply (in reference to DEL as a destination) is important, as according to the AA email, the DEQM promo only applies to flights on AA metal, and doesn't apply to codeshare/OW partners.

I myself did an MR to FRA earlier this year, routing myself first to AUS back to DFW. Still, it would take two of these runs. We've been looking at the benefits (obviously the eVIPs are the biggest) and it may not be in the stars this year. At least we have the first two 2010 TATLs already booked, as destination travel and not MRs (one to TXL, one to CDG).

Thanks for the input.

Good luck with this, I'm going to make EXP, travelling to LBB, from Scotland. I'm at 68,600 EQM's and can do it with Two, TALT flights from ABZ to Lubbock, one in the Double Elite period,- Next Week, ABZ,LHR,BOS,DFW,LBB and one outside it, my Christmas trip.

One of the problems this year, my wife and I have found, (she lives in LBB, me in Scotland) is that it's costing me less to fly ABZ(Aberdeen) to LBB, than her from LBB to ABZ. So that's a slight problem for you. You could do two TALT flights, DUB or FRA, will avoid the expensive UK taxes. Sadly not much I can do about that, except defect to KLM, which I don't want to do. (Not that I have anything agains Memphis)

Sorry to ramble on, maybe, I'll bump into you in Lubbock Airport!!!!

Cheers Larry.

The wife has been thinking about trying to hit EXP. After all the DQEM bonuses for recent flights have posted she should be around 62,000 for the year. Is it possible to hit EXP with only one MR starting and ending in LBB at a reasonable (obviously debatable) fare, using a weekend in November? not counting ground time it takes about 72hrs to fly that many miles. can you do it on a week-end? NO

not counting ground time it takes about 72hrs to fly that many miles. can you do it on a week-end? NO

I'm not sure of your maths there Giggy,

She has 62,000 in the bag, so that leaves 38,000 to get, which if done before DEQM runs out on the 15th Dec, leaves 19,000 to actually fly. Given say an average speed of 450mph, this will take, not including ground time,42 hours, though your conclusion is nigh on right, probably difficult to do in a weekend, but not totally impossible.

Cheers Larry.

I'm not sure of your maths there Giggy,

She has 62,000 in the bag, so that leaves 38,000 to get, which if done before DEQM runs out on the 15th Dec, leaves 19,000 to actually fly. Given say an average speed of 450mph, this will take, not including ground time,42 hours, though your conclusion is nigh on right, probably difficult to do in a weekend, but not totally impossible.

Cheers Larry. my bad I thought she had to fly 38k, anyway I doubt she will do it without hitting fare rules that make it too expensive. If she could fly any day any time, no sweat

my bad I thought she had to fly 38k, anyway I doubt she will do it without hitting fare rules that make it too expensive. If she could fly any day any time, no sweat

I just did something very similar this weekend, dept on Firday at noon and returned at 3pm Monday, dfw-nrt-sin-nrt-dfw.I was on the ground in sin for 29 hours. I booked this in early Oct for $912. I earned, 25708 on AA(double) and 6648 on JL code share. That is 32356, you could maybe find a route that gives you a few more miles and then take a day trip on another weekend.

Sorry to ramble on, maybe, I'll bump into you in Lubbock Airport!!!!


A friend of mine came to visit on a segment/mileage run from AUS to LBB last weekend, and I jokingly posted in response to him over on the AA forum that it would likely be the only time on this forum that "mileage run" and "LBB" appear in the same sentence. I see now that I'll have to eat those words. :)

A friend of mine came to visit on a segment/mileage run from AUS to LBB last weekend, and I jokingly posted in response to him over on the AA forum that it would likely be the only time on this forum that "mileage run" and "LBB" appear in the same sentence. I see now that I'll have to eat those words. :)

Actually,earlier this year I routed myself on a short dog-leg run from DFW to AUS and back before reconnecting with a flight to my original destination--a variant of the MR. This routing was at times actually cheaper than the more direct route, in other cases a few bucks more. So, LBB and AUS can appear in the same post as the words "mileage run"! :)

A friend of mine came to visit on a segment/mileage run from AUS to LBB last weekend, and I jokingly posted in response to him over on the AA forum that it would likely be the only time on this forum that "mileage run" and "LBB" appear in the same sentence. I see now that I'll have to eat those words. :)

I ran this by mama. She's not so sure she can stomach that. Platinum is more likely for 2010. Thanks for the input.

Actually,earlier this year I routed myself on a short dog-leg run from DFW to AUS and back before reconnecting with a flight to my original destination--a variant of the MR. This routing was at times actually cheaper than the more direct route, in other cases a few bucks more. So, LBB and AUS can appear in the same post as the words "mileage run"! :)

A few years back, I had to travel to Richmond on my dime for volunteer work I do for a nonprofit, and when I priced the LBB-DFW-RIC routing, it came in at well over $700. So I priced a LBB-DFW-AUS ticket with an AUS-DFW-RIC ticket nested, and that came out to about $500ai. I just had to crash with friends down there overnight on the return leg ... and with the segments, I made GLD for the first time. :D

Sorry taking a pair of MR's isn't feasible for you ... but perhaps I'll run into you in the airport sometime. I keep FT tags on my bags, although I admit that I tend to take advantage of Lubbock's status as a 20-minute airport a bit more than I should ...

AABuzzard and Arc, Can you answer this for me, LBB is I think called Preston Smith International Airport......... I've never seen an international flight or a customs officer.......

A. Have I dreamt the airport's name.
B. Can you you fly somewhere international.
C Are there Customs and Immigration Officers there?

Just wondering.

Cheers Larry.

AABuzzard and Arc, Can you answer this for me, LBB is I think called Preston Smith International Airport......... I've never seen an international flight or a customs officer.......

A. Have I dreamt the airport's name.
B. Can you you fly somewhere international.
C Are there Customs and Immigration Officers there?

Just wondering.

Cheers Larry.

To the best of my knowledge, there are no customs facilities in the commercial section of the airport. That being said, it could be that general aviation has some facilities so that you could fly your Cessna in from Mexico or leave for Canada. Dunno.

Yeah, I've always had to smile about the "International Airstrip" designation....

AABuzzard and Arc, Can you answer this for me, LBB is I think called Preston Smith International Airport......... I've never seen an international flight or a customs officer.......

A. Have I dreamt the airport's name.
B. Can you you fly somewhere international.
C Are there Customs and Immigration Officers there?

Just wondering.

Cheers Larry.

[thread drift]
(A) The technical full name is "Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport"
(B) The rationale that has been explained to me behind the "international" moniker is alternately that one can connect directly to an international flight (out of DFW) or because there's potential to travel internationally via general aviation or charter flight.
(C) There is not a Customs office out of the terminal proper; however, long, long ago, back in the dark ages when I was a Civil Air Patrol cadet, there was a customs office over on the general aviation side. I strongly suspect that whatever space may have been set aside for Customs has been taken over by Chapparal Aviation, like almost everything else on the Eastport side of things ....
[/thread drift]