Mileage Run Discussion - New to Mileage Runs (Delta)...

Hate being a newbie on a message board and can see the :roll eyes:. So I apologize in advance.

I've been working on putting together a mileage run for about 4 hours and can't seem to find the deals.

I have to go to Minneapolis in the next couple weeks and I want to put together my first ever mileage run on Delta. I've been trying to figure this out but I'm getting confused and can't seem to find deals. I can travel over two to three days and I am open to traveling Monday through Friday.

I am based in Atlanta, so we have plenty of options to start the trip. I'm open to flying from Atlanta to anywhere and any number of flights to maximize the points and minimize the cost per mile.

Can someone help me put together a mileage run? It is much appreciated.

Welcome! Well, first off, this should probably be in the "mileage run discussions" forum, but I'm sure a mod will come along and move it into the correct place before too long.

You're talking about flying between two of Delta's biggest hubs; normally that would be on direct flights.

I think there are a few ways to try and construct this:

1. Find a cheap destination available from ATL that connects at least one-way through MSP. This depends on how long you need to be in MSP and what the fare says about layover length, as to whether this is feasible or not.

2. Find a reasonably-priced destination XXX and book two tickets:
ATL-XXX-ATL
XXX-MSP-XXX

In general I think this will be difficult because ATL and MSP are both where you want to end up.

Personally, I think your best option to grind out miles is to watch the Mileage Run forum for good deals (especially internationally) and jump on what you find. Mileage running gets harder and harder the more constraints you place on it, so if you have a particular date and place you want to go, I think it's generally unsuitable for an MR (unless you get lucky).

Thank you for the quick reply. I apologize for mis-posting thread. I thought I was in the Mileage Run Forum.

I'm very flexible for the dates. I'm very flexible for the number of flights or where they go. Unfortunately, I definitely have to get from Atlanta to Minneapolis over the next few weeks.

I can see how having to go to a specific place vs just getting in a plane and riding limits my options after you pointed that out. Hopefully, I can put something together. I looked at ATL/LGA/DET/MIN/DET/LGA/ATL thinking that I could hit major hubs that may have cheaper flights with lots of options but that doesn't come up with anything less than $2k+.

I'll keep working on it.

Thanks again.


Welcome! Well, first off, this should probably be in the "mileage run discussions" forum, but I'm sure a mod will come along and move it into the correct place before too long.

You're talking about flying between two of Delta's biggest hubs; normally that would be on direct flights.

I think there are a few ways to try and construct this:

1. Find a cheap destination available from ATL that connects at least one-way through MSP. This depends on how long you need to be in MSP and what the fare says about layover length, as to whether this is feasible or not.

2. Find a reasonably-priced destination XXX and book two tickets:
ATL-XXX-ATL
XXX-MSP-XXX

In general I think this will be difficult because ATL and MSP are both where you want to end up.

Personally, I think your best option to grind out miles is to watch the Mileage Run forum for good deals (especially internationally) and jump on what you find. Mileage running gets harder and harder the more constraints you place on it, so if you have a particular date and place you want to go, I think it's generally unsuitable for an MR (unless you get lucky).

Welcome to FT!

I suggest that you provide exact dates or at least approximate dates for your trip. Otherwise we will be of little help.

How much are you looking to pay for your trip and how far out of the way are you willing to go?

I usually try to look at cheap vacation destinations or other airports that have lots of competition. That way I get the most for my money.

Try to connect through MCO or FLL to see if that helps. Possibly through New York or even Los Angeles or Seattle. Sometimes you can luck out.

The best I have run that I have ever taken was CVG-Greensboro-LAX-CVG for 1/3 the price of a NS CVG-Greensboro. Haven't seen one like that in a while.

Anywhoo, good luck, give us some more info, and Happy Travels!

One more thought. What exactly is your endgame?

Do you want status, miles for a vacation, or something else?

Just combining two replies into one...

My dates are literally open. I need to have a meeting with a vendor of ours in Minneapolis and it is 100% open over the next 3 weeks. Any day can work as long as I can spend enough time in Minneapolis to meet with them for 2-3 hours and get back to the airport.

The reason I am trying to build mileage is to move up levels. I am Silver right now. I'm 16k from Gold. I want to start adding mileage runs to my trips to move up and get lower priced tickets, more perks as I travel more. (I guess I am really addicted to this "medallion idea". :p

One more thought. What exactly is your endgame?

Do you want status, miles for a vacation, or something else?

There's actually a sub-forum of this forum called "Mileage Run Discussion" which would have been the appropriate place. This part of the forum is generally just for posting actual deals.

If you aren't already using it, I recommend searching using matrix.itasoftware.com. This search engine is no-frills but has a great flexible search engine that lets you input multiple additional constraints. For example, in the fields below "departing from" and "destination" you can put in "DL+" to have it only show you options using delta flights with 1+ connections. And on the 'select flights' page if you shift-click the 'sort by price' an extra option shows up to let you sort by CPM.

Also, matrix doesn't understand delta's 500-mile-minimum rule, so for itineraries with many short segments it will incorrectly calculate effective CPM.

How many miles are you looking to get? You should consider carefully what your goal in mileage running is. Ideal CPM for mileage running (these days) seems to be 4.5 and below - 3 used to be the 'ideal' but times are tougher. And that's for Qualifying miles (which have no bonuses other than the fare class bonus if you buy a full fare econ or higher ticket), so ignore any gold/plat/etc mileage bonuses when calculating CPM.

Without a deal, I think a good 'regular' priced fare is (in my opinion) somewhere below 7cpm for international destinations and below 10cpm domestic.

All that being said, PHX looks okay from ATL (8cpm) and there are ~10cpm connections to MSP from there. So with some effort you might be able to stitch something together through PHX. Other people more familiar with the ATL market may have better ideas.

Personally, I'd find the cheapest ticket I could for MSP and save your money and vacation time for a good CPM international run. (But everyone has their own constraints on travel.)


Edited to add:
Oh - if you only need several hours in MSP I would definitely look at your options in forcing a long layover. ATL-XXX-MSP-ATL seems like a pretty good way to go about that.

Good luck on making gold, I think Silver->Gold is the best jump in perks, especially if you travel internationally at all (SkyTeam Elite+ lets you in to partner lounges on INTL itineraries... very nice benefit).

I'd consider combining atrich's idea with some current MRs, such as through SJU*. That would likely get the greatest mileage for the best price.

*Actually, that's looking around $850ish for an ATL > SJU > MSP rt ai, but it does give you a bit over 8k MQMs. That said, I'd see what other MRs are available. Skyscanner.com may help. (It lets you search a given airport to "Everywhere".)

There's actually a sub-forum of this forum called "Mileage Run Discussion" which would have been the appropriate place.

Thread now is in the correct MR Discussion forum after the move from MR Deals.

tcook052
MR Forums Moderator

Hard to find a good pure MR from here in Atlanta... Did a MR a few weeks ago from FLL-DTW-ATL-ONT-ATL-DTW-FLL

Repositioned to FLL using my AirTran credits... Best fares near us here to do a solid MR are out of CLT or FLL, sometimes TPA... Occasionally, TYS or BNA

sometimes, starting at clt can help.....

perhaps a ta can help.....or, you can post the best ticket you have found, & ask for help in the best c/mqm &/or most mi.....

very easy to do.....