brentski

As it appears that though most of the major airlines are moving towards miles per dollar spent instead of travel/distance based miles, I'm just wondering if Mileage Runs will be a thing of the past soon for anyone without having premier + type qualifications to begin with to receive the Xtra miles that having the status brings?

Will there still be ways to use mileage runs to accrue miles without spending a bundle of money if you're starting out from scratch, without having any 'status'?

For example,someone posted this MR; 17676 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) earned
on a trip from SAN to BKK 6471 Miles earned
719 Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQDs) earned

So,unless you have medallion status to begin with,you're only earning 719 miles,right? (as the trip
only cost $719)

Thanks,
Brentski

Calgary88

Only a handful left in north america...AA AS or some smaller ones.

Boogie711

If you're doing a mileage run to earn RDM, you're already losing. You can buy them for cheaper than that.

Most Mileage Runs are for status EQM, which are not affected by the mileage earning changes.

Pat89339

As this does not pertain to an active deal, I am moving it to the Mileage Run Discussion forum for further reply.

Pat89339
Moderator, Mileage Run Forum

luv2ctheworld

I used to fly purely for RDM as a way to arbitrage for expensive premium awards I wouldn't be able to afford directly (and earn status as an additional perk), but that doesn't work anymore.

If you were trying to achieve the ROI like old times with cheap fares in return for nice perks and award tickets, then no, it doesn't make sense. One used to be able to get transcontinental flights for around $200-$250. With 100% RDM bonus that was around 10K+ RDMs. Ten of those would be a business class ticket to Europe for around $2,500 and you'd get guaranteed midtier status too.

Now, with minimum spending requirements and lower RDM based on fare basis, it effectively takes the value out of that.

However, you could still say it makes since for those on the fringe of the next level, either being $ short or mileage short. It would make sense to put some money in to get to the next level if the ROI is there.

And if you are going after status, the dollar qualification requirement can also make it ineffective (i.e. fly 100K miles but only spend $6,000; still $4,000 short).

But to do it on your own dime and start with nothing doesn't make any sense anymore.

TravelerMSY

MR is worth it for status- but only at the margins.

I personally think you should go one way or the other. Either stay on the status treadmill and go for top-tier every year. Or stay off the status treadmill and just buy the tickets in the cabins you want- either using money or points whatever makes more sense.

s0ssos

After doing a 25k MR (on Delta Y, $850) I don't think MR are worth it. The pain, discomfort. Seriously. If I want miles to redeem I just buy them now (though still debating on status. I did the MR to get status on Alaska, though I already had status on AA).

mikehillwig

I'm a Delta platinum. This year, like the past two years, I will most likely hit the $25k spend on my Delta Amex. That means that I'm not required to spend a certain amount on Delta to keep my status, just earn the MQM/EQMs.

For me, the occasional MR is absolutely worth it, even if it means riding from Boston to Paris in the back of the Airbus.

PaulInTheSky

+1 This. People in FT won't admit it, but I have seen a lot of flyers jumped ship from DL right after the beginning of the year. Why? Because of the every first point, way less RDM to earn, and most people wouldn't be able to redeem for a good INTL premium award without spending a lot on RDMs. What good is it to get $400/$500 or whatever to go all the way to far East when you know you can't get to the upfront all the time? DL had 4 GUCs to essentially make your life a bit easier, but you are still just talking about two INTL trips at most. JFK-LAX/SFO is now on DL's mercy to upgrade you, even for DM. You will have to suck up a lot of recliners in order to get 125k MQMs if you strictly talk about cheap MRs.

+1 for the second point. Let's look at the following:

Upgrades:
1. FCM -> Way less chance.
2. JFK-LAX/SFO chopped off.

What good of a seat one can have? Most often you just end up getting the recliner TCON which is awful.

RDM:
1. No more 125% bonus for DM.

So what is left? SDCs, SkyPriority Boarding, Choice Benefits, GUCs, RUCs, companion upgrades.

If people know that they can get that many RDMs by doing MR, why not? Most people do MRs for MQMs and RDMs. Yes, you can buy them now at lower rates, but if the old rules can get me MQMs and RDMs, why would I buy RDMs outright?

Now, when I fly DL, I will only fly when I absolutely have to, and I won't expect upgrades. Tomorrow will be my first flights of the year. Would have to reconsider the travel pattern for UA starting tomorrow as well.

I have essentially forgot about MRs. Positioning, time spent for commute, risk of IRROPs are just making MRs stressful. For the record, I would not even get the latest UA Europe-US mistake fare even if I had a chance, because you can't get any RDMs back while you are burning your hard earned RDMs from whichever airline to get to Europe first. I just won't do it.

nk15

I agree, MRs are only worth it on AA at this point, or if you're close to status on other airlines. The other function I would consider is if also treated as mini-vacations to a desirable location, meaning at least a couple of days on the ground.

There is a guy on FT that did 6 MRs to HKG in Y in Jan-Feb, some of which nested in each other, for AA EXP from scratch...This is dedication and torture, lol...

krazykanuck

No, you'd earn 719 * 5, which is the multiplier for a no-status member on both DL and UA, going up to 11 if you're Diamond or 1K, respectively.

RustyC

I have voted with my feet on DL, and I think we're in an important period now to see if DL or UA's move will stick or they'll have to retreat from it (lest we forget, legacies have done things before they've had to back off of, like DL's LUser in the late 90s).

IMO it's significant that Spirit and Frontier are both really expanding in ATL this year, roughly tripling their numbers of non-stop flights despite DL's massive operation and Southwest's. Southwest stayed OUT of Atlanta for the longest time because it was such a DL stronghold, only going in by merging with AirTran. The LCCs must have cities like MEM and CVG beating down their doors, yet they're putting bets on a city that's arguably already one of the best served in the country. I have to believe it's due at least in part to DL's FF program no longer offering much to low-fare payers (it used to be a tiebreak when fares were matched) and WN not being its old self in undercutting legacy fares.

Spirit is an interesting case in that if you go all-in with the credit card you *can* book RTs as low as 5K and get as far as DEN or CUN from ATL on that, but sometimes availability is tight and those awards are ONLY available in slack periods covering about a third of the year. I'll soon be doing an ATL-FLL 2-dayer that'll earn son 1190 RDMs, which look better if you can cash in at 5K or even 10K. I've even had cases where I've walked away from award bookings because change or redeposit fees are worth more than the miles.

But even with that most of the action is with the credit card at 2x miles.

So for right now AA is the legacy carrier of choice for me but I'm not pressing as hard as I used to to gain status. My legacy flights tend to be international, anyway.

The whole game has definitely changed in the 24 years or so I've been playing (about 98% on my own dime), but rumors of the demise of everything are so far exaggerated.

Tblack15

I planned over 30k in Jan-Feb, that would have netted me 45k RDM.

I lost 17k due to an IRROP'd HKG MR, because of that I do not see me getting back to Gold.. it's just not worth it.

I rationalized the $700 last year I paid for an MR because of 3 things:

1. Unlimited E+ (I'm 6' 7" and need the bulkhead/Exit Row. I value this a little more than others)
2. RDM (22,500 earned on that MR, worth a good amount)
3. Lounge Access (I was able to Status Match to TK and because I was able to show another year of Gold, I now have domestic & int'l *A lounge access)

But.. my travel patterns have really changed over the past 3 years. I no longer do international for work. I really can't rationalize paying over $1,000 over this year for "just" E+. #2 has been cut 75% and #3 I won't need to worry about until 2017.

Disclaimer: don't quote me, because I actually find MR'ing tons of fun. If in November I'm a few miles short.. I may do it.

edweird

I don't think the old way of MR'ing is worth it anymore on the airlines I have been flying.

Now's the time to use those banked FF miles to go where you want when you want, and just spend to fly what you need to maintain the minimum amount of status you desire (which might be none).

MarylandFlyer244

I wouldn't say it's completely dead. For instance, I did the 90 day status trial with US. As I mostly do short flights from a small airport, I hit status with the segments and not the miles (although I would have ended up doing both, it turned out). I did one 6-segment run to hit US Gold (ie. AA Plat when they combine).
As other posters have said, MRs can be useful, but only in certain situations. Come next winter, if I'm close to AA Plat again, I may do another one. Just don't tell my wife.