When, and what was the first mileage run you ever did?
Apr 6, 2017, 5:54 pm
#31
Senior Moderator, Moderator: Community Buzz and Ambassador: Miles & More (Lufthansa, Austrian, Swiss, and other partners)
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: 150km from MAN
Programs: LH SEN** HH Diamond
Posts: 29,526
My first and the only true mileage run was Lufthansa Private Jet promotion in 2010. Any cross-border return flights earned 105k M&M award and status miles for 1863 Euro. I flew VIE-BTS-VIE (distance of 30 miles 
), VIE-BUD-VIE, ZRH-KLU-ZRH and ZRH-MUC-ZRH over two weekends and collected 420k miles. Added to the miles I already had it was enough for HON Circle (M&M's highest) status which came with upgrade vouchers for 3 longhaul flights, access to LH's First Class Lounge/Terminal in FRA and MUC and other perks for 2.5 years.
Here are threads in the LH forum about the promo including reports by FTers who took part.
Its May 1..anyone start the LHPJ mileage run?
Finished the HON LHPJ run.. an AMAZING experiece
), VIE-BUD-VIE, ZRH-KLU-ZRH and ZRH-MUC-ZRH over two weekends and collected 420k miles. Added to the miles I already had it was enough for HON Circle (M&M's highest) status which came with upgrade vouchers for 3 longhaul flights, access to LH's First Class Lounge/Terminal in FRA and MUC and other perks for 2.5 years. Here are threads in the LH forum about the promo including reports by FTers who took part.
Its May 1..anyone start the LHPJ mileage run?
Finished the HON LHPJ run.. an AMAZING experiece
Apr 7, 2017, 3:25 am
#32
Join Date: May 2016
Posts: 2,494
8 bottles of Dom from LAX-BKK on SQ in F
Apr 7, 2017, 3:24 pm
#33
Join Date: Oct 2016
Programs: AA: EXP / AS:MVP75k / Hilton: Gold / Marriott Gold
Posts: 31
My first was October 2015 to Barbados. I received an AA EXP promotion for 25,000 EQM so I took 2 J flights to BGI and POS within a month.
Total cost was about $1,600 for the 8 SWUs.
Total cost was about $1,600 for the 8 SWUs.
Apr 7, 2017, 7:56 pm
#34
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2014
Programs: Top Tier with all 3 alliances
Posts: 11,715
On the contrary, I don't think I will be able to do TPAC in coach, I think I will go crazy. Now if I had a empty three-seater in Y, that's different, but that's a huge gamble.
Apr 7, 2017, 9:55 pm
#36
Join Date: May 2016
Location: Chicago, IL
Programs: AA EXP, HH Diamond, Marriot Plat, SPG Plat, AS MVP 75k Gold, Wyndham Diamon, Caesar's Diamond,
Posts: 77
2016 ORD-LGA-DFW-NRT-CGK-NRT-DFW-LGA-MIA-TPA. Flew a different airline home.
Two weeks later I did: ORD-LGA-DFW-LAX-HKG-CGK-NRT-DFW-LGA-DFW-NRT-CGK-NRT-DFW-LGA-ORD 73k miles in one month. 2/3 in one week.
Two weeks later I did: ORD-LGA-DFW-LAX-HKG-CGK-NRT-DFW-LGA-DFW-NRT-CGK-NRT-DFW-LGA-ORD 73k miles in one month. 2/3 in one week.
Apr 8, 2017, 9:03 pm
#37
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: CGK/KOA
Programs: AA ExPlat HH Diamond
Posts: 1,684
Mine was the one way CO or UA (can't remember which one published it) from EWR-SEA with pretty much unlimited stops. Think I did EWR-IAH-HNL-ORD-OGG-SFO-DEN-IAH-SEA. All under 300 USD. Was a 1K at the time, upgraded each leg except the IAH-HNL.
Apr 14, 2017, 9:36 pm
#40
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Bangkok, Thailand. No longer Palm Coast, FL though still exiled, again, from the Bay Area.
Programs: Only the good ones
Posts: 5,153
1982-ish. TWA had a promo where if you flew 5 segments and 5,000 miles, you earned a domestic RT First class ticket. Yes, you read it correctly. I figured out that SAN-LAX-STL-JFK-STL-SAN came in at 5,043 miles. We talked friends into coming with us and had an awesome weekend in NYC. We used our free tickets for Hawaii and they used theirs for Alaska.
Apr 15, 2017, 1:51 am
#41
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: SEA once more (previously CDG and NRT)
Programs: Former DL DM and UA 1k, now a J class free agent (UA Gold, AS MVP Gold)
Posts: 2,451
Depends on your definition of mileage run.
If you define a mileage run as an immediate turn (no time at destination), I've never done it.
I don't agree with that definition. If you define a mileage run as a trip that the only reason you booked it was for the miles (my preferred definiton), I have taken one.
October 2001 - Post 9/11 there was lots of bonus miles on offer. I booked UA SEA-LAX-NRT-SIN/SIN-NRT-SEA for my wife and I with 3 days in Singapore. Between the bonus for being a 1P and the bonus miles offered, It was a 5x mileage multiply, resulting in earnings of over 80k miles (enough for a free business class ticket to Europe). Had never been to Singapore (or anywhere in Asia for that matter) and didn't really have a reason for going there, but 5x miles was too good to pass up. Did this despite the fact that about 10 days later that month I already had a vacation booked: SEA-NRT/NRT-PEK/PEK-NRT-SEA.
Airfrare was roughly $550 round trip per ticket, if I recall correctly.
My SEA-LAX flight was oversold by almost 50.
They were desperate for volunteers. I knew that there were lots of seats available on the UA SEA-NRT flight later that day that got to NRT at the same time as LAX-NRT (thus allowing us to make our onward connection to SIN). Got $600 each in vouchers and rebooked onto SEA-NRT-SIN.
When we arrived in SIN, we had no luggage (as it was sitting in LAX). So we got an allowance to go clothes shopping.
Requested and received original routing credit for SEA-LAX-NRT-SIN instead of SEA-NRT-SIN, so in the end we did quite well for our $550 tickets:
600 in vouchers each
80k+ miles each
free new clothes
I did book an immediate turn mileage run for my wife in 2002 to help her retain her 1P status: SEA-GEG-SEA.
Only subsequent thing I've done that is close to a mileage run is in 2005 I needed to fly NRT-FCO. All Logical routings were about the same cost as doing the following: NRT-JFK-LHR-FRA-FCO/FCO-FRA-ORD-NRT. We flew that much longer routing and upgraded all the longhaul legs using UA SWUs.
If you define a mileage run as an immediate turn (no time at destination), I've never done it.
I don't agree with that definition. If you define a mileage run as a trip that the only reason you booked it was for the miles (my preferred definiton), I have taken one.
October 2001 - Post 9/11 there was lots of bonus miles on offer. I booked UA SEA-LAX-NRT-SIN/SIN-NRT-SEA for my wife and I with 3 days in Singapore. Between the bonus for being a 1P and the bonus miles offered, It was a 5x mileage multiply, resulting in earnings of over 80k miles (enough for a free business class ticket to Europe). Had never been to Singapore (or anywhere in Asia for that matter) and didn't really have a reason for going there, but 5x miles was too good to pass up. Did this despite the fact that about 10 days later that month I already had a vacation booked: SEA-NRT/NRT-PEK/PEK-NRT-SEA.
Airfrare was roughly $550 round trip per ticket, if I recall correctly.
My SEA-LAX flight was oversold by almost 50.
They were desperate for volunteers. I knew that there were lots of seats available on the UA SEA-NRT flight later that day that got to NRT at the same time as LAX-NRT (thus allowing us to make our onward connection to SIN). Got $600 each in vouchers and rebooked onto SEA-NRT-SIN.When we arrived in SIN, we had no luggage (as it was sitting in LAX). So we got an allowance to go clothes shopping.
Requested and received original routing credit for SEA-LAX-NRT-SIN instead of SEA-NRT-SIN, so in the end we did quite well for our $550 tickets:
600 in vouchers each
80k+ miles each
free new clothes
I did book an immediate turn mileage run for my wife in 2002 to help her retain her 1P status: SEA-GEG-SEA.
Only subsequent thing I've done that is close to a mileage run is in 2005 I needed to fly NRT-FCO. All Logical routings were about the same cost as doing the following: NRT-JFK-LHR-FRA-FCO/FCO-FRA-ORD-NRT. We flew that much longer routing and upgraded all the longhaul legs using UA SWUs.
Apr 15, 2017, 8:59 am
#42
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2014
Programs: Top Tier with all 3 alliances
Posts: 11,715
My first and only true MR with immediate turn was ORD-MSP-DEN 4 years ago on DL to renew Gold, lol... Other than this lots of short mini-trips for sightseeing and miles/status, but never a true MR with immediate turns.
Apr 18, 2017, 12:23 am
#43
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: ORD
Programs: UA, AA, Marriott, National, Sixt
Posts: 749
My first was 2010! I flew PIT-YYZ-ZRH-YYZ-PIT. Flew out Saturday and was back home on Sunday. On the way back, flight was half empty so I had the entire middle row in Y where I slept. Total fare paid was $354 
Apr 18, 2017, 4:13 am
#44
Join Date: May 2016
Posts: 2,494
This weekend, I spent just over $600 SGD for SIN-KUL-BKK-MEL and back. Landed around lunch, walked around Melbourne, had a nice dinner, went back to airport and headed off for my return. I do a lot less flying nowadays, so I had a free weekend and made sure I will get *G for 2018 now.
Apr 18, 2017, 4:14 am
#45
Join Date: May 2016
Posts: 2,494
This weekend, I spent just over $600 SGD for SIN-KUL-BKK-MEL and back. Landed around lunch, walked around Melbourne, had a nice dinner, went back to airport and headed off for my return. I do a lot less flying nowadays, so I had a free weekend and made sure I will get *G for 2018 now.