"Are you being punished, sir?" (Bemused UA phone agent reviewing mileage run)
After looking at an itinerary/mileage run I booked (PHL-IAD-SAN-SFO-SEA-IAD-PHL) all within a 24-hour period, the phone agent stated: "Are you being punished, sir?" It was great to have an agent with a good sense of humor.
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Last edited by FlyinHawaiian; Nov 11, 12 at 5:15 am..
Reason: vague thread title
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Quote:
Originally Posted by goldelite8
After looking at an itinerary/mileage run I booked (PHL-IAD-SAN-SFO-SEA-IAD-PHL) all within a 24-hour period, the phone agent stated: "Are you being punished, sir?" It was great to have an agent with a good sense of humor.
After looking at an itinerary/mileage run I booked (PHL-IAD-SAN-SFO-SEA-IAD-PHL) all within a 24-hour period, the phone agent stated: "Are you being punished, sir?" It was great to have an agent with a good sense of humor.
I always have a good laugh with the crazy stuff you MR's do. Very nice response by the agent though. Have fun and lets hope your upgrades clear !!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rpcfly
I always have a good laugh with the crazy stuff you MR's do. Very nice response by the agent though. Have fun and lets hope your upgrades clear !!
Crazy? well yeah, maybe. Sometimes you have second thoughts, this last time is was 2 hours into leg 2 (6 legs total) of my 17,891 mile 52 hour MR, wondering if it all made sense. Thankfully, the feeling passed.
It can start out innocently... you pad your itin with extra segments and/or make sure your SFO-NYC transcons always stop at IAH. And you start talking with your seatmates and discover they do the same thing too (not all of them, but, surprisingly, some that do come in attractive packages, meaning that it's not always men as you'd assume from FT MR discussions).
You progress from 5-segment transcons (no longer possible; anything over 4 gets prohibitively expensive these days) to SFO-ORD red-eyes that let you have dinner at home, head to the airport and be back at work the next morning. You swear you can't stand redeyes, but you survive, and that's a very bad thing.
And from there the next logical step is obvious. SFO-SEA-NRT-SIN-NRT-LAX-SFO. With an FA on the SEA-NRT leg acting sincerely appreciative of your dedication to United.
Lord knows what I do for an encore next year!
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Something I've been curious about...
A few months ago on AA's forum there was a discussion about the elaborate stories people make up to phone agents to "cover" the fact they're doing a MR. I asked why anyone would do that since its nobody's business the reason I'm flying, but never got a straight answer. Someone mentioned it was against the rules once on DL. (sorry I can't find the thread right now).
So My question is, is it a big deal? Has anyone ever run into an agent that didn't *like* what you were doing? I honestly don't know why they would care.
I have an upcoming DFW-IAH-SEA-ANC r/t with less than an hour turn-around time in ANC. I got one of those stupid red messages to call after my UG cleared (rpu), and now I'm hesitant in case they ask me why.
So My question is, is it a big deal? Has anyone ever run into an agent that didn't *like* what you were doing? I honestly don't know why they would care.
I have an upcoming DFW-IAH-SEA-ANC r/t with less than an hour turn-around time in ANC. I got one of those stupid red messages to call after my UG cleared (rpu), and now I'm hesitant in case they ask me why.
No one cares, as long as you are following the fare rules. I've had FAs actually be quite amused at the concept.
So My question is, is it a big deal? Has anyone ever run into an agent that didn't *like* what you were doing? I honestly don't know why they would care.
I've only done one "true" MR (IAD-SFO in the evening and SFO-IAD on the redeye, during DEQM in early December 2009) followed by my normal flight home from IAD in the morning. Since I was within 24 hours of my second flight, I tried to check in (to maximize position on UG waitlist) but the kiosk was giving me issues. I sought help at the customer service counter where they noted the two itineraries and raised their brows at me. "Yes, I'm just doing this for the EQM," I admitted. The agent chuckled, "It's that time of the year..."
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Something I've been curious about...
A few months ago on AA's forum there was a discussion about the elaborate stories people make up to phone agents to "cover" the fact they're doing a MR. I asked why anyone would do that since its nobody's business the reason I'm flying, but never got a straight answer. Someone mentioned it was against the rules once on DL. (sorry I can't find the thread right now).
So My question is, is it a big deal? Has anyone ever run into an agent that didn't *like* what you were doing? I honestly don't know why they would care.
I have an upcoming DFW-IAH-SEA-ANC r/t with less than an hour turn-around time in ANC. I got one of those stupid red messages to call after my UG cleared (rpu), and now I'm hesitant in case they ask me why.
Many of us just think its a ridiculous thing to do but to each his own. I would assume some people cover it up because they are embarrassed. I don't know why as who cares what a phone agent thinks of you. I have a friend on a kind of mileage run now & I would rather spend my time at the dentist then sit on a plane for no reason. Now, that's just me but I assume many who do mileage runs know its not Normal & probable get a little embarrassed when speaking to an agent (not everyone of course ). Just my feeling
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chinatraderjmr
Many of us just think its a ridiculous thing to do but to each his own. I would assume some people cover it up because they are embarrassed. I don't know why as who cares what a phone agent thinks of you. I have a friend on a kind of mileage run now & I would rather spend my time at the dentist then sit on a plane for no reason. Now, that's just me but I assume many who do mileage runs know its not Normal & probable get a little embarrassed when speaking to an agent (not everyone of course ). Just my feeling
It's a little more than that.
Sometimes we look for the awkward routings.
Or we go for compensation for delayed flights/VDB when in reality, we're already at our destination.
In other words, we're silent to protect us from IRROPs. Imagine two flyers on standby, one a normal flight, the other a mileage runner, and the GA knows this. Who's getting on?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by will2288
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think US once had a rule againt MRs.
That's what I heard, and about DL as well, although I don't see how that's possible.
I just wanted to check before I draw attention to it. No, I am not embarrassed what a phone agent or anyone thinks of me -- come on!!!
I for one would rather be in first class, drinking bloody marys and watching movies than sit in a dentist chair, but that's just me
Last edited by chavala; Nov 11, 12 at 2:10 pm..
Reason: typo
