Believe it or not, there are people out there who do MRs but don't participate in -- or even know about -- FT. Last year during a 2-hour ANC turn, it seemed like half of F was filled with FTers. On the way back, we noticed a couple of people from the way there! It was obvious what they were doing, but when asked about it, denied ever hearing of FT.

Frankly I'm not surprised. Years ago, the first time I came close to status but missed it by a few hundred miles, it occurred to me that a quick trip to "nowhere" would be worth it for the benefits of status. I ended up not taking the trip for other reasons, but the "logic" made sense to me even pre-FT.