anabolism,

Just out of curiosity, where do you live?

The reason I ask is just about any major city is at the most within a couple hours direct flight of a major CA city. The last time I purchased in CA, I flew to Toronto for a 2 hour layover from IAD on UA using MP miles + $5 (note: I allowed a 6 hour layover, and got on an earlier return flight). All said and done it took about 6 hours. The key to this is major city. When you get off the beaten path then it would probably take a whole day.

The nice thing is, and the reason I did it, is then it is done with it and can go on with other things. Instead of continuing to focus on purchasing the ticket, planning and replanning, waiting, posting on FT, etc. I can now spend time planning my next trip... said in the true spirit of FT.