I've been lurking here since last fall; never became a member because I didn't feel I had anything to contribute, since I fly only a few times a year. I've learned a lot from this board and have gotten a lot of miles with very little effort, notably

1. Switching long distance carriers. My husband and I have two lines, one in each of our names, so we each took advantage of the NW/Sprint 25,000 mile offer. We will now be switching regularly.

2. Diners Club renewal bonus. I never would have known about it, and I now have 10,000 extra points that will soon become 10,000 BA miles in their upcoming double redemption.

3. ClickRewards/World Wildlife promotion in April. I was already in ClickRewards, but I never check their web site, and would have missed this if someone hadn't posted about it. Since I contribute to World Wildlife anyhow, this was a great bonus.

4. ClickRewards/Starwood double redemption. Something else I would not have known about without this board. It coincided nicely with the World Wildlife promotion.

The above doesn't even mention the enjoyment I get from reading the posts. To cite just one example, Johna's terrific trip report about his flight on the Concorde has got me plotting to get enough miles for that reward.

Finally I feel ready to jump in (re CO international upgrades - that will be my second post). And since I've gotten so many benefits from this board, it didn't seem right just to start posting without first saying thank you to Randy and all of you who contribute. I'm truly awed by so many of you who fly so many miles in your jobs, yet find time to write so many posts.

Thanks to all.