Originally Posted by
pinniped
I don't do the never-leave-the-airport thing. I always find a city that I have an interest in, with the only requirement be that it meets the mileage goals and I'm getting a good value in terms of fares to that city. My recent PIT run would never have made sense as a "pure" MR - the value of the time spent would have been far too high if it was just wasted time.
This is usually me, too. Very, very occasionally I'll fly somewhere just to get the miles, turn right around and fly back, without leaving the airport, but that kind of trip has to net a pretty nice sum of status-qualifying miles at a really nice price to appeal to me.
I'm much more likely to do as
pinniped does and make a mini-vacation out of it. Even if I just get 18 hours somewhere, it's fun, it's exciting, and it makes the overall experience far more valuable.