Sage advice from AeroWesty. To any of you sitting on the fence regarding the cost of a mileage run this time of year, I should imagine you're all well aware of the benefits of reaching that carrot at the end of your stick. If, like NWR, I were looking forward to "a lot of domestic travel next year" plus some international travel, this investment would be a no brainer.

Finances and time become a lot tighter for those who wait until the end of the year to address their mileage shortfalls. Christmas brings its own set of expenditures and sometimes even travel plans, so consider yourself fortunate if you still have both the time and money to knock off a mileage run. Complicating matters is that the likelihood of finding low fares during the last three weeks of December is almost impossible for those that don't start looking until December.

If the status and the benefits associated with elite status are truly important, monitor your current and future travels throughout the year. As with any business, anticipation and good planning go a long way towards success. If extra mileage might be needed, you'll find that being alert to great fare sales and taking advantage of them whenever they might occur can save you a lot of money as opposed to waiting until December when you may have neither the time nor the money. There are plenty of well-established tools here at Flyertalk to assist you.

Again, for those of you desiring guaranteed status next year, the time to act is NOW.

Carpe diem quam minimum credula postero
"Seize the Day, putting as little trust as possible in the next day"