Who: Mechanical engineer; I build drilling rigs for a living, primarily for Arctic mega-projects (one in the Russian Far East, currently one in Canada).
When: Squeaked into Gold late this year, on an IAH-EWR leg in November.
How: I've never done an MR. Never had any kind of status until I started traveling for work in 2010; held steady at about 50k a year since then. Had one CO Plat year in the pre-merger days.
Where: IAH/EWR/YYT/YYZ/BOS/YHZ/LHR/OSL/KRS/TPA/FLL/MCO/ATL
Why: I have never, ever in my life been disappointed to be getting on an airplane. My philosophy is either that I'm going (a) somewhere new, (b) somewhere I've been previously and enjoyed, or (c) home. Traveling by plane to any of those three is a good day. I've discovered status has some nice perks (no baggage fees, the occasional upgrade) and I enjoy being able to take my wife with me on business trips with miles when I can. I simply love to be
going.
How: I'm really strategerizing on how to hit 1K next year. There are a ton of travel possibilities to both Europe and Asia in my current position, and I'm hoping to make the best of the opportunity. It's a nice little bonus that out here at the end of the continent we generally have to fly backwards to fly forwards.
