Who: Private equity and real estate investor (invest in and buy companies and RE portfolios.) Left my comfy job doing this to start my own company doing same in Q2 2019. I’ve been UA silver the last few years but will earn platinum this year. My second post on FT after lurking for some time. Happily married for 13 years and have two amazing kids, a 12yo boy and 10yo girl.
When: I’ll get UA platinum when I touch down from ORD=EWR around 10:50am on 12/31/19.
How: travel for work to visit our operating teams, properties, new acquisition opportunities, etc. but also take family leisure trips whenever possible
Where: LAS, SAN, ORD, MSP, HDN, IAH, MIA, ATL, RSW, even DLH and a few others I’m missing. Left a few EQMs out there, as the family went to LHR on BA and CDG on AF.
Why: status is important to me but I’m unsure why. I think it’s because I notice the better treatment I get when I need anything along the way. Airlines run a complicated business, and **** happens, so having status helps get you help.
What: Because my flights are determined by time more importantly than price, I think I may be among the rare winners in the new mileage plus game. EWR is incredibly convenient for me, far more so than ACY, TTN, LGA or JFK, so my flying future is pretty tied to UA anyway. I earned 75% of my PQM after I started my firm, and we are growing fast, so I imagine my status will be 1k next year without attempting to achieve it specifically.