Sorry, not an OG and this will be more than one backdated "note to self"
Borrow, beg, sell everything, whatever it takes to get the AA lifetime Air pass with a +1.
I also seem to recall a promotion where one airline matched the mileage balance of another. Was it KL matching Ansett miles? Literally, free miles IIRC.
Also the AA track-it promotion, would have plopped $50K on that even if it meant racking up cc debt and a few years of 0% balance transfers thereafter.
Finally, booking a bunch of global F redemptions for the first day or so after the US induction into OW. The usual liberal US routings, tons of US domestic F award space and no BA surcharges.
That's not even touching the error fares. Dirt cheap transcons in F on US. Lovely Lebanon, I miss you.