Welcome to FT. Reading the recent post about an 8% increase in elites and the consequent lowering of some PM's self-esteem, you'd think MQMs came in Crackerjack boxes, but that is sadly untrue.

Your only option is a MR. The best and cheapest way is a close-by webfare. Fly out on Saturday evening and back on Monday morning. Unfortunately, a close-by webfare probably won't be enough since they are (almost?) all non-stops and you need more than two 500 MQM segments. But, there may be something in the 750 mile range for less than $200.

Where can you fly out of? It would be a shame to miss FO by 1500. I'd say it's worth $200, but then I have a $200 DL voucher in my briefcase.