Originally Posted by redwall850
Mileage runners will spend 8-24 hours of time flying around to get miles at one cent per mile but do not think 2.5 cents per mile with no time invested except sitting at a computer making a transaction and paying your credit card is worth it.
If you are doing MR for status, OK I understand this just to top off what you need for status.
If you do it as a hobby because you don't have anything else to do with your time like family, sports, fun stuff, work, OK I understand some people do not have a personnal life.
If you are just trying to accumulate miles then I say stay home and buy the miles you need.
Short
OK. Here's a real life example. I am doing a mileage run on AA (6 Round Trips to/from Dallas for 75,000 miles, total cost $430). It will take two days. Now, I could buy those miles from AA for $1,875. So, the question is, is it worth two days of my time for $1,445 after tax? Depending on my tax bracket, I would have to earn about $2,000 pre-tax to have that much money after tax. So what opportunities do I have to earn $1,000 per day, over and above what I am already earning? Some people will have a lot of opportunities. A busy lawyer could just take additional client, bill the extra work, and pocket the money. Mileage running would have little appeal to him. But someone working for a salary might not have that opportunity to earn $1,000 per day. They might prefer to invest a couple of weekend days to get those miles.
The other answer, of course, is that some people enjoy flying - at least as much as they enjoy the work that they would have to do to get that extra $2,000. Obviously, these people do not get enough flying without the mileage runs to scratch that itch, so they may fly less than some others on this board.
It seems uncharitable to say that people who invest a couple of days a year in mileage runs "do not have a personnal life." Or even a personal life.
Many people have 104 weekend days off per year, plus 10 holidays, plus 10-20 vacation days, so all-told, around 125-135 days off. A couple of days devoted to mileage runs still would leave them plenty of time to enjoy a personal life.