As I reviewed all the posts, It occurred to me that the actual "flight miles" I accumulate are really only a small potion of the miles I build up each year.

For instance, being ALASKA MVP Gold, I get double miles. So I take a 45 minute flight from Seattle to Portland and get 500 (minimum) flight miles, plus 500 MVP GOLD bonus miles, plus, 250 internet booking bonus miles, plus 250 E-ticket miles, plus 500 kiosk checking miles. TOTAL = 2000 miles for a 150 mile trip. Go home at night (same deal) = 4000 TOTAL MILES PER DAY TRIP. OH, plus whatever credit card miles you got for buying the ticket.

BOTTOM LINE: Flew a total of 1-1/2 hour and ended up with 4160 miles. Not Bad.

If it is "ALL ABOUT MILES" for you, it is important to develop an integrated program which considers your idividual needs and then coordinates all the resources--flight miles, bonus miles, credit card miles and any other little tricks that work for you, i.e., true rewards, flower power, blah blah blah, whatever.

CAVEAT--Marriott Rewards is a lot better deal for FFs than Marriott Miles. Save 'em up--its the real deal.