Ditto that nice work Air Brian; but I think he didn't want to spend more than $30,000. Maybe he can spring for the few extra $. This is a great thread. As for the other post about hostility, I don't think there is hostility, just weariness about these similar threads, although no one is forcing us to read them. Perhaps any additional posts about needing miles could immediately be moved to a general thread entitled, "If you need end of year miles, post here or your thread will be immediately moved here." That would eliminate the clutter of these posts. Regardless, CynicalFlyer, and to most who responded, thanks for providing many laughs from this thread, and thanks for the great advice on MRs in FlyerTalk. I'll make GM this year entirely the BIS way with an LAX-AMS-IST run of about 14,000 miles in a few days.