Mileage run guru wanted
 

Is there an AC mileage run guru out there who would enjoy a challenge? I would love to talk with someone who knows their way around, as I try a (frankly, insane) idea out. :)

PM me if you would be interested in helping/mentoring me as I sketch things out.

Thanks,
T

Why not just post? Plenty 'gurus' around.

Is it a secret? I want to know! Or maybe it's YQ dumping... hm... :o
One more thing: why would you run for Aeropesos? :confused:

Come on now share as why have one expert when you can have several hundreads ^

Paging Margarita Girl !

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She's already receiving travel agent requests in the SPG forum

I figured my idea might be so crazy as to be met with derision :)

Wanted to bounce it off an expert first.

It still may be crazy ;)

Either way you will be judged; might as well post it here to maximise feedback; perhalps many people have better ideas than 1...

By definition, people on FT are not normal relative to society at large. Your idea may be crazy by normal standards but may not be by FT ones.

I suggest you just post and get the benefit of the FT Collective working for you.

^^^

OP, the crazier it is, the better! You must realize this "support group" we have going here exists in part because it makes us feel better about our own crazy obsessions...

Make sure u have a chiropractor handy

Many of us here are nuts anyways. I have done so many mileage runs, runs that scare off others or won’t even be consider by some which I have been “criticized” or made fun of by others, but hey it does not faze me as when I become supreme commander of Earth, I will remember these people :D.

Life is too short, got to have fun and experience what you can and don’t let those who are afraid of living life scare you off. :)

Share

This is a forum where purchasing $3100 of chocolate pudding or flying YVR-YUL via MEX is not only considered rational, but virtuous.

You'll have a hard time coming up with a scheme that anyone would think was "crazy."

I can vouch for that... I upgraded Herpa on FIVE flights to get him from one large Canadian city to another large Canadian city!

Okay... you've convinced me. :D

So here's what I'd like to find:

A mileage run that would allow me, over the course of two or three long (Friday-Tuesday if need be) weekends in January & February, to earn 50K.

I'm based in YQR, BTW, which makes the planning and connecting extra fun.

I'd love to concentrate in Europe as I've travelled extensively there. Making hops back and forth to Paris would be fine by me. Stop for dinner, come home next morning :)

I'd prefer to do most of the flights on AC metal, as I still have some e-upgrade points I could try to use on one or more of the legs.

But finding routings at low(ish) cost and making sure I'm on *A partners that offer 100% status miles is the trick.

And yes, I know there will be a cost :)

Any suggestions of routes and fares that might fit the bill?

Thanks all!

"Low(ish) cost" and "AC Metal" don't belong in the same paragraph. If you want 50K in only 2 or 3 trips, Europe is out. You're better to look to Asia/Africa/Australia. After all, YYZ-LHR is only 8k(ish).

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The standard high mileage run for eastern Canada used to be ORD-SIN on UA. (The SIN run.). But with only 2 weekend left in the year you're kinda late.

Hadn't thought too seriously about SIN before, but that's certainly a way of racking up points in a hurry.

I'm doing this in January & February so there's still time. :)

He's looking for 2013. OP: I tried YQR to ICN... But alas... that's a Tango run. If you want 100% status miles, you're pooched to do it for under $2k. If you could do a positioning run it would be easier, but this going back and forth to Regina thing is going to kill you.

You can do UA via ORD to HKG or NRT for around $1100, but the price of Aerolotto is twice that.

By the way... If you do YQR to HKG via ORD on UA 3 consecutive weekends, its 52k.

I tried to do it twice and threw in a run to Paris for your dinner date, but it only spits out 45k.

And not to be a REAL Debbie Downer, but even if you could find a reasonably priced AC metal fare, for most of these routes your ecredits would probably be useless... I understand they're incredibly tough upgrades.

I know. Tried it a few times this past year, and only got one seat once (not too good when the better half doesn't get upgraded too!). ;)

Does HKG or SIN require special travel docs? Or is it easy to do a MR there? (Don't want to get stuck in the Hooscow) ;)

No special requirements. It's easy to get in and out of HK on the Airport Express if you want to spend some time there.

Air Canada will sometimes let you run YQR-YVR-LHR and you can certainly run YQR-(YEG|YYC)-LHR but you'd still need to do those a few times to get enough miles.

If you need 50K miles, two trips to Sydney/Melbourne plus another 10K-ish will do it. Long way to go for a long weekend though, when the trip down there is almost 24 hours. You can go Friday night on Air Canada through Vancouver with only a one-ish hour connection at YVR, but the second Vancouver flight doesn't run every day and the fare is not attractive (and you'd need Tango Plus, at a higher cost, to get full miles).

Too bad you didn't take advantage of the UA fare in F. They had MIA or BOS to PEK or PVG for $3K on an A fare. With COS you could have made the 50K in 2 runs and wouldn't have needed any eCerts at all.

Anyhow, it's worth considering EZE in addition to Asia. I agree with others that Europe is too short a hop to get to 50K efficiently. (Unless you travel on Z fares and get COS. For example, check out PHL-CDG on US.)

If you loosen the AC metal requirement, you could find some interesting routes in the US. Someone also posted recently some hidden city routes such as YYC-YYZ-DFW.

The HKG idea sparked this thought:

YQR-ORD-HKG & ret = 17568 UA
YQR-ORD-HKG & ret = 17568 UA
YQR-YYZ-CDG & ret = 10028 AC
YQR-YYC-SFO-LAS-SFO-ORD-YQR = 5354 AC
-------
50518

I am doing a MR
YYZ-LHR-SIN return on SQ $2368 for 20600 miles in Feb. due to time constraint.

If you have time, you can try
YQR-ORD-SIN-NRT-LAX-YQR on UA $1578 for 20682 miles

MR's from YQR
 

IF you have never done a MR, I don't suggest starting with Asia!
My 1st MR was to CPH and I then moved on to TUS, PHX, & LAS. IST is next.
In the MR forum, there are good deals to HNL (from YYC on AC metal), also ANC via SEA.
Most of my MR's are on UA. I check their site daily, as they undersell AC! Pay close attention to fare codes! (I 1st bought IST on LH, then I realized the fare did not include status miles, and cancelled using the 24 hour rule!)
I don't get too concerned about flying on AC metal......the min re-qualifier is only 10K, which you can get with one trip to the continent. Also, AC is not exactly fertile ground for MRs! From YQR, you are going to need to take some re-positioning flights anyway (ORD, LAX, DEN, etc.) so use these to re-qualify/use up e-upgrades.

Well, you're in luck. There will be a gathering of the crazies (also known as a "Do") in Singapore on the weekend of Jan 18th-20th. See this link for details.

I've managed about 40k in the first two months of the year a couple of times, it's not that hard!

I'm doing my first MR next week to get me to SE. I found that traveling PHL-YYZ-LHR is 1/3rd the price as YYZ-LHR so I am taking a positioning flight booked on AE. BTW my trip is almost completely covered by vouchers I received for cancelled or bumped flights.

Wuss!

I've managed 45K in the last 10 days of December.

This thread got me looking. In 2006 I got to 68k by the end of Feb and I've had many two-month periods with 50k actual miles. So the OP isn't as crazy as he thought - or we are crazier.

The DEN and ORD flights from YQR are on UA metal, so no eUpgrading.

Tedgrrrrrrrrrr (how many rs? :) ) has had luck flying AC metal YQR-YYZ-LAX at good fares though.

OP - still think your idea is crazy? :p

Apparently I'm not as crazy as I'd feared. :)

I'll start hunting around and trying to figure out the fare codes for 100% status miles on UA. That's my biggest worry right now -- booking something and finding out I won't get credit for it!

Please keep this thread going. Lurkers are benefiting. Yes, you are probably ALL crazy but thanks for not doing it by PM.

Now this scared me a little :)

I was considering just going, checking into a hotel for a day, resting and then flying home.

Workable? Or does one run into issues with customs/borders etc typically when making mileage runs?

Or were you just referring to the length of the flights?

I've done MRs before, but never for this many miles at once. Just YQR-YYZ-MIA, or YQR-YYC-FRA-TLS on a whim to make up some extra points.

Just make sure that you meet the 5 AC segments/10k AC status miles requirement (since I am assuming that you are starting fresh for 2013)!

Right. I checked on that and should meet that requirement with no prob.

Thanks for the heads-up! I'm learning a lot as I go here.