You need 60 segments for Platinum! How do you fly so often? Are you a consultant who flies every week?

Thank you for those deals! I live in NYC but I have family in Hawaii so I may try to do that CI deal during the end of the year plus reach Hawaii for some mileage runs. However what is AZ? and l/h biz fares? Aitalia? So class l or H business class fares?

Segments to make platinum don't work if most of my flights are hub to hub like JFK to CDG.

Respectively, Alitalia and long-haul business class fares.

G

It doesn't matter if you depart from a hub, or are bound for a hub; segment runners shun direct itineraries. Delta has multiple hubs; so does AFKL. Instead of JFK-CDG, what about JFK-BOS-CDG? Or JFK-DTW-AMS-CDG?

As someone who qualified on segments last year ... no, you don't need to fly every week. If you take a 1-stop itinerary, you only need 15 return trips.

I had a number of professional trips:
- BRU-AMS-FRA-AMS-BRU: 4 segments
- ZWE-AMS-LCY-AMS-ZWE: 4 segments
Then a few private trips to Italy, such as:
- BRU-AMS-LIN-FCO-BRU or
- BRU-AMS-LIN-AMS-BRU

and a few random flights, with only 1 intercontinental trip.
Yes, it's a choice, but it got me there:

- 60 segments (4 from the Dutch Amex Gold)
- 40'376 EQM, including 9'271 rollover, some from Amex spend and 15'853 from 1 intercontinental trip

My 60th segment was on December 26th, credited on December 31st, earned from 17 roundtrips :)

My travel to FRA continues for the foreseeable future, so I could very well requalify for Platinum this year.

Cheers,

GenevaFlyer

I ditched the FB Amex years ago...I wasn't aware that it now gave Level Miles in addition to Award Miles!

Fan and all as I am of air travel, I think you should instead consider BRU-FRA by train :D

Only for spend with AF/KL, so no major numbers for me, since my business trips are paid by the company directly.

Amazingly enough, even with the indirect route, it's faster for me to fly than to take the train (need to get to Gare du Nord or Gare du Midi first, while I'm at the airport in 15 minutes by car). But yes, I've done the train as well, or the occasional direct flight on LH to work on maintaining my A3 Gold status.

Cheers,

GenevaFlyer

Surely the amazing current offer fare of €999 over in the Mileage Runs forum counts as a potential mileage run:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/premi...er-thread.html

I managed to work out 8 segments on that offer last night, although I didn't book it. Pushed it up to around €1,400 or so. In theory, if you play around with it (on expedia for example) and you manage to transit both CDG and AMS, then that makes 6 sectors to and from one of those Chinese airports. If you fly on the offer to XMN, to can continue on Xiamen Airlines and pick up further segments. I was considering a separate ticket onwards from XMN, but I imagine a decent TA could put the whole thing on one PNR, thus protecting you from irrops. Internal flights in China seem to be pricy, though. I am floundering a bit here, relying on FT for advice, for I have no experience with flights in China whatsoever.

Be aware that you almost certainly will need to apply for a visa for any such trip to China.

Indeed, but I was hoping to profit from the 72 hours visa free option, with an onward connection within that time. But I am unsure as to whether XMN has a 24 hour rule instead of 72 hours, or whether a separate onward ticket on a different PNR would cause problems, or whether booking a multistop onward itinerary (e.g. with MU via Shanghai) would be allowed because presumably going via another destination (even in transit) within China would not be allowed. I believe the visa free rule means you can't leave the city of transit, so an onward connection with a further transit would not be allowed.

Dumb question, how easy is it to get a Chinese visa for a short visit?

I concluded that real Mileage runs are not worth it unless you have the Flying Blue Platinum AMEX Card (only for French and Dutch residents). Unfortunately my FICO score at present of 670 - 690 ish will not allow me to get it and also I would need a Dutch or French bank account.

Segment runs are the only cost-effective way to achieve status on flying blue.

You do not need to be a Dutch or French resident, you just need to have a bank account in the respective countries.

Yes but the banks will not let you open an account unless you have a permanent address in the country. They will not let you use the address of a temporary location.

Also if I stay in France for 3 months - renting a pre-furbished flat there - and move back to the US will I be able to keep my bank account with BNP Paribas or any other French bank?

Who told you that?

Non resident accounts are meant for which purpose then?

See Above.

However many banks will refuse to open a bank account to US citizens and are asking for existing ones to be closed.

If you are a Swiss citizen:


National Switzerland (CH) /Embarkation Switzerland (CH)
Destination China (People's Rep.) (CN)

[Visa Information - Destination] China (People's Rep.) (CN)

[Information For Normal Passports]
Passport required.
- Passports and/or passport replacing documents must be valid
on arrival.

Visa required, except for A max. stay of 15 days for holders
of normal passports issued to nationals of Switzerland
arriving at Haikou (HAK) or Sanya (SYX) and traveling on an
organized tour [[TIDFT/CN/VI/VS/ID50577]]
Visa Issuance:
- Holders of normal passports can obtain a prearranged visa on
arrival for a max. stay of 3 months at Beijing (PEK),
provided: [[TIDFT/CN/VI/IS/ID43086]]
- Holders of normal passports can obtain a prearranged visa on
arrival for a max. stay of 1 month at Chengdu (CTU), Fuzhou
(FOC), Shanghai (Hongqiao (SHA) and Pudong (PVG)) or Xiamen
(XMN), provided: [[TIDFT/CN/VI/IS/ID43088]]
(SEE NOTE 53943)
NOTE 53943: A visa and invitation letter is not required
for a stay of max. 5 days when arriving at and departing
from Xiamen (XMN). Passengers must remain in Xiamen city
for the whole duration of stay.
- Holders of normal passports can obtain a prearranged visa on
arrival at Chongqing (CKG), Guangzhou (CAN), Guilin (KWL),
Haikou (HAK), Kunming (KMG), Qingdao (TAO), Sanya (SYX),
Shenzhen (SZX), Weihai (WEH), Xi An (XIY) and Yantai (YNT),
provided: [[TIDFT/CN/VI/IS/ID43089]]

- A visa can be obtained on arrival at Hangzhou (HGH), for
tourist groups of travel agencies belonging to the Zhejiang
Province, for a max. stay of 1 month. Fee: CNY130.-.
Visa required, except for Holders of normal passports issued
to nationals of Switzerland can obtain a visa on arrival for a
max. stay of 15 days at Haikou (HAK) or Sanya (SYX), if
holding [[TIDFT/CN/VI/IS/ID57510]]
Minors:
- Passport not required for children travelling with a parent
or guardian, provided[[TIDFT/CN/PA/MI/ID46116]]
- WARNING! In accordance with European Union (EU) Legislation,
all minors who are nationals of Switzerland will be expected
to hold their own passport or National ID Card (where
applicable) when departing from Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus,
Romania or a Schengen Member State [[TIRGL/SCHN]].
- An individual visa is not required for children travelling
on the passport of a parent or guardian, provided
[[TIDFT/CN/VI/MI/ID46117]]
Additional Information:
- Travel on a one-way ticket is accepted. However, visitors
are required to hold proof of sufficient funds to cover
their stay and documents required for their next
destination.
- Valid visas or resident permits in expired passports are
accepted, provided holding valid passport of the same
nationality.
- When a visa is used, a round entry stamp is placed in the
passport [[TIDFT/CN/VI/AI/ID45077]]
- Passengers traveling to Tibet must hold a special Tibet
Entry Permit.

Thank you very much, very interesting info indeed. Actually, I'm British, but I suppose more or less the same rules will apply. I am trying to keep my connection in Xiamen down to less than 24 hours (actually arriving at 10h25 and leaving the next day at 10h10) and everything on the same ticket, so hopefully there won't be too many problems there.

These AFKL business fares, if you can build a number of sectors into the trip, make mileage running a viable option here! I can get 6 sectors on the same trip for about €1,170, and only the longhaul segments seem to book into Z, whereas the European segments book into J (which yield a lot more miles, I think). I have no idea what Xiamen Airways will book into.