Orwaid

Hi -

When it comes to a MR, I usually choose saving $$ and my back. If I do not get upgraded by the time I wake up to go to the airport, I cancel the trip, redeposit the fare with no fee to my wallet and wait for next time. I keep my EQM around .04/mile, which puts my 75K earnings at about .018/mile, not including the 50K at the end of the rainbow.

jrl767

ctporter

I am based in SEA and do between 80k and 100k a year on employer paid trips - but all are domestic, and mostly on west coast or to the midwest. I actually am considering a MR, but it will be next year when I hit MM. I am hoping to make my qualifying flight one that is NOT work related, and have a weekend to enjoy it.

Eastbay1K

I'm currently "running" on P fares. I ended up close enough to 75K to make it worth it. And I'll rarely go somewhere and just turn around - if I can't relax, see a bit of a place, spend a night, I generally won't go. So I look for appealing(ish) P fares, because I'd rather spend more on fewer trips. Believe it or not, I'd rather go to HNL once in F for a nice 26 hour on the ground stay than twice in Y. (Ok, 1.75 trips.) I don''t calculate CPM and worry about that. I see a fare, I can deal with it or I can't, and I'll buy, or I won't. And I'm falling under 1000 miles short, so I bought a ticket in "R" to/from LAX. If my upgrade doesn't clear, my back shouldn't be that much worse for the wear.

Orwaid

Hi jrl767 -

The way I keep it manageable is by estimating my planned trips for the upcoming year in November (i.e., NOW). In my case it usually comes to 50-60K EQM. By booking 4-5 TCON in the Jan 10-March 10 slow period, I am usually pretty close to 75K again by this time of year.

williwaw

One approach I also use is Chase UR points to book EQM generating travel and sometimes mixed with my work travel. I might just use the UR points straight to purchase a P or S fare. Or if the increment is small between my work paid fare to a fare with CoS, I might use UR points to purchase up to P or S for the CoS. Some might see that as not the best use of Chase points, but I often have a bunch and it is a way to achieve status quicker or higher without spending cash.

VegasGambler

I have lots of Chase UR pts too. I consider 1.5c a pretty poor rate, but, if you have more than you can reasonably spend on better redemptions, it's a lot better then not spending them.

If you stay in hotels on your mileage runs, you might want to consider hyatt transfers. Redeeming hyatt pts at 2c per night is easy (3+ is possible, though tougher). And free nights count towards status. So you might save even more money by paying cash for your flight and using the chase pts for the hotel. mileage run + mattress run = vacation

jrl767

chrisl137

Yes - I was expecting to just renew MVP this year, but I'm pretty close to MVPG, so I'm looking for convenient ways to get an extra 2K miles.

Orwaid

Hi Chrisl137 -

LAX -DAL is one simple RT. Right now pricing out at about $170. If you only need 1900 EQM, a LAX-SEA RT will price out at around $150.

For both, look for the timeframe 12/1-12/15.

milypan

I'm not sure where you're based, but if B6 or DL is a viable option, then you might want to seriously consider those. B6 Mosaic status gets you 38" seat pitch EMS seats for nearly free, and you can earn it with $50k spend on the JetBlue+ card. Even if you need another $20k of spend beyond organic spend, you can pay taxes at 2 cpd, which translates to ~1 EQM + 1 RDM for 2 cents, without having to fly BIS miles. Put differently, after netting out the value of the RDMs, you're buying EQMs at the equivalent of 0.5 cents each (again, without having to actually fly). Good luck finding a MR that gets you that kind of value.

With DL, the AmEx Reserve card earns 0.5 EQM and 1 RDM per dollar, so effectively you can purchase 1 EQM + 2 RDM for 4 cents. This is cheaper than the MR strategies you initially posted, and it's a way cheaper if you assign any non-trivial value at all to your time.

chrisl137

I probably need 1950, depending on how many trips to BOS I have to make for work before the end of the year. If it's two trips then I don't need to make an MR. If I can buy up to first on one leg without it going on the original purchase, it looks like it might just squeak me over the line with only one more trip.

I hadn't thought about LAX-DAL as an option - that doesn't look bad. I do a lot of BUR/LAX-PDX, but the reason I visit PDX will be in LA for most of December, otherwise I'd probably just do a trip via SEA. I was even looking at doing a couple round trips LAX-SJC in a day, but that takes up a lot of extra time between flights. If I can find time for an early December week in Hawaii, that would also take care of it - I still have my free companion pass from signing up for the MP card.

manymanymiles

If my calculations are correct I will be just under 8,500 short of 75,000 miles at the end of this year.

So as we have no plans for the holidays what's the easiest and most cost effective way to get the miles I need?

I am based in southern CA and look forward to your ideas.

Thanks

Flying for Fun

Well if you are only 8.5K away from 75K on AS only flights, we know you are already "Golden." Congrats on achieving that. Are you looking at a strict mileage run or possibly a mini holiday? Do you have a companion certificate? They are great for an almost 2 for 1, if you are mileage running with someone else.

The furthest non-stop you can do from LAX is SJO, San José Costa Rica at 2721 miles. ANC is 2324 from LAX, SEA is 1444 Miles from ANC and LAX is 954 Miles from SEA. A good Solid 10,164 EQM on 5 flights as a circle trip (multi city) itinerary. LAX-SJO, SJO-ANC & ANC-LAX. Of course there are many different permutations.

Ultimately, what I like to do is a mini vacation, use one of my companion certificates and hopefully some U availability to secure F with GGUs.

Within some of cheap markets where the distance is up to 500 miles you still require 17 flights.

James

Orwaid

Hi manymanymiles -

You need two days. Day 1, fly LAX-BOS-LAX. Costs about $250, 5220 EQM. Day 2, fly a triangle trip LAX-DAL-SFO-LAX. Costs around $225, nets 3220 EQM.

That gives you 8440 EQM. Will that put you over the finish line?