jonnyz1245

Thanks for that James. If I can find dates that work, I am all over this routing.

pbd456

how is an expired deal going to help you?

Flying for Fun

And what, may I ask, has that to do with your incorrect anslysis of half an itinerary is Y with two fare basis? Funny how people who can't refute feel the necessity to jab back with irrelavence rather than acknowledge they were incorrect. Simple Mathematics says you are wrong. This isn't statistics we are discussing.

James

pbd456

I was wrong about your trip. 42% in Y including some long haul is probably unacceptable to some people for mileage running so that one can earn miles to fly business class.
(In order to have enough miles to fly business class in order to not fly economy, I need to take some long haul flight in economy). does it make sense to everyone?

I am sure you follow the thread, i was wrong about your trip. but there are other combination that has 2 fare basis only icn-> scl, scl -> tyo that would work similarly with one half fare basis in Y and one half fare basis in J. obviously, it is my fault that I ddidnt pay attention to how you book the trip since I dont really have any interest in doing anything that involve long haul Y (at least for now) [hopefully forever!]

(i didnt evern consider doing sin lax deal since it has 2 10 hours flight in Y)

I just find this interesting that people are willing to take long haul Y for mileage running so that they can save the change fee to fly J or F instead of Y and PE when booking with miles. it seems that the Y flying is just being shifted.

jonnyz1245

About the same as any contribution you have made to this thread from the beginning?

Flying for Fun

Really? It was an illustration of what is possible. It isn't even my best mini-vacation (I make a holiday out of them so I don't call them a true Mileage Run) based on EDQ/RDM cpm. Similar opportunities come and go regularly. I even offered one today. I already requalified for 75K in May, otherwise I would have done this one too. I may do this in the New Year but have lots of other options I am looking at as well. It is a lot more interesting than flying 16 segments back and forth across the US. For those in the California market, the double miles promotion may be more favourable though. SIN & NAN are both great places to visit. It just takes a little research and reading fare rules to see what is possible.

James

jonnyz1245

Found a flight LAX> SIN in PE return this fall for $999. Singapore fall sale. I will put together a small holiday over there and add some more miles and that should get me all the way.

Repooc17

Easiest just do two roundtrips.

Add 17K for the PE R/T on SQ would get you to 34-37K, still leaving you with a gap of 13-16K to get to Gold.

Flying for Fun

I wouldn't disagree. What constitutes a mileage run is subjective and will be defined differently by each flyer. For some, that will be the least amount of money out of pocket with an immediate turn to avoid lodging and restaurants costs. For others, it could be a good J or F fare.

Hopefully not! Otherwise these threads would be banter & debate free and rather boring! It certainly makes sense to me. I love to fly, happy to be in the air anytime. If I walked by a gate where the destination was "Mystery," (there is probably a Mystery somewhere in the world so maybe "unknown" would be better ) I would be at the front of the line to board and happy to sit anywhere. If the lavatories had seat belts, I would sit there too. lol I am not adverse to Y and have flown a lot of Y segments including some long-haul and ultra long-haul. Anything under 10-12 hours isn't worth the price differential to purchase J for me especially with the significant increase in the cost of RDM.

My goal is always to fly itineraries where my cost of RDM is at or below the cost of purchasing miles. Sometimes that requires an upfare to a higher fare class for better Mileage Plan accrual when it makes sense. I would rather fly than buy. EQM and status comes with flying, buying miles doesn't yield additional benefits.

I am not trying to avoid Y. That is where we differ. Where I can find a good itinerary that includes a premium cabin that yields RDM below my threshold, all the better. Y-up fares into PE on AA and AA J fares, international to international have been very good this year.

As a self-funded, 100% leisure traveler that isn't flying on other people's money or writing off their airfare againt their business income, I like to stretch my travel dollars and the challenge is exciting for me. It is like a hobby. I get as much enjoyment out of that as I do flying the itineraries. Flying AS and their partners has allowed me to travel around the world and experience 6 continents all in Business & First Class with awards and I have done that twice in the last 8 months alone, 3 times in 18 months. Of the 150K+ miles I have already flown this year between revenue, awards & non-partner airlines, I have flown only 11 flights in Y in a multi-cabin aircraft. The shortest was BNE-SYD 90 minutes on QF while the longest was DXB-SCL with a technical stop in GRU 22 hours onboard.

BA flights JNB<->CPT clock in at under 500 miles and around 2hr flying time. The flight earns 500 EQM (minimum) & 1125 RDM for 75K no matter what Y class you are in. A J flight at 4× the cost would yield 250 COS EQM and an additional 500 RDM for 750 EQM & 1875 RDM. I can't justify the additional fare for the extra 750 RDM especially when their J product on a 737 is 25 seats in 5 rows of 2-3.

I am all but one on upgrades to AS F even on N awards this year as well. I like the benefits, the GGUs, the companion certificates with the Alaska Card and enjoy the 50K bonus for attaining 75K. Over the last two years I have made ~20 F and J redemptions on QF, CX, EK & JL and still have a 700K balance. Last year starting January 1st my partner and I flew around the world on a 2 month vacation. Other than 3 paid short hop flights we flew all on awards in premium cabins. Consequently, it was a late start on EQM earnings yet I finished the year with 125K EQM. All that was possible because I fly Y.

Fair enough! Not flying Y is your option and I don't disrespect that. I look at it the other way around. I am a value consumer. Y is a "vehicle" that makes "plane" sense (puns intended!) for me to enjoy Premium Cabins that I wouldn't find value in paying for. I have flown SCL-ICN & ICN-SCL 1.5× (currently on a 5 month DFW stopover from ICN-SCL) Both directions were South America Y-up fares into PE on AA; purchased an S fare that booked into P for 100% accrual to Mileage Plan. 11,710 EQM & 26,348 RDM for $788 that usually costs 2.2K+ At a 2 cpm rebate, the $788 fare was really ~$261. Or alternatively, the $788 fare generated a great flight experience and about 3K miles short of a MEL-HKG CX J award with CC spend on the fare. For technicality, the itinerary SCL-DFW-ICN, if in mixed cabin, would be 40% Y in flying hours and 41.69% in Y based on miles flown! for Y & J respectively. If it was J & Y then Y jumps to 60% on hours and 58.31% on distance. I have a technical mind and analyze the crap out of everything, probably to my detriment, but that is me.

Tidbits:

• DFW is 169 miles closer to LHR than SCL
• PPT-IPC on LA crosses five time zone during the 5 hour flight. It departs once a week on Tursday mornings at 3:00 am and arrives at 1:00 pm covering 2644 miles and despite being 2336 miles from SCL in the Southern Pacific, IPC is in the same time zone as New York.
• When flying a late afternoon flight from AKL-PPT you arrive the night before your departure. So, yes, hotel loyalty programs, it is physically possible to check into and occupy two different hotel rooms on the same date.
• During my vacation (I wont repeat the itinerary again! ) late last summer I was in all four seasons in the same week. I left Summer arrived in Winter which changed to Spring before I returned to Fall.

I find these things intriguing and experiencing them fascinating. Most think I am crazy but I do what I enjoy. I know it isn't for everybody.

I considered the YVR-CPT fare in J & F on AA & BA for $3.2K as I am close to YVR (hometown) and have a good friend in CPT. It would be a quick jump to MVPG in the the New Year during Southern Hemisphere summer. However, I would be more inclined to do the SIN-LAX itinerary twice for $3.6K and earn 72K EQM and 176K RDM and fly awards to SYD, DXB or CPT to visit friends during a SIN layover. Yes, a repositioning flight would be necessary.

I don't judge others on where or what they find value in. That is not for me, or anybody else for that matter, to decide for the OP. Often the whole story isn't always disclosed so whatever the OP's motivation is, I like to help out where I can. Weird routings and "value" itineraries are my thing. No, they don't work for everybody, but they work for me. If others find value in them too, I am happy to share.

We are all different people with different styles and value things differently. That is what makes us unique. It is fine to offer personal opinions and viewpoints objectively, but it is another to impose an "I am right," attitude. I am respectful to others unless given a reason not to be. Even then, I try to temper myself (the verb, not the noun) in my responses.

Have I been wrong, misinformed, incorrect or have misinterpreted something in some of my posts? Absolutely! I am not perfect and will acknowledge my imperfections when brought to light. I have learned a lot from reading these threads and have offered help where I can both online and through direct messaging.

My thoughts,

James

pbd456

I respect that people can choose what they want. But historically, people chase status for the status benefits. While there is a nice collection of benefits for Alaska elite, but it is far from being alliance-wise like oneworld, skyteam and star alliance.

I think it is fair to say that as a star alliance gold flying Y class in star alliance (say SQ) would be treated a little bit better (priority check-in, lounge access) comparing to being AS elite. Maybe I am impatient, waiting in line for 30-45 minutes to check-in to fly economy is not something that I would consider fun experience. Also, I consider lounge access as very important when I am flying economy. While it makes more sense for star alliance elite to fly good SQ fare, it is less attractive for AS elite. I did lot of mileage run in economy long haul myself. For example, i did 100k in Jan/Feb 2015 to requalify for 1k. almost all flights were on UA, many long haul. did it make sense? well. 4 of the 6 flights (IAD-KWI) I had a full row of economy plus to myself (as a status benefits as UA kept a large economy plus cabin and one has to be elite or paid to access). the other 2 flights, i was one of 2 in the 4 seaters. I was able to use same day confirmed to maximize my domestic routing for upgrade and mileage earning potential. all had IAH-IAD with flat bed 777 upgrade clear in advanced). I doubt these suite of benefits is available to Alaska elite flying partner airlines.

I creidt pretty much all my CX paid fare in business class to Alaska and I notice a marginally worst treatment to me comparing to my parents who are crediting to their BA account (they are both oneworld emerald). ISM would ignore me and greet them (my dad even made fun of me). I also need to piggy back to access first class lounge. Basically, Cathay treated Alaska elite (even 75k) as nobody.

It is surely possible to earn a lot of status miles cheaply. for another example, CX F fare ex-Vietnam. some bought it for less than 1000 USD. many bought it at less than 1500 USD. a round trip HKG - JFK - HKG is 16000*1.5 = 24k EQM. is it a practical advise? I would say no.

Visconti

Wasn't sure if I had been imagining things, but this has been my experience as well. Several years ago, I had been AA mid tier (Plat/Plat Pro) and though I really couldn't care less, the ISM/FA in Gold (still can't get the CX crew nomenclature thing down) would bring me a menu and make some small talk. Something like, "oh, Mr. V, it's so nice to have you here, etc...anything you need, please let me know).

After ditching AA, though I have GO now with CX, I still credit some flights to AS, if only on general principle given the insane amount of the rebate in miles, especially in paid F/J. During a recent paid F trans pac, the ISM had skipped the intro, which I chalked up to her assuming an AS FF# would necessarily be a redemption fare. Anyway, a bit later (assume ISM realized I was on a paid revenue fare) dropped by and apologized profusely for not greeting & making small talk with me chalking it up to a hectic boarding (some kind of celeb that I didn't recognize sitting behind me was the excuse).

Not sure if it's intentional, but I definitely have felt a sort of second class treatment exactly as you've described above.

Visconti

Far as I can remember, I've always loved to fly. Growing up, I was always excited whenever we took a plane trip. Even now, I still get excited and try to stay up to enjoy the take off and landing, which is why, unlike most FFlyers, I still prefer the window seat. Gazing out during take off and landing never gets old for me, even after all these years of flying.

Like you, I don't really despise Y either, unless I'm trapped in a middle seat between a pair of fat smelly guys. And, the ability to earn and burn with AS partner F/J partners redemptions is a no brainer, in my view.

Flying for Fun

I am definitely a window guy too. I sleep better when in the air, even in Y, than I do in my own bed. I like the fuselage to lean against. With TPAC & TATL I have moved to the isle middle when it looks like there may be empty seats.

On my last QF Y A330 SYD-HKG I moved myself from a window to the isle of an empty middle row. Seating appeared to be dynamic as once I moved myself the entire middle row was blanked out for availability. Sure enough, I had the whole middle to myself. 4 seats, 4 blankets, 4 pillows, one long bed. Someone tried sitting at the opposite isle but was shooed away by the FA. QF even hands out menus in Y and has full bar service too. Better than expected on a 9 hour flight.

James

pbd456

my parents has a preferred meal choices but not me. (all on paid J fare, and they are oneworld emerald and I credited my flight to Alaska [I am OW emerald on AA but I dont credit CX J/F paid fare to AA]. In another time, I saw ISM skipped over me and went to the back to inform another passenger about the slight delay but not me. I am not overly upset since I was being treated just like a normal passenger. In fact, I was treated better when I was flying AS issued CX award as I replace my AA number over my AS number. ISM would come to greet me etc. It is even more obvious in PE and Y class. not to mention that I have first class check-in on CX (oneworld emerald status) first class lounge.

I just flew the seat only fare on NZ domestic, I was automatically assigned to a full row to myself in both inbound and outbound (I asked FA, there were 155 passengers with 176 seats). It is not random that I had a 3 seats to myself, i believe. [I have star alliance gold as well.]

The probability of being stuck in a middle seat as a 75k when flying partner airline is higher than I want to take a chance on. While real partner elite would get exit row or priority rebooking during irregular operation as part of alliance-wise benefits.