Well thanks to a few amazing FlyerTalker's I was able to cash in some points for a 9K voucher on DL that I'm using to send myself and my boyfriend to NRT for 12 days on spring break (and I still have 4K left). Plus mom and dad trusted me enough to cash their points in so now I've paid for my family of 4 to go to Europe in paid business this year, next and a trip for 2 to Tahiti in first...

Minus the costs of the $420 r/t IAH-MSY F tickets (through SLC and ATL of course) I think I'm still quite ahead..

Like many here, I have probably also spent more $$$ since finding FT, but the numerous friends I have met and DOs and events I have attended have been worth every penny.

Not a smoker, but had my first Cuban cigar complements of Cigarman in Montreal and learned how to REALLY do dim sum from Punki. Still have ringing in my ears from the speedboat ride through the rapids. Returned to Germany and celebrated beginning of Fasching in Dusseldorf (wasn't that 2001?) and left my bottle of microbrew from essexjay at the restaurant (sure somebody enjoyed that but it wasn't I). Joined last minute gathering at nice Argentine restaurant just outside MIA while on vacation in FLL and finally met Catman in persona after countless PMs. Cool night on the town in LAS with Ling during UNLV homecoming trip.

Job change and life change in 2004 made me scarce but here's to many more memories for the future in 2008. God bless, God speed, and Happy New Year!

ThanxaBunch,

Jim

OK, here goes :-

1. I learnt about the BA Amex 2-4-1 deal which got me 2 1st class flights London - Shanghai for the cost of redeaming miles for 1 flight. Each flight would have cost $8000, so I got $8000 of extra value. This was a flight I had to do for personal reasons, although I would normally have flown C not F but paid for it with cash.

2. I found a deal in mileage run using expedia to get a 1st class flight LHR - JFK for $800. I guess this was about $2000 below market value. This was a flight I had to do for personal reasons, although I would normally have flown C not F but paid for it with cash. This also got me AA Plat on a Challenge, which I wouldn't have known about otherwise.

3. I have used the Starwood stay 4 nights get 2 free a few times, usually in higher costing European and NYC. This has probably saved me at least $3000.

4. The BA Amex card has gained me about 200,000 BA miles I would not have otherwise got. This is equivalent to 2 Transatlantic flights in C ( or 4 using the 2-4-1 voucher) but assuming just 2 this is $6000 of extra value which I have not yet used.

5. I have found quite a few Starwood bonus promotions that I would not have known about otherwise, which has gained me about 50,000 extra Starpoints. This is worth at least $3000 to me.

Actually there are quite a few more small promo's I have found out about on AA, Hilton, Marriott, Tesco (i.e. BA) and SPG, but individually these are pretty small. Cumulatively they might amount to $2-$3k of benefit, but this is very very approx.

(first time posted on FlyerTalk in 2001)

my personal FlyerTalk ROI (Return on invested 'capital') and EBIT ('Earnings' before Interest + Tax) 'analyze' (after elsewhere here on FT being questioned 'if I still have a life with > 20'000 posts, and some ???? and remarks about quantity and quality of posts):

(I am retired and about 80% 'master' of my time)

'Investments'
*when 'at home' (Uitikon or Wengen = total of about 75% days) I 'invest' about 90 minutes/day in reading FT and probably less than 20 minutes posting. Add another 30 minutes/day for reading and replying to an average of about 15 pivate emails from/to FlyerTalkers.
* when 'en-route' (25% days) I 'invest' about every second day 15 minutes.
* majority of my postings are answers to FT-questions in the LH/OS-, UA-, KLM-, Qualiflyer-, StarAlliance Fora. My answers are not very time-consuming anymore, as the basics (like upgrades with UA miles on LH, etc. etc.) are now on my files in a modul-way.
* about SFr 3'000 during the first two years, for the OMNI-prizes

'Returns/Earnings'
* (much needed) learning/improving my english on a daily (automated) basis
* personal meetings (eye to eye) with now about 450 FlyerTalkers all-over-the-world:
* 'getting' to know (insider) Restaurants (DIM SUM with a chinese-language knowleadgable FlyerTalker telling me what I am really eating; dinners at Walt Disney's private 33-club; wine-tasting at Disney's wine-cellar),
* sight-seeings (touring Seattle Pughet Sound by private boat, private Disney Euroland tour by a long-time Disney-attraction-designer; best outlook-place over Sydney harbour with a side-car in my hand; fantastic sight-seeing roof-place over Castro in San Francisco; 'Duck'-tour in Boston; private Bloomberg Studio tour in New York);
* 2 SuperBowls life (San Diego, Miami);
* (multiple) private Limo-Services from airport to anywhere;
* VIP-lounge access for Lakers home-games (for my children);
* private/reserved seats on the D�sseldorf Mayors balcony for 'Rosenmontag' (bernie);
* sharing private life-highlights/and down-moments (invited/participated to a FlyerTalk chinese wedding; sharing the last days of their lives of very dear FlyerTalk friends; being trusted 'supporting counsellor' when some life-partnerships break);
* being cared for (my family). FlyerTalkers (and Randy) did believe that I might have been involved in a terrible air-crash (I never forget, how FlyerTalkers did contact and care my family/children in Switzerland, when they assumed that I was on that 'crashed' Swissair flight JFK-ZRH; I did fly LH on that day/night).
* receiver of FlyerTalk gifts (49er-jacket, multiple vouchers)
* being proud swiss guide for visiting FlyerTalk friends to my country;
* unique moments of sharing the whole upper-deck of a B-747 with FlyerTalk-friends (PiP flight LAX-HNL 1999) and dancing there
* being able to share the beauty of 'my' Alps with many of you (Wengen, Jungfrau)
* being able to invite some of you as my 49er-guests
* being able to not waste anymore otherwise unused airline vouchers (by gifting them to friends)
* not flying any-longhaule segments in coach anymore (with paying less then ever before)
* was gifted (complimentary) 431'000 KLM points (a comping promotion I learned all the details about from FlyerTalk). These points transfer now into (1.8*431'000=) 775'8000 Flying Dutchman miles on oct-23-2002. I value these miles (4 Rappen/mile) = SFr 31'000!
* getting a business-letter/confirmation that right now provides (currently) additional (legal) SFr 6'000/month more income for me (thank you Punki)
* getting personal autographs from the current best women-swimmer (Coughlin) for my children
* getting excuses (toward myself) for often revisiting my favorite Restaurants (with FlyerTalkers)
* learning (again, and being reconfirmed) that, as long as you have common interests (like Frequent Flying), generation-gaps don't exist

im my eyes/judgement, yes, quality matters more than quantity. The quality of what I got her in return by far outweights any investment I did

Thank you FlyerTalkers (and Randy)

I wouldn't be surprised if I were the biggest winner. We are very lucky in that we are able to put a good portion of our business expenses on credit cards which are paid off in full ever month, so the cost of those miles is $0.00.

Here are some examples of our completely free travel:

Four biz/first tickets on BA SEA/LHR/AGP/BCN/PMI/LHR/SEA. The cost of these tickets, had we purchased them, would have been $60,000.00

Two tickets on Concorde, at a total cost of $24,000.00.

Five next day coach tickets SEA/SRQ for my mother's funeral, which would have cost over $10,000.00. This was pre-FlyerTalk when coach was still an option.

A beautiful free suite at the Waldorf Astoria for the weekend of the Brooklyn Reality Tour. I have no idea what it would have cost. It was one of those stay 5 get one free deals.

Another beautiful, completely free, suite at the Prince de Galles in Paris, on another stay so many get so many free deal.

Four tickets in first SEA/SFO/SYD/AKL which if purchased would have cost $98,600.00. We got the deal so our total cost was somewhere in the neighborhood of $5,600, saving us over $90,000.00. ^

If I really sat down and calculated the value of all of our freebies and airline and hotel upgrades over the last ten years, I am certain that it would be over $1,000,000.00, and that is just the tip of the iceberg.

The real value of FlyerTalk is in the amazing friends and experiences it has brought into my life. The parties in Dusseldorf, Honolulu, Anchorage, Venice, New York, Chicago, Portland, Seattle, Tel Aviv, Sydney, Valencia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Amsterdam, Fort Lauderdale, Tokyo, San Antonio, Auckland, Boca Raton, Miami, Los Angeles, El Paso, Cannes, Washington D.C., Basel, San Francisco, Vancouver, San Diego, Montreal, Toronto, Jerusalum, London, Whistler, and many more, are priceless memories.

Hey, why not party like a rock star. You only live once.