What's the point of a run
 

Will someone please explain to me why you pay money to just fly around for no other purpose than to fly around and get miles? I've begun to fly alot for work and couldn't imagine flying more just for more miles. What am I missing?

1) You're close to achieving the next status level on your carrier of choice and so the cost of doing an extra trip or two makes it worth while to receive the extra perks.

2) The cost of the trip is so cheap that the miles gained are worth more than the fare paid.

Check out my report at:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum81/HTML/003113.html

Total money spent: $852.00.
Total mileage accrued: 140,610 miles

That's 7 tickets from Fairbanks to anywhere Alaska Airlines flies in the U.S. or about $122.00 per r/t ticket.

Take a look at the cheapest r/ts you can find from FAI to places like MIA, LAX, DEN, PHX, or BOS and tell me that wasn't money well spent. I probably threw in about $130.00 extra for hotels over the course of that trip. And, if you read the report, you'll see that I was sitting in First Class more often than not.

Also, that 140,000 miles would fetch me a First Class ticket to Australia - also not a bad trade off finanacially when you go find out what the F Class fare is r/t to Oz.

Of course, that is assuming that the 6 or 7 weekends it took to do this were complately worthless!

Not really. He spent $800+ and received miles worth at least $10,000-$14,000 if used for a F ticket to Australia. Time in an airplane can be productive too - you can watch movies, read, etc. Granted, miles runs aren't for everyone, but for those who enjoy them they can be quite valuable.

I think that you either get it, or you don't. There doesn't seem to be any in-between.



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http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum...ML/002278.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum...ML/002191.html

You're also assuming that mileage running is a waste of time, when it's actually a different experience for everyone.

It's entertainment for some, uninterrupted work time for others. Some people use the time to catch up on reading, personal time for relaxation. Then there are those who enjoy the opportunity to empty the "bar in the sky" for a couple of days in a row.

In many cases, it can be more entertaining than a weekend in our home city.

Someone once said that people who like the Grateful Dead are a lot like people who like licorice; Not everybody likes licorice, but the people that do like licorice, REALLY like like licorice.

Having said that, most of my mileage runs center around that universe.

The pretty much sums it up.

As an example of that, I have a friend who, by her own estimate, will finish this year with about 90,000+ AA status miles (10,000 miles, or less, away from top-level, EXP-- and all it's incumbent benefits.) I told her the other day "look, if we get to December 1 and it's apparent that you aren't gonna hit 100,000 miles this year, you're GONNA' take a trip to get top-level-- I'm not asking you, I'm telling you! How 'bout a nice weekend in Paris?"

Needless to say, the $600ish bucks or so, and the lost weekend involved, spent getting EXP would be more than repaid (many, many times over, in fact) by the SWU's she would get, among many other perks. Especially in our current travel environment where top-level status talks and, well...

Her answer? "Please, don't get me involved in any of your crazy frequent-flyer schemes."

Some people get it, some people really don't! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

There are two ways to look at this. It may just be possible that those who don't "get it" may be the more sane/rational ones. I think a good litmus test of whether you "get it" is how you view the Adam Sandler character in the new movie "Punch Drunk Love." It is a black comedy, so it is not for everyone. I'm not asking if you found the movie hilarious or liked it -- just focus on the protagonist. What did you think when you saw the movie? Was this guy sane?

It distresses me to read about all the justifications to take random trips around the world for no other reason than to accumulate some miles. I especially love reading about how the spouse/significant other suddenly loves the other's mileage run habits/extensive travel and time away from home because the two of them were upgraded to First Class on a flight or a nice suite at a hotel during the one vacation they take together each year. SORRY, if my spouse was away all the time on random (or even business) trips, one or two upgrades, even in a First Suite/Sleeper, would not justify all that time away from me. PERIOD. I would rather hear about all the divorces and separations that occur because of this "passion" for collecting miles. I am sure they are out there too.

I agree that there are some convincing rationales for a pure mileage run, including when (1) you are very close to mid or top tier status on an airline from your normal and usual traveling schedule (i.e., JonNYC's example of a friend at 90K AA miles) or (2) if there is a super-duper bonus promotion with an airline that will net you some incredible amount of miles (let's say less or much less than a penny a mile) for little time and money. But let's use ANY rationale for a mileage run.

TIME IS MONEY. We all know that time is a precious resource. Regarding money, I don't have a lot or enough of it either, so I try not to spend it so freely. On this board, the spending of real after-tax cash (or the loose interpretation of a company's travel reimbursement policies) for mileage runs is made to appear normal. Without ever trying to understand the financial situation of an individual, the answer is always the same: "take the mileage run" because you get so many benefits. This is incredibly bad advice IMHO.

For the record, I have taken what can be called "mileage runs," but I have passed up many other opportunities to sit in coach. I did a 7-hour turnaround in SIN (on my Nteenth visit there) two years ago, because I could fly to HKG more cheaply as a stopover than as a destination (the fact that I got more miles was a bonus but not sleeping well was a real drag). I've done a half-day turnaround in London to get top tier status on United. And whenever I see a really cheap airfare to a PLACE I WANT TO VISIT, I'll go for a few days (like San Diego for $150 or Las Vegas for $88). However, I won't take ten of those trips just for the sake of some more miles and getting status from scratch.

Also, an interesting and relevant postscript to reaching top tier on UA was that I literally gave away three of my six SWUs to FTers at the beginning of this year, because I didn't travel so much and I couldn't justify hopping on a plane (to fly to the same old places again) just because I could upgrade to First or Business. At the end of the day, my sofa is still more comfortable than a first class seat in a flying tube.

Just another perspective...

It is all about arbitrage: Earning low and redeeming high. The time involved must be considered, but the opportunities are undeniable.

Happy Trails!

things I don't understand the most is:

why would you spend 10 hours in coach doing mileage run so you can have enough miles to fly 10 hours in first class later. won't you be better off just flying 10 hours in coach (not doing mileage run).

Perhaps you didn't get around to ever actually reading the report. I did all that travel between September 16th and October 1st. In between I had some good times in New Orleans, Nashville and California. I was in First Class for most of those flights as well and you may also note that I got alot of reading and writing done as well.

That would be Captain Trips himself, Jerry Garcia.

Ain't that the truth! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by Seat 2A (edited 10-26-2002).]