Deserting Delta for AA.

really focus on UA travel (assuming that they don't strike, stay in business, continue treating me okay etc. all of which i believe will happen).

Last few years I've travelled where time was precious at the last minute. Next year I'll be doing travelling where money is precious, so it's a switch for me. It'll be funner (is that a word?) now that I'm 1K.

Yes, the "real" millenium will begin Jan. 1. However, we are likely to be carrying out "strategies" for only a very small part of the millenium, which will end in 3000. Can we even begin to imagine how humans will travel at the end of the third millenium ? Probably no more than our ancestors in the year 1000 could have pictured how we would move through space and time.

But it doesn't hurt to plan ahead. Now that miles don't expire, and can be passed down from generation to generation, we can look forward to about 30-35 generations in this millennium. If each generation passes (say) 100,000 miles to the next, then my gt^33-grandchild can inherit more than 3 million miles -- enough for a Mars trip?

Sorry, my friend. Three million miles will net you only a dozen or so RT's to the moon, assuming you had something equivalent to the the Saturn IV-B rocket to boost you, and a command/service module outfitted for martian terrain.

Our moon is only about a quarter-of-a-million miles away from earth, or between 3-4 days travel time. But Mars at its perigee is only about 35 million miles!!! away from earth, which takes approximately nine months to traverse each way.

Puts a new spin on million-miler status, doesn't it?

[This message has been edited by essxjay (edited 11-23-2000).]

We certainly skitter through space these days!!! But not faster than time, unfortunately ...

ALWAYS enjoy one of Punki's threads.

It certainly is interesting to see this thread come back to the surface.

A year ago I certainly had no clue that Joe would also qualify as a true UAL 1K for 2001. Qualifying for UAL 1K and AS MVP Gold for me was far less painless than I had anticipated. Thanks to all of my FlyerTalk friends for teaching me the tricks and tips of traveling in style. I still have a couple of long trips (both in first) and 3 or 4 short propeller plane trips left in 2000.

Interesting year.

We qualified for Hilton Diamond in July and have since, also requested and received Starwood Platinum status. If we have the same number of hotels stays next year and this, we should have no trouble requalifying for both of those levels again for 2002.

ok - I will/did achieve my strategic goals in the year running (year 2000 for year 2001) and will make (real 100'000 miles) 1K the second time (first time was in 98 for 1K-status in 99) in three days from today; on my flights back from the Thanksgiving Whistler-skiing weekend to Europe. I will go on to try to qualify for 1K every second year (in between 'only' Premex): the 1K-years 'provide me enough upgrade vouchers for my whole 2-year UA-ff-program cycle (and even with reservations/upgrades on most UA flights in the years in between, when only being Premier Executive, I will try, as I did 2 years ago, to book my flights and ask for upgrades early (before end of february, and by this I profit from my former 1K status regarding upgrades even later ...).

[/b]Requalification for LH Senator[/b] is on it's way as planned and will be achieved with my (already booked) upcoming Australia trip in january 2001 (100'000 miles&more status miles in any 12 months). Validity of the requalified Senator status will be then end of february 2004 (FOUR)!

This was my first year as a UA premier. I enjoyed comped status from my company, but earned it the real way also.

- Make UA PE this year (On UA44 over the pacific on 12/20).

- Find a way to make 1K next year without ticking off the family too much. The norm is supposed to be 1 mainland business trip per month, so getting to 1.5 trips per month shouldn't be all that difficult when you add in leisure travel, etc. but it won't be all that easy either.

- Accumulate about 50k more marriott rewards points to get to the 200k award level, then make a decision about which hotel plan to max out next year. (Hyatt, perhaps).

-David

Haven't decided whether we will move our Latin Pass miles to Marriott and Hilton, or use them on US Air. Will try to use on US for some good trips. If that looks too hard, will start moving them to the hotel programs.

Djlawman