Thanks to RustyC -
for bringging this interesting question back to the top.

Me - I find earning the miles is a lot of hard work. I find the joy comes in using them so that one of our children can fly to visit us, or taking my wife with me (F or B of course) on the business trips - which is how I earn ALL my miles.

Am I a miser or not? NO - I think not. Have earned 2.25 million in AA; 800+k in Amex MR and 150k in HH with another 50k in three other airlines. Current AA balance is at 550k; Amex MR is unused and HH is down to 50k because I just gave my middle daughter and her new husband 5 nights at the Hilton Hawaiian Village and three more night at Hyatt on Lahai with a cert for a honeymoon gift. Looking at the AA balance says I have "used" 1.75 million miles on AA for tkts mostly; and mostly for the Wife and Kids. I spent 120k AA miles for my wife and I to go to London B/C (got an freebie to F/C r/t at checkin http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif ) so that is 60k for me and twice bought stickers @ 40k each time for 80k, so that is a total of 140k on me over all these almost 17 years.

Nope - the joy is in seeing others use the miles as in having taken all of the four kids multiple times to SFO, including the Grandson - who loves the coast and the cable cars.
Earning = Hard Work http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif
Using = JOY http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

I like earning the miles.......because I only earn them from flying.......and that means holidays !!!!!

I am fairly new here. Would someone please tell me the benefits and significance of being a one million miler?

Also on this board is it possible to be emailed when someone answers one of my posts?

Thanks, I have learned alot from all of you!

Things have completely changed since miles don't expire in three years anymore. I am definitely in the "earning" miles phase of my life. Since learning that you can become lifetime gold with AA for collecting 1 million miles, I wouldn't think of using an award ticket unless i really had to. I see my mileage account as my 401K for travel. While I can find cheap fares and reap lots of miles, I'll spend the money cause I have it. Once I get lifetime gold, I will be able to use my award travel and be sure of having elite status. I am only 75K away, thanks to these boards. I will lose my platinum status and am really upset that I couldn't fit in two more trips to Europe to achieve it - and get all those miles. Oh, well. But I will have gold, and will achieve my lifetime gold real soon - sort of triple gold! I've used award travel to Mexico and Hawaii and the Caribbean because they are "good value" of miles spent compared to airfares, and miles would have expired. I did one discounted (20,000) domestic. 25,000 for a domestic trip seems "expensive" unless the fares are really high. However, that was all before I knew about lifetime gold, or ways of achieving status such as the challenges. I would have made some different decisions way back when if only I had known (such as signing up for frequent flyer programs sooner - I always though that I didn't fly "enough." I think that the change to miles not expiring has made the difference for a lot of us. I would never be collecting so many miles if they expired in three years.

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DtG

sorry, duped

[This message has been edited by dgordon (edited 12-14-2000).]

Using the miles is ALWAYS better than earning them. Mostly because I get to travel with Mrs. Fundi. Basically being a cheapskate, Mrs. Fundi and I get to enjoy much better vacations that we could normally afford because of the savings in airfare.

As mentioned above, Free tickets make fabulous gifts as well.

The only time I feel regret using miles is when I see really cheap fares to where I am going AFTER I have spent the miles.

I like the fact that I earn most of my miles for business-related travel and then redeem them for vacations.

There's no high in the world for me like sitting in a business- or first-class seat on an international trip and thinking "This would have cost me *thousands* of dollars if I had to pay for it out of my pocket.

The one catch that I've found is that I've become so addicted to requalifying for elite levels each year that I no longer redeem miles for a free vacation ticket. I always buy the cheapest available upgradable ticket and use the miles for an upgrade.

The above quote and others compare collecting miles to other kinds of collecting. There's one huge difference, however, that hasn't been elaborated on: Other collectibles can serve a purpose other than being sold/used. Miles do not.

For example, you don't need to sell a painting for it to be useful. You can hang it on a wall and admire it. It will serve some purpose even if you never sell it. This is true of other things such as coins or stamps.

But what about miles? Unless you get your kicks admiring FF statements or bragging to friends, miles have no use unless they're used.

It's certainly a good idea to save for that big free vacation, but I'd rather be lounging in Maui than admiring my banked miles on a computer.

For you hoarders of miles:
I had two elderly people in my life that died a few years ago. My grandmother and my great aunt.
When my grandmother passed, my mom cleaned out her residence and found all the gifts she had given her over the years, in the cupboards, unused. She was saving them for a special occasion. She never had another special occasion and died at the age of 89. She was saving all those things/experiences for a future that she never took an opportunity to have.
My great aunt, on the other hand, died at 87, and before she died she told me she had regretted plenty of things she had bought, but had never regretted spending her money on one thing: Experiences
She said every penny she'd ever spent on concerts, plays, and lots of travel had enriched her life in many ways and she could treasure those memories always. She never had any regrets from serving in WW2 in the Red Cross in Australia, living in Paris for a year, travelling to the East Coast, South America, etc.
So...what are you waiting for??? Life will always get in the way...unexpected illnesses, job changes, 3 friends who recently found themselves unexpectedly pregnant (but that was a blessing), etc etc. If you don't use the miles today, you might not have time tomorrow.

Just a thought, and a lesson from a wise old lady, my late great Aunt Edy.

When we postpone using miles, we are not postponing travel. In fact, we ARE spending money - getting miles for cheap tickets purchased. In fact, I have traveled more to achieve status and get bonuses. I hadn't been to Europe in 15 years, and I went 3 times this year! So, we are not saving our miles and postponing travel - just the method of "paying" for those tickets. I want to achieve lifetime gold with AA before I use an award ticket - only if the fare were astronomical would I use award travel instead of paying for the ticket right now.

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DtG

It gives me great joy to redeem miles for airline tickets for my children and grandchild.

At 17 years old, not exactly in a position to start giving tickets to grandchildren http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/eek.gif but...

For me, the part that attracts me themost is daydreaming about what I could do with the miles. As it stands, I can almost redeem the miles for a First Class ticket from Asia to US, but I am collecting even more to redeem more lucrative journeys. Hopefully, Star will start a RTW award ticket soon... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I have to agree though, once I have children, I would be delighted to redeem miles for tickets for them. Watching the smiles will alone be worth the miles...!

-stargold-

I have used airline miles for me many times and I also used them to have family members to join me on vacations or to visit me. So far, I haven't touched the hotel points, so I have a fat HHonors account.