Are you a super frequent flyer?
 

In your opinion, how much does one have to fly or had been flying to be a super frequent flyer?

200 segments or 200 000 actual flight miles per year?
And no, I do not qualify.

IMO:

Frequent Flyer - 50 segments or 50k BIS miles
Very Frequent Flyer - 100 segments or 100k BIS miles
Super Frequent Flyer - 175 segments or 175k BIS miles

I'm between FF and VFF.

Someone that makes HON on intra european flights.

IMHO, I think I qualify for uber road warrior.

Usually I qualify for the top level in two airlines every year. This year I'm only Platinum in 4 airlines, but two were comped...(2mm on AA, comp on CO). I am trying to drive a lot more and a lot further.

I would vote with 200 segments or 200,000 BIS miles for VFF, but would add earned top level status in two airlines in the same year would also be a good measure.

Got to go, have 3 segments to do today...

-Outoftown

I think segments are the key here. Someone can rack up 200k flying UK to Australia 10 times a year. Taking 10 roundtrip flights a year doesn't make you a super frequent flyer. Racking up over 200 segments would IMO make you a super frequent flyer as you'd be taking a flight more often than once every 2 days.

As this isn't really specific to Mileage Runs, I'm going to move this to MilesBuzz for further discussion.

Dave, a.k.a. dmfriedman
Moderator, Mileage Run

One can also get 200K miles by buying a Ferrari on their credit card. Segments favor those like me, who live at non-hub airports. I can get double the number of those who fly out of hub cities, so a roundtrip will be at least 4 segments, if done weekly, is good for about 200 segments per year. Since I have some weeks with 6 or even 8 segments, I can skip flying about a week every month. Throw in a MR or two near the end of the year and there is the 200 segments. Trying to keep segments limited to two airlines when you have no control over the corporate travel agent is the tough part...

-outoftown

I fly from a hub airport, and end up with 250-300 segments. I am on a plane EVERY work day! It is VERY rare that I end up 2 work nights in the same hotel.

I also feel that I am a SFF! Now, if only a few airlines would realize this and give status to the 1% who do double/triple of the top tier segments/miles!

It should be EQMs, or segments, not miles.

DL 135,000MQMs
AA 96,000 EQPs / 75,000 EQMs
SQ 43,000


I figure another 50,000 by year end, maybe 100,000.

Some FFPs do have special arrangements for select few. Otherwise diversify. Earn top status in multiple programs for more flexibility, proportionately more rewards/benefits and arbitrage opportunities.

Not all MQMs are equal. A HON could get 200k status miles from less than 58k flown miles in first, or even less flown miles if minimum mileage applies.

Flown miles or flown segments would IMO be a better way to define SFF and UFF.

Yes, I would agree. I was trying to eliminate the credit card issue but flown miles or segments is a better way to do that.

Not a super frequent flyer until at least 300k BIS/year. Myabe more if you fly a lot of international long-distance.

Segment is the way to go if trying to determine one is "frequent" flyer. I think I'm by no means frequent flyer. I fly every other month or so from NYC to Asia. That makes me 100~120K miles flyer, but 6 flights / year is by no means frequent :p

Put my wife and me down as "above average" frequent flyers - though I think my wife is "super"! :D

12 r/t's HNL-LAS and about 20 inter-island r/t's within Hawai'i each and every year puts us at >70,000 BIS miles anually. We're HA pualani platinum elites; G/As, F/As and TSA agents know us and greet us personally at our stations and on-board; we get free or discounted u/g's to F on all HA flights.......

We're not in Kiwi Flyer's league.....but what the heck: put us down as "super" anyway! ;)

For about four months (Nov 06-Feb07) I had top tier on two airlines (DL and AZ) based on 79k BIS miles and 47 segments. That makes me just a standard FF, but a SFTF (Super Flyer Talk Flyer), since, as you see if you crunch my numbers, I milked the system hard using tricks and tips picked up here. (after Feb. I dropped to mid tier on DL, but still have top tier on AZ).

:D

I would consider a frequent flyer as someone who flies monthly. A very frequent flyer would be weekly. A super frequent flyer would be more than 1 round trip per week most weeks of the year.

Only if that person is not hub-based, or if they fly long haul. If it's short haul, that's just 24 segments a year; often that won't even get bottom tier on one airline.

Well my definition is more time based. Frequent as in time interval and not distance or segment.

Interesting point. Why don't we just consider anyone a Frequent flyer who is a member of the lowest tier off a program, and leave it at that. Of course, we can exclude the GLD Lites. :)

[QUOTE=Gargoyle;8342693]For about four months (Nov 06-Feb07) I had top tier on two airlines (DL and AZ) based on 79k BIS miles and 47 segments. That makes me just a standard FF, but a SFTF (Super Flyer Talk Flyer), since, as you see if you crunch my numbers, I milked the system hard using tricks and tips picked up here. (after Feb. I dropped to mid tier on DL, but still have top tier on AZ).

:D[/QUOTE

The key word I used was earned. I'm not counting the MQMs DL gives with the having an AMEX card or the challenges for AA status or the multitude of 'match' status deals, just plain 'ol BIS earned status. IMHO, if you earn top status on at least two airlines with just BIS credit, you are a SFF or as Mrs. Outoftown would say, someone who needs to get a life.

I rack up 60,000 to 70,000 miles on JAL but thats 4 leisure trips a year so I think I hardly count as frequent flyer but I do enjoy the perks JAL gives me.

I do however drive 125,000 miles a year. :)

If we are looking at it from the point of view of the airlines, I feel like LH has established the benchmark for us with the HON status, which requires (on average) 300,000 miles per year.

If we are looking at it from the point of view of comparing it to the general public, I am inclined to agree with gj83. Many people take two flights a year, at most, when they go on vacation. With that asw a standard, oncee a month seems pretty frequent, once a week seems very frequent, and more than once a week seems pretty significant.

How would you compare accumulating miles through international travel or domestic travel not living in a hub.

My feeling is the domestic would be a lot my demanding on the individual with the connections or inevitable delays / cancellations.

I'd vote for total time spent in airplanes, plus say 1hour per checkin. :)

Frequent flyer, minimum 50 hours/year
Very frequent flyer, minimum 200 hours/year
Super frequent flyer, minimum 800 hours/year

I'd barely qualify as a frequent flyer (mostly medium to long haul).

Well, I'm just starting out. My job has me heading to one coast or the other every other week for a week at a time. I live in Dallas, and we fly AA, so I'm a hub city. Miles flown is arounf 3500/month, give or take.

But, I'm on here to learn how to milk it. :) I feel like I'm a VFF, but I'm sure I'm realistically just a FF.

When Aloha (AQ) was still operating, I flew 1012 flight segments in a year which earned me 506,000 flight miles plus my status bonus of 506,000. When they went under in '04 though, I lost almost 2M miles. At least I used some. Oh well...

My wife is really super and she flies frequently. Does that make her a super frequent flyer? :D

I would consider super FF as 300K BIS miles per year.

I do not currently qualify but have flown that much some years and know many who have.

Frequent Flyer - 25 segments or 25k BIS miles
Very Frequent Flyer - 100 segments or 100k BIS miles
Super Frequent Flyer - 300 segments or 300k BIS miles

Why, I am super! Thanks for asking!:D

I'd say 200K miles per year to be a super frequent flyer.

What about a super duper frequent flyer? :D

Super duper FF is one million BIS miles per year. It it doable; just over 19,000 miles per week.