Your biggest mileage "steal"

OAK-LAX-JFK (on the outbound portion of a $150 ticket)

JFK-LGB (on the outbound of another $150 ticket)

Was going to return the same way, but was bumped in LGB ($300) and ended up getting a nice agent to change my ticket so I just went home LAX-OAK instead. I was mistakenly credited miles for my return to JFK from LAX (where I'd been sent after I was bumped). I also called a customer service rep who gave me double miles for that, too, since I was missing out on the LGB promotion by going out of LAX.

1000 x 2 online booking
500 (OAK-LAX)
2475 (LAX-JFK)
2465 (JFK-LGB) x 2 (double miles promo)
500 (LAX-OAK)
2475 (second LAX-JFK flight that I didn't take)
2500 (Customer service bonus)


Cost: $315 (airfare + parking)
Before vouchers = 2.04 cents/mile
After vouchers = .09 cents/mile

I'd have to say the 12K DL miles just for signing up via the Yahoo promotion and then giving my DL number when checking into a hotel was pretty good - and free to boot.

I routinely fly BDL to JFK prior to flying to the west coast. (not sure how to calculate the cost per miles on this leg, BDL/SAN RT is $188 when at it's best)

Miles flown: 111
Minimum Q miles: 500
Platinum bonus: 500

So, for each round trip or 222 miles flown, I earn 2000 miles, or more than NINE TIMES miles flown.

Boy, do I feel good about myself now.


I forgot all about the 1000 mile book on line bonus. So that's 3,000 miles on 222 flown. I feel even better!!

[This message has been edited by Thumper (edited 12-31-2002).]

How about getting mileage on an award ticket!

Booked Air Canada between ORD-YYZ. Wanted to change to earlier flight. AC's award codes are booked in D for Business Class redemption.

The flight I wanted to take was operated by UA. As it was an e-ticket, UA had to reissue the ticket and they did as a D class ticket.

Gave them my Miles and More FF number for 'status' in case of bumps etc.

After the flight, LH gave me miles for that sector as D in UA earns mileage on LH. I received 2000 base miles plus 500 status bonus miles.

I think I'll try the same for the return!

I dont have any wonder deals, but I do remember the 'double miles' deal AA ran after 9/11.. that netted me 29000 miles for each of my trips LGA-ORD-LHR-BRU (when I felt like the additional effort)

If I wasnt travelling in J, this could easily have been earned for $400 a pop

I'm far more interested in the cost for Q-Miles rather than total miles.. and the best deal I see so far for AA is :

$1060 JFK-NRT-SIN : 20000 Q miles
$50...Parking and gas
$0....Hotel
$10...Breakfast at Chani airport
Vacation days : 1.5 - About $300

Total door to door cost : $1420

Total miles incl. bonuses : 45000 this time 45000 next and 50000 the third

CPQM: $0.071
CPME: $0.0316

Now this may seem a little high until you compare it to a similar $600 fare with a 6 day minimum stay..

JFK-NRT-SIN ....: $600
Parking and Gas : $80
Lodging ........: $400
Food ...........: $80
Shopping : .....: $???? (WAY too much)
Taxi ...........: $40
Vacation days : 4 - About $800
total: $2000

CPQM : $0.10 (Assuming same bonuses)
CPME : $0.044

So to me the most efficient mileage run is actually available almost all year round.. 5 of these and I'll be EXP again..

Besides the LatinPass run for about $2,500, I'm surprised no one mentioned the CO double & triple miles plus AMEX triple miles bonuses. My wife and I flew from DTW-EWR-HKG for about $900 each in April, 2001. She got 150,000+ miles and I got 172,000 miles because I was Gold elite.

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I must have been adding in 2 additional miles since they made me run from one end of the terminal to the other to catch my connecting flight!LOL

Way OT, but Budget really screwed up their frequent renters program. They must also have told the Perfect Drive agents to quit being nice and to start being really snotty to their regular customers because Budget SJC really went to the dogs. The last straw for me was one day when my flight arrived about 30 minutes early before my scheduled car pick-up time at SJC and the Perfect Drive agent (replacement agent, not the regular lady) wouldn't give me a car. She insisted she didn't have any cars to give out and that I would have to wait. When I asked if there were any cars available immediately at the inside counter she said she didn't know and I would have to go inside myself to check. When I went inside, the counter agent told me (in a very snotty voice) that the outside Perfect Drive agent had alreay called her to tell her that I had been told that there were no cars available. On the spot I called Hertz #1 Club and made a reservation. I never went back. Good thing that Budget is in BK and hopefully will be liquidated.



[This message has been edited by onedog (edited 12-31-2002).]

The Mrs. and I redeemed two AA awards for travel in C on South African Airways for 75k miles each, LAX-JFK-Johannesburg...Capetown-MIA-LAX. The AA Platinum agent was great and told me that if I waited until after September 15, 199x (I forgot what year we went), the mileage required was increasing to 90k each. Nice of her to save us 30k miles!

Let's just say that during the huge bonus days in 2001, our family took a weekend trip to Asia. We EACH earned about 80,000 miles on our individual tickets costing about $600 per. AND it was an upgradeable fare, allowing us to travel in style and comfort with miles to spare, and earn lots of status miles. Translates to about $0.0075 per mile. We took a few like this that spring.. All in all, on that particular airline, in 2001, Mr Fish flew about 110K miles but earned about 675K. Sigh, all this reminiscing makes me long for the good ol' days..

Edited to add: Actually, it was much less than 110K that year; I took that number directly from his "elite miles". Same airline gave him 500 minimum on short hops AND had a double "elite mileage" promo for 3 months. So it was substantially less than 110K.

Robin

[This message has been edited by Fishbait (edited 12-31-2002).]

[This message has been edited by Fishbait (edited 12-31-2002).]

I would have to say the Oneworld promo of 1999 is my favorite mileage earning steal. My neighbor and I did the necessary 20 segements to get the 4 X 100,000 mile bonus on AA, BA, CP, and CX. Total cost for each of us was $1,750.

The routing was:

STL-ORD-LHR-MAD-PMI-MAD-MUC-HEL-TMP-HEL-MUC-MAD-LHR-ORD-STL-ORD-YYZ-YUL-LGA-YUL-YOW-ORD-STL

actual miles: 17,308
bonus miles: 400,000
Total miles: 417,308
per mile = $.0042

Beyond the incredible value we received for our miles (I took Concorde this year using my BA miles), we had a great time. He's 75 years old and I worried at first that he wouldn't be able to keep up or that it was too much money for someone on a fixed pension, but I think he enjoyed it more than me. Quite a challenge.

Latin Pass 1,000,000+ for $1200. This works out to about $0.0012/mile. I've not heard it done cheaper.

I'm sure there are some KLM folks who took advantage of their matching status and points to earn multi-million bonuses for a few cheap flights.

USAir BWI-PHX with Get Out More -- Ticket cost of $288 == 55,512 miles with 27,756 as status miles. My family each got 56,974 miles, 35,905 toward status. Their tickets were $228 each.

Total cost $972
Total miles 226,434
Cost per mile -- $0.0043 (four point three tenths of a cent per mile!)

That is just precious! Bless him (and you for taking him with you).

maybe it is not the biggest thing ever and it is for european residents only, but it is still on :

25.000 miles for any 8 segments flown can be quite a deal if you play it right.

http://www.britishairways.com/morerewards