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Maximizing BIS Miles in a DONE3

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Old Oct 3, 2024 | 2:22 am
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Maximizing BIS Miles in a DONE3

There has been some discussion about how many BIS miles can one get in an xONE3, xONE4, etc. (Obviously earned miles/points will depend on which airlines one flies and the program to which one credits.) Just planning my next ticket, a DONE3 which will start in November, assuming that prices haven't gone up too much since my last ticket. Here's the itinerary as currently planned: NRT-DFW-BOS-DFW-SJU-DFW-JFK-LAX-DOH-DUB-DOH-MAD-DOH-ICN-CMB-BKK-NRT. 52,093 BIS miles according to Milecalc. Would have been a bit longer, but apparently there's no DFW/ANC service in the winter.

Intentional stops/destinations are BKK, BOS, DOH. The rest are MRs. Happy to receive suggestions for increasing mileage! I'm going to try to credit AA marketed flights to QRPC and non-AA flights to AAdvantage.

Last edited by Dr. HFH; Oct 3, 2024 at 3:24 am
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Old Oct 3, 2024 | 4:48 am
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Originally Posted by Dr. HFH
There has been some discussion about how many BIS miles can one get in an xONE3, xONE4, etc. (Obviously earned miles/points will depend on which airlines one flies and the program to which one credits.) Just planning my next ticket, a DONE3 which will start in November, assuming that prices haven't gone up too much since my last ticket. Here's the itinerary as currently planned: NRT-DFW-BOS-DFW-SJU-DFW-JFK-LAX-DOH-DUB-DOH-MAD-DOH-ICN-CMB-BKK-NRT. 52,093 BIS miles according to Milecalc. Would have been a bit longer, but apparently there's no DFW/ANC service in the winter.

Intentional stops/destinations are BKK, BOS, DOH. The rest are MRs. Happy to receive suggestions for increasing mileage! I'm going to try to credit AA marketed flights to QRPC and non-AA flights to AAdvantage.
Looks pretty optimized from first glance. I can't think of any real optimizations that will gain much extra BIS distance considering your needed stopover points.

But a few ideas to consider:
Swapping out SJU with STT or AUA gains a few extra miles and both may (or may not be, depending on your preferences) be more interesting than Puerto Rico.
I believe ORD-ANC does operate in winter, and would be a couple hundred miles more than DFW-Caribbean
Could swap out either MAD or DUB to CMN for a few extra miles, but not many. I've never been to Morocco myself, but have been to Spain and Ireland several times so that would be appealing to me.

I'd also change NRT to HND for the DFW flight and take the JL operated A351 whether on the JL or AA code. Similarly returning to Tokyo at the end, HND gets better business seats, pretty sure BKK-NRT is still all angle flat on the 788 with 2-2-2 configuration.
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Old Oct 3, 2024 | 9:58 am
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Originally Posted by dvs7310
But a few ideas to consider:
Swapping out SJU with STT or AUA gains a few extra miles and both may (or may not be, depending on your preferences) be more interesting than Puerto Rico.
I believe ORD-ANC does operate in winter, and would be a couple hundred miles more than DFW-Caribbean
Could swap out either MAD or DUB to CMN for a few extra miles, but not many. I've never been to Morocco myself, but have been to Spain and Ireland several times so that would be appealing to me.

I'd also change NRT to HND for the DFW flight and take the JL operated A351 whether on the JL or AA code. Similarly returning to Tokyo at the end, HND gets better business seats, pretty sure BKK-NRT is still all angle flat on the 788 with 2-2-2 configuration.
All good ideas, thank you. I looked at all of them.

Swapping out SJU for STT or AUA: This won't work because 1) I can't do a same day turn because the return to DFW leaves before the flight from DFW arrives, at both STT and AUA. 2) These destinations only have nonstops ex-DFW on Saturdays, and there's no D space available, -- it will be between Christmas and New Year's. SJU works because AA puts on a 772 five days/week during this period, so plenty of D space.

ORD-ANC: If I did this, the routing would be BOS-ORD-ANC-ORD-BOS-LAX. These flights will be around December 30th, and, having lived in Chicago for several years, I stay away during the winter. A snow delay/cancellation will really foul up the rest of the itinerary and cause a ton of extra work for me reworking it back to Bangkok. Will look at ANC again for the next one, which will probably be in early April.

Replacing MAD or DUB with CMN: I might be able to work this in to my schedule.

Changing to HND: My business partner is flying the NRT routing and I'd like to fly with him, if there's D availability when I book. I'm going to try to have all of this finished so I can book tomorrow.

These are all good suggestions, and I appreciate your taking the time. Thank you!
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Old Oct 3, 2024 | 11:09 pm
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How about working LAX-SJO on AS? Something like this for your NA flights: DFW-SJU-DFW-JFK-LAX-SJO-LAX. Nets about 2200 more miles.

Though D space on AS can be hard to find sometimes.
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Old Oct 4, 2024 | 2:59 am
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Originally Posted by SNA_Flyer
How about working LAX-SJO on AS? Something like this for your NA flights: DFW-SJU-DFW-JFK-LAX-SJO-LAX. Nets about 2200 more miles.

Though D space on AS can be hard to find sometimes.
Great idea, thank you! Won't work for me on this trip because, unsurprisingly, there's no D space in the last week of December, which is when I need it. I'll def keep it in mind for the next one, though. I used to do LAX-MBJ turns on these trips until AA discontinued the service.
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