Over the banner, “Look at how many AAdvantage miles the most active members earned in 2012”, there is a guy slurping noodles, wearing a cartoon crown, showing a total of 970,428 AAdvantage miles. More than $150,000 in dines @ 6 miles per dollar (and given that what few bonuses exist are capped I very much doubt that he got anywhere near 6 per, so likely he spent just shy of $200,000). Anyway you calculate it, quite an accomplishment, and almost certainly the result of a number of corporate trainings, banquets, catering, and/or other corporate-funded boondoggles.

Second and third place, respectively, are 158,092, 106,474 miles and are, in some ways, the more interesting numbers as these were not impossible to achieve in the good old bonus-laden days, but now place an eater in the very top echelons of AA RN.

Do any other affiliations show a total number of miles earned in 2012, and if so, anybody top 970,428?

No. Not even close. I find it hard to believe a stat like that. Most places limit spending to $1000 a month, so that would be only 5000 miles per month at one restaurant without bonuses.

Burp.

I didn’t even consider the $1,000/5,000 mile max, in that I never bump into that ceiling. But, before I call bullsh!t on about 200 dines, could we have a sales manager who linked his entire team’s credit cards into his RN account?

Well, I guess that could happen, but I believe there is a limit as to the number of CC one can list to a RN FF account. I know a few years ago it was a max of five cards per account. Nowadays, however, I know one can link at least six cards per account because I have done it.

If there is no limit, I am going to try to get every family member to link their cards to my account. They hate FF accounts and I love them!

According to the FAQs (at least for AA), the 5 card limit remains in effect:

However, I currently have 9 cards registered with AA RN and have been getting points for recent dines. So, perhaps the limit is not generally enforced?

While I'm well over the limit as well, when last I tried to register a card I was blocked and so called up a CSR who insisted that if I wanted to add a card, I needed to delete a card.

I'm at 9 as well, and just recently added an Amex and 2 Visas with no problem.

So far I've received the points for all the cards.

I guess anything worth doing is worth doing yourself: United top eaters:

231,521
213,085
177,979


Alaska:

52,518
31,196
26,167