RNE

It dates back more than a decade and was my attempt at endeared mimicry of another person who was referred to by initials. She shall remain nameless. Suffice it to say I keep my wife's moniker alive in my vaunted role as the guardian of Flyertalk history, a lone bulwark against the ravages of time and triviality. Indeed, future generations will delineate Flyertalk dates from my arrival on September 17, 2005, giving earlier times the suffix BRNE.

MPsince1984

I've been on the mileage treadmill since 1984. 33 years later, I'm finally taking a deep breath and stepping off. I was interviewed for a new job in 1984. We met at the Red Carpet Club at Washington National Airport. Back then, you could actually walk in off the street. Of course back then, there were still pay phones at every corner, and my parents had a rotary dial phone on the wall in the kitchen...

My boss was flying a LOT and he told me that day that I should take advantage of the amazing loyalty programs that were just getting rolling, so I joined Mileage Plus on the spot. To this day, I can still remember my original Mileage Plus number faster than my social security number.

I didn't actually fly for business very often at all, but I took advantage of every opportunity to jump in the silver tubes and travel. And see friends And see family. And travel. I moved from Minneapolis to Annapolis to Newport, to Newport Beach to the SF Bay Area. And back to the Twin Cities.

I had my butt in seats for tens of thousands of miles on board planes from American and Northwest. Plenty of others too, but as the miles started adding up, I started focusing on one airline: United. I lived in CA for 12 years, and even after I returned "home" to Minneapolis, I went out of my way to give loyalty to the airline that had taken such good care of me. I completely understand that everyone had their favorites, and good reasons for them. I just made UA mine.

I don't drink or smoke, but before long, it was obvious that I had an addiction. To MILES. Before I knew it, I had premier status, and I started taking mileage runs. How silly is it to fly random flights all around the country (often same day there-and-back) flights JUST for status? I don't fish either, but I got hooked and reeled in. By the time I started looking into some serious international travel, I was giddy to find out that I could take my first flight around the world to Sydney, Australia using my miles, and (as I recall) it "only" cost me 50 or 60,000 miles! The first trip Down Under was to participate in a charity event in my sport, and I was all-in on the E Ticket ride for Frequent Flyer miles! I started budgeting for an annual trip, and once I did it the first time, it only took a couple of local and cross-country domestic trips to maintain premiere status every year. Sometimes even GOLD!

Although I cashed in miles for flights as needed, I found myself on the same racetrack that George Clooney's character sought in "Up In the Air." it wasn't about USING the miles as much as simply maintaining the STATUS with United! I'd learned many tricks of the trade (well before I found Flyer Talk). I booked flights that had a good chance of being oversold, and walked away with free tickets for future flights. That happened quite a bit, and some years I sincerely debated BUYING extra flights rather than using the free flights, simply so I could maintain my premier status. I even gave a few of the free flights to friends as a result.

I almost ALWAYS requested window seats. It didn't matter if I was flying in crappy weather, or at night, or over "boring" farm lands. I loved being in the air. Airline travel was magic, and I wanted to look out the window and see what was out there. Flying was fun. Sure, long flights could be very tiring (24 hours of airplanes and airports to get to SYD from MSP), but it was FUN. It was an adventure.

Eventually, as expected, the flying world changed. The folks who designed the whole idea of LOYALTY programs changed into suits who made decisions based on bean counting. I get it. It's a business. The front line staff got taken advantage of. The customers got taken advantage of. The corporate profits evolved into nickels and dimes, and my pockets are getting picked. When UA and Continental merged, I allowed myself to take it personally, and got bummed. I finally took advantage of matching status and joined the new Northwest (Delta) since my home was Minneapolis. That was fun for a bit too. Too bad I never got a million miles and lifetime status. Oh well...

Now, I do exactly what the non-professional flyer is supposed to do. I don't fly as much. And I buy tickets based on actual cost and schedule. I am one flight away (to Hawaii) from having elite status for 2018, and I even found a price I could probably afford, and friends there to stay with. But... I abandoned the idea yesterday. I'm getting off the treadmill now.

Today I finally cashed in my final Mileage Plus miles.I cashed the final UA miles in to buy a Christmas flight to see family and friends. And I'm truly happy about it. I'll still fly when I can, and I'll still fly United as well. Or Meatball airlines, if that's the best option for any given trip. And one goal no matter what will be to find the FUN in flying again.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Seat1A

Yeah, that's about right!

RNE

When is the best time of year to go to Milan?

fumje

I have only been once, but May was a nice time of year.

EmailKid

Um, Italy forum @:-)

Not the city with most historic and / or architectural landmarks.

IIRC kind of cool and rainy in winter. I would think spring or fall would be best.

RNE

Pshaw! I trust only the opinions of my fellow disaffected social misfits who infest this decrepit thread of despair.

We're going to AMS in May. So, how about MXP in September? Summer travel's pretty much over, right? Fewer tourists, still warm and dry, I presume. No?

IAH-OIL-TRASH

It's got THE Last Supper - and a lot of places to eat that don't end as badly. Kind of a dressier place than the rest of Italy.

artvandalay

September is great. And there's plenty of history, if that's your thing. I'd go just for the food and shopping. Just take a taxi to the Domo and start walking. Great shopping, food and people watching in any direction. If you have a day to spare, hop the train to Lake Como, but warning: buy a round trip ticket, or you may never return.

fumje

Just don't forget that The Last Supper requires some advance reservation (or signing up for a guided tour).

EmailKid

Guess it's been a while since I saw it. Just walked in without a wait, and almost no one around

And pretty much agree on September as most school kids should be back in school and not on holiday.

fumje

In 2014 it was a bit impacted. I hadn't intended on seeing it, but a colleague had secured a ticket, and when I looked into it three or five days before it was no chance. Spent the afternoon with some good wine and better company at Cantine Isola instead.

EmailKid

I'm not talking about years, but decades My handle is a little misleading, been using it for a couple of decades ... not quite that long on FT.

fumje

Well—you know the good ol' days, then. When one could see the Last Supper with no wait.

RNE

Interestingly, xyzzy is so old, he was at the actual Last Supper.