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The 2013 “Who, When, Where, What and How” thread

The 2013 “Who, When, Where, What and How” thread

Old Dec 21, 2012, 10:59 am
  #16  
ctp
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: 6mi from IAD
Programs: UA-GS, HH-D, MR-P, Hz-PC
Posts: 84
Who: Systems Engineer - Defense Industry

When: 1K (again) Early October, GS Early December

Where: SAV (~20), GRK/AUS (~20), BIL (x3), LAS (1), PHL (4)

Why: IAD based - UA is easiest (though bloody expensive, especially on last minute B fares = 80% of my travel).

How: 95% work - I usually use miles for personal travel.

Total: 132 segments (all domestic), 120K PQM, additional 300K RDM from United Visa Select
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Old Dec 21, 2012, 11:10 am
  #17  
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: IAD
Programs: UA GS, 1MM; Marriott Lifetime Titanium Elite
Posts: 561
Who: Head of R&D for a small Biotech company

When: Made Platinum in Nov Nashville-ORD

How: 90%+ for work. A handful of TATL trips. Lots of added segments BWI-SFO-SAN for instance.

Where: BWI, SFO, SAN, IAH, IAD, DCA, BOS, MFR, AMS, ORD, YVR, LAX, SEA, PWM, FRA, BSL, EWR, DUB, BNA, DEN, SAT.

Why: Work drives travel, and getting miles for my wife's travel, upgrades

What: Figuring out if I want to make a concerted effort for 1k this year, since Platinum is assured.
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Old Dec 21, 2012, 11:11 am
  #18  
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: UA Gold 1MM, AA EXP, HH Diamond, MR Gold, Avis PC, Hertz PC
Posts: 1,251
Who: I work for a media measurement company and bartend on the side.

When: Made Plat (for the first time!!) on a LAX-LIH flight in mid-November

How: I travel almost exclusively for pleasure. I was bit by the travel bug early and have not looked back. I generally don't take pure mileage runs, but am not opposed to a two day trip to HKG.

Where: SFO(x2)/OAK /DEN(x2)/NRT/HKG/ICN/LIH/SAN

Why: Status makes the travel process So. Much. Easier. It takes a lot of the stress out of flying.

What: I've already got trips to HNL, IST and SEZ (on QR!) planned. Not sure what the fall will bring but maybe I'll head back to Europe.
coolbeans202 is offline  
Old Dec 21, 2012, 11:45 am
  #19  
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: New York, NY
Programs: Hyatt GLOB, Marriott Lifetime PLT, UA 1K 1MM.
Posts: 1,728
Who: i do presales work for an enterprise software firm, one of the big ones. it involves a lot of hops for one hour meetings. i like scotch. the two are not related.

...most of the time.

When: i'm at 93K right now, have my christmas trip to ohio planned and will be flying to ICN right before the year, so i'll just squeak by at around 102K.

How: i'd say about 75% of it was for work. i was a pmco person and typically just made plat on work alone. my SO lives in asia and family members are getting older, so i'm having a huge uptick in personal international travel, which is a change for me. i did dabble about 10K in AA travel this year as i experimented with the EXP match. i'm not going to lie, it was really nice. problem was AA relied too heavily on partners for asia so i ended up staying with UA (3x segments to ICN and PVG? nothx) and had to find an MR as i was about 3000 short for 1K (did ZFV-EWR-SAN-EWR-ZFV and ran into a fellow person doing that same MR), first time i've ever done an MR. i don't know how i'll plan for the next couple of years as AA added DFW-ICN and that's a huge boon for me... but i digress.

Where: um... a lot of places. my sig has most of it, but i guess that'll change with the new year.

PVG ICN NRT EWR JFK CLT MSY ORD LGA DTW PHL SFO YUL HKG BOS DEN DCA LAS CVG ORD LAX AUS IAH BOS MCO TPA GRR MSP SAN FRA TXL IAD CDG

i'm sure i'm missing a few more (60+ PQS should be out of more i figure) but i can't remember. on a side note if anyone knows whether we can still get a purge print, that'd be good to know.

Why: achieving status is important to me because of GPU's. with my increase in personal travel to asia, the last thing i want to do after all my domestic runs for work is have to sit in a seat in Y for a 15H flight to PVG, especially if it's a return trip from asia and work has me scheduled for a customer meeting literally the next day after i land. i'm sure anyone who flies 100K+ a year can relate. it's just not worth it without them. also despite the horror stories, i've only missed one GPU upgrade so they're still huge for me, a big portion cleared at booking and i've been a happy camper with them.

as for RDM's... my parents are retiring soon and i'm saving up all my miles (and hotel points) to plan an RTW trip for them in F. they love travel and have never really flown in F internationally so i figure this would be a good gift. i haven't redeemed a point/mile in years (well... i redeemed points once for a hotel stay but that's about it) so i can save up for them. they've put up with my crap all these years, thought it's a decent way to say thanks.

also going forward trying to save for a similar trip for me and my SO in 4-5 years or so. for that i still need to figure out if i want to invest in *A or OW.

What: i guess still run for 1K. for my parents trip to happen (they're retiring next year and planning this to fly in 2014) i think i'm too heavily invested now in *A and switching to OW would throw a wrench into my plans. i do feel the tug of AA though. so for my 2013 flying, i don't think much will change, and i would venture to guess that most people, regardless of what they chose, will not change in 2013.

my prediction is that everyone will keep their eyes out for the US/AA merger and whether or not UA can clean up its act customer service-wise. people who have jumped i think have jumped in 2012 for the most part, 2013 seems like a "wait and see" year for most. unless the merger goes through which may cause a shift from the AA ranks, much like we've seen with the UA ranks this year. but that's just pure-speculation on my part. where UA ends up rolling out the 787, given all its electronic gremlins, and what AA ends up doing with the 773ER both in 2013 i think will be really interesting to see. and, of course, what kind of moves doug parker will make should a merged AA emerge. or, likewise, what parker and horton would do should AA emerge standalone.

and whether DL picks up VX.

and how leisure travelers will react to WN's new fees.

and so on and so forth.

i think for 2013 the industry should get pretty interesting with all the changes. get the popcorn ready.

hah, thanks for all this. despite all the merger headaches, this was a fun flying year for me personally. felt good to look back.

Last edited by bob_the_d; Dec 21, 2012 at 12:09 pm
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Old Dec 21, 2012, 12:06 pm
  #20  
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: DAB
Programs: DL PM UA PSilver Marriott Lifetime Plat, AMEX Platinum, Avis PC, UA MPPPlus
Posts: 961
Who: Instructor who delivers classes training a multi-national company's sales force
When: I used a few PEQMs today to hit Gold for the year and next year.
How: I travel for work, as well as take vacations and the occasional mileage run.
Where: Vacations: MNL Work: SIN and some trans cons MR: HNL
Why: Seat selection, boarding, and upgrades are why I value Elite status
What: MRs to SEA and SAN, vacation in IST already booked, not sure if I'll hold at Gold again

My minimum goal each year is Gold in each of the two different alliances I fly. This year I was Platinum in both, but next year I'll be Gold on UA and Diamond on DL.

I'll keep an eye on how the integration issues are going, and also how much better (if any) treatment I get as a result of my higher level on the other one when deciding how to split my travel next year.
edweird is offline  
Old Dec 21, 2012, 12:10 pm
  #21  
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Morris County, NJ
Programs: UA 1K/*G, Avis Pres, Marriott Plat
Posts: 2,296
Who: Systems engineer in the telecom industry
What: Made Platinum in Nov for the first time
How: Almost all for work, save 2 family vacations. All work travel domestic - that's called 'earning it the hard way'! Every single mile on UA/CO metal.
Where: All over the place domestically + one family vacation to CZM (that's it for my int'l travel)
Why: It's the economy (plus) stupid! Spending most of the year as a Lowly Gold, Flyertalk taught me that 1K's matter and I don't. Even as a Lowly Plat, I realize my place in the hierarchy and shall refrain from spoiling your precious boarding carpet with my Lowly Platinum shoe dirt. All I ask is for you important 1K's to be benevolent and allow me to spend my ~85k BIS miles in Economy Plus. I promise I won't bother you otherwise.
What: at least as much in 2013 would be my expectation, if not more. I took on new responsibilities at work that will probably require more face time.

Happy holidays!
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Old Dec 21, 2012, 12:12 pm
  #22  
 
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: SFO/SJC
Programs: UA 1K & 2MM, Bonvoy Titanium & LTP, HH Gold, Accor Silver, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 2,344
Who: Work: digital local products. Play: Cricket, of course.

When: Hit 1K about 10 minutes into SFO-LAX on the night of 12/19

How: Work travel is mostly domestic, including a lot of SFO-BUR/LAX hops. Pleasure travel this year was a lot of fun - cashed in some miles and flew LH F on the A380, new F on the 744 and new F on the A346; TG F on the leased 77W, TG C on the A380 and a bunch of other good stuff. Also flew ex-CO aircraft for the first time, including in C on the 777, so added a lot to my list this year.

Where: For work: SFO, SJC, LAS, LAX, BUR, STL, JFK, ATL, MSY; for pleasure: SIN, HKG, PER, ADL, ORD, JFK/EWR, DEN; in transit only: BKK, NRT, FRA, CDG, IAH

Why: Over the last couple of years I realised that status had become a goal as much as a consequence for me. This year I truly learned the value of it, as I changed my F award ticket about 20 times right up to the day before departure as plans and better options changed. Try doing that without being a 1K (or Platinum I guess).

What: I thought 1K would be tough this year, but I travelled a bit more than expected for work, and a trip to HKG made the difference. Next year looks even tougher. Only one leisure trip planned, and I can't see more than 20-30K of work travel. However, I am determined to make it at least up to Platinum, so that I can use my miles without dealing with fees, so if it's looking tough come November 2013, I'll be doing some mileage runs I think.
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Old Dec 21, 2012, 1:27 pm
  #23  
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: SYD; Central Coast, NSW
Programs: UA, 1K 2MM
Posts: 947
Who: Surfer and biomedical research scientist in the field of neuroimmunology.
When: Made 1K in September, 2012
How: Pretty standard year for me with usual line-up of scientific conferences to attend and speak at. Based in SYD all my flights with UA are long haul so rack up the miles.
Where: Lots mainly Europe and North America.
Why: For the diminishing benefits of being 1K and 1MM spousal benefit for Mrs IainC. Also for 2013 to achieve 2MM status.
What: Same as always - the scientific conference circuit. Already three trips booked for Feb-May, 2013 to HNL; CUN; and DEN. Might throw in a surfari to the Maldives if time permits.
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Old Dec 21, 2012, 1:46 pm
  #24  
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Aussie in ORD
Programs: Marriott Plat, Ua Gold, GE.. Sucker for punishment
Posts: 4,237
Who: I am a meteorologist working at a DoE National Laboratory studying processes in precipitating cloud systems.

When: December 2, a very enjoyable flight in Y from ORD to SFO to attend a conference. Competent crew, seemed to love their job! Pity I can not say the same about my first flight as gold..
How: This year was 100% work travel. This is my first full year on UA.. Due to OW connections when I first moved to the states I moved from QF to AA.. But work's contract carrier is UA.. So I status matched to Silver.. A trip back home made up a goodly portion of the path to Gold..

Where: MSY, LGA, DCA, LGA, SYD, MEL, YYZ, TLS (via FRA), DEN, DCA, DEN, SFO ... Been a busy year.. I would rather make my status with three Asia trips

Why: By important I mean it is welcome.. I really did not change my patterns to make gold.. But I will enjoy international lounge access (since i dropped paid access as it is just not worth it) I could not imagine being status-less in the USA.. As a gold I get treated as well as a status-less flyer in Australia

What: I will be very hard pressed to maintain gold next year.. Travel is getting harder and harder.. But I have had some amazing successes in 2012 which may translate to opportunities in Asia... So far my planned travel is about 10K short of gold..
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Old Dec 21, 2012, 1:57 pm
  #25  
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: PDX/HIO
Programs: AS MVPG; Hertz Pres; Tanquery Million Minier
Posts: 375
Who: Product development engineer for a semiconductor manufacturer. Lots of travel this year for conferences and training our teams on Agile processes and tools. Also a competitive Masters swimmer.
When: Made Gold earlier this week when miles from my last AUS trip posted
How: Half a dozen business trips to AUS plus a conference in MCO. Fairly high personal travel year too, with several east coast trips, but 2.5 of those were award travel.
Where: SYR/ITH AUS GSO PEN PHL DEN KEF MCO BOS
Why: Decided to put in the extra effort to concentrate on UA and get Gold for the E+ access. I actually had 4 CPUs as a silver, though I'm not sure sure IAH-AUS counts as a big upgrade. Lots of respect for the 1Ks/GS, but I don't really aspire to that much flying--I like to get in lots of swimming and camping every year too.
What: Three AUS trips already planned for Q1 2013, plus MCO for a conference and KOA for vacation. With various other trips, getting Gold by ~July shouldn't be too much of a stretch.
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Old Dec 21, 2012, 2:03 pm
  #26  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Benicia, California, USA
Programs: AA PLT,AS,UA PP,J6,FB,EY,LH,SQ,HH Dmd,Hyatt Glbl,Marriott Plat,IHG Plat,Accor Gold
Posts: 10,820
Who: I conduct research, consult, give presentations, prepare papers and edit books for various international development agencies, foundations and policy institutes regarding the interface between law and development, particularly how the poor and other disadvantaged populations can expand and make use of their rights. The mix of organizations and where I go for them varies a lot, but in recent years has included the World Bank, Amnesty International, the Open Societies Foundations and the U.K. Department for International Development. On a part-time basis, I also teach courses on these topics in the U.S. and Europe. More importantly, I am a big SF 49er fan and an even bigger Springsteen fan.

When: Still struggling to get MP credit for a J trip to Australia on AC earlier this year, so opted to plunk down $200 earlier this month to buy the PQMs that put me over the top for 1K for next year.

How: Mostly international travel in J and upgraded Y to Asia for consultancies and to Europe for conferences, but occasionally go to other parts of the world as well. Also some domestic Y (generally upgraded) travel for work and play (most often to the East Coast), as well as to tag along with my wife when her work takes here to cities where I can also do some work (often DC) and/or play (such as New Orleans).

Why: For the status that has (at least in the past) gotten me domestic and international upgrades and for the miles that my wife and I use for just about all of our international vacations.

What: In view of the deterioration I've seen in UA and MP, looking toward 2014 I'm significantly cutting back my UA travel in 2013 favor of AA and its OW alliance partners. This will end my nearly 20 years of 1K status. I'm finding much better reliability and customer service as an AA EXP these days than as a UA 1K; in addition, the AA FF program (for the most part) is leaving MP increasingly in the dust. The upshot is that I'll still have my lifetime Plat status on UA (unless UA changes the rules for that), but 1K is very unlikely unless there is a definite uptick in UA, MP and/or my amount of travel in 2013.

That being said, the fly in this ointment could be whether AA merges with US, what that might mean for the things I like about AA, and how soon any resulting changes become obvious.

Last edited by Thunderroad; Dec 21, 2012 at 4:20 pm
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Old Dec 21, 2012, 2:27 pm
  #27  
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Verdi, NV, SFO & Olympic (aka Squaw )Valley.
Programs: Ikon Pass Full + AS Gold + Marriott Titanium + Hilton Gold. Recovering UA Plat. LT lounge AA+DL+UA
Posts: 3,815
Who: I work in finance for start-ups and specialize in international. I spent six months managing a series b with a fiancee in SF and commuting between LAX and PVG, with a fair amount of time in ICN. In August I left to run Islais which operates two vertical retailers Siggy.us (electronics for travelers) and soon Qood.co which makes nutrition advice for new parents.

When: Sitting at my desk to move the last thousand, or so, EQMs from my Presidential Plus account.

How: Primarily via UA with a bunch of *A partners thrown in. My longest partner trips were on OZ and LH. I did a bunch of shorter trips on CA, SQ, BD and US. US, btw, positively surprised me. My last few EQMs were courtesy of Chase. My travel pattern has been the same from previous years (i.e. an intercontinental trip per quarter and a bunch of domestics). I recently went on the Lawrence University alumni board, so I'm visiting ATW twice a year.

Where: Much of my work travel was on KE, which meant 70% RDMs on AS. (Would have been 0 EQM/RDM on Delta.) I did snag a few SFO-ICN-PVG-LAX-SFO laps on OZ/UA. Early in the year my partner and I did weekends in TXL (Berlin) and DUB from SFO. I routinely take a few laps to LAS/LAX/SEA/etc. For LAS I tend to go with VX/WN/UA depending on price. We did a trip SFO-PHX-EWR on US which was quite delightful; especially the surprisingly tasty at the PHX US Club. I'm travelling quite a bit less than in past years, and will probably not aim to requalify as a Gold next year.

Why:This game ain't as fun as it used to be. Back in the day (mid-2000s) upgrades were more plentiful, Presidents Clubs were FUN on Fridays and we had food in coach. This is harder to put a pencil on...but the team at UA seems increasingly angry. With my Presidential Plus credit card the big benefit of elite status is upgrades which have not been forthcoming. As a result, I'm increasingly driven by price on a per flight basis. I've been positively surprised by US and AA; DL/AS/VX/WN continue to meet expectations.

What: I spend miles primarily flying to expensive airports in Wisconsin like CWA and ATW. UA seems to have more availability than DL or AA. I'll continue to vacation on cheap tickets over long distances (i.e. SFO-EUR for <$500.) Status for me in 2014 is entirely dependent on whether I have business reasons to fly enough to justify travel. I do have 17,675 FEQMs, so I suspect Silver will be pretty easy to achieve...who knows I might be Gold again?
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Old Dec 21, 2012, 2:37 pm
  #28  
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 4,645
Who: Consulting and software development.

When: Due to the hostility of the CO management regime toward elite flyers, and the subsequent drastic cut in upgrade opportunities after 3/3, I no longer have a clear status goal beyond Gold. I don't see that the marginal benefit is worth the cost anymore. I'll fly when I need to fly, push all spending to other carriers as much as it is reasonable to do so, and if I have any goal, it'll just be Gold - after many years as a GS/1K.

How: Mostly driven by work plus a few personal trips each year. Never done a MR. This regime has never given me a bonus EQM offer. Don't do the card based miles. Until 3/3, I was 100% loyal to UA metal, only *A where UA didn't fly. Now, I'm 100% loyal to non-UA *A metal, only flying UA when it's the fastest and cheapest option. Have enjoyed getting acquainted with LH. Not sure of YTD spend, but it's way, way, way down from prior years because I no longer see any value in exchange and am fed up with the anti-elite stance that tends to focus on penalties for being an elite and rewards for being low-value.

Where: LIH, DEL, FRA, MUC, LHR, MCO, LIS, ORD in the last quarter. Too hard to find anything earlier on the new web site.

Why: For upgrades. That's it. Now that upgrades are gone for me, I see no point.

What: For last 10 years, 100% loyal to sUA, with target of maintaining 1K. Now, target is Gold, which I should achieve naturally without any special planning or effort. Major changes: For the first time in a decade, my spend will be focused on non-UA as first priority and UA only as last resort. And, no longer seeking to qualify for 1K. They wanted to get rid of my over-entitled butt in their seats, they've done it.
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Old Dec 21, 2012, 3:12 pm
  #29  
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: IAH
Programs: UA Gold, Marriott Gold, HH Gold, Hyatt Explorist, Hertz PC, Avis 1st
Posts: 313
Who: College student who travels as much as possible

When: Made Silver returning from TLV in early June

How: A few IAH-BOS r/t's and a dozen IAH-MSY r/t's with a trip from IAH-TLV. All of my travel was personal, mostly on my own dime.

Where: IAH, MSY, CLT, CUN, EWR, TLV, BOS, DCA

Why: Priority security in airports w/o PreCheck, the occasional upgrade (managed to get one from EWR-MSY), free bag and I've been 100% with E+ this year. Was also able to use my miles for a r/t in LH F

What: I am really hoping my travel increases even more in 2013 as it did in 2012. I am hoping for more reasons to go TATL and maybe even try a MR or two.
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Old Dec 21, 2012, 3:36 pm
  #30  
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: IAD UA1K, Hilton Gold, Hyatt Diamond
Programs: Random acts of kindness and senseless beauty
Posts: 1,235
Who: Grandmother

When: Made 1K Dec.5 IAD-SFO. 2013 will be my 9th as a 1K

Where: Many transcons, also HNL, FCO, FRA

How: A few milage runs padding my regular travel

Why: Grandkids are near SFO, I am near IAD. Also husband has become spoiled by upgrades and easy access at the airport. He won't do the MR's but doesn't mind funding them. I need 7,200 miles for MM, and husband wants me to do MR's early in Jan so he gets 1K the easy way.

What: I buy cheap fares and out of IAD upgrades are much less frequent now. Definitely questioning whether to go for 1K for 2014.
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