The 2017 “Who, When, Where, What and How” thread!:)
Dec 30, 2016, 7:23 am
#1
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2003
Programs: UA*Lifetime GS, Hyatt* Lifetime Globalist
Posts: 12,313
The 2017 “Who, When, Where, What and How” thread!:)
Here is the eleventh annual “Who, When, Where, What and How” thread!
If you are new to FT or an old timers that needs a refresher, here is the drill:
We have been having this thread for the last ten years for FTers on United Forum to share travel stories on how status were obtained during the year, what are the flying patterns, why we travel, where we have flown to, etc. It is also a place for newcomers to introduce themselves to the Forum, and old timers to share their travel pattern in the past 12 months. Most important of all, tell us about your travel projection for the upcoming 2017 year.
This has been a different year! We have just experienced the first year UA increased the PQMs for fares paid in the premium cabins for qualifying 2016 elite status. Our beloved airlines seemed to have been performing below par with peers financially. Lower oil price has given UA positive results. Newly introduced Polaris offerings seem to get mixed reviews after the first month, and lack of upgrade spaces and saver awards have continued to be our primary concerns. It is possible there are going to be a large number of elites in 2017 due to the increased PQM awarded to premium cabin fares paid.
The links to the 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 threads are listed below. It is interesting to go back and reflect on what had changed in our travel patterns over the past eight years.
The 2016 “Who, When, Where, What and How” thread
The 2015 "Who, When, Where, What and How" Thread
The 2014 “Who, When, Where, What and How” thread
The 2013 “Who, When, Where, What and How” thread
The 2012 “Who, When, Where, What and How” thread
The 2011 “Who, When, Where, What and How” thread
The 2010 “Who, When, Where, What and How” thread
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...ferrerid=19989
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...ferrerid=19989
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...ferrerid=19989
Here we go:
Who: What do you do when you are not on FT? Anything you want to tell FTers about you.
When: When will (did) you make your desired 2017 status?
How: This is a broad category. Include any information on whether you travel for work, personal reasons, MRs, double/triple EQM, M+ Visa EQMs, UA flying, *A flying, $$$ spent to achieve status, how your travel pattern has changed in 2016 from previous years.
Where: Places you have been this year (on your way to your 2017 status).
Why:Why is achieving status/accumulating miles important (or not important) to you? Why do you do Mileage Runs, etc.?
What: What’s your plan to achieve 2018 status, and where will you go? What will likely the change to your UA flying in 2017 versus 2016?
Happy Holidays and Safe Travel Everyone!!
If you are new to FT or an old timers that needs a refresher, here is the drill:
We have been having this thread for the last ten years for FTers on United Forum to share travel stories on how status were obtained during the year, what are the flying patterns, why we travel, where we have flown to, etc. It is also a place for newcomers to introduce themselves to the Forum, and old timers to share their travel pattern in the past 12 months. Most important of all, tell us about your travel projection for the upcoming 2017 year.
This has been a different year! We have just experienced the first year UA increased the PQMs for fares paid in the premium cabins for qualifying 2016 elite status. Our beloved airlines seemed to have been performing below par with peers financially. Lower oil price has given UA positive results. Newly introduced Polaris offerings seem to get mixed reviews after the first month, and lack of upgrade spaces and saver awards have continued to be our primary concerns. It is possible there are going to be a large number of elites in 2017 due to the increased PQM awarded to premium cabin fares paid.
The links to the 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 threads are listed below. It is interesting to go back and reflect on what had changed in our travel patterns over the past eight years.
The 2016 “Who, When, Where, What and How” thread
The 2015 "Who, When, Where, What and How" Thread
The 2014 “Who, When, Where, What and How” thread
The 2013 “Who, When, Where, What and How” thread
The 2012 “Who, When, Where, What and How” thread
The 2011 “Who, When, Where, What and How” thread
The 2010 “Who, When, Where, What and How” thread
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...ferrerid=19989
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...ferrerid=19989
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...ferrerid=19989
Here we go:
Who: What do you do when you are not on FT? Anything you want to tell FTers about you.
When: When will (did) you make your desired 2017 status?
How: This is a broad category. Include any information on whether you travel for work, personal reasons, MRs, double/triple EQM, M+ Visa EQMs, UA flying, *A flying, $$$ spent to achieve status, how your travel pattern has changed in 2016 from previous years.
Where: Places you have been this year (on your way to your 2017 status).
Why:Why is achieving status/accumulating miles important (or not important) to you? Why do you do Mileage Runs, etc.?
What: What’s your plan to achieve 2018 status, and where will you go? What will likely the change to your UA flying in 2017 versus 2016?
Happy Holidays and Safe Travel Everyone!!
Dec 30, 2016, 8:10 am
#2
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: NYC (Primarily EWR)
Programs: UA 1K / *G, Marriott Bonvoy Gold; Avis PC
Posts: 8,994
Who: work in financial services
When: made 1K in early October
How: largely leisure travel, although I did a little more business travel this year. That helped more on the PQD front than the PQM side.
Where: see my signature!
Why: generally think that having status will help me out when things go sideways (and it has). BG1 and Y+ legroom is important as well. GPUs are certainly nice too (have already burned 5 on travel next year).
What: I already have 70k PQM booked for the first half of next year, with likely more to be added. Traveling to SF, Sedona AZ, LA twice, Florence Italy, Amsterdam, Omaha (for the BRK annual meeting), and Shanghai/Taiwan. Probably 1-2 more European leisure trips to add, possibly another Asia trip later in the year, and at least 2 more TCONs. I think I can hit 1K again, although I'd really like some biz travel to support the PQD requirements!
When: made 1K in early October
How: largely leisure travel, although I did a little more business travel this year. That helped more on the PQD front than the PQM side.
Where: see my signature!
Why: generally think that having status will help me out when things go sideways (and it has). BG1 and Y+ legroom is important as well. GPUs are certainly nice too (have already burned 5 on travel next year).
What: I already have 70k PQM booked for the first half of next year, with likely more to be added. Traveling to SF, Sedona AZ, LA twice, Florence Italy, Amsterdam, Omaha (for the BRK annual meeting), and Shanghai/Taiwan. Probably 1-2 more European leisure trips to add, possibly another Asia trip later in the year, and at least 2 more TCONs. I think I can hit 1K again, although I'd really like some biz travel to support the PQD requirements!
Dec 30, 2016, 8:48 am
#3
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: NYC
Posts: 302
Who: software engineer
When: I was targeting Platinum, which I reached around September
How: Exclusively personal travel. I wound up with about 110k PQM, of which ~20k or so are bonuses from travel in BF. I rely on the credit card waiver, as I only have about $4k in PQD.
Where: http://flightdiary.net/rmannion/2016
Why: IRROPs handling, international lounges
What: Planning on maintaining Platinum - have a trip to Sofia in January, SE Asia in February, Brussels in March, the Island Hopper in April, and Basel in June. Filling out the rest of my calendar as deals in the MR forum pop up! In the background are 5-6 RTs to LA to visit family for birthdays/holidays.
When: I was targeting Platinum, which I reached around September
How: Exclusively personal travel. I wound up with about 110k PQM, of which ~20k or so are bonuses from travel in BF. I rely on the credit card waiver, as I only have about $4k in PQD.
Where: http://flightdiary.net/rmannion/2016
Why: IRROPs handling, international lounges
What: Planning on maintaining Platinum - have a trip to Sofia in January, SE Asia in February, Brussels in March, the Island Hopper in April, and Basel in June. Filling out the rest of my calendar as deals in the MR forum pop up! In the background are 5-6 RTs to LA to visit family for birthdays/holidays.
Dec 30, 2016, 8:56 am
#4
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: CHS
Programs: UA GS, Bonvoy Amabassador, Hertz PC
Posts: 2,589
WHO: Field Service for a small but international company
When: made 1K in late July
How: work, work, work, plus a bit of play
Where: All over USA, but offices in ORD, spent a ton of time in/out of PA, SIN, NRT.
Why: Maintain status for free bags and IRROPS. TSA frowns on me bringing my tools and other items in the people space, so they have to ride under.
What: Plan is easy - work, work, work. I do have 2 leisure flights planned this year and a huge family vacation. Going to SIN, FRA, DXB, BOM, and MXP for sure. Hoping for enough PQD to hit GS - but I doubt it, I will be woefully short. Being able to UG from the P bucket instead of R would open up a world of possibilities not available to me currently for leisure travel.
When: made 1K in late July
How: work, work, work, plus a bit of play
Where: All over USA, but offices in ORD, spent a ton of time in/out of PA, SIN, NRT.
Why: Maintain status for free bags and IRROPS. TSA frowns on me bringing my tools and other items in the people space, so they have to ride under.
What: Plan is easy - work, work, work. I do have 2 leisure flights planned this year and a huge family vacation. Going to SIN, FRA, DXB, BOM, and MXP for sure. Hoping for enough PQD to hit GS - but I doubt it, I will be woefully short. Being able to UG from the P bucket instead of R would open up a world of possibilities not available to me currently for leisure travel.
Dec 30, 2016, 9:07 am
#5
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: PHL
Programs: UA 1K 1MM, Marriott Gold, IHG Platinum, Raddison Platinum, Avis Presidents Club
Posts: 5,263
Who: Engineer in Defense
When: Renewed 1K on 12/16
How: 12387PQD 110392PQM. Seems like I've been flying less miles every year. Usually 50% PQM is intl, this year had more domestic tcons. Typically about 40-50% PQD is business, this year only about 30%. That along with prices being a little lower this year, I ended up booking a paid F for the first time to get me enough PQD.
Where: BCN/MAD,GIG/EZE,SIN/DPS,HNL,SEA,PDX,LAX
Why: IRROPS,1KLine,CPUs,GPUs. Got to use up my vacation and GPUs. Visit family more, And just like to get out of town so might as well travel in "style"
What: Europe (Maybe LHR, FCO, ATH), Maybe Peru, Somewhere in SE Asia, maybe I'll finally do the island hopper. I want to try to move and switch jobs this year, that may have a big affect
When: Renewed 1K on 12/16
How: 12387PQD 110392PQM. Seems like I've been flying less miles every year. Usually 50% PQM is intl, this year had more domestic tcons. Typically about 40-50% PQD is business, this year only about 30%. That along with prices being a little lower this year, I ended up booking a paid F for the first time to get me enough PQD.
Where: BCN/MAD,GIG/EZE,SIN/DPS,HNL,SEA,PDX,LAX
Why: IRROPS,1KLine,CPUs,GPUs. Got to use up my vacation and GPUs. Visit family more, And just like to get out of town so might as well travel in "style"
What: Europe (Maybe LHR, FCO, ATH), Maybe Peru, Somewhere in SE Asia, maybe I'll finally do the island hopper. I want to try to move and switch jobs this year, that may have a big affect
Last edited by eng3; Dec 30, 2016 at 9:25 am
Dec 30, 2016, 9:07 am
#6
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: SFO
Programs: UA 1K, Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold, SPG Gold, Hertz PC
Posts: 211
Who: Work in tech but also trade commodities/junior resource companies
When: Made 1K in mid Dec
How: All leisure travel, mainly on P/Z fares
Where: Cancun, New York, Boston, Sydney, Auckland (2x), Queenstown, Orlando, Barcelona
Why:
What: Having had any plans yet and am not sure if I want to requalify for 1K (since I fly in J anyways). Possibly looking to head over to HKG in May of next year for a conference.
When: Made 1K in mid Dec
How: All leisure travel, mainly on P/Z fares
Where: Cancun, New York, Boston, Sydney, Auckland (2x), Queenstown, Orlando, Barcelona
Why:
What: Having had any plans yet and am not sure if I want to requalify for 1K (since I fly in J anyways). Possibly looking to head over to HKG in May of next year for a conference.
Dec 30, 2016, 10:42 am
#7
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Suburban Philadelphia
Programs: Marriott Lifetime Plat, IHG Gold
Posts: 3,392
Who: Work in middle management for large international freight forwarder
When: Re-qualified for gold yesterday
How: Actually qualified on segments this year (could have qualified on miles if I would have needed to). The "mileage run" this week was to close the small PQD gap. 90% of travel is work related, 10% leisure.
Why:E+ at booking, the occasional upgrade, and lounge access on intl itineraries. Oh - and SDC! That one is huge.
What: Will most likely have more intl travel this year and perhaps less domestic, although I already have my first few domestic trips booked for the new year.
When: Re-qualified for gold yesterday
How: Actually qualified on segments this year (could have qualified on miles if I would have needed to). The "mileage run" this week was to close the small PQD gap. 90% of travel is work related, 10% leisure.
Why:E+ at booking, the occasional upgrade, and lounge access on intl itineraries. Oh - and SDC! That one is huge.
What: Will most likely have more intl travel this year and perhaps less domestic, although I already have my first few domestic trips booked for the new year.
Dec 30, 2016, 11:45 am
#8
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Our nation's capital
Programs: UA 1K & 0.6 MM
Posts: 781
Who: international development, health sector
When: hit 1K in October
How: Primarily taking Y or B fares to Asia for work, with some personal travel sprinkled in. Also have the old MP visa where I get PQMs for ua.com spend and 5k bonus PQMs for $30k spend. Was 1K in 2008/2009, then had kids and took a desk job, have been traveling again since 2014 and will retain 1K as long as I have this job.
Where: Myanmar was a new one for me in 2016, quite amazing opportunity and country. Then the usual for work, India (twice), and Kazakhstan. Hit Florida and the Bahamas for fun, San Fran and Boston for work.
Why: Because 14-hour flights in Y suck. It's also nice to have E+ when traveling with urchins and lounge access when doing international flights. And I like taking my family places with miles.
What: I will hit 1K very early in 2018, probably by May since I will be in Myanmar in January, Thailand in February, and Singapore in April. At least one additional trip to India will follow, if not two. The rest is ill defined, but likely includes a trip to Europe with family, perhaps a short ski vacation, and likely a conference somewhere. Would love to hit 150k PQM for the extra 2 GPUs, but that might be a stretch. I will stick with UA because it is working for me -- have been able to upgrade international long-hauls with miles on every flight for 1.5 years now. And since I've never flown up front with any other carrier, I don't know what I'm missing.
When: hit 1K in October
How: Primarily taking Y or B fares to Asia for work, with some personal travel sprinkled in. Also have the old MP visa where I get PQMs for ua.com spend and 5k bonus PQMs for $30k spend. Was 1K in 2008/2009, then had kids and took a desk job, have been traveling again since 2014 and will retain 1K as long as I have this job.
Where: Myanmar was a new one for me in 2016, quite amazing opportunity and country. Then the usual for work, India (twice), and Kazakhstan. Hit Florida and the Bahamas for fun, San Fran and Boston for work.
Why: Because 14-hour flights in Y suck. It's also nice to have E+ when traveling with urchins and lounge access when doing international flights. And I like taking my family places with miles.
What: I will hit 1K very early in 2018, probably by May since I will be in Myanmar in January, Thailand in February, and Singapore in April. At least one additional trip to India will follow, if not two. The rest is ill defined, but likely includes a trip to Europe with family, perhaps a short ski vacation, and likely a conference somewhere. Would love to hit 150k PQM for the extra 2 GPUs, but that might be a stretch. I will stick with UA because it is working for me -- have been able to upgrade international long-hauls with miles on every flight for 1.5 years now. And since I've never flown up front with any other carrier, I don't know what I'm missing.
Dec 30, 2016, 11:59 am
#9
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Glenview, IL USA
Programs: UA 2MM 1K, HH Lifetime Diamond
Posts: 232
Who: Gamer, Small Business Owner, Logistics Analyst
When: December
How: Lots and lots of segments -- between home and businesses, between day job and home, between home and gaming conventions... and a couple PQD runs to be safe
Where: Somewhere between ORD and somewhere else in the US
Why: This 1K thing has been gamified, as a gamer, I am going to play
What: Lots and lots of segments
When: December
How: Lots and lots of segments -- between home and businesses, between day job and home, between home and gaming conventions... and a couple PQD runs to be safe
Where: Somewhere between ORD and somewhere else in the US
Why: This 1K thing has been gamified, as a gamer, I am going to play
What: Lots and lots of segments
Dec 30, 2016, 12:01 pm
#10
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: IAD
Programs: UA 1K & 2MM, MR Titanium
Posts: 456
Who: DC based Federal Employee
When: Made 1K in early Dec, later than usual because I also made AA ExPlat during a heavy travel year (for me)
How: Mainly trips to Europe, but also a short but fun trip to Hong Kong in Nov upgraded both directions thanks to GPUs clearing at booking!
Where: Barcelona, Frankfurt, Geneva, Helsinki, Honolulu, London, Los Angeles, Munich, Rome (twice!), San Francisco, Zurich
Why: Upgrades (they still work sometimes), LH lounge at IAD, and award flights in C on Austrian
What: Likely more Europe this year, cannot rule out Asia for fun or work
When: Made 1K in early Dec, later than usual because I also made AA ExPlat during a heavy travel year (for me)
How: Mainly trips to Europe, but also a short but fun trip to Hong Kong in Nov upgraded both directions thanks to GPUs clearing at booking!
Where: Barcelona, Frankfurt, Geneva, Helsinki, Honolulu, London, Los Angeles, Munich, Rome (twice!), San Francisco, Zurich
Why: Upgrades (they still work sometimes), LH lounge at IAD, and award flights in C on Austrian
What: Likely more Europe this year, cannot rule out Asia for fun or work
Dec 30, 2016, 1:05 pm
#11
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: ORD
Programs: United 100K, Etihad Gold, Marriot Platinum, Hilton Gold
Posts: 578
Who: Technical Services Oil and Specality Gas - woah is me this year.
When: Hit Gold in October.... going to be downgraded from Platinum.
How: Lots of work trips. Ironically this year my Butt in Seat miles would get me back to Platinum, but I took two reward trips to Chile/ Argentina and Scotland.
Where: I flew to Alberta 4 times, Monterrey, Houston a bunch, San Diego, NYC, FLL, DCA, Istanbul, Barcelona, Warsaw, but the highlight was flying to Shanghai / Beijing and back in the upper deck of the 747 - probably the last time for me since I'm ORD based.
Why: Star alliance gold lounge access and E+. First class upgrades have been pretty good except when going to Houston or California.
What: Oil / Gas stuff is rebounding next year. Currently scheduled trips to Melbourne, Surabaya, Bangkok, Japan, probably china, probably Kazakhstan, probably New Castle. Hoping to take the wife to Belize and El Salvador, however the most exciting will be my trips to Midland Texas /s.
When: Hit Gold in October.... going to be downgraded from Platinum.
How: Lots of work trips. Ironically this year my Butt in Seat miles would get me back to Platinum, but I took two reward trips to Chile/ Argentina and Scotland.
Where: I flew to Alberta 4 times, Monterrey, Houston a bunch, San Diego, NYC, FLL, DCA, Istanbul, Barcelona, Warsaw, but the highlight was flying to Shanghai / Beijing and back in the upper deck of the 747 - probably the last time for me since I'm ORD based.
Why: Star alliance gold lounge access and E+. First class upgrades have been pretty good except when going to Houston or California.
What: Oil / Gas stuff is rebounding next year. Currently scheduled trips to Melbourne, Surabaya, Bangkok, Japan, probably china, probably Kazakhstan, probably New Castle. Hoping to take the wife to Belize and El Salvador, however the most exciting will be my trips to Midland Texas /s.
Dec 30, 2016, 4:31 pm
#12
Join Date: Jul 2016
Programs: United MileagePlus
Posts: 69
Who: Marketing and communications for a tech company and a recovering fearful flyer.
When: Hit 1K in December on my last work trip of the year after a 30-hour delay at Heathrow. Ouch.
How: This year was far and away the most I've ever traveled - got bit by the travel bug last year and jumped on as many projects as I could that would take me around the world, as well as some personal travel (mostly on miles) with a new significant other. I'm also pretty proud of how far I've come over the past few years in terms of my fear of flying - still avoid anything smaller than a regular jet like the plague but a few years ago getting on a transpacific flight would have been unthinkable.
Where: The majority of my trips are EWR-SFO and EWR-LHR, but I also flew EWR-SYD this year, which netted me a lot of miles and brought me to Australia for the first time. Loved it, especially the side trip to Melbourne, though I only spent a few days there. I flew to Tokyo on miles for vacation, my first trip to Asia. Other unusual locations included Oslo for work and Stockholm and Helsinki (and a side trip to the Eastern Finnish lakeland!) for pleasure.
Why: Agree that it's gamified and that makes it fun. I also find the greatest satisfaction at work on projects that take me around the world - I work at a rapidly expanding global company and part of my role includes improving internal communications, so getting face time with people at offices around the world is valuable. And I'm young, so I derive a lot of pleasure from feeling chi-chi with a glass of free champagne in an airport lounge or getting served a gin and tonic before takeoff while I'm flying home to my parents in Eastern Washington for the holidays.
What: In a role that constantly changes at a company that's facing an exciting year coming up, I'm hesitant to make guesses about what my year ahead will look like. Based on what I know now, I expect that EWR-SFO will be a more frequent route for me (home to the mothership). I hope to return to Australia at some point this year as well - the flight is a beast but the team down there is worth it, as is the coffee. I expect I'll make several trips to London as well, including at least two next month.
In terms of vacation, I have my fingers crossed for EWR-AKL (!) or maybe a simple EWR-somewhere on the Mediterranean. And my parents will be devastated if I don't squeeze an EWR-GEG or two in there.
When: Hit 1K in December on my last work trip of the year after a 30-hour delay at Heathrow. Ouch.
How: This year was far and away the most I've ever traveled - got bit by the travel bug last year and jumped on as many projects as I could that would take me around the world, as well as some personal travel (mostly on miles) with a new significant other. I'm also pretty proud of how far I've come over the past few years in terms of my fear of flying - still avoid anything smaller than a regular jet like the plague but a few years ago getting on a transpacific flight would have been unthinkable.
Where: The majority of my trips are EWR-SFO and EWR-LHR, but I also flew EWR-SYD this year, which netted me a lot of miles and brought me to Australia for the first time. Loved it, especially the side trip to Melbourne, though I only spent a few days there. I flew to Tokyo on miles for vacation, my first trip to Asia. Other unusual locations included Oslo for work and Stockholm and Helsinki (and a side trip to the Eastern Finnish lakeland!) for pleasure.
Why: Agree that it's gamified and that makes it fun. I also find the greatest satisfaction at work on projects that take me around the world - I work at a rapidly expanding global company and part of my role includes improving internal communications, so getting face time with people at offices around the world is valuable. And I'm young, so I derive a lot of pleasure from feeling chi-chi with a glass of free champagne in an airport lounge or getting served a gin and tonic before takeoff while I'm flying home to my parents in Eastern Washington for the holidays.
What: In a role that constantly changes at a company that's facing an exciting year coming up, I'm hesitant to make guesses about what my year ahead will look like. Based on what I know now, I expect that EWR-SFO will be a more frequent route for me (home to the mothership). I hope to return to Australia at some point this year as well - the flight is a beast but the team down there is worth it, as is the coffee. I expect I'll make several trips to London as well, including at least two next month.
In terms of vacation, I have my fingers crossed for EWR-AKL (!) or maybe a simple EWR-somewhere on the Mediterranean. And my parents will be devastated if I don't squeeze an EWR-GEG or two in there.
Dec 30, 2016, 6:34 pm
#13
Join Date: Dec 2016
Programs: Mileage Plus 1K \\ ConciergeKey
Posts: 531
Who: sales engineer in digital advertising
When: made 1K in early Dec
How: mostly leisure travel to China and Europe. Some business travel.
Where: LAX
Why: Family has a legacy on United (mom is GS, etc) and status does help when getting into some sticky situations.
What: Leaving for Asia in a week for 2 weeks flying SFO - TPE upper deck, have AKL, DPS, OGG, couple of SFO runs, and LHR scheduled as well.
When: made 1K in early Dec
How: mostly leisure travel to China and Europe. Some business travel.
Where: LAX
Why: Family has a legacy on United (mom is GS, etc) and status does help when getting into some sticky situations.
What: Leaving for Asia in a week for 2 weeks flying SFO - TPE upper deck, have AKL, DPS, OGG, couple of SFO runs, and LHR scheduled as well.
Dec 30, 2016, 6:54 pm
#14
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Hilo, HI
Programs: United Mileage Plus 1K, UA 1MM
Posts: 34
Who: Have worked in commercial aviation all my life and self employed for many years. If I so desire I can do my work anywhere - as long as I have access to Wifi. UA MP member since 1988. Home base is Hilo, Hawaii (ITO).
When: hit 1K just before Christmas. First time 1K.
How: mix of travel for plain pleasure or business related (which I decide myself), but to me it's actually all pleasure because I have always been interested in aviation and travel. Made a conscious decision in early 2016 to travel as much as I can and went from a UA PQM of about 48,000 in 2015 to 139,179 in 2016. Aiming for more than that in 2017.
Where: plenty of trips to San Diego (where my girlfriend lives) as well as Hong Kong, San Francisco, Singapore, Boston, Copenhagen, Portland OR, Tokyo, Jakarta and Bangkok.
Why: Star Alliance lounge access and instant access to E+ seats on booking and just a more pleasant travel experience in general plus the fact that I fly ITO-LAX numerous times every year and my CPU success rate over the last few years has been around 95%.
What: Two trips to Bangkok within the next two months (continuing on to Sri Lanka and Myanmar resp.) and then Portland OR, Hong Kong, Frankfurt, Munich, San Francisco and Singapore, all before the end of June. After that, only loose plans so far, but probably Mumbai, Ho Chi Minh City, various places in Japan as well as Stockholm. And plenty of trips to San Diego!
When: hit 1K just before Christmas. First time 1K.
How: mix of travel for plain pleasure or business related (which I decide myself), but to me it's actually all pleasure because I have always been interested in aviation and travel. Made a conscious decision in early 2016 to travel as much as I can and went from a UA PQM of about 48,000 in 2015 to 139,179 in 2016. Aiming for more than that in 2017.
Where: plenty of trips to San Diego (where my girlfriend lives) as well as Hong Kong, San Francisco, Singapore, Boston, Copenhagen, Portland OR, Tokyo, Jakarta and Bangkok.
Why: Star Alliance lounge access and instant access to E+ seats on booking and just a more pleasant travel experience in general plus the fact that I fly ITO-LAX numerous times every year and my CPU success rate over the last few years has been around 95%.
What: Two trips to Bangkok within the next two months (continuing on to Sri Lanka and Myanmar resp.) and then Portland OR, Hong Kong, Frankfurt, Munich, San Francisco and Singapore, all before the end of June. After that, only loose plans so far, but probably Mumbai, Ho Chi Minh City, various places in Japan as well as Stockholm. And plenty of trips to San Diego!
Dec 30, 2016, 7:23 pm
#15
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: SFO
Programs: UA M+ Plat
Posts: 52
Who: Software engineer
When: Hit Gold just before Christmas after picking United as the target for my loyalty in July (previously a free agent). Barely made the $6K PQD but had > 75K PQM due to a couple of long-hauls at very cheap price points.
How: A mix of conference, leisure (mostly solo), and friends & family travel. Mostly in Y, but did one PQM + PQD run to Lima when there was a pretty good deal in BF.
The conference travel has been going up, and usually I get to book my own travel for it and get reimbursed, so after starting to lurk here to learn about loyalty benefits I decided to try out the loyalty life instead of being a free agent. One of the unexpected benefits of this is the consistency! United's boarding process may have its flaws, but it's nice that it's always the same. Depending on whether I need overhead space, I can now strategize quite precisely and comfortably re: gate arrival time and avoid a lot of stress due to not remembering how X airline does boarding and feeling like I have to get to the gate early to scope out the situation.
Solo travel is a new hobby that I'm going to milk for all its worth while I'm free of pets and children and have the $$$ for it, as well as a job with generous vacation and remote-work policies.
Where: A mix of international and domestic locations: BUD, LIM, SLC, PHL (x2), AMS (x2), PWM, HKG.
Why: Free E+, *G lounge access, potential for domestic CPUs.
What: If I had to predict now, I'd guess that 2017 will see me with enough PQM for 1K, but not enough PQD...which will put me at Plat with the Chase Explorer PQD waiver (if it survives). Already booked in 2017 are more PHL, BUD, AMS, as well as AKL (+WLG) and probably SLC again. Am hoping to add BOS, CDG, WAW, OSL, MSP, HKG (again), LIM (again, maybe), LHR, MEL, and somewhere in either Spain or Italy. I check the MR forums pretty frequently, and if there's a deal pretty much any location may be added!
My BUD already booked in 2017 is on Lufthansa metal. In the past as a free agent I did a lot of flying with Lufthansa. I like them and have had pretty great experiences in IRROPS. But...not getting the E+ legroom may be a deal-breaker. We'll see. I've come to loathe the SFO–FRA United metal route in the 747 (if flying in Y, even in E+), but I love FRA, so flying Lufthansa metal for my European destinations is a potential solution if the legroom doesn't prove to be a huge issue. (I'm quite short, so legroom is not about the legs, for the most part, but rather about the increased sense of space and privacy.)
When: Hit Gold just before Christmas after picking United as the target for my loyalty in July (previously a free agent). Barely made the $6K PQD but had > 75K PQM due to a couple of long-hauls at very cheap price points.
How: A mix of conference, leisure (mostly solo), and friends & family travel. Mostly in Y, but did one PQM + PQD run to Lima when there was a pretty good deal in BF.
The conference travel has been going up, and usually I get to book my own travel for it and get reimbursed, so after starting to lurk here to learn about loyalty benefits I decided to try out the loyalty life instead of being a free agent. One of the unexpected benefits of this is the consistency! United's boarding process may have its flaws, but it's nice that it's always the same. Depending on whether I need overhead space, I can now strategize quite precisely and comfortably re: gate arrival time and avoid a lot of stress due to not remembering how X airline does boarding and feeling like I have to get to the gate early to scope out the situation.
Solo travel is a new hobby that I'm going to milk for all its worth while I'm free of pets and children and have the $$$ for it, as well as a job with generous vacation and remote-work policies.
Where: A mix of international and domestic locations: BUD, LIM, SLC, PHL (x2), AMS (x2), PWM, HKG.
Why: Free E+, *G lounge access, potential for domestic CPUs.
What: If I had to predict now, I'd guess that 2017 will see me with enough PQM for 1K, but not enough PQD...which will put me at Plat with the Chase Explorer PQD waiver (if it survives). Already booked in 2017 are more PHL, BUD, AMS, as well as AKL (+WLG) and probably SLC again. Am hoping to add BOS, CDG, WAW, OSL, MSP, HKG (again), LIM (again, maybe), LHR, MEL, and somewhere in either Spain or Italy. I check the MR forums pretty frequently, and if there's a deal pretty much any location may be added!
My BUD already booked in 2017 is on Lufthansa metal. In the past as a free agent I did a lot of flying with Lufthansa. I like them and have had pretty great experiences in IRROPS. But...not getting the E+ legroom may be a deal-breaker. We'll see. I've come to loathe the SFO–FRA United metal route in the 747 (if flying in Y, even in E+), but I love FRA, so flying Lufthansa metal for my European destinations is a potential solution if the legroom doesn't prove to be a huge issue. (I'm quite short, so legroom is not about the legs, for the most part, but rather about the increased sense of space and privacy.)
