c1ue1ess88

+1

VivoPerLei

This is astonishing, on so many levels - that you have a wife who not only understands but supports this (I wouldn't get away with one flight, much less 12 days!), that you didn't have any serious weather or mechanical mayhem, that all of your upgrades cleared, etc., etc. I find one international day of traveling tiresome, even if up front! Did you lose or gain any significant amount of weight during the ordeal?

Lurker

Which one of those options would make your wife reconsider allowing you to do a MR?

Lurker

VivoPerLei

That conversation would be an exercise in utter futility! If I tried to convince my wife that I needed to leave her at home with two small children because I needed to travel for absolutely no logical reason at all, to her anyway, she would think I'd lost my mind. She thinks that all travel is horrendous. I have a really fantastic job and it's already hard to plead life on the road hell when she calls and I'm always at some great place having the time of my life.

mraju99

Wow. I salute you sir!

The closest I've ever come to a mileage run is being on the fence about taking a trip and then thinking "Hey, it'll get me my status for next year" to tip the scales in favor (my friends think I visit 'cause I love them :-)

That said, Colonius, you have no idea how close your trip came to eightblack-esque disasters! I transited through FRA on 12/9 and 12/19, (LAX-IAH-FRA-MAA, then back MAA-FRA-LAX), and the airport was a mess both times due to the snowstorms. Thankfully for me, LH was prioritizing intercontinental flights over intra-european ones, so I got through with "only" having to 1) wind through interminable security lines, all full of people whose flights were scheduled to leave in 10-15 minutes, 2) run at full speed between terminals, dodging people camping out for the day, and 3) still be delayed by 2-3 hours. As for intra-european flights? Nothing but rows of cancellations on the monitors...

It sounds like you narrowly averted those problems: with a flight to Cologne, your goose would surely have been cooked had you been flying a day before or after your scheduled times.

Hindus like me believe in many deities for many occasions; I suggest you find the God of the Mileage Run and sing a hosanna to him/her for watching over you during that trip :-)

SFOSpiff

I did something even less worthwhile than that last week. Did a 15K MR to Sydney and all it did for me was earn me back the 2 SWUs I burned for the trip. In other words, no gain at all. Except feeding the travel bug. I figured, worse case - I'll be in Australia for 2 days, I can go sit on a beach. Too bad it never got above 22-23 C and rained most of the time.

US citizens don't need to apply for a visa to visit Australia, but they do need an ETA (Electronic Travel Authorization). It costs $20 (AU) and it gets issued within an hour or so of filling out the web page. I did it just days before my flight. (they're good for a year of repeat visits, but my previous one had expired)

CCIE_Flyer

Can't help but wonder if Mr. Quest followed this specific thread (he didn't mention it):

http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/01/07...ex.html?hpt=T2

He's obviously an FT member or a lurker (because he does mention that by name).

LarkSFO

I like this idea! How about Ganesha?

"Ganesha : He is a very friendly, cheerful god.. He has an elephants face.. He is the god of travel..."

"Ganesha is also popularly worshipped as a remover of obstacles..." - Sounds like just what is needed on a Mileage Run!

"...though traditionally he also places obstacles in the path of those who need to be checked. "

Uh oh, better behave and treat others kindly or your Mileage Run may turn 'Pear Shaped' (I don't actually know what pear shaped means, but I know it is not good... I am eagerly awaiting eightblack's first book...)



PS I am not Hindu.... If this post is offensive in any way (by associating a Hindu Deity with a Mileage Run), please let me know and I will delete it.

LarkSFO

I especially liked this from the comments section of the article you refer to:

Createur: "Thank you for confirming what I suspected. Consumers that chase these marketing schemes are nuts-o and do it for no good reason other than their own indulgence..."

servus

Dear colonius,

almost a year ago, I wrote you about your post and how impressed I was. The whole year I was thinking about your trip and this kind of adventure. Now, here is my itin: FRA-AMS-FRA-CAI-FRA-SIN-FRA-CAI-FRA-AMS-FRA-JFK-FRA-CPT-FRA-JFK-FRA with an estimated total b.i.s. miles of 48,007 If I'm getting addicted, it's your fault

Merry Christmas

SFflyer123

If you've not traveling, 1k gets you nothing. If you stay at home all the time, whether you're 1k or 2p is irrelevant. Why spend all the time and energy to get 1k when you're not traveling that much?

Personally, I've made a commitment to travel less in 2012. I did 110,000 miles this year, my goal next year will be to drop to just over 50K. SWU's for me go into the garbage at the end of the year, and the UDU's are probably about 33% for me. Not worth flying an extra 50,000 miles just for a 1/3 chance at UDU, a stupid red carpet (now blue) to get on before others, and SWU's that I throw into the garbage each year. 1k doesn't even get me lounge access to eat the cheese, crackers, carrots & ranch dressing with the cheap $5 bottles of wine. They want $375 or 47,000 miles to eat their carrots and ranch dressing. To that, I say: "Not this year." Not worth it to me any more. I'd rather spend my time doing other things than dealing with airports and flying around for very little reward.

Perhaps there was a time when the incentive the airlines offered were worth it, but in the day of bankruptcy, budget cuts, poor economy, high loads and few upgrades, it's not worth it to me anymore. The perks that we used to get as 1K are just becoming harder and harder to get; they may write it on their website, but to actually get it in reality is another story. 1K--an artificial creation by a company--means nothing if I'm on the ground all the time, and if I can't get the perks in the air, it's totally not worth it to me.

malgudi

Ganesha is the perfect deity for a MR, given how crucial it is to not have any obstacles enroute