Mileage Runs
So I travel a lot and have become fairly obsessed with accruing airline miles and getting status. When you’re in airports constantly you aren’t left with that many other things to think about. With that said, I’ve never done a milage run, where you take a trip just to bump your milage up for a status reward. Take, for instance, this story from a guy on his 8,000 mile run:
Mileage runs are a blast. They really are. They’re relaxing, they’re a way to get disconnected, and ultimately they’re “profitable.” But, if you’re like me and do hardcore, eight segment, 36 hour, 8,000 mile domestic mileage runs, only half the journey is fun. Typically I’ll start out on a flight out of Tampa at 6AM on a Saturday morning. Can someone remind me why the hell I’d actually want to get up (as opposed to go to bed) at 3:30AM on a Saturday morning?
The scary part is that I’ve considered it …
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I’ve considered it too…it’s such a strange situation…part of me thinks it’s the equivalent of clipping coupons but worse, essentially trading your time for a fairly arbitrary measure of wealth that only really has value because your reality has been perverted by too much time in the airport.
The other part of me thinks its a fun way to game the airlines and command better treatment at low dollar cost.
that sounds terrible!!! that’s like my worst nightmare!
I’ve considered it and then considered that other people are probably considering it… but not doing it. It’s a bunch of work to make a plan. Which means, can you charge enough to make it worth it to plane mileage runs for others?
Best day of my life was when I lost my Executive Platinum status on AA. First class travel is great, but watching my little boy grow up is much better.