How Far Would One Go

You know that I travel a fair amount. Between my offices in Chicago and LA that I visit once a month, my kids who are all over the freaking country and the world, my Dad in Connecticut, and Wife and my love of travel for ourselves, it adds up.

I've also written about how important holding a high frequent flier status is for ensuring more comfort and especially protecting you when things go wrong with the air travel system (I know that's a shocker that things ever go wrong with the air travel system).

So a few weeks ago I was reviewing my statements on my primary carriers, United and USAir and I find out I'm up shits creek! I'm not even close to getting my status again. All the cost cutting during the first part of the year has come back to haunt me. What am I going to do.

USAir turns out to not be such a hard one. They're hurting and they need their loyal passengers so they have a promo that allows me to make 3 flights and I get enough segments to keep me in the program.

United is the bigger issue. It's my carrier for all my long trips. And we use those miles for all our big vacations. The business class seats we got to New Zealand were worth many, many, many thousands of dollars. So I don't want to lose this but I'm way short on segments and over 10 thousand miles short on actual miles (you usually can qualify be hitting a target of either segments or miles).

So my brain is working. How can I arrange a trip where I pack in 10 thousand miles of travel in a few days and not cost me a fortune.

I start by researching going from Albuquerque to the West Coast to the East Coast and back. Not enough miles. The US is all that big. I'd have to go West, East, West and back or something like that. Then I'd have to start paying for a place to stay a couple of nights. And all those flights - what if I hit bad weather?

Next I looked at flying to Hawaii. I could crash with my brother there. But it was pretty pricey and I still didn't get enough miles.

Then I thought about going to Amsterdam and crashing with daughter AinA. I found I could get some really good prices - around $900 bucks. Of course the thought of flying 20+ hours both way in coach with a day off in between wasn't very attractive but what the hey, it would be a small sacrifice to remain among the ranks of the exalted and get those miles for our next travel extravaganza.

I mention my plan to Wife who is very good at doing her eye rolling and deep sighing internally. She says, "Have you called the airline? Maybe there is way for you to buy the miles you need and then you wouldn't have to kill yourself like this."

I doubt this but decide it can't hurt. I call the United. United may be a dysfunctional company but almost all the agents serving their frequent fliers tend to be really pleasant, good, and helpful. The agent I get confirms that you cannot buy miles. We're having a very pleasant conversation. She confirms that I'm no more nutty than most of the frequent fliers and it is common for us to be scrambling at the end of the year.

She checks my account and tells me that I've missed some promotion they started in September that gives double mile credit from 9/15 5o 12/15. She puts me on the promotion and tells me it will be retroactive. We calculate the mile I've flow to date plus the miles I'm scheduled to fly and BINGO I'm 55o miles over the 50K target. How cool is that. Thanks Wife.

It would have been nice to see AinA and here husband to be though.