Introduction
Yep, picking a title is hard, so I thought Id flavor it with some clickbait! The title is true, but those 24 months were spread over close to six years. Another title I was toying with is what has 461 legs, travels at an average speed of 420 mph and survives on junk food?
So, the story, over the past six years or so, I've moved from lifetime Gold on United to lifetime Global Services. Obviously, maybe not that obvious, it was a deliberate effort on my part to achieve this lifetime goal. I do have to thank @PBAudit; for starting the thread "Making Lemonade Out of Lemons (How I made lifetime GS)": I believe that more than anything else, it triggered something that converted me into a ravenous mileage runner.
I should say, I have always liked, actually loved, flyingI still do. It likely hearkened back to my school days, when flying meant a trek across the Atlantic for Christmas. It's not for everyone, but I still get the same sense of excitement/anticipation every time I arrive at an airport, board a plane, experience the thrill of accelerating down a runway and the joy of landing with a hint of regret as I deplane: I love flying.
My Early Frequent Flyer Habit
Aside from the lemonade/lemons thread, what unleashed my inner mileage runner? I never had much regard for this "hobby," though I was always crazy-flyer-curious. As MileagePlus changed, so did my buying habits. When Continental changed the priority for upgrades from check-in time to fare basis, my behavior changed accordingly. Back in early 2015, I started buying first class fares on many domestic trips; it solved the issue of dying on a waitlist. The fare difference between coach and first wasnt really that much back then.
For the longest time, Continental didn't have lifetime status, so all benefits maxed out at 75,000. I traveled a lotall for work and I started splitting travel among Continental, America (Executive Platinum) and Delta (Diamond). Once Continental introduced the MillionMiler program, I moved back (once things settled down after the merger). I became focused on lifetime status. I wasn't impressed with the lifetime programs at AA and DL. Having flown on all three carriers, I recognized what @PBAudit; saidMileagePlus was an outlier.
In February of 2015, I was sitting on 1.65 million miles with United and was working my way towards two million miles in the normal, uncontrived manner. My flying slowed down: no more 350,000 miles to divvy up among the big three. I started 2016 with 1.78 million miles. Things continued with 1.86 million at the end of 2016 and 1.94 million by the end of 2017; I was close and fully focused, even obsessed (or so I thought) on lifetime miles. A few things happened in the latter part 2017 that turned on my mileage runner gene.
I don't recall the full details, but buying a first class fare got you elite status faster; I think I got an extra half segment credit per leg: at least that's what it shows on the spreadsheet! A few times flights were canceled, changed or I moved to an earlier flight. I hadn't paid much attention to what segments I earned as I was focused more on spending for the next year's status, but I discovered that having a first class ticket meant nothing when flights were changed. The new ticket would be issued, much more often than not, in coach in a seemingly random fare bucket. I'd have to call United to get credit. I also learned that a first class ticket did nothing in terms of priority for the upgrade list for a new flight, so I stopped buying them in early 2018.
The next thing that happened was that I met a former work colleague in late 2017. She had moved to the high cost leader in the industry; a firm renowned for its high prices. I had just lost business to her company, a company that had an agreement with United that allowed her to buy a business class ticket to Europe at a price that was lower than I paid for coach (B fare ticket). I decided to stop over-spending money on United and go back to my old ways of flying as far and as cheaply as I could. As the chances of a complimentary upgrade had become negligible, I switched back to discounted economy fares, with the discipline that anything over 5 cents a mile was outrageous and that less than four cents per mile for a ticket was starting to get reasonable.
Being at 1.94 million at the end of 2017, I knew lifetime platinum was imminent. I don't recall what prompted the concern, but I also sensed that Mileage Plus was about to change again. I think I was also connecting the dots (1k was getting increasingly more expensive to get) and was signaling a requirement for much more spending in the future. The concern may also have been sparked by things going on at Delta. I decided that I needed to earn 60,000 miles fast. I was in the LAX club and saw that banner for the new flight to Singapore that earned 8,770 miles. I hadn't been active on the site for a while, but I turned to FlyerTalk to learn more and stumbled across the Lemonade from Lemons thread. I became an instant convert and decided on a mileage run to see what it was like.
The mileage runs broke into two segments: before the COVID pandemic (BC) and after this disaster (AD).
Starting Mileage Runs: the first million
On March 28, 2018, I was at 1.98 million when I boarded UA1863 for SFO; I spent the day visiting clients and flew on UA1 to SIN that night; about three hours after landing, having showered and eaten, I came back to LAX on UA38, none the worse for wear. A mileage runner was born. Just for the record, I didn't get any recognition from UnitedI wasn't expecting it. I did get something through the mail a few weeks later and ended up with a suitcase too, if I recall correctly. I did the run again the following week; the week after that I upped things to two runs to Singapore with a day at home in betweena rest day I learned I didn't need. The following week, I repeated the double run but went Sun-Mon-Tue followed by Tue-Wed-Thu instead of having a gap in the middle; it meant arriving in LAX and usually flying straight back up to SFO. I even tried three runsSun-Mon-Tue, Tue-Wed-Thu, and Thu-Fri-Satwhich was a little tiring, but thoroughly enjoyable. Back then same-day-changes were easy, so when I flew through SFO, I could extend my travels if I needed and get more work done. Lounges (Priority Pass in SIN and Centurion Lounge at SFO) were where I ate and showered. It was heaven. I ended 2018 with 2.35 million and reached 3,000,937 by the end of 2019. Lifetime Global Services was now in sight.
I was surprised how crossing the three million mile mark was recognized. I was flying from Charlotte to Newark and on to LAX. I crossed the million-mile threshold as I approached the border with California; however, at Charlotte, as I boarded, I was handed a congratulatory card and a pen. Yippee! The gate agent seemed happy; I ended the trip disappointed.
The first million miles (I'll post a table in the next part) were very SIN-centric. I had 41 trips to Singapore, four to Melbourne, seven to Hong Kong and a single trip to Dublin: no domestic trips. COVID changed all that.
Yep, picking a title is hard, so I thought Id flavor it with some clickbait! The title is true, but those 24 months were spread over close to six years. Another title I was toying with is what has 461 legs, travels at an average speed of 420 mph and survives on junk food?
So, the story, over the past six years or so, I've moved from lifetime Gold on United to lifetime Global Services. Obviously, maybe not that obvious, it was a deliberate effort on my part to achieve this lifetime goal. I do have to thank @PBAudit; for starting the thread "Making Lemonade Out of Lemons (How I made lifetime GS)": I believe that more than anything else, it triggered something that converted me into a ravenous mileage runner.
I should say, I have always liked, actually loved, flyingI still do. It likely hearkened back to my school days, when flying meant a trek across the Atlantic for Christmas. It's not for everyone, but I still get the same sense of excitement/anticipation every time I arrive at an airport, board a plane, experience the thrill of accelerating down a runway and the joy of landing with a hint of regret as I deplane: I love flying.
My Early Frequent Flyer Habit
Aside from the lemonade/lemons thread, what unleashed my inner mileage runner? I never had much regard for this "hobby," though I was always crazy-flyer-curious. As MileagePlus changed, so did my buying habits. When Continental changed the priority for upgrades from check-in time to fare basis, my behavior changed accordingly. Back in early 2015, I started buying first class fares on many domestic trips; it solved the issue of dying on a waitlist. The fare difference between coach and first wasnt really that much back then.
For the longest time, Continental didn't have lifetime status, so all benefits maxed out at 75,000. I traveled a lotall for work and I started splitting travel among Continental, America (Executive Platinum) and Delta (Diamond). Once Continental introduced the MillionMiler program, I moved back (once things settled down after the merger). I became focused on lifetime status. I wasn't impressed with the lifetime programs at AA and DL. Having flown on all three carriers, I recognized what @PBAudit; saidMileagePlus was an outlier.
In February of 2015, I was sitting on 1.65 million miles with United and was working my way towards two million miles in the normal, uncontrived manner. My flying slowed down: no more 350,000 miles to divvy up among the big three. I started 2016 with 1.78 million miles. Things continued with 1.86 million at the end of 2016 and 1.94 million by the end of 2017; I was close and fully focused, even obsessed (or so I thought) on lifetime miles. A few things happened in the latter part 2017 that turned on my mileage runner gene.
I don't recall the full details, but buying a first class fare got you elite status faster; I think I got an extra half segment credit per leg: at least that's what it shows on the spreadsheet! A few times flights were canceled, changed or I moved to an earlier flight. I hadn't paid much attention to what segments I earned as I was focused more on spending for the next year's status, but I discovered that having a first class ticket meant nothing when flights were changed. The new ticket would be issued, much more often than not, in coach in a seemingly random fare bucket. I'd have to call United to get credit. I also learned that a first class ticket did nothing in terms of priority for the upgrade list for a new flight, so I stopped buying them in early 2018.
The next thing that happened was that I met a former work colleague in late 2017. She had moved to the high cost leader in the industry; a firm renowned for its high prices. I had just lost business to her company, a company that had an agreement with United that allowed her to buy a business class ticket to Europe at a price that was lower than I paid for coach (B fare ticket). I decided to stop over-spending money on United and go back to my old ways of flying as far and as cheaply as I could. As the chances of a complimentary upgrade had become negligible, I switched back to discounted economy fares, with the discipline that anything over 5 cents a mile was outrageous and that less than four cents per mile for a ticket was starting to get reasonable.
Being at 1.94 million at the end of 2017, I knew lifetime platinum was imminent. I don't recall what prompted the concern, but I also sensed that Mileage Plus was about to change again. I think I was also connecting the dots (1k was getting increasingly more expensive to get) and was signaling a requirement for much more spending in the future. The concern may also have been sparked by things going on at Delta. I decided that I needed to earn 60,000 miles fast. I was in the LAX club and saw that banner for the new flight to Singapore that earned 8,770 miles. I hadn't been active on the site for a while, but I turned to FlyerTalk to learn more and stumbled across the Lemonade from Lemons thread. I became an instant convert and decided on a mileage run to see what it was like.
The mileage runs broke into two segments: before the COVID pandemic (BC) and after this disaster (AD).
Starting Mileage Runs: the first million
On March 28, 2018, I was at 1.98 million when I boarded UA1863 for SFO; I spent the day visiting clients and flew on UA1 to SIN that night; about three hours after landing, having showered and eaten, I came back to LAX on UA38, none the worse for wear. A mileage runner was born. Just for the record, I didn't get any recognition from UnitedI wasn't expecting it. I did get something through the mail a few weeks later and ended up with a suitcase too, if I recall correctly. I did the run again the following week; the week after that I upped things to two runs to Singapore with a day at home in betweena rest day I learned I didn't need. The following week, I repeated the double run but went Sun-Mon-Tue followed by Tue-Wed-Thu instead of having a gap in the middle; it meant arriving in LAX and usually flying straight back up to SFO. I even tried three runsSun-Mon-Tue, Tue-Wed-Thu, and Thu-Fri-Satwhich was a little tiring, but thoroughly enjoyable. Back then same-day-changes were easy, so when I flew through SFO, I could extend my travels if I needed and get more work done. Lounges (Priority Pass in SIN and Centurion Lounge at SFO) were where I ate and showered. It was heaven. I ended 2018 with 2.35 million and reached 3,000,937 by the end of 2019. Lifetime Global Services was now in sight.
I was surprised how crossing the three million mile mark was recognized. I was flying from Charlotte to Newark and on to LAX. I crossed the million-mile threshold as I approached the border with California; however, at Charlotte, as I boarded, I was handed a congratulatory card and a pen. Yippee! The gate agent seemed happy; I ended the trip disappointed.
The first million miles (I'll post a table in the next part) were very SIN-centric. I had 41 trips to Singapore, four to Melbourne, seven to Hong Kong and a single trip to Dublin: no domestic trips. COVID changed all that.