Last month, I (finally) rolled over one million lifetime miles in United’s MileagePlus program and yesterday I received my credentials via USPS Priority Mail. Here’s a look inside the package. The first item upon opening it was a letter from Tom O’Toole, United’s president of MileagePlus. Note the language that, “you will never fall below…
The Magic of Air Travel and How It Itself Can Be the ‘Destination’
There’s something that I’ve wanted to get off my chest for the past couple of months. I’ve seen multiple Twitter conversations lately between several different people that I follow debating the end goal of accumulating miles and points for travel. And I’m not talking about the addiction of earning status or milking the system for…
Curing a Case of Major Non-Travel Anxiety
I found myself in an unusual situation this past weekend. For the first time in… well… for as long as I can remember, I had enormous anxiety in both not traveling or having anything “on the books.†It began on Friday when I jealously monitored my Twitter feed noting how many of those I follow…
Did You Win 3 Turkish Airlines Amenity Kits?
Thanks to everyone who entered my amenity kit giveaway consisting of three Turkish Airlines economy class kits. It’s great to know that basically all of you would like to see some type of kit and/or amenities offered in coach on more airlines for long-haul travel. Maybe they’re listening? 😉 The trusty random number generator picked…
Friday Musings: Chicago Seminars and Milepoint Premium Membership
I’m kicking myself this morning for not booking a trip to the Chicago Seminars after seeing all the Tweets and build-up from attendees this week. If you’re unfamiliar, the annual event brings together the brightest minds in the travel hacking community to discuss all things miles and points. From introductory lectures to advanced credit card…
Flight Review: United Airlines BusinessFirst, San Francisco to Seoul
[This is the second part of my Million-Mile Trip Report. You can read the introductory post by clicking here.] My inbound flight from Reno arrived about four hours prior to boarding for the Seoul flight, so I had plenty of time to set up shop and get some work done in the international terminal United…
A Look at 3 Turkish Airlines Economy Class Amenity Kits, Plus a Giveaway
In August, I posted a brief overview of a Turkish Airlines economy class amenity kit, not subjecting it to the critical scoring system that I normally apply in my Amenity Kit Review series. That just wouldn’t have been fair since any kit provided to economy class passengers is “exceptional†in my mind. Amenity kit provider…
Great Mileage Run Fares for Segment-Based Elites Are Available
With the majority of airlines matching Southwest’s $49 fares in sub 500-mile markets, it has opened up a two-week window in December for segment-based elites to fly probably the cheapest mileage segment runs of the year for 2014 requalification. The sale also includes January-February 2014 travel, but I’m sure that most people aren’t starting to…
Sharing Your Premier Status as a United Million-Miler
One of the perks of holding million-miler status on United Airlines is the ability to share your current Premier status with a spouse or companion. And having just achieved the one million mile mark, I went through the remarkably simple process to do just that. To further clarify, MileagePlus allows you to share your status…
Targeted? Up to 30% Off Purchased United MileagePlus Miles
I received the following email from United MileagePlus this morning, offering up to 30% off purchased award miles. While there’s no language stating this offer is exclusive to the email recipient, it does provide a special link that is hard-coded with my MileagePlus information. And since there’s no ability to change the populated MileagePlus number…