Frequent Flier Frenzy: 41*53'N,87*02'W

Chicago, IL (home of United Airlines):  I originally started this blog to talk about travel and the physical act of traveling.  I regret that I only have a few entries to date.  I also realize that I haven’t really written anything about the "act" of travel itself.  This is a step to change that.

I’ve been a loyal United Airlines customer for nearly 10 years.  In that time I’ve learned that people either love United or hate United – there is no in between.  The same could be said for any of the other major airlines.  For instance, I personally despise Southwest, but I know that it has a very loyal customer base.  I am loyal to United primarily because when I started traveling frequently I lived in Washington, D.C. and one of its major hubs is Washington Dulles International Airport.  In 2005, I moved to San Francisco – another major United hub.  Also, I work for a Chicago-based firm, and United is the largest airline operating at O’Hare Airport.

The key for anyone who is going to be a road warrior and travel a lot is to make good choices, research thoroughly frequent traveler programs and the ways you can rack up miles, and (most importantly) concentrate your travel dollars in one place.  Given the places I go, I could spread my travels around to a number of different airlines and hotel chains.  In my case, however, I will spend a little extra time and/or money to stick with only a few brands.  I will fly United even if it means having to make a connection to get to my final destination.  Every year, for example, I visit my grandmother in Detroit.  Only Delta flies nonstop between San Francisco and Detroit.  Because I prefer to fly United, I am forced to connect through either Chicago or Denver. It adds a couple of hours to my trip, but the 4,000 base frequent flier miles are well worth it.

As almost everyone knows, there are many ways to rack up frequent flier miles, which is why I try to stay only at hotels that allow me to earn miles with United.  Last year for instance, I stayed 80 nights at Hilton Hotels, which was good for nearly 25,000 United miles.  More importantly, as a member of the Hilton Honors program, I quickly achieved “Diamond” status, which provides me with a number of important and valuable perks (e.g., free breakfast, room upgrades).

My United Mileage Plus Visa card is a very lucrative tool in my frequent flier arsenal.  It provides me with one mile for each dollar flown, with some very generous bonuses such as three miles for each dollar charged to United for airline tickets.

Remaining loyal to one airline and its travel and non-travel partners can be very rewarding.  To illustrate, assume the following:  a three-night trip to Chicago staying at The Wit Hotel at the corner of State and Lake.   The $400 coach airline ticket and $1,000 hotel bill are paid for with my United Mileage Plus Visa Card. 

• 3,692 frequent flier base miles 
• 3,692 bonus miles because I have elite status with United Airlines
• 1,200 miles for buying the ticket using the Visa card 
• 1,000 miles for each dollar spent at The Wit (a Doubletree Hotel, part of the Hilton family of hotels.)  

So, for that one trip, I earn a total of 9,584 miles.  Not bad!!!   As of today, I have over one million frequent flier miles available to me in my United Mileage Plus account.  You may think: Wow, one million miles – that is a lot of free trips. Yes it is, but free trips do not interest me and are not the reason why I voraciously seek out frequent flier miles.  I use my miles for two reasons only – (1) for upgrades to business or first class, and (2) to “pay for” my annual membership to the United Club, the members only lounges at many of United’s hub and overseas airports.

In 2011, I earned 493,271 frequent flier miles, while redeeming only 47,500 miles for my United Club membership.  I used no miles for free trips or upgrades in 2011.

Now comes the confusing part.  United’s Mileage Plus program provides “elite status” to customers who fly a certain amount of miles.  The program is changing in 2012 because of the merger with Continental, but in 2011 this is how it worked.  Basically, there are four levels of Mileage Plus membership.

1.              General: when you join Mileage Plus you are a general member

2.              Premier: members who fly 25,000 miles or more annually

3.              Premier Executive: members who fly 50,000 miles or more annually

4.              1K: members who fly 100,000 miles or more annually

There is also the coveted “Global Services” level, which is by invitation only.  This is reserved for people who regularly purchase full fare business or first class tickets, or who manage a large corporate travel account.

The important concept to remember is that (for the most part) one earns elite status qualifying miles or “EQMs” only by getting on a plane.  With rare exceptions, you can’t earn EQMs any other way.  Also, your EQM balance resets to “0” on January 1^st.  If during any calendar year you earn 100,000 EQMs, you automatically receive 1K status for the balance of that year and for the entire following year.  In my case, I started 2011 with 1K status.  I then earned 125,026 EQMs in 2011 to keep my 1K status through 2012.  My EQM balance was reset to “0” on January 1, 2012.  I need to earn another 100,000 EQMs in 2012 to maintain my 1K status in 2013. I readily admit that I am fixated (which is one step below “obsessed” in my mind) with maximizing my frequent flier miles.  But why?  Three reasons come to mind. 

First, just for the fun of it.  I love to travel and I travel a lot.  I receive a strange sense of accomplishment knowing that for the past five years I have exceeded the 100,000 EQM mark. 

Second, one of these days I am going to beat my sister and amass more miles than her.  She travels even more than I do and there is nothing wrong with a little sibling rivalry. 

Third, and most importantly, achieving 1K status just makes my life easier.  Consider this:  I was on a United plane almost every week last year.  I flew 42 roundtrips between San Francisco and Los Angeles, 7 roundtrips between California and Chicago, two trips to the east coast, one to Orlando, one to Detroit and a round-the-world “mileage run” that took me from San Francisco to Seattle to Tokyo to Seoul to Frankfurt to Copenhagen to Munich and back to San Francisco (all in one week.)  In just one month in 2012 I have flown 4 roundtrips flights between San Francisco and Los Angeles.  I expect my weekly excursions to Southern California to continue throughout the year.  I have a trip to Paris trip next week, and I already have reservations to Chicago in late February, New York in April and Hong Kong in May. 

Thanks to my 1K status, which qualifies me for free and unlimited domestic upgrades, I flew in first or business class on over 85% of my 127 flights in 2011.  Moreover, because 1K flyers receive regional and systemwide upgrade coupons for hitting certain mileage plateaus, I was in business or first class on all of my international and Chicago/transcontinental flights last year.  The highlight was my Lufthansa first class flight from Seoul to Frankfurt (using a United systemwide upgrade) – 12 hours of pure luxury.  I didn’t want to get off the plane.

Sure – sitting in first class between San Francisco and Los Angeles (and vice verse) is not a big deal.  After all, it is only a 55-minute flight.  However, when you do it 84 times per year, you learn to appreciate the perks of your 1K status, which include:

·      dedicated check-in lines at the airport – at O’Hare this is very important;

·      priority security lines – great if you are in a hurry, which I often am, and are at risk of missing your flight;

·      priority boarding – very important when there is increasing competition for carry on luggage storage space;

·      the ability to make same day changes to my flights without incurring a fee – there have been a few times when I have arrived at the airport early and was able to move to an earlier flight for free;

·      priority meal selection in business and first class – not that big of a deal, but it is nice to know that as a 1K frequent flier I get first dibs (hint:  always opt for the pasta over the chicken);

·      unlimited domestic upgrades – this has been a life saver for me on the “California coast” route, and priority over other customers for other types of upgrades;

·      access to United’s Economy Plus seating when traveling in coach – the 5” of extra legroom really makes a difference;

·      whether flying in first, business or Economy Plus, I am always near the front of the aircraft so I am one of the first people off the plane– this is very important, especially when my other half is waiting to pick me up at the airport;

·      free bag check for up to three bags;

·      a dedicated 1-800 number that doesn’t keep you on hold – I arrange most of my travel on www.united.com, but it is nice to know that my call goes to the head of the line and to an onshore operator whenever I need to call United ; and

·      discounted United Club membership dues – the United Club is a great way to escape the hassle of the airport and fill up on free snacks; most importantly the clubs offer free WiFi, so I can get work done if my plane is delayed.

Most people think I’m nuts, but my 1K status is not a “status symbol” for me, and one day when I am not traveling as much as I do now I know that I will lose my elite status with United.  For now, however, the various perks that I receive from my 1K status make my hectic life a little less hectic.