Racking Up the (Frequent-Flier) Miles
Travel Blog • Eva Holland • 01.14.09 | 5:08 PM ET
Call it carbon-neutral mileage running. Over at The Art of Nonconformity, blogger Chris Guillebeau reveals how he collected more than 300,000 frequent-flier miles in just five weeks—without stepping on a plane. The secret? Some savvy manipulation of those ubiquitous “Sign up NOW and get 30,000 miles FREE!” airport credit card offers.
Guillebeau estimates that he spent roughly $500 on the experiment, and gained $12,000 worth of miles in exchange. His post includes detailed instructions for any readers hoping to join in the fun.
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skambete 01.20.09 | 7:17 PM ET
I posted this on his comments section - but he doesn’t seem to want to publish it…
posted the following on that website, but my comment is “awaiting moderation” - so we’ll see if it gets published…
Echoing what Paul said above…got 300K miles? - but according to your own math:
75,000 AA miles
25,000 UA miles
~35,000 Hilton Honor points (not miles - but points - big difference - also, the link you provided only gives 10K HH points)
20,000 DL miles
20,000 AS miles
25,000 NW miles
25,000 CO miles
50,000 US miles
—————
240,000 miles & 10,000 (to 35,000??) HH points
upto 3 AA domestic tickets or 1-2 international AA tickets (coach class)
upto 1 domestic UA ticket
No DL ticket
upto 1 AS ticket
upto 1 domestic NW ticket
upto 1 domestic CO ticket
upto 2 domestic US tickets or 1 int’l US ticket (good luck redeeming a useful award on US)
You value that at $12k? Maybe $2700-$4000 ($4k at most).
Intangible benefits?
-8 Alaska Airlines Space Available Upgrades - not valid on award tickets & confirmed at the gate - lower fares will get no upgrade.
-Airline Lounge Passes (multiple) - airlines charge $50/each usually - looking at your signups, curious which you got them for? US only? No free booze or internet & limited usage at US.
-Companion Airfare Discounts (multiple) - when buying a paid ticket of $300 or more usually…good if you have someone flying with you though.
-6,000 Mile Discount on a Northwest Awards Flight - valid only on domestic itineraries, still a useful benefit.
-Hilton Gold Status - how? The link you provided reflects only Silver Status
-Hertz Gold Status (Orbitz gives it for free - http://www.orbitz.com/public/ANS/Orbitz/html/theme/popup_OPAHertz.html)
-Enterprise Gold Status - You sure about that? Enterprise doesn’t have Gold status…
-Free Weekend Car Rental with Hertz, Budget, and Enterprise - generally nothing too special here - tons of coupons on the internet as well.
-Other random perks that are still arriving in the mail each week (a.k.a. Partner Marketing offers)
Not trying to burst the bubble here - just trying to be realistic…