25,000 miles or bust: An introduction

All my life, I've flown a lot. My family and friends are spread from New York to Los Angeles, Portland, Ore., to Atlanta, and everywhere in between. Every time we wanted to go to a wedding, bar mitzvah or spring break, we had to fly.

As a result I know my primary routes and alternates, how to avoid stopping, what hubs to avoid and where I can kill an hour or a day, and how to pack a bag for overnight or for two weeks. I can spot-check the tags on a checked bag to make sure they're going to the right place by IATA code, and I can even get around some of the European hubs (Barajas, Heathrow, Frankfurt) with familiarity.

But over the years the mileage was so spread over multiple airlines that I never got anything out of it. Even in college, when I was a regular on the AA and HP ORD-PHX routes, I never made elite status. (Why? Splitting my time between AA and HP!)

So here we are. I realized that in 2010 I would probably fly 17K-20K miles. And then I realized, that's only 5,000 miles from elite status! I got pretty close -- 19,000 miles on AA -- in 2009, so it seems like I ought to be able to do that in 2010.


My goal for 2010 is to make 25,000 miles on Delta: Silver Medallion status. I live in Orlando, which is a minor DL hub (nonstops to LAX!), and Delta has the same perk as HP: automatic upgrades based on availability. They also waive baggage fees, which is great when you're flying to Argentina with two checked bags. (!) I've also done the math: the program is worth about $500 in waived baggage fees in a typical year for me. I will spend up to an additional $250 for the other benefits, like better seats. Believe it or not, I paid $80 in US Airways "choice seats" fees in 2009!

(An aside: I know the AA/UA program is better on paper, where flying 10,000 miles earns you four 500-mile upgrades. But that takes all the fun out of upgrades.)

The bottom line: my regular flights to see family and friends plus mileage runs, as you frequent fliers probably know. I'll get a tour of America's great airports!


So I'll be blogging here -- at least once a week! -- about that quest, plus the tools, the gear, and the lifestyle of flying regularly.