@Mark-You’re right, the value of time must be factored into this equation, and it would seem mine is worthless if you take this into account! I basically gave up a week of my life, running an office from the air and an hour of layover at LAX. Unfortunately, this was about 6 months before they laid out the in-flight wireless, which would have made life much easier.

I was actually able to get a lot of work done (it’s way easier to get off track when you have WiFi), but I did feel disgusting after a week of sitting on planes.

In the end, it’s a hobby for me, and one that works well in a life that more or less revolves around frequent travel. Others mileage may vary. No pun intended. =)

@Graham-I am definitely a big Chris Guillebeau fan (in fact, he lent me an upgrade coupon that I used to get to Spain, where I was when this was first published). Bottom line, anyone can find some semblance of freedom, regardless of their situation—it’s all about hacking the system to find personal success. This is one great example (and you’ll find many more at Chris’s site).

@Dave and Deb-Thanks! I follow your interesting journeys on Twitter.

@Colin-Hit me up anytime you want to chat! I also lived in BA (where I think you’re headed/are now) for 6 months last year, so if you have any questions, let me know.

@Jason-I hit Executive Platinum on June 14, 2009, and it will be good until February, 2011, so roughly 20 months. It will be way easier to maintain this status for various reasons (first and foremost, the fact that I’m upgraded to first 99% of the time I fly domestically and internationally), and I get a 100% bonus on miles flown, which makes mileage runs much more appealing.

At the same time, the airlines have these programs for a reason; a couple of months ago, I found myself stuck in Dallas at 3AM because I had chosen to AA over a direct flight on United.

One possible way to mitigate this risk/negative is with a “status match”. I used my AA status to acquire similar status on Delta.

@All-If you’re interested in this stuff, the end all and be all resource is Flyertalk. At your own risk. =)

I have never heard of promotions with lower mileage requirements. I wonder if that is also only in America?

Thanks for the post!