Should you book a mileage run?

Good morning from beautiful and colorful New Hampshire!

As the leaves start to fall, I’m reminded that the end of the year is quickly approaching… so let’s talk about one of the most important things you can do before the end of the year:

• ✈️ Get your mileage runs in while you can

• 💳 Up to 100% transfer bonus to Avios

• 🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday

✈️ Get your mileage runs in while you can

Elite status can be very important. It’s a great way to use your frequent travel to gain perks for your future travels.

These perks include things like checked bags, priority services, lounge access, upgrades, and more.

And if you haven’t quite reached elite status and don’t have any upcoming travel, there’s still a way to get over the finish line.

It’s called a “mileage run.”

But what is a mileage run?

Well, it’s when you book a flight that you do NOT need to take otherwise. Often, this means paying more money and flying longer than you need to.

Makes sense, right?

Let’s break it down with an example.

If you’re a frequent flyer with United, earning United Premier Status can be SUPER beneficial.

Each status tier includes good benefits, but most of the big-boy perks come at Premier Gold status. 👇

Now, let’s say you’ve flown quite a few times this year and have racked up 9,400 PQPs and 19 PQFs.

This means you’ve spent a total of $9,400 on United flights and have flown with them 19 times.

If we look at the elite qualifying requirements, we see that Premier Gold status requires either:

• 24 PQFs and 8,000 PQPs, or

• 10,000 PQFs

With your 9,400 PQPs, you’re just 600 away from achieving status for the entire next year.

And while there are numerous ways to earn more PQPs, the easiest is simply taking a flight.

For example, if you live in Washington, D.C., you could book this round-trip flight to Seattle for a little under $700 for refundable economy.

Since taxes and fees (and basic economy) don’t count toward earning PQPs, you need to go a little higher than just 600 in this case…

Anyway, by spending this long day flying to the West Coast and back, you’d lock in a full year of United Premier Gold status, thus earning you benefits like:

• Lounge access (including with partner airlines around the world)

• Two free checked bags

• Priority boarding

• Upgrade eligibility

• Bonus miles on paid flights

• Extra-legroom seat selection

Is $700 a lot of money? Yeah… for sure.

But if you fly United (and other Star Alliance airlines) dozens of times a year, having these benefits on every flight for an entire year could be worth well over $700.

Whether or not this is worthwhile will vary by person. For some, paying $700 could be worth it; for others, that number might be just $100 or $200.

For the higher tiers of elite status, the value of a mileage run goes up drastically.

For example, the higher tiers of United status offer PlusPoints, which allow you to upgrade from economy to lie-flat business-class seats.

This principle applies to ANY program where having elite status is valuable, but the details vary widely.

For example, some programs have qualifying periods that extend into the new year.

So as the end of the year approaches, calculate how far off you are from status and see if buying some flights before the end of the year can get you over the hump.

This section was primarily focused on the concept of a mileage run, but since elite status is so complicated, I have a question:

💳 Up to 100% transfer bonus to Avios

This potentially good transfer bonus is coming to us from Bilt’s November Rent Day!

To review, on the first of each month, Bilt offers its members fun perks and promos for just 24 hours—something they call Rent Day.

And even though Bilt features its own solid credit card—the Bilt Mastercard®—you actually don’t need it to participate!

You can get access to Rent Day by signing up for a free Bilt Rewards account.

Okay, so now for this “up to” 100% transfer bonus.

On November 1, 2024, Bilt Rewards members will receive a targeted transfer bonus between 50%-100% when they transfer their Bilt Points to British Airways Avios.

The targeted bonus you get doesn’t appear to be influenced by your Bilt status as many past bonuses have done, so there’s no way to know who will get what.

I, sadly, only received 50%… 😒

And even if you’re not a big fan of BA, this transfer can still hold value because… Avios… 👀

Avios is the points program of not only British Airways, but also of Qatar Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, and Finnair.

That means that if you have Avios in any of those programs, you can transfer them freely between those airlines which opens up a TON of possibilities for booking different flights.

So, in theory, if you had a stash of BA Avios, you could transfer them to Qatar to then book their increeeeedible Qsuites 😍

And if you had a good transfer bonus to BA? This move would be even… sweeter.

Or… Suite-er? 😅

Personally, I would only speculatively transfer my points to BA if I received the 100% bonus.

However, if you have an itinerary in mind or know that you will definitely use Avios in the future, this is a nice little boost… But remember, you must transfer your Bilt points on November 1st!

🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday

Answer: B) Iceland

Ok, so the mini horses have almost nothing to do with the question...but come on. 🥰 

Anyway, Iceland claimed the top spot for a few good reasons. It has the lowest crime rate globally, and its capital, Reykjavik, is known for its Viking history, live music scene, Golden Circle, and more.

There’s more to safety than low crime rates there — the country’s focus on tourists is pretty sweet, and they pour some serious funds into emergency resources. That said, navigating Iceland’s remote areas isn’t without its own set of challenges.  

Though Iceland tops the list, other destinations were close. Denmark, for example, earned its number ten spot by combining low crime rates with a solid social welfare system and a lifestyle focused on what they call "hygge."

New Zealand, Australia, and Canada also ranked high. So, if safety is a top priority when planning trips, check out this article for the full breakdown.  

If you missed yesterday’s announcement… We just launched the most amazing flight AND hotel points search tool—Daily Drop Pro!

Make sure you check it out because one of our members already saved herself 27,000 freaking points on the very first day 🤯

That’s all for today! I hope you enjoyed today’s content around mileage runs and transfer bonuses.

See you tomorrow,

42.9956° N, 71.4548° W