Adam Rowland took 12 flights in five days, and travelled to Honolulu, New York City and Amsterdam during his 120 hour trip.
His itinerary included the following routes:
1) London City to Amsterdam
2) Amsterdam to Heathrow
3) Heathrow to Boston
4) Boston to Los Angeles
5) Los Angeles to Honolulu
6) Honolulu to Los Angeles
7) Los Angeles to Washington Dulles
8) Washington Dulles to Charlotte
9) Charlotte to New York
10) New York to London City
11) Heathrow to Amsterdam
12) Amsterdam to London City
He received red carpet treatment from BA at Heathrow’s Terminal 5 as they presented him with his gold card in the Galleries First Lounge.
The extent some frequent flyers will go to in order to gain miles/points is staggering, but is it always worth it?
For the sake of miles and status, will travellers continue with their current routing to maintain status, or sacrifice status for the sake of ease?
The method used by people such as Adam Rowland to gain miles is commonly known as a mileage run – a series of flights taken in a very short amount of time, solely for the purpose of accumulating frequent flyer miles.
If you had the choice between a direct route and an indirect route, (which would earn you more points) which would you take?
Many travellers take mileage runs to earn elite status – and quite often November and December are the busiest months to do so, as the earlier travellers qualify for elite status, the more time they have to enjoy it. We know of some Routes delegates that took creative 'alternative' flight options after World Routes this year to boost tier points to retain elite status.
The recently announced United Airlines link between Newcastle – Newark which commences next year is an example of a route that could be impacted by frequent flyer trends. The majority of passengers who currently fly between North East England and New York would have flown with British Airways via London or KLM via Amsterdam, meaning regular travellers could build up a considerable amount of points with rival schemes. Will the convenience of a non-stop service attract them from the benefits of elite status and a one-stop offering?
So how much of a slave to points are you? Take part in our poll and let us know!
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