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It’s time to choose
Yesterday I asked readers to help me construct a mileage run so that I could secure Delta Platinum status this year. I promised that whoever posted an idea that I use would get their choice of: a) Frequent Miler’s undying gratitude; b) a Boarding Area t-shirt; or c) a few Delta snack & drink vouchers.
I received some great suggestions, but I’m still on the fence as to what to do. Below is a summary of the proposals and my reactions to them, but first let me say a huge THANK YOU to everyone contributing to this conversation!
Author: Chris
A reader named Chris suggested that I post this request to the FlyerTalk mileage run forum. In general, this is a great suggestion. That’s the place to go to find the experts. In my case, though, I’m hoping blog readers will find this interesting so I’d like to keep the discussion here.
Author: Darren
Fellow BoardingArea blogger Darren from Frequently Flying sent me a mileage run suggestion via email.
Detroit to Atlanta to Sacramento, overnight layover, and then return again through Atlanta all for only $300.80.
This is a great option. My only problem with it is that it not only involves an overnight layover, but also doesn’t get me home until 9:41 PM the next day. If I’m going to do an overnight, I’d like to at least be home by afternoon the next day. This is still a contender, though.
Author: Michael
Detroit to Seattle to LA, overnight layover, then return LA to Detroit for $480
Since this is more expensive than Darren’s suggestion and also requires an overnight stay, I’m not planning to pursue this one (but you still get my gratitude!).
Author: Scott
Detroit to Atlanta to Ontario round trip in one day for $356
This is a great suggestion and one I’m definitely considering. My only problem with it is the pain factor: it requires flying out of Detroit very early in the morning and returning very late at night. Ouch. On the plus side, I get to sleep in my own bed. This is a very strong option.
Author: Burj
Detroit to LA to Sacramento, back to LA, then red-eye to Detroit for $317
The first flight leaves Detroit at a very reasonable 12:05 PM on a Saturday and the final leg returns on Sunday morning. If I go with this one I’m sure I’d be wiped out tired on Sunday, but somehow and for some reason that seems like it might be less painful than the all day trip to Ontario proposed by Scott. Overall, I’m leaning towards this one.
Other Options
Two people proposed alternatives to mileage runs that could get me the 4,288 MQMs I need for Platinum status:
Author: Kara
Kara reminded me of a Delta promotion from last year in which people could earn MQMs by giving money to charities. If Delta repeats this promotion, I could earn 5000 MQMs simply by donating $500 or more to certain charities. If I knew that the promotion would be repeated, I would pick this option in a heartbeat. In fact, I would probably donate enough for 15,000 MQMs and let the extra 10,000 roll over into next year.
Author: Mordy
Mordy asked why I don’t apply for the Delta Reserve Business card in order to earn the 10,000 MQM intro bonus that the card offers. I actually tried to do something very similar. I have held the Delta Platinum business card for quite a while, and as discussed yesterday, I just applied for the Delta Reserve personal card. What I tried to do was add a second personal card by applying for the Delta Platinum personal card which offers a the chance to earn a 5,000 MQM welcome bonus offer. This was denied. I was told by an Amex representative that for the collection of cards (Platinum and Reserve) I could only have one personal card and one business card. I was really surprised by this since I’m sure I’ve read about people who have all four cards. I don’t know whether American Express has changed their policy or if the person I talked to was misinformed, or what. Anyway, assuming he was right, I’m currently maxed out on credit cards that offer MQM bonuses.
Decision Time
So, what do you think I should do? Should I go for the red-eye journey to Sacramento and back? Or, get up early, go visit Ontario for a few minutes, and come back late at night? Or maybe, I should go with Darren’s suggestion and stay overnight in Sacramento so that I can book a room at the Radisson there? Or, should I just wait and see if Delta duplicates last year’s charity promotion? That would save me the pain of an unnecessary flight and would do some good in the world! If I wait until December 1st and there is no promotion, would it then be too late to schedule a decent mileage run? What do you think?
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Assuming you’re in DTW, Friday night stays at the Radisson Kingsley are coming up at under $82 ai for me in December. Prepay of course.
ErinPW: Thanks!
Here is another trip…similar to SMF but this time DTW-LAX-OAK
Advantage of this is you leave even LATER from DTW…but have less connection time in LAX which can be a little scary if there are weather issues in DTW…
Again super short connection in OAK but same plane there and back so you can’t really miss it…
http://www.kayak.com/flights/DTW,nearby-OAK,nearby/2011-12-10/2011-12-10/f59a807a0889d16590b44b5a890da6e13
Burj: I like it! Thanks for another great suggestion!
Well, I was ready to book this flight this morning, but the fare has jumped up. Arg!
I figured you knew how quickly fares change!
One nice thing is that if you book directly with delta.com you have 24 hours to cancel the ticket at no cost!
I’ll keep an eye out if you are still looking…
Sadly there are MANY more available options for less money out of pocket and/or better departure/arrival times, but they all fall just short of your needed MQMs. I found one even that was cheaper with better flight times but about 100 MQM short!
Scott: if I fell a few hundred short, I could call Delta and beg them to bump me up to Platinum. My guess is that if I’m that close they would let me in. No?
NO…because of rollover Delta does NOT bump people up if they are just short…
In fact many of us COUNT on this…for two years in a row I have been just short of Diamond on purpose to be able to rollover just short of 50K miles to the next year…
If you call and BEG they might bump you up…but do NOT count it!
I’m not really sure. I’ve never been in that situation before…I’ve always ever surpassed the threshold or fallen a minimum of a few thousand short.
Allen – there’s a “typical” MR? Since when 😉
To me, a real MR has to keep the cost to min. So red-eye is a typical one, is it? -:)
If the Radissons in SMF (my suggestion) are more expensive than those near you, I’d then go with Scott’s suggestion, kick it out in a very long day and then find a Radisson near you for the stay.
Darren: Thanks for the suggestion. I haven’t had time yet to work out my Radisson strategy. We have 3 in our family signed up for the Club Carlson promotion without a single planned stay on the horizon.
By the way, congrats on your Delta MR, and pursuing plat. I made to plat this year as well. Lucky made fun of us doing Delta MR at the Chicago DO. Now you are one of us!
Thanks Allen. The Chicago DO was awesome even if we were made fun of 🙂
I would do the red-eye. That’s a typical MR, right? -:)