Flying on UA & ANA: LAX-SFO-NRT-FUK

May 30 – May 31, 2012

United 788

Los Angeles (LAX) – San Francisco (SFO)

Airbus A319

Window Seat, 10A, Economy

All Nippon Airways 7

San Francisco (SFO) – Tokyo Narita (NRT)

Boeing 777-300ER

Middle Seat, 20F, Economy Class

All Nippon Airways 2143

Boeing 737

Tokyo Narita (NRT) – Fukuoka (FUK)

Window Seat, 21F, Economy Class

 

The day before I was supposed to fly from LAX-HNL, I received an email confirming my upgrade which was going to be on a 767. However, that flight was cancelled and I had to make some decisions on new routes to get back to Japan. One of the options was to fly from LAX to Narita and then to Guam, fly to Sapporo and end up in Fukuoka. The problem with that route was that the flight from Narita arrived into Guam at 0200am and left Guam at 0700am. Even though I knew this route would have accumulated more miles than I originally expected, I knew that this would have been mentally and physically exhausting. I ended up with the LAX-SFO-NRT-FUK route.

I was really disappointed and frustrated since I was looking forward to the trip to Guam. I think I was more disappointed about the miles. However, if there was any good that came out of this, it was being able to travel with my Dad and experiencing an international flight on ANA for the first time since 2008. To make up for the lost miles, I book a short mileage run to Boston in July.

After dropping off the rental car, I arrived at LAX about three hours before departure and used the premier access terminal for United Airlines. After a quick breakfast, our full flight to San Francisco was on its way.

Flight to SFO

As soon as I arrived at SFO, I went straight to the ANA counter to change my and my father’s seats so we could sit together. Since we both originally had aisle seats, it was easy for the agent to switch seats around. The only catch was that one of us had to sit in the inside in the four person row which wasn’t a problem at all. The seating configuration on this plane was interesting as it was a 2-4-3, something I’ve only seen on ANA. We ended up sitting in the bulkhead row right behind business class. I was a little apprehensive since smaller children are normally booked at the bulkhead but we sat by an older couple.

The bulkhead row provided extra room to stretch out although we weren’t allowed to keep our small carry-on baggage in front of us. I found it annoying having to pull out the tray table and personal TV multiple times, but the extra leg room made up for it. I took a look around and noticed that the regular economy seats barely had any legroom.

Bulkhead row

ANA’s seats did not recline back like a traditional seat but rather it went back but pushed you forward. I didn’t find this too comfortable and a little awkward.

Compared to US airlines, the food and service was overwhelmingly better. The flight attendants were much nicer and seemed more upbeat than what I was used to seeing with other flight attendants. I remember seeing attendants going through the aisles multiple times with water, coffee, tea, and even lemonade throughout our flight. I also enjoyed the ice cream for dessert.

Lunch

I thoroughly enjoyed the personal TV screen since it made the hours pass by quickly. The multiple maps, games, and selection of movies and shows were much better than what I was used to. Since ANA is a Japanese airline, there aren’t as many English movies and shows as opposed to United’s new entertainment system on their newly configured 777s.

On-board entertainment

Flying from the west coast was nice since I usually fly out of Dulles or Chicago to get to Japan. The flight took less than 10 hours and we arrived to Narita on time. By the time I was on the Fukuoka flight, I was knocked out and didn’t have any time or energy to take pictures.

As nice as it would have been to have taken the long route to Japan, flying ANA and experiencing quality service was semi-worth it. If it wasn’t for the whole mileage thing, I would definitely prefer ANA over United.

The long way to California on US & UA: DCA-BOS-IAH-SFO-SNA

May 23, 2012

US Airways 2020

Washington Reagan (DCA) – Boston (BOS)

Airbus 319 EOW

Aisle Seat, 6C, Economy

United Airlines 1260

Boston (BOS) – Houston (IAH)

Boeing 737 – 800/900

Aisle Seat, 10D, Economy Class

United Airlines 1267 

Houston (IAH) – San Francisco (SFO)

Boeing 737 – 800/900

Aisle Seat, 20C, Economy Class

United Airlines 698

San Francisco (SFO) – Santa Ana (SNA)

Airbus 319 or Airbus 320?

Window Seat, 8F, Economy Class

Plane to Boston

*Sorry for not posting in a while. Things have been hectic and crazy for the past few weeks and I’ve finally found some down time to write up a few trip reports.

Flying from the east coast to west coast is pretty straightforward. You can take a non-stop flight from DC to LAX in about five hours with the whole day to spare or a quick, one-stop connection through Chicago or Denver and still have plenty of daylight left. On the other hand, you could take the long way to maximize the amount of miles you can accrue to the west coast literally eating up an entire day. Let me explain.

DCA-BOS

The day started quite early at 200am. My father and I woke up to get ready for our Super Shuttle pick up at 308am. Unfortunately it was raining and getting all the bags and waiting outside for the shuttle was miserable. I was little apprehensive about getting a shared van because of its inconveniences but thankfully we only had to pick up two other passengers. We arrived at Reagan National airport early, at around 400am. Since our itinerary was kind of complex the agent had to manually write in our destinations on our bag tags (never seen that before).

If there’s one thing I’ve noticed about Reagan National, it’s the long lines for security. I’ve been to this airport several times and each time I always see depressingly long lines for security.

The route between DCA and BOS is branded as US Airways Shuttle since its targeted toward frequent fliers between the two cities (as well as LGA). It boasts quick boarding and deplaning and offers complimentary newspapers. The departure area in Boston comes with a few desks to allow business travelers to get some work done before flying.

The flight to BOS was boarded not by zones but by rows. Boarding this way felt faster and before long we were taxing to the runway for our on-time departure. The flight was quick, taking about an hour and fifteen minutes. Since we were flying on US Airways and were connecting to United, we had to exit the secure area, walk to the other terminal and go through security all over again.

Our flight to Houston technically didn’t have economy plus seats as you can see in the pictures. I believe this was a former Continental plane with an old configuration (not sure if they’ll install E+ or not).

Aisle seat legroom is kind of cramped on BOS-IAH

Our flight from Houston to SFO came equipped with Direct TV which was complimentary before takeoff. For $8, I thought it was an alright deal but I decided not to purchase it (maybe next time).

Gate at Houston

Plenty of legroom but limited recline on IAH-SFO

Direct TV

By this time it was already 600pm pacific time, meaning it was already 19 hours since we woke up for our day of traveling. Our flight to SNA was on time, but for some reason TSA agents were posted at our gate and as were boarding, they had to check our IDs  (not sure why or what it did to enhance security).

Plane to SNA

By 1100pm we arrived at SNA, a full 24 hours after we woke up in DC to start our trip to the west coast.

In total, I racked up 4,232 miles as opposed to a mere 2253 miles if I flew straight from DC to LAX. I found this trip using ITA Software since it effectively searched for the specific routes and times that I wanted. Flying to trip was risky as one single delay or cancellation would have caused major headaches and disruptions to this complex itinerary. Despite this, I plan on doing this all over again when I go back to DC in July.

Trip to St. Louis Part 2 – Hyatt Regency St. Louis at The Arch & STL – ORD – ROA

May 16, 2012

American Airlines 889

St. Louis (STL) – Chicago O’Hare (ORD)

Boeing 757

Window Seat, 21F, Economy

United Airlines 5730

Chicago O’Hare (ORD) – Roanoke (ROA)

Canadair Regional Jet 200

Window Seat, 2A, Economy Class

View from the hotel room

For some reason all of my Hyatt stays were not credited to my account so I wasn’t recognized as a Platinum member when I checked in. The hotel is located right across the street from the arch and not too far from the stadium which made sightseeing really convenient.

Room

Extremely comfortable bed

The hotel lobby was huge with a small shop, an actual starbucks, three restaurants/lounges, a concierge desk, and a bare bones front desk. I was checked in quickly and was given a room on the 15th floor with an awesome view as you can see above. The room itself was small but the view made up for all the negatives.

Bathroom

Shower

I decided to get dinner downstairs choosing the lounge with italian food. I was tempted to eat at Chris Ruth’s but I realized I wasn’t in the mood for some steaks. You have plenty of options of dining at the hotel which I liked since I didn’t feel like doing too much exploring around St. Louis (maybe next time).

Even though the arch was right there in front me from my room, I decided to pay a short visit and take some pictures.

Courthouse

View of the hotel

My original flight back to ORD was scheduled at 540pm but since I was done so early, I tried getting an earlier flight. I called American to change my flight, but for some reason United was in charge of itinerary and I had to call them to make the change to a 150pm flight. Once I got to the airport, the change didn’t go through and I ended up settling with a 355pm flight. With almost four hours to spare, I decided to pay up $50 and hang out at the Admiral’s Club.

The club was really small with a few computers open for use and a bar. Coffee and water were free as well as some chex mix. Before long, I was on my way to board my flight to ORD.

First class wasn’t available so I ended up with a window seat in economy. Thankfully it was a short flight since the person in the middle was built like a tank.

Window seat legroom

Since my day pass was still good in ORD, I went to both lounges in ORD. I definitely prefer the United lounges since there are more and seem to have more snacks and drinks.

United regional jets

The flight to Roanoke was uneventful and I was happy to have a row to myself. No delays on this flight and I got home way ahead of schedule.

 

Premier 1K mileage count: 27,658 miles down, 72,342/100,000 miles to go

Trip to St. Louis Part 1 – ROA-ORD-STL

May 15, 2012

United Airlines 5863

Roanoke (ROA) – Chicago O’Hare (ORD)

Embraer RJ145

Window Seat, 9A, Economy

American Airlines 703

Chicago O’Hare (ORD) – St. Louis (STL)

Boeing 757

Window Seat, 3A, First Class

*Since I forgot my camera, I was only able to use my camera phone to take pictures. I apologize in advance if the pictures aren’t as good. I’ve also noticed an annoying dark speck on the left side on most pictures so once again I apologize for that.

Our plane flying to ORD

Waiting to taxi

Finally. After a month of no flying and after thinking I was finally done with Roanoke, I found myself in a  little regional jet off  to Chicago O’Hare.

Limited legroom

 

The interesting thing about my itinerary was that there were two non-star alliance segments as I was flying on American Airlines from Chicago to St. Louis and back to Chicago. I was kind of bummed out by not flying United, but since I was booked on a Y-fare class to and from Roanoke, I was able to get 150% premier miles.

On the way to ORD

I normally take the super early flights out to Chicago but this time and my first, I took the 1027am flight to Chicago. I was a bit apprehensive about this segment since its usually delayed or cancelled. Using united.com to track down the status of the aircraft flying out to Chicago, I was happy to find out we were going to be on time.

Another view from the window

Even though I can think of a bunch of reasons why I hate flying out of Roanoke, I do appreciate the shorter check-in and security lines. In less than five minutes, I was already on the other side waiting to board the plane.

I do like this particular configuration of the aircraft since I’m able to sit alone and have a window seat. As you can see from the pictures, legroom is quite cramped, but it’s a short flight and I didn’t feel too uncomfortable for the duration of the flight.

Once I arrived at Chicago O’Hare I made my way to the American Airlines terminal to print out my boarding passes. I was originally seated at 31A in economy and didn’t feel too thrilled. I looked at the option to pay up to upgrade which cost $45. At first, I didn’t think it was going to be worth it for such a short flight, but decided to upgrade just to try it out and have something new to write about on this blog.

First class on American

Legroom configuration

It was nice boarding first since I have no status whatsoever with American (although I plan on doing a status match later on). First class was quite empty although I had someone sit next to me. It was quite similar to United’s old Boeing 757’s first class and if you take a look at my post on my flight from SFO – SAN, it’s pretty much the same thing. I was offered drinks promptly and several times before takeoff and during the flight. I was also given a small snack bag. The flight was extremely short, about 45 minutes, and before long we landed in St. Louis.

At St. Louis

Premier 1K mileage count: 26,862 miles down,73138/100000 miles to go

Trip Report: United Airlines SAN-ORD-ROA

*Follow me on twitter: @jon32wayne

March 12, 2012 / March 13, 2012

United Airlines 845

San Diego (SAN) – Chicago O’Hare (ORD)

Boeing 757-200

Aisle Seat, 12D, Economy

United Airlines 5685

Chicago O’Hare (ORD) – Roanoke (ROA)

Canadair Regional Jet 200

Aisle Seat, 5B, Economy

With spring break finally over, it was time to get back to Blacksburg and finish up my last semester of college. This is probably my last time flying to Roanoke for a while, but of course my last time through ROA was marred by a big ol’ fat delay.

I usually take the red-eyes out of San Diego since they tend to be cheaper and since I had to get back to school by Sunday. However, this time around I decided to leave on Monday and arrive in Roanoke at 11pm – no big deal since I sleep late anyway. I projected to get back home at the latest by 1200am, but things didn’t turn out that way.

I arrived at San Diego quite early and checked-in using the kiosks. This was little over a week since the conversion and check-in went smoothly. I switched my seat since at the time there was an empty middle seat, but of course on this heavy route, all the seats were filled.

I do like the power outlets in a lot of seats at SAN so I was able to use the internet without sacrificing my battery. One thing that did happen while I was at SAN was that the Boeing 787 landed as it made its way around the county. The intercom announced that the Boeing 787 was landing, which got a lot of people excited. Most of the windows were packed, so I decided to wait until I was able to snap a picture.

Boeing 787 at SAN

Boarding was chaotic. Terminal 1 isn’t that big and with everyone eager to get on board; there was little space to get in line. The new United has a new boarding procedure with zones reaching up to number 8 and as a premier member, I boarded with zone 4.

I never understood the legroom configuration, aisle seat legroom is quite narrow

I kind of regret sitting at 12D since there was no window. Even though I’m not sitting at the window, I do like having a glimpse of the outside, especially during take-off and landing. For about four hours, I didn’t have a view at all.

Yep, no window

Weather in Chicago was not good and our captain informed us that we had to wait at SAN in the penalty box for up to an hour to land into Chicago. Since all flights were affected by this our connecting flights were unlikely to leave on time, reassuring most of the passengers.

Spacious middle seat

For lunch I chose the cold Thai noodle meal and some pringles. The flight attendant asked my opinion on the noodles and I said that were pretty good. The older Asian lady next to me asked me if they were really that good. I replied saying that they were okay and not suitable to our Asian standards 😉

Window seat legroom

We arrived in Chicago O’Hare about an hour late and plenty of people were rushing to get off the plane to connect to their flights. Since I had some time, I decided to try out the middle seat and window seat since I was going to be flying a Boeing 757-200 when I fly from Honolulu to Los Angeles this summer (just needed a preview and if I should book a window seat or not).

Once at O’Hare, I checked the departure boards for the flight to Roanoke and at the time, things were good to go. An hour later I found out that my flight was not leaving Chicago until 1000pm, a two hour delay. Eventually we didn’t leave until 1045pm and landed at Roanoke at 0115am. I didn’t get home until 230am which was awful since I had class at 1100am the next day.

On board our delayed flight to Roanoke

The topping on the cake was hearing the constant hum of jackhammers tearing up the concrete outside my window while I tried taking a nap between classes. I drank so much to stay awake for my 330pm class.

Overall, the new United boarding procedure seemed a little confusing but I’m hoping that things will smooth out over time. I’m glad to say that I made it back to Premier and will be able to enjoy what little benefits I have now.

*Follow me on twitter: @jon32wayne

Mileage might be off, United is having some issues with miles

Premier 1K mileage count: 25557 miles down,74443/100000 miles to go

Trip Report: United Airlines SFO – SAN

March 4, 2012

United Airlines 996

San Francisco (SFO) – San Diego (SAN)

Boeing 757-200

Window Seat, 3A, First Class

 

At SFO way too early in the morning

About a day before we left San Francisco for San Diego our first class upgrades went through. I was kind of half-expecting this since we were leaving on a Sunday morning at 600am and this was a relatively short flight. There are multiple flights between SFO and SAN as well. This was also my first time ever having a complimentary upgrade on United. Being a lowly premier member meant never getting an upgrade.

Our flight was the day after United and Continental merged and switched over to the SHARES system and it was apparent at check-in that some bugs weren’t quite fixed yet.

We woke up extremely early around 245am to check out of the hotel by 330am (maybe we were a little too early). I wanted to make sure we had enough time to clear up any issues since I was a bit skeptical about the upgrade (my premier status technically ended on March 2).

We dropped the car off at the rental car center and took the Air Train to the terminal. At first I went to the regular economy line, but went to the premier access line because of the upgrade.

I tried using my old mileage plus number, credit card, and even my confirmation number, but none of that went through. When United switched systems, everything changed including my confirmation number. I was worried that my upgrade was a glitch, but after receiving my boarding passes, I was happy it wasn’t.

Since it was still early, we decided to just go to the regular security line, which didn’t take long. It was still super early before boarding so we decided to grab some breakfast.

SFO at 500am doesn’t have much going on but a few places were open for breakfast.

Plane from SFO - SAN

Before long we boarded our plane which was quite empty. We actually just boarded all rows at the same time since there were so few people flying to San Diego.

Sunrise

First class on United’s Boeing 757-200s are kind of old, nothing special. It was nice having a little extra room, although I’ve always found the legroom and configuration of legroom on these planes a little weird.

Legroom

First class was about 80% full as some crew members filled up the empty first class seats.

Different angle of legroom

Once we were airborne, we were offered some beverages and the flight attendants handed out warm blueberry scones for the inflight snack. The flight was about an hour and a half and we arrived in San Diego on time.

Blueberry scone for our in-flight snack

I’m glad we decided to park our car at Terminal 1 since we were back home in 20 minutes after we got off the plane.

For some reason my mileage plus account was not credited with this flight. I tried putting in my flight ticket number, but it said something like award miles don’t count as miles. I’m trying to get this worked out since I didn’t book this flight with miles, but with cash. If I don’t get the miles, it’s no big deal since it’s only worth about 500 miles.

Overall, first class on the Boeing 757 isn’t bad, mostly because it’s not economy. I’ve been on first class on this aircraft on the SEA – ORD and ORD – SAN routes, and they’re not bad for longer flights. I feel that as a lowly premier member (for now), your best shot at getting an upgrade is too fly at off-peak times (obviously) like on Sundays at 600am. I also think that shorter routes can raise your chances to getting an upgrade (just a speculation).

Trip Report: United Airlines ROA-ORD-SAN

March 2, 2012

United Airlines 5726

Roanoke (ROA) – Chicago O’Hare (ORD)

Canadair Regional Jet 200

Aisle Seat, 5B, Economy

United Airlines 449

Chicago O’Hare (ORD) – San Diego (SAN)

Airbus A320-100/200

Aisle Seat, 8C, Economy Plus

There are a lot of great things about Roanoke airport, but I tend to focus on the negative aspects of flying from a small, regional airport. I do like the short security lines, the ease of parking, and simplicity of the airport. However, I’m not a big fan of the regional jets and the variability of their on-time reliability.

It’s interesting to note that the United Express flights from Roanoke are operated by different regional airlines. One day it could be Trans States Airlines or it could be Atlantic Southeast of ExpressJet the next. TSA has the best on-time statistics and the usual seat configuration of their planes is ideal for me (1-2 seating).

When I booked my flight for spring break I noted that the flight was going to be operated by ExpressJet which according to United, runs about 50% on-time which I think has too much variability. I also tracked the status each flight each day two days before I flew and noted some huge delays (the ORD-SAN flight the day before left 3 hours late). Since I was nervous about missing flights and not getting to SAN on time for my flights to San Francisco, I decided to sign up for flight monitoring courtesy of Cranky Concierge. They provide a whole host of services ranging, from flight planning to immediate assistance. I decided to sign up for flight monitoring for my outbound flight to San Diego. It cost only $15 which allowed me to feel a little better about the flights ahead. I was assigned an assistant who updated me on the status of my flights. I really liked knowing someone was out there ready to help me out just in case my flights turned sour.

My flight from Roanoke left at 643am so I left my apartment at around 400am to make it to the airport by 515am. When I fly, I focus on the boarding time and make sure to arrive at the airport an hour to two hours before that time, not departure time. Big accident on the way to the airport on I-81, but other than that, I made it on time at the airport.

Security was quick although the airport felt a little more crowded than normal probably since it was the start of spring break season.  I received an email from my Cranky Concierge assistant saying my flight to ORD was on time. Boarding was quick, although a few people got their seats mixed up. Nothing really to note on this flight. Exhausted with almost no sleep the night before, I was passed out most of the flight to Chicago. I noted that we didn’t fly over the lakes as we usual do (great view of the city as well) but flew over land to land at the airport (must of used a different runway). It took a while to deplane so we ended up just waiting around to get the door opened. The only thing I do enjoy about regional jets is deplaning outside and just being on the tarmac. I really like the planes whizzing overhead and chance to see the planes up close. It’s also a great place to snap some pictures of planes.

Not a lot of legroom

View from the window on ROA-ORD

Beverage service on flight from ROA-ORD

Not sure when it started, but I always go to the O’hare Bar and Grill for breakfast in the American Airlines terminal at the airport. Although it’s a good hike to get there from the United side, I like eating a hot breakfast that’s reasonably priced. I don’t think their food’s that great but I still go nonetheless.

The "New" United

Old United livery

Breakfast at O'Hare Bar and Grill

I received another email from Cranky Concierge stating that my flight to San Diego was also on time (2/2!). We eventually boarded the flight to San Diego and unfortunately, my row had someone in the middle, although it was not a big deal. I forgot United still doesn’t have wi-fi on their planes which made the flight to San Diego longer than usual (got used to US Airways and their on-board wi-fi). It was nice being in Economy Plus again (most of my flight so far this year have been on US Airways) and the extra legroom was comfortable for a four hour flight. I noticed the seat pocket had lots of room for putting magazines and other random stuff which was nice.

How much legroom you get on Economy Plus

Economy Plus legroom

Economy Plus

Since the San Diego airport only has one runway, landing and taxing to a gate, compared to other major airports, is fast. I enjoy landing and getting off the plane at Terminal 1 in about 10 – 20 minutes.

Overall, the flights from Roanoke to San Diego were good, no delays and no major issues at all. I would definitely recommend using Cranky Concierge if you’re traveling on a tight schedule or during the peak season. I definitely plan on using it again when I fly back to Japan since my itinerary is a bit complex. If you’re not an elite member on United, you can purchase Economy Plus for a fee, although I think it’s more worth buying it for an international flight.

 

Premier 1K mileage count: 16735 miles down, 83265/100000 miles to go.

From ideas to concrete plans

Next week, I’ll be heading to San Diego to kick off my travels for the next three weeks. I just booked some extra flights to ensure I hit at least 25,000 miles on United by the end of March. Here’s where I’ll be heading to:

Travel plans for Feb/March

02/24- LYH-CLT-SAN on US Airways

02/26 – SAN-CLT-LYH on US Airways

03/02- ROA-ORD-SAN on United Airlines

03/03- SAN-PHX-SFO on US Airways

03/04- SFO-SAN on United Airlines

03/05- SAN-CLT-FLL on US Airways

03/06- FLL-CLT-SAN on US Airways

03/12- SAN-ORD-ROA  on United Airlines

By March, I should accumulate around  15,830 miles to just go over the minimum of 25,000 for Premier status.

I’ll be visiting the airports at Lynchburg and Fort Lauderdale for the first time along which is something I’m actually looking forward to. I’m planning to do reviews of the flights and hotels I plan on staying at, so be on the look out for those.

And so the mileage running begins…

In the past three days or so, I’ve already made three reservations on United and US Airways to start off my mileage run to 100,000 miles.After reviewing the terms of the new Mileage Plus program, US Airways counts as EQM/EQS which made booking flights more flexible.

Before booking my flight to San Diego, I found an extremely cheap flight from San Diego to Fort Lauderdale, round-trip for only $294. After some thought and searching around, I decided to book it because of the mileage accumulation, price, and timing. It’s a red-eye flight out of San Diego with a return on the next day (no hotel stay).  This marks my first ever trip soley for mileage accumulation as I have no reason to go to Fort Lauderale.

After booking that flight, I decided to book my flight from school to San Diego. I debated flying out of sevaral airports, including going out from Knoxville, TN (about 4 hours away) because of it’s rock-bottom prices of $240 for a round-trip ticket to San Diego. However, when I considered the timing and costs, I ended up choosing to fly out of Roanoke to San Diego and back.

The third flight I booked was a flight from Lynchburg, VA (two hours away) to San Diego. At $379, the price was hard to beat and worked out perfectly with my schedule.

In total, I’m anticipating to accumulate 14,428 EQM, bringing my total to 24,088. Pacing myself at about 25,000 every 3 months, means I’m right on track to 100,000 miles.

Introduction

Being a part of military family that has been stationed in Japan since 1997 has provided me plenty of opportunities to travel. From traveling to and from Tokyo for sports, going to and from the Philippines to visit family, and the occasional trip back to the states, traveling has become second nature to me.It wasn’t until I started going to college and traveling at least twice a year back and forth between Japan and the US that I began paying attention to all the miles I was accumulating. In addition to traveling between Japan and the US, I was traveling frequently to Washington (state) and California to visit my girlfriend and sister. I knew that these miles were worth something, but it wasn’t until I had enough to redeem for a business class flight from Tokyo to Seattle, that I realized that I wanted as many miles as possible.

I finally earned Premier status on United Airlines in 2009, earned it again in 2010, but failed to earn it in 2011, mostly due to flying on American Airlines traveling back to school and I didn’t fly that much studying abroad in Guilin, China.  A bit disappointed and sad that I didn’t earn any elite status on any airline, I’ve decided that this year I’m going all the way to the top (well close to the top) and fly at least 100,000 miles to earn 1K status on United Airlines and Star Alliance Gold.Since this is my last semester as a student, there’s no better time than now to accumulate and take on mileage runs. Flexibility and time is on my side now since I don’t have a job, yet.

Starting last year, I finally started reading blogs about earning miles and elite status and since then I’ve been hooked. If you take a look at my blog roll on Google Reader, it’s filled with everything related to earning and redeeming miles as well as financial advice and tips, since the two are quite related.

Although I’m no expert by any means, this blog will track my progress and experiences getting to 100,000 in one year. I’ll also throw in some tips and stuff I’ve learned about traveling over the (few) years I’ve been doing this.

 

Premier 1K mileage count: 9660 miles down, 90340/100000 miles to go.

Million Miler Miles (United): 96630 miles down, 903370/1000000 miles to to go.