Hello and greetings from Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) Vietnam! It’s already been a long day or so of travel and I have several more ahead of me. Surprisingly I feel great. I’m trying to stay on Central Standard Time (CST) throughout this whole trip. The goal is to minimize jet lag by staying on a single time zone. While this sounds great on paper, I’m starting to find it difficult not to go to sleep while sitting in my hotel room in Vietnam at 3:30am.
Anyway, I wanted to take a few minutes to sit down and explain why I’m here. Even though I’m in Vietnam my journey is actually just beginning. See, back in late July 2017 Qatar Airways published an incredible business class fare sale from Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) to various countries around the globe. Luckily for me, New York City and Chicago were on the list of eligible cities. Without giving it much thought I booked two round trips total and here I am.
Why The Heck Is A Mileage Run?
A mileage run is a flight or series of flights taken for the sole purpose of earning airline miles. At least, that’s what the traditional mileage run was.
Now that airlines make it harder to earn miles, most people (myself included) instead book Elite Status (Mileage) Runs. Elite Mileage runs are taken to earn some form of qualifying criteria. With AAdvantage that could either mean Eqlite Qualifying Dollars (EQD), Elite Qualifying Miles (EQM), or Elite Qualifying Segments (EQS).
While it may seem insane to fly around the world, the annual payoff often makes sense for some travelers. For example, AAdvantage Executive Platinum members receive 4 systemwide upgrades each year. Those upgrades are worth at least $500 each, so if you miss top-tier status by a few miles, you’re potentially missing out on $2,000 of value!
AAdvantage Platinum and above gives you lounge access when traveling internationally on a OneWorld carrier. That’s a nice benefit to give up just because you’re a few miles short.
Why Am I Mileage Running?
I always planned to take at least one international mileage run this year. For a long time it seem that booking a Europe to Asia business class was the most viable option. You can fairly consistently book a flight like that for $1,400US or so.
At that point my only goal was to reach AAdvantage Platinum Pro status. The status is new in 2017, but offers AAdvatnage members unlimited complimentary domestic upgrades.
All of that changed however when Qatar Airways published an incredible business class fare from Vietnam back to the United Stats. At the time I paid just $650 round trip! That one round trip alone would have given me enough miles for Platinum Pro, but then I thought, why not just go for Executive Platinum? So, at that moment I purchased a second Qatar Airways business class round trip, again for $650.
In total I’m only spending $1,300 (flights) to earn over $7,000 of EQD which puts me past the $12,000 EQD requirement for Executive Platinum. In the process I’ll also earn nearly 80,000 AAdvantage miles. I value AAdvantage miles at $0.015 each so I’m earning approximately $1,2000 worth of miles. In my eyes I’m coming out ahead even if others aren’t so sure.
Mileage Run Trip Report
One of the things I love most about this particular mileage run is the route. I began my journey in Chicago, flew to LA, then to Seoul, and am currently in Vietnam. Along the way I’ve had the opportunity to visit several airport lounges and flown on two of my favorite planes. With in total, this mileage run should yield a very lengthy trip report. I hope to cover each of the following topics in various posts in the coming weeks:
- ORD-LAX, United, Economy Plus, Boeing 757
- LAX-ICN, Asiana Airways, Business Class, Airbus A380
- ICN-SGN, Asiana Airways, Business Class, Boeing 747
- SGN-DOH, Qatar Airways, Business Class, Airbus A330
- DOH-JFK, Qatar Airways, Business Class, Airbus A350
- DOH-ORD, Qatar Airways, Business Class, Boeing 777
Additionally, I hope to visit several airline lounges during my trip. So far I’ve made stops in the LAX United Club, LAX Star Alliance Lounge, and Asiana Business Class Lounge in Seoul. The highlight, in my opinion, should be the Al Mourjan Business Class Lounge in Doha.
I’ll also have a few other reviews of a hotel or two and maybe a post or two summarizing my experiences. I am definitely going to write a review of the Vietnam Visa On Arrival process which was a little more difficult than expected.
Final Thoughts
I honestly can’t believe where I am right now. When I first got into this hobby my only goal was to earn a free flight or two. I never imagined that this crazy obsession would lead me halfway around the world!
During the weeks and days leading up to this trip I was extremely nervous. I hate being jet lagged and this trip has me passing through so many different time zones it made my head spin. Surprisingly I slept great on my flights to Vietnam and feel fantastic. I have about an hour left until the sun rises and then I’m going to start exploring!
