I do find the "mileage runs" a bit odd. You spend a day or two just flying and hanging out at airports? I guess it's all cost/benefit, but that would be a little to much for me.
That said, whatever floats you boat. Looks like a lot of people are really maximizing the points programs. Good for them!
Going between mid-tier and top-tier status can make a huge difference in your rate of upgrades for the next year, mileage earning rate and in AA's case at Platinum you earn 0 international upgrades but at ExPlat you earn 8 one-way international upgrade certificates good for an upgrade from any economy fare to any business, or any business fare to first free of charge.
If you're at 90K of the 100K you need, it might makes sense for you to fly around a bit, see somewhere new -- cheaply, earn some miles and push you over. The next year you'll be a lot more comfortable.
What do you find morally questionable about churning? It's game in which banks and airlines write the rules and reserve the right to change them unilaterally.
I mean, come on. It's not like the plane would be sitting on the Tarmac if he didn't board it. It's flying anyway.
I don't think you could. Fuel is one of the most mispriced things in the world; airlines may not be paying pennies a gallon like certain countries wastefully subsidize fuel in their countries, but it's pretty blatant that fuel subsidies of every kind are enormous, and they've been particularly singled out by economists like the IMF as wasteful.
> It's not like the plane would be sitting on the Tarmac if he didn't board it. It's flying anyway.
On the margin of plane flights, there would be fewer plane flights if he didn't have this 'hobby', and much more directly, every flight he boards wastes a lot more fuel simply carrying his weight.
That said, I don't think Lucky even comes close to the amount of flying Tom Struker does, United's only 10 million mile member.
But it's not that much fuel. A 30-mpg automobile will consume a similar quantity of fuel (gasoline, not jet fuel) in 120,000 miles of driving.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_efficiency_in_transport... [2] http://www.eia.gov/forecasts/steo/tables/pdf/wf-table.pdf
Not like he's specifically chartering the flights, the planes is going to fly with or without him.
You are exploiting a complex promotion system by finding tiny loopholes, at the expense of everyone else (because at the end of the day, the banks will get their money...)
And no, you can't argue that "because the loopholes exist, that's proof they don't care".
Or another comparison, a white collar criminal who embezzles his company but found a legal loophole that means he can't be charged. Just because it's not illegal, doesn't mean it isn't immoral!
Who hasn't overfilled their cup many times at self-serve drinks counter? Been back for three plates of ice cream at a buffet?
It's sounds like a lot of work but completely harmless. Finding loopholes in complicated systems to me seems like a type of arbitrage mor than anything.