Frequent Flyer Schemes -- Mileage Running

A mileage run is a trip designed specifically to earn miles or points from an airline frequent flyer programme. It may be possible in some circumstances to make enough “points” from flying on strange itineraries when the prices drop low enough to buy a much more expensive flight or holiday via the airlines frequent flyer milage scheme. More often though people will engage on a mileage run in order to go from one status level to another, e.g. from silver to gold and so get the extra benefits which could be complimentary lounge access.  The video below shows someone’s “milegae run” from 2006

Typically the milage runner will go for a multi-stop cheap trip at off peak travel time and perhaps not even visit the destination city. It’s a mad mad world, or is this only something that happens in the USA ? Would be interesting to get some comments on this. A couple of things have occurred to me:

1) From the airlines point of view this will mess up their data on what routes are popular and which aren’t. Probably not a problem though unless this activity is very widespread.

2) Environmental pressure groups must think this is awful. OK it’s not as bad as flybe paying passengers to fly or bmi flying empty flights to keep Heathrow slots

It has spawned a whole sub industry including popular forum websites and even travel agents that specialise in putting together itineraries that will maximise the points balance for the mileage runner. Detailed article on mile running from Wired.com