I’m going to fly 40,000 miles in two years.
Since I was little I’ve always loved anything that has to do with flying. Having had family that worked in travel and access to cheap tickets didn’t hurt either.
I’d like to get myself into the air. Now, I could simply go over to Expedia and start booking tickets.
But that would be unrewarding and way too expensive. There must be a better way.
Internet forums are the best place to connect with people and information on any topic. I spent days browsing the ones at FlyerTalk and Airliners.net. I brushed up on my knowledge of mileage runs, airline alliances and more.
All the information I gathered helped me to set two goals:
- Spend less than 5 cents per mile of flying. In other words, flying a hundred miles must cost me less than 5 dollars including all taxes and fees. The cheaper the better.
- Achieve Star Alliance Gold status. There are many ways to do this but the easiest and cheapest is to join the frequent flyer program at Asiana Airlines. I get gold status by flying 40,000 miles over the next two years on any Star Alliance airline (there’s 25 of them now).
To be honest, what’s pushing me more than flying, adventuring or acquiring status is the chance to face my fears including:
- Traveling somewhere unknown all by myself
- Being stranded in the middle of nowhere
- People thinking that I’ve lost my mind for doing this
- The same people telling me that I’m wasting my time, money and effort
Its time for me to go. I’ll see you in the sky.
Related Posts: Flying for gold: Seattle, Flying for gold: Houston & Las Vegas, Flying for gold: NOLA, Miami & Key West, Flying for gold: Los Angeles & San Diego, Flying for gold: New York City