[motion]

Originally Posted by MRM

Motion isn't flying anywhere near 100,000 miles a month. He accumulates frequent flier miles with his credit card spending, hotel stays, car rental, and buying things that give miles for the purchase, in addition to actually flying. And since he's an elite he gets several FF miles for every actual mile flown. If you have a Delta co-branded AMEX card you get more than a mile per dollar spent on Delta flights or products and anywhere between one and ten cents a dollar for buying other stuff, depending on the specials they're running. And if you have a Delta Reserve AMEX or a Delta Platinum AMEX (as opposed to the regular AMEX Platinum card) you get extra bonuses that go toward earning you elite status on the airline.

I don't travel much any more, but the last few years I travelled a lot and I can tell you there is a vast difference between being a regular kettle (an unsophisticated traveler as in Ma and Pa Kettle of old time TV fame) and being an Elite traveler. It's like night and day - special phone lines, jumping the security line and bypassing the regular metal detectors, free access to Economy Comfort and exit rows, preferential seating, no baggage fees, free same day flight changes, and the opportunity for upgrades on a space-available basis.

Dude, please. We don't want the great unwashed masses to know about this stuff. I like my comp upgrades too much