No Result
View All Result
Eye of the Flyer
  • BANK & Travel Cards ★
    • Credit Cards
    • Travel Rewards Cards
    • Airline Credit Cards
    • Hotel Credit Cards
    • Cash Back Credit Cards
    • No Annual Fee Credit Cards
    • Small Business Credit Cards
    • 0% Intro APR Cards
    • Balance Transfer Cards
    • Bad or Poor Credit
    • No Credit
  • Rookie
  • Elite Mileage Runs
  • Merchandise
  • αbout US ✉
  • BANK & Travel Cards ★
    • Credit Cards
    • Travel Rewards Cards
    • Airline Credit Cards
    • Hotel Credit Cards
    • Cash Back Credit Cards
    • No Annual Fee Credit Cards
    • Small Business Credit Cards
    • 0% Intro APR Cards
    • Balance Transfer Cards
    • Bad or Poor Credit
    • No Credit
  • Rookie
  • Elite Mileage Runs
  • Merchandise
  • αbout US ✉
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result

An 18,000+ point Delta Mileage Run: The planning of the run

René by René
September 9, 2014
in Trip Reports
15
Advertiser Disclosure: Eye of the Flyer, a division of Chatterbox Entertainment, Inc. has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Eye of the Flyer and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact how and where card products appear on the site. This site does not include all card companies or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.


An 18,000+ point Delta Mileage Run: The planning of the MEGADelta run – Part 1
An 18,000+ point Delta Mileage Run: Positioning to LAX the start city – Part 2
An 18,000+ point Delta Mileage Run: A review of the SPG Sheraton LAX – Part 3
An 18,000+ point Delta Mileage Run: Skyteam Lounge hopping in LAX – Korean Air lounge LAX & more? – Part 4
An 18,000+ point Delta Mileage Run: The run to Sweden & embracing Delta coach travel – Part 5
An 18,000+ point Delta Mileage Run: The KLM coach experience & the run from Sweden – Part 6
An 18,000+ point Delta Mileage Run: Alaska Boardroom LAX vs Delta Skyclub & flight from LAX home – Part 7
An 18,000+ point Delta Mileage Run: Final thoughts, cost & more – Part 8

how many delta miles rene will fly insept

So how does one plan to fly 18,000+ miles over a few days? Well ya really don’t. You see, my BFF-NAI or best friend forever Norwegian Airlines decided to offer REALLY low prices (sub-$600) from LAX i.e. Los Angeles to Gothenburg or GOT, my mom’s home town, and Skyteam matched them. How can one pass up a deal this good? Also, when really good deals pop up like this you book first and ask questions later. After all, I have 24 hours to cancel (under MOST circumstances) with Delta.

I booked it as soon as I could as I had a $400 voucher driving the price for the run down under $200 all-in and then I paid the rest with my Barclays Arrival+ card and used points to cover it. So far this trip is FREE for me. Sweet.

But how do I get to LAX? Plus, I would have to overnight and I want to avoid checking any bags for greater bumpertunites as well as since they are much happier to work with you when there are no bags to pull (especially on international flights)! Lastly I didn’t want to check my carry-on, and since the bag is a tiny bit big, and I don’t want to get blasted by readers again, I need to avoid CRJs 😉 (and never plane side check in winter in MSP btw)! The only problem would be I would have to drive a bit to get to an airport with “real” jets. That meant either MDW 2 hours-ish, ORD 2.5, MKE & IND 3 hrs or GRR 2 hrs away. Thankfully GRR had a nice choice under $400 so I could pay for that ticket with 20,000 FlexPerks points and both EARN MQMs & Skymiles and have very little out of pocket (max $94 or less). #Winning!

On to lodging. The simplest choice would be the Sheraton LAX. The cost is just 7,000 SPG points and I am very much in need of more stay credits to keep my Platinum status for next year. I had booked at the Club Carlson LAX but that “disappeared” and I did not want to risk that possible situation. So this was my pick pre and post run for a total of 13,000 points that included my Platinum benefit of 500×2 points rebate back for the two stays! The review of this Sheraton stay(s) is up later on.

So far so good but my flights are not quite perfect for either of the trips. The times are not perfect either and the equipment is not the best but the other flights are WAY more money and I wanted to stay under $400 all-in to not spend more FlexPerks points for the positioning flights. But, the mighty, and expected, schedule change happened again and again and I ended up on a 777 that has full flat seats in first (plus a bunch of 1st class seats) on the way out and the perfect times for the return trip. Gosh I love this rule with Delta – it makes flying so much fun!

So how did the upgrades and flights go? That is up next but I will say the day before I had, of 3 possible upgrades, only 1 cleared during the pre-check-in upgrade window before my 1st flight (so what about the rest – stay tuned)! – René

.
Editorial Note: Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer.

.

Gold Delta SkyMiles®
Credit Card from American Express®
Click HERE for more info

 

. .

Advertiser Disclosure: Eye of the Flyer, a division of Chatterbox Entertainment, Inc. has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Eye of the Flyer and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact how and where card products appear on the site. This site does not include all card companies or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.


Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

Related

Previous Post

Why are so many Delta “partnerships” so strange and strained nowadays?

Next Post

Rookie Wednesday: What is the “perfect” travel “stuff”? Here is mine

René

René

René de Lambert is a contributing writer for EyeoftheFlyer.com - He is an avid Delta and SkyTeam flyer who has held Delta’s top Diamond Medallion status for many years and flown millions of miles.

Next Post

Rookie Wednesday: What is the "perfect" travel "stuff"? Here is mine

Comments 15

  1. Brian says:
    9 years ago

    Maybe I’m blind, but I don’t see anything wrong in the video of the MSP plane side check. Yeah there’s a little snow getting on the bags, but no worse than if they were being loaded in a rainstorm that could happen anywhere.

    Reply
    • rene says:
      9 years ago

      @Brian – I guess, as I mentioned in the video, I would have removed the large pile of snow at the bottom of the chute.

      Reply
  2. Sebastian says:
    9 years ago

    René, I like that you are using Barclay points to reimburse your “travel related” expenses. I do the same with Capital One Venture. Is there any other card that has that benefit? Can you do the same with USBank Flexperks, etc.?
    Thank you in advance.

    Reply
    • rene says:
      9 years ago

      @Sebastian – You can for air travel but not the same way. In the next post I cover how I paid for the flight TO LAX with the Flexperks card.

      Reply
  3. Sebastian says:
    9 years ago

    Got you! It is not as great as CapOne Venture or Barclay Arrival. I recently paid for a Disney cruise splitting the costs in $500 on each card for me and my wife. That is like $2000 in travel that you can pay with points. Specially for the Disney cruises that are not available in Ultimate Rewards for example.

    Reply
  4. KevinIN says:
    9 years ago

    Hi Rene, maybe I missed this but it could be a great rookie question…..how did you get the “Skyteam to match them”? Thanks!

    Reply
    • rene says:
      9 years ago

      @KevinIN – I did not do it, they just matched the offer from NAI. I did blog about the deal here:
      .
      http://deltapoints.boardingarea.com/lax-san-jfk-mco-to-scandinavia-for-500-800-all-in-delta-united/

      Reply
  5. Pingback: An 18,000+ point Delta Mileage Run: Positioning to LAX the start city - Delta Points - Delta Points
  6. Pingback: An 18,000+ point Delta Mileage Run: A review of the SPG Sheraton LAX - Part 3 - Delta Points - Delta Points
  7. Pingback: A 18,000+ point Delta Mileage Run: Skyteam Lounge hoping in LAX - Korean Air lounge LAX & more? - Delta Points - Delta Points
  8. Pingback: An 18,000+ point Delta Mileage Run: The run to Sweden & embracing Delta coach travel - Delta Points - Delta Points
  9. Pingback: An 18,000+ point Delta Mileage Run: The KLM coach experience & the run from Sweden - Delta Points - Delta Points
  10. Pingback: An 18,000+ point Delta Mileage Run: Alaska Boardroom LAX vs Delta Skyclub & flight from LAX home - Delta Points - Delta Points
  11. Pingback: An 18,000+ point Delta Mileage Run: Final thoughts, cost & more - Delta Points - Delta Points
  12. Pingback: A Miami Mileage Run: The VIP lounge at MIA & positioning flight - Delta PointsDelta Points

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe

Subscribe To Our NewsletterJoin our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

➤ Search Eye of the Flyer

No Result
View All Result

GREAT Travel and Cash Back Card Offers!

Eye of the Flyer may receive a commission from the links below. See our Privacy Policy

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express: Earn 120,000 bonus American Express® Membership Rewards® points after you spend $15,000 on purchases on the card within the first three (3) months of being approved for card membership. Terms apply.. Plus, select airport lounge access, statement credit opportunities, and more! Read here why we love this card.

Ink Business Cash® Credit Card: BEST EVER OFFER RETURNS! Earn $900 bonus cash back (90,000 points) after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first three (3) months of being approved for card membership. Read more here.

Chase Freedom Unlimited® Card: SPECIAL OFFER: Unlimited Matched Cash Back. Chase will automatically match all the cash back you earned at the end of your first year! There is no limit to how much cash back you can earn. Read more here.

Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card: A Free Night Award each year, complimentary Diamond status, and several great statement opportunities. Plus, earn 180,000 bonus Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $6,000 in purchases on the card within your first 6 months of Card Membership approval. Offer expires January 17, 2024. Learn here how to apply. (See Rates and Fees. Terms apply. All information about the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card was collected independently by Eye of the Flyer.)

The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is the new must-have “it” card for travel lovers! Earn 75,000 bonus miles after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three (3) months of being approved for card membership. Plus, earn $300 annually in statement credits for travel purchased through Capital One AND 10,000 bonus miles every year, after the first anniversary. The $395 annual fee can EASILY be earned back (here’s how) — and then some! Read more here.

  Earn cash back with Rakuten (formerly known as Ebates) Earn cash back with TopCashback! RebatesMe Earn cash back with DOSH!

Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Eye of the Flyer with appropriate and specific directions to the original content.

Subscribe

Subscribe To Our NewsletterJoin our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Resources

  • ✍ Editors Disclaimer
  • 💰 Advertiser Disclosure
  • 🔒 Privacy Policy
  • BANK & Travel Cards ★
  • Rookie
  • Elite Mileage Runs
  • Merchandise
  • αbout US ✉

Copyright © 2023 Eye of the Flyer. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • BANK & Travel Cards ★
    • Credit Cards
    • Travel Rewards Cards
    • Airline Credit Cards
    • Hotel Credit Cards
    • Cash Back Credit Cards
    • No Annual Fee Credit Cards
    • Small Business Credit Cards
    • 0% Intro APR Cards
    • Balance Transfer Cards
    • Bad or Poor Credit
    • No Credit
  • Rookie
  • Elite Mileage Runs
  • Merchandise
  • αbout US ✉

Copyright © 2023 Eye of the Flyer. All Rights Reserved.

Cleantalk Pixel