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We stumbled across this Chicago O’Hare (ORD) to Tokyo-Haneda (HND) SkyTeam partner weekend trip with decent (by today’s standards) Medallion Qualification Dollar earnings!
READ: How We’re Now Calculating Mileage Run Returns With the New SkyMiles Program and Inflated Airfares
Chicago to Tokyo Mileage Run
This is a Premium Economy trip on Air France. Premium Economy “A” fares on Air France earn MQD based on 20% of the mileage estimated to be flown during the trip when you credit the trip to your SkyMiles account.
Some people complain about Air France Premium Economy. Others are fine with it. (It’s better than coach, isn’t it?) Again, the key here for scoring Delta MQD and miles is to book it as an Air France trip (via Air France or an online travel agency). Then enter your Delta SkyMiles number as your frequent flyer program of choice. At no point will you use Delta’s website, app, or phone reps to book this trip.
This trip departs Chicago on Wednesday evening, November 13, (but play around with the dates using this Google Flights link) and connects in Paris (CDG) the next morning. Here’s the thing: you have over 13 hours before your 9:55 PM flight departs for Tokyo. That gives you plenty of time to head into Paris and do some sightseeing. (There are luggage storage lockers at CDG.) Or if you could get a room at the Sheraton inside CDG. (I’ve stayed there and it’s a great hotel.) You get to Tokyo on Friday evening at 7:25 PM.
Enjoy all of Saturday and Sunday exploring Tokyo (which is such a fantastic city). Your flight back departs Sunday night (1:00 AM Monday), connects through CDG (only five hours this time), and returns you to O’Hare mid-afternoon Monday.
We used the SkyMiles calculator at Travel-Dealz.com to estimate what you’ll earn when credit the trip to your SkyMiles number.
- $5,086 MQD for $2,647.30 airfare
- Roughly 1.92X return
- Again, check out How We’re Now Calculating Mileage Run Returns With the New SkyMiles Program and Inflated Airfares
- 20,346 flown miles toward Delta Million Miler status
- 30,520 redeemable SkyMiles before any applicable Medallion bonuses
- We think that’s worth at least $305.20 in future travel — or purchases made at SkyClubs 🙂
Screenshot
Screenshot courtesy of Air France
“How Can I Book This Trip and Make Sure I Get the Correct Elite Earnings?”
Please look at this tweet:
We’ve received emails from people taking #Delta partner runs — and losing out on MQD earnings because something preventable went wonky.
If you don’t know exactly how to book a run, please ask the @pointmetravel #MileageRun team for help!https://t.co/MzIALAKF7q#Affiliate
— Eye of the Flyer ✈️ (@EyeOfTheFlyer) December 16, 2022
Don’t let this be you!
If this is your first rodeo (or even if it isn’t), consider letting point.me’s Mileage Run department do the heavy lifting. Have them deal with everything — and travel with confidence knowing you’ll earn what you should.
We hate hearing stories from people who waste time and money.
And if you want someone to create a mileage run that works for your schedule, budget, and home airport, point.me’s Mileage Run department can also help with that!
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Eye of the Flyer and its parent company, Chatterbox Entertainment, Inc., are not affiliated with Delta Air Lines or any other airline. All information has been conducted independently by the blog post’s author. Eye of the Flyer is not responsible for any errors, mistakes, or failures committed by airlines, vendors, travelers, or the blog itself. This post is for entertainment and informational purposes only.
Advertiser Disclosure: Eye of the Flyer, a division of Chatterbox Entertainment, Inc., is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. 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. Some of the links on this page are affiliate or referral links. We may receive a commission or referral bonus for purchases or successful applications made during shopping sessions or signups initiated from clicking those links.
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Thank you for continuing to post these deals. Do you know if Point.me could come up with a strategy to get to 2MM from 1.7MM?
Happy to be doing them again!
RE the 2MM to 1.7MM, they probably could string together multiple runs over a few years or if you want to get it done sooner, they probably could. It comes down to your schedule and budget, considering you have to fly about 300,000 more miles. But I know they have repeat customers they work with all the time. And some of the stuff they’ve come up with is pretty mind-blowing.
Hi @Jack,
Reading your comment, we felt compelled to respond.
Looking ahead, Mileage Runs are not dead.
In fact Mileage Runs are the only way to leverage less dollars into more Million Miler Miles (MM Miles) and higher MQD’s! They will be the key to elite status more than ever!
Mileage Runs still offer the absolute best way to leverage MQD’s when compared to simply handing over cash to Delta Air Lines for elite status.
As for your specific question, we at Point.Me would be happy to customize a search tailored around your preferences and unique situation.
Feel free to submit a request through this link…
I’ll make sure it is routed immediately to our Mileage Run team.
thank you
Here is may be a Better Option???? Leave from JFK and fly into NRT instead of HND. Why NRT? 1) HND hotels are far more expensive than NRT. I recently scored a room at the Crown Plaza at NRT for $62 per night (probably $67 now due to a stronger YEN). 2) HND hotels are less likely to let you check-in early because it is a popular destination. Remember, the flight arrives to Tokyo before Noon; and the front desk gave me a room right away when I arrive at 11am. 3) The hotel offers complimentary airport shuttle to/from the airport and area shopping. Remember, we are trying to keep the total cost of the mileage run down. Another option is the Hilton. Same amenities for shuttle at a bit higher price BUT… the Hilton includes an awesome FREE breakfast because I am a GOLD tier. Plus, the Hilton has a very nice complimentary steam room for relaxation after a long flight; and there is a 7/Eleven right on the premise. I recently did 2 runs on JFK-NRT. The connection time varies from 3 to 5 hrs in CDG both outbound and return; therefore, no need to pay for an extra layover hotel at CDG. Oh, did I mentioned that the A Class ticket at ~$2600 r/t is fully refundable without any fee? Now, that is a steal!
Also, as a side bar, the flight time from NRT/HND to CDG varies from 14.5 to 16.5hrs because they have to fly around Russia. If you want to bit of comfort coming back home, you maybe able to score a business class upgrade for ~$370, but this won’t give you more MQD, just more comfortable for a long flight.
Good tips!
Is your skyteam elite status available when doing a partner run like this? Ie. if I am a delta platinum do I get to use skyteam lounges while booked in main cabin/premium economy on a partner?
It’s been a while since I did it but I recall, yes, I received my benefits when I booked an Air France coach ticket and credited it to my SkyMiles.