I swear that is (actually) the final time: I can’t imagine I’m section working

The solar had but to rise, and but there I used to be, once more, making the brief hop between New York City and Washington, D.C.

It’s simply 214 miles within the air. More time is spent boarding and taxiing than truly flying. Normally, for this route, I’d want the practice. It’s a barely longer journey, however a better journey. The time is uninterrupted, so I can sit down and work.

But airline frequent flyer packages have a approach of creating us do very irrational issues time and again, even after we would sworn to ourselves we would not fall into that entice once more.

And so I discovered myself once more up within the air, taking one other spherical journey Thursday morning on American Airlines between New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA) and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).

Related: What’s the quickest technique to get from New York to Washington, DC?

I’d already completed this kind of factor 11 occasions for the reason that begin of the 12 months.

In current weeks, I’ve kissed and hugged my household goodnight after a flight dwelling with them and walked off to a different gate and – one more – ready jet. I’ve purposely related in Washington on my approach from New York to Charlotte, a route the place there are many nonstops to choose from.

Sure, the start of the 12 months was busy with journey for all kinds of causes, and I might partly blame that. But it is also true that I’ve been chasing flights and “segments.”

Let me clarify.

For the previous 14 months, American flyers have been residing underneath a revamped AAdvantage program the place they’ve been making an attempt to earn Loyalty Points (a quasi-equivalent of airline miles, although they don’t seem to be precisely the identical factor).

American Airlines has made a sport out of incomes elite standing once more. There are inventive — a few of us would possibly even say “fun” — methods to now earn Loyalty Points towards standing. In truth, you technically now not have to step foot on a airplane and fly to acquire American’s highest standing.

Related: Your final information to American Airlines AAdvantage

At the start of the 12 months, I’d already reached the highest tier of American Airlines’ elite standing ranges, a tier referred to as Executive Platinum. (The identify is maybe some mixture of a profitable enterprise chief and a treasured metallic?)

I did so by means of a mix of flying, bank card spending and a few inventive leveraging of procuring bonuses and even eating out.

That’s proper: To be one of many high American Airlines clients, you by no means want to truly fly. What a time we dwell in.

Theoretically, one might simply cost $200,000 on their American Airlines bank card and be completed with it. (Even much less with spending bonuses.) My pockets aren’t fairly that deep, however I’m a grasp at determining the place to earn factors and monitoring my progress.

Some of the methods I earned the 200,000 Loyalty Points (quickly going as much as 250,000 factors) wanted to earn Executive Platinum standing embrace:

• 1,250 factors each time I hire a automotive with Avis, even only for the day.
• 1 level per greenback spent at Hyatt accommodations — and I had a number of lodge stays.
• 465 factors for getting fuel at a BP station because of the SimplyMiles website.
• 1,200 factors for subscribing to The Wall Street Journal.
• 11,250 factors for renting a house through Marriott by means of American’s on-line procuring portal.

Of course, there was additionally loads of flying, on-line procuring by means of American’s portal and spending on my two American Airlines cobranded bank cards, all of which acquired me that a lot nearer to my standing objective.

Related: Which bank card ought to I exploit for American Airlines flights?

Those issues introduced me many of the technique to attaining the standing and perks I wished to earn for this 12 months. However, many of the approach is not the identical factor as getting throughout the road.

To get worthwhile systemwide improve certificates, good for upgrading your self wherever on the earth American flies, I additionally wanted to finish 30 flight segments. That’s 30 takeoffs and (hopefully) 30 landings.

Even if I did not need the upgrades, there are different worthwhile choices unlocked with these 30 segments, referred to as Loyalty Choice Rewards.

Related: How to make use of American systemwide upgrades

To begin 2023, I used to be 12 segments wanting that threshold with a number of flights booked to kick off the 12 months. But as I noticed the top of American’s elite qualifying interval looming on Feb. 28, I made a decision I used to be going all-in.

So, for the previous couple of weeks, I’ve been doing issues like including further segments to present flights. For as soon as in my life, I wished the connecting flight as a substitute of the nonstop route. Rather than take Amtrak to and from Washington, like I usually would, I’ve opted to fly.

Then, I ran out of journeys so as to add, tweak or take.

So, early Thursday morning, I boarded a airplane to get the final segments wanted to hit the magic variety of 30. No enterprise conferences, sightseeing adventures or informal lunch outings with buddies have been deliberate.

The objective? Just fly to the place I used to be going and get dwelling as rapidly as potential so I might hopefully beat some storms within the forecast that afternoon. The price: 15,000 American AAdvantage miles, which TPG values at $265.50, plus $11.20 in taxes.

Yes, that is irrational. Some would possibly say it is wasteful … and possibly they’re proper.

I want to have a look at it as an funding in my future journey. My one (extra) morning of flying will imply a a lot nicer worldwide journey on the entrance of the airplane — or a pleasant stash of miles to assist jumpstart my subsequent journey.

I had initially constructed a 90-minute buffer into my Washington layover, realizing that the slightest problem can upend flying lately.

But there have been no delays. My 6 a.m. flight took off from LaGuardia’s Runway 31 at 6:19 a.m.

I used American’s cell app plus my elite standing to go standby on the 8:10 a.m. flight dwelling. (I used to be No. 1 of 5 individuals on the checklist; there have been 100 empty seats, based on the app.) In truth, the Airbus A319 that I flew down from New York (registration N763US for all you fellow aviation geeks) ended up being my shuttle dwelling to New York.

Yes, I picked this route largely due to the almost hourly service throughout peak intervals.

During the flight to Washington, I watched the solar rise over the Eastern Seaboard. Then, my Airbus coasted over the Potomac River for one in all my favourite landings in America, passing the entire capital’s monuments. At 7:14 a.m., my airplane was on the gate, the door opened and I began my extraordinarily temporary layover in Washington.

After simply 24 minutes within the terminal, I used to be strolling again down the identical jet bridge, again onto the identical jet dwelling. The flight attendant, who I had simply stated goodbye to, welcomed me again on board. By 9:08 a.m., I used to be strolling off the airplane, again on the identical gate in New York that I had left from a bit greater than three hours earlier.

As far as mileage runs go, this was fairly straightforward. My first-class upgrades cleared each methods and I traveled early sufficient within the day to keep away from any flight delays.

On high of that my new Loyalty Choice Rewards arrived in my inbox just some hours later.

I can choose as much as 5 systemwide upgrades, or 85,000 miles or a mix of each.

It was painful to get up early, however not less than it’s not just like the outdated days when frequent flyers would ebook low-cost year-end flights to Hong Kong to earn standing – again when it was primarily based totally on how far you flew. I by no means did that, however I’ve completed my share of bizarre issues for standing.

If you want proof of simply how irrational it’s to chase segments, contemplate this: Starting with its new elite qualifying 12 months on March 1, American Airlines is eliminating the requirement.

So, possibly this week’s journey was my final section run ever.

Hopefully so.

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