The booking site for the Star MegaDO 4 opens Monday (TOMORROW) at 10am EST! I am actually all booked as I won a raffle at the launch party in DC that gave me early access to the booking site. I hardly ever win anything, so I was super excited! Last year the OneWorld MegaDO actually sold out in 20 minutes so being able to book early was amazing.  The domestic portion of this charted flight starts Tuesday November 13th at 8pm in San Francisco and ends Friday November 16th at 9pm in Chicago.

For starters, if you are wondering what the heck a “MegaDO” is, let me explain. It is a very cool experience for overly obsessed flyers (like myself), where you will get some behind-the-scenes travel opportunities. This particular MegaDO will be sponsored by United Airlines and Hyatt, where you will fly United planes to various hubs (SFO > HOU > ORD) and stay at selected Hyatt hotels. You will meet other obsessed travel junkies, tour some cool air crafts, and earn some points and miles along the way. This is essentially a party on a plane. If you are looking for a quite ride, this is probably not for you!

There is both an international and domestic portion, but unfortunately the international portion is already sold out. However, you are able to go just the domestic route (which is what I am doing). While, it is a pretty steep cost for this event, there could potentially be some cool perks. Both United and Hyatt will extend some sort of promotion limited to just folks on the flight. While it has not yet been announced, I have high hopes that it will be awesome.

Schedule - you can see the official complete itinerary here, but to summarize:

• Tuesday November 13, 2012: MegaDO starts at 8pm with a welcome reception at Hyatt Regency SFO.
• Wednesday November 14, 2012: Morning program at SFO then 1pm flight to Houston. BBQ in Houston and accommodations at the Hyatt Regency Houston.
• Thursday November 15, 2012: Morning flight to Chicago and spend the rest of the day with United. Reception at the Hyatt Schaumburg in Chicago.
• Friday November 16, 2012: United Program continues and eases in to the 15th anniversary Star Alliance reception hosted by Star Alliance.
• Saturday November 17, 2012 (OPTIONAL): Cowboy day in Chicago. This event will be an additional $169 and all proceeds will be donated to charity.

Price - these prices just include the chartered flight. You will still be responsible for paying for the nightly negotiated rate at the Hyatt hotels in each of the three cities and for the positioning flights to San Francisco and home from Chicago:

• BusinessFirst — $1,999 all in - earns 15,00 PQM/RDM
• Tommy Class — $1,599 all in (extra Legroom and No One Next to You)  - earns 7,500 PQM/RDM
• Economy Plus — $1,249 all in (extra Legroom) – earns 7,500 PQM/RDM
• Economy Class — $999 all in – earns 5,000 PQM/RDM

As I mentioned before, this is not a cheap trip. Assuming the least expensive costs, you will be paying $1,000 for the flight, let’s say another $300 to go to SFO and home from ORD, and then $450 on hotels (estimated). This will bring you to a grand total of $1,750. Now the good thing is that you really will not incur any other costs as food and activities are included.

This will be my 2nd MegaDO and I am really excited! I personally had a blast this past January on the first OneWorld sponsored one, and am hoping this one will be just as fun, if not better!  Are you thinking about going?! Feel free to let me know if you have any questions.

Make sure to set your alarm as seats will go fast. Also, ensure to have your Hyatt #, United #, and Passport # readily availbale. You will be able to book here. Goodluck!