In the past I’ve written about the fact that I never like to have more than a few hundred thousand miles at the same time. My reasoning is rather simple — hoarding miles is like keeping a bunch of money in a bank account without earning any interest. Add to that the fact that miles inflate more quickly than most other currencies, and I consider myself much more of a points burner than a points collector.

That being said, I just added up the points in all of my accounts, and they come out to something like 1.25 million. Holy crap, how did that happen? To many that might not seem like a lot, but I pride myself in burning miles as soon as I have enough for an award ticket. Furthermore, I’ve already burned 600,000 miles this year, so it’s not like I’m hoarding or anything.

Nonetheless I actually don’t feel too bad about my mileage total. Why? Because I have no more than 250,000 miles in any one account. I have between 100,000 and 250,000 miles in my Aeroplan, American, Membership Rewards, Northwest, and United accounts, along with about 500,000 hotel points, split between Hilton, Priority Club, and Starwood. So basically I have enough points to travel to most places in the world in a premium cabin in each alliance, or am at least within reach after transferring points between accounts.

This has been one hell 0f a year for promotions, bonus points opportunities, and even mileage redemption options. If only I had more time to burn my miles for something a little bit less wasteful than a weekend trip to Europe in first class (which I’ve been contemplating for a while, I just need a good excuse).

A friend sent this article to me last week as I was hopping on a plane, but somehow I didn’t get around to reading it until today. Without describing it any sort of detail, I’ll simply say it’s one of the funniest articles I’ve read in a very long time. I’d pay good money to have seen this all unfold in person, especially the look on the TSA “officer’s” face….

So I was checking out the availability of my flights for my upcoming trip to Asia on ExpertFlyer, and I couldn’t help but notice an interesting statistic for my flight from Istanbul to Hong Kong:

<img class=”alignnone size-full wp-image-3110″ src=”http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemilea

I just drove out to TPA to ticket an itinerary, and on purpose went at around 1:30PM when there are no flights leaving, so there’s literally no one at the ticket counter except for a couple of agents.

Well, I was ticketing an itinerary, and so was the guy next to me. He was using a $350 customer relations voucher, so I immediately assumed he was a FlyerTalker. Then he pulls out his Starwood American Express card to pay the residual amount. OK, now he’s definitely a FlyerTalker. To top it all off he asks the agent to apply a confirmed regional upgrade to his itinerary, and he has to have an argument with the agent about how confirmed regional upgrades can confirm upgrades in advance.

Way too sophisticated to just be common folk.

Via the OpenSkies blog, OpenSkies will be suspending their New York to Amsterdam route effective August 16. It’s also interesting to note:

This change gives us the chance to continue to build on the success we have developed on our Paris route. In just over 2 years we have gained over 25% market share. We have done it with a much better product at a much better price. Why do people love OpenSkies? Some customers say it’s the feel they get when they board our planes and see the special seating configuration. For others perhaps it’s the great personalized service that our staff consistently delivers. Or maybe it’s the 10 minute boarding and de-boarding of the aircraft which is another nice convenience, and I know there are so many more.

25% market share is no doubt an impressive accomplishment, especially given that it has only been a year. There’s no doubt that OpenSkies delivers a great product with an even better value, so it’s sad to see them “suspending” service in any market.

Here’s to hoping that it’s not the beginning of the end….

Today in the Sky notes that United’s latest round of “Twares” (Twitter Fares) come with a special restriction:

not eligible for Mileage Plus accrual.

Ouch! Is the sky falling? Not quite. This definitely sets a bad precedence, given that up until now all revenue fares on United earned miles. For a second I figured all the low fare buckets were screwed, but then I noticed something which made me feel better. When I priced out the “Tware” it’s actually a “G” bucket fare, which is typically used for consolidators. While those fares did (typically) earn miles in the past, they’re hardly for “published” fares.

Therefore I doubt we’ll see United all of a sudden not allowing mileage accrual on low published fares. Another thing that makes me feel better about this is that the fare earns no miles. Why’s that a good thing? Well, if United ever reduced mileage eligibility for lower fare classes, I highly doubt they’d totally get rid of mileage accrual, but instead give maybe 25-50% so people still have a (small) incentive to stick to the airline they’re loyal to.

At the same time I have to wonder what they mean by “not eligible for mileage accrual.” I assume that means no redeemable miles, but does that also mean no elite qualifying miles, no lifetime miles, no miles towards 500 mile upgrades, etc?

It’s time for some reader photos. Thanks to JonNYC for sending in these (all of the same location).

Correct Answer: Easter Island
Winner: Ace

If you’d like your photo featured, please email it to me at onemileatatime@hotmail.com, along with the correct answer.

You’ve gotta read this article:

Endo, who works at hectic Shinagawa Station in central Tokyo for Keihin Express Railway Co., sits in front of a laptop computer with a digital camera mounted on top. At first she is a bit grim-faced, and the verdict from the company’s smile-rating software is instant and candid.

“Smile: 0″ pops up on the screen.

She breaks into a broad grin and the computer responds cheerfully, giving her a score of 70.

What a corny yet brilliant idea!

Check out this article:

WalletPop has learned that United gave $3,000 to the Thelonius Monk Institute of Jazz, an educational organization that includes, among its board of trustees, Sonya Jackson — United’s managing director of corporate social investment. (Want to see for yourself? Click here. United’s logo also appears on the bottom of the organization’s welcome page.)

(Tip of the hat to Miles)

What a week at United! Let’s summarize:

• The week started with United announcing they were returning free booze to transpacific flights, no strings attached, along with some other minor (overall positive) catering changes.
• Next, while United did make some capacity cuts, they also announced service from London to Brussels (on a 777) and from Narita to Beijing (which replaces the nonstop Washington to Beijing flight). A 200 mile flight on a 777, it’s like the good old days!
• Then, United announced their Q2 results, which were surprisingly decent given the rumors circulating at United involving the “B” word.
• And finally, John Tague was named President of United. It seems pretty obvious that Glenn Tilton is eventually looking at leaving and John Tague will take over. No comment!

All-in-all, a great week for United, I’d say!

And for those of you wondering, sorry, I won’t be wearing a “Glenn’s Gotta Stay” shirt anytime soon.