“Pack heparin,” was my friend’s advice when I told her about my mileage run of next week. I may just need a few ampules of the clot-busting drug when I plunk myself down in an airline seat for close to 50 hours of flying, on a mileage run that will take me from San Francisco (SFO) – Honolulu (HNL) – Los Angeles (LAX) – Sydney (SYD) – LAX – HNL – SFO. The entire run takes about three days (only because two days of your life somehow disappear when you fly to Sydney), and I’ll even be able to enjoy about eight hours exploring the fantastic harbor city. I’m meeting the famous Frugal Travel Guy, Rick, and his wife, Katy, for breakfast. I will also, of course, make sure to check out the opera house, the bridges, and take an obligatory monorail ride. I’ve wanted to visit Sydney for quite awhile, now, and even with only eight hours on the ground, I’m sure it will be a wonderful place to behold. I’m a sucker for harbor and water towns (explains my love for San Francisco).
For my troubles, I’ll rack up 50,000 elite qualifying miles (EQM) with the double EQM promotion, for a mere 600 bucks. Essentially, I am squashing three or four mileage runs into one, and embarking on the most leg-bending, clot-inducing mileage run of my life. I absolutely cannot wait.
I’ll have more details in the coming days.
why not spend a bit more time downunder? Now as a student you can still enjoy lots of time off … Use it wisely!
I hope you were at least able to upgrade the domestic segments
Gray,
I know you are on a K-fare but, if you’ve got the SWU’s to spare, I would still recommend that you try to upgrade with them at the airport. I did this run a few weeks back and was successful with upgrading on a SWU at the gate just minutes prior to boarding. The agent said: “well, this isn’t technically an upgradeable fare but since you are a 1K I’ll just do it.” Of course, a gift card, a box of chocolates, and a (vaguely-worded) GTEM were all delivered after the fact for her trouble.
Oh, and another tip for making this happen. From the moment you check in, start asking each agent you interact with whether or not you can upgrade the fare with a SWU. Twenty “NO’s” and one “Not really, but we can make it happen” is all it takes.
Happy Hunting,
Ryan
I’d recommend the run from the Harbor to Manly via ferry, great view of the city on the trip and Manly is a nice little spot.
http://www.sydneyferries.info/timetables/manly-ferry.htm
Recommendation for fighting the clots: HNL has an open air garden in the middle of it. Take a few minutes for some deep knee bends, yoga poses, and maybe some jumping jacks during your layover.
I also say “ditto” to what Ryan said above. It happened to me on the LAX-SYD portion of my run, it could happen to you…
Also, make sure you take a swing through the highly classy and super-delicious ANZ Koru Club at SYD before you leave!