A California man has been enveloped in buzz after taking six flights in one day to achieve membership in the Platinum tier of United Airlines’ loyalty program.
The man, Stephen, shared his dedicated and determined epic day of travel in a Reddit post this month. His back-to-back itinerary began with round-trip flights from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO), then back to SFO. After those two flights, he took another round-trip to and from Sacramento International Airport (SMF). He ended the journey with a final round-trip loop between SFO, his home airport, and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
Stephen noted in the post that he viewed the expedition as a personal “challenge” that he was interested in accomplishing. His goal was to get the flights done in a day, but he managed to do so in less than 12 hours instead of 24. He noted that his first flight departed at 8:40 a.m., and that his last flight arrived back in San Francisco at 8:29 p.m. Shockingly, his six-flight, 12-hour travel time even accounted for some airport delays.
“I had a fun day in the air, appreciating the scenery around SFO, Reno, and Sacramento,” he wrote in the post. “There were some ground stop delays at SFO, but luckily all connections were similarly delayed, so everything went off without a hitch.”
Stephen told the New York Post that he was six flights away from Platinum status for the year before his epic travel day, which prompted him to go for the undertaking. He spent $500 and 60,000 of his airline miles to get the flights done.
“While many people see airports as a hassle, I genuinely love the experience — the logistics, the engineering, and the perspective you only get from 30,000 feet,” said the admitted “aviation geek.”
Is United Platinum Status Worth It?
Clearly, for Stephen, as well as many other travelers, the loyalty program status is definitely worth it. With Platinum, United customers get nine times the miles on every flight, priority boarding, three free checked bags, free upgrade eligibility, and more.
To achieve Platinum for the following year, a flyer must earn 45 Premier Qualifying Flights (PQF) and 15,000 Premier Qualifying Points (PQP), or 18,000 PQP.
