Last night we closed out 2017 and as is a tradition for me, I like to provide a Travel Year In Review. I spent my New Years Eve in Denver celebrating the marriage of two dear friends. That means I’m starting my mileage earning for 2018 on day one of the year.
I mentioned this last year that the difference between coach and first class is getting more and more narrow and I continued to see that in 2017. Sometimes, First is even less than economy, depending on the route and how close to departure you are booking. Since booking in First Class gets you double qualifying miles, I was able to keep my Premier Platinum status with United. Here’s how my year ended up – with the previous four years included as a comparison.
By the Numbers: (2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013)
Total Miles Flown: 81,978 | 68,278 | 72,293 | 53,322 | 73,825
Total Segments Flown: 55 | 45 | 41 | 37 | 44
Cabin Segment Breakdown (F/B/C): 21/3/31 | 8/5/32 | 2/5/34 | 0/5/32 | 7/4/33
Total Airlines Flown (new airlines bolded): 8 (United, EVA, Thai, KBZ, Myanmar Air, Azul, Air Canada, American) | 5 | 4 | 7
Total Hotel Nights: 84 | 69 | 67 | 56 | 71
Total Hotel Stays: 35 | 35 | 47 | 32 | 31
Total Airlines Miles Redeemed: 85,000 | 0 | 155,000 | 37,500 | 105,000
Total Hotel Points Redeemed: 12,000 | 106,000 | 283,500 | 134,000 | 13,400
Countries Visited (new Countries bolded): 3+3 (Myanmar, Thailand, France, Brazil, Canada, Bahamas) 3+2 | 6+1 | 8+1
Longest Single Segment: ORD-TPE @ 7,457 | ORD-CDG @ 4,153 | ORD-HKG @ 7,787 | MUC-ORD @ 4,535 | ORD-PVG @ 7,056
Shortest Single Segment: GIG-GRU @ 210 | CUZ-AQP @ 195 | CVG-ORD @ 264| YUL-YQB @ 145
Northernmost Airport: CDG (Paris) | CDG (Paris) | LHR (Heathrow) | ARN (Stockholm) | LHR (Heathrow)
Southernmost Airport: BKK (Bangkok) | LPB (La Paz) | HKG (Hong Kong) | MCO (Orlando) | SGN (Ho Chi Minh City)
The most frequent non-home airport: DEN (Denver)| Tie between EWR & LAX (Newark and Los Angeles) | BNA (Nashville) | YYZ (Toronto) | BNA (Nashville)
I flew enough miles to:
Circumnavigate the world: 3.2 | 2.3 times | 2.9 times | 2.0 times
Make it a third | a quarter | a third | a fifth of the way to the moon
My 2017 Destinations. Where did you go?
How did your 2017 Year in Travel turn out? Did you keep your status – upgrade your status? Were you able to check off one – or more – of your travel bucket list items this year? What is in store for 2018? Do you plan on taking that one big trip you’ve been talking about, or are going to take many smaller trips to visit friends and family? If you want my advice, it doesn’t matter where you go, just go. Enjoy the journey. Experience the destination. Share a drink, a meal and a laugh.