Frequent Flyer Shares What Happens When You Fly a Million Miles With United Airlines
With modern aircraft technology, air travelers can cross thousands of miles in just a number of hours. Even if you only fly a couple of times per year, you still probably have thousands of air miles under your belt. Still, even if you're a frequent flyer, racking up a million miles is still a serious feat- especially flying those million miles with just one airline.
However, a handful of people have accomplished this high-flying achievement, and one of those people is online travel personality Matt Richardson. Richardson recently logged his millionth mile flying with United Airlines as a passenger; and on October 24, he shared how the airline celebrated his rare accomplishment!
For professional globe-trotter Matt Richardson (who vlogs on TikTok as @matthungryagain), catching long-haul flights is just part of the job. However, Richardson's birthday flight home from Rome, Italy to Cleveland would be the trip that finally pushed him over into Million Miler status with United Airlines. He was about to find out what this perk entailed!
The good stuff started as soon as he arrived at Rome Fiumicino Airport. Shortly after receiving a congratulatory message on his app, he was paged and told that he had been upgraded from economy to the last remaining business class seat on the plane! Richardson got to celebrate his birthday/Million Mile achievement with some in-flight entertainment, one of United's famous business-class ice cream sundaes, and a congratulatory card from the flight crew.
The flight arrived on time in Washington DC's Dulles Airport, and Richardson made his connecting flight back home to Cleveland. Though this leg of the journey was much shorter than the last one, the crew on his plane home had one last surprise in store: a Million Miler coin celebrating his high-flying status.
Now, I know what you're all thinking: this is a pretty nice celebration, but what does his status mean going forward? Well, Million Milers with United are granted lifetime Premier status, even if they fly less in the future. Also, Million Milers can share their Premier status with a spouse or significant other! Even at the most basic Million Miler Premier level (Premier Gold), members can receive perks like complimentary Economy Plus access, eligibility for Premier upgrades, and complimentary checked bags.
Thanks to Richardson's Million Miler status, it looks like clear skies ahead for the foreseeable future. There's something to be said about staying loyal to one airline or alliance... racking up all those miles is worth it!
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