Over 100,000 miles again!

It took forever, but I finally crested the 100,000 mile mark on United again.

And that's enough for a free trip to Europe... or if I pay for a the trip, definitely enough for a first class upgrade. I prefer the second option... that's a long flight from California!

I haven't flown 100,000 miles, but I have my secret methods of acquiring miles.  OK, not so secret.  But I am dedicated.  I have the United Debit Card, the United Visa, and the United Business Debit.

My next big hurdle is getting back up to Premier status.  That's the base elite status, where you get to use the fast check-in counters, upgrade to Economy Plus, and automatically get at least 500 miles per flight.  Most of my flights begin with an 83 mile flight to LAX, so that's alot of extra miles!

Now they're beefing up the program, so I can use my miles for all sorts of things.  Car rentals, hotel rooms, even electronics.  But I prefer to use them for something flying-related.  AND I can use them on Lufthansa, my favorite airline.

I still haven't forgiven United for the SFO (San Francisco) disaster... but I think that has more to do with the airport than United.  So I give my hugs back to United, but will try to only fly into and out of itty-bitty airports, like SBA and SMX.

A few related links:
United Mileage Plus

United Mileage Plus debit cards from Chase

United Mileage Plus Credit Cards

P.S. I'm not an affiliate for United or Chase!  I don't make any money for promoting them, I just like the relationship they have, since it gets me free flights for stuff I already do...like shop!  :)

Wow, too much traveling...

...Not enough time to post!

At the end of January through the first week of February, I was able to go to Las Vegas for 9 days... for work!  Of course, I took some time to play.

Then I spent this past weekend visiting friends in Vacaville, CA.  And that meant spending Valentine's Day wine tasting in Napa Valley!  Mmm.

New Year's Resolution

I haven't been posting, but I have been traveling!  Trips included going to Alabama (a state I LOVE) and also to Pasadena for the BCS Championship game (Roll Tide!).  I promise to keep up with it more this year.

The Neverending Story - One family's adventure around the world

http://www.soultravelers3.com/

Every once in a while, something will trigger my wanderlust.  A few years ago, I watched "Under the Tuscan Sun" with my girlfriends, and we decided we were going to move to Italy and live happily ever after.  (I'm in California, because life happened and two out of three of us got married.)  I travel to Germany and Austria often, to ski, and when I board the plane to leave, tears stream down my windburned cheeks.  (I usually declare I am going to brush up on my German and that I'll be back within the year, but it usually takes two.) I've been looking at jobs at the UN lately, and dreaming of getting a phone call asking when I'm available to come work in Geneva.  (I would say, "I'll take it!" no matter what the job was, and promptly faint.)  This last UN-inspired episode coincides with Christiane Amanpour's new show on CNN, and I dream of being her assistant and carrying her bags, like a journalist's caddy.

In the midst of this UN & Amanpour wanderlust attack, I found Soultravelers3 through links other travelers have posted on Twitter.  I wondered what it would take to finally make the leap into a lifestyle of travel.  I thought it was a quaint idea at first, but nothing that would compare to a Tuscan villa or Austrian chateau.  But the more I delve into their story, the more adamant I become about living a life like this.

My hat goes off to you, DaVinci, Jeanne D'Arc, and Mozart!  Keep us posted, you have more followers than you imagine.  You're an inspiration.

Best wishes on your journeys, Soultravelers3.

Follow them here: http://www.soultravelers3.com/