My criteria was "dirty cheap", direct flight, and able to be done in 1 day. I know that sounds crazy but I have such a mobility problem, visiting a city for the weekend is a waste because I can't really get around well enough to go out and have fun. And a direct flight so I have less chance of having travel delays. I had to go across the US to get the miles I needed. Experience shows me that Newark and Baltimore are two destinations that fit that criteria. I picked Baltimore over Newark because New York can have all kinds of travel problems and if I got stuck there, hotels are super expensive where hotels around the Baltimore airport are inexpensive.
As I researched, I found the Baltimore direct flights were the same flight number so that means the plane flies there and turns around and comes back so I am not at risk of having a delay on a flight coming from somewhere else and, I didn't have to change gates at the airport. Seemed doable. And the flight was surprisingly inexpensive so I booked it with 2 weeks notice.
My adventure took place on Saturday, December 8. It was 3.5 hours there and 5 hours home. I had 40 minutes in Baltimore. I did pack a carry on bag with things to do, a change of clothes, medications for a day, and toiletries in case I got stuck. My flight out left at 9:30 am. I got to the airport way too early but that is okay. I picked up some oatmeal at the McDonalds at the airport and had my water and some snacks for the day.
I planned to entertain myself with movies on the flight, books, and my Christmas cards. As luck would have it, I was upgraded to Delta Comfort which means I am up front, get better and more frequent snacks (think bananas!!) and drinks. I was sat in the window and had no one in the center seat so that is pretty awesome. I did my Christmas Cards and watched a movie on the way there. I watched "Crazy Rich Asians". Before I knew it, we were coming into Baltimore! They did make me get off the plane so I went to the bathroom and reboarded pretty quickly.
On the way home, I was also upgraded but I picked a seat further back so I could have an aisle and I wanted a full tray (the other seat was a bulkhead seat so the table came out of the armrest so it was clunky. Again no one in my center seat.
As we took off, I fell asleep. When I woke up, I realized it was dark and we had a really long time to fly due to headwinds (1.5 hours longer). I watched "The Devil Wears Prada" and "Elf". I also caught the old stop motion "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" on satelite TV. I didn't feel like reading in the dark. I bought myself a great smoked turkey sandwich for linner. We got in early. We landed at 7:00 which was fabulous. I went back to my car and drove home. I missed the storm that came in that night by the skin of my chin.
You can only imagine how sore a body gets sitting in a plane all day. I couldn't wait to put my feet up. And pee in a big boy potty. I had planned to mail my Christmas cards on the way home but forgot my return address labels so I mailed them the next day. Honestly, the day was spent doing pretty much what I would have done at home. It was an easy day, just long. AND, I kept my status.
I thought it was really cute becuase the flight crew knew I was doing a milage run. Actually it is not an unusual thing to do. When I got off the plane, they lined up and High Fived me and congratulated me on my Medallion status and my devotion to Delta Airlines.
So you might ask what I get with my status? Well I get priority seating which means I get to sit up front. I am eligible for upgrades on every flight I take. I can change my flights for $75 same day. I get access to the Sky Room for $50 for a day (great for long layovers). And I get a dedicated phone team which is heaven when the phone lines are busy and you have to wait 3 hours for a rep on the regular line. All well worth the day on the plane.
In the future, I need to plan my travel better. My September trip to Johns Hopkins was booked on an awards ticket so I didn't earn miles. Had I paid for that ticket, I would have made my status without sitting on a plane just for miles.
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