Legal Author Goes for the Platinum, Part of the 'Bragabond' Elite
Legal thriller author Scott Turow had a grueling travel day Dec. 8. He flew from Chicago to New York, then Dallas, then San Francisco, and then back to Chicago.
It wasn’t part of a book tour. It wasn’t part of a plan to do Christmas shopping from Sky Mall. Instead, Turow writes for the New York Times, the daylong marathon was all part of an effort to retain his Executive Platinum status on American Airlines.
Move over, Ryan Bingham. In one scene in the movie Up in the Air, the character played by George Clooney shows off his frequent flier cards, Admirals Club memberships and other perks of travel. “As anyone who has ever achieved elite status in the travel world knows, it can become more important than what country club you belong to back home,” writes columnist Craig Wilson in USA Today.
Turow explains why. As an “E.P.” he gets free first-class upgrades on about 90 percent of his flights in North and Central America. “First class brings a bigger seat, a power outlet for my computer, a free meal (usually) and first crack at storage bins for my carry-ons,” he writes. He is also eligible for an upgrade eight times a year on flights anywhere in the world.
Turow managed to book his multiple flights, logging 5,400 miles, for a total cost of only $510. He’s not the only person to come up with the idea. He quotes Randy Petersen, the founder of FlyerTalk.com and the editor of InsideFlyer magazine, who estimates that about 50,000 passengers go on similar mileage runs late in the year in an effort to retain their elite status.
There’s a name for those people who brag about where they’ve been, says columnist Wilson: They’re “bragabonds.”
“It also can be used for people who brag about how they got there,” he says. “I have a ‘friend’ who, without fail, will tell me he just went to Bangkok or Sydney or Mumbai and got there in first class, sipping Champagne, his now-expected upgrade.”