12 flights, 3 days, 1 crazy goal
Was it insane? Probably…
Was it worth it? Absolutely!
A few months ago, I got a pretty tempting email from Air France: a targeted offer for double XP on any travel I complete between June 1 and August 31, 2025. I’d have to pay $199 (It says 199 GBP on the email, but I was able to get it for $199) just to activate the offer.
At first, I shrugged it off. But then the gears started turning in my head, maybe I could use this to lock in my Air France Platinum status for another year. And once that thought landed, there was no going back.
Now, one of the easiest ways to rack up XP is through SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) contributions. Air France lets you buy XP directly this way when you are on a AF or KLM flight, and the math works out to around $11 per XP. That became my baseline target: if I could fly in a way that beat $11 per XP, I’d be winning.
So, I went hunting for the perfect mileage run. Hours of browsing later, I struck “Platinum” (pun intended)
ORY – NCE – AMS – LBA
A round trip on this route gave me 64 XP, and with the double XP promo, that jumped to 128 XP for $780. Suddenly, my cost per XP dropped to about $6 that’s nearly half the SAF rate.
And then I thought: why not double down? Literally. I booked the same crazy itinerary again for the next day.
Here’s what I ended up with:
Aug 22
• ORY → NCE
• NCE → AMS
• AMS → LBA
(Overnight in Leeds)
Aug 23
• LBA → AMS
• AMS → NCE
• NCE → ORY
• ORY → NCE
• NCE → AMS
• AMS → LBA
Overnight in Leeds (again)
Aug 24
• LBA → AMS
• AMS → NCE
• NCE → ORY
That’s right: 12 flights, 3 days, and 256 XP earned—a whopping 85% of the 300 XP I need to requalify for Platinum. And the total cost? Just $1,560. Not bad at all.
Preparation:
Each flight was only an hour to an hour and a half, so individually they weren’t a big deal. The challenge was in the mental game keeping up the energy for back-to-back flights, constant transfers, and multiple border crossings. But honestly, I knew I would love every second of it. I wasn’t worried at all. I packed only a carry-on to make connections faster and treated it like an adventure rather than a chore. I booked the Travelodge in Leeds, which was only a 7-minute walk from the terminal. Honestly, it was the perfect crash pad. I would land in Leeds at 11:15 pm and had to be back out the door by 5 am for my 6 am flight. Basically, it was a bed, a shower, and a reminder that mileage runs don’t exactly come with beauty sleep.
Fears:
The biggest fear was delays. With such a tightly packed schedule, a single cancellation could have snowballed into chaos. Add in the fact that I was bouncing between the EU and the UK meaning repeated immigration crossings. I could already imagine a border officer asking, “Why exactly are you flying in and out of Leeds three times in 72 hours?” To any aviation geek that understands mileage runs, the answer is obvious… but to anyone else, I might sound either insane or suspicious. (Okay, maybe a little insane!)
The Actual Run:
The adventure began in London, where I had to get to Paris Orly to kick off the run. I figured the Eurostar train was the safest bet. I WAS WRONG. Halfway there, the train broke down, and we were offloaded in Lille to switch to a different one. For a while, I was sweating bullets, thinking my whole plan was about to unravel before it even began. Thankfully, I still made it to Orly in time.
From there, things smoothed out. Some of my connections were just an hour apart, but Air France–KLM in conjunction with Amsterdam airport took care of me with “short connection alerts.” These text messages gave me priority access to skip immigration queues and head straight to the front, which was a lifesaver.
Everything worked perfectly. Not a single missed flight. By the end of it all, I was (a little) exhausted, caffeinated, and absolutely thrilled. Mission accomplished: a successful mileage run that pushed me right to the edge of Platinum requalification.
Things I Learned After the Run:
When the dust finally settled, I realized I’d flown KLM 8 times and Air France 4 times. And honestly? KLM stole the show. Their crew was absolutely fantastic, friendly, personable, cheerful, and genuinely happy to be there. Every single flight felt warm and welcoming, and the service was consistently excellent. If I had to choose between Air France and KLM in the future, I’d pick KLM hands down.
Another surprise? I found myself liking the Embraer 190 way more than the Airbus or Boeing equivalents. Maybe it was the seat design, maybe just the cabin layout but the legroom felt noticeably better, and the ride was more comfortable overall. For short hops, the E190 is a gem.
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