Zach Honig's 2019 travel stats: miles flown, status earned and more
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
The Points Guy team has just exploded over the years — I began my TPG journey as Editor-in-Chief in 2015, where we worked in a small shared office with just four desks.
Now, more than 100 writers, editors, social media managers, video and podcast producers, web developers, business developers and many other colleagues work around the clock to bring you the content you see today, in the U.S. and beyond. I'm not even the only "Zach" anymore — we have Zach Griff, Zach Wichter and Zach Bartholomew, all on the TPG team. And we're still looking to grow!
Over that time, I migrated to my current role as Editor-at-Large, where I produce our daily newsletter (I definitely recommend signing up — right here!) and have much more time to travel the globe, producing content from rural Alaska to Sydney, Australia, and everywhere in between. My very last trip of the year took me from Newark (EWR) to Cape Town, South Africa (CPT) on United's inaugural Dreamliner flight — it was easily one of the most memorable of my life.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B6HZJk1Jk6_/
At the end of each year, I usually share a number of travel stats, with the exception of 2016. Here's how my own air travels have broken down since I joined The Points Guy in April of '15:
2019: 223,152 miles
2018: 223,864 miles
2017: 333,521 miles
2016: 239,715 miles
2015: 170,371 miles
Remarkably, my 2019 total was less than 1,000 miles shy of what I flew in 2018. I'm going to sum up some of my more interesting statistics, too, including:
Longest flight: 8,053 miles from Hong Kong (HKG) to Newark (EWR)
Shortest flight: 172 miles from Lisbon (LIS) to Porto (OPO)
Total miles flown: 223,152
United elite-qualifying miles: 237,662
American elite-qualifying miles: 19,398
Delta elite-qualifying miles: 2,022
Travel nights: 126
Holiday upgrades gifted: 40
How did I "gift" so many upgrades? At the end of each year, I dedicate some time to helping United elite members donate their expiring upgrades (now called "PlusPoints") to travelers headed all around the world. So far I've helped bump 40 flyers to Polaris business class on long-haul flights to Shanghai (PVG), Sydney (SYD), and many other cities, and I'll continue the effort through the end of January. Head over to my Instagram page (@zachhonig) and click on my "Free upgrades" Story highlight for more details.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B5dnkELps0l/
In the end, I earned just two elite status tiers based on my travels:
- United Premier 1K
- Marriott Platinum (though I have Titanium status for life)
I also re-qualified for the following hotel tiers based on my credit card perks:
- Hilton Diamond (Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express)
- Hyatt Discoverist (World Of Hyatt Credit Card)
- IHG Platinum (IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card)
The information for the Hilton Aspire Amex card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
As for next year? I already have trips booked to Colorado, Hawaii, Paris, Bogota and Cartagena in January, and I'll be working my way back up to United Premier 1K — a potentially challenging feat in 2020. Like Zach Griff, I'll likely be booking more flights through partners, to earn more Premier-Qualifying Points (PQPs) than I otherwise might.
Stay tuned to this site, TPG's social accounts (Instagram and Twitter) and my own Instagram and Twitter for much more to come!
TPG featured card
Rewards
| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
| 10X miles | 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel |
Intro offer
Annual Fee
Recommended Credit
Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month
Rewards Rate
| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
| 10X miles | 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel |
Intro Offer
Earn 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200K miles when you spend $150K in the first 6 monthsLIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus milesAnnual Fee
$395Recommended Credit
Credit ranges are a variation of FICO® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.740-850Excellent
Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month