I don&#x27;t mind a bit of work travel, but I am also picky about the routes I take.  Anything in Europe, it is SFO to &quot;somewhere in Europe, not Heathrow&quot; and then from there.  I&#x27;ve usually had status (Gold) but my wife and I also travel enough privately where taking advantage of a travel credit card that gives you status (and extra miles blahblah) helps.<p>I&#x27;ve not done a milage run, nor will I do multiple hops just to get a few hundred (or a thousand) extra miles.  The only exception to that is if the alliance I prefer (Star Alliance) doesn&#x27;t have as direct as say One World, I&#x27;ll still take the Star Alliance route for the miles.<p>About the only airline I travel with more than UA&#x2F;other star alliance partners is Alaska because I head up to the Pacific Northwest frequently.