✈️ Landings and Layovers | Season 2, Episode 5
🎙 Hosted by Matt Fleischman & Marty Paz

Since we recorded, the Turkish Airlines million-mile promotion has been suspended without notice. Still, the strategies, planning, and points talk are timeless—so we're keeping the conversation going.

LOT Polish Airlines is slinging serious deals: roundtrip flights from New York to multiple Eastern European cities—Krakow, Sofia, Vilnius, and more—for under $500. In some cases, closer to $400. Lufthansa is matching some fares, too.

📍 Fly into smaller, often overlooked cities
📅 Valid for: July, Sept–Dec 2025, and Feb 2026
🎫 Book direct or via a Star Alliance partner for mileage bonuses

We dive into JetBlue's 25-destination challenge (25 cities = 350K points + 25 years of elite status) and compare it to the recently suspended Turkish Airlines Million Mile Contest, which required touching down on six continents in four months.

🔎 Key comparisons:

• Turkish Airlines required everything to route through Istanbul

• Minimum spend to qualify? $3,000+

• Turkish miles expire after 3 years (ouch)

• JetBlue's challenge? Easier, shorter, and lets you fly domestic or Caribbean

⚙️ Building a run? We're helping listeners with itinerary planning for both challenges and future promos.

Meet Meyy, a cardiovascular professional and mileage master who's flown over 500,000 miles — 95% of them in first or business class.

He shared how he's unlocked luxury cabins with smart strategies, including:

• Booking American Airlines First for 25K Etihad miles

• Turning an Oman Air downgrade into a surprise Air France La Première experience

• Stacking reroutes: 3 canceled flights → Singapore Business Class for 60K points

• Why Air France Platinum status still pays off—even years later

💡 Meyy's top tips:

• Bring chocolates. It works.

• Flexibility beats status.

• Know your phone agents—they can be more powerful than your credit card.

• British Airways mileage runs? Still worth it… for now.

Meyy and Marty break down the future of loyalty programs:

• American's program is flexible—but for how long?

• Airline loyalty is becoming gamified, fast

• British Airways is shifting away from leisure travelers

• Devaluations are coming… earn and burn while you can

• 🧠 You don't need millions of points—just a smart strategy

• 🎁 Kindness can upgrade you faster than status

• 🧳 Air France La Première is worth every reroute (and the occasional stress-induced forehead vein)

• 🗺️ Use regional airports to find better award space

• 💺 "Mileage runs are fun again" — just pick your program wisely

We're working on:

• JetBlue's 25-city itinerary builds

• Star Alliance million-mile ideas (if it returns)

• BA Tier Point runs from the U.S. and Europe

• Etihad, Flying Blue, and Turkish mileage strategy builds

📬 DM us or email—we'll help you sketch it out and maybe even feature your run in a future ep.

• 💌 Email: landingsandlayovers@gmail.com

• 📸 Instagram: @landingslayovers

• 🐦 Twitter/X: @landingNlayover

• 🌍 Website: brieflydistracted.com/landingsandlayovers