Unmatched Loyalty: Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Member Sets Record with 3 Million Miles and Counting
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Summary
With over 3 million miles — and 182,000 this year alone — Routh encourages new travelers to try Alaska Airlines and join its Mileage Plan, calling it the best mileage club in the world.
2 Million Milers and above receive elite perks, including complimentary inflight food and beverages and lifetime MVP Gold status, which they can share with a companion. Plus, a limited edition luggage tag!
Stephen Routh is taking our Mileage Plan program to stratospheric heights. This summer, the Anchorage resident became our first guest in our 92-year history to reach 3 Million Miler status — flying enough miles on Alaska Airlines to go to the moon and back six times!
Routh reached his mega-milestone after more than 35 years as an Alaska Mileage Plan member, often flying two to three days a week to support his title-insurance company’s growth throughout the West and in Hawaii. To mark his 3 millionth mile — reached on a flight to Seattle from Orlando, where he’d traveled to visit his sister — the flight crew was ready to celebrate him with balloons, cake and a personalized “Golden Nugget Service” luggage tag crafted from a vintage Convair CV-240 aircraft.
Routh was tipped off about his milestone flight, and he was ready with a thank you of his own. “I got Amazon gift cards for the crew,” he said, noting that two of the flight attendants recognized him from his decades of flying. “They gave me a good sendoff, and I gave them a gift for taking care of me all these years.”
This was just one of the many ways our most frequent flier likes to give back. Routh regularly asks for inflight crew members’ names so he can praise them by name in his notes to the company. “I am a big believer in catching folks doing things right and letting everybody know about it,” he said.
Stephen Routh’s special 3 Million Miler luggage tag and a photo of veterans enjoying a “Warrior Weekend” at his Judd Lake lodge in Alaska.
Routh also makes good use of his “seemingly limitless” Alaska Airlines miles. For the past 15 years, he’s brought veterans recovering from trauma to his homes in Alaska and Oklahoma for “Warrior Weekends” — restorative getaways where his guests can fish, hunt and feel cared for. He’s hosted about 1,200 veterans so far, using thousands of his accumulated miles to fly them across the country to thank them for their service. “It’s just been a blessing to me to help them,” he said.
Limited Edition Luggage Tag for 2 Million Milers and Above
For our most frequent fliers, we dip back into history for a thank you. Our 2 Million Milers and above receive a special, limited edition luggage tag from Alaska Airlines. The tags are hand-cut from the fuselage of a vintage “Golden Nugget Service” jet to create a unique (and useful) piece of art.
The aircraft — a Convair CV-240 — was delivered to American Airlines in June 1948. It then spent a short time with TOA Airways before being delivered to Cordova Airlines in May 1965. During the merger between Alaska and Cordova in 1967, the plane became part of our historic “Golden Nugget Service.” Paying tribute to the 1890s gold rush in Alaska, the Nugget Service ushered in the ‘jet age’ for Alaska and started the legacy that has been cemented today.
As Routh’s miles have grown over the years, he’s enjoyed the benefits of his very elite status — including complimentary inflight food and beverages, which are offered to the thousands of guests who make up our Million Milers. Million Milers also get lifetime MVP Gold status, which they can share with a companion.
Routh especially appreciates his lifetime Lounge+ membership, a bonus available to our guests who have reached 2 Million Miles. Our 2 Million Milers also receive lifetime MVP Gold 75K status. Now that Routh is a 3 Million Miler, he will have MVP Gold 100K status for life.
Routh said larger airlines have tried to woo him away with their perks over the years, but he has never been tempted. “Alaska takes really good care of me,” he said. “I walk in the Boardroom [Alaska’s Lounge] and I know those people. I get on the airplane, and I see the flight attendants I’ve known over the years. I helped them put their kids through college, and they helped me put my kids through college by taking me where I needed to go to do business. Why would I leave?”
Routh is a pilot and even has his own small jet, but says he prefers to fly Alaska for most of his travels because it’s better for the climate — and more fun. “Frankly, sitting by myself for three or four hours is nice, but boring,” he said. “I’d rather be sitting with folks in the front of an Alaska flight, having my beer up there.”
3 million miles & counting
Now at 3 million miles and still soaring, Routh isn’t slowing down. This year, he’s already flown more than 182,000 miles.
And when he crosses paths with travelers who’ve never flown on Alaska, “I say ‘Give ‘em a test drive,’” he said. “And join the Mileage Plan right away. It’s the best mileage club in the world.”
Reaching 3 million miles is impressive on its own, but what really makes Stephen stand out is how he connects with so many people along the way. His generosity and kindness have touched our team and countless others. We’re incredibly grateful he’s made Alaska Airlines part of his journey.”
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