Frequent Flyer Miles

After saying just yesterday that trains were the best way to travel, I then spent the whole day thinking about flights. I read an article this morning about maximizing frequent flyer miles, and I was hooked. I realized today that I haven't worried that much about frequent flyer miles until now. I was feeling bad until it occurred to me that I've only been able to fly on my own for 4 years. I'm pretty sure I didn't really fly much until two years ago, which is when I started flying Southwest. Since then, I've almost acquired enough points for a free flight, and that's just from flights and hotels. Unfortunately, the points will start expiring in July, so I have to decide whether it's worth it to get enough points for a free ticket, or if I should just let them expire.
So I realized that this summer would be a good start to acquiring mileage, and that I should definitely sign up for the frequent flyer programs. Unfortunately, I started off all wrong. I'm already a member of Southwest's Rapid Rewards and US Airway's Dividend Miles, so I signed up for Qantas and Delta. A couple of hours later, I discovered that I should have used the Qantas trip to get British Airways miles and I should have used a promotion to sign up for Delta. My first day of being a serious frequent flyer, and I've already missed out on a promotion. It won't happen again.
What really interested me was the stories of frequent flyers so dedicated that they make "mileage runs", flying all over the world on really complicated itineraries, not to get anywhere, but just to accrue miles. It sounds ridiculous and a waste of time, until you consider bumping. Without bumping, you have to pay for the flights you take on mileage runs, so even if you get cheap flights, you're still paying for a lot of flights. Bumping is where the magic comes in. I experienced this firsthand last fall. I was on a flight from Philadelphia to Dublin, and I took $500 and an upgrade to first class in exchange for giving up my seat and flying to Norway instead. That paid for half my ticket. If I had been bumped on the way back, I would have flown to Europe for free.
I don't think I ever want to become someone who takes flights just for the miles, but I'm definitely going to keep an eye out for good mileage specials from now on. And I'm thinking now about which flights I can afford to be bumped on this summer. It's a little harder than usual, since I won't be flying alone the whole time, but there are still a couple of flights that I'd delay for $500.
If I ever do decide to go on a mileage run, I'll try to make sure there's a relative or a baseball game on the other end. I don't want to fly without purpose, but I'd love to fly for free!