If you’re into miles & points and/or frequently fly with United Airlines, you’ve probably heard of Tom Stuker. He’s United’s most frequent flyer, and almost certainly the world’s most frequent flyer who doesn’t work for an airline. Yesterday he passed his latest milestone, as he became a 24 million mile flyer with United. He’s averaging over a million miles per year, so at this rate, he should become a 25 million mile flyer in early 2025.
As you’d expect, he’s a legend at the airline, and is treated very well (and conversely, he’s known for treating United employees well). United names planes after him, has parties when he reaches milestones, etc. The guy is quite proud of himself too, and even travels in a vest that has his name and how many millions of miles he has flown written on it (he already had his updated 24 million mile vest for yesterday’s special flight).
In this post I wanted to cover his latest milestone, and talk a bit about why he flies so much, and how he pays for it.
Stuker has a lifetime United Airlines travel pass
Stuker has received a lot of media attention over the years, though until last year, didn’t publicly reveal one detail — how his flights are paid for. We finally learned the details, thanks to a Washington Post story, and around the same time, he shared some details on FlyerTalk.
Back in the day, many US airlines sold lifetime flight passes, including in first class. In 1990, Stuker purchased a lifetime United first class travel pass for him and a companion. The cost? It was $290,000 for one person, or $510,000 for someone and their companion, and he purchased the latter.
He has taken unlimited travel to the extreme, and has basically been flying nonstop ever since. For example, 2019 was Stuker’s “best” year, as he took 373 flights that year, covering a distance of 1.46 million miles (that’s an average segment length of nearly 4,000 miles, roughly the equivalent of Chicago to London).
If he had paid cash for those tickets, they would have cost $2.44 million that year alone. He once spent 12 straight days flying, without staying in a hotel. Stuker says that this is the best money he has ever spent, pointing out that his two divorces cost him a fortune, and that he has lost more than the cost of the lifetime flight pass on a house he bought.
Stucker earned over 100 million miles flying United Airlines
Why has Stuker flown so much? Well, until several years ago, the now 70-year-old car dealership consultant seemed to do it mostly for… the miles. Back when United awarded miles based on distance flown rather than dollars spent, the lifetime flight pass was eligible to accrue miles, and Stuker also has United’s invitation-only Global Services status.
So over his years of flying, Stuker claims that he has racked up over 100 million redeemable miles. Now, miles are probably worth a bit less if you have unlimited confirmed space first and business class flights on United. Many people may prefer to fly on partner airlines, but Stuker is so busy wanting to get to the next million miler threshold.
So, what has Stuker done with the miles? He has redeemed them mostly for non-flights. Stuker has redeemed miles for hotel suites, Crystal cruises, gourmet meals, and even for $50,000 worth of Walmart gift cards, in order to redo his brother’s house. He even redeemed some miles in an auction once to be able to appear in an episode of Seinfeld.
Keep in mind that redeeming miles for non-flying means generally doesn’t represent a good deal, since you typically get well under a cent of value per mile. But when you have access to nine figures worth of miles, I suppose the value you’re getting doesn’t really matter.
As mentioned above, Stuker reportedly no longer earns miles, given that United now awards miles based on dollars spent rather than distance flown. Since he’s not spending anything on tickets, he’s also not earning miles.
I’m impressed United Airlines treats Stuker so well
I think it’s a given that Stuker is by far United’s most unprofitable customer. But good on him, because if airlines are going to sell unlimited lifetime flight passes, get ready for people to fly an “unlimited” amount.
So I’m impressed by the extent to which United embraces Stuker, and celebrates his milestones. He’s really treated as United’s most VIP passengers, and just about all employees seem to know him, and he frequently has parties thrown for him by the airline.
I imagine in many ways this great treatment only causes him to fly more, leading to the airline losing more money on him. But big picture, he’s a huge advocate for United, and always talks about how great the airline is, so it’s also good publicity for the airline. Good on United for making him feel so welcome and special, and honoring its commitment, even if he takes it to the extreme.
Stuker sure leads an unconventional life
Everyone should do what makes them happy in life, as long as they’re not harming others (I’m sure many would argue that flying so many miles is harming others, but that’s neither here nor there, for the purposes of this story). I think we can all agree Stuker lives quite the interesting — and bizarre — life.
It seems like Stuker genuinely loves the people at United, and has a friendship with many employees. He seems like a really nice guy, and I’ve never heard anyone at United say anything bad about him. It also seems like he really likes the attention. That’s not a dig, but the guy wears a vest that shows his name and how many miles he has flown, which isn’t exactly what someone would do if they wanted to fly under the radar.
To 16-year-old me, Stuker would’ve been my hero, and I would have dreamed of his life. To 34-year-old me, Stuker’s life sounds just a little unpleasant, to put it mildly. I couldn’t imagine flying that much, and also couldn’t imagine doing all that travel on a US airline. Doesn’t he get bored of the food, the seats, the entertainment, etc.? Of course to each their own, and what matters is that Stuker enjoys it.
The one thing I’d be curious about is what most motivates Stuker to fly so much. I have to imagine it’s two factors, as it’s the only explanation I can come up with:
- Does he genuinely enjoy flying so much, and interacting with United employees and customers?
- Does he just want to set an unbelievable record that no one will ever be able to beat?
It’s one thing when he used to earn miles for his flights back in the day, since at least you could argue he was being rewarded for all that flying. But if he’s not earning miles and is just flying over a million miles a year, it’s kind of harder to make sense of the logic. I’m guessing he at least has a goal of reaching 25 million miles ASAP, though let’s see what happens after that.
Bottom line
Tom Stuker is United Airlines’ most frequent flyer, and he has now passed 24 million miles with the airline. He has a lifetime unlimited travel pass on the airline, which he bought in 1990.
Historically he has primarily flown to earn miles, and he has racked up over 100 million miles with the airline, which he could redeem for gift cards, cruises, and more. However, nowadays he doesn’t earn miles anymore, but that hasn’t caused him to slow down with his travel.
What an interesting and unusual life Stuker has…
What’s your take on Stuker’s flying? Would you want his life?
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