American who purchased lifetime airline pass in 1990 has flown more miles than the Apollo 11 moon mission
- This man bought a lifetime airline pass and flew everywhere
- According to him, it was the best investment of his life
- Since 1990, he has flown more than 24 million miles with United
Published on Sep 04, 2024 at 4:31 PM (UTC+4)
by Nalin Rawat
Last updated on Sep 04, 2024 at 6:44 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
A man from the US bought a lifetime airline pass from United Airlines in 1990 — ever since then, he has flown more than 24 million miles.
That’s certainly a lot.
Even the Apollo 11 spacecraft that carried Neil Armstrong and his fellow astronauts to the moon only clocked a mere 953,000 miles (1.5 million kilometers).
However, this one man from New Jersey had enough mileage to cover more than six trips to the moon even back in 2019.
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Lifetime airline pass
in 1990, Tom Stuker paid United Airlines $290,000 for a lifetime airline pass.
A decision he said was the ‘best investment of my life’.
More than three decades later, Stuker has flown more than 24 million miles.
In 2019 alone, he took 373 flights, covering 1.46 million miles, which would have cost him $2.44 million.
On top of saving money, he has also accrued a lot of frequent flier miles, passing the 10 million mile mark in 2019.
Due to this, he now has access to lavish hotel suites, weeks-long cruises, and gourmet meals.
Benefits
He has also used the miles to redo his brother’s house and once cashed $50,000 worth of Walmart gift cards in a single day.
Stuker has also been lucky enough to appear in a Seinfeld episode by bidding 451,000 air miles on a charity auction.
He and his wife have been on more than 120 honeymoons, according to the Washington Post.
After spending so much time flying, he has also given quite a few insider tips for flights.
When asked about the environmental impact due to his flying, Stuker gave quite an honest answer.
“I’m not adding to the footprint. The plane is going to fly whether I’m on it or not,” Stuker said.
“It would be much more relevant if I was flying in a private jet. Those are the people who can help the environment much more than I can if they flew commercial,” he added.
His story is one, that is quite inspiring.
And you can also follow him on his Instagram account to see his day-to-day adventures.
Nalin started his career by working with various national newspapers in India. He has also worked as a writer/editor for many popular websites, while still pursuing his journalism and mass communication degree. Working as a digital nomad has allowed him to inform and educate through his work. When he is not writing, you can find him playing video games or travelling the mountains on his bike.
