---
title: "What is Mileage run? | Benefit Systems"
description: "A mileage run is a trip booked purely to collect the qualifying miles or segments still missing for a status threshold."
source: "aus dem gebauten HTML abgeleitet"
---
# What is Mileage run?

A mileage run is a trip booked purely to collect the qualifying miles or segments still missing for a status threshold.

Also called: Status run.

## How it works #

The arithmetic is simple and rarely done: the cost of the trip against the cash value of what the status will actually deliver next year. Because many programmes now qualify on revenue rather than distance, cheap long-haul flying has largely stopped working as a mileage run. Time and the cost of being at the far end belong in the calculation too.

## Not to be confused with #

A mileage run is not the same as a positioning flight: a mileage run generates qualification credit, a positioning flight simply moves the traveller to another booking’s departure airport.

## In German #

The German term is Statusflug. [German version of this term](/de/glossar/statusflug)

## Related terms #

- [Elite qualification](/en/glossary/elite-qualification): Elite qualification is the proof that enough flights, qualifying miles or spending have accumulated within a defined period to reach a status tier.
- [Elite qualifying miles](/en/glossary/elite-qualifying-miles): Elite qualifying miles are miles that count only towards reaching a frequent flyer tier and cannot be redeemed for awards.
- [Positioning flight](/en/glossary/positioning-flight): A positioning flight is a separately booked flight to the airport where the real trip starts, often because that is where award space was found.

## Articles that use this term #

- [Is a mileage run worth it?](/en/knowledge/mileage-runs)
- [How many flights do you need for airline elite status?](/en/knowledge/elite-qualification)
- [When airline elite status gets you nothing](/en/knowledge/when-status-gets-you-nothing)
- [What is a status challenge?](/en/knowledge/status-challenge)