Tom Stuker, a Chicago-based car-sales consultant, has just become the first United Airlines passenger to rack up 10 million frequent flier miles. When he landed at Chicago's O'Hare airport on a United Flight 942 from Los Angeles, he was met by United Continental CEO Jeff Smisek amid such a commotion that several girls rushed up to ask whether Justin Bieber had deplaned. How exactly did Stuker reach this milestone? A quick numerical guide:
29
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29,000
Miles he averaged each month
340,000
Approximate distance Stuker travels each year
5,962
Trips Stuker has made with United
19
Years it took him to reach 5 million miles
10
Years it took to rack up the next 5 million
50 million
Number of "redeemable miles" Stuker has piled up. The extra windfall came from elite bonuses and other perks.
15 million
Miles logged by Fred Finn, a wealthy British tourist recognized as the distance champion among travelers on all airlines
20
Number of round trips to the moon it takes to log 10 million miles
400
Number of times Stuker could have circled the globe
200
Round trips Stuker has made to Australia
30
Round trips he logged to Asia
70
Trips he made to and from Hawaii
1
Number of movies in which George Clooney has played a 10-million-miler. Clooney's character in the film Up in the Air won free round-the-world airline tickets, and routinely received personal greetings from ticket agents he had never met.
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