Stephen Routh is taking Alaska’s Mileage Plan program to stratospheric heights. This summer, the Anchorage resident became the first guest in the airline’s 92-year history to reach 3 Million Miler status – flying enough miles on Alaska Airlines to go to the Moon and back 6 times.
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Routh reached his mega-milestone after more than 35 years as an Alaska Mileage Plan member, often flying two to three days a week to support his title-insurance company’s growth throughout the West and in Hawaii. To mark his 3 millionth mile — reached on a flight to Seattle from Orlando, where he’d traveled to visit his sister — the flight crew was ready to celebrate him with balloons, cake and a personalized “Golden Nugget Service” luggage tag crafted from a vintage Convair CV-240 aircraft.
Routh was tipped off about his milestone flight, and he was ready with a thank you of his own. “I got Amazon gift cards for the crew,” he said, noting that two of the flight attendants recognized him from his decades of flying. “They gave me a good sendoff, and I gave them a gift for taking care of me all these years.” Routh regularly asks for inflight crew members’ names so he can praise them by name in his notes to the company. “I am a big believer in catching folks doing things right and letting everybody know about it,” he said.
Routh also makes good use of his “seemingly limitless” Alaska Airlines miles. For the past 15 years, he’s brought veterans recovering from trauma to his homes in Alaska and Oklahoma for “Warrior Weekends” — restorative getaways where his guests can fish, hunt and feel cared for. He’s hosted about 1,200 veterans so far, using thousands of his accumulated miles to fly them across the country to thank them for their service. “It’s just been a blessing to me to help them,” he said.
As Routh’s miles have grown over the years, he’s enjoyed the benefits of his very elite status — including complimentary inflight food and beverages, which are offered to the thousands of guests who make up our Million Milers. Million Milers also get lifetime MVP Gold status, which they can share with a companion.
Routh especially appreciates his lifetime Lounge+ membership, a bonus available to our guests who have reached 2 Million Miles. Our 2 Million Milers also receive lifetime MVP Gold 75K status. Now that Routh is a 3 Million Miler, he will have MVP Gold 100K status for life.
Routh said larger airlines have tried to woo him away with their perks over the years, but he has never been tempted. “Alaska takes really good care of me,” he said. “I walk in the Boardroom [Alaska’s Lounge] and I know those people. I get on the airplane, and I see the flight attendants I’ve known over the years. I helped them put their kids through college, and they helped me put my kids through college by taking me where I needed to go to do business. Why would I leave?”
Routh is a pilot and even has his own small jet, but says he prefers to fly Alaska for most of his travels because it’s better for the climate — and more fun. “Frankly, sitting by myself for three or four hours is nice, but boring,” he said. “I’d rather be sitting with folks in the front of an Alaska flight, having my beer up there.”
