Man who paid $500,000 for unlimited flights over 30 years ago has racked up a ridiculous amount of miles
Gerrard Kaonga
Featured Image Credit: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for Chase United / Robert Alexander/Getty Images
If you got the opportunity to fly around the world, it would likely bankrupt you... but one man actually gets to do it for free and has travelled all over seeing the sights due to one big purchase.
Tom Stuker could be the ultimate traveler, with one big purchase in the 90s that 'changed his life'.
Stuker bought a lifetime pass from United Airlines for $500,000 back in 1990, calling it the 'best investment' of his life - and it makes sense why.
Since then, the New Jersey man has flown all over the world, picking destinations in Tokyo, Melbourne, London and Cape Town, just to name a few.
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In total, he accumulated over 23 million miles and visited more than 100 countries, so chances are his travel stories probably trump yours.
Since that is quite a lot of miles, to put that into perspective that is over 24 times the distance of Apollo 11 which covered about 953,000 miles (1.5 million km) taking Neil Armstrong and his fellow astronauts to the moon.
So how did he get this brilliant deal in the first place?
Well, back in 1990 United offered a lifetime pass for $290,000 and Stuker jumped at the opportunity.
He once went 12 straight days without sleeping in a bed. Just kept jetting from Newark to San Francisco to Bangkok to Dubai and back again. Now that is what you call travelling.
So what kind of tips has Stuker got after doing so much jet setting?
Well, oddly enough, his number one tip would be to lie to the first flight attendant you meet when you step aboard a plane. Sounds odd, but let him explain.
Speaking to the Washington Post, he said: “She’s the head attendant. I always say, ‘I remember you! You gave us such great service last time. I wanted to thank you again'.
"Even if I’ve never met her. I guarantee she’ll bring you all kinds of free stuff."
He continued to explain if you can’t book the seat you want, keep your phone open on the seat map app as you board.
If a blocked seat that you wanted opens up, just take it.
"They won’t care," he said. "They never sold it."
And for the people who are adamant in packing everything and the kitchen sink, Stuker has a tip.
He said to never check your bags, he said always underpack because every town has a laundromats and sells clothes, which is a fair point to be honest.