Zoe Strimpel has narrated this article for you to listen to.
Oscar, 26, joins me on Google Meet from Buenos Aires, having arrived earlier that day from New York – by way of a few hours in Mexico City and Panama. Just five days ago, he was in London. ‘New York was just going to be a weekend trip for a conference, but then I thought while I’m in America, I might as well head south and here I am.’ It’s a far cry from Wales, where his family lives.
Yet this itinerary is barely a ripple in Oscar’s relentless travel schedule. His nonstop approach to flying places him firmly within a new tribe of Gen-Z frequent fliers – mostly men – who treat globe-trotting like a real-life computer game. Their obsession? Maximum air miles for minimal money. The destination itself is secondary; the point is simply to keep moving.
This is where the gamification comes in. In the world of frequent fliers, points mean prizes. During the pandemic, Oscar (who works for a software company) discovered he could book ‘the nicest business-class seats for nothing’. Airlines, desperate to win back customers, offered extreme flexibility. ‘Buy 40 tickets and use only one, go to the lounge, cancel the tickets, then leave the lounge,’ he says.
Last year, Oscar took on the ‘million-point challenge’ run by Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) to celebrate its entry into the SkyTeam alliance. The challenge required participants to fly on 15 SkyTeam airlines between mid-November and 31 December in exchange for a million SAS EuroBonus points. By spending around £3,000, they could generate up to £10,000 in rewards.
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