- Scandinavian airline SAS introduced an intense points-earning challenge in which travelers are taking more than a dozen flights across the globe in a matter of weeks. The buy-in can cost about $4,000 to get the equivalent of roughly $10,000 in travel points.
If you thought Around the World in 80 Days was crazy, there’s a new real-life challenge airline point enthusiasts are taking that’s even more extreme.
According to the Financial Times, travel experts estimate that hundreds of people embarked on a challenge by Scandinavian airline SAS to earn themselves 1 million travel points, which equates to more than $10,000 in flight credit. The catch is that many of these passengers had to spend more than $4,000 on nearly over a dozen flights around the world—and in economy, no less.
From Oct. 8 through Dec. 31, 2024, SAS ran a promotion offering travelers 1 million EuroBonus points if they traveled with 15 different SkyTeam airlines. SAS is part of the SkyTeam alliance, which includes other member airlines like Delta, Virgin Atlantic, and AirEuropa, among many others.
SAS didn’t immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment about how many people completed the challenge.
One TikTok user called the challenge “absolutely insane,” but decided to do it anyway. “I’m going to take it on,” said the user, who changed their TikTok handle to @eatprayfly for the challenge. During the challenge, they went to 17 countries and four continents in about two weeks. That equated to about 80 to 90 hours of air time, entirely in economy seating.
Another TikTok travel influencer, @topknotsandlayovers, dedicated herself to the challenge, which took three and a half hours to book. She started travel on Nov. 12 and finished Dec. 31, 2024, and ended up spending more than she had originally wanted to, she said, at $3,079 before she even booked hotels for the layovers she had.
Chris Nelson, a writer for The Points Guy, also took on the challenge and flew around the world in 25 days. He boarded 19 flights and visited 15 countries in order to clinch the million points. Some of his destinations included Seattle, Bali, Taiwan, Beijing, Dubai, Amsterdam, and Mexico City, and most of his flights were purchased using existing Amex membership rewards points. To save even more money, he planned most of his flights to be overnight to avoid having to stay in a hotel, he wrote.
But why do something like this, despite being a travel blogger? SAS EuroPoints are some of the hardest to earn, he wrote.
“In fact, none of the major credit card issuers have SAS as a transfer partner, so that made me automatically reconsider my initial stance on this challenge,” Nelson wrote. “Luckily, I used a stash of Amex points to book almost the entire trip.”
Is the SAS million-point challenge worth it?
While some social-media users have made achieving the challenge relatively easy, affordable, and worth it, that’s likely not the case for everyone. The flights are just the base cost, which doesn’t factor in extra expenses like airport fees, seat selection, baggage charges, overnight stays, and food, Jesse Neugarten, CEO and founder of Dollar Flight Club, told Fortune. Factoring in these extra charges, the actual cost of the challenge could “easily exceed” $12,000, he said.
“That’s before considering the time investment of 21 flights across multiple continents isn’t just about money, it’s also a logistical and physical challenge,” Neugarten said. “For someone with a flexible schedule and a solid understanding of frequent-flyer programs, this is feasible, but it’s a massive undertaking for the average traveler.”
What’s more, organizing all of the flights requires “meticulous planning” including navigating visa requirements, time-zone changes, layovers, and potential disruptions like weather delays and cancellations, Neugarten added.
“For this challenge, you’d need to map out efficient routes, avoid backtracking, and ensure every flight qualifies for the promotion,” he said. “Plus, managing accommodations and downtime between flights is a major part of the equation.”
Environmentalists have also been critical of the program, due to the immense carbon footprint of flights.
But TikTok user @eatprayfly had this in mind when booking their flights.
“There’s been a lot of people commenting on the SAS social media that this is not very good for the environment and things like that, but SAS does have a commitment to sustainability,” @eatprayfly said in a TikTok video, adding that customers can actually purchase carbon offsets when you purchase tickets.
“I plan on, at the end of this, making sure that the carbon I’m emitting through this crazy challenge is completely offset, whether that’s by planting trees locally or purchasing carbon offsets for the amount of carbon I do emit on this journey,” @eatprayfly said.
