Million Miler

Last week I received an email from DELTA CEO, Ed Bastian, that brought me both elation and devastation in one line:

Jason, Congratulations on One Million Miles!

Elation because I have achieved something while chasing my dreams and making a living doing the career that I love.

Devastation because it reminded me of how much I have missed of my children’s lives, family events, and precious moments to never get back.

It’s 6’s.

It’s the double edged sword.

It’s a blessing and the reality of butt and back perma-soreness.

You may wonder how it took me this long to reach such status with the amount of travel I do.

The story goes that I was close to this milestone over a decade ago on DELTA, and then they lost a bag with all of my handmade costumes, gear, worth over $10,000.

I had no receipts, as they were costumes made all over the world years earlier, and I couldn’t prove their value.  Devastating. To make matters worse it was the first time I had checked a bag in a long time and I had to do an event without any of my proven clothing, costumes, props.

It was the beginning of the end of my One-Man Show of entertainment and dressing up for big numbers. It changed my life and career. It forced me to make some huge changes.

DELTA and I had a big break up and fight.

I left DELTA and jumped on any cheap flight with any airline I could get for about 5 years.

And then I realized the value of having one carrier, one relationship, one points system, one place to invest in, because of their Signature Moves of reliability, customer service, and stellar reputation.

So I reluctantly returned to DELTA.

They have proven me wrong and have been a great partner ever since, keeping The Promise to me so often that I sing their praises, and am grateful I chose to eventually return.

I should have done so much sooner.

I hit One Million Miles on DELTA the other day, ironically as I arrived at the SLC Airport in the terminal at 4 AM for a 6 AM flight.

Here is a video from that early morning, please consider this my Acceptance Speech for this honor (LOL) –

My questions for you are:

What brand have you invested in to this extent?

There are very few in my life.

And why did you choose them?

Finally, I had a wonderful dilemma: The Million Miler Gift.

DELTA offers a few choices (spoiler: I’ve already made my decision), but I’m curious as to what you’d choose for yourself, and, now that you know me from reading this blog, what do you guess I CHOSE AS MY GIFT?

See the options below.

~ Jason Hewlett

Husband, Father, Writer, Mentor, Hiker, Delta Million Miler

• Speaker Hall of Fame * Award-Winning Entertainer * Coach & Mentor
• World’s Only Keynote Speaker utilizing entertainment, musical impressions, and comedy to teach The Promise
• Author of “The Promise To The One”

jasonhewlett.com