The MileLion is under new management

Leadership changes afoot at The MileLion

The MileLion Announces New CEO
[For immediate release]


SINGAPORE, 1 July 2023โ€” After an exhaustive nine-month global search, the Board of Directors is delighted to announce the appointment of Abigail Wongย as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of The MileLion.

Abigail was formerly the Junior Vice President of Synchronised Swimming and Food Cravings at The MileLioness, and has extensive international experience across Bangkok, Male, Melbourne,ย New York City, Orlando and Tokyo during her 40-week tour of duty.

File photo: Abigail Wong at previous place of employment

As CEO, she will be responsible for all strategic and operational initiatives, including editorial direction, publishing timelines and frequency, and the newly-launched PoopScoreSM,ย which ranks all credit cards on a scale of 1-5 ๐Ÿ’ฉ.

Illustrative PoopScoreSM
BOC Elite Miles Card
Score: ๐Ÿ’ฉ๐Ÿ’ฉ๐Ÿ’ฉ๐Ÿ’ฉ๐Ÿ’ฉ
Verdict: “A symposium of meconium!”

Abigail has announced a wide range of cost optimisation measures to steer The MileLion into profitability, as it seeks a listing on the highly-prestigious-and-totally-awesome Catalist exchange.

To spearhead this initiative, Abigail will not be utilising her entitlement to private jet travel, nor will she be renewing the lease on Yachty McYachtface, the company’s private yacht. The CEOโ€™s office will also be switching to single-ply diapers. Employees will be encouraged to source hotels from reputable, value-for-money chains, and travel on budget-friendly carriers, preferably on mistake fares.

โ€œServing as CEO of The MileLion has been one of the biggest honours of my life, perhaps second only to that time the cai fan aunty called me shuai ge.

However, I realise the time is right to step aside and allow new blood to take the reins. It is clear that the future of The MileLion lies in reviews of Kidztopia, inflight baby meals, and carry-on strollers, and Abigail is uniquely qualified to lead this strategic thrust.โ€

-Aaron Wong, outgoing CEO of The MileLion

“Aah owh gurgle fart coo grunt owh aah”

-Abigail Wong, new CEO of The MileLion

The Board looks forward to your complete, unquestioning and undying loyalty towards our new glorious leader.


Appendix:ย What this means for The MileLion

So, it looks like I’ll be redeeming miles for three from here on out!

It’s a lot to process, suffice to say there’s no feeling quite like holding your firstborn in your arms (sorry, second kid onwards- been there done that!). And despite the fact you know they’re one day going to destroy your furniture and dent your car, you can’t help but feel a special bond of love and affection towards the little ankle-biters. I’d say it ranks a close second to getting my first credit card, mainly because my first credit card didn’t drool on me.

Ever since The MileLioness broke the news (while I was deathly ill with COVID no less; I thought her pregnancy test was an ART kit), I’ve had a lot of thinking to do. The past nine months have been formative in that sense: a call to examine my attitudes towards childbearing, a warning about the spiritual dangers of a heart too attached to idle pleasures, and an invitation to take up the high calling of parenthood.

There are, of course, a lot of concerns and fears about becoming parents, but as John Piper puts it:

โ€œOf course, we donโ€™t know whether we will have a disabled child or not, who changes our lives forever. Of course, we donโ€™t know whether a child will break our heart with unbelief. Of course, we donโ€™t know if our child will live six hours and then die. And of course, we do know that our children will demand enormous, focused attention. We do know that to raise a child in the Lord demands spiritual desperation and prayer and focus and attention. We do know that there will be financial demands from our lifelong commitment to this child. We do know that there will be thousands of hours that you must deny yourself an immediate felt need in order to do good to this child.

But from the standpoint of Godโ€™s word, none of those possible heartaches and none of these guaranteed stresses are reasons not to have children, because the Bible does not share the modern viewpoint that the aim of life is the avoidance of hardship. On the contrary, the assumption of the Bible is that through many tribulations we enter the kingdom (Acts 14:22), and that the testing of our faith produces steadfastness (James 1:3), and that thereโ€™s joy to be found through givingย  ourselves away. Jesus said, โ€œIt is more blessed to give than to receiveโ€ (Acts 20:35).”

And thatโ€™s to say nothing of all the joys and delight of fatherhood which, I am reliably informed, do exist!

What does this mean for The MileLion as a website?ย For the past eight years this blog’s been running, there’s been a constant request for more family-focused travel content. And while there has been the odd article here and there, it’s not what you’d call comprehensive. I just never had the time nor inclination to sift through the various rules regarding award travel with infants and what not.

Well that’s all about to change, because needless to say, having a child radically changes the miles game. This is basically the great reset for me (the one that doesn’t involve you eating ze bugs) as far as travel is concerned.

Maybe for the first two years you can dump them with the in-laws, but once they start forming memories you’re going to want to bring them along (the kids, not the in-laws). And since there’s no discounted redemptions for non-bassinet children, your decision matrix is either:

  1. Fly the kid in Business and lament all the champagne they’re not drinking
  2. Fly the kid in Economy and learn the true meaning of family togetherness
  3. Fly the kid in Economy while you fly in Business and get called out on the interwebs for being th3 WorsT pARENts EVer (even though the kid will probably be thrilled by all the unsupervised screen time and unlimited sugar intake)

None of these are ideal, quite frankly, and in any caseย I haven’t given much thought to what the travel plan will be. There’s somewhat more pressing matters at the moment.ย 

Still, having kids will invariably give rise to different types of content. In fact, I was toying with the idea of reviewing Kai Suites, though the S$29,000 cost for a 1-month stay was, shall we say, off-putting. But even if the price tag were less insane, I’d prefer my efforts over the next few weeks be focused on Abigail and The MileLioness, as opposed to snapping photos of bedside USB charging ports and stress testing the Wi-Fi network.ย 

And taking a step back, it wouldn’t sit well with me to turn a personal moment like that into a content-generation opportunity. I think there should be some barriers between personal and professional spheres, especially in a job like mine where the dividing line is invariably fuzzy.ย  Let’s not even talk about the way some internet personalities turn their kids into social media props, pranking them on camera for cheap Instagram likes (hallo, child protective services).ย Getting your kids involved in your work is a slippery, slippery slope, and I donโ€™t want to touch that with a 10-foot pole.

So, what kind of content can you expect then? Well, I’m partial to writing bland, informative guides, and sometimes bland, informative guides are exactly what you need. Iโ€™m going to be learning a whole lot about the process of travelling with kids, so why not put that knowledge intoย articles that others can benefit from? (I am, perhaps unwisely, assuming thereโ€™s still a market for 2,000 word long-form articles and not just 10-second TikTok hot takes)

Apart from that, I still plan to take review trips when there’s some new airline, hotel or lounge that tickles my fancy, though they’ll be short there-and-back hops to minimise time away from home (*cats in the cradle intensifies*).ย  And of course there’ll continue to be a constant flow โ€”ย a poonami, if you will โ€” of content on how you can maximise your credit card miles, now that you have to redeem tickets for three.

So there you have it.ย If you’re a regular reader, please understand that posts may occasionally dry up, or I might temporarily focus on updating older guides rather than publishing brand new ones. If you’re a brother or sister, please keep The MileLioness and I in your prayers as we strive to raise a godly child who dares to live counterculturally.ย And if you’re a deep-pocketed company, the ink isn’t dry on the middle name yet- let’s talk naming rights.ย 

In the meantime, please excuse me because I just read somewhere that using the wrong brand of baby detergent turns your child into a serial killer.

Parents: Please share any and all means of surviving travel with children!

Aaron Wong
Aaron Wong
Aaron founded The Milelion to help people travel better for less and impress chiobu. He was 50% successful.

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dexter

ohmygosh. thatโ€™s how long iโ€™ve been stalling to go through your posts โ€œcover-to-coverโ€! congrats to you and milelioness, and welcome to the crazy club of chasing miles with kids! it was really mind boggling when i transited, but at least you still have 2 years before you REALLY join the club! lol

Kevin

Belated congratulations Aaron and “team”!

Owen

Congrats Aaron! Can I please check if youโ€™ve any advice/post on credit card strategy for delivery charges? Thanks.

zaos

Hehe, my baby visited QR, starlux lounge and all that before 6 months. But not like he will remember.

Make sure to bring a dark cloth to cover baby in carseat if going JB. Sometimes the bright lights impede the little ones’ sleep.

zaos

Rules vary by carrier. If paying cash (on redemption ticket, by operating carrier).

Some programs charge a portion of miles ~ 10 to 25% of adult for an infant. Don’t forget the bassinet.

zaos

Congrats Aaron. JL 10% cash btw. Reminder: 10% of RT would very likely be cheaper than 10% of two one ways. Domestic US, no charge for lap child. Remember you can always buy baby supplies pretty much anywhere in the world. Mama poko is sold across asia. Can also travel with ~ 4 month baby. At that stage they just eat and sleep, but time between feed should be quite managable. Also consider destination: eg. Taiwan and Japan are very very baby friendly, with many malls and such having feeding rooms and such facilities standard. Not to mention hot water… Read more »

Low Seow Boon

Congrats to you. Now, a father like me. Need to do a lot of planning before going on a new tour as a family. Anyway, we are not perfect..learning around the way..enjoys yourself..

Bruno

Congrats, youโ€™ll get to appreciate the FFPโ€™s that allow adding infants for free (Aegean, Qantas, Finnair) or for a small cost (BA, United, Air Canada). Some experiences beyond that: -SQ is still acceptable as their call centre staff is quite capable in adding infants to redemptions @10% cash basefare. -CX feels sour as they charge the full YQ for infants. HK also applies the airport tax for them. -JL on an AS tickets take a few calls, as JL staff first want AS staff to add an infant SSR before theyโ€™re willing to price out the ticket. – Stay away… Read more »

Tee

Congrats!!! And happy to see that family travel posts may be a bigger feature on ML soon!

EQ

Congratulations on the new addition to the family!

hh

Welcome MileCub to the family!! Congrats Aaron!

Lily

Hey, I hope you donโ€™t mind me asking – how DO you add an infant to a redemption booking? Will the infant require the same amount of miles? Recently tried to redeem my miles and saw the buttons to add an infant were greyed out. I havenโ€™t done the research on what to do. Hope you wonโ€™t mind sharing.

Vincent

Congratulations!

Venkat

Congratulations Aaron and the MileLioness! Welcome to Abigail!

macadamia

Congratulations on CEO Emeritus status. Be mindful that the sleepless nights last only 30 years or so!

Maxime Guo

Congrats Aaron! My daughter just turned 2, and I brought her on 2 trips to Japan with my wife before and after her 2nd birthday. Here are the lessons learned: 1. Before she turned 2, redeem 2 biz class tix and put her in the bassinet to sleep. I tried sharing my flat bed with her, but she fell off it and woke up crying. 2. Redeeming 2 SQ suites for a double bed should be fun, but I didn’t find the right time to do it. 3. After she turned 2, redeem/buy 3 econ tix and buy an inflatable… Read more »

SSS

Congratulations Aaron. Looking forward to some family oriented reviews. And who cares what people think, it is perfectly ok to take a newborn in Suites!!

Justin

Soon you’ll realize that the typical 1-2-1 configuration sucks for travelling with young kids. All that real estate just gets in the way when the seat belt sign is on.
2-3-2 in J like Turkish air is way easier for wedging a little one between 2 parents. Ain’t nobody got time to care for privacy! ๐Ÿ˜‚

Jason

Warmest congratulations Aaron! Welcome to parenthood. Be prepared to have sleepless nights for awhile… Be prepared to make some sacrifices to your routines but it will all be worth it. I’m personally looking forward to you writing some articles on playing the miles game from a parent’s POV.

X R

Congrats and welcome to parenthood! As a mum of 2, Iโ€™ll never put them in biz ever using my money or my miles . Theyโ€™ll have to earn their own $/miles when theyโ€™ve grown . Itโ€™s all economy for family travels ! If they are lucky, I may find some spare priority passes to get everyone into the lounge and thatโ€™s it for a little bit of travel luxury .
They donโ€™t have to know how I travel without them

Suai Ge

Big Congrats to Abigail! Well deserved and look forward to the new chapters lying ahead for the community๐Ÿ‘

SQ Flyer

Congrats on your frequent crier membership! One could make the case that living counterculturally is turning left instead of right upon boarding.

KC

Congratulations! I am one of those that flies the whole family including parents in economy so the parents can help take care of the kids (I have 2) on the plane and holiday.
It definitely makes things a lot easier if you donโ€™t mind covering everyoneโ€™s expenses.

Poh

Congratulations for bringing on the MileCub. We will no doubt be seeing more reviews of Disney properties and cruises in due course.

Kenny Sia

Congratulations!
As a former blogger from up north myself, please take it from me and take a step back from the family. Blogging is great, but nothing is more important than family.

Angel

Congrats Aaron! Excellent Piper quote there itโ€™s very moving ๐Ÿฅฒ Praying for you guys and Abigail!

AL

Congratulations! Travel more! CEO flies for free! Or close to it. YMMV ๐Ÿ˜

Jonathan

Congrats! Don’t ever stop traveling. I made passport for my daughter when she was 3 days old. Went JB shopping when she was 1 month old and the immigration officer made a ‘remark’. Flew her (in a budget flight) to Penang when she was 1.5 months. Taipei and Hong Kong was next when she was 7 months. Then all over the world. First business class when she was 5 years old. ‘Bad’ influence from Milelion since and mostly in business class and now she is 10 years old. Really difficult to redeem 3 business class tickets but if I can… Read more »

Mich

Congrats congrats! Excited for more family content! Will we be getting a Milelion Family tg group also? And does 5 ๐Ÿ’ฉ mean very good or very bad? So many questions but first hope you guys make it through the 4th trimester in one piece.. God bless! ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿป

Polo

Congratulations! Can’t wait to read about how to redeem row 11 in SQ Business and how to work the bassinet

Kai

Congrats man, she will be loved by your adoring fans like you do your first baby (aka Milelion, if that wasn’t clear)!

Caleb

Congratulations to you and your wife, Aaron!
And congrats to Abigail for her promotion to CEO :”))

Lifeshitz

This is awesome!
Also, FlyingBlue does offer discounts for non-bassinet infants
Congratulations and welcome to the club

derfner

congrats! my heart skipped a beat when I saw the title. haha

Michael

Congrats! As a parent, I would like to recommend that you star your search for a CFO, CCO to complement the CEO.

Happy Camper

Congrat to you both!
err.. you three!!
๐Ÿฅณ๐Ÿฅ‚๐Ÿพ