Frequent Flyer Miles Idea

[revlis87]

Forgive me if this is completely stupid but I have to ask.

So I had this idea. I am a big fan of upgrading when I am flying because sitting in a tiny upright seat all the way to Africa or Australia or even Europe really sucks in my mind. So, I've spent far too much money in my life on business and first class tickets and upgrades. Now, I got a Visa Platinum Mileage Plus Card that is probably a bit of a rip off at like $120 a year or something but I get some nice things (an upgrade certificate within the US, a free companion airfare each year etc) and I accumulate miles. It's about 15,000 miles for a one way US upgrade and 30,000 for an upgrade to Europe as I point of reference. I think its about 120,000 miles for a business class eat to Europe. So I've got like 40,000 miles and charge everything etc etc so in time they will accumulate. But it occurred to me. I've got like a $10,000 dollar credit limit per month - after only 6-8 months of building credit and I think it will go up. What if I knew somebody who owned a store or business (like a family member, perhaps - or a good friend) and I had them bill me each month the maximum. I got the 10,000 miles and then they simply write me a check or refund me. I guess a refund would show up on the card and that wouldn't work - but what about just writing me a check. While I'm sure it's technically against the rules and regs, that doesn't really bother me. Is there something terribly illegal about doing something like this? I mean 120,000 miles a year is a lot and would save me thousands of dollars.

Thoughts?