In 1999, David Phillips spotted a Healthy Choice promotion: 1,000 airline miles for every 10 barcodes. During the bonus window, that doubled. He found pudding cups at 25 cents each, bought 12,150 of them for $3,140, and donated them all to the Salvation Army — earning an $815 tax deduction. Total haul: 1,253,000 frequent flyer miles and lifetime Gold status. His story inspired the Adam Sandler film Punch-Drunk Love.
A Man Bought 12,150 Pudding Cups and Got 1.25 Million Airline Miles
In 1999, David Phillips was a civil engineering lecturer at UC Davis with a sharp eye for a deal. When he spotted the fine print on a Healthy Choice promotion, he saw something no one else did.
The Loophole
The "Change Your Destiny" promotion offered 1,000 airline miles for every 10 product barcodes mailed in. During an early-bird bonus window, the rate doubled to 1,000 miles per 5 barcodes.
Phillips did the math. Individual Healthy Choice pudding cups at the Grocery Outlet cost just 25 cents each. Each barcode counted the same as a full-sized product. At the bonus rate, each mile would cost him a fraction of a cent.
Operation Pudding
Phillips bought 12,150 pudding cups — for a total of $3,140. He recruited Salvation Army volunteers to help peel off and sort the barcodes, donating every cup of pudding in the process. The charity donation earned him an additional $815 tax deduction.
The Haul
Healthy Choice honored every barcode. Phillips received 1,253,000 frequent flyer miles across four airlines, including lifetime Gold status on American Airlines.
For $3,140 in pudding, he got unlimited family vacations for years. His story made national news and directly inspired Adam Sandler's character in Punch-Drunk Love (2002) — a film about a man who buys hundreds of pudding cups for airline miles.
The promotion was never repeated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How did David Phillips earn so many miles?
What did he do with 12,150 pudding cups?
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Verified Fact
Confirmed True by Snopes. Covered by TIME, HuffPost, UC Davis (Phillips is a UC Davis civil engineering lecturer). The Healthy Choice "Change Your Destiny" promotion ran in 1999. Phillips bought pudding cups at Grocery Outlet at 25 cents each. Total cost $3,140. Earned 1,253,000 miles across multiple airlines. Salvation Army volunteers helped cut barcodes. Tax deduction confirmed. Inspired Barry Egan character in Punch-Drunk Love (2002).
Snopes / TIME / HuffPost
