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Speaking of TSA and gear chat. What do you guys think of the Tom Bihn Check point flyer? http://www.tombihn.com/PROD/TB1701.html No need to whip out the laptop  And get one of those toiletry bags where you can just unroll the whole drat thing I have this urge of mine to just clear out security as fast as possible. Stuff all my keys/wallet/poo poo into a jacket/wind breaker, lay out those bags and bam! Anyone else got any more tips?
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Jul 17, 2013 06:35
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I'm not a UA flyer but Marriott (where I'm platinum) just sent me an email stating they were granting me whatever third tier status is. It sounded like a big program based in the graphics and branding so I'm guessing other Marriott folks may get the same thing.
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Jul 17, 2013 07:02
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My tip is to fly to and from airports that have TSA pre check  But no, I love Bihn bags, they are well thought out and constructed. I don't ever fly southwest but I would hope that they would start printing tsa precheck approved on their boarding passes like American does. That helps things dramatically along with the pre scanner before the TSA agent so you don't waste their time if you didn't clear.
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Jul 17, 2013 08:53
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kansas posted:I'm not a UA flyer but Marriott (where I'm platinum) just sent me an email stating they were granting me whatever third tier status is. It sounded like a big program based in the graphics and branding so I'm guessing other Marriott folks may get the same thing. Oh god this would be amazing. But gently caress Uniteds options at JFK/LGA. 
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Jul 17, 2013 13:29
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sellouts posted:My tip is to fly to and from airports that have TSA pre check I wish that was always possible. The difference between the Precheck experience and the normal TSA experience is night and day. But my home airport doesn't have Precheck and only some of the airports I travel to have it.
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Jul 17, 2013 13:53
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CaptainPsyko posted:Oh god this would be amazing. Why wouldn't you fly in to EWR? It's easier to get to NYC and is a hub.
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Jul 17, 2013 16:02
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Slightly off topic question in regards to JFK. I'm going to be flying into JFK in a few weeks for a short personal trip. What's the most reasonable way to get from JFK to Manhattan?
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Jul 17, 2013 16:09
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AirTrain to LIRR Jamaica stop to Penn Station if you're not taking car service or über.
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Jul 17, 2013 16:29
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I don't have PreCheck since my home airport oesn't have it. However, recently I was flying out of PDX and TSA line was getting long. After checking our ID, one of the guards was asking people in the express lane if they were flying alone, and if so, to hop on over to the PreCheck lane. It was weird to just put my laptop bag down and not have to take it out, or my toiletries, or anything like that. Certainly a night and day experience, but it was really odd that they would bump us into that lane with any screening at all!
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Jul 17, 2013 16:36
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sellouts posted:My tip is to fly to and from airports that have TSA pre check
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Jul 17, 2013 16:45
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Belldandy posted:Why wouldn't you fly in to EWR? It's easier to get to NYC and is a hub. I live in eastern queens, roughly 20 minutes from my choice of JFK or LaGuardia; 30 bucks for a cab. EWR takes two hours + and it's a triple digit cab fare.
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Jul 17, 2013 18:08
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CaptainPsyko posted:I live in eastern queens, roughly 20 minutes from my choice of JFK or LaGuardia; 30 bucks for a cab. Fair enough!
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Jul 17, 2013 18:52
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CaptainPsyko posted:I live in eastern queens, roughly 20 minutes from my choice of JFK or LaGuardia; 30 bucks for a cab. Plus EWR is the worst airport in the US, hands down.
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Jul 17, 2013 21:52
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kansas posted:I'm not a UA flyer but Marriott (where I'm platinum) just sent me an email stating they were granting me whatever third tier status is. It sounded like a big program based in the graphics and branding so I'm guessing other Marriott folks may get the same thing. It is a thing: Your United status gets you status on Marriott. Also, your Marriott status gets you status from United.
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Jul 17, 2013 22:07
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Lyon posted:How is everyone doing mileage wise? Question - Does anyone here feel they're getting a good deal out of their hotel loyalty program? I'd like to hear why and how.
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Jul 21, 2013 04:49
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Ugh. Booked a trip with my boss on the same reservation and now gotta list him for the upgrade as well. I know it won't clear for him but I really don't want to risk it.
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Jul 21, 2013 05:05
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Small White Dragon posted:About 85% of the way to requalifying for EXP. Define 'good deal'.
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Jul 21, 2013 05:05
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Small White Dragon posted:Question - Does anyone here feel they're getting a good deal out of their hotel loyalty program? I'd like to hear why and how. I'm going to spend 4 nights in Moab UT for free on hotel points that would otherwise have cost $200+ a night. I consider that a pretty good deal.
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Jul 21, 2013 15:13
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Before Marriott killed the all inclusive packages I took three, separate, week-long vacations to Costa Rica, Aruba, and St. Thomas for a grand total combined out of pocket cost of $2. Now I see why they killed that program. Total point cost was around ~600k I believe.
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Jul 21, 2013 17:38
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Small White Dragon posted:Question - Does anyone here feel they're getting a good deal out of their hotel loyalty program? I'd like to hear why and how. I am spending 5 nights at the Munich Hilton during Oktoberfest this year for zero dollars. I consider that a pretty good deal. Delta us flying us there for free and Hilton is putting us up for free. I only have to pay for the beer.
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Jul 21, 2013 23:30
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How does that compare with the flat 10% return on hotels.com? I only do 40-50 nights away a year but they are usually in $250-300/night Central London hotels so I'm usually getting 4-5 nights in a 5 star when I redeem. Not having to commit to a single chain is also key for international travel to places where a major chain isn't always available much less the one I would need. What sort of non-free night perks am I really missing out on?
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Jul 26, 2013 01:41
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I'm in the market for a new carry-on rollerbag. What are everyone's favorites? Edit re: hotels... Hilton has given me a bunch of stuff (drink coupons, nights, free wifi). But my friend on Starwood got an entire week free in Hawaii. taco show fucked around with this message at 18:39 on Jul 26, 2013 |
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Jul 26, 2013 18:36
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taco show posted:I'm in the market for a new carry-on rollerbag. What are everyone's favorites? How often do you travel? Hard side or soft? Material? Without knowing anything, I'd recommend the Rimowa Salsa Deluxe Multiwheel.
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Jul 26, 2013 19:43
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3+ times a month, a few days each time. But every so often I'll go for more than a week or need to bring a few suits and that's when my current bag won't cut it. My main requirements are that it's light and easily fits into a standard AA overhead bin. I don't really care about hard/soft or material, but I've heard horror stories on FlyerTalk about hard shells cracking?
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Jul 26, 2013 20:21
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taco show posted:3+ times a month, a few days each time. But every so often I'll go for more than a week or need to bring a few suits and that's when my current bag won't cut it. My main requirements are that it's light and easily fits into a standard AA overhead bin. You're in luck, this fits in every AA bin with the exception of the CRJ and EMB jets, which you'd normally not fit anything in anyway. I fly heavily on AA so I have validated this. I have also brought mine for about 600k miles and I have no cracks. I have an Eagle Creek tri-folder thing I put inside to keep wrinkles away.
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Jul 26, 2013 22:34
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Belldandy posted:Without knowing anything, I'd recommend the Rimowa Salsa Deluxe Multiwheel.
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Jul 26, 2013 23:28
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Small White Dragon posted:Which size? I bought this one: http://www.zappos.com/rimowa-salsa-deluxe-cabin-multiwheel-iata-black?zfcTest=fcl%3A0 and it worked great even for a 10 day trip to Europe and fit on European planes. There is another one that is slightly bigger http://www.zappos.com/rimowa-salsa-deluxe-cabin-multiwheel-black?zfcTest=fcl%3A0 but I decided against it because it is technically over the limits for carry-on baggage, but it's not enough so that I don't think it would fit.
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Jul 27, 2013 13:35
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Vomik posted:I bought this one: http://www.zappos.com/rimowa-salsa-deluxe-cabin-multiwheel-iata-black?zfcTest=fcl%3A0 and it worked great even for a 10 day trip to Europe and fit on European planes. Yep, this. I Have the IATA one, never had a second look at it. The larger one might get questioned.
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Jul 27, 2013 17:30
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So the DoJ has filed to stop the AA/US merger.
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Aug 15, 2013 06:33
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Small White Dragon posted:So the DoJ has filed to stop the AA/US merger. That would really piss me off, because I was looking forward to having Charlotte as a hub for getting around the eastern US on AA from TN. I avoid ORD like the plague. This is sort of on-topic, sorta not - and this is addressed to the whole thread - but I may be interviewing for a 35-50% travel (as listed on the posting) position in the near future. In hindsight or not, what would be the three most important questions you would ask during interviews/negotiations, regarding business travel, so that there are no surprises and so that realistic expectations are established early on?
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Aug 15, 2013 17:55
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Fryhtaning posted:That would really piss me off, because I was looking forward to having Charlotte as a hub for getting around the eastern US on AA from TN. I avoid ORD like the plague. Official policies are usually crap: 'always book the cheapest fare regardless of carrier' 'never spend more than $100/night for a hotel' 'always use your company amex for all work expenses' (drat you Visa-dependent Marriott megabonus!) I think any questions you ask will be given the standard corporate answer. I'd try and talk to someone more casually about how it actually works in practice.
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Aug 15, 2013 18:35
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kansas posted:Official policies are usually crap: So what you're saying is that it is unlikely that there is any kind of formal agreement on the maximum or minimum amount of travel, on whether or not to expect any weekend travel, how much would be driving distance vs flying, etc? It's for an application engineer position, so it's not quite the high-octane travel of sales or consultants. One of my references is an employee at the company who has the same job title that I'm going with, so I plan on asking him a lot about the reality of his situation. I'm more asking here about, basically, if there's anything I can say or do to avoid getting screwed. I'm married and want to have a family soon, and this career move is one that could allow my wife to have no pressure to have a career of her own. Plus, I'd be working from a home office, so whenever I wasn't traveling I would be home.
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Aug 15, 2013 19:28
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I can't tell if you are being sarcastic or not, but there is definitely some sort of corporate policy you need to know, whether or not it is closely followed. My company sticks pretty closely to the 'standard corporate answer' and a colleague was fired recently for not adhering to the rules. It would also depend on how big your company is. My sales friend at a small 100 person company has a pretty rough time with booking travel, staying at low-end chains, needing to drive everywhere, etc. On the other hand, my company does cool stuff like double my hourly rate for Sunday travel. In other, unrelated news, I'm finally home for two consecutive weeks after almost three months of Monday-to-Friday-and-sometimes-weekends travel. My bed feels weird and I really need to do laundry, but it's good to be back.
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Aug 15, 2013 20:11
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kansas posted:Official policies are usually crap: Kinda disagree there. You might have a manager and/or somebody booking your travel that is willing to ignore the rules, but that could easily change overnight. I'd be much more interested in what the official policies are. If somebody is traveling a lot that can have a substantial quality of life impact. If the travel policies aren't reasonable I'd consider that to be a huge warning sign.
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Aug 15, 2013 20:52
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taco show posted:I can't tell if you are being sarcastic or not, but there is definitely some sort of corporate policy you need to know, whether or not it is closely followed. My company sticks pretty closely to the 'standard corporate answer' and a colleague was fired recently for not adhering to the rules. Nope, not sarcastic, just completely new to the idea of that kind of culture. It sounds like "policy" is the easy part, although that seems to be about how you travel more than when you travel. For example, did you know that when you hired into your job that you could end up traveling for almost 3 months straight? Or did they say something like "25-50% travel" in the job description and then say times are tough, looks like you're going to have to suck it up and never be home? In other words, does the fact that a job was advertised at 35% travel carry any weight at all once you're hired? The 35% posted in the job description is a very manageable number, but if they could freely turn around and ship me out for two months at a time without recourse, which would wreak havoc on my home life, then that's something I need to consider against the potential increase in income that the job would entail.
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Aug 15, 2013 21:41
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Thoguh posted:If the travel policies aren't reasonable I'd consider that to be a huge warning sign. This summer was way out of the norm for me but yes, I knew when I signed the papers how much I might have to travel. It is slightly above what was in the job description, but I asked during the interview and they were very forthcoming. I also had the option to stay at home a few times, but I believed that being there in-person would be vastly better for whatever I was working on. I personally really enjoy business travel- I get to visit cool cities, meet interesting people, and drink regional beers. There are times when it really sucks, but for the most part I'm having fun racking up the miles and points.
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Aug 15, 2013 22:34
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Fryhtaning posted:The 35% posted in the job description is a very manageable number, but if they could freely turn around and ship me out for two months at a time without recourse, which would wreak havoc on my home life, then that's something I need to consider against the potential increase in income that the job would entail. So ask about that. Fryhtaning posted:So what you're saying is that it is unlikely that there is any kind of formal agreement on the maximum or minimum amount of travel, on whether or not to expect any weekend travel, how much would be driving distance vs flying, etc? It's for an application engineer position, so it's not quite the high-octane travel of sales or consultants. You haven't named the company, and none of us know you in real life, we don't have these answers.
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Aug 15, 2013 23:11
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I'm sure there will be some sort of corporate guideline. For example, our food rule says that we should spend no more than $5 for breakfast (if not free at the hotel/provided by the client), $15 for lunch (same caveat as breakfast), and $25 for dinner. Even in the guide it says there are obviously going to be exceptions to this depending on where you go. Just use your best judgement and do what the other people on the team do.
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Aug 15, 2013 23:49
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Morby posted:I'm sure there will be some sort of corporate guideline. I'm not too worried about those kinds of guidelines based on what everyone has said. I'd gain so much weight on most of the per diems I've seen listed, and I'm the kind of guy who would end up packing some protein powder to take for snacks while traveling to further ensure that doesn't happen. gently caress being an endomorph. taco show posted:And it's the same about the "when" too. If you are worried, definitely ask! How many days a week? How flexible is the schedule? Are there any teleconferencing alternatives just in case? Consider that 35% might be fine, but what about 50%? I was a little concerned about showing any apprehension about excessive travel for a job that explicitly states at least 1/3 time traveling, but it sounds like you asked the same kinds of questions and it worked out for you in the end. That last sentence could have been written by me, so I know I'd enjoy the lifestyle a lot.
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Aug 16, 2013 00:15
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Fryhtaning posted:That would really piss me off, because I was looking forward to having Charlotte as a hub for getting around the eastern US on AA from TN. I avoid ORD like the plague.
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Aug 16, 2013 00:28
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