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gvibes posted:I'm thinking about picking up a United Club membership (would probably just get the credit card). Typically go ORD->SFO or SAN. Any thoughts on whether it is worth it (I know noone really knows that)? Fly maybe 75-100k miles a year, all domestic. I don't know, 50-60 segments or so? Is there free booze? They're useful for overseas travel sometimes, when you'll get access anyway if you have Star Gold. From a domestic standpoint, I've yet to have an experience - and I have unfortunately whiled away way too many hours of my life the past 7 years in United clubs - that wasn't better in a half-decent restaurant in the airport. Also cheaper. Being jammed in with a bunch of other tired pax in a bunch of worn out seats drinking free bottom-tier booze and eating processed cheese snacks, that's the United Club for you. And the times the airport itself is packed (busy season, massive delays, etc.) are the times the club will be packed to the gills too. Overseas, it depends. When I have a 4 hour layover at Narita there are definitely worse places to be than the UA club even when it is crowded (and it usually is there). Whereas in Changi I would rather be almost anywhere else (and there are a ton of options, Singapore has one of the world's best airports). And so on.
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Jan 29, 2019 17:25
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Thanks all. Sounds like a skip.
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Jan 29, 2019 17:41
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One thing I will add in their favor - the clubs have a dedicated service desk, and if poo poo has gone haywire outside (massive weather delays, etc.) they can have shorter lines than the normal service desks in the terminal. This is primarily useful if you have club access but are otherwise low status on UA/*A, because on United at least if you are upper tier status you can just call their dedicated line and that is almost always better than dealing with someone at the airport even in the club. You have to factor in how often, if at all, you would need to use that. Mostly it matters to people who fly a lot and if you fly a lot you'll soon get better phone support anyway from United.
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Jan 29, 2019 18:03
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Ixian posted:One thing I will add in their favor - the clubs have a dedicated service desk, and if poo poo has gone haywire outside (massive weather delays, etc.) they can have shorter lines than the normal service desks in the terminal. This is primarily useful if you have club access but are otherwise low status on UA/*A, because on United at least if you are upper tier status you can just call their dedicated line and that is almost always better than dealing with someone at the airport even in the club. I'd always much rather talk to someone at the club than call in, no matter what tier of support line I'm entitled to. During the big Delta meltdown in August 2016 I got my flight fixed in five minutes at a random Sky Club in ATL, and last Friday at DCA the check-in agent at the club proactively asked me if I wanted an earlier flight. Cocoa Crispies posted:Any y'all flying Delta coach in the next couple days? Have a drink voucher or four. Did anyone use these? Please do!
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Jan 29, 2019 22:34
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Cocoa Crispies posted:I'd always much rather talk to someone at the club than call in, no matter what tier of support line I'm entitled to. During the big Delta meltdown in August 2016 I got my flight fixed in five minutes at a random Sky Club in ATL, and last Friday at DCA the check-in agent at the club proactively asked me if I wanted an earlier flight. Fair enough. Though I question if that is worth paying $450+/y for like the OP was contemplating. I am probably spoiled by United's 1k line but they always answer instantly and are extraordinarily helpful. It's perhaps the one genuine benefit left to top tier on United (outside of invite-only Global Services, but even they are basically glorified 1k's these days outside of very specific situations).
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Jan 30, 2019 21:23
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I've been regularly traveling for work for the past few years mostly in the midwest and occasionally the South and PacNW. In few weeks I'll likely be headed to LGA and staying right in Manhattan which I explored once during a blizzard for an hour. I promptly returned to my hotel after that and Times Square was much smaller than I imagined. Outside of not needing a rental car, is there anything else I should know? How bad is LGA?
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Feb 1, 2019 00:00
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Tab8715 posted:I've been regularly traveling for work for the past few years mostly in the midwest and occasionally the South and PacNW. In few weeks I'll likely be headed to LGA and staying right in Manhattan which I explored once during a blizzard for an hour. I promptly returned to my hotel after that and Times Square was much smaller than I imagined.  at LGA, the worst airport and that’s saying something because Newark suuuuuuuucksI like to take Ubers in NYC and/or the subway and typically stay at the Sheraton just south of Central Park on 57th or 58th or whatever. I also like to run around Central Park if given the opportunity, but it’s probably a little too cold for that. Good food pretty much everywhere in NYC.
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Feb 1, 2019 00:13
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How long does it take one to get in and out of LGA?
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Feb 1, 2019 00:17
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I usually budget an hour for the Uber from JFK to Manhattan. If I'm on personal business I'll take the train and it's a bit longer usually. LGA is a bit closer to Manhattan than JFK, but also doesn't connect directly to the trains. I used to fly from BUF, and generally the flight was shorter than the ride into the city.
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Feb 1, 2019 01:26
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Loaded question, which hotel Marriott or Hilton has the best view in Manhattan or whatever is 5-15 mins away?
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Feb 1, 2019 02:30
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Man gently caress being able to sleep in my own bed or cooking my own food- I just want to use some real toilet paper. My rear end is fuckin raw
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Feb 1, 2019 02:36
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If you're staying in Manhattan, the best food is all around Hell's Kitchen for the most part. Go to B-Squared for pizza. Bibble and Sip has awesome matcha cream puffs, too. Brooklyn has better food in general though (and Hoboken is the best - fight me)
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Feb 1, 2019 03:00
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Tab8715 posted:Loaded question, which hotel Marriott or Hilton has the best view in Manhattan or whatever is 5-15 mins away? Marriott Times Square, preferably on a high floor. The gym there is nice and looks out over the city on like the 27th floor or something? The lounge is full of awful tourists though.
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Feb 1, 2019 03:40
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Tab8715 posted:How long does it take one to get in and out of LGA? You'll hate LGA and while typical times are about an hour to Midtown this can, and does, vary widely depending on weather, accidents, car fires, the whims of whichever union is in control of construction along your route, random acts of God, etc. Tab8715 posted:Loaded question, which hotel Marriott or Hilton has the best view in Manhattan or whatever is 5-15 mins away? Where do you need to be in Manhattan, work-wise? The Marriott Marquis in Times Square is nice, a few blocks from Central Park, fun city views for the most part, and not outrageously expensive this time of year unless things have changed. It's right in the middle of theater-land and an easy walk to Hell's Kitchen for grub too. Stayed there several times.
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Feb 1, 2019 03:45
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Rex-Goliath posted:Man gently caress being able to sleep in my own bed or cooking my own food- I just want to use some real toilet paper. My rear end is fuckin raw I'm glad to be home for the next couple months because I have a bidet here, yeah.
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Feb 1, 2019 03:56
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Ixian posted:Where do you need to be in Manhattan, work-wise? The Marriott Marquis in Times Square is nice, a few blocks from Central Park, fun city views for the most part, and not outrageously expensive this time of year unless things have changed. It's right in the middle of theater-land and an easy walk to Hell's Kitchen for grub too. Stayed there several times. Forgot, the last time I was there, they let me play a little plinko type game when I was checking in and I won something like 10,000 Marriott points
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Feb 1, 2019 03:58
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Tab8715 posted:Outside of not needing a rental car, is there anything else I should know? How bad is LGA? The CityMapper app is really good. I've used it in NYC, DC, and Berlin in the last two months and it's never done me wrong.
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Feb 1, 2019 03:59
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Cacafuego posted:Forgot, the last time I was there, they let me play a little plinko type game when I was checking in and I won something like 10,000 Marriott points They still have it, I think they only pull it during high tourist season. Cacafuego isn't exaggerating; while their lounge is large and nice, due to the view it is over-run with morons most of the time. If your room doesn't have a view the gym has a really good one. Mostly this is because location-wise it's a great hotel for tourists, other than being a slight pain in the rear end to get to Central Station from (which most tourists ignore other than visiting for pictures) because it is right smack in the middle of what most people picture "NYC" to be and easy walking distance to a lot of cool places. My company office is next to the ESB (and a pretty penny they paid for that real estate) so it's a convenient go-to all around for me.
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Feb 1, 2019 04:06
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Rex-Goliath posted:Man gently caress being able to sleep in my own bed or cooking my own food- I just want to use some real toilet paper. My rear end is fuckin raw I don't want I've done to piss off god this time but for whatever reason the office I'm at only has two stalls per floor in a 14 plus story building. We've got adjustable standing desks with dual 24" monitors but you've sometimes literally got to wait in a line to poop.
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Feb 1, 2019 05:02
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EWR is a special kind of lovely hell. I hate that loving airport so much
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Feb 1, 2019 05:17
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Tab8715 posted:Loaded question, which hotel Marriott or Hilton has the best view in Manhattan or whatever is 5-15 mins away? View is real nice from The William Vale in Brooklyn, check out their rooftop bar if you are sightseeing. Warning: hipsters In the last year I've stayed at the Millenium Hilton UN Plaza and the Edition next to Madison Square, both had good views. The latter has a lounge for Diamonds with an alright view, but if you don't like walking a few blocks to GCT then it's not as convenient as other options mentioned.
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Feb 1, 2019 05:35
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Tab8715 posted:I don't want I've done to piss off god this time but for whatever reason the office I'm at only has two stalls per floor in a 14 plus story building. We've got adjustable standing desks with dual 24" monitors but you've sometimes literally got to wait in a line to poop. i would 100% wait in line to poop if i meant i could use double ply paper that wouldn’t grind my rear end in a top hat like sandpaper
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Feb 1, 2019 05:41
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Rex-Goliath posted:i would 100% wait in line to poop if i meant i could use double ply paper that wouldn’t grind my rear end in a top hat like sandpaper Dog go to Duane Reade or whatever and get a real roll of toilet paper. This is a totally solvable problem.
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Feb 1, 2019 07:12
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Rex-Goliath posted:i would 100% wait in line to poop if i meant i could use double ply paper that wouldn’t grind my rear end in a top hat like sandpaper I'm now imagining waiting in line but seeing a fellow coworkers but instead of a water bottle on side of their back pack a roll of toilet paper.
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Feb 2, 2019 05:47
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sellouts posted:Dog go to Duane Reade or whatever and get a real roll of toilet paper. This is a totally solvable problem. This. I have done this and started an office trend that was appreciated by all. We even had a fund going for costco TP runs. We also had a campaign going several years back for the newly merged United to start stocking 2-ply in all United Club bathrooms. We were promptly ignored. 
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Feb 2, 2019 12:31
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Mackieman posted:. We even had a fund going for costco TP runs. Your HR dept sucks. Goddamn. Just pay for employees to have real toilet paper.
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Feb 2, 2019 16:28
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Our office is downtown right near the WTC memorial and when I visit the hotels are always overrun by tourists. Which is funny since I would never stay that far downtown as a tourist. The only thing to see is WTC and it’s 20 minutes to get to midtown. Maybe the tour companies put people up there?
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Feb 2, 2019 16:47
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The thing about tourists is they don't know any better because they've probably never been there.
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Feb 2, 2019 16:52
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When I stay in Midtown the hotels are great but I’m always heading south to eat/drink/do anything. If I didn’t care about hotel quality I would definitely by closer to les
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Feb 2, 2019 17:16
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Midtown in summer is appalling with the grey garbage puddles that line every sidewalk and the stinking piles of garbage on every sidewalk every night. I usually stay at Gild Hall because I’m either in town to work at 1WTC, or it’s close enough to Javits but not exhorbitant. Also works for Formula E in Brooklyn.
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Feb 2, 2019 17:55
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My company’s office is in Bryant Park so if you wanna be walking distance to work, it’s gonna be a Times Square hotel  Pro tip never stay at that element it’s hilariously bad
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Feb 2, 2019 18:07
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Cocoa Crispies posted:Any y'all flying Delta coach in the next couple days? Have a drink voucher or four. Used one on Thursday. Thanks, friend
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Feb 2, 2019 18:33
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If you recline your seat in economy class, you're probably a bad person.
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Feb 4, 2019 18:38
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So, my Global Entry expired last week, and although I renewed it online it still says it’s in review or whatever. I think this means I get to line up early with the plebs and take all my liquids out and my shoes off for the next few weeks, doesn’t it?
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Feb 4, 2019 21:41
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psydude posted:If you recline your seat in economy class, you're probably a bad person. I'm 6'2 and when I was in the poor seats I could still survive when the person in front me reclined. I don't get the fuss.
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Feb 4, 2019 22:21
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psydude posted:If you recline your seat in economy class, you're probably a bad person. I am definitely a bad person but its completely unrelated to my gently lowering my seat into a fully reclined position the instant we take off.
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Feb 4, 2019 22:27
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Anyone else find it hilarious at all the people that don't care for the "Your phone must be on airplane mode while in-flight?" thing? I've had multiple people get, pick up and start phone calls once we hit cell reception.
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Feb 4, 2019 22:47
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Man Anaheim sucks right now. It's all cold and damp and a 9 dollar domestic beer is a borderline war crime. Jeez. I'm a tinydude and I don't even recline the seat in cattle class
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Feb 4, 2019 22:59
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Tab8715 posted:I'm 6'2 and when I was in the poor seats I could still survive when the person in front me reclined. I don't get the fuss. I'm 6'5" and my knees almost always touch the seat in front of me, so when someone reclines I end up as a load bearing member of their seatback.
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Feb 4, 2019 23:28
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psydude posted:I'm 6'5" and my knees almost always touch the seat in front of me, so when someone reclines I end up as a load bearing member of their seatback. Christ that sucks, if I was any taller I would be too.
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Feb 4, 2019 23:37
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