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Specifically on the loyalty program front, almost all the hotel programs are poo poo in one way or another, and some of them are poo poo in all measurable ways (Hilton). As noted above, Hyatt tends to have the best program out there right now but they don't have nearly as many properties to choose from. One aspect to consider is what your burning strategy is for what you earn: do you want to do once in a lifetime super huge things like the Maldives or are you looking for a free weekend a couple of times per year? Marriott and IHG are the best choices outside of Hyatt simply due to property density, but the programs aren't what they once were, especially in the case of Marriott. For cars, rent through National and don't worry about the rest unless you have a specific need to do so. As for the lifestyle stuff, I agree with what everyone else has offered and can recommend not doing what I do which is drinking heavily all the time.
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Nov 14, 2022 19:52
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Seconded what others have said, pick one or two airlines/hotels and join their programs. The bad part is ever since the SPG merger in Marriott travel benefits have gone to poo poo but you can still get some decent perks if you use the same companies. I haven't used anyone but National in years purely due to convenience. You pick a car from the lot, drive out, hand the teller your info and drive off. Maybe it's different now but Avis made me still do paperwork and Hertz had terrible inconsistent quality/service.
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Nov 15, 2022 00:17
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wait people take clients out using per diems? That’s a thing??
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Nov 15, 2022 02:25
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If you're travelling with colleague(s), make sure you set your own boundaries, have some alone-time for yourself and be able to disconnect completely from work. It's easy to fall into the pitfall of spending your whole day, from breakfast to dinner, with your colleagues and/or hosts.
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Nov 15, 2022 08:29
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sellouts posted:wait people take clients out using per diems? I mean not in my experience but this thread has taught me that my company is very civilized when it comes to travel and a lot of places are uhhhhh not
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Nov 15, 2022 14:12
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I’m looking for a good ~45L duffel bag. I’d prefer a U opening but other than that I’m fairly open to anything. The timbuk2 Impulse is fairly close to what I wanted but doesn’t appear to be available anywhere. Any suggestions would be great.
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Nov 15, 2022 21:01
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I have the Patagonia 40L Black hole; seems its either 40L or 55L. Waterproof and durable. Basically just a duffle w/ no pockets etc tho. Works well to just stuff full for me.
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Nov 15, 2022 21:15
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I have a red Ox duffle that feels like it'll last forever. Not super lightweight though.
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Nov 15, 2022 21:43
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I’ve had a Tumi duffle bag as my go-to travel carryon for the better part of a decade and can’t recommend it enough. It’s in the overhead now, as I wait to push from the gate. If have the structured duffle and my wife has the unstructured one - both are great, it’s more about personal preference. All of my luggage is Tumi - laptop bag, duffle, suit roller, normal roller and bathroom kits. They make great stuff. The bags are somewhat expensive but extremely well made and wear exceedingly well. In the infrequent times when I’ve needed a zipper pull or some other minor accessory their support has been superb - always given freely and installed by staff at the location if it’s on hand.
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Nov 16, 2022 01:09
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:I mean not in my experience but this thread has taught me that my company is very civilized when it comes to travel and a lot of places are uhhhhh not yeah I am a total outlier in my travel for work but my god even when I worked at a poo poo company per diems we’re not t&e fuckin lmao
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Nov 16, 2022 01:30
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sellouts posted:yeah I am a total outlier in my travel for work but my god even when I worked at a poo poo company per diems we’re not t&e fuckin lmao Agreed, this sounds insane. Maybe it's a contractor/freelancing situation where they do per diems? taco show posted:e: also, I brought a separate personal macbook air around when i was doing this kind of travel. mostly to play eve online (lol) and that social interaction saved me. rip vilerat
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Nov 16, 2022 12:31
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I was at a museum today that had a small room of stuff by Martha Rosler- topic was by frequent fliers for frequent fliers:  Tag yrself, I’m the not one but TWO separate images of ohare.
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Nov 18, 2022 20:55
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I forgot that Virgin Australia and Delta broke up... guess I'll throw those miles at my United account. I didn't realize it until after my booking one-way, so I just got some random middle seat on a 737 heading SYD-PER. Booked it separately on the way back, but I feel like I should be looking at Qantas in the long-run for any intra-Australia travel?
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Nov 21, 2022 01:28
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movax posted:I forgot that Virgin Australia and Delta broke up... guess I'll throw those miles at my United account. I didn't realize it until after my booking one-way, so I just got some random middle seat on a 737 heading SYD-PER. Booked it separately on the way back, but I feel like I should be looking at Qantas in the long-run for any intra-Australia travel? Qantas is in OneWorld so your Delta status won't matter with them either. Schedule, cost, and comfort rule the day.
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Nov 21, 2022 03:22
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movax posted:I forgot that Virgin Australia and Delta broke up... guess I'll throw those miles at my United account. I didn't realize it until after my booking one-way, so I just got some random middle seat on a 737 heading SYD-PER. Booked it separately on the way back, but I feel like I should be looking at Qantas in the long-run for any intra-Australia travel? If you fly Qantas just credit it to American. It's best not to have orphaned miles and too many accounts requiring micromanaging. On a related note, does anyone know how rebates are handled with expensing? For example, AMEX had an offer for getting back a $300 rebate if you spent $1500 on flights with Qantas. Is it acceptable practice to expense the flights and not declare the credit card promotional rebate? i fly airplanes fucked around with this message at 12:47 on Nov 21, 2022 |
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Nov 21, 2022 12:43
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If it’s a personal credit card, I don’t think you have to declare the rebate. (We do not) But your company’s expense policies will probably tell you if you read them.
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Nov 21, 2022 13:42
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Yeah if it went to my corporate card, I don’t see any way to get it to my pocket without looking like I was stealing from the company.
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Nov 21, 2022 13:45
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movax posted:but I feel like I should be looking at Qantas in the long-run for any intra-Australia travel? Your experience may vary, but when my family travelled between AU/NZ, we did so in economy, QF one way, VA the other. QF was so much better -- better leg room, no huge checked bag fee, better amenities (food and snack) onboard. That said, I've heard VA's domestic business class is better, if your company will shell out for that.
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Nov 21, 2022 18:19
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I’d check your company’s travel policy but usually when I have to run my expense reports through concur I have to declare if I did any personal spend (ex. Annual AMEX fee, or just accidentally swiped w Apple Pay) and then the company credits me directly to my bank acct w my next paystub or I tell them that I’ll directly pay Amex. idk if that will work for you? Anyway usually those promos aren’t available for corp cards… also can we get a link for your fellow biz travelers??
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Nov 22, 2022 13:32
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taco show posted:I’d check your company’s travel policy but usually when I have to run my expense reports through concur I have to declare if I did any personal spend (ex. Annual AMEX fee, or just accidentally swiped w Apple Pay) and then the company credits me directly to my bank acct w my next paystub or I tell them that I’ll directly pay Amex. idk if that will work for you? Yeah this is all on a personal AMEX with direct reimbursement, not a corporate card That's cool if your company does automatic reimbursement via Concur, I guess your accounting department just audits receipts the same way? If you need a referral I have an AMEX Plat offer for the 150k bonus, but that's again a personal card. Small White Dragon posted:Your experience may vary, but when my family travelled between AU/NZ, we did so in economy, QF one way, VA the other. Agreed here: I flew both pre-pandemic and Qantas was way better than Virgin.
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Nov 22, 2022 14:52
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lol you should not be giving a personal card bonus to your employer.
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Nov 22, 2022 15:03
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Residency Evil posted:lol you should not be giving a personal card bonus to your employer. Some places actually will require this, which is why I suggested that OP look at the actual terms of your company's travel policy. It's obviously ridiculous but hey, this is corporate travel world.
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Nov 22, 2022 15:10
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Residency Evil posted:lol you should not be giving a personal card bonus to your employer. My mega corp employer in bold letters in multiple policies requires employees to use corp cards for all expenses. Even more weirdly, ~zero employees comply with this policy, they all use personal and get direct reimbursement via paystub. And the employer knows this obviously because we submit receipts through an expense tool. Why even have the policy at that point, I have no idea.
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Nov 22, 2022 17:22
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It’ll cover them when they need/want it to.
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Nov 22, 2022 18:00
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sellouts posted:It’ll cover them when they need/want it to. Yep that’s exactly right.
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Nov 22, 2022 18:57
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I think Air Canada might be the first airline that I actually hate.
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Nov 24, 2022 00:29
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Inner Light posted:My mega corp employer in bold letters in multiple policies requires employees to use corp cards for all expenses. Even more weirdly, ~zero employees comply with this policy, they all use personal and get direct reimbursement via paystub. And the employer knows this obviously because we submit receipts through an expense tool. Why even have the policy at that point, I have no idea. That’s surprising in a big company, corporate cards are a big deal.
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Nov 24, 2022 01:21
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Our corporate cards are through Wells Fargo and the portal sucks poo poo. Pain in the loving rear end to use. Personal reimbursement is via Expensify, and I can in about 10 seconds, take a picture of the receipt immediately after I get it (or forward an email receipt) and it's 95% done. Can also use Apple Pay this way if I like.
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Nov 24, 2022 02:45
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smackfu posted:That’s surprising in a big company, corporate cards are a big deal. Yes I agree. I am tempted to go against the grain and comply with this policy because if/when the ban hammer firing gun comes down, why provide the ammunition? Inner Light fucked around with this message at 02:48 on Nov 24, 2022 |
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Nov 24, 2022 02:46
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keevo posted:I think Air Canada might be the first airline that I actually hate. Everything other than their non-Rouge in flight product sucks poo poo.
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Nov 24, 2022 12:53
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Does anyone know if status trumps fare class on Royal Jordanian? They're having a black friday sale ($830 rt ORD-AMM direct! today only) but it's in their super saver economy tier. I'll be AA plat/oneworld sapphire next year and I want seat selection for a 12 hr flight...
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Nov 25, 2022 15:53
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Do airlines offer some sort of nanny service for old people flying internationally, with connections? Like, make sure they get on the plane, off the plane, make their connection, through customs, assist if there are IROPs etc.? We're thinking to fly in my mother-in-law who is... how do I phrase this delicately... does not exhibit the best decision making even under the best of circumstances.
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Nov 25, 2022 21:17
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bolind posted:Do airlines offer some sort of nanny service for old people flying internationally, with connections? Like, make sure they get on the plane, off the plane, make their connection, through customs, assist if there are IROPs etc.? Not sure off hand but I imagine this would involve a call to the airline to figure out. Then, the magic word on the phone would be “accommodations” to see what they have available. For sure there are multiple people employed by airlines at major airports who could do this if you get the right boss / logistics person on the phone. Might be the same contractor that does wheelchair stuff. Gonna be tough to get past first level call center though, I haven’t called an airline in years so I dunno how much trouble it is to get someone US based that can actually solve this problem for you.
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Nov 25, 2022 21:21
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You can flag what assistance is needed on the PNR, at least for Delta. Don’t need to call in.
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Nov 25, 2022 21:57
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bolind posted:Do airlines offer some sort of nanny service for old people flying internationally, with connections? Like, make sure they get on the plane, off the plane, make their connection, through customs, assist if there are IROPs etc.? I have not had to think about this (yet) but virtually every time I go through AMS or CDG, I usually end up approached by (or I see, and stop) an elderly Indian auntie/uncle that has no idea where they’re going and ask for help (I am Indian but speak absolutely poo poo Hindi) and I translate for them / track down an employee who I feel confident can help them. I guess what I’m saying is that even if you do your best to set this up, another human (ideally family) accompanying is probably the most ideal thing, if practical.
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Nov 26, 2022 01:03
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movax posted:I guess what I’m saying is that even if you do your best to set this up, another human (ideally family) accompanying is probably the most ideal thing, if practical. It's very much this. Airports have assistance services for people in wheelchairs and similar disabilities, but they generally take care of physical transport and are not a concierge service that helps you manage security, immigration, connections, and so forth. Airlines do this for unaccompanied minors who are traveling (and usually for a significant fee) but there is no equivalent for older folks that I know of.
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Nov 26, 2022 15:04
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Some airlines or airports offer a meet and greet service, that might be what you need to Google.
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Nov 26, 2022 15:31
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bolind posted:Do airlines offer some sort of nanny service for old people flying internationally, with connections? Like, make sure they get on the plane, off the plane, make their connection, through customs, assist if there are IROPs etc.? Yes, many airlines/airports have VIP transfer services, but it's a very hodge podge approach. Airlines generally have this for unaccompanied minors, but for old people you'll need to contact the particular airline and/or airport for escort services. You'll also have to do this on the other int'l side as well. For AA it's called Five Stars. For DL it's VIP Select. taco show posted:Does anyone know if status trumps fare class on Royal Jordanian? My expectation is that it should. i fly airplanes fucked around with this message at 12:50 on Nov 27, 2022 |
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Nov 27, 2022 12:48
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I am going to end up this year one segment short of United Silver. Is it even worth a cheap (sub-$200) run?
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Nov 30, 2022 01:17
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Omne posted:I am going to end up this year one segment short of United Silver. Is it even worth a cheap (sub-$200) run? Free premium upgradeeeeeeeee
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Nov 30, 2022 01:38
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