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Uncle Jam posted:Traveling this year owns so far, I keep getting pre-check and today I ran to the desk and switched myself to an earlier flight 5 mins before they closed the boarding door and got home 2 hours earlier. We have a contract with a car service which allows us to provide our project code and automatically bill to the project. It's incredible.
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Apr 3, 2014 14:37
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| # ¿ May 11, 2024 07:32 |
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Also, I bit the bullet on a status challenge with AA. Plat is 10k points over the next three months. I should hit that in two. AAdvantage people were super nice over the phone. Bye Delta 
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Apr 3, 2014 14:38
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Belldandy posted:You'll probably want to go with United. They benefit from an SFO and LAX hub, plus you could always just go directly to ORD for MW stuff. They would have the most/easiest options for you. I might recommend Alaska, since you can accrue status miles on Alaska, AA and Delta. Out of Sacramento, that would get you non-stop to Los Angeles, DFW, Seatac, Portland, Atlanta, Phoenix, SLC and Minneapolis/St. Paul, with seasonal service to Charlotte, Detroit and Philadelphia. The only downside is no direct to ORD, but unless you specifically need to go to Chicago, most of the Midwest is an easy connection from MSP or DFW.
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Apr 3, 2014 14:42
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Belldandy posted:Congrats, you'll never look back. Until the US merger kicks in full force and fucks them up. Are you out of BOS? Do you know what they're doing with the Terminal B setup to support the merger?
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Apr 3, 2014 14:43
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If you don't have lounge access you're scrubbin' anyhow.
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Apr 3, 2014 16:11
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Mackieman posted:I just toured the new UA facility in Terminal B that opens at the end of the month. The conversations I had with the Massport guys indicates that they're going to continue to use both sides of B as they do today, and then B6 will take over the rest of C that sUA is vacating and completely redo it so it sucks a lot less. Thanks - this is helpful. Where are UA's gates going to be located? In between the AA and AWE gates?
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Apr 3, 2014 18:08
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Mackieman posted:They built a brand new wing in Terminal B. Here's a highly polished and very nice (read: terribly lovely) image I edited from the Massport site that shows where the new terminal is: UA should just trade AA for their gates, drat.
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Apr 3, 2014 22:26
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I'm pretty in to the fact that AA blocks out 16B, 16E, 17B, 17E on the 738s to get the seat count down to 150. I prefer width over legroom anyway since I'm 5'10.
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Apr 7, 2014 14:06
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A fourteen hour flight in any form of Y, even Y+, sucks tremendously, but I would advocate at your size for shelling out.
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Apr 8, 2014 14:55
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air- posted:And here comes an AA devaluation out of nowhere. This is an irritating change, but it wasn't out of nowhere at all.
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Apr 8, 2014 22:51
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e:double poast
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Apr 8, 2014 22:53
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sellouts posted:Out of nowhere? No. Sudden? Absolutely. Most recently United gave a date months ahead to get your final redemptions in. Turning it off overnight is really surprising. I know at least one friend had a OWE award on hold. Not ticketed = tough luck. I couldn't help but laugh at the outrageous timing of this for him. Oh yeah, it's definitely a lovely thing to do in terms of the communication process, but the devaluation was inevitable.
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Apr 9, 2014 13:24
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Midjack posted:I would love to watch the US airline industry die. gently caress them all. I wouldn't because it would be very hard to get from place to place and none of the upstarts are any good either.
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Apr 10, 2014 18:52
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^^ yep if you don't do F and upgrades you cannot even be a pretender to the Business Airline throneYnglaur posted:I liked JetBlue a lot, though I haven't flown on them in years. They're not a preferred vendor. gently caress JetBlue. No Wifi and a bunch of moronic leisure travelers.
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Apr 10, 2014 20:14
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Shadowhand00 posted:Virgin America's pretty good (outside of their rewards structure) They fly to all of 23 destinations. Not a business airline by any stretch of the imagination.
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Apr 10, 2014 20:15
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I have this sick fascination with Russia airplanes and would love to get a ride on a Tu-154M or an IL-96. I think Aeroflot retired the 154 though
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Apr 11, 2014 21:07
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I agree, I think unless you are incredibly low probability (like 20 minute connection at CLT low), you just end up jacking yourself up for no good reason by trying to get out in front of potential issues.
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Apr 14, 2014 13:18
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I like TravelPro's poo poo in general. The Crew line is the only worthwhile one. I will get probably 150-200 round trips out of a bag of theirs that goes through checked luggage. It's tough to beat that on a practical level. I think they strike a nice balance between durability and affordability. I have had trouble with zipper pulls breaking off, but they're easily replaced.
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Apr 17, 2014 18:58
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Boston is actually cool provided you live there. Let me know if you ever have to swing by and I'll give recommendations. poo poo is very expensive, though. Guy that was looking for a bag earlier - a lot of people are recommending way more bag than you need for three times a year. I would still get something quality, but you shouldn't be dropping three hundred bucks on a bag.
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Apr 18, 2014 13:12
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I hate carrying a backpack over a nice suit jacket. It makes you look like a mittenstringer and it fucks up your suit. Taxis in Boston proper are all now required to accept credit cards, Praise baby Jesus.
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Apr 18, 2014 16:21
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sellouts posted:Really? National Emerald Exec is nice. I have had, in recent history, a couple Chargers, a Camaro, a couple Volvo S60s, a Chrysler 300, a couple Buicks of various sizes and a brand-new Impala. I was very impressed with the Impala. Best big American interior by far. Plus, you can pick what you want. I get a disgustingly good rate through a Penn State alumi association code that I swiped off of someone - $35/day for a midsize. I have a Global Entry interview on the 7th. Can anyone give a quick rundown of that process? I scheduled it in ORD since BOS was booked up through August 
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Apr 30, 2014 23:28
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Mackieman posted:Watch a video, answer any questions the CBP agent has (basically anything that wasn't complete on the information you submitted), finger print, photo. Thanks. The appointment windows are 15 minutes so I figured it couldn't be longer than that. I just checked and I guess I'm Exec Elite for National? I'm not sure what benefits that conveys.
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May 1, 2014 01:29
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I never got Pre-Check despite being extremely eligible due to some sort of mystery reasons that the government has not been able to explain to me. It's definitely not a similar name on the no-fly list; my name is extremely unique. This is why I'm doing the Global Entry application process.
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May 1, 2014 13:28
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Shbobdb posted:I'm in the same boat. I think either because I have some gaps in my housing record or because I subscribed to some revolutionary socialist magazines during college. If it were the latter, I'd expect to be straight-up on the no-fly list though. I also think it is due to housing record issues.
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May 1, 2014 15:09
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Belldandy posted:I have a hint, if you are silly enough to mention you may travel internationally for work, have a really good justification for why you are the ONLY PERSON in the entire world who can do what you do and why someone in country X can't. I got in to a bit of an argument because I had a "do you know who I am, I am the best in the world at this thing" sort of moment with the officer there and it wasn't clicking and I almost got arrested. Wait, why do they care about that? Isn't the program intended for frequent business travel?
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May 1, 2014 15:52
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Belldandy posted:Some countries, especially Canada and Brazil, are very protective of their workforce and don't want Americans going in to do a job that a citizen could do. It's really strange, I mentioned I visited a friend frequently in Brazil and all they asked was her name and moved on, the questions came when I mentioned business. I don't think you should lie and exclude it, but have a really good reason as to why you are the guy who has to travel. Good to know. Thanks!
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May 1, 2014 18:28
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Consulting, I presume, if you're doing Mon-Thurs?
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May 8, 2014 23:47
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Don't eat at the hotel if you can help it. Talk to folks about what's good in their city and keep good notes. Make sure you exercise as was stated before and that you eat correctly. If you have to track your expenses, figure out an optimal system to do that and keep up to date. Learn the ins and outs of your company's travel policy. Key questions - are you allowed to book econ+? are you allowed to use your weekend flight home to fly somewhere else instead? if there's a price differential, who pays it? etc. Get inflight wifi and pick an airline that has inflight wifi. (Posting from just over the Sandia mountains right now, hi guys!!) If you go to the same hotel repeatedly, leave some work clothes with the dry cleaner there to be cleaned over the weekend. Then you don't have to pack as much. Good luggage is key; we have luggagechat in this thread every ten pages or so.
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May 9, 2014 17:10
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As some of you may know, I did the AA status challenge and switched over from DM. I hit the gold part yesterday in a month; should hit plat in the next month. The process is pretty easy and costs a hundred bucks for Gold, $TBD for Plat. Of course I am currently folded in to the second to last row of a 738 cross-country with some rear end in a top hat in front of me leaned all the way back since my status didn't post til the flight filled up.
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May 9, 2014 17:12
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Get one of those little retractable ethernet cords. Wifi in hotels is a hit-or-miss business and wired internet usually works better.
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May 13, 2014 23:12
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I'm pissed at National since they used MyKey to limit the max speed of my rented Mustang to 80 and I had to bust rear end to make it to O'Hare last week. Still, I got a V6 mustang for no addition cost and it was kind of fun.
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May 18, 2014 19:48
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Belldandy posted:Jokes on you, all roads leading to ORD never get above 20mph. I was driving up from Peoria, so knowing that all the roads near ORD are slow as gently caress, my goal was to make up time in the incredibly fun and exciting stretches of I55.
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May 18, 2014 22:56
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The brand-new redesigned Impalas are really loving nice, though. Probably one of my favorite rental cars to get. edit: Also, gently caress SUVs. I went to a lot once, I think in Boston, and all they had were horrible Chevy Captivas, Terrains and minivans.
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May 19, 2014 02:37
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Yeah if at any moment you ask yourself "is what I'm doing something that FT people would do" and the answer is "yes" you should stop doing that thing.
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May 19, 2014 03:55
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In good news, I got a 300C AWD fully tricked out as my rental this week from National. Great car. Drinks gas like a ridge runner drinks shine. I too don't understand killing yourself to save the company money. Sure, I am all in favor of doing what it takes in situations where it doesn't induce significant additional risk, inconvenience or personal discomfort, but at some point you just have to recognize the realities of the situation.
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May 20, 2014 03:52
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Global Entry is the best thing ever.
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May 29, 2014 01:57
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Occasional travelers are the worst people in the world.
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May 29, 2014 13:08
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caberham posted:The more occasional travellers I see the happier I actually am because that means air travel is cheaper and more accessible. I do like secretly guessing their background, destination, and observe them. Even before I was flying regularly, I definitely wasn't challenged by the process. It's a matter of reading and comprehending instructions. There's definitely room for improvement, but the number one issue is sit the gently caress down til you're called. At my home airport, everyone crowds the heck out of the gate and spills in to the hall and is generally as stupid as possible boarding the plane. Buddy, they called people who need special assistance and your boarding pass has a big ole 5 on it. Sit back and relax, they ain't gonna take your seat. edit: I also wish that the bag sizer would be used correctly. I saw a guy cramming a vastly oversized bag in to an E-Jet overhead the other day. It was on JetBlue - free checked bags. He got it in, but it took two minutes for him to shoehorn the loving thing in. Just check it, buddy.
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May 29, 2014 18:25
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FrozenVent posted:You're supposed to carry that poo poo in a giant cheap semi-mesh plastic bag. You know exactly the ones I'm talking about. Bonus points for when it rips, scattering your loot everywhere throughout the terminal.
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May 29, 2014 18:44
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| # ¿ May 11, 2024 07:32 |
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Mackieman posted:Yeah, we often call that DYKWIA, Do You Know Who I Am. Ocassionally you'll see some fetid bastard actually deploy that line to an agent, and it's always cringe worthy. I have top tier status at United, Starwood, and Avis, and my poo poo most definitely smells as bad or worse (depending on whether or not I've been to China recently) than everyone else's. I am not a beautiful, unique snowflake. Some people (mostly self-entitled asshats) simply fail to understand that. Yeah, I don't get that either. As soon as I ever check in with a Delta agent they basically move heaven and earth for me or let me know very politely and apologetically that they can't. What do people expect?
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May 29, 2014 19:17
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