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shrike82 posted:I'll be embarking on a 6-week business trip to Canada and Asia. My flights have been booked (biz class). Where are you going in Asia?
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Apr 26, 2013 05:59
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Many of my coworkers have had luck calling AA and asking them to match Delta status. One girl moved from Atlanta to Dallas last year and AA basically handed her Plat. Speaking of credit cards, I'm considering dropping my Citi AAdvantage for Chase Sapphire Preferred. I get enough miles from work travel, and I think UR points are way more valuable than what I get from my Citi. However, I don't know if I like the idea of having to book fun travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards. I've heard hotels are often more expensive, it's a huge hassle, etc. Thoughts?
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May 22, 2013 03:53
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Nifty posted:Mileage not doing great but on track to hit Diamond on Hilton! Congrats! I'll make gold, but probably not until late August. At least the Hilton Gods take pity on me with occasional drink tickets. Unfortunately, hotel bars are a minefield... today, some old drunk guy followed me from the lobby bar and tried to kiss me in the elevator. Free drinks =  As for miles, I have discovered that AA Plat gets me practically nothing over Gold, and Gold gets me nothing over having the Citi credit card.
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May 23, 2013 07:31
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The remodeled half of DFW Terminal A has been mostly great except now it takes forever to get through security, even with status. Source: I've been standing in it for 20 minutes. At least my flight is delayed 
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Jun 17, 2013 13:50
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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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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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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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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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Southwest just announced that they're going to devalue their points by 10¢ starting March 2014. One of my friends is trying to dump 500,000 of them by flying his friends around at a discount or maybe by going to Vegas 71 times.
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Sep 24, 2013 14:11
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American Airlines posted:You can now earn and redeem AAdvantage miles when flying on American or US Airways. All eligible travel on either airline will count toward elite status qualification in the program of your choosing. I have a ton of east coast trips I need to book that tend to be a huge pain on just AA, so I am pleased that the points merger is starting so soon. Edit: I recently got suckered (??) into buying one of those Hilton Grand Vacation things in Hawaii. Basically, I got a pretty decent hotel discount, points, and a bunch of travel vouchers but I have to go to a presentation of their timeshare program. Has anyone done this promotion before? taco show fucked around with this message at 18:00 on Jan 7, 2014 |
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Jan 7, 2014 17:57
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I'm on FT only because many members are super spergy so they have awesome, intricate spreadsheets and good tips and discount codes once you wade through the BS. I once, out of curiosity, went to a meetup and the members are just as insufferable in real life. snugglebunny posted:Do you know how AA miles work? I've decided I want to see more places, so started traveling for pleasure and so far have got around 34,000 miles saved up but have no idea what they are for or how they work. Heck, I'm not even sure if that's a lot of miles even. Do they expire? Do I have to call up to use them? Someone said I can upgrade out of coach with them on the website but I have no idea how to do it. I guess it's something I should just call about but at this point but maybe someone can inform me exactly what the miles are good for. 34k is certainly enough to redeem for one or two domestic flights. If you book far enough in advance, you can find 12.5k flights. If you are thinking international, try to book off-peak. It will save you a lot of miles at the cost of maybe being a weird time to be in that country. Here's the rewards chart: http://www.aa.com/i18n/disclaimers/free-ticket-award-chart.jsp Also, AA almost always has some bonus offers running. For example, they're currently offering double miles to Asia (NRT or ICN) until Feb 1. There's a credit card, too, that you can sign up for and they dump a bunch of miles in your account. I think some people were getting up to 100k (75k sign up + 25k spending bonus) last year? Crazy.
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Jan 20, 2014 17:12
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I'm stuck at SJC for four more hours so I bought the day pass to the ANA lounge. It's pretty nice- quiet, not crowded, hot food, decent booze selection- totally worth the $35
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Feb 6, 2014 19:16
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Also, see if they have some kind of fast track program for status. I was able to get Hilton gold within the first three months of road warrioring.
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May 8, 2014 00:21
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^ I too have separate toiletries for travel. I actually like to keep a little pouch of less often used items in my travel bag at all times, like Tylenol, dry shampoo, a Tide Stick (I don't think I've actually used this ever), and nail polish remover wipes (I use e.l.f.)... for example if, the night before a big presentation, you realize you still have on penis nail stickers from a bachelorette party. I also pack a car charger and an aux line in my backpack. Having my own tunes/gps is a nice way to not go crazy if I have to do a lot of driving. Oh, and DRINK LOTS OF WATER.
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May 10, 2014 00:17
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I also dislike the suits that put their one small carry on and jacket in the overhead compartment on a full flight. Yo there's a space under the seat for your bag, stop being a dick. It slows down the boarding process when we inevitably run out of space and flight attendants have to play tiny bag tetris with your poo poo.
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May 29, 2014 17:49
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We should send each other postcards. Although I'm not sure how many of you want stuff from Marysville, OH or El Paso... my job doesn't quite take me to the most glamorous places. I do use Foursquare/Swarm on the road, which ends up being pretty cool to see where I've been over the past few years. Fryhtaning posted:Reading about all those awesome un-wheeled bags is exciting my inner metrosexual. I think I'm more excited about a couple of those options than my wife was about her last Coach purse. Speaking of, re: $250 pieces of luggage... do you even bring it up with your employers as something to expense, or are you typically on your own for that kind of thing? I do know that office equipment, including an office chair "within reason", will be covered. Re: doing stuff on flights: I actually will just play games on my iPad on the flight, which usually isn't as necessary battery-life wise when I land. Or read. When I was doing 75% travel I was going through a book a week. One time, a lady on a NY-LA flight busted out her entire makeup regimen next to me and basically gave herself a spa treatment. Hung a mirror off that latch that holds the tray table up and everything.
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Jul 17, 2014 22:42
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Anyone want a postcard from Bellevue/Seattle? PM me Also, the Westin here is really, really nice. The whole area is fancy.
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Aug 5, 2014 01:51
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I'm heading directly from work travel in El Paso to LA to fun travel in Hawaii next week and I can't believe I somehow fit 2.5 weeks of radically different clothing, three pairs of shoes (heels!), and all my vacation poo poo into a carryon rollerbag. It's very heavy. I'm reaaaally trying to avoid hotel shampoo in the sink laundry.caberham posted:Thanks travel goon. Awesome post card from Seattle 
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Aug 22, 2014 04:08
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They just took away our car allowance ($6500!!), so I feel you dude.  Our travel booking portal is also not bad, but I sometimes end up searching outside the site to get the times and hotel locations I want first. Then I fiddle with the portal search parameters to get exactly what I want. Also, Seattle, what the hell?  
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Sep 4, 2014 02:28
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There's two AA Admiral's Club lounges in Term 3. The one in the H-K concourse is pretty big and has food for purchase and showers. Both have free drinks (please tip your bartenders). I usually get a sandwich at the Bayless spot and then go up to the lounge to work. It's not ~super luxe~ or anything but it works alright for me (yogurt pretzels!).
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Sep 12, 2014 15:36
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To be fair, I like that the PHL Admirals Club is self serve so no one can judge me when I get that fourth helping of Yuengling and cucumber finger sandwiches. Anyway, I just flew one of AA's upgraded 737-800 and they are niiiiice. Multiple power outlets on every seat! Legroom even when not in MCE/F! I think there was even an S-Video cable? I didn't recognize the plug shape.
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Sep 12, 2014 18:18
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Probably only tangentially related to many of us, but SAP just bought Concur http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/dealbook/2014/09/18/sap-buys-concur-technologies-for-8-3-billion/ I wonder of they're going to do anything interesting with Tripit now, too.
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Sep 19, 2014 00:06
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I'm about 5k miles short on AA for the year and work travel has slowed to basically nothing. I'm based out of ORD so there's not a ton of great long haul AA deals (I miss you, DFW). Currently these are my options: 1. Do some overkill mileage run to Europe (Found a $583 to Stockholm but it's 16 hours and 2+ stops... yeeeesh) 2. Fly some weird domestic-ish routes? Maybe a triangle to cold rainy places in the beginning of December? 3. Actually book fun travel for a weekend (I'd need multiple domestic routes or one expensive international route.) 4. Buy the goddamn miles HELP taco show fucked around with this message at 19:34 on Oct 7, 2014 |
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Oct 7, 2014 19:31
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AA just sent out an email with the new combined status perks that start Jan 1. Exec Plat is now 120 segments, which I will probably never make with my current travel. Thankfully, they're keeping the rest of the segments/miles/points the same (for now). quote:Once we combine programs, systemwide upgrades can be used on any American and US Airways marketed and operated flights worldwide.
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Oct 28, 2014 18:37
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My coworker has one (and a FT lapel pin... seriously) and he says he gets harassed more for using our vaguely evil/skynet company's luggage handle cover. In other news, I get to drive from Chicago to Oshkosh, WI tomorrow. I haven't been on a plane in more than a month and it's starting to itch.
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Nov 5, 2014 22:01
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I'm in sales consulting which means I get to use meaningless business phrases like "boil the ocean" all the time. My territory currently covers everything in the Central to Pacific time zones, but occasionally a client or our sales team will request that I go out of the country. When I was based out of DFW I flew a ton, but now that I live in Chicago, a lot of my deals are juuuust close enough that flying no longer makes sense (Milwaukee, Fond du Lac, South Bend, etc. etc.) and my air miles have dropped significantly.
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Nov 6, 2014 06:57
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The Risk posted:No fancy expense system. We have this oracle looking lovely expense system.
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Nov 9, 2014 17:33
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sellouts posted:I mean I've been on flights with over 40 exec plats on them. It all just depends.
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Nov 11, 2014 06:23
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Xguard86 posted:Right now I'm flying the people's republic of southwest so no can do. Being hungover on a plane is incredibly uncomfortable. I usually just try to get drunk again on bloodys (if I'm not going to see a client). Also, I use an inflatable neck pillow because I am slightly too short for the headrests. The biggest issue I had was there was no way to make it stay put so I mostly wear it inside a zip hoodie with the hood up. It makes me look like a college student and I get major side eye from all the suits I board in front of.
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Nov 12, 2014 06:11
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My stupid AA mileage run is set for this coming Tuesday. I plan on finishing the entire first season of Broad City and reading as much airport fiction as I can until my various devices die. I'm not going to be able to make my Hilton goal, but I'm ambivalent on them after my weird Grand Vacations experience. How is everyone doing on status? One month to go- hope you have your mileage runs planned.
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Nov 28, 2014 06:52
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Aristotle Animes posted:GS-Plat just got comp'd prez circle with Hertz this coming year which is good because I think I would have missed re-qual by 2-3 rentals... and I wouldn't have cared much anyway unless going back through SFO, where the prez circle cars ruled.  Also, more pleasure-travel related, but has anyone actually put hockey skates in a carry on recently? I don't want to check them as they are pretty new and expensive, etc. The TSA site says they're not prohibited, but I don't have skate guards, and they're literally shoes with knives on the bottom.
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Dec 1, 2014 06:44
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A friend was put up in a Residence Inn for a YEAR right after we graduated. Luckily, this was in Madison, WI (cheap rent!) so he took the hotel and also rented a room in some random house on campus with three college dudes. Whenever I went to Madison for work I'd sit on their gross couch and play Gretzky 64.Uncle Jam posted:It really depends on location, I think I could go pretty much indefinitely in a hotel in New York or Tokyo, but like a Garden Inn next to a highway interchange in the middle of suburbia wouldn't last me 3 weeks.
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Dec 4, 2014 05:56
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I just got assigned my first travel of 2015... to Toronto... in mid January.  Can I get Global Entry in time? It might be worth it anyway even if I miss the dates because I don't have precheck either. Schlepping it with the plebes keeps me humble, you know?
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Dec 12, 2014 06:46
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For those of you keeping score, I just got approved for Global Entry in less than a month. It took roughly 24 hours for the background check to go through, despite having 8 addresses for the past five years and some weird employment history/gaps (I was a student). For the interview, ORD is wide freaking open for reservations right now and I could have gone in literally the next day, but I couldn't find my passport. The interview itself was less than 20 minutes. I got the final approval email on the way home on the blue line.
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Dec 24, 2014 17:25
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Cheapest flights per your airline of choice. We have to get special approval if it's booked within a week. "Company preferred" hotels and hotel rates- this includes the major chains, but there is usually nothing over $275/night. Dinner is usually around $30-40 if I'm not with clients but there's no hard and fast limit. I'm in sales, though, so we get a lot more leeway to spend money. I've been at dinners where we blew $100+ per person (mostly alcohol heh), but we were celebrating a big win. If the deal size is big enough then the company is ok with spendier meals or travel. ETA: The food spend allowance has totally ruined me. I went straight out of school into this role so I'd have steaks on weekdays and whatever I could scrabble together, college style, on the weekends. I've gained a lot of weight
taco show fucked around with this message at 07:28 on Jan 6, 2015 |
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Jan 6, 2015 07:24
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Well poo poo, I left my corporate card at home. Guess I'm floating this Canadian trip on my personal card. At least I get points?
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Jan 13, 2015 12:35
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Thoguh posted:Oh man, I'm glad you posted that. I departing on a last minute trip in about an hour and had totally forgotten to put my corporate card back into my wallet until I read your post. I'm here for you Also, anyone have suggestions for what's good around downtown Toronto? I'm in the financial district (Hilton) and it's apparently a restaurant wasteland. I'll be eating solo tonight and taking out youngish (late 20s) clients for happy hour tomorrow.
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Jan 13, 2015 20:51
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It's such a short flight though... Barely 1:20 on the long end. I usually only try for upgrades in flights closer to 3+ hours
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Jan 16, 2015 03:12
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Edit: ^ it can be as low as 12.5k for a domestic ticket! Might as well keep it active Yeah, puchu, what's your goal here? It seems very weird that you can get a deal like that via miles on AA. They've tightened up a lot of the reward travel in the past years. Cocoa Crispies posted:TripIt is probably the best way to do this. Also, I believe once a numbrt is assigned to an itinerary, it's very hard to combine trips. That's what's true for AA, at least. taco show fucked around with this message at 21:57 on Jan 19, 2015 |
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Jan 19, 2015 21:54
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| # ¿ May 2, 2024 17:46 |
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Well, I certainly see it available for 60k miles. Hopefully it sticks around for you! Maybe try and work out a deal with a friend to gift you the miles. Also, that iten is a slog. 33 hours good loving lord.
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Jan 19, 2015 22:28
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