So I'm at a place now where I'm starting to travel more with the senior guys to meetings (the books need to get there somehow). They are pro-travelers: Tumi bags, mobile travel apps, premier status on various airlines, Global Entry / TSA Pre-check etc. I've picked up some tips to make it easier.
Does any one have good advice on how to improve work related travel? Specifically minimizing time to get through airport security? I have a T-Pass Tumi bag, will get Nexus / Global Entry / TSA Pre-Check, but don't know much about airline status and priority (maybe because I'm Canadian and I don't think we take it as seriously as you guys do - Air Canada, WestJet and Porter are pretty straight forward).
The reason I'm interested is because the senior guys often have a meeting end at 3 pm and a flight that leaves at 4 pm. They burn through security and I'm stuck looking like some idiot kid who lost his parents on vaca and it stresses me out because I often cut it pretty f'n close.
I was also wondering if anyone had any advice for preferred airlines / airports, how to get status, how you pick which airlines you try to build status on, comments on service reliability / quality etc.
For instance, do any of you use any of the following credit cards to build status?
- United MileagePlus Club Credit Card - Premier Access Travel Services: priority check-in, security screening (where available), boarding and baggage handling privileges
- Delta Reserve Credit Card from Amex - 15k MQM with qualifying annual spend, priority boarding
I know status programs start based on calendar years, so trying to plan ahead so next year my travel isn't so shitty. I'm desperately trying to make my travel suck less.
EDIT: (Apologies for stupid question) What's the difference between TSA-Precheck (Trusted Traveler) and Priority Security from airlines?
SB's for good advice or commentary.
seen many of my travel friends recommend the chase sapphire card, supposed to be the best one for travel https://creditcards.chase.com/credit-cards/sapphire-preferred-card.aspx
CSP is a great card for earning miles, but given that it is a Visa, and not a Co-branded card it will not contribute towards elite status which I believe is what the OP is asking for.
I would go with an American Airlines card as they have the best rewards program as of right now. Delta continues to devalue and has overcrowded and inflated status along with sub-par airline lounges (not that AAs are that much better).
In order to get through security faster, get Global Entry, which most of the time will give you TSA pre-check. Getting airline status will not help with this.
Yeah, I have the Sapphire card now after finally building up decent U.S. credit history. But, didn't realize earning points / miles, isn't the same as PQM or MQM for United / Delta.
Thanks for the tip.
Lol, wtf is going on around here???
Again, #4 is not good as you will miss out on a lot of the action, and the action is why we fly.
I would absolutely refuse to do #4, I have to be able to see traffic movement, as well as approach patterns for different runways at various airports. #WindowIsTheOnlyWayToTravel
http://www.flyertalk.com/
don't know why anyone threw monkey shit at you. Perfectly valid question. I don't know how it is, but at Heathrow if you have an Amex platinum you get to burn through security. You must fly from one airport all the time, look at what agreement they have. They most likely have an agreement with a specific credit card company - just get that card.
Ha. Thanks. To be fair, I figured I would probably get some monkey shit. It's hard to write a post like this without it sounding douchy. But I figured it would be worth it if I could get some good advice.
Thanks for the tip. I'm trying to better understand which of the three NYC airports are hubs for which airlines (and more importantly, have good routes to where my clients are).
A question like this is never too stupid to ask. Solutions can be relevant and helpful to those without any experience in this area =)
It's best to keep the travel to one airline. I'm signed up to the Delta Amex and SPG, which allow cross-rewards transferring. I've found this to be best to maximize my rewards. However, I would just go with the main airline in your hometown.
I did that cross-rewards. Is there any benefit besides transferring between programs? Most of the travel is short day trips (
ASIANS!
Never get behind people traveling with infants. I've never seen a stroller collapse in less than 20 minutes. Old people are worse. Their bodies are littered with hidden metal and they never seem to appreciate how little time they have left. Asians! They pack light, travel efficiently, and they have a thing for slip on shoes. Gotta love 'em.
Nice quote. Which movie was it from?
Up in the Air. Highly recommended movie. It's one of my top 10 films easily.
It's streaming on Netflix right now.
Up in the Air
Sick reference, bro.
dumb racist
Former Toronto based guy as well, used to do a lot of travel out of Pearson/Billy Bishop.
As others have said, never check a bag. I've done 3+ weeks on the road with carry-on plus laptop bag. You should be able to pack for at least a week with this setup and then use hotel laundry beyond that. Any junior guy who checks a bag will piss people off and never hear the end of it .
TSA precheck is critical in US/Can. Airline priority security lines are good as well, you get that through status or flying biz. I find some airports may have one or the other open so best to have both and pick the one with a shorter line. Precheck lets you avoid taking off shoes and liquids in some airports which is a bonus. Airline priority is just a shorter lineup.
Wallet/phone/watch should be in your bag before security to avoid taking them out of pockets and putting them back in. Take off jacket/shoes/belt before it gets to your turn. All this will become mechanical soon.
Check in online using your cellphone on the car ride to airport if possible. If not you should have pre checked in on your computer and use a kiosk to print boarding pass. Lining up to use airline staff to check in means you're waiting for the family ahead to pick their seats on their dream vacation to Miami.
Keep your flying to one airline/alliance. Status is only really useful at the top tier (UA Global Services, AC SE). When you get there use their dedicated concierge at hubs rather than regular staff, I've seen them hold flights to wait for a late pax etc.
Pick aisle seat near the exit. Large planes will use more than one exit. Do this while checking in online. In economy board first so you have luggage space directly above/in front of you. In biz board last so maximize productive time in the lounge.
If you're arriving at the airport more than an hour before departure, it should only be because you plan to use the lounges to shower/work/get sloshed.
If you regularly visit any city, find a trusted cabbie and get his number. Call ahead and have him wait for you somewhere. This helps skip long cab lines curbside, which will earn points with the snr guys. Obviously limo pre arranged negates this.
All this is more important that people give credit for. You do not want to be the one holding up your MD who is on his 6th flight of the week and is trying to catch a plane home to his kid's recital.
Brilliant. Love #5 as I feel the same way. As long as I'm by the gate, I'm not too fussed when I get on as the plane leaves at the same time for all of us. Just worried about bottle necks like security.
I've started relying on Uber for cars rather than airport limos assistants book in advance. Senior guys advised it because flights get delayed or cancelled and plans change. The software has really improved in like the last month. I swear I was on a trip about a month ago and the software was struggling to describe where I was to the driver (too many lanes etc. near the airport pick up). But now the software says Terminal D, Pick-up A or something like that and it is WAY easier.
Wish I could SB +2.
All fine tips above. One thing that I'll add based on my experience flying in the US.
If you have a bag that has to go into the overhead (which you shouldn't if you are only doing a 1 day trip), DO NOT pick a seat near the front of the plane until you have the status necessary to board before the masses. The only thing worse than checking a bag is having your bag in an overhead in the back of the plane. You end up having to wait for everyone else to deplane first before you can go back and get it. Sitting a few rows back from the "optimal" front of the plane reduces this risk; you can drop your bag in any overhead you see on the way to your spot, although you still want to try and put it above you as a courtesy to your fellow passengers.
This happened to me once (and I even board Zone 1 for Delta) and I swore never again. I'd rather be in the exit row or 10 rows back from the front of coach in an aisle seat than sit in the 2nd row and have to wait 15+ minutes watching all the slow people get off the plane.
TSA pre-check is a life saver. It's included with Global Entry for like $5 more, so just go global entry.
I'm aware. But this happened to me when I was Zone 1 with Delta (ahead of the masses on zone 2, but not as good as sky priority, which comes with Delta Gold status). I won't risk taking those seats again until I hit sky priority (which should be soon). Just me 2 cents.......I'd rather get off the plan 3 minutes later every time than have the stress of risking a 15+ minute blowup unpredictably.
TSA Pre-check is mandatory, I show up at the airport 10-15 min before boarding
Pick one airline and don't look back. If you're not flying a great distance than segments is the quickest way to obtain and keep status. As a result of the merger, US/AA FF programs are merged and both count towards your AA FF. US Air is the easiest airline to get upgrades on regardless of distance (on AA you have to use a 500 mile upgrades if >500 miles.) I have friends that are gold on Delta and don't even get preferred seats regularly. I haven't sat coach (unless a flight was cancelled and I have to hop on another) since I made platinum on US/AA. However, if you're traveling in the NE, Philly is a giant US Air hub and that airport is the worst in the US IMO.
Don't ever check a bag, even if they tag it while you're boarding because of size, still bring it on.
Travel Tips (Originally Posted: 08/27/2013)
Do you guys have any travel tips for me? I am thinking mainly trips that can be done over a (long) weekend, but am also open to suggestions for longer trips.
Thanks!
I'm back from Singapore, amazing city ! If you have time you can also travel abroad (Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia) and stay at 5* star hotels for approx. $120/night ;) I would recommend Air Asia and Jet Star for cheap flights from SG.
Hope this helped.
Sounds pretty good yeah, thanks. How long did you stay?
Bring your iTunes & listen to side one of Led Zeppelin 4
Where would you be making the trips from? Start with that.
Europe mostly, but I am just trying to gather general ideas and then take it from there.
Traveling alone or with friends?
Girlfriend mostly. May travel with a few mutual friends though as well
The main problem (if any) you'll face is the barrier of language. So make sure you have an app for that.
Else, in case of an emergency, make sure you know the equivalent of the ''911'' in every country you visit.
For anything else, look up ''lonelyplanet'' (and tripadvisor) for an exhaustive list of important things to know about any country.
I am a fan of Trip Advisor, their forums are good for debates between targeted locations. I like the Amalfi Coast and Lake Como, both in Italy. Swiss Alps (Lucerne as a base) and Prague are pretty cool as well. Too many ideas to list...
@Matrick
Lonelyplanet - I feel your situation and your "gf" companion :)
Say what?
Azores and Cape Verde are next on my travel list.
Btw, it's easier to recommend some travel destinations knowing what you want to do. Are you looking for sick parties? Beautiful nature and landscapes? Shopping? Nice beaches and constant swell for surfing? etc.
Good question...I'd say I am open to all of the above. I am more interested in hearing where people went where they say "it was amazing, you have to go!"
Since you are from Toronto, fly Porter as much as you can!!!! I can leave the office ~40 min before a flight and get there with time to spare, getting to Pearson is much more of a pain, especially around rush hour. Flying into NYC / DC is a bit of a pain since you arrive at Newark / Dulles, but you save so much time in Toronto, it's overall worth it (I go to NYC 2-3 times a month so I have done quite a bit of testing to find what's the fastest way into town). Plus Porter has arguably the most generous frequent flyer miles.
I don't even know why I am repeating, but Nexus / Global Entry is the best $50 you'll ever spend in your life! And if you have just applied and only managed to secure an interview in months, keep checking for cancelled appointments, they pop up all the time so you can schedule something much faster this way.
From Toronto, but live in NYC now. Fly Porter when I go back to Toronto. Apparently, they are in the process of improving their VIP Porter program. And last time I traveled to TO was the week before they opened the bridge.
sorry, I assumed you were Toronto based. The tunnel is a game changer, so much faster and convenient than the ferry. And yes, they did some pretty big change to VIPorter. It's now $ based and it's pretty easy to get the top tier.
This is totally ridiculous. Yeah, VIPorter might be a great program in terms of $$$ invested : rewards earned, but the best you can do is spend those on a vacation in Myrtle Beach. Better to fly AC exclusively and enjoy the rewards of being able to fly from YYZ to anywhere in the world for your vacations.
Traditional programs really screw you on short distance flights as the reward / $$ spent makes no sense (ie. a business class round trip usually cost about the same as a fligh to Asia, yet you get 10x+ more miles on the flight to Asia). United, Delta and I think American have moved their program to be based on $$ spent so that's not an issue with those anymore, but still is with other programs.
Let's take YYZ - LGA as an example. it's 310 nautical miles so assuming you fly business, you get 930 miles per round trip (310 * 150% * 2). So in order to get a free flight on the same route, you need to fly 22 round trips. A summer flight to Europe is 100,000 miles so unless you take some longer flights for business, your miles are going to expire before you can redeem them on a trip.
Now, doing the same with porter, you earn 3,000 points on a round trip flight, but only need 15,000 to get a free flight so you only need 5 round trip to get a free ticket. Of course the choice of destinations is limited, but most people will travel a few times a year within their network (family, weddings, seeing friends, etc) so those free tickets come in handy.
At the end of the day, the best program is the one that provide you with the biggest value. Whatever constitute value differs across people, but for short term flight, I think VIPorter is pretty hard to beat.
Excellent thread. Thanks.
If you want to get through quickly, I recommend carrying two bags. They don't make you take liquids out separately now so that will alter the strategy. You'll want one medium sized bag with your clothes in it. You're going to go through security with it and I'll tell you what to do with it later. Make sure it has ONLY clothes in it (no liquids/electronics/anything dubious) so that you don't need to unpack it. Your second bag should be a laptop bag (or similar) where you keep your large electronics. The laptop should be easily accessable. Put all your "pocket" items (sans ID/boarding pass) and liquids in your laptop bag in the accessories compartment on the outside while or before you're in line as well as your belt. Once you get up to the checkpoint all you have to do is pull your shoes off, put your laptop out (will take a second or two with a real laptop bag), and walk on through.
Here's the kicker: get to your terminal few a minutes early. You're going to gate-check your clothes bag. It's dramatically faster than recovering checked baggage and free.
Obviously this strategy works only if you're traveling entirely with TSA approved items. Try to take sporting gear, a bottle of wine, or anything like that and you need to check.
Dumdum, you wait for your amex plat 100k mile$$$ offer, get global entry for free, then buy $200 worth of AA gift cards. That way, it'll only end up costing you $150 for your very own membership card to The League of Doucheordinary Gentlemen
On cards & status programs -
Take a few days to do some research yourself. Start with all 3 of these sites: www.reddit.com/r/churning Flyertalk Milepoint
Honestly TSA Pre-Check for the win. Saves a ton of time, you don't have to take things out for security, no line, etc. In my opinion this is the biggest value add for travel efficiency.
Other than that do some research on good travel credit cards, and start building miles on a single airline.
I never check bags and I always look for aisle seats so I can get up quickly at the end of the flight.
All the advice on here has been pretty solid.
I know some of this has already been said, but I'd suggest the following:
1) As mentioned - never anything more than a carry on. 2) Go with Global Entry. Once you've done it, you get a Known Traveler Number (KTN). With the KTN, you put it on every booking you make after that, and voila, you are TSA Pre-Check every time. 3) Pick a preferred airline for travel based on where you work. Do a lot in the Mid-West? United is huge. South East? American or Delta (depending where you're connecting). Point is, picking an airline is a bit like picking your college - where do you want to wind up? 4) Certain credit cards can help immensely with building up miles and status. Not sure which one to go with? Check out The Points Guy (http://thepointsguy.com/); great summaries, explanations of how to maximize miles, and alerts on credit card offers. 5) Know the layouts on different airplanes - I'd suggest SeatGuru. This won't help you so much with zipping through the terminal, but there are a lot of flights that have great seat locations (e.g. USAir A321s have an exit row that has no seats in front of them, effectively giving you 2x leg room). This is great for letting you get more shit done on longer flights and/or getting some rest so you can crush it at your final destination or be ready to go out when you get home. 6) For destressing, I got a piece of advice from a client once: "There's always another flight." It's true... if you miss your flight, change fees aren't that much in the grand scheme of things, so don't sweat it. If you need to change things up, you can - I just hope you're not going to some place with shitty connections. 7) Know which airports are notorious for running late (EWR) and which are slow to get around (DFW) and plan accordingly. This is probably more of an experience thing than anything else. 8) Once you start accumulating miles, check for using them to upgrade, without waiting for the free upgrades. You can spend 7-15k miles and move from the back of the can up to the front. If you've got a credit card that's giving you double miles anyway, on a 3k mile flight, you're really only burning 7-8k miles to get a first class seat.
Best of luck and happy travels.
Good questions. I work on an international fund and easily fly 150k+ miles a year so have lots of experience in this realm. Some of my advice only pertains to international travel:
Bose QC25 headphones. Buy them.
understand the frequent flier program for your default airline and alliance. If you're Canadian, your default frequent flier program is probably Air Canada and your default alliance is Star Alliance. Do research on flyertalk etc. for details.
Try to book all your travel on this airline so you reach this highest status tier.
Get access to the lounge/club. On most airlines (AA excluded), once you reach a certain tier you get access to the lounges. Lounges = good wifi, a place to work, free food and drinks, no screaming children and dumbs, etc. Most international lounges have showers too.
check and recheck your seat upon arrival, ESPECIALLY if you are flying longhaul business class (i.e. you turned your seat into a bed and slept). I have lost more stuff than I can count because it slips under the seat or in a storage bin and I forget about it.
always carry some foreign currency on you. Don't assume they will take cards.
Some of this is surprisingly bad advice from someone who is top tier status.
Garment bags - correct me if I'm wrong but carry-on + garment bag + laptop/messenger bag = check a bag. If your suits are of good quality and you know how to pack, you should be able to fit three suits in a carry-on without a problem and with no wrinkling.
Wearing work clothes on a flight helps you pack lighter or opens up room for less delicate casual clothing.
Aisle still more important for getting off quickly, and for long haul business you should be choosing 1-2-1 configurations or the middle row in a 2-2-2 anyways.
Bose sucks.
Who are all these people spilling drinks on you?
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