Travel hacks and advice

[Peruvian]

Frontier Airlines just pulled out of BTV so cheap flights to DEN and MCO are no longer available.

[huckbucket]

As a 1K you qualify for Star Alliance Gold which gives you 1 free checked bag up to 70lbs. You also should get some status recognition and benefits between 1K United and Air Canada: access to the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounges, additional baggage allowance, priority boarding (Zone 2), security and check-in.

Best bet would be to call Air Canada and confirm, but you should be good to go. Big picture, they're moving towards more teamwork and cross-platform benefits: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-rele...301591571.html

Thanks

[basinbeater]

American airlines shuffled their flight schedule for bolivia a tiny bit and then informed us that we needed to pay $150 more a head to get there. My wife of course paid right up, and i got pissed and gave them a piece of my mind and got the money refunded. They just try to fuck you over because they can and most people roll over and take it.
We are not big AA flyers, so no fancy points with those guys, but still. Grrrrrrrr.

[alpinevibes]

American airlines shuffled their flight schedule for bolivia a tiny bit and then informed us that we needed to pay $150 more a head to get there. My wife of course paid right up, and i got pissed and gave them a piece of my mind and got the money refunded. They just try to fuck you over because they can and most people roll over and take it.
We are not big AA flyers, so no fancy points with those guys, but still. Grrrrrrrr.

That doesn't sound right - the $150 is there standard change fee for voluntary modifications to a reservation, but in the event of a schedule change, you shouldn't have to pay it.

But... I don't know AA's policies that well and can't surmise easily from googling. When United makes a schedule change ahead of time, even 5min, I can call and get rebooked on basically any flight I want within 24hrs to/from the original destinations.

What changes were made to the new schedule? Were you booked on different flights with different flight numbers? All AA flights or codeshare?

[basinbeater]

It had something to do with our transfer in Brazil to a Brazilian airline which then goes to bolivia. When they made the change, we lost our assigned seats, and so we technically would not have had to pay, but we would not have had assigned seat. They wanted $150 to book the new assigned seats. We have a 7 and a 10yo. So need the assigned seats. A stiff talking to and the money was quickly refunded.

[old goat]

It had something to do with our transfer in Brazil to a Brazilian airline which then goes to bolivia. When they made the change, we lost our assigned seats, and so we technically would not have had to pay, but we would not have had assigned seat. They wanted $150 to book the new assigned seats. We have a 7 and a 10yo. So need the assigned seats. A stiff talking to and the money was quickly refunded.

You threw away a chance to not have to sit with your kids on a long flight? What's the matter with you?

[liv2ski]

Thanks for the laugh OG.

[riser4]

You threw away a chance to not have to sit with your kids on a long flight? What's the matter with you?

This. That happened to me on a family vacation once. It was glorious. My wife wasn't so happy, but it was her idea for me to sign up when they asked for volunteers to take a later flight. In the end they didn't need me, but they had already given away my seats. I ended up on the same flights, in different seats. Bummer, right? They were in rare form, ages 16, 12, and 10. Punches may have been thrown and a water bottle definitely got dumped by one kid on another sibling.

[jm2e]

Headed back to Italy next September. Might make one additional flight in the year for a funeral or family reunion I get scammed into.
Does it make sense for me to get a United Airlines card?

Is there a "best time" to think about pulling the trigger on the air tickets?

[m2711c]

United card will cost you $90 a year after the first year.


60 days out from travel date.

[alpinevibes]

Headed back to Italy next September. Might make one additional flight in the year for a funeral or family reunion I get scammed into.
Does it make sense for me to get a United Airlines card?

Is there a "best time" to think about pulling the trigger on the air tickets?

To me it's definitely always worth it to take the free miles: either you bank them for later or you cover at least one free ticket to Europe. If you sign up now, you could have the miles ready to go by Feb/March depending on how quickly you can finish the required spend.

You'll take 65,000 free with the Explorer card after spending $3000.
Or you can take 80,000 free from United Business card (you don't have to actually have a business) after spending $5000.

Call to cancel when the first year is up and hopefully they'll waive the fee and you can keep the card, or cancel it, or they'll try to get you to downgrade it to a no-annual-fee United Gateway Card, but that has no benefit to you.

[paulster2626]

Is there a "best time" to think about pulling the trigger on the air tickets?

I use skyscanner.com - you can put in all sorts of specific criteria for your preferred flights (times, non-stop, etc) and it'll email you when the prices change. I use it every time.

[paulster2626]

Discovered this fun trick that airlines hate coming back from Florida a couple weeks ago.

Problem: I have brought only carry-on luggage to avoid checked bag fees, and really didn't need a lot of stuff anyway. While on vacation I purchased some rum and now need to check this bag otherwise I will either have to dump or chug 2L of straight booze at security.

Solution: Airlines like having as little crap in the cabin as possible. They don't want you to carry-on your stuff. So, ask them if you can check your carry-on for free. They will most likely do it, I just learned while coming home.

[riser4]

Should have gone for option 2.

[Danno]

Discovered this fun trick that airlines hate coming back from Florida a couple weeks ago.

Problem: I have brought only carry-on luggage to avoid checked bag fees, and really didn't need a lot of stuff anyway. While on vacation I purchased some rum and now need to check this bag otherwise I will either have to dump or chug 2L of straight booze at security.

Solution: Airlines like having as little crap in the cabin as possible. They don't want you to carry-on your stuff. So, ask them if you can check your carry-on for free. They will most likely do it, I just learned while coming home.

That usually works at the gate, ie after you've gone through security. Only occasionally works at the ticket counter. And if it doesn't work, you're either spending a bunch of money to keep that rum or getting really really drunk for your flight.

[alpinevibes]

Discovered this fun trick that airlines hate coming back from Florida a couple weeks ago.

Problem: I have brought only carry-on luggage to avoid checked bag fees, and really didn't need a lot of stuff anyway. While on vacation I purchased some rum and now need to check this bag otherwise I will either have to dump or chug 2L of straight booze at security.

Solution: Airlines like having as little crap in the cabin as possible. They don't want you to carry-on your stuff. So, ask them if you can check your carry-on for free. They will most likely do it, I just learned while coming home.

Wait… so you’ve actually “chugged” 2L of liquor before at security???

[Bobcat Sig]

A big fuck you to Medallion members from Delta this morning via email, re: lounge access.

As one, I wasn't sure what to make of that announcement. I don't like it, but I get it. In nearly every lounge I visit; they are wedged. Packed with skillet-lickers, people sitting in corners, and generally over-run. SLC and MSP were always the worst. Delta had to do something, and unfortunately, to reduce over-crowding, they upped the requirements for entrants. Shitty. I don't know another way to do it.

Between work travel and running most expenses through my Platinum AmEx, it's easy to attain Platinum every year.

What chaps my ass though is the removal of the guest pass. My wife and I rarely travel together and now that we are able to do so now, going forward, we won't be able to use the guest pass. Shitty.

[thefortrees]

^^^ I usually stick it to the man in the over crowded united club by drinking way too many free beers and eating 5-6 overflowing plates of mediocre food from the buffet.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[Bobcat Sig]

^^^ I usually stick it to the man in the over crowded united club by drinking way too many free beers and eating 5-6 overflowing plates of mediocre food from the buffet.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

Bonus if you posted this while sitting in a United lounge

[zion zig zag]

As one, I wasn't sure what to make of that announcement. I don't like it, but I get it. In nearly every lounge I visit; they are wedged. Packed with skillet-lickers, people sitting in corners, and generally over-run. SLC and MSP were always the worst. Delta had to do something, and unfortunately, to reduce over-crowding, they upped the requirements for entrants. Shitty. I don't know another way to do it.

Between work travel and running most expenses through my Platinum AmEx, it's easy to attain Platinum every year.

What chaps my ass though is the removal of the guest pass. My wife and I rarely travel together and now that we are able to do so now, going forward, we won't be able to use the guest pass. Shitty.

Oh they've been crowded as fuck lately (although I thought the new SLC lounge was always pretty empty?). But they basically said fuck you to Delta's best customers and turned it into an Amex lounge. The way I understand it we'll still have access to partner lounges (AF/KLM, LATAM, etc.) on return flights? If true, that makes it sting less because that's when I really care.

[old goat]

Discovered this fun trick that airlines hate coming back from Florida a couple weeks ago.

Problem: I have brought only carry-on luggage to avoid checked bag fees, and really didn't need a lot of stuff anyway. While on vacation I purchased some rum and now need to check this bag otherwise I will either have to dump or chug 2L of straight booze at security.

Solution: Airlines like having as little crap in the cabin as possible. They don't want you to carry-on your stuff. So, ask them if you can check your carry-on for free. They will most likely do it, I just learned while coming home.

When my kid graduated med school in Bethesda he went on vacation before residency and asked us to take his uniforms and some other stuff back home to CA. His bag was overweight so I moved some stuff to my carryon, including a fifth of bourbon rolled up in one of his uniform pants. When that was caught by TSA my wife took the bourbon and disappeared. Figured she'd pass out from drinking it all and miss the flight. But she managed to get it all into plastic bags she found somewhere and got it through security. And miraculously none of it leaked.

[phatty]

The way I understand it we'll still have access to partner lounges (AF/KLM, LATAM, etc.) on return flights? If true, that makes it sting less because that's when I really care.

This is all I really care about. That's really the only time I use them anyway.

[zion zig zag]

A big fuck you to Medallion members from Delta this morning via email, re: lounge access.

Well, despite the change SLC skyclub was packed this morning. By the time we left they were holding people at the door until others left.

[BmillsSkier]

Wait… so you’ve actually “chugged” 2L of liquor before at security???

Waste not, want not.

[paulster2626]

Wait… so you’ve actually “chugged” 2L of liquor before at security???

No, but that's the choices you have available.

I have chugged about 400mL of hot coffee at security before out of a travel mug. That was a good time.