Travel hacks and advice

**Micol** · 10-23-2018, 07:13 PM

If u check a bag u will not be able to refresh after flight in airline club because your bag in the terminal going round and round can get stolen/ most airlines are not checking claim ticket to bags at baggage claim

Ps tsa precheck is good free with American cc, however not all airports will have pre open and u still have to remove steel toe boots in pre

**iceman** · 10-23-2018, 07:26 PM

Really just don't check a bag. Get good at packing. I'm getting better at it but still flail a bit.

**Bruce Springskiin** · 10-23-2018, 07:37 PM

Oh, I don’t wear complicated boots or shoes or pants that require a belt to stay up. It is nice to have my shit together going through security and not have to put everything back together at the exit. Usually flying for personal travel so prefer my leather rainbow flip flops. If I had to I’d only wear shoes I can easily slip on and off on the plane, and in the security line

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**riser4** · 10-23-2018, 07:46 PM

If you DO need something to keep your pants up, go to suspenderstore.com and get the buzz-not suspenders. I have had many security folks in a bunch of countries marvel over them. I forget if they sell a buzz-not belt.

**Soups** · 10-23-2018, 07:46 PM

Look into the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. 3x points on everything travel related and restaurants, 2x on everything else. I guess it depends on your home airport for an airline hub but United and SW are point partners, so it's great for Denver. You also get a $300 per year travel credit and free Precheck and Global Entry every 5 years. They also have lounge partners at certain airports.

Ditto on trying to choose one airline/hotel chain and sticking with them.

**Supermoon** · 10-23-2018, 07:52 PM

Originally Posted by riser3

If you DO need something to keep your pants up, go to suspenderstore.com and get the buzz-not suspenders. I have had many security folks in a bunch of countries marvel over them. I forget if they sell a buzz-not belt.

Arcade belts FTW. Support your pants and a Mag.

If you can’t pick a single hotel chain you can always go with something like Hotels.com or Expedia. They will give you free rooms as well. Not as nice as having status at the hotels but better than nothing.

If you’re into it, bring a skateboard (not international, they are usually weird about it). It’s a fun way to cover ground in new cities. Same goes for the city bikes and now e-scooters. Those are cheap ways to explore.

**Bruce Springskiin** · 10-23-2018, 08:15 PM

I had a fling with a girl for a couple layovers that didn’t really have a home, a 4Runner and a storage shed. Her job had her traveling all the time. Home on the weekends was where she chose. She would coordinate checking her skis to be able to ski on the weekends. Bike or hike? Visit family or friends. It was eventually exhausting? But a lot of fun for a while

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**riser4** · 10-23-2018, 09:00 PM

Originally Posted by Supermoon

Arcade belts FTW. Support your pants and a Mag.

I need suspenders.

**booner** · 10-23-2018, 09:01 PM

Originally Posted by Soups

Ditto on trying to choose one airline/hotel chain and sticking with them.

I try to stick with preferred airline cause that's the hardest and most valuable status to earn.

For hotels I pick whatever Marriott/SPG or Hilton makes the most sense. I have decent status at both and can always find a good one anywhere I go

Best value by far is Embassy Suites. Big rooms, good free breakfast and free cocktails for couple hrs every night.

I use my free rooms for going to Bruins games and my kids hockey tourneys. Having more options there is nice too.

I used to be Marriott only but it's much better using both

**XXX-er** · 10-23-2018, 09:13 PM

I can stuff enough clothing into 40L ski pack for a month in europe, check nothing ... lose nothing

**booner** · 10-23-2018, 09:16 PM

Originally Posted by XXX-er

I can stuff enough clothing into 40L ski pack for a month in europe, check nothing ... lose nothing

Yeah...NEVER check a bag unless absolutely necessary. That's rule #1

**booner** · 10-23-2018, 09:24 PM

Originally Posted by RootSkier

The TSA doesn't care about edibles.

TSA doesn't care about any kind of weed. Keep it on you in carry-on.

Preflight pen hits in bathroom are mandatory

**warthog** · 10-23-2018, 09:25 PM

Originally Posted by iceman

Get an Amex Platinum card and you can use the lounges at airports all over the place. https://www.americanexpress.com/idc/...ollection.html

Yup- that is key- other benefits are pretty sweet too.

**Tor-tour** · 10-23-2018, 10:10 PM

I’ve got 110 nights this year on the road.

That being said. In the airport, if your airport has CLEAR do it. Don’t think about it, just sign up and move on. You need TSA Precheck too, but I have not waited more than 1 minute this year in any airport.

Carryon, and get a card or join a club in the airport you travel most. Will save you tons on drinks. Most high value credit cards might hook you up with this as well

**joetron** · 10-23-2018, 10:21 PM

Wash your hands a lot. Don’t touch your face or eyes with your hands on the plane. Pressurized germ tubes suck.

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**RShea** · 10-23-2018, 10:56 PM

Times 2 for washing your hands as much as you can, and if you can't then hand sanitizer if you must when no sink and soap is available. Little things like carrying and using your own pen and not the one on the chain or one offered at counters or from the wait staff when signing a bill can help also. I am not a germaphobe like Howie Mandel, but try to not get sick either...

**DJSapp** · 10-24-2018, 12:00 AM

The 6 am flights leave on time because they parked there for the night.

**Kevo** · 10-24-2018, 01:25 AM

Greetings from travel land. I've been on the road for four years now. Averaging more than 100k miles per year. More hotels nights than I can count. I did 75% travel for the first 3 years, mostly international. My longest single trip was 5 countries in four weeks. I've also flown last minute on a moment's notice 22 hours from Denver to Jakarta to save a deal, then flown home after less than 36 hours on the ground.

I'm trying to stay at 50% travel now. I turned down seven trips this month. Seven. In a month. A few years ago I was excited about travel and would have taken flown from Denver to San Fran to Cincinnati to Denver to Toronto to Montreal to Connecticut to Hong Kong and then to London and then to Singapore before coming home to Denver. This year I turned down all of that except Cincinnati and London, which I couldn't dodge or assign to someone else.

I'm a burned out road warrior and a travel hacker to the max.

Here are my tips-
-For flights- Stay loyal to one airline. Spend as much company money as possible on that airline. Intimately understand their rewards program. Know their routing. Always know alternate ways to get where you are going. When you get status, save the special premier phone number for the airline in your phone. If shit goes down, call that number with a plan and the airline will make shit happen for you. I had a ticketing issue this year flying home from Barcelona through Zurich. I called the number, explained my issue and told the airline assign my ticket to a partner airline and get me home through Copenhagen. They took care of it and I got home without further problems.

-Don't be loyal to a hotel chain. In some cities a hotel chain will be good, in others it will suck. Book the best hotel within your budget and close to where you need to be through activejunky affiliate links to hotels.com and get status with hotels.com. They give 10% back on all hotel stays, which is better than any chain will do for you. When you book through affiliate links, you get an extra 4%. I use a 2% cash back credit card to bring my total hotel rewards to 16% cash back. My hotel nights average $350-$400 per night. I get a shit ton of money back this way. Since I book crazy amounts of nights with Hotels.com they are quick to take care of me when things go wrong. I had an issue with a $400 hotel in NYC. Hotels.com put me up in an $800 suite a fee blocks away.

-Seatguru is great for airline seats and knowing where to sit.

-I could talk at length about airline ticketing hacks for complicated international itineraries, but I don't think that would be relevant to Parvo's situation (let me know if I am wrong).

-I have credit card through PenFed that gets me 4.25% back on airline purchases in the form of Amazon gift cards. I've gotten thousands of dollars in Amazon gift cards in the past several years.

-I have a yearly travel insurance policy with travel guard that covers anything that happens with stolen or delayed bags or missed conndctions. It is under $300 per year and it usually pays for itself. I still expense stuff that goes wrong (extra night wherever when a flight is delayed), but I also file an insurance claim. This is probably insurance fraud. Seems like something you'd enjoy.

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**MakersTeleMark** · 10-24-2018, 02:57 AM

Originally Posted by Kevo

Greetings from travel land. ... My hotel nights average $350-$400 per night.

What are their names?

**St. Jerry** · 10-24-2018, 03:47 AM

Originally Posted by DJSapp

The 6 am flights leave on time because they parked there for the night.

Yes, the 6AM flights are 95%+ on time. The 6PM flights are less than 50%+ on time.

Oh an never take a flight out of LGA after 3PM, especially in the summer. Expect a big delay or cancellation.
And only fly Delta out of LGA so you get terminal A, C, or D. Terminal B is 3rd world.

**Marshall Tucker** · 10-24-2018, 06:01 AM

When we were first married my wife was 50-60% domestic travel / sales support. Seemed glamorous. For about 2 weeks.

The flight perks and her airport savy were nice in the day though.

**Marshall Tucker** · 10-24-2018, 06:13 AM

Originally Posted by iceman

Get an Amex Platinum card and you can use the lounges at airports all over the place. https://www.americanexpress.com/idc/...ollection.html

that damn thing is a $550 annual fee. I guess if the employer will pick it up...

**neufox47** · 10-24-2018, 06:32 AM

Get a good backup battery. I disagree with don’t work on the plane. Work on the plane and don’t work as much when you are home.

Tip the hotel maid, no one appreciates a couple bucks as much as the maid. They will make your room spotless, organize your shit etc.

If you will be going to several places routinely, make sure the airline you pick flies direct to those cities. Don’t ever take connections if you can help it. This especially applies when your home airport isn’t Atl, ORD, SFO, etc. Uber over car rental.

**riser4** · 10-24-2018, 06:36 AM

never leave your toothbrush in your hotel room.

**riser4** · 10-24-2018, 06:48 AM

Originally Posted by joetron

Wash your hands a lot. Don’t touch your face or eyes with your hands on the plane. Pressurized germ tubes suck.

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also avoid drying out your skin as that becomes a pathway for germs. good lotion is a must. and stay hydrated. this next one may seem weird, however i read about it on a travel site and i do it already because i get bloody noses easily: a light swab of vaseline in your nostrils. you want to do as much as possible to not get sick.