Not Going To Buenos Aires Again

On a late night in November, The Flight Deal post an amazing deal from Mexico City to Buenos Aires. The total cost of this trip less than $160.

The trip would net about 10,000 miles. However, what I was most excited about was that one segment was on AeroMexico's Dreamliner.

Image from Boeing

One of my goals is to fly on every airline's 787. I know kinda geeky. This was the main reason why I booked this trip.

Earlier this month, I wrote about how I am having trouble with my name on tickets. One of the two tickets with problems is this one.

I first noticed a problem with the tickets, when I was trying to pick seats on LAN. A quick call to Orbitz, who I booked the ticket with, that LAN's computer cancelled the tickets. However, LAN would only reissue the tickets if I had a passport with the name JD Teitelman, the name on the ticket. The problem is that my passport says J David Teitelman. After 3 weeks back and forth, Orbitz told me I would not have a ticket, but they would offer me a $150 travel voucher for future use.

Overall, I am very satisfied with how Orbitz tried to help me out. They did almost everything possible to make it happen.

Am I disappointed about not going on this trip. Not really. I love the idea about going on the trip, but I was dreading doing the trip. Flying for 20+ hours on four flights sounds daunting.

Like last year, I have a feeling my boss is going to Ground me like a 787 again for the Spring market. The excitement in the real estate market is growing and I have a feeling that we are going to be busy. That means not weekend jaunts to far off places.

Therefore, Buenos Aires, I ain't going to see in 2014!

         ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Follow us on Twitter @doit4thepoints! Have a question for me? E-mail me at jdteitelman@gmail.com

Shame On You, Mr. Smisek

On this weekend's mileage run, I had to stared at this Hemispheres magazine a lot:

After a while, I opened it up. Typically, the first thing I read is the letter from the CEO of the airline. I like this section, because it gives you a small glimpse into the airline. Typically the note is about an amazing employee, or upcoming change. At the very least, the letter is upbeat.

The letter from Smisek in November's issue is one of the worst I have ever written:

I copied this from the online version of the November Hemispheres Magazine. They did not have a direct link.

Yes, Mr. Smisek has spent his November letter complaining about the tax code. He believes that the airline industry is unable to complete against foreign competition due to this "irrational [tax] structure."

My beef isn't with the argument made in Mr.Smisek's letter. Rather, the letter is poor taste and the wrong format to address this issue. The letter is not a call to arms ie call your congressmen, but rather a CEO asking for sympathy from his customers. We aren't going to be able to compete if the tax structure isn't fixed. This month's CEO letter seemed like they lifted it from a letter Mr. Smisek wrote to members of Congress. In my opinion, its in poor taste to subject your trapped passengers to your political beliefs.

Now to the meat of his letter. While I agree with some of his arguments, I do not think they are well though-out.

For instance, Mr. Smisek is correct to point out:

"Many modes of transportation use Customs Agriculture and Immigration Resources but aviation customers and airlines pay disproportionately more for using those services. Land, sea, car, rail and bus travelers pay little or nothing." 

The problem with his argument is that flying is a choice. By making the decision to fly one is agreeing to pay the fees set by the government for the convenience of flying. For me, I pay the taxes on a flight to Connecticut, because its faster and cheaper for me than driving (I would have to rent a car). The tolls alone from driving DC to CT can add up to $30+. Add in the cost of gas plus the stress of driving I-95, I will take the TSA strip searches, government imposed taxes and decking leg-room in coach any day.

In addition, his argument that foreign competitor have an unfair advantage due to an easier tax code is baloney. First, few if any foreign airlines are allowed to carry passengers between two US cities. Therefore, a passenger fly DCA to BOS can not go a foreign based airline to save on US enforced taxes and fees. One can only assume that Mr. Smisek argument was talking about international travel being unfair.

When I tried to check the difference in taxes on international travel between US based carriers and foreign carriers it was difficult. Many foreign carriers lump the taxes/fees into the final price; instead of breaking them out between the base fare and taxes/fees. For instance, a trip to Sydney in December on Qantas produces this:

The $2.737 includes the base fare, taxes fees and carrier charges. Unlike Qantas, British Airways does break down the fees:

They go one step further and break down the fees in a pop-up:

Most of the fees that British Airways is charging are ones that we pay as US based carriers. Using the same trip to Sydney, we find out the taxes and fees will be $173.20. As we can see, the taxes and fees are similar to British Airways:

I know this is one example. I am positive Mr. Smisek and his team can show me many working with his argument. What Mr. Smisek wants to overlook is the power of brand loyalty? Ask 10 people on the street who they would fly from the United States to Australia, most of them would pick a US-based carrier. Why? That is all they know. Some might say Quantas, because they are Australia's carrier, but most will wind up booking tickets on United, American Airlines or Delta. Again, the competition argument does really hold up due to customer ignorance of other options.

I lost a lot of respect for Mr. Smisek with this CEO Letter. I have not criticized United or their CEO on the recent devaluation of their award chart, awkward new "friendly" marketing campaign and overall experience flying United. Why? Because its a business and I understand that changes are needs to please the pocketbooks of shareholders. However, I don't believe its fare to spend your CEO rant and raving about the tax system, because it hurts competitions. Not once did you provide an specific example of where the tax system is working against the airline industry. Instead, Mr. Smisek you used generalizations in the hope of gaining sympathy from your travelers. The same travelers that you nickle and dime. $25 for a checked bag $37 for a seat with more leg room and $3 for a snack. You can't continue to cry poverty when airlines are making billions on ancillary fees.

Mr. Smisek, if you have a problem with the US Tax Code, do what every other industry does. Hire a lobbyist, go testify at a congressional hearing, and have your Political Action Committee donate to politician's reelection campaigns. Don't spend your November CEO letter complaining. The November letter is suppose to be devoted to what you are thankful for.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Follow us on Twitter @doit4thepoints! Have a question for me? E-mail me at jd@doitforthepoints.com

Learn from My Mistakes

As I have written many times, sometimes the best lessons are learned from others failures. Last night was a night of failures for me:

http://www.mamamia.com.au

  1) When Booking Mileage Runs, Always Check The Fare Class of Your Ticket

      - This year, I decided to go for Aegean Airlines Gold Status (more about that in another
         post). I have been booking mileage runs lately, but forgot that not all fare classes credit
         to Aegean. As you can see, fare classes O, I,X R, N, P don't credit.

        After checking out my future itineraries, I found an upcoming trip book in N class.

     
        I called United and they would be willing to upgrade my ticket to a K Fare Class
        for $115. A $120 fare turned into a $225 fare due to failing to check the fare class
        prior to booking.

        Hack My Trip has a great article about where to find fare classes before booking
        tickets.


2) A Schedule Change Doesn't Equal Ability to Cancel/Change Ticket

        On another upcoming mileage run, there was a schedule change a few weeks back.
        The change reduced my layover from an hour to 30 minutes. On top of that, my flight
        is the last one out to a major hub.

        I called United to ask for some help changing my flights, which I though I was entitled
        to. The agent put me on hold to verify the schedule change. A few minutes later, she
        came back and told me that my change was no "major enough." I asked her to explain.
        Her response, "Only major schedule changes trigger free changes/cancellations." My
        next question was, "what defines major?" Her response was that it "depends!"

        Great . . .  so I asked @United on Twitter

       A major change is 2 hours or more. Good to know!

3) Forgetting To Check What The Cost of Gas

        I need a rental car this weekend to get to BWI and for work on Sunday. After
        a terrible experience with Dollar (that stories coming), I have switched to
        Advantage.

        One of the reasons why I like Advantage is that they allow you to prepay for
        a 1/2 tank of gas. Typically, you need to prepay for a full tank. I typically
        pass on prepaying for gas. However, I saw that the gas station closest to the
        airport was at $3.29. Advantage was offering $3.19. Well, the gas station
        around the corner from house (less than 6 miles from the airport) is at
        $3.10. Duh@!

        $0.09 isn't that big of deal, but I always check gas prices before renting
        cars. It can save you much money knowing when and when not to prepay
        for gas.
       

Yup, 3 mistakes last night. Let's hope I learn from my mistakes. Otherwise, I am going to feel even stupider committing them again.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Follow us on Twitter @doit4thepoints! Have a question for me? E-mail me at jd@doitforthepoints.com

Packing for My Mileage Run

Previously, I wrote that I was over-packing for a mileage run. Looking back, I think I packed way to much.

Today, I am off on my first solo mileage run to Omaha, Nebraska. Unfortunately, its a same day trip with no time to leave the airport. Therefore, there is no need for overnight clothes.

Here is what I am bringing:

I am trying to bring less this time: 

• Laptop
• Powercord
• 3 Magazines
• Kindle Fire
• Tissues
• Toothbrush & Paste
• Pen and Pad of Paper
• Phone Charger
• Empty Waterbottle 
• Sweatshirt

You can never truly be prepared for Mileage Run. All you can do is cross your fingers that it all works out.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Follow us on Twitter @doit4thepoints! Have a question for me? E-mail me at jd@doitforthepoints.com

Two Weekends and Two Trips to Portland...What Should We Do?

Last week United plugged in an amazing fare from Washington, D.C. to Portland ranging from $171-193 which average out to a great cents per mile that we don't usually see in DC on UA. I jumped on one fare last week for March with Kelsey and my parents are going to drive down from Seattle to visit us, which I could not be more excited about.

But today my friend Joe texted me and said that the deal was still around for the weekend before that and asked if I would want to go again. After going back and forth a few times and moved what I had scheduled for that weekend around I had the itch and I knew that I had to go...I couldn't miss out on this fare and I couldn't miss out on a trip with friends. Joe texted JD in the meantime and he jumped on it with us so we are going to have a nice guys weekend up in the Pacific Northwest!

Even though I lived in Seattle for a few years before going off to college I only made it down to Portland a few times so I don't really know what we should do (besides the obvious Powell's Books and Voodoo Doughnut) so we need your help! Do you live in Portland? Have you been to Portland recently? What can we not miss? Where should we stay? We are at your will and need your help!!!

Until then...I'll just be dreaming of a delicious doughnut and a nice cold glass of microbrew!

Great Article on Twitter in Points/Miles and How it Helps All of Us Learn More

I just read a great article from Travel Summary on why it's important to have a tool like Twitter in the points game. Travel Summary has a great description of why Twitter is important and useful in the points and miles game: "quick information and pictures, with reviews." It's also an easy way to "meet" new people from all around the world who enjoy the same hobby that you do!

A few days ago I was staring to search for mileage runs for next year to try and knock out as much travel at the beginning of the year as I could. I quickly realized that I have a very light knowledge of searching for mileage runs on the ITA Matrix and so I took to Twitter to see if anyone with WAY more knowledge on building mileage runs could point me in the right direction, so I sent out the following tweet:

Do It For The Points@doit4thepoints

Trying to beef up my knowledge on building a good mileage run. Anyone have a good primer that helped them at first?

Quickly I had GREAT responses from people in the miles and points community that pointed me to their favorite blog post on how to construct a proper mileage run. Without Twitter it would have been a very trial by fire experiment on my part. I could have muscled through it and figured out a strategy that worked for me, but that extra bit of knowledge from those who have been doing this for years was a big help in helping me understand how to leverage the power of the ITA Matrix to search for great mileage runs.

In the end it paid off! Yesterday I booked a trip of BWI/ORD/IAH/PHX - PHX/CLT/BWI for around $.004 cents per mile and it currently includes a trip on one of United's 787 Dreamliner, which I have been pining to fly for months now.

None of this would have been possible without the help of social media. It's a great place for everyone to learn from people who have more knowledge and are willing to share it, a place to share successes or ask questions and most of all...a place to meet new people from around the world that have the same addiction to travel as you do.

Another News Article About Our Hobby - "The Short Path to First Class"

Another day, another article in a major newspaper about how to obtain the top tier of airline status for cheaper than you think. The article, "The Short Path to First Class" in today's Wall Street Journal covers two flyers who have 1K on United and details how they will take a few trips to Asia or the South Pacific for 8,000-10,000 to maintain their elite status.

I've always wondered how people feel about these articles. They accomplish the idea that many blogs have...which is to show people that it's a lot easier to travel well for much cheaper than you think. But articles like this also expose the hobby to the masses who might decide to join in and shrink the deal windows for everyone else. Now, I've only been at this for a year to a year and a half, so I KNOW I don't have much ground to stand on...but for the long-timers who have been doing this forever...how do you feel about articles like this?

The one kinda cool thing about this article is the awesome chart they have that the bottom of the article that they compare the top elite status levels on UA, DL, AA and US.

Review: Radisson Suites Buena Park, California

As I mentioned the other day this weekend was my first ever mileage run from Washington to Los Angeles. We decided that if we only had one day in southern California around the holidays we would do what any sensible person would and what every winning Superbowl MVP does....go to Disneyland.

With our final destination in mind we started to look for hotels in the Disney area that would be a good match. We booked out trip in October and at that time Club Carlson was offering a stay one night get one night promotion at Radisson's in the United States as long as you booked before October 31, 2012 and stayed before December 31, 2012. So my first choice for a hotel was obviously a Radisson close to Disney. In comes the Radisson Suites Buena Park. I was able to find the AAA rate at $98.00 for both nights and Kelsey and I both booked a night so we would get two free nights in return. We've already used one of those free nights to save us $350 on Christmas Eve in New York City (More on that later).

The hotel is situated just a 10 minute drive or so from Disneyland is also down the street from Knott's Berry Farms if you are interested in going to another theme park. The best part of the hotel is that they offer a free shuttle to Disneyland! That and, as the name would indicate, all of the rooms are suites so I was really excited to see the property.

We landed at around 8:30 pm and picked up our SuperShuttle to the hotel. We crammed in with 8 other people and a baby (Kind of a good sitcom name), which I have never seen before. Luckily we were the second group dropped off at the hotel at around 10:15 pm.

The hotel is a little dated on the outside, looks like a classic old "motel" that would have sprung up around the time that Disney became popular. But the inside is very new and updated with a classic kind of Spanish style of architecture. The assistant manager who was at the front desk quickly helped us and asked us what we were in town for and recognized our Club Carlson Gold Status and thanked us for our loyalty. This is the first time at a Club Carlson property that I have been thanked for loyalty and actually recognized as a member with status. I don't meant that as a "don't you know who I am" moment, just as a shocking thing as most other hotels go out of their way to mention it, but Club Carlson never had. This asst. manager was so awesome and told us about the property, scheduled us on the shuttle to Disneyland for 8:30 the next morning (Make sure you reserve your shuttle to and from the park the night before, you can always change it the next day, but they do fill up) and he said that he had upgraded us to a Business King Suite on the top floor. (Whoooooo).

The hotel is situated around an open air courtyard with a pool and small conference center/restaurant in the middle so we had to walk around to the backside of the hotel to get to our room on the fourth floor. Below there are a few pictures of the grounds I took the next morning

Corridor By Our Room 

Trees Around the Middle of the Hotel 

Conference Center/Restaurant 

The room was a big two-room suite with a front sitting room that featured a couch (which I suspect had a pull-out, but I did not look), a chair, a dining room table and a wet bar. Unfourtinately we were out so early the next day at Disney and didn't get back until past 11:00 pm that we didn't get to enjoy the sitting area.

TV In the Sitting Area 

Sitting Area

Wet Bar and Passage to the Bedroom

Table and chairs/Wet Bar

The bathroom was on the way to the bedroom in the back. It was a large sliding door, which I don't particularly like because it tends to be very loud and not provide much sound blocking if someone is in the bathroom, but not a huge deal. It had a simple shower, nothing special.

Bathroom

The bedroom had a nice king bed that was a SleepNumber bed which is a Radisson specialty. This may be great for some people, but I can never get over the feeling that I am sleeping on a giant air mattress when I sleep on these things! The bedroom had a closet and a nice sized TV as well.

King Bed

King Bed and Closet 

 The room was very nice and spacious, perfect for what we needed. The only complaint I have is the lighting system is based on a set of motion detectors through the suite. They are great to conserve energy and I am sure saves the hotel a boatload of money. But, they have one flaw, when you press the button to turn off the motion activated features for sleeping at night it also turns off the power to all of the outlets in the room. So our phones, which were plugged into the lamps at the bedside table, kept losing power in the middle of the night and didn't charge all the way. Would be great to see the plugs taken off the motion detection system if that is even possible.

After a good sleep we headed down to the restaurant for the free breakfast. I expected just a continental type breakfast but they actually had a really good spread! There was fresh fruit, yoghurt, cold cereal, oatmeal, scrambled eggs and potatoes. I heard someone say that at the grill in the back you could order an omelette and get assorted breakfast meats, but it would be extra, so I stuck to the free options which were very good for free. 

This property was very very nice. It had lots of personality and was in the perfect location for our Disney exploration. Also ever staff member we came into contact with went above and beyond to make sure we were having a good stay, giving us tips for Disney to beat the lines and making sure we didn't need anything. If you need a hotel for your Disney adventure.....use this one!

Lobby Decorated for the Holidays 

Thoughts on My First Mileage Run

First a little bit of back story....this weekend was my first mileage run, and it was AWESOME. I know it will not impress the veterans out there that do multiple segments all over the country, but I picked up BWI-LAX at $160 all in to get around 4,600 miles. I also got to spend a day at Disneyland, which was the first time I have ever been to a Disney property. It only took 24 years, but I had so so much fun! I'll have a full hotel review up in the coming days.

But...to the real point of my story. Today I came back to work after an awesome weekend and was talking about it with a few co-workers. Not one, not two, but four separate co-workers told me that they saw a story on tv or read a story on the internet about people that "do crazy things like fly just to get frequent flyer miles" and they immediately thought about me!

I told them that it was EXACTLY what I was doing this weekend, but I was no where near as awesome as those of you that go fly tens of thousands of miles in a weekend. They still looked at me like I was absolutely nuts and couldn't fathom why anyone would do that on purpose.

It really got me thinking how weird this hobby appears to those on the outside. I mean just a year ago I was in the same boat, I would have thought...why would anyone want to connect when they could fly direct? Why would you fly to just get the miles? What's the big deal about an airport lounge or a seat up front?

But this hobby really opened my eyes to the benefits of elite status and how it can be fun to just fly where the fare takes you! Without the idea of mileage running in my head I never would have found that great fare from The Flight Deal, which is now a site that I check furiously every day and can't wait to see a tweet from, I never would have been able to go on a trip with my gf and have one of the best days of my life running around Disneyland like a bunch of little kids and riding every ride in sight. This hobby isn't just something that gets us the seat up front, the free drink in the lounge or even the pajamas in first class. It's a hobby that allows the average Joe like me the opportunity to spend more time making memories with those that I love while exploring the world. Those extras....those are just the icing on the cake.