This weekend I crossed off a milestone in my points life: I completed a fuel dump.
It all started with a trip to Colorado Spring and a flight on Q400 from Denver to Colorado Springs. We boarded the plane and then we waited, and waited, and waited. Eventually, the captain comes on the speaker apologizing for the delay; apparently we had a weight problem. I start playing on my phone researching mileage runs and five minutes late the doors were closed.
We start to taxi to the runway and we stopped. The pilot comes back on telling us that the plane has to much weight and we need to Fuel Dump. For the next 20 minutes, we sat on the tarmac with the engines going full blast burning fuel. The plane rocked back and forth the entire time. It was one of the most unnerving experiences, in my travel experience, and we were still on the ground. We were burning fuel longer than the actual flight.
I learned that Colorado Springs has a weight maximum for airplanes and someone in Denver filled the plane with to much fuel. On top of that, I saw 20 bags not make it on the plane. So, I completed my first fuel dump, but I don't think did it right.
Here are some other observations from this weekends trip:
1) All flyers are equal in Colorado Springs
I learned the Colorado Springs' airport has no priority access line or PreCheck. Elites and all
other passengers have to take off their shoes, pull out their laptops and remove their liquids
circa 2011. Unlike our security experience at Dulles flying out, it took 10 minutes to get
through security with only 2 others in front of me, and no one complained except Chris.
2) E+ has so much more room than regular seats
On the ride out to Colorado Springs, I sat in a regular economy seat. The difference between
Economy Plus and regular seats is noticeable. Add in a backpack, the room gets even less.
3) No more flying between Denver and Colorado Springs
Even thought the flight is at max only 17 minutes long, it is one bumpy ride. Add on top of
that one needs to sit in a hot, stuffy, and cramped plane for 20 minutes prior to taking off,
I am done flying Q400 routes. If we ever are invited back to Colorado Springs, Chris and
I will drive from Denver, regardless of the price
4) Colorado Springs has GREAT Tequila
Let's just say , we closed down the bar in more than one way!!!!
I hope you had a great weekend wherever your travels took you.
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Monday, May 13, 2013
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Travel By Millennials On the Rise
For the so called "Millennial" generation technology and mobile drive our lives. But what also drives life is a desire to travel and see the world. JD and I are both a part of the Millennial generation and we have that travel bug and have used our hobby of points and miles to the fullest advantage. But our friends and fellow Millennials seem to be stuck in the age of, "I would love to travel, but I just can't."
A recent study by American Express Business Insights and featured by ABC News found that despite a struggling economic picture that travel expenditures for Millennials grew by over 20 percent in 2010. Recently the study found that when they analyzed social media they saw that 42 percent of all posts by the Millennial generation focused on travel. The hunger to go out and explore the world is there and the dedication to do it is growing.
As a member of the Millennial generation the desire to travel was instilled in me by family, friends and my undergraduate university where almost 85 percent of undergraduates studied abroad at some point in their undergraduate career. The growth of study abroad programs in recent decades has created a new generation of travelers who have experienced the world, got a little taste of other cultures and wants to go do it all over again.
But the struggling economy, low pay of entry-level jobs and shrinking vacation/sick time balances has them struggling to find their way to their dream destinations. The great thing about the miles and points hobby is that it can't take away a struggling economy, it can't take away the low pay of a job (if only it could) but it can help maximize that vacation time and salary to make travel closer to reach. The even better thing is this hobby, while focused on the luxury life, doesn't have to be. If you don't care to experience Business Class or First Class on your flight and are quite content in Economy...there is still a place for you in points and miles.
In the coming weeks I plan to show how far I have come in just over a year in this hobby and some of the mistakes I made along the way because there are pleanty of resources out there that will show you how to do this hobby well. But there are few resources that will show you how a fellow Millennial did it and the mistakes they made along the way. And lets be honest...I haven't stopped making mistakes and I won't in the future. So I plan to be open and put out on the table and I hope we both can learn through this process and show you how we've done it and how you can do it too.
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Follow us on Twitter @doit4thepoints! Have a question for us? E-mail us at chris@doitforthepoints.com or jd@doitforthepoints.com
A recent study by American Express Business Insights and featured by ABC News found that despite a struggling economic picture that travel expenditures for Millennials grew by over 20 percent in 2010. Recently the study found that when they analyzed social media they saw that 42 percent of all posts by the Millennial generation focused on travel. The hunger to go out and explore the world is there and the dedication to do it is growing.
As a member of the Millennial generation the desire to travel was instilled in me by family, friends and my undergraduate university where almost 85 percent of undergraduates studied abroad at some point in their undergraduate career. The growth of study abroad programs in recent decades has created a new generation of travelers who have experienced the world, got a little taste of other cultures and wants to go do it all over again.
But the struggling economy, low pay of entry-level jobs and shrinking vacation/sick time balances has them struggling to find their way to their dream destinations. The great thing about the miles and points hobby is that it can't take away a struggling economy, it can't take away the low pay of a job (if only it could) but it can help maximize that vacation time and salary to make travel closer to reach. The even better thing is this hobby, while focused on the luxury life, doesn't have to be. If you don't care to experience Business Class or First Class on your flight and are quite content in Economy...there is still a place for you in points and miles.
In the coming weeks I plan to show how far I have come in just over a year in this hobby and some of the mistakes I made along the way because there are pleanty of resources out there that will show you how to do this hobby well. But there are few resources that will show you how a fellow Millennial did it and the mistakes they made along the way. And lets be honest...I haven't stopped making mistakes and I won't in the future. So I plan to be open and put out on the table and I hope we both can learn through this process and show you how we've done it and how you can do it too.
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Follow us on Twitter @doit4thepoints! Have a question for us? E-mail us at chris@doitforthepoints.com or jd@doitforthepoints.com
Trip Home or Trip to Connecticut?
Last month, I went to Connecticut to visit with friends and family. My visit home was the first in over 10 months. The question I got ask frequently was “how does it feel to be home?”
My hometown will always have a place in my heart. I have thousands of memories, from Little League games to Drama Club performances, and one day I will bring my future family back there. However, it is no longer home.
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Its an intresting question. For many people, the place the you were born or grew up will always be consider home. Connecticut is no longer my home. I have not lived full time in Connecticut since 2003, the year I left for college. I consider the DMV (District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia) my home. Come August, I will have lived in the Washington, DC metroplitain area for 10 years.
Even worse, my mom sold my childhood home a few years ago. She put the house on the market at its height and got a great price for it.
A few years later, she bought a smaller townhouse for an amazing price. Downsizing from a 4 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath house to a 2 bedroom, 1 1/2 bath was and still is the right decision.
 |
| My Childhood Home |
 |
| My Mom's Current Place |
Therefore, when I come to Connecticut and am asked, “Am I happy to be home?,” I feel awkward. Yes, I am excited to be in Connecticut to see friends and family. But, I don’t consider this home. Catch-22???
I think this is a feeling many young people feel. Many of us leave “home” for the first time to go to college. The minute that we pull out of the drive way of your home, things immediately change. At college, every night we return home to our dorm and that becomes "home". As college progresses, we move into apartments or houses and that becomes even more home. Then college ends and the college graduate leaves the walls of academia and gets their first place. Since he or she is hopefully paying for their place on their own, this become "home".
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Saturday, May 11, 2013
Most Recent Credit Card Applications
Important Note: We talk about credit card sign-up bonuses on our blog because they are an important part of the “game.” Any credit card links in this post will be public application links taken from the issuer's direct website. We do not earn income from you applying from the links. Similarly, please take an extra minute or two before applying for credit cards. If you do not pay your credit card balance off every month then you should stay away from this aspect of the game. Credit cards can lead to major long-term problems if not used correctly. I encourage you to read my post on Young People and the Chains of Credit Card Debt for more details.
This week, I broken one of the golden rules of credit card churning: thou shall only apply for credit cards once every 90 days!
Yes, I applied for credit cards within 90 days of my last churn. Unlike last time, I decided not to churn after midnight. I learned my lesson and my success was the same 2 instant approvals and 1 pending.
The reason why I decided to apply for credit cards prior to my 90 days was simple: need. As I previously mentioned, I am planning on going to Alaska with Cash Back Boy, in July. We still have not booked our tickets and prices have gone up, and up and up. Then I had an idea: the Bank of America Alaska Credit card.
Strangely, the benefit that I want out of this credit card is not the points, but rather the companion ticket. Once approved, the card offers it owner a $99 ($117 with taxes) companion pass. This will reduce the cost of the airline tickets to Alaska dramatically for the two of us. Here is the public link to apply.
Of course, this is the application that I got a Pending Decision. Crossing my fingers as I need this the most.
The second card I applied for is the Chase Priority Club Visa.
I decided to get this because I will be cancelling a few Chase cards in the next month or so. Also, I received an email with an 80,000 offer, which is better the typically 60,000 offer. One can find the normal 60,000 offer here. If you Google, one can find a link to an offer for 80,000 points.
Result: Instant Approval
The final credit card I applied for was the American Express Delta Gold. I decided to do the 45,000 mile offer; instead, of the normal 30,000 mile offer. This will help me clear another section of the my Delta GrandSlam. I have previously written here about American Express Delta Gold section of the GrandSlam and how to get this 45,000 mile offer.
Warning: To get the 45,000 mile offer, one will need to go to a third party site. I had to refresh the
application page two or three times before the third page appeared.
Result: Instant Approval.
Getting 2 instant approvals out of three is excellent. I just wish one of them was the Alaska Airways card. I am crossing my fingers and toes that I get approval for that card. Otherwise, Cash Back Boy is going to have to apply for his first points card.
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Have a question for us? E-mail us at chris@doitforthepoints.com or jd@doitforthepoints.com
This week, I broken one of the golden rules of credit card churning: thou shall only apply for credit cards once every 90 days!
Yes, I applied for credit cards within 90 days of my last churn. Unlike last time, I decided not to churn after midnight. I learned my lesson and my success was the same 2 instant approvals and 1 pending.
The reason why I decided to apply for credit cards prior to my 90 days was simple: need. As I previously mentioned, I am planning on going to Alaska with Cash Back Boy, in July. We still have not booked our tickets and prices have gone up, and up and up. Then I had an idea: the Bank of America Alaska Credit card.
Strangely, the benefit that I want out of this credit card is not the points, but rather the companion ticket. Once approved, the card offers it owner a $99 ($117 with taxes) companion pass. This will reduce the cost of the airline tickets to Alaska dramatically for the two of us. Here is the public link to apply.
Of course, this is the application that I got a Pending Decision. Crossing my fingers as I need this the most.
The second card I applied for is the Chase Priority Club Visa.
I decided to get this because I will be cancelling a few Chase cards in the next month or so. Also, I received an email with an 80,000 offer, which is better the typically 60,000 offer. One can find the normal 60,000 offer here. If you Google, one can find a link to an offer for 80,000 points.
Result: Instant Approval
The final credit card I applied for was the American Express Delta Gold. I decided to do the 45,000 mile offer; instead, of the normal 30,000 mile offer. This will help me clear another section of the my Delta GrandSlam. I have previously written here about American Express Delta Gold section of the GrandSlam and how to get this 45,000 mile offer.
Warning: To get the 45,000 mile offer, one will need to go to a third party site. I had to refresh the
application page two or three times before the third page appeared.
Result: Instant Approval.
Getting 2 instant approvals out of three is excellent. I just wish one of them was the Alaska Airways card. I am crossing my fingers and toes that I get approval for that card. Otherwise, Cash Back Boy is going to have to apply for his first points card.
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Friday, May 10, 2013
Hilton: Stamford Conference Center
In February, I had to go to a conference in Stamford, Connecticut. I wrote here that I would be staying at the Stamford Hilton.
My room was on the 9th floor or the executive floor:
I was given a spacious corner two bed room:
To the right in the hallway is the bathroom. The bathroom was typical:
When I arrived, I only had 15 minutes to change before a meeting. Needless to say, I stopped by the front desk and asked them to send someone up to clean.
The rest of the room was standard:
My room rate was only good for double beds, but I could have up to four people in the room at no extra charge. Why is this important? Well, my gold status with Hilton gives me free breakfast benefit and since I put down that there was three people staying in my room, I got to treat two friends with me at the conference to breakfast:
The hotel has club, but it is only open Sunday through Thursday's. The other days of the week, members with Gold Status get complementary breakfast (the buffet) in the restaurant downstairs:
There were both cold and hot options for breakfast plus an omelet station:
The hotel has a small gym and a pool. The gym is open 24/7, but the pool is open only from 6am to 11pm:
One needs to go through the gym to get to the pool:
The entire hotel had amazing photographs in the hallways:
Overall, the stay was great. This is the second time I have stayed at this hotel and each time has been great. Why would someone stay here? First, there are a ton of businesses in the area. Second, Stamford is not far from New York City via MetroNorth. Also, the Jerry Springer Show is taped down the road.
The hotel was spacious, the room was somewhat clean and my status was recognized...overall, a great stay!
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If you are driving, I don't recommend driving up to the front of hotel (pictured); instead drive down to the garage and park first. The entrance has a very tiny driveway and one can be stuck in their car waiting for someone else to move their car.
I used the conference rate and got my rooms for $115 a night.
The lobby is large, spacious and full of light:
The lobby also provides many places to sit:
I was given a spacious corner two bed room:
The first thing you see when you open the door is a long hallway.
And the hallway continues:
To the right in the hallway is the bathroom. The bathroom was typical:
My luck with hotel bathrooms is not great. This one was disgusting:
When I arrived, I only had 15 minutes to change before a meeting. Needless to say, I stopped by the front desk and asked them to send someone up to clean.
The rest of the room was standard:
The hotel has club, but it is only open Sunday through Thursday's. The other days of the week, members with Gold Status get complementary breakfast (the buffet) in the restaurant downstairs:
The hotel has a small gym and a pool. The gym is open 24/7, but the pool is open only from 6am to 11pm:
The gym has treadmills, elliptical, and some free weights.
One needs to go through the gym to get to the pool:
The entire hotel had amazing photographs in the hallways:
The hotel was spacious, the room was somewhat clean and my status was recognized...overall, a great stay!
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I Love PreCheck!!!
I love PreCheck, which I received through my Global Entry application. Why you might ask?
Well, today Chris and I are on the road again this time to Colorado Springs. The trip is off to a GREAT start. Thanks to PreCheck security took 4 minutes. Our ride from economy parking took longer. The wait for our people mover to leave its gate took longer. For those who don't know Dulles, it takes 4 minutes normally to walk to the start of normal security. At Dulles, there is one massive security area; therefore, its always crowded regardless of the time of day. To say that Chris and I were impressed by our security experience today is an understatement.
Due to PreCheck, we even had time to stop by a very empty United Club:
Happy Travels Everyone!
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Well, today Chris and I are on the road again this time to Colorado Springs. The trip is off to a GREAT start. Thanks to PreCheck security took 4 minutes. Our ride from economy parking took longer. The wait for our people mover to leave its gate took longer. For those who don't know Dulles, it takes 4 minutes normally to walk to the start of normal security. At Dulles, there is one massive security area; therefore, its always crowded regardless of the time of day. To say that Chris and I were impressed by our security experience today is an understatement.
Due to PreCheck, we even had time to stop by a very empty United Club:
Happy Travels Everyone!
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Volcano Fighting Airplanes
Three years ago I was finishing up my junior year of college and also finishing up one of the best semesters of my life. It was my semester abroad in London and it was the time of my life that really helped me realized who I was growing up to be and solidified my love for travel.
But the worst part of that semester was not an exam I took (haha an exam in a study abroad experience) or a roommate problem...nope...it was Eyjafjallajökull the Icelandic volcano. You see the volcano decided that it was going to erupt just before our final exam period and cause huge amounts of flight delays all over Europe. The ash from the volcano is deadly for aircraft and the airlines were canceling flights to avoid that situation from even having a chance to happen. It canceled a trip my friends and I had planned to Berlin and it also almost ruined all of our trips home back to the United States. I always wondered what steps the airlines and/or scientists were taking to address the problem and today I found out.
Enter: Easy Jet. Yes, that Easy Jet. The discount British airline that is just a few steps above Ryan Air, but still charges you for everything that they can get their hands on. Though, in my opinion, as long as you read the rules and know what to expect, it's not that bad for short hop flights from Europe. I mean...you can stand an hour in a plane plastered with adds if you get away with it for about $30.
Anyway...Easy Jet along with Airbus and Nicarnica Aviation, a Norwegian research company, are developing a new radar system that would be able to detect volcanic ash up to 60 miles before planes would reach it. This would allow the pilots the opportunity to make course corrections and hopefully avoid any of the danger.
But the coolest thing about this new radar is they are actually going to test it with the over one ton of volcanic ash they collected from the 2010 Icelandic volcano eruption. They plan to have a lead plane that will take bits of ash to dump out and a trailer plane, outfitted with the new radar system, will test the effectiveness.
This is just another example of how cool the science behind flight and all the measures that aviation companies take to consistently improve really is. We've seen great advancements over the past few years with a move toward different fuselage designs and skins to make the aircraft more efficient and even technology on the 787 that has the ability to reduce turbulence by anticipating it before it happens.
Plus...who doesn't like the visual image of a volcano fighting airplane? Ok...just me?
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Follow us on Twitter @doit4thepoints! Have a question for us? E-mail us at chris@doitforthepoints.com or jd@doitforthepoints.com
But the worst part of that semester was not an exam I took (haha an exam in a study abroad experience) or a roommate problem...nope...it was Eyjafjallajökull the Icelandic volcano. You see the volcano decided that it was going to erupt just before our final exam period and cause huge amounts of flight delays all over Europe. The ash from the volcano is deadly for aircraft and the airlines were canceling flights to avoid that situation from even having a chance to happen. It canceled a trip my friends and I had planned to Berlin and it also almost ruined all of our trips home back to the United States. I always wondered what steps the airlines and/or scientists were taking to address the problem and today I found out.
Enter: Easy Jet. Yes, that Easy Jet. The discount British airline that is just a few steps above Ryan Air, but still charges you for everything that they can get their hands on. Though, in my opinion, as long as you read the rules and know what to expect, it's not that bad for short hop flights from Europe. I mean...you can stand an hour in a plane plastered with adds if you get away with it for about $30.
Anyway...Easy Jet along with Airbus and Nicarnica Aviation, a Norwegian research company, are developing a new radar system that would be able to detect volcanic ash up to 60 miles before planes would reach it. This would allow the pilots the opportunity to make course corrections and hopefully avoid any of the danger.
But the coolest thing about this new radar is they are actually going to test it with the over one ton of volcanic ash they collected from the 2010 Icelandic volcano eruption. They plan to have a lead plane that will take bits of ash to dump out and a trailer plane, outfitted with the new radar system, will test the effectiveness.
This is just another example of how cool the science behind flight and all the measures that aviation companies take to consistently improve really is. We've seen great advancements over the past few years with a move toward different fuselage designs and skins to make the aircraft more efficient and even technology on the 787 that has the ability to reduce turbulence by anticipating it before it happens.
Plus...who doesn't like the visual image of a volcano fighting airplane? Ok...just me?
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Follow us on Twitter @doit4thepoints! Have a question for us? E-mail us at chris@doitforthepoints.com or jd@doitforthepoints.com
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