Travel hacks and advice

[Parvo]

I was recently promoted to a new job. A job I neither applied for or really wanted. Nonetheless, my corporate overlords see potential so they tossed me the brass ring.


However, now I’m going from two work trips a year to at least every other week, with some international. Therefore, reaching out to the collective on advice to living your best life in an airport, in business class, and in moderately priced chain hotels. I've applied for global entry, TSA Pre, and Nexus (I'll be going to Canada a lot) but looking for input from the road-hardened maggots who lived or currently living life on the road for work to make this new life a bit more easy on me. Fortunately my trips are short so will always travel just with a carry on. But I have no status, points or much else yet.


I don’t even know which domestic airport bathrooms are ok for my ‘wide stance’ these days or even if you’re supposed to ask the bellman or the concierge for coke. What are the tells to look for to decide if the nice lady at the hotel bar giving me the fuckeye is a high-end call girl or just a girl genuinely interested in my new fedora?

[Benny Profane]

She's a pro, but, if you ask her nicely for life advice, who knows.

[::: :::]

need a life coach...

[Parvo]

She's a pro, but, if you ask her nicely for life advice, who knows.

Ever since Coach's suicide I have nowhere else to turn.

[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

[::: :::]

Ever since Coach's suicide I have nowhere else to turn.

did i miss a TR?

[RootSkier]

The TSA doesn't care about edibles.

[Parvo]

did i miss a TR?

Last I heard she adopted a dog, moved to LA, killed herself.

[mall walker]

Here's my random advice from ~2.5 years of consulting, which was flying 2x a week and living 4-5 nights a week in a hotel:

* Pick an airline and a hotel chain and stick with them. Get the best credit card you can from either the airline or hotel. Book everything on this credit card. If you stick with your bands and use one of their credit cards (you can use both, idk I like just using one personally) you will rapidly accrue loads of free flights, free hotel nights, airline/hotel status perks, etc.

* Re: picking an airline, be sensible about what your closest airport's major airline is... so if you love Delta but you always fly out of Ohare, just accept you're going to fly United and deal with it. (edit to add: also consider their international partners like Delta/KLM, American/British, and so on). And for this type of travel, pick one of the big ones ie NOT Southwest, your goal should be flying first class at no cost. Southwest's status perk is (used to be?) free companion flights which are nice for average-joe types, you'll have a shitton of miles and you can fly whoever you want wherever. When you're living a large chunk of your life on an airplane, you don't want to be squashed in the back between foul smelling children, but MOST OF ALL you want to get OFF the plane first. Watching a bunch of clueless fuckface dipshits who haven't flown anywhere this decade try to pull their lawn bag filled with christmas presents out of the overhead bin will make you very unhappy.

* Don't drink on domestic flights, get yourself used to getting proper restful sleep on there instead. This is a lot easier in the nicer seats (first, business, economy+, etc) and it's a lot easier with window seats. Long international flights, ehh up to you. But making a habit of sleeping on planes allows you to recoup some of the considerable amount of your personal time that you're giving up when you agree to live like this.

* Tip the room cleaning at the hotel, (and the bartender if you drink at their bar), especially if you're going to stay there a lot. Most people don't, and they notice.

* Hotel status, at least with Marriott, rolls over year-over-year (you need 75 nights to be platinum for the next year, but if you stay 225 nights, you're platinum the next 3 years. Platinum is nice and you want to be that).

* It's worth going out of your way on a particular trip to accommodate your airline/hotel, but when you're initially selecting an airline/hotel, make sure it's going to work reasonably well for you (so if you know you need 15 trips a year to Footown and the only brand they have is Hilton, consider making Hilton your hotel brand)

* Absolutely get TSAPre, Clear, whatever other things of that sort you can... the regular security line will make you homicidal very quickly when you deal with it weekly.

I'll update more when I think of it...

[rideit]

Never use the shampoo to spank it, always use the lotion.

[huckbucket]

Here's my random advice from ~2.5 years of consulting, which was flying 2x a week and living 4-5 nights a week in a hotel:

* Pick an airline and a hotel chain and stick with them. Get the best credit card you can from either the airline or hotel. Book everything on this credit card. If you stick with your bands and use one of their credit cards (you can use both, idk I like just using one personally) you will rapidly accrue loads of free flights, free hotel nights, airline/hotel status perks, etc.

* Re: picking an airline, be sensible about what your closest airport's major airline is... so if you love Delta but you always fly out of Ohare, just accept you're going to fly United and deal with it. And for this type of travel, pick one of the big ones ie NOT Southwest, your goal should be flying first class at no cost. Southwest's status perk is (used to be?) free companion flights which are nice for average-joe types, you'll have a shitton of miles and you can fly whoever you want wherever. When you're living a large chunk of your life on an airplane, you don't want to be squashed in the back between foul smelling children, but MOST OF ALL you want to get OFF the plane first. Watching a bunch of clueless fuckface dipshits who haven't flown anywhere this decade try to pull their lawn bag filled with christmas presents out of the overhead bin will make you very unhappy.

* Don't drink on domestic flights, get yourself used to getting proper restful sleep on there instead. This is a lot easier in the nicer seats (first, business, economy+, etc) and it's a lot easier with window seats. Long international flights, ehh up to you. But making a habit of sleeping on planes allows you to recoup some of the considerable amount of your personal time that you're giving up when you agree to live like this.

* Tip the room cleaning at the hotel, (and the bartender if you drink at their bar), especially if you're going to stay there a lot. Most people don't, and they notice.

* Hotel status, at least with Marriott, rolls over year-over-year (you need 75 nights to be platinum for the next year, but if you stay 225 nights, you're platinum the next 3 years. Platinum is nice and you want to be that).

* It's worth going out of your way on a particular trip to accommodate your airline/hotel, but when you're initially selecting an airline/hotel, make sure it's going to work reasonably well for you (so if you know you need 15 trips a year to Footown and the only brand they have is Hilton, consider making Hilton your hotel brand)

* Absolutely get TSAPre, Clear, whatever other things of that sort you can... the regular security line will make you homicidal very quickly when you deal with it weekly.

I'll update more when I think of it...

All of the above is legit advice.

Don't rent cars if you can help it. Total pain. Uber/lyft wherever and whenever.

Gold United MileagePlus gets you access to the lounge on international flights from all Star Alliance. You WANT lounge wherever you can get it regardless of airline. There's civility within. The better lounges have showers for coming back to life after an overnight international flight. You WANT that.

With hotel status comes faster wifi. Fast wifi is the single biggest factor in selecting a hotel. Chains like Marriott are very consistent with it.

Invest in good over-the-ear headphones.

A pair of ear plugs and a mask for your eyes makes all the difference when you NEED to get sleep. Stay away from ambien, melatonin, etc. Shit doesn't really work.

Get the carry-on salad before the flight and try not to rely on the chipper chicken on the plane. Yes, the pretzels are free, but fuck pretzels and cookies. You'll feel better for it.

Download a game or two for your phone. Download some shows into your netflix account just in case.

You'll be tempted to work anywhere, everywhere, all the time considering your new home is on the road. Don't. You'll burn out.

Always carry gum.

[Kenny Satch]

Bring 99% rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle or put some in one and disinfect the door handles, light switches, remote control, toilet seat and handle and pretty much anything that gets touched.
Or
Bring a black light

[teleee]

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

Good advice right there! Also I have given up on hotels for any duration longer than 2 nights, I much prefer Airbnb. If your company will foot the bill I highly recommend it. Not having to march through the lobby to get to your room, not having to put up with the 3 AM partiers, sleeping in without the maids banging on your door and ignoring the do not disturb sign is all priceless!

[St. Jerry]

Clear

[dtown]

Here’s my approach, some of it is a no brainer:
- eating healthy is tough, since I usually drink at night with dinner, go light at lunch
- if your company doesn’t require a corporate card, get a good rewards card tied to your airline for extra points (already stated, if they do Amex and you have to, sign up for the rewards)
- uber/ Lyft from home to airport, usually cheaper and allows for airport beers on way home
- anywhere <4 hour drive you should drive, it’s always faster if a metro airport is involved
- exercise, pick a decent part of town to stay in so you can run outside instead of the usually shitty hotel gym
- research the town you’re going to and eat/ drink local. Winging it usually means doing what your lame ass coworkers want
- always look for some recreation activity where you go and bring your shit. For me it’s fly fishing, mt biking and skiing. Then rent a car on the company and head out after work to experience something new
- if people work for you in that town, don’t make them go out to dinner all the time with you...they want to go home and spend time with their friends/ families not you
- if you have a lot of shitty bigger group dinners with a fixed menu or buffet, show up early have a drink or two then fucking bail and do your own dinner

I’m sure I’ll think of more...


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