How to Maximize Your Miles and Points

Frequent-flier miles and hotel points are perks of life on the road—currencies that are supposed to make it all worthwhile. A string of stays at cookie-cutter convention hotels and side-of-the-road motels adds up to a free tropical family vacation at a jaw-dropping resort.

That’s the promise, at least.

Most frequent travelers know the ins and outs of these programs well. Some people even become obsessed with their mileage balance. But even the best pro can learn something new. Here are my favorite tips for some of the more obscure ways to earn and redeem miles. Feel free to add your own in the comments section below.

The right credit card. Want to earn American Airlines or Delta Air Lines miles through credit card spending? Don’t get the airlines’ branded credit cards, which offer one mile for each dollar spent. Instead, try the Starwood Preferred Guest American Express. You still earn one Starwood point per dollar spent. But the real value comes during redemption. For every 20,000 Starwood points you convert to an airline program, you get 5,000 extra miles, which is essentially 1.25 American or Delta miles per dollar spent. The only advantage to the American and Delta credit cards is that they offer a free checked bag and priority boarding. But those benefits are moot if you already have elite status on the carriers.

Miles for dining. Just about every hotel and airline program has a dining program. Enroll with the program and register your credit cards. Then, each time you dine at select restaurants, you can earn up to five miles per dollar spent, including tax and tip. You don’t even have to mention it to your server. The miles simply post.

Online shopping. Most airlines—and even credit card reward currencies like Chase’s Ultimate Rewards—have online shopping portals where you can earn miles or points for your regular shopping. Just log in through these portals and then click through to the merchant (Bloomingdale’s, J. Crew, Pottery Barn, Target, and others). If you’re already shopping online, you might as well get some extra points for it. Sites like evreward.com can help you figure out which portal has the biggest bonus for each store.

Booking hotels. Many of us have to book business travel through our company’s agent or a specific website. But for those of you free to make your own bookings, consider those same shopping portals. You’ll find hotel groups like Marriott, as well as online travel agencies like Travelocity and Expedia. If you book directly on the hotel’s website, you get your points and credit toward elite status (not so with the online travel agencies), as well as extra points for using the shopping portal to get to the hotel’s site.

Keeping miles alive. Those portals are also a great way to keep miles from expiring. Most airlines require some form of account activity once every 18 months. Buy one song at Apple’s iTunes for 99 cents via a portal, and you keep all your miles active for another 18 months. Don’t want to buy anything? Just redeem miles for a magazine and the clock resets.

Distance-based awards. Generally, you need 25,000 miles for a free domestic round-trip coach plane ticket. But there are ways to get some flights much cheaper. British Airways offers distance-based awards, including those on partner American Airlines. Want to fly from New York to Florida? It will cost you only 15,000 British Airways miles—a savings of 10,000 miles. Chicago to Toronto is an even better deal at just 9,000 miles round-trip. Don’t have British Airways miles? You can transfer them from American Express Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards.

Longer hotel stays. Bob Behrens, vice president of operations for Marriott Rewards, reminded me that “most hotel programs have a sweet spot for redeeming multiple-night awards.” It’s a great tip. Marriott, Starwood, and Hilton (for elites only) give you the fifth night free when redeeming points. That works out to a 20-percent nightly discount. If you’re not an elite member of Hilton’s HHonors program, sign up for one of its credit cards that gets you entry level.

Hotel rooms and air miles. Starwood and Marriott both offer package redemptions where you can get free hotel nights plus a transfer of airline miles. For instance, Starwood’s “Nights Flights” option offers five nights at a category 4 hotel and 50,000 airline miles for 70,000 points. Five nights at that category would normally cost 40,000 points. So for an extra 30,000 points, you get 50,000 miles. Additionally, Marriott offers travel packages, including seven nights at a category 6 hotel plus 55,000 airline miles for 230,000 points. Booked separately, the hotel nights would cost 180,000 points and the miles would be another 160,000 points.

Buying elite status. Some airline credit cards will reward big spenders with miles toward elite status. Spend $40,000 a year on the Citi Executive AAdvantage World Elite MasterCard, for example, and get 10,000 elite qualifying miles on American. Spend $30,000 a year on the Delta Reserve American Express and get 15,000 medallion qualifying miles. Spend $60,000, and you get an extra 15,000 medallion qualifying miles. Both cards also come with lounge access (as well as an annual fee of $450).

Hang up, call back.Gary Leff, who runs the blog View from the Wing as well as an award booking service, swears by those four words. When a representative of an airline, hotel, or other travel provider isn’t telling you what you want to hear, hang up and try again. The reality is that some agents know how to find award space when others are, shall we say, geographically challenged. Be polite, but say something like, “I’m sorry, you’re breaking up. Can you repeat that?” Say it again. Then hang up.

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Scott Mayerowitz is an airlines reporter for the Associated Press. Read his stories on the AP site and follow him on Twitter @GlobeTrotScott.

Photo by iStockphoto

Tips for Entertaining Business Clients

Any successful business traveler knows the value of meeting in person and how deals often come together over drinks or during the final minutes of an amazing basketball game.

Face time is just half the formula. Clients need to be entertained at venues designed to impress.

The extremely trendy restaurants—the ones that would really wow a client—book up 30 days in advance. But business meetings often come together at the last second. So here are some tips about how to get access to that impossible restaurant, show or sporting event.

Todd Hunt, the assistant head concierge at the posh Crosby Street Hotel in New York, told me that most restaurants, baring a very select few, keep a section of tables reserved for walk-in customers. You might have to sit at the bar a while to be seated, but you will get a table.

“Once you’re in the restaurant, they aren’t going to send you home,” Hunt says. “They wouldn’t tell you that over the phone if you call tonight.” But it works.

Still, the idea of waiting at the bar for an hour with an important client might not be so appealing. That’s where it’s time to have your hotel’s concierge pull some strings. Most major restaurant groups have a central booking office and a good concierge knows somebody there and can probably get you a confirmed table. If you are flexible about the time—or willing to sit at the bar—your odds improve even more.

“We call the contact with whom we have established a relationship. It could be either the maître d’, general manager, the chef or sometimes a top reservationist. It’s all about the relationship,” says Charisse Fazzari, the chef concierge at the Mandarin Oriental, San Francisco. “Business travelers are generally savvy when it comes to approaching the concierge about their favorite restaurants. Concierges at high end hotels are professionals at their craft and will go above and beyond when treated as such.”

The more advance notice, the better the odds are that the concierge can meet your request. Don’t wait until you arrive at the hotel. Call or email in advance.

Fazzari, who has worked for nearly 16 years at the Mandarin Oriental, adds that probably the worse question one can ask is: “Do you have any pull?”

For concerts and sporting events, there is StubHub, a site that resells tickets. There is a markup but the tickets are insured to work and the company has offices in big cities and even on-site teams at really big events like the U.S. Open tennis tournament.

If that doesn’t work, turn again to the concierge.

Our ticket brokers work miracles for us,” Fazzari said. “We also have other contacts who can make it happen for our guests. It could be the manager of a sports team, the producer of a popular Broadway show, or our well connected concierge colleagues, or even a bouncer at a concert.”

Crosby Street’s Hunt said that brokers can help get access not just to concerts, games and shows but to a book signing that got sold out or to a hot rooftop bar.

“Guests might not be ok with the price, but we’ve never had to say no,” Hunt says. “For a price, we can get access.”

Travelers don’t always realize how exactly popular the hottest show or restaurant really is and how hard it can be to get access.

“I always explain the demand for what they’re asking for so that they can have realistic expectations,” says Maria Sutherland, a concierge at the W Union Square in New York. “Then I do my best to make it happen. The thrill of the hunt never gets old.”

Even if you aren’t staying at a fancy hotel, it doesn’t mean you can’t use its concierge. A good concierge knows that your company might have travel restrictions but—if they perform well—you might stay there on vacation.

Hotel guests usually take priority, so be patient and willing to wait. If you travel regularly to a specific city, develop a relationship. You never know when it will come in handy.

“We’re always willing to help others out,” Hunt says.

And don’t forget to tip, especially if that concierge pulls off a miracle for you.

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Scott Mayerowitz is an airlines reporter for the Associated Press. Read his stories on the AP site and follow him on Twitter @GlobeTrotScott.

 

Photo by Peter M. Fisher/Corbis

Frequent-Flier Miles Devalued

I’m thinking of getting out of the frequent-flier-mile game. It’s just not worth it anymore.

No, I won’t completely abandon it. There’s still plenty of value in earning miles for flights, gaining points for hotel stays, and remaining loyal to one brand.

But the mileage credit card frenzy? It isn’t worth it anymore.

You see, I’ve built up some very cushy balances with just about every major airline and hotel program—enough points to fly two people business class anywhere in the world and stay a week at some of the most luxurious hotels.

But those hefty balances are becoming less valuable by the day. In the last few months, I’ve watched in horror as Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Hilton, Marriott, and Hyatt have increased the number of points or miles needed for a redemption.

The price of that dream vacation got much more expensive.

Take United. Using its miles to fly Star Alliance partner Lufthansa in business class to Europe jumped from 100,000 miles to 140,000—a 40 percent increase. (Coach prices stayed the same: 60,000 miles for a round-trip.)

And Delta Air Lines’ cheapest business-class ticket to Europe is going from 100,000 miles to 125,000 miles. It might not be too long until United and American Airlines choose to match that level.

It’s not just the airlines. The cost of five nights at the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek (one of my favorite ski-in, ski-out hotels) went from 110,000 points to 150,000 points—a 36 percent price hike. To be fair, this was one of the most extreme increases across the company, and Hyatt added several other benefits to its program, such as a 20 percent discount on room rates for elite members and the ability to mix points and cash for a free night.

But it’s those free nights at fancy hotels like the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek that I aspire to while slogging through another week on the road for work, staying in big, bland conference hotels. I doubt anyone squirrels away his or her points for a weeklong stay at the Hyatt Place Oklahoma City Airport.

So why the devaluations now? 

There are some 15 trillion unused frequent-flier miles out there. Most of those miles weren’t earned by flying, but rather through credit card purchases and other partnerships. And credit card companies, flush with miles, have been offering new customers ridiculously large sign-up bonuses, some as high as 100,000 miles.

“Airlines have been in overdrive, printing miles to sell to credit card companies and other marketing firms over the past several years,” says Brian Kelly, founder of ThePointsGuy.com, a site focused on maximizing frequent-flier miles and credit card points. “Now there are trillions of unused miles and points, but not enough available seats to accommodate those who want to use them.”

Airlines, hotels, and car rental companies always look at the value in their programs. With the recession behind us and business travel picking up, these companies are less willing to give away their products for free.

“Every year, we need to tweak it a little bit based on the current environment,” Jeff Zidell, the head of Hyatt’s Gold Passport loyalty program, told me. “It’s not any one thing that tips the scales at the end of the day.”

Now, to be clear, I will still be a member of all these programs and try to stay loyal to a chain or two.

What I’m contemplating is ditching the miles-earning credit cards. 

I currently have 12 credit cards (all of which I pay off in full each month; if you don’t, the higher interest rates make the whole miles-earning effort pointless). Some cards are best to use at restaurants. Others at drugstores or gas stations. A few give me one free hotel night when I pay the annual fee on my card-holding anniversary. 

It can get a bit confusing, but I’ve been playing this game for years. I’m good at it and have benefited greatly.

I snagged a free flight to Asia in a lie-flat business-class seat that would have cost more than my monthly salary. I’ve stayed in $1,000-a-night hotel rooms for free. And I paid with points for eight nights and business-class seats for my upcoming honeymoon.

But I’m finding it harder and harder to use my miles these days. And even when there’s award space open, it costs me more and more.

That’s where cash-back credit cards come in.

Consider this: to get the cheapest domestic round-trip award ticket, you usually need 25,000 miles. Typically, airline credit cards earn one mile for every dollar spent. So, $25,000 in spending for that free ticket.

But spending the same amount of money with a 2 percent cash-back credit card would net me $500—and that’s enough for most advance-purchase domestic tickets. Plus, if you go this way, you don’t have to worry about award tickets being available (and you earn miles on the flight). Sure, airfare costs more on holidays, but let’s face it, there are so few award tickets available on those days that I wouldn’t be able to redeem the miles then, anyway.

The true advantage to miles is the big splurges. The $1,000-a-night hotels. Sitting up front on the long-haul international flights. But how many of those lavish vacations will you realistically take? Besides, why try to save up for that perfect vacation if the airlines and hotels are only going to move the goalposts just as we get close to redeeming?

I haven’t made the switch yet. But the more I look at large mileage balances, I realize that for road warriors, this is the worst type of inflation possible.

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Scott Mayerowitz is an airlines reporter for the Associated Press. Read his stories on the AP site and follow him on Twitter @GlobeTrotScott.

 

Photo by iStockphoto

How Many Economy Seats Are in a Business Class Seat?

Here's a head scratcher: What do you get when you take away one business class seat? Three economy seats, of course!

The math comes from an announcement that Delta Air Lines is drastically reducing business-class seating from its aircraft. On an unspecified number of B777 planes, 23 economy seats will squeeze into space formerly taken up by only seven premier seats. On B767s, Delta will scrap twelve seats from the business class cabin.

The T+L Take? Hopeful business class passengers will find it harder to secure that upgrade. Meanwhile, economy flyers won't notice much of a change, other than a few more neighbors jockeying for overhead space.

Peter Schlesinger is a research assistant at Travel + Leisure, and a member of the Trip Doctor News Team. You can follow him on Twitter at @pschles08.

Photo credit: iStockphoto

Staying in Touch on Business Trips

Staying in touch with your loved ones while on a business trip can be tough.

You want to maximize your limited time away, so you get up early, schedule meetings all day, then have a business dinner followed by cocktails. By the time you’re done and get back to your hotel room, your family might be long asleep and you’ve missed a chance to connect.

And that doesn’t even factor in long flights, time zone changes, and cell phone dead zones.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

I’ll confess: I’m not the best at this. There have been plenty of nights where I’ve just sent off an “I love you, sleep well” text. But even during the busiest day, there should be a few minutes to touch base with our loved ones. And technology makes it a lot easier today than even a decade ago.

There’s Skype, Google Hangout (formerly Google Talk), and Apple’s FaceTime. All allow cheap—if not free—ways to make voice or video calls over Wi-Fi networks. Instead of settling for a phone call, you can actually see your loved ones. And when traveling overseas, you can use these services to avoid those hefty international roaming charges.

One lesser-known service that I have been experimenting with recently is MagicJack. You’ve probably heard of it from those late-night TV commercials, where they promise to turn your electric outlet or computer into a phone line. Well, they also make an iPhone app. If your phone is connected to a Wi-Fi network, you can use it to call anyone in the U.S. for free. It can even pull contact information from your phone. (One downside: the person you’re calling sees a random Florida phone number on their caller ID unless you register with the service.)

One big catch with all of these services, though: you need to find a strong and consistent Wi-Fi signal, especially if you plan to do a video chat. Some countries also block these services. When I was in Abu Dhabi last year, I was unable to use Skype, Google’s chat, and a few other services. I had to resort to good old-fashioned telephone calls and emails.

Being able to make the call is only half the battle, of course. The other challenge is finding the time.

I’ve had my fair share of failures in this department. So I reached out to two expert travelers for their advice.

Summer Hull writes Mommy Points, a blog dedicated to enabling families to use points and miles to travel. She wisely noted that the first key to staying in touch is to set expectations before departure, especially with your kids. Still, she warns, try to speak to everybody in the house daily.

“The conversations don’t need to be long, but just enough to share a little about how your day went and, more importantly, hear how everyone at home is doing. This way, you are caught up when you get home,” she says.

When in different time zones, pick a time in advance each day that is best to talk. That way you avoid waking each other in the middle of the night.

Hull’s final tip: Bring something unique back for your kids—something that you guys can talk about and play with so they feel like they were part of your trip.

Next, I spoke with Leslie Scott, who works in corporate communications for a big airline. Her husband, Doug, is a management consultant. They’re both typically on the road—in different cities—four nights a week. I can’t imagine how they stay in touch week after week.

“I really don’t see it as a major issue,” she tells me. With texting, Skype, FaceTime, Google chat, and the old-fashioned phone, “we talk as much during the day as we would if we were both working 9-to-5 jobs in the same city.”

Being on the road also means that a lot of household tasks pile up on the weekend. But don’t let those tasks take over your life, Scott recommends.

“We really do try to do at least one thing a day on the weekends that is just for us,” Scott says. “It can be as simple as taking the dog on a hike.”

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Scott Mayerowitz is an airlines reporter for the Associated Press. Read his stories on the AP site and follow him on Twitter @GlobeTrotScott.

 

Photo by Jetta Productions/Blend Images/Corbis

The Challenges of Riding Amtrak

I’m writing this week’s column while riding Amtrak’s flagship train, the Acela Express, between Washington, D.C., and New York. In many ways, I love this train. But it can also disappoint me.

Let’s face it: Amtrak has to provide good enough service to have travelers pick it over flying, driving, or taking the bus, but it doesn't have to do much more. Multiple airlines and bus companies travel between Boston, New York, and Washington. But only one train line connects all three: Amtrak.

Leaving aside political questions of government funding (and if it’s not enough or too much), Amtrak is a monopoly. Since it controls the market share, it doesn't need to be an innovator or focus on customer service.

And that’s a shame, because Amtrak has a lot going for it, especially in the Northeast. If you're traveling from one city center to another, the train makes the most sense. It’s typically faster and more relaxing than the region’s congested highways. Unlike flying, you can show up 15 minutes before departure. Trains are rarely delayed by weather. And when’s the last time a train had to “circle” the station because of traffic?

Every seat has its own power outlet. Wi-Fi is free, although excruciatingly slow. (Cool feature: the log-on screen tracks your current location—perfect for travel geeks like me.) Trains are frequent, with 15 weekday Acela Express departures between New York and Washington and 10 between New York and Boston. There are also plenty of slower regional trains between those cities. And traveling by train is much better for the environment than driving or flying.

So why am I not a bigger fan? It’s a lot of little things.

Take seat assignments. You need a reservation to board any train in the Northeast, but that doesn’t guarantee you a seat with your traveling companions. In New York, Washington, and Boston, there’s often a mad dash to board the train first and secure two seats together. Some folks who don’t need help with their bags still seek out Red Cap assistance, knowing it will help them jump the line. (Access to Amtrak’s Club Acela lounge is another way to cut the line, either through direct doors to the platform or advance knowledge of track assignments.) For those boarding at stations in between the big cities, finding two adjacent seats on a busy day is nearly impossible.

Trains in Europe have advanced assigned seats. I’m not asking Amtrak to race across the country at the same high speeds that France’s TGV trains or Spain’s AVE trains do (though that would be nice). I’m just saying, how about a software update to provide passengers with better seating choices? Even my local movie theater now offers advanced assigned seats.

“Amtrak’s computerized reservation system is not presently set up to handle an assigned option,” Amtrak spokesman Cliff Cole told me. “We are exploring options to upgrade the system, but don’t have any specifics or a time frame for implementation to share at this time.” At least they know the problem exists and are working on it.

They have made some significant improvements in other areas, though it’s taken a while. The introduction of e-tickets that you can print out from home or display from your smartphone came just in July of 2012—finally, passengers can skip the ticket window or kiosk and go straight to their gate. A few months ago, Amtrak allowed for e-vouchers from canceled trips to be redeemed online. Amtrak offers some of its best prices and promotions online; prior to this change, those redeeming vouchers couldn’t take advantage of those online deals.

The food in the café car could use some improvement, but the drink prices are reasonable (for a New Yorker, at least): $5.50 for a Bud Light, $7 for a Sam Adams, $8 for a Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA.

Then there’s the quiet car—a supposedly library-like environment where cell phones are prohibited and conversations must be kept to a whisper. It’s a brilliant introduction. Planes could use such sections, even if we still can’t use our cell phones. The problem: conductors don’t enforce it.

A lot of people ask me what I think about the merging of airlines and how it will impact travelers. It will surely lead to a more stable and profitable industry (and probably higher fares). But at a certain point, too few choices could mean that individual airlines won’t fight for our business.

Without that competition, it’s easy for Amtrak to feel complacent. And while there have been improvements, there’s clearly more work to be done.

Related Links:
More Business Travel Tips
World's Most Scenic Train Rides
World's Fastest Trains

Scott Mayerowitz is an airlines reporter for the Associated Press. Read his stories on the AP site and follow him on Twitter @GlobeTrotScott.

 

Photo by Eyal Warshavsky /EYAL WARSHAVSKY/Corbis

How to Beat Jet Lag

Frequent travelers, it’s time to conquer our worst enemy: jet lag.

While there’s no easy way to completely beat jet lag, there are several steps you can take to ease the pain of crossing multiple time zones quickly.

Travel wasn’t always this difficult on our internal clocks. But each technological advancement in transportation also brought changes to our time management. When long-distance railroads took off, matching timetables with local times became a challenge. So in 1883, we created standardized time zones.

The advent of the jet age in 1958 brought a new problem. We suddenly could traverse several time zones faster than our bodies could adjust. Eight years later, the term “jet lag” appeared in the Los Angeles Times (the earliest recorded mention, according to Air Space magazine).

The term caught on, of course. And, as we know, jet lag is particularly bad when flying east.

“The hardest trip for me is coming back from Asia or Australia,” says Captain John M. Cox, who spent 25 years flying for US Airways and is now CEO of Safety Operating Systems. “It’s not that I can’t sleep. It’s that I keep waking up at two in the morning.”

I’ve had several sleepless nights of my own after coming back to New York from Asia. At least I was in my own bed. During a trip to Abu Dhabi, I found myself wide awake in the middle of the night, staring out my hotel window at the construction cranes and the desert beyond. The only advantage of being up so early was that I was able to easily call home without waking anybody.

Even domestically, jet lag can be an issue. I once traveled for a story that had me on nine domestic flights over five days. When planning out the trip, I didn’t think much about my body’s internal clock and made the mistake of hopping back and forth across time zones every day.

Every time I suffer from bad jet lag, I think back to the 1988 movie Die Hard, featuring Bruce Willis as a New York cop named John McClane. During a flight, McClane was given a tip: to combat jet lag, take off your shoes and make fists with your toes. It was a plotline designed to get the action hero barefoot. But out of habit or superstition, I still try it after every really long flight. It’s never worked, but it feels really nice if the hotel has a plush rug.

There are several things, however, that do help. Below are some of my favorites. Feel free to add your own in the comments section.

• Hydrate. Dry and pressurized airplane cabins can quickly dehydrate you, making you feel extremely sleepy. Drinking water throughout the trip helps ease that process. It doesn’t stop jet lag but it helps make sure dehydration doesn’t compound your fatigue.

• Shift your time for long trips. A few days before I leave, I start to shift my sleep schedule one hour each day. Try to also move your mealtimes. That might mean a super-early trip to the gym in the morning and going to bed before my favorite TV shows are over. But it pays off when I arrive and also makes it easier to sleep on those red-eye flights to Europe. If I’m lucky, I can adjust my sleep a bit at the end of the trip. “As soon as I get on the airplane,” Cox notes, “I get on destination time.” It’s good advice. Switch your watch after takeoff.

• Sleep. If you can sleep on the plane—even for a few hours—it makes a big difference. Earplugs and an eye mask will help. When taking a red-eye to Europe, having breakfast immediately after waking up on the plane or once you get into the airport—even if not hungry— will definitely help adjust your body to the idea that yes, it is now morning, even if your friends and family back home are sound asleep.

• Avoid alcohol. Again, the issue here is dehydration on long overseas flights. I can’t blame you for having a glass of red wine to help fall asleep—been there, done that—but don’t have too much or you’ll have a nasty headache and never properly adjust to the new time zone. (That’s happened to me, and I don’t recommend it.)

• Avoid naps. Try to stay awake until your bedtime in your new time zone. It may be painful, but it really is necessary to make the rest of your trip enjoyable and productive. Go for a walk outside. The fresh air and sunshine make it much easier to stay awake than if you’re stuck inside. If sightseeing, take a walking tour. If in town for work, find some time to do a bit of walking—maybe have your driver drop you off a mile short of your meeting site. If that isn’t practical—and often it isn’t—do a lap or two around the block before heading in to your meeting.

• Stretch. It helps your body feel more normal and not as confined on a plane. This doesn’t combat jet lag per se, but it does reduce some of the scars of travel.

• Pills and juices. I have friends who have tried homeopathic pills and one who swears by carrot juice. I personally don’t like to throw off my diet with unknowns while hopping around the globe, but I’m not going to rule out any of those tricks.

• Don’t shift time for short trips. This tip is only for trips less than 48 hours. If you’re jetting off to Europe for a single meeting and then racing back home, it pays to stay on your home time zone.

Related Links:
More Business Travel Tips
The Cure for Jet Lag
Air Travel Tips

Scott Mayerowitz is an airlines reporter for the Associated Press. Read his stories on the AP site and follow him on Twitter @GlobeTrotScott.

 

Photo by Thomas Imo / Alamy

A Business Traveler's Favorite Hotel Amenities

This past summer, my fiancée and I stayed at a bed and breakfast. It was charming and had a great ocean view. But when she hopped out of the shower the first time, she discovered our room lacked a hair dryer.

As a frequent traveler, I was shocked. I’ve come to expect basic things from hotels: soap, shampoo, conditioner, and a hair dryer. Maybe I shouldn’t. Either way, this week I’m taking a look at some of my favorite hotel perks and some amenities that I think all lodgings should have.

Let’s start with the good ones.

Every road warrior knows that if you forget deodorant, a razor, or any other basic cosmetic, the front desk probably has an emergency replacement for you. A few months back, the W San Diego handed me a stack of single-use toothpaste packets, saving me from searching for a pharmacy.

Hyatt is particularly generous in this department, offering sometimes-necessary items like Woolite, lint rollers, combs, and—for families—baby shampoo. Hyatt hotels also loan or sell phone and computer chargers, power adapters, steamers, and yoga mats. (A full list of items can be found here.)

The biggest space hogs in my carry-on bag are my running shoes. Westin has partnered with New Balance to offer a solution: the lending of shoes and workout clothing for $5 per stay. The workout gear is delivered to your room, and you get to keep the new pair of socks. I tend to still bring my own shoes since I often stay at multiple hotels on a trip, but hope to try this out this year.

A free bottle of water is also a nice perk. But several upscale and boutique hotels are now going one step further, offering free sodas, juices, potato chips, and candies in the tiny in-room fridges.

The Langham Place Fifth Avenue, in New York, lets guests customize the mini-bar. They can replace all the water for free with Yoo-hoo, Vitamin Water, Red Bull, or another nonalcoholic drink of their choice. The Caneel Bay resort, on St. John, welcomes all guests with a minibar stocked with a complimentary bottle of private-label rum and mixers such as Diet Coke. Hotel Vermont, in Burlington, offers a filling station with still and sparkling filtered water in reusable bottles in its pantry. And, one of my favorites, Hyatt's Andaz brand offers local sodas, juices and candies at its various properties around the globe.

Sometimes hotels will surprise you with the extras that they offer. On a recent ski trip to Colorado, I was pleasantly surprised when a quick call to the front desk at the Westin Snowmass landed us a humidifier to help with the dry mountain air.

The Ritz-Carlton Los Angeles goes so far as to offer baby diapers, baby powder, baby shampoo, and sunscreen in a basket at the pool.

Then there is special access. Families know that staying at a Disney hotel gets you extra time at the theme parks. But what about for business travelers?

The Westin Detroit Metropolitan Airport has its own security checkpoint to the airport, just for registered guests (though by now every road warrior should be enrolled in Global Entry or TSA PreCheck and not need a special line). And in London, the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel offers guests in its suites a fast-track service to Eurostar trains to Paris and Brussels. Guests can stay in their rooms until 30 minutes before their train is due to depart.

So what about the features that I’d like to see?

The obvious one is free Internet and bottled water. Lower-level hotels typically include both, plus free parking and breakfast. I’m not asking for all of that, but a bottle of water can go a long way in the goodwill department.

I give InterContinental Hotels Group kudos for supplying all members of its loyalty program with free Internet. Plus, they can hop on the Web for free in the lobby, even if not staying at the hotel. That’s classy. I hope other chains take note.

Along with Internet access comes the ability to charge all of our electronic devices. Way too many hotels don’t have enough electric outlets or make you crawl around under the desk to plug into them. Road warriors put up with a lot, but we shouldn’t also have to bump our heads just trying to plug in our laptops. If you don’t want to splurge on fancy furniture with built-in outlets, how about adding a power strip nearby?

Next, I’d like to see more common-sense use of technology. Forget the fancy TVs that let you order room service or the iPad app to request extra towels. Hotels like the W San Diego and the Grand Hyatt in Denver let you text the valet to get your car. Great idea.

A company called Zingle offers the same valet texting service at some Marriott hotels. It is also working to offer such a service for extra towels and other in-room amenities at hotels, including some Four Seasons properties.

To help us all sleep better, hotels should look at proper window thickness—especially those at airports or facing highways—and better blinds. While traveling, many of us don’t have too many hours for sleep between meetings.

When we do go to sleep, we want those hours to be restful. I’ve spent way too many nights tossing and turning at airport hotels with inadequate windows. And when I am deep in slumber, I don’t want a ray of sunlight bursting through the shade to wake me prematurely.

To get the day started, how about some free coffee and tea in the lobby? The in-room machines are nice, but it’s even better when someone else does the brewing.

Finally, please give me some good hangers. I’m sick of too few spots to hang my clothing in the closet. And do you really think I’m going to steal them? Maybe some folks do, but please don’t treat me like a thief. Make me feel like a guest.

Related Links:
More Business Travel Tips
Best Money-Saving Hotel Tips
World's Best Hotel Service

Scott Mayerowitz is an airlines reporter for the Associated Press. Read his stories on the AP site and follow him on Twitter @GlobeTrotScott.

 

Photo credit: Courtesy of St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel

Five Ways to Make Flying Easier

Traveling by air can leave even the most seasoned traveler feeling helpless and trapped by the system. Between security lines and flight delays, there are many things out of our control when flying. But it doesn’t have to be a miserable experience. Smart travelers can take several steps before they fly to help solve any problems that creep up.

These five tips will make flying easier, even on the worst days:

Getting the Best Seat

A friend of mine who frequently flies between New York and Johannesburg on a South African Airways Airbus A340-600 always tries to get seat 73D. Why? It doesn't cost any more than other coach seats, but because of an emergency crew hatch on the floor there is no seat 72D. That means extra feet—not inches—of legroom.

How can you find out about such quirks?

SeatGuru.com and SeatExpert.com are two sites that detail each aircraft type and the pros and cons of each seat. And just because the seat you want is taken when you book a flight, it doesn't mean it will remain occupied. People change flights or get upgraded to even better seats. The first wave of upgrades starts five days before your departure. As people move up to first class, their prime seats open up for everybody else.

ExpertFlyer.com offers free notifications—for one flight at a time—when a window or aisle seat becomes vacant. For 99 cents, it sends an email if two adjacent seats become available.

Avoid Delays

I always prefer the first flight of the day even if it means getting out of bed long before sunrise. There's less of a chance of something going wrong and—if there is a problem—there is plenty of time to recover from the delay or get rebooked on a later flight.

However, flights leaving around 6 p.m. are often delayed because that's when everybody wants to fly, and the runways and surrounding airspace can handle only so much traffic at once.

Then there are certain late-night flights that are frequently delayed because of mechanical problems. If a jet being used for a 7 p.m. flight has an issue, the airline will often swap it with a similar jet reserved for the 9 p.m. flight. That gives mechanics time to fix the problem without delaying the 7 p.m. trip. If the issue still isn't resolved two hours later, another swap will be made with the 10:30 p.m. flight. If the problem persists, it's a big problem, because there are no more aircraft left to swap and the last flight is going to be late.

When you can’t book an early flight, it pays to check the on-time performance of the flight you are about to book. (To find out if your flight is frequently delayed, go here.)  

Many times delays are caused by weather or congestion. Before you go to the airport, check the FAA’s site to determine what the air traffic control situation is like at the country's major airports. Its map highlights delays caused by fog, snow, or high winds and those caused by runway construction or congestion.

On your day of travel, set up alerts with the airline and third-party sites like FlightAware.com to learn about delays and gate changes. This can give you time to get to the airport early enough to catch an earlier flight or lets you be the first one to call and rebook on a later flight that isn't canceled.

Know Your Confirmation Number

The few numbers and letters that make up your confirmation number are the key to speeding you through the airport. Check-in kiosks ask for it. Phone representatives ask for it. If you need to be booked on a new flight or track a lost bag, it's all linked to this number.

Here's where it gets tricky: business travelers are often given several different confirmation numbers. My corporate travel department issues me a confirmation number for my trip. But that is very different from the number that American, Delta, Southwest, or United might give me. And that's the number I want to know at the airport. The same thing is true about bookings through Expedia, Priceline, or Orbitz.

Code-share flights also pose this same problem. Typically the issuing carrier and the operating carrier—the one you will actually fly on—have two different confirmation numbers. Airline partners have become much better at being able to see each other's data, but often you will still need the operating carrier's number to do things like select seats in advance online. To learn the partner airline's confirmation number, use Check My Trip.

Global Entry and TSA PreCheck

Thanks to TSA PreCheck, airport security doesn't have to be a hassle anymore.

Members of this trusted traveler program get to leave on their shoes, light jackets, and blazers as well as their belts, and can leave liquids—up to 3 ounces—and laptops in their bags. It not only brings a level of humanity back to the security process but also is much faster than the regular process. I can now routinely make it from the curb to the other side of security in two minutes.

TSA is quickly expanding this program to more airports and more fliers. The easiest way to use this special lane is to pay an enrollment fee and go for an in-person interview. Members of other government-trusted traveler programs like Global Entry and NEXUS and military members also get to participate.

Stay Loyal to One Airline

Most of the time it makes sense to book the cheapest nonstop flight. But if the price is just a few dollars more to fly on your preferred carrier, book it.

Why? Getting elite status can make anyone’s life much easier. Status starts when you fly 25,000 miles in one calendar year with an airline, but the best benefits are given to those who fly two to four times as many miles. Checking bags for free, using shorter security lines, and getting first-class upgrades are nice. But it's the other perks that can really save you.

When there are flight delays and cancelations, it's the elite members who get the first shot at open seats on a new flight. They have dedicated phone lines and agents. During really bad storms, it might take somebody without status an hour on the phone to even get through to an agent, let alone be rebooked on a new flight.

Related Links:
More Business Travel Tips
Air Travel Tips
America's Best and Worst Airports for Delays

Scott Mayerowitz is an airlines reporter for the Associated Press. Read his stories on the AP site and follow him on Twitter @GlobeTrotScott.

 

Photo by Dave and Les Jacobs/Blend Images/Corbis

12 Tips to Make International Travel Easier

Being in a strange place can be invigorating and eye-opening. Some of my favorite travel memories include an early-morning run along the Danube River in Budapest, touring the temples of Angkor Wat, and having late-night drinks and steak in Uruguay.

There have also been plenty of business trips where the only sites I saw were those visible from my hotel room window, because I was too busy running from one meeting to another.

Regardless of what type of trip you’re on, there are several steps you can take to ease an overseas journey. Here are 12 of my favorite international travel tips:

Hotel business cards. The first thing I do when arriving at a hotel overseas is take a business card from the front desk. That way, if I ever get lost, I have the name and address of the hotel in the local language. Large populations around the world speak English, but having something in a local language that I can show locals and taxi drivers is an extra bit of insurance.

The six-month passport rule. The expiration date on your passport is actually a bit deceiving. The U.S. lets you use your passport up to the date inside the cover. However, several countries will deny travelers entry if the passport expires in less than six months. Why? If for some unexpected reason you get stuck overseas longer than planned, that country wants to ensure that you have a valid passport to eventually travel back to the United States. To avoid any problems, I always renew my passport during a downtime in travel, about nine months prior to the expiration date.

Getting cash. The way to get cash is usually an ATM, but many U.S. banks charge steep fees for using an ATM that is out of network. You can take out a large amount of cash at the airport ATM so you pay that fee only once, but it’s never advisable to carry large sums of cash. Plus, you risk having too much local currency left over at the end of your trip. Charles Schwab and Fidelity both offer checking accounts that have no minimum balance requirements and reimburse you for all ATM fees, including those from overseas.

Credit cards. The best exchange rates are often found using your credit card. However, many credit cards will tack on a foreign transaction fee, sometimes as high as 3 percent. It’s a pointless fee that no traveler should ever pay. The Chase Sapphire Preferred card and Platinum American Express are two of the cards that don’t levy this fee. Also, never have a hotel or restaurant convert a charge into dollars first. It’s a bad deal.

Fraud alerts. Notify your credit card company’s fraud department of what countries you will be visiting and on what dates. This way, they won’t think your card is stolen and shut it off just when you need it the most. Be mindful of any countries you might be changing planes in; you might need to make a charge during your layover, especially if there’s a delay.

Credit card chips. U.S. credit cards rely on magnetic strips on the back that are swiped at vendors. In Europe, cards have a chip embedded in them which—when paired with a PIN—are used for purchases. It’s a much more secure way of charging goods, but hasn’t been adopted in the States. Most vendors overseas can still swipe your card. But train ticket machines, gas stations, and other machines where we pay without interacting with a person often reject cards that are swiped. Getting a chip and PIN card from a U.S. bank is hard. But many credit cards are now coming with chip and signature technology.

Medicine. I always carry an eye mask and earplugs in my medicine bag because you never know what your hotel room is going to be like. But I also carry Advil, NyQuil, Imodium A-D, Tums, and a handful of other key medications. Yes, even the most historic European neighborhood has a drugstore. But do you want to be running around Germany late at night, trying to translate “diarrhea”? If you’re heading to third-world countries, stocking up on the right drugs is even more important. Many travelers fill a prescription in advance for the antibiotic ciprofloxacin and bring it with them just in case.

Travel alerts. It’s a good idea to check the State Department’s travel warnings and alerts. It’s also smart to print out the address and contact information of the local embassy.

Foreign airline sites. If you are on a tight budget—and don’t have to book through your company’s travel department—look at overseas airlines’ sites in their home countries. I recently booked a ticket from southern Italy to northern Italy on Alitalia. The airline’s U.S. site wanted twice the price of the Italian site. I’m not fluent in Italian, but Google Chrome translated every page for me. I paid in euros, using a credit card with no foreign transaction fees.

Data roaming. Set up your cell phone to avoid international data roaming. Many business travelers have an international calling and data plan. But infrequent travelers don’t. The biggest costs can come from transmitting data overseas. I was in a remote part of southern San Diego last summer, and my cell phone provider sent me a text alert welcoming me to Mexico. Apparently, I had jumped onto a cell tower in Tijuana. I immediately shut off my data roaming, turning it back on only once I was out of that area.

Google Maps. I have a great sense of direction and rarely need a map. I know others aren’t as lucky, though, and have come to rely on their cell phones to get around. If you don’t add a data plan to your phone while abroad, you can still jury-rig a crude version. Using the Wi-Fi in your hotel, plot out a few routes you plan to walk that day. Then take a screenshot of those maps. You can later find the photo, zoom in, and follow the path. It’s not ideal, but it’s a work-around.

Unwanted local currency. I figure out on my last night how much cash I will need and then set aside the leftover money. At checkout the next morning, I take that cash and ask the hotel to apply it to my bill and then pay the remaining balance with my no-foreign-transaction-fee credit card.

Related Links:
More Business Travel Tips
Trip Doctor: What’s the Best Place to Exchange Currency?
Ways to Travel Better

Scott Mayerowitz is an airlines reporter for the Associated Press. Read his stories on the AP site and follow him on Twitter @GlobeTrotScott.

 Photo by Realimage / Alamy