|
Post by Robin Hood on May 29, 2008 15:08:50 GMT -6
It looks like I am going to be taking a job with FEMA, the money is fantastic and the benefits are really good. On top of that I can keep rolling with my web design business.
Here is my dilemma since I will be traveling a great deal and basically living out of a hotel, what travel programs are out there that will let me earn free travel? I am interested mostly in earing points toward airfare. I feel kinda blessed in a way, I have several airports within driving distance to pick from thus giving me lots of choices in airlines. Both Bloomington and Peoria are very close drives, but they limit me to AA and Delta, with Delta having better arrival times to Montego Bay with a connection in Atlanta. Chicago is about a 2.5 hour drive for me, but opens up ALOT of options. Either way I decide to go Delta still seems to have the best arrival times to MoBay with a connection in Atlanta.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
|
|
|
Post by Chicago Jake on May 29, 2008 15:27:59 GMT -6
All I know for sure is that O'HARE sucks ass, and UNITED out of O'Hare is the worst of all. You'll waste many, many hours sitting in departure lounges wondering if your plane is EVER going to take off if you choose that combo.......Jake (who flies out of Midway whenever possible now)
P.S. - congrats on the new job!
|
|
|
Post by Robin Hood on May 29, 2008 15:37:28 GMT -6
I agree Jake, O'hare blows ass!! Midway is a MUCH better choice if you have that option. One thing about O'hare though, I can always park at RastaBill's for free :-)
|
|
|
Post by hilary on May 29, 2008 15:37:33 GMT -6
The AA dining program is pretty good for earning miles since you will be eating out quite a bit - and you can book your hotel through the aa site to earn more miles as well. You can also register with hotel chains you stay with frequently and see if they can keep your frequent flier nimbers in your profile so you don't have to do anything special when you book.
There is a now a non-stop from Dallas to Montego Bay that leaves Dallas at 10am and gets in at 3pm. But the earliest I have found other than that early Delta flight is a flight from Memphis to Montego Bay that gets in at 1:30pm.
Once Delta and Northwest merge you may see better schedules from them. The same dining plan is available with NWA frequent flier miles so I would guess Delta should offer similar mileage benefits and the ability tro register multiple cards.
You could also get a CC that earns miles - they usually have more travel/purchase benefits.
And get on the mailing lists for special offers. Many have easy qualifications, but you have to register before travel.
Good luck!
|
|
|
Post by Robin Hood on May 29, 2008 15:38:42 GMT -6
In fact I think my truck might still have pine needles in the back of it from parking there a couple years ago....ROFL Guess I should clean it out once in a while.
|
|
|
Post by Exildo Wonsetler Briggs III on May 29, 2008 19:00:39 GMT -6
For three or four years I was doing a lot of traveling . . . between 75,000 and 100,000 miles each year. Since I already had some miles with Northwest, I just continued with that airline. There initial freq. flier program kicks in at 25,000 miles. But, you then start getting "double miles" for each mile you use. It's not always exactly double, but you get the point . . . the miles start adding up pretty quickly. There is another level at 50,000 and their "platinum elite" level is at 75,000. I was there for those three years.
For a coach fare, you are almost always upgraded to first class. If they couldn't upgrade me to first, I got extra miles for the "inconvenience."
I used my miles to get a business class round trip ticket to Hong Kong and back . . . over $8,000 saved!!!!
Another buddy of mine in the office flew with Delta. We often compared notes and I didn't see any real difference. The main thing was sticking with one airline so you could rack up those miles.
I also stayed in Marriotts where I traveled, using their frequent stayer club. I had a bit over 30 days in their hotels one year and used the points to get a new set of Taylor Made golf clubs. Cool!
Oh, I also signed up for a Northwest World Perks Visa card and put all my business travel on that card, which gave me even MORE flying miles. However, that card does have a yearly fee, the last time I looked.
The cool thing about business travel is you can rack up all those points/miles and use them for personal things!
Alas, I don't miss all that travel AT ALL!! It was fun at first, but became a real drag REAL fast! Running through airports to catch connections became a nightmare. To each his own!
Good luck!!
.............Bob
|
|
|
Post by Robin Hood on May 30, 2008 1:21:28 GMT -6
I won't be doing alot of air travel, it will be mostly hotel stays. I decided to try out the Delta plan, I also signed up for all the extra shit they offer as well, they have the deal where if you eat at certain restaurants you get miles. I joined the Marriott and Hilton plans also as that is generally where I would be staying and pointed their plans at Delta's plan, I have learned a ton today filling out all this shit. This will be the first time I have done this much travel so it will be a learning experience I am sure. I can see racking up tons of miles pretty fast with the amount of travel they talked about, they said I will be deployed about 90% of the time.
As of right now I am just waiting for my background check to clear, then I will get a phone call telling me where to go. Even though I will be based out of the Region V office in Chicago, they told me I would probably never see the inside of it. I will get a deployment assignment and be there for the duration, in cases like Katrina that could be a long time. Most deployments last about 2 months or so with a week off after 30 days deployed.
|
|
|
Post by Ardbeg... innit on May 30, 2008 5:21:17 GMT -6
With the pending merger between Delta and Northwest, I think you chose wisely RH.
|
|
|
Post by Exildo Wonsetler Briggs III on May 30, 2008 19:49:16 GMT -6
As of right now I am just waiting for my background check to clear, then I will get a phone call telling me where to go. Hhhmmm . . . that explains that strange phone call I got today asking a lot of questions about someone. Uhm . . . hey man . . . SORRY! No hard feelings, er, OK? BTW, I assume you won't need to go through customs with a laptop while traveling for this job, right? ;D
|
|
|
Post by Robin Hood on May 30, 2008 19:55:49 GMT -6
Domestic travel only....ROFL They still ain't seeing my shit without a warrant!!
|
|
|
Post by ♥ COVID-19♥ on May 31, 2008 14:07:16 GMT -6
They still ain't seeing my shit without a warrant!! Or a speculum.
|
|
|
Post by Ardbeg... innit on May 31, 2008 14:16:35 GMT -6
Domestic travel only....ROFL They still ain't seeing my shit without a warrant!!I think we can arrange that
|
|
|
Post by ♥ COVID-19♥ on May 31, 2008 14:24:47 GMT -6
I know a guy who knows a guy.
|
|