The Travel Thread

[Shirley]

I love airports and travel. I don't fly with my current job, but did in an earlier chapter. It was enough to keep track of points with several carriers. I hate SWA boarding. I don't want to stand around like cattle on SWA when I can board last with a designated seat with anyone else. I board early enough on other airlines to get an overhead bin for carry-on or have a credit card that gets me free checked luggage (eg Delta) and board late when I do not need an overhead bin.
185k miles per year is a lot for companion tickets on SWA, but I would like them if I had them.

I would guess that most Companion Pass holders get it primarily through co-branded Chase cards (rather than primarily through travel). Especially since Covid.

The spend requirements seem like quite a lot, BUT if you're reasonably tech-proficient you can identify some fairly low-hanging-fruit bonuses to get you there. For example, somewhat randomly, booking hotels through SWA's portal can yield fairly substantial bonuses; our weeklong family vacation last year to a standard Hilton property netted 92,000 (!) points. A couple years back, we got 22,000 points/night for a standard Sheraton property in New Orleans. I don't really understand why - by NO means was that representative of spend (not even 10x).

For years my son-in-law has been subscribing to a website that shows you how to milk rewards from credit cards, and he often has close to 20 cc accounts open all the time. Consequently, he, my daughter and their two girls travel all over the country and world staying in Ritz Carltons everywhere they're available, and they never have to pay for the flight or the hotel fees. It's truly gobsmacking.

Once my mother required transfer to a skilled nursing/memory care floor and gave up her apt., ~ a year ago, my need to travel back to KC fell precipitously, and I'm going to lose my "A-Member" status with SW at the end of the year.

[jfish26]

I love airports and travel. I don't fly with my current job, but did in an earlier chapter. It was enough to keep track of points with several carriers. I hate SWA boarding. I don't want to stand around like cattle on SWA when I can board last with a designated seat with anyone else. I board early enough on other airlines to get an overhead bin for carry-on or have a credit card that gets me free checked luggage (eg Delta) and board late when I do not need an overhead bin.
185k miles per year is a lot for companion tickets on SWA, but I would like them if I had them.

I would guess that most Companion Pass holders get it primarily through co-branded Chase cards (rather than primarily through travel). Especially since Covid.

The spend requirements seem like quite a lot, BUT if you're reasonably tech-proficient you can identify some fairly low-hanging-fruit bonuses to get you there. For example, somewhat randomly, booking hotels through SWA's portal can yield fairly substantial bonuses; our weeklong family vacation last year to a standard Hilton property netted 92,000 (!) points. A couple years back, we got 22,000 points/night for a standard Sheraton property in New Orleans. I don't really understand why - by NO means was that representative of spend (not even 10x).

For years my son-in-law has been subscribing to a website that shows you how to milk rewards from credit cards, and he often has close to 20 cc accounts open all the time. Consequently, he, my daughter and their two girls travel all over the country and world staying in Ritz Carltons everywhere they're available, and they never have to pay for the flight or the hotel fees. It's truly gobsmacking.

Once my mother required transfer to a skilled nursing/memory care floor and gave up her apt., ~ a year ago, my need to travel back to KC fell precipitously, and I'm going to lose my "A-Member" status with SW at the end of the year.

The points game is wild. To the point where people spend insane amounts of time saving incremental amounts…such that there’s no way they’re actually coming out ahead when you factor in time better spent.

[Overlander]

Flying out of Seattle in the morning for Dallas.
Hoping that no airport is busy at 5 am on Thanksgiving Day!

[TDub]

ugh, I'd stay in Seattle given those 2 options

when you drive through Tukwila say hi to the Space Shuttle Hangar st the museum of flight...I built that when Seattle thought it was getting a retired Space Shuttle.

That building basically floats on a bog woth loose fill acting as ground. There are pilings thay are 105 feet deep woth 15x10x10 concrete pier pads atop each piling, the footings run over/through/ and tie into the pier pads so they're basically a bridge between the islands of concrete so when the ground settles and moves as it does often the building stays there. Big twisted tube steel front, all glazed in. Fancy, expensive building to.end up with no shuttle.


Haven't thought about that building in a long long time.

[Back2Lawrence]

The points game is wild. To the point where people spend insane amounts of time saving incremental amounts…such that there’s no way they’re actually coming out ahead when you factor in time better spent.

Perhaps they don't have anything better to do? This sounds judgy as hell.

[pdub]

It is judgy as hell.
Some people watch KUBB. Some people play video games. Some people read up on Reddit how to get free money from the points game.

[jfish26]

The points game is wild. To the point where people spend insane amounts of time saving incremental amounts…such that there’s no way they’re actually coming out ahead when you factor in time better spent.

Perhaps they don't have anything better to do? This sounds judgy as hell.

That’s not my point - my point is that some people do this as, essentially, entertainment.

[jfish26]

It is judgy as hell.

When you’re a hammer…

[pdub]

Time “better spent”.

[Back2Lawrence]

I miss your nuance sometimes, Fish. Probably because you think I'm way dumber than you, though.

[jfish26]

I miss your nuance sometimes, Fish. Probably because you think I'm way dumber than you, though.

I don’t. And I agree that message board posts are a goofy medium. All I meant was that I know people who do play the points game at least as much for the satisfaction of solving the puzzle as for saving money.

[pdub]

My bro meal kit churns. He credit card point burns. He’s earned free flights. Tons of free meals. He’s gotten thousands of dollars in free shit.

Guess he should be studying for the LSAT instead, amiright?

[jfish26]

Time “better spent”.

All I’m saying - and I don’t think this is negative whatsoever, it’s certainly not intended that way - is that there are people who spend so much time and put so much effort into the points game that it is clearly not, to them, about saving money. To those people, it’s a hobby. And a fairly fascinating one, once you get into daisy-chaining status matches and things like that.

[pdub]

How should they better spend their time?

[Back2Lawrence]

I miss your nuance sometimes, Fish. Probably because you think I'm way dumber than you, though.

I don’t. And I agree that message board posts are a goofy medium. All I meant was that I know people who do play the points game at least as much for the satisfaction of solving the puzzle as for saving money.

I don't actually think that about you. You should know that. But you are a bit pompous, at least more than a little bit of the time.

When I was a head wait at a corporate restaurant, I discovered 3rd party Gift Card sites that would sell cards in bulk from people that didn't want them at prices generally 75-90% of value. I'd buy $1000-$1500 a pop and then when people would pay in cash (happened more than one might think in a restaurant in Downtown Denver, especially on $400-$1000 meals), I'd process the payment as Gift Cards. I made the 10-25% on the card ($100-250 per $1000 redeemed), as well as all the points accruing on my credit card. Had them tied into airline miles. It was quite the income buff, and travel savings. But it didn't take me any inordinate amount of time.

[jfish26]

My bro meal kit churns. He credit card point burns. He’s earned free flights. Tons of free meals. He’s gotten thousands of dollars in free shit.

Guess he should be studying for the LSAT instead, amiright?

If you are taking from my posts that I am criticizing people who play the points game, you are missing the point. Literally all I am saying is that there are people who do it for fun.

[jfish26]

How should they better spend their time?

I couldn’t care less!

[Back2Lawrence]

Time “better spent”.

All I’m saying - and I don’t think this is negative whatsoever, it’s certainly not intended that way - is that there are people who spend so much time and put so much effort into the points game that it is clearly not, to them, about saving money. To those people, it’s a hobby. And a fairly fascinating one, once you get into daisy-chaining status matches and things like that.

nah man, you are a lawyer and know how to use words. It's at least condescending. Perhaps you didn't intend it that way, because, well, as a lawyer, you are sometimes naturally condescending.

[Back2Lawrence]

My bro meal kit churns. He credit card point burns. He’s earned free flights. Tons of free meals. He’s gotten thousands of dollars in free shit.

Guess he should be studying for the LSAT instead, amiright?

If you are taking from my posts that I am criticizing people who play the points game, you are missing the point. Literally all I am saying is that there are people who do it for fun.

'those people that play the airlines points game are truly a trip!'

^^^^^ not judgy!

[pdub]

Then I totally misread this post:

“… that there’s no way they’re actually coming out ahead when you factor in time better spent.”

A. That’s wrong. My brother is a prime example of this. He’s come out thousands of dollars ahead. Now he can’t charge 350 an hour like you but hey, he’s getting by.
B. What does time better spent mean here? Time trying to make more money?