Travel Technology - Keeping track of details - how far do YOU go?

I'm in the process of setting up a US trip Jun/Jul, as a SFSC, and doing my usual documentation to make sure everything fits, and thought it might be interesting to find out if others do this sort of thing, and how they arrange it.

I've found that there's heaps of useful information about one's itinerary out there, but never in the one useful place, so I gather it all together into a spreadsheet, keeping it so it fits sideways on an A4 sheet, with plenty of space for jotting down notes during the trip.

I email it to my hotmail & have it on my USB drive, as well as the hardcopy in my hand luggage.

The fields I include are:

PRN - eTicket # - airline - Flight # - dep - term - time - date - day - arr - term - time - date - day - duration - distance - FFP - aircraft - seat # - class - meal - IFE - Links

I also add contact details for any accomm I've arranged.

The benefits include:

- I can anticipate my trip (I'll include links to stand-out websites of attractions eg. the Encounter Restaurant at LAX (http://www.encounterlax.com/), or airport maps, or maybe even pix of the aircraft I'll be flying)

- I can work out timezones for the one medication I need to take (no, not a psychiatric drug ;) )

- I can be sure I've allowed enough time for transfers (hopefully;) )

Downside is:

- I'm the sad (OCD?) freak who can tell any 'normal' passenger the scheduled timing of any flight, what IFE to expect, whether there'll snacks or a meal, etc. etc.:p

So, what do other FFs do to keep their obessions alive?

hmc

I use an excel spreadsheet. I posted a copy of my 2006 version in this thread (http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=638331).

I've added a couple columns this year.

A cool start :)

My Excel spreadsheet is for each trip (the BIG ones only) and designed so I can have a hardcopy on me for instant answers such as the address I'll be staying at, for the forms you need to fill in while jetlagged :P

I'll pull together a template/sample one & email it to you

I also keep a spreadsheet of all the programs I'm in & the details of each, including links to the web sites.

I've also played with a chart of carriers to/from Aust (nice limited range :P) - entry points, alliances etc.

I've found that the FF activity statements give me enough details to keep track of accrual as I really have too few flights to need to keep track of points separately.

This appears to be a good fit for the Travel Technology Forum.
Please continue to follow this thread there.
Thanks..
Obscure2k
TravelBuzz Moderator

That's too far for me to go. I put a summary together in a Word document, that we send to family and others who need to know where to find us. Otherwise we have our confirmation emails, both electronically, and printed out in chrono order in a plastic see through folder. Haven't needed more yet. As for website info on destinations, I tend to either store the whole website offline using HTTrack, or just cut and paste relevant things into a word document and again have it available online and printed out.

Thanks to Gargoyle you can now see a template of My Trip Log here (http://www.stonecarver.com/flyertalk/spreadsheet.html), along with a couple of other FTers' spreadsheets

I have a spreadsheet of every segment I've ever flown (literally). But I'm interested in more easily being able to display trips I've been on.

I've seen a couple interesting sites out there, like Travellerspoint (http://www.travellerspoint.com/) and Wayfaring (http://www.wayfaring.com/), that offer some capabilities in the area of creating maps of were I've been, although of course neither is anywhere near as fast as the Great Circle Mapper (http://gc.kls2.com/) (in fact, both feel very slow). I'm wondering what else might be out there in that department. Sites like that tend to have a difficult time visually representing cumulative travels involving flying across all time zones, and flying in both the northern and southern hemispheres. :)

I have a spreadsheet of every segment I've ever flown (literally). But I'm interested in more easily being able to display trips I've been on.

I've seen a couple interesting sites out there, like Travellerspoint (http://www.travellerspoint.com/) and Wayfaring (http://www.wayfaring.com/), that offer some capabilities in the area of creating maps of were I've been, although of course neither is anywhere near as fast as the Great Circle Mapper (http://gc.kls2.com/) (in fact, both feel very slow). I'm wondering what else might be out there in that department. Sites like that tend to have a difficult time visually representing cumulative travels involving flying across all time zones, and flying in both the northern and southern hemispheres. :)

This site (http://www.flightmemory.com) is kind of cool (it takes a while to enter your stats), but you get some decent maps and the ability to order a very cool looking poster-print. The english-language site is just an update to the better-known www.flugstatistik.de website. My sample stats are at http://my.flightmemory.com/vysean.

I'd love to know what others are using for mapping - someone must surely have figured out how to do neat things with Google Earth or Google Maps?!?

Sean

Thanks, I'll give that one a look!

I also came across www.footstops.com - kind of a trip blog/photos/map thing, except that the revenue the guy gets from it gets donated each month to one of several charities based on voting by the users. Kind of appeals to the backpacking eco-tourist type.

I have the flight info - number & carrier, orig/term, pnr, and ticket # in a spreadsheet but other than that I just try to remember the name of the hotel and the whereabouts for when I get there. Otherwise I have to pull out my laptop and figure it out.