Look-See Introduction
 

Greetings from DXB. Glad to have signed up to this Forum.

I am a market researcher by profession and moved to Dubai about a year ago after having lived in Europe for 10+ years. I have previously lived in Asia (China, India). 41 years old, married to a wonderful lady and 2 children.

My work involves managing the market research (aka people watching) across the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan for our consumer products company. I am on the road/in the air 2-3 weeks a month; my travels take me frequently to Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan. On occasion I also fly to Switzerland and the US and my personal favorite destination is India.

When I last counted the number of countries I had laid foot in (not counting transits) I believe I was at 37 -- US, Venezuela, UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Vatican, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, Greece, Czech, Sweden, Austria, Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, UAE, Oman, Yemen, India, Maldives, Mauritius, China (incl. Hong Kong), Japan, S.Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines and Taiwan.

My interests are behavorial economics and music -- both classical (esp. violin concertos) and country. Not long ago I acquired a record player so I am on the keenly on the look-out for vinyls from anyone who is looking to clean out their attic :)

Most of my travel is on EK or LX. I made Miles & More Senator just before I moved to Dubai last year so working on re-qualifying this year. I am at 54K now and expect to hit 76-78K by Oct. Any suggestions from all the experts how to smartly bridge the gap to 100K by Dec. are more than welcome.

I also made EK Gold within 10 months of starting with Skywards. I am now at 29K tier miles since qualification so need another 21K by May next year. I am off tomorrow DXB-CAI-JED-DXB in J class with EK/Egypt Air so that should keep the miles meter ticking nicely.

My hotel loyalties lay with SPG for a long time but in this part of the world my experience has been that Hyatt, Fairmont, Intercontinental seem to have a stronger footprint.

So much for a first post. Trust I haven't put you to sleep. I am turning in now to get a good night's rest before my flight tomorrow.

Best wishes

I've been reading FT for about a month. My wife and I are in our 50's and we're traveling a lot more for pleasure. Decided to give up my cash-back AMEX & VISA and begin using reward cards. After reading this site, obtained AMEX Bus PLT (with 100,000 points) and Southwest RR PR VISA (with 50,000 points), joined SPG Gold, and began paying attention to my DL SkyMiles. Am grateful for the tips that I've gained from this site.

I've been targeted by these card issuers for years and always tossed them. Not so sure it's a privilege getting targeted; my 21 year old college-student daughter just got targeted for the AMEX Gold with 50,000 points. She has no job, no income, I pay for everything she has (including tuition), so how in the world did she get targeted? Anyway, I'm glad to be aboard!

Thanks to you seasoned travelers for sharing your knowledge with us newcomers. Cheers!

Interesting things you've learned. Regarding Awardwallet, are there not security issues with giving a third party your account numbers and passwords? Aside from this concern, look's like a convenient service.

Hi and New To FlyerTalk
 

Hi Everyone,

I am brand new to FlyerTalk and don't even know if I'm posting to the correct forum! :p

Basically I've been flying for 10 years and am thoroughly embarrassed to say that I've racked a measly 115,000 miles. After reading about so many perks and benefits out there for free upgrades and ways to earn more miles per segment, I decided to finally DO SOMETHING about it. So here I am. I don't know where to start other than saying I wish I could accumulate more miles but don't have a clue as to how to begin.

I am based in the NY metro area and
I fly usually on Continental, Delta, American and Jetblue. Mainly US travel and always in coach wishing to be chosen on the upgrade list but always having 10 people ahead of me and always being last on the list.

Any ideas or suggestions on where to begin would be great!
I have upcoming trips to book through work to San Diego, San Francisco, Boston, and Las Vegas but am hesitant to book until I can figure out how to get the most out of my miles. :) I figured, better late than never, right?

Thanks and looking forward to hearing from you.

Best,
TigerLily

Astir 8

Engineering consultant, 62, UK based, mainly covering sugar cane production and processing. Hence the need to make multiple trips/year to warmer climes.


BA air miles or whatever they're calling them now are stacked fairly high.

Glider pilot, hence attraction to other forums (PPRUNE etc)

Bio
 

Hi all, I'm new here so just a little post to say:

I work in a private hospital as an Operating Theatre Technician. I have a wonderful partner and a 16 month old baby boy named Kai. I live in Melbourne, Australia.

I love the great outdoors although we are quite focused on our home life at the moment. I have travelled quite extensively in the past and hope to again in the future. I love technology & the latest gadgets. I have my own website focused towards travel technology.

Hope that's a bit of insight into who I am.

New to ft
 

Hi All,

I am retired and new to this site. I am a white knuckle flier in my dotage and want to overcome my fears by flying more often. Last year I flew to England, Germany and Scotland and did well and without medication. Ha! Have some questions and hope to learn a lot and mitigate my fears.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6192/...ff1158a8_b.jpg

That's me in my current vacations in Peru. 22 (I do look younger) - Business student , been into 35 countries just for leisure. From Caracas

mrsspike30

I'm a Healthcare Consultant, based in Northeast FL and I usually fly out of JAX.

Usual programs: USAir, even division between Hilton and Marriott stays, National for rental cars. Use the AMEX Plat for travel expenses.

Interests: Long distance running, my fantastic supportive family, reading, technology, healthcare stuff, bit of a foodie but not snobby about it, like wine but not in plastic, miss cooking in my own kitchen. Oh wait, did I say travel?

my first post.

my username is an acronym for Ryan Bingham, referring to George Clooney's character in the film "Up in the Air".

Out of the last 365 days, I have spent 2 more day than Bingham claimed having spent himself travelling over the previous year.

However contrarily to Bingham, my job makes me a harbringer of GOOD NEWS, not bad ones ("you are fired"), I pay for my own flights and I am self-employed, therefore I fly almost exclusively in Economy, but I never use "cheap" no-frill airlines like Ryan Air. making high status miles truly difficult to reach because over 50% of my flying count for little or no status miles (deep-economy codeshares) , or I use airlines that are not part of any alliance.

I have flown with over 85 different airlines, and visited over 70 countries. The only European country I havent visited is Belarus. I speak fluently 12 languages.

I just achieved AIR CANADA ELITE (GOLD) status today and I am just one flight away from achieving Gold on American Airlines as well. I keep wondering if someone has ever achieved Gold status on both Star Alliance and One World in the same year...

I have a mobility handicap, (hit by a drunk driver, years ago, never been able to walk properly ever since), so I use wheelchair services in most airports. I must have used wheelchair services at over 80 different airports around the globe. Maybe I should write an article rating airports on their Mobility assistance efficiency.

I have loyalty cards with nearly every 5 star Hotel chain there is, my favorites being Radisson and Sheraton where I have both reached Gold status for this year.

Thank You for reading. I would appreciate any suggestion to make my rewards more efficient, travel advice or any other idea.

JP

Love to travel - need more miles!

I’m a bit of a newb when it comes to this travel hacking stuff and I’m brand new to FlyerTalk. I adore traveling and sometimes need to do it for conferences, so it’s about time I stared to figure out the secret deals. I kind of need adopted by some more experienced travelers or something ;). I would love to meet up with FlyerTalkers who either live in Portland or visit here. If you’re from out of town, let me show you around a little! Send me a PM if you want to chat. http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...46942_5815.jpg

wow!
 

Let me share guys the honour to be a brand new part of this awesome Community! :)

Few months lurker, but indeed plenty of tips enjoyed.

Based in Italy (NAP, FCO) just back from a thrilling travel in Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. 53 Countries overall.

Tomorrow, thanks of course to some FT "bad" reading, I start my first mileage run, weekend in PUS, Korea.

Above all, I'm sticking daily on LH, EK, QF, TR, MR and Buzz topics.

Many thanks, and great trip to everyone!

;)

Pets
 

Certainly. And I have faced it. We can communicate on this theme. Here or in PM.

NEWB Introduction
 

Hello All:

35yo publishing consultant/small business owner. Based out of MCO, travel mainly for pleasure(6-10 times a year), some business travel (4-6 times a year).

Haven'd done the AMEX conversion yet. Been FO for several years, looking to at least get Gold next year.

Been lurking on the site for a while, wanted to make it official now.

I've referred to FlyerTalk for all my travel concerns milage deals/promotions for a long time now. Just wanted to make it official.

I'm a 23 y/o student pursuing a Biology, B.S. degree. Normally based out of MCO, but I'm currently taking a semester off to visit family near CHA (though, I'd much rather use ATL instead). I've done some light travel: Los Angeles, D.C., Seattle, Japan, and NYC. Made Silver Medallion status with Delta, but didn't travel much the following year to keep it.... oh well.

I have a knack for photography, focusing more on costumers at events like New York Comic Con (which is just over a week away). I like to travel, do healthcare-related volunteering, and eat lots of good food :)

Hi all, Flyertalk n00b here! I'm Paul, a 30 year old live sound engineer and bassist from Bradford, UK. I spend around half my life on the road and almost all of our concerts are overseas, which means lots of time in pressurised tubes! I've had a life-long interest in aviation so being given the opportunity to fly and travel so much and get paid for it is pretty amazing for me!

I'm also a massive camera/photography geek and I co-own and run an aviation photography website which keeps me busy both at home and away. It's quite nice being able to upload images I shoot on my travels! Not quite sure what else to say for the moment (tiredness is setting in) but I'll look forward to spending a bit more time around here! :)

Paul

I've been around for a few months now, I just now discovered this thread. (Looks like I'm a tad bit slow :P). I'm 21-years old, just graduated this past July with a in B.A. in Criminal Justice & Criminology from Ball State University. Just moved back to the DFW area, which is home. (You would think that I would be an elite on AA, but I'm not. I'm a 1P on UA.) I absolutely love FT. If it wasn't for this this site, I wouldn't be able to go to the UK next month for free, in First Class on LH. :D. Or be able to attend UA Family Day this weekend. It took me a while to understand the lingo, but once I got, I got it. :).

I'm into gaming (XBL anyone?), social issues, criminal issues, law, politics, you know, your average, post-college-graduate kid. I'm also gay, so that puts me into a smaller group, here within FT. But either way, I love this site. :D

Safe travels everyone!

-Fernando

newbie
 

hello all:
newbie here: new to the forum and kind of new to the freq flyer programs.
i work in the global oil & gas exploration & development industry: aka "deepwater drilling".
i've got a new job where I'll be flying every month between NYC and NZ or NYC and Australia. lots of potential miles that I would like to maximize but my company will only pay for economy class tickets. :td:
at present I'm a member of air france's "petroleum club", as well as skyteam (air france/delta), oneworld (amer air/brit air), and star alliance (south african airways). all my memberships are low level: no gold or platinum yet; I try to focus on air france/skyteam and that's where most of my miles are.

questions:
1. what is the best way to fly between us east coast and aust/nz: via california or via europe??
2. which airline/ff group would you guys recommend for me to accumulate useable miles?
3. any other advice on how to maximize my flying would be appreciated.

thanks in advance and hope to see you in an airport lounge someday.....
as I start travelling I'll be sure to post my findings on here.

Great forum
 

Hello All,
Been lurking on this forum for the wealth of information here with regard to travel, flight and of course, frequent flier miles:D.Every time my flight gets invariably delayed when traveling to the world's busiest airport, this forum helps me pass the time well.
Like a number of members here, I am a recipient of 150K AA miles and am looking to cash in for an upcoming trip early next year.
Once again, thanks to all the members who have been helpful to others, and look forward to your advice on implementing my strategy efficiently.

Nurse
 

Hello:

New to this site. I am presently working as a neurosurgery nurse. Very demanding but always wanted to work for an Airline since I was l5. Did have interviews with Air Canada when I was l8. Made it to the 5th interview for Flight Attendant. Do they still do this? But life took another direction. Another calling. Recently my neice started working for West Jet. She suggests I apply for Airport Ambassedar. Looking at the job posting. This is exactly what I would like to do on a casual basis. She tell me they do not hire nurses. Is this correct?. I want to do this as a positive change. I do have five days of between sets of shifts. Can someone give me some tips. Thanks

Hey guys, originally from LAX but have been bouncing around from state to state and country to country for the past 5 years due to the nature of my profession. What led me to this site was my fascination with aviation and travel in general so naturally, my quest to fly for cheap led me here. I am currently serving with the US Air Force. My "job" has afforded me to go to many places that I could never have dreamed of! This only fueled my thirst to travel!

Like most of the members here, I thought I knew a lot about miles and points until I stumbled on this site. Although I've only been a member for a couple of months, I've already taken advantage of the multitude of offers, promotions and tips that this community has shared. Looking forward to learning more and sharing my travel experiences with the rest of the community.

new - b
 

Hi everyone. I'm an American trying to fake it as a European while using my parent's house as home base for my points gathering shenanigans. It remains to be seen just how well that will go. Thanks in advance (and in post) for all the wisdom of this board!

Gotta love our folks homes back in the states. I use this same tactic as well!

So here is the deal,

I don't want to broadcast to much about my life in an open forum.

I am a well rounded person was a wide range of interests. So here are the crucial tidbits that you should know. I like WWII aviation, airlines and just anything about aviation. I am a big history buff. I love sports. I don't feel like posting all about my career info and also.

I live in the DC Area

I was a Business Major in college


I prefer to travel internationally. I fly domestic but generally only when I have. There are a few minor execptions to that rule;)

If you would like to know my name or learn me aboutt me PM me..... I am happy to share more info. so yeah feel free to PM me if anyone wants to.

I'm a divorced father of one beautiful 9 year old daughter!

Hi everyone -

I've been a member for a couple of years but never posted an introduction. I travel frequently both for business and personal reasons, and have found a tremendous wealth of information on this site that has helped make this easier and more enjoyable for me. I do not post often, but hope that I can give something back to this community as well.

The name firstglobal comes from a book that John Zogby published just before the US elections in 2008 called "The Way We'll Be". He breaks down the country by demographics of various sorts (consumer trends, political views, etc.) but one of the most striking things he discusses is the outlook of young people. Eschewing the traditional labels of "Generation Y" or "Millenial", Zogby calls my generation the "First Global Generation" and describes us as "the most cosmopolitan age group in America, the most international, and the one most concerned about the environment and human rights." Defining characteristics are acceptance of other cultures, faiths, and lifestyles - and a deep optimism and commitment to creating a better future.

Members of the First Global Generation are much more likely to consider ourselves first and foremost as "citizens of the world" - more than 25% of those interviewed believed that they would live or work outside the US at some point in their lives (remember that this was 2008, I expect that the numbers have sadly declined a bit since then). Nonetheless, I find Zogby's description to be uplifting and feel that it fits with the expansive worldview that I find here on FT.

I look forward to future conversations with all of you.

optimism
 

Nice intro. Some people would draw the opposite conclusion, that since 2008 more U.S. residents expect to leave, perhaps permanently. Your optimism is refreshing, it's just what we need now, and it makes me more optimistic.

Hi Everybody! I started lurking sometime last year but decided to join a few months ago. I live in California and fly out of LAX most of the time. I mainly travel for vacations and have been to Asia numerous times. I hope to visit South America and Europe within the next two years while I'm still relatively young. I plan on using frequent flyer mileage for the first time to book an international vacation and I'm a bit nervous about it. I'm sure I'll do fine with the wealth of information I've found on Flyertalk. Thanks to all the participating members! Maybe we'll meet each other someday in a lounge or on a flight :D

Maiden Voyage
 

Hello!

My first post.

My wife and I travel out of Minneapolis on 2-3 long weekend trips a year and then throw in one long vacation every other year for a 7-10 day stay (Hawaii last year and hopefully Europe next year). Previously worked at Northwest airlines for almost 5 years in the Worldperks deptartment. I have missed those flight perks ever since I left.

Looking for more information on accruing credit card bonus miles. Specifically, how long to wait between application dates and how many cards can be applied for at one time.

Also, looking for recommendations in the Ft Myers Beach/Naples area for accomodations Feb 10-14. Does anyone know if there are condo rentals by the day instead of week?

Not sure where the correct place to post my questions is.

Thank you in advance.

Rhodesie9

Good day everyone!

Long time lurker, 3 time registerer (for some reason my old user names never worked again and when I tried to retrieve my password it said email not registered but when I tried to re register it said email already in service...not important now though)

I'm 24, my wife and I live in the Caribbean and try to travel as much as we can which can be tough as it seems like we live in the most expensive per mile travel area in the world (or at least that I've seen). We're AA travellers by seeming necessity as they offer the most flights in our area aside from small carriers that don't offer FF miles. Used to fly a lot on hawaiian and alaska and had status for a few years but no more, still have miles sitting around though and would love to find some place where I could trade them for something more useful to me.

Took a couple trips this year so far, Puerto Rico twice, Europe (Germany, Czech, Switzerland by car and Spain) and the States to visit family. Trying to knock off another one this year, maybe try to do a mileage run if possible. Next year we're off to Malaysia, Australia, China and Taiwan! Unfortunately only about half the flights are Oneworld, though going to try and get AA credit on the EVA air flights as they codeshare sometimes, but it's our first rewards trip together for part of it and we'll be in first class!

Probably going to be doing a couple more credit cards before the trip, looking at priority pass and something to hold onto for no foreign trans fees, maybe Chase sapphire preferred.

Thanks for all the info and looking forward to many more visits!

New in this game
 

Hi, just got my card and have flown with SouthWest on twice. I LOVE THEM!!! After having an American airlines steward shove me and my disabled daughter as we were trying to get into an onboard bathroom....with no offer of making it right.....no, with refusal to make it right....I booked with Southwest and have chosen them as my mode of flying. They are wonderful!!!! Very friendly!!! Felt like I was flying with family. Thank you!!! Thank you!!! Our next trip has been taken care of with our bonus points. Couldn't be happier!! And, of course, and easy 1,000 points here. What a pleasant surprise!!

Thanks FT. I've been reading for over a year and have used your advice, deals and understanding of the FF systems to greatly improve my grant/state university funded (ie cheap as possible) international travel for work and as well as some nice personal vacations with accrued miles and hotel points. I'll be looking forward to contributing more now that I'm understanding the games better. Thanks to all who contribute!

frequent flyer mileage points
 

deleted by moderator

deleted, discussed between Willie & goalie.

Thought I would post an introduction before attending the upcoming Chicago Seminars.

What I love most about FT is that logic rules this site (relative to the rest of the world). Everything is straight to the point, my kind of people! The people that can't take A and B and derive C get put in their place.

I'm part of the small percentage of women on FT, in my mid twenties, recently left industry and am enjoying traveling as well as my own academic research pursuits (currently a student at Northwestern University). My background is in tech (lots of eCommerce), ventured out to a silicon valley start-up when I was 16, then on to Google and others.

Hope to find intelligent people to meet up with along the way or otherwise work together to mastermind these programs. I would make excellent mileage run or travel company to share in hotel/rental car costs - easy going, great listener, highly rational. Based out of ORD, often MKE and sometimes SFO.

Welcome linuxchick! I can't wait to bash you on your thoughts! Haha I'm a Mac guy, but I can't wait to see your posts!

Just wanted to pop in and say hi to everyone.

Wish I can join you guys in Chicago this weekend. Guess that'll have to wait till the next seminar!

I have always loved collecting points, miles, but not at the level of passion as many of the FTers here.

However, after scoring my inaugural F class flight on CX last year using a combination of SPG and AA points, I am now all fired to learn all I can about living a fine life on miles and points! :)

Looking forward to learning from all the experts on this board!

Introduction
 

Hi I'm a 35 yr old nurse, living in Australia, with house mate. Working at same hospital 12 years. Looking forward to my first overseas trip ticket paid to see family in Europe after 30 years- wow!!! Time flies. I have many more trips in mind. I feel blessEd in my work to have had the privilege to have looked after many souls in the last 16-17years. In my free time I enjoy walks, reading cinema , chatting . Like a mix of social and quiet time. Looks like a great website- planning to make the mOst of my holidays when I get them- so this maybe a great website to visit. Thankyou.

Hi, All,

I've been an infrequent traveler until this year - prior to that, spouse traveled very often for work and like to stay at home on his off time except when I'd drag him out once a year so I could see something other than the house and yard. Unfortunately, he passed away (ALS) in his late 50s before we got to do so many things we wanted to. Now I'm going to start going to some of the places I've always wanted to see as life is way too short!

Sticking to the states this year (first year with a new employer - after DH died, former employer decided to eliminate my position), planning for Africa and a photo safari next year, Europe after that, Asia once I get my "International" feet well under me!

I love reading flyer talk (lurking for years - I've traveled vicariously through many of you). I had my first comical experience on a flight from MCO back to CLT (home base). I always book window seats, and as I neared my row, saw an Oriental gentleman in the aisle seat (middle was, and remained, empty :) ). I smiled, said hello and asked if he'd please let me in - he shook his head no, grinning from ear to ear. I asked again, still politely, he did the same thing. This time, I shook my head yes and said now please get up - he started laughing and stood to let me take my seat. Not sure he spoke much of any English (or he was pulling my leg with the seating thing) because he never spoke but we nodded and smiled whenever I looked up from my book. When we reached our destination, he got up and bowed me out of the row!

Looking forward to learning more, through experience this time!