Originally Posted by colpuck (Post 10754181)

I am thinking about doing a run for plat, worth it for the new year with only 100% bonus?

Originally Posted by Anglo Large Clawed Otter (Post 10751212)

You got to keep the posts. ^

Originally Posted by Scott6067 (Post 10751323)

What should one do with 27 hours on the ground in Calgary?

Originally Posted by ssullivan (Post 10752824)

6:00 AM: Alarm goes off. :rolleyes:

6:05 AM: I fall back asleep. :rolleyes:

6:35 AM: I sort of come to consciousness and realize I have a flight to IAH leaving BTR in 1:25, and it's going to take me about 20 minutes to get to the airport. :rolleyes:

6:50 AM: After brushing my teeth, throwing on clothes, trying to fix the bed hair to look a little less bed hair-ish, I run out the door of room 1708 at the Baton Rouge Marriott. :rolleyes:

6:55 AM: I'm standing in the hall still waiting for the ridiculously slow elevator to get to me to take me downstairs. :rolleyes:

7:02 AM: In the car, ready to go to the airport. :rolleyes:

7:05 AM: Traffic on I-10. Baton Rouge residents can't drive in the rain, so they just slow down and go 10 MPH even when it's barely sprinkling enough to wet the road. Seriously, if you can drive 80 MPH with a 65 oz. styrofoam cup of frozen antifreeze and artificial fruit flavoring from the drive-thru daiquiri depot and texting on your cell phone with the other hand on dry pavement and not hit anybody, why can't you drive at least 55 MPH on pavement that's only slightly damp? :rolleyes:

7:20 AM: Park the Sienna :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: rental car in the BTR garage and run inside to the CO ticket counter. Bag is checked. :rolleyes:

7:40 AM: Board my ghetto fabulous Chautauqua CRJ. Turns out I have the same one, in the same seat, that our fellow PWP and Box comrade Hartmann had recently on his AMA-IAH flight. Remember his story about the jacked up interior with the scratched up tray table that had dried boogers on it? Well, I sit down to see a jacked up tray table covered with scratches (the thing looks like it was drug behind a tractor across the tarmac) and what appears to be, yes, boogers dried and stuck to it. I try not to vomit. :rolleyes:

7:41 AM: Enormous morbidly obese POS boards. CRJ lists to the port side. He's in 9A, and there's already a woman in 9B. No way they're both going to fit. I'm in 8B and quite thankful my 8A seatmate has already boarded. Lady in 9B sees an empty seat in row 10 and smartly takes it without saying a word. 9A practically breaks my seat back using it to lower his massive weight into 9A/9B. :rolleyes: He takes up most of the two seats. Good thing it wasn't a full flight. He also smells. Bad. Really bad. :mad: I turn up the air vent. He rings the flight attendant call button for a seat belt extender. :rolleyes: I want to ring the flight attendant call button and ask for a stink shield. :rolleyes:

7:44 AM: Lady in 7C boards with a 21-22" roller bag, with no blue tag on it. She practically breaks the overhead bin trying to cram it in, but fortunately tears her bag on the overhead bin latch and realizes that you can't fit that thing in that tiny bin. :rolleyes: Instead of gate checking it, she puts it under the seat in front of her and props her feet on top of it. 7D doesn't seem to mind that her massive bag is taking up his foot room too. Amazingly, the flight attendant walks by at least four times after this before we take off and never says a word about it. :rolleyes:

8:05 AM: We take off. Amazingly the little CRJ gets off the ground quickly and easily. Flight attendant makes announcement that there's no water for the coffee maker. :mad: This is my third consecutive morning Chautauqua CRJ flight where coffee is not available because they didn't bother to load the water bottles to refill the coffee makers. :rolleyes:

9:17 AM: We pull up to IAH B-84M right on time. :)

9:25 AM: We're still on the d@mn CRJ waiting for the gate checked bags to be brought forward. :mad: I desperately want to get to the E PC to take a shower. :rolleyes:

9:40 AM: I walk into the E PC and get shown to a shower room. I've never been happier to have a PC membership than that moment. :D

10:15 AM: I arrive at gate E-17 feeling refreshed. No more funky hair. No more feeling of dirt from that filthy nasty CRJ with the smelly obese guy behind me. I hear the announcement. "Flight 1420 to ATL is delayed due to Air Traffic Control issuing a ground stop for inbound traffic to ATL." :rolleyes:

10:35 AM: We board. I settle into 2F on my 73G. :)

11:05 AM: Captain announces that ATC is holding us on the ground longer. We'll be at the gate another 15-20 minutes. :rolleyes:

11:20 AM: We leave the gate, watching Larry K. remind us about the clean, safe, reliable transportation we're sitting on. :)

11:40 AM: We're still on the ground waiting for ATC to let us go. But at least now we're at the end of the runway. :rolleyes:

12:00 PM: Off we go!:D

12:30 PM: My shrimp salad has no shrimp. Guy in 2E's salad has shrimp. Ring the button. It's a conspiracy I tell you. CO is stealing my shrimp. :rolleyes:

12:31 PM: Flight attendant delivers my shrimp with a sincere apology. Salad is complete. Lunch commences. :)

4:45 PM: After flying back to ATL, waiting on luggage, driving back to my neighborhood, and stopping in Barnes & Noble to get a birthday gift for my partner, I'm home. :D Kitten jumps in my lap and won't leave me alone. :) I log onto FT. :D I come to the Penalty Box. :p I see fellow post whore comrade CO 1E will be traveling with the Otter to AMS. :D I'm happy for them both and know they'll represent the party well by stumbling around that city next weekend in a drunken state. :rolleyes: Life is good, and all is perfect in my world. I've just about forgotten about oversleeping :rolleyes:, nasty CRJs that desperately need to be scrubbed down :mad:, 22" rollerbags crammed into a CRJ in places they should never go :rolleyes:, smelly obese guy :mad:, no coffee :mad:, and ATL ATC. :rolleyes:

Originally Posted by colpuck (Post 10754181)

I am thinking about doing a run for plat, worth it for the new year with only 100% bonus?

Originally Posted by Clincher (Post 10753653)

I was suppose to sleep test tomorrow and travel 12/11 if I passed. Maybe we would have been on the same flights over. Would have been good to meet another maniac AMS poster:D.

Originally Posted by baglady (Post 10753468)

DON'T DO IT!!!!:eek:

Originally Posted by MilesDavis (Post 10754037)

Well, miles aren't any good if you don't use 'em! :D

Originally Posted by sfogate (Post 10754048)

The weird thing was my son has groupies. There were quite a number of cute freshmen girls yelling his name and they even put up a "We Love You" sign.

(Talk about feeling old)

Originally Posted by ssullivan (Post 10755229)

I use them. My years in OnePass have seen my miles used for five standard BusinessFirst awards from IAH to Europe, five or six standard domestic first class awards, one BusinessFirst round trip upgrade, and probably two dozen domestic first class upgrades for friends and family traveling with me on a paid ticket. My miles get used. I just don't like the thought of going down to a really low balance.

Originally Posted by ssullivan (Post 10755229)

I use them. My years in OnePass have seen my miles used for five standard BusinessFirst awards from IAH to Europe, five or six standard domestic first class awards, one BusinessFirst round trip upgrade, and probably two dozen domestic first class upgrades for friends and family traveling with me on a paid ticket. My miles get used. I just don't like the thought of going down to a really low balance.

Originally Posted by colpuck (Post 10754181)

I am thinking about doing a run for plat, worth it for the new year with only 100% bonus?

Originally Posted by sbm12 (Post 10754879)

Not worth it for the bonus miles, but if you're close it is worthwhile for the no fees for just about anything benefit, if you think you'll do any of that.

Pretty good recent discussion on it here.

Originally Posted by MilesDavis (Post 10755154)

Depends on how close you are and how much traveling you expect to do next year. It seems like upgrades are getting harder, and it's nice to be at the top of the list with Platinum Elite.

Originally Posted by MilesDavis (Post 10755246)

I know the feeling. I used 100K miles last december for a family trip, and my balance afterward was 344 miles. :D

Originally Posted by baglady (Post 10755254)

I'm with you; I constantly use miles, but need a safety net for emergencies.

Originally Posted by ssullivan (Post 10755268)

If you're going to fly a lot next year, sure, it's worth it. Don't believe me? Remember that discussion we had at the Astros Do regarding my near 100% success with EUAs on IAH-ATL versus your experience with upgrades on the same route? :p



My signature line* speaks for itself with regards to Platinum upgrades. :D

*Results not typical. Your EUA results as a OnePass Platinum Elite may not come anywhere close to the upgrade rate awesomeness experienced by ssullivan. Upgrade rate is severely reduced by the number of transcon, IAH-EWR, EWR-CLE, and IAH-CLE flights flown. Continental Airlines is not responsible if you, as a OnePass Platinum Elite, sit in coach more than 50% of the time. Side effects of OnePass Platinum Elite membership may include obsessive checking of A, D, and R inventory with the KVS Tool, strategic scheduling of flights to slightly more expensive or less convenient flights to increase odds of an upgrade, religiously avoiding 735s when possible (except on routes where it's the only mainline option), excessive consumption of alcohol, obsession with checking in at exactly 24 hours before the flight if the EUA e-mail has not been received before OLCI commences, refusal to book flights where the good exit row seats are already taken, and uncontrollable urges to check the PDA Info website every five minutes starting two days before your flight in order to determine the odds of your upgrade actually clearing. Continental Airlines, nor the OnePass program, is not liable for these side effects, nor for any headaches, increased consumption of alcohol or cigarettes, insomnia, divorces, miscarriages, death, or other bad things that may happen as a result of achieving OnePass elite. Achieve OnePass Platinum elite at your own risk. This disclaimer has been approved by the PWP.