Wow. The Box was full of good stuff this afternoon/evening. Good form, all.

I was at my client in Newark today. Their office is on the 25th floor with a conference room of windows overlooking EWR from about a mile and a half away (1 Gateway Plaza, attached to Newark Penn Station). I brought my camera in hopes of doing some plane spotting. The haze was miserable. I could barely see the airport most of the day. And it turns out that I need a longer lens than my 500mm on a dSLR with a 1.5x factor. That or I need a different location for plane spotting. Pretty disappointing since I really thought the site was going to be a good one.

Agree with you both. I'm a Hilton girl (Diamond through sometime in 2010...no one really understands the rolling tier thingy) but enjoy cheating with Starwood, the evil temptress. More bonus offers, great Plat treatment including suite upgrades, more consistently-good products (almost can't go wrong with a Westin, W, or St. Regis and most Sheratons are ok at worst...) When dating a SPG Plat I lobbied for HH stays, but secretly was happy when we ended up in a posh SPG suite on his dime. ;)

ROFL, i love that Family Guy. I use that line whenever I can.

Not yet, but I'm hoping to try one in the near future.

Has anyone had luck getting CO to change them (same day) to a different arrival city (same state) if seats were available? MR BL thinks I should have picked a different city to fly into in AR - why he didn't pipe up when I was booking the tickets is beyond me but anyway - thought I'd ask the experts in the box.

Mmmm...

Last time I was here the Hilton exec lounge attendant took it as a personal mission to ensure I had a caipirinha in hand at all times while in his presence...I was quickly hooked! I have brought cachaca home, and ordered them while out in NYC, but it's never been the same. An authentic local beverage was my first order of business upon arrival yesterday. And today. :D

We're about to have to SPG Golds in my household, thanks for my partner traveling more for work, and me signing him up for every Starwood promo I could find Sunday night.

He's slowly catching on to the points thing. We also got his corporate Amex signed up for Membership Rewards, something that should have happend several months ago. But better late than never.

Now I need to work on getting his DL account credit for one of our recent CO flights that I forgot to put his number on.

Revenue or award ticket? No personal experience (other than irrops), but my guess is ion a revenue ticket, if they are not co-terminals you are SOL. And if they ARE co-terminals, you're still most likely SOL unless you find the right agent. For an award ticket couldn't you just redeposit and rebook?

Unfortunately, revenue but are co-terminals. Yes, if it was award, I'd be in better luck. He'll just have to handle the longer drive. Sorry, but AR is NOT a state I am well aquainted with :)

Spoken like a true box denzien. They are quite tasty. ^

Isn't it nice when the lightbulb goes off for them?

Yep, especially when it means we'll have even more points at our disposal when planning vacations. He doesn't want to travel for work as much as I do, but him making a couple of work trips a month adds up to at least a few free nights, car rentals, and flights.

I also got him signed up for National Emerald Club a few weeks ago. Being a car guy, he was like a kid in a candy shop several weeks ago when we arrived at IAH and I said "We can pick any car from this section of the garage." He was sold and got me to sign him up with National as soon as we got home. He had his first rental at DFW a week later.

But he's a little jealous of me telling him about some of the great cars I've had lately from National. He's still stuck in the regular Emerald Aisle for now.

It is a world of difference between the service and attitude you get from a SPG property vs a Marriott property as a Plat. I couldn't tell you the last time I got a real upgrade at a Marriott property whereas I always get upgrades at Starwoods. My personal favorite was the upgrade to a suite at the W in Dallas. I didn't want to leave that hotel. :(

I get nice suite upgrades at certain Ren properties but it doesn't compare the sweet suites I've had with SPG. I mostly use SPG for my Asia stays and the suites I receive are AMAZING. My SGN Sheraton suite had a gong. That was fun ;) I've always wanted to stay at the W in Dallas - I'll have to ensure I stay there next time.

A real live gong??? How cool! Were you alone or with Mr. BL for that one? It sucks to get the good upgrades when you're flying, er, sleeping solo. :(

Last Asia SPG upgrade earned from Mr. SPG Plat was a suite at the St. Regis SIN...VERY nice. Almost too nice...left the room for about 3 hrs total in 2 days. ;)