amolkold

I slept in a cheaper place after flying the A380 in a First Suite, then stayed with relatives after another A380 First Suite ride, even though I could have stayed at the Ritz or Conrad. . A lot of us younger travelers don't see the point of high-priced hotel rooms when we'd rather stay in more social settings.

farwest101

Well, if you followed that thinking to it's logical conclusion, you'd be flying coach as it is much more "social".

ThePointsCollector

Ever used that line on a date? "Hey Baby, how about 6 pack of Schlitz before we hit Big Daddy's Salon. That Italian restaurant is so anti-social".

BTW, I'm young and I think everyone was young at some point.

sbm12

I do too, from time to time. Then again, I don't shill CC links so it isn't that I'm getting paid in airline miles. It is that I'm traveling on a budget and, in most cases, really don't care where I sleep so long as there is a working toilet and shower somewhere nearby. A pod in Tokyo is great for me, for example. And I've stayed in more hostels since turning 30 than I did before that milestone. It is all a matter of where I want to spend my limited travel budget. If I have $10,000 total to spend on airfare and hotel for a year I'll happily spend 90% of that on airfare so long as I don't end up sleeping in the street too often.

84fiero

A friend (who was quite a tightwad) back in high school took a girl on a dinner-and-movie date... but for dinner, he took her to Speedway (gas station) for hot dogs and slushees. He took quite a lot of harassment for that. However the girl ended up marrying him so, guess it was a good fit after all!

That's kind of our (family of 3 and I'm 39 yrs old) general approach, too, as far as looking at total travel budget - both miles and cash components. Some trips we spend cash more on the airfare, some the hotel, or sometimes there are expensive activities that we want to save our cash for. It doesn't seem outlandish to think of flying in an F suite then staying somewhere cheap.

The wife isn't into hostels, though I would be if it were just me. But we have stayed in plenty of decent budget and "low-midrange" hotels overseas. Mostly we're there just to sleep and shower. Plus the non-chain places often have more local flavor and occasionally are closer to the sights than chain hotels.

lwildernorva

I don't do hostels anymore, but I do try to limit my spending on accommodations, happily taking low-cost B&Bs in many small towns and some big cities. There's another reason I don't always use hotel points, though. I see a lot of people here and on the blogs limiting their travel to destinations where they can use their hotel points. There are an awful lot of places in this world that I'd like to see that do not have SPG, Hilton, Marriott, etc. properties and some places that do that I don't particularly care to go to.

I'm not opposed to using those points if they fit my plans, but I won't structure my trip around access to hotels where I've accumulated points.

amolkold

I rarely, if ever, talk to other travelers on airplanes. I do when I'm actually on the ground in a city. We are a unique group in that many of us take the journey to be a major part of the trip, often more so than the destination.

In fact, I am often more social in F than Y, at least with the crew, since the ratio is more favorable.

So, a right back at ya!

My accommodation choices when I'm with a SO or with family are much different than when I am traveling by myself. Some of my best travel memories have happened where there wasn't a Hilton/SPG/Hyatt property anywhere nearby.

Raffles

Unfair.

I am typing this, ironically, from the Conrad in NYC after flying in on LH F. It is both luxurious and the most tediously sterile place I have ever stayed. If you know a 2 star anywhere close where there is a guaranteed party atmosphere (and where a 42 year old would be welcome!) then let me know and I'll get down there.

Apart from one night in St Petersburg some years ago I have never had anywhere near the fun in luxury hotels that I used to have when young travelling with friends and staying in dumps.

However, I never had any fun flying coach at any age and never for a second regretted moving up to F!

oliver2002

In other news, F2B now has 5 travel bloggers it seems:

https://twitter.com/first2board/stat...57151820730368

ThePointsCollector

You missed the point entirely.

gpapadop

This BA vs F2B competition is getting pretty interesting! It's always good to have competition in this area, it spurs innovation. Boarding Area was recently called by a blog reader (not me!) as Bored Area. I think more than half of the BA posts is about pimping credit cards! Good to see a new blog aggregator focusing on travel and not pimping!

Having said that, I am open for drafting to the highest bidder. But nobody wants me, I feel like the lone gunman once again #storyofmylife

I just hope F2B is sustainable for the long term without the easy $$ dough from cc's!

Mile-a-holic

Wow.....while I'm sure that I don't quality as young anymore , I would say that I have as much fun staying in luxury hotels as I did staying in dumps in college. More so even: the lounge at the London Waldorf, downing free beer with friends....what is not to love???

I almost agreed on the latter, but I must admit to having had fun in coach several times thanks to strangers.

oliver2002

Randy stated upthread that boarding area is not involved in the CC app revenue stream, that seems to be the sole domain of the specific blogger. BA.com just takes a cut of the ad revenue, which varies by the amount of traffic and ad revenue the blogger generates. Just read post #1113

amolkold

Or you just didn't read the first sentence.

gpapadop

Yes I know. But I wonder without the cc revenue how many bloggers would be part of BA? I think a major reason they want to join is because it does have a beneficial effect on whether they get their own aff cc links!
Without the bloggers...BA traffic/business model gets hurt no?

I wish First2Board success. When they get some bloggers under their wing the pressure will be there to let them get their own cc links like BA allows to do so. But first they must build it up and get the traffic going...

Interesting to watch. I think everybody forgets how the Flex Offers credit card division was sold to Bankrate which is known for being a "little" stingy. In other words, my gut instict says, whoever quits good day job now is...insane!