nsx

Well, then. No wonder she doesn't want you to attend another such event!!

Out here in California, when we see the word "Dos", it means "Two". Which was apt in your case!

sbm12

I think that your definition of the "average flyertalker" is woefully erroneous. The average flyertalker reads and consumes, just like the average blog reader. Many of the average flyertalkers may not even be registered members - on average 2-3x more guests are on the site than registered members from what I've seen - and many of the registered users are, at most, an occasional poster. There is a very small collection of very, very involved members who post a lot and who have passionate opinions on any number of topics discussed on this site. But they are hardly average.

The average user here posts far less than once per day, I'd bet. There are some very frequent posters (self included) who skew the average numbers, but most are just reading along, looking for news, deals or guidance.

The Deal Mommy

I'm enjoying reading everyone's takeaways from the event. Mine are similar- and different.

Similar: Being my 2nd event (Chicago 2012 was my first) I got little to nothing new out of the regular suspects. My value came from the social interactions in the hallways, happy hours, etc. Once you've Veuve Clicquot'd with Mr. Pickles, well, where do you go from there?

Different: I got HUGE value out of Chris Gillibeau's presentation and was happy to see Rapid Travel Chai up there. His fresh perspective is welcome!

Since I come at this as a Mommy hacker, I was disappointed in the family offerings at FTU for a number of reasons. I know flyertalk is 20-something dude heavy, but I told Randy that more voices at the table in this vein would be helpful. Mommy Points and Pizzaman are great at what they do, but "family" does not always mean "baby" (the oldest kid represented by the panel was 6) and most of us who fly 4, 6, or 8 people just don't have the freezer size for the ice cream needed to fly business class as they recommended!

Mommy Points

I would also love to see more family offerings at these events, as covering everything related to family travel in roughly in hour just isn't going to happen. Heck you could almost do a whole session just on finding housing/rentals/hotel rooms for families. You are right that traveling with teens and pre-teens brings on different challenges than traveling with the six and under crowd. Some of the challenges such as space and availability are similar, but clearly someone with a 12 year old doesn't care about baby travel gear and lap infant policies.

kokonutz

Well I certainly learned something new today!

I never made a differentiation between Deal Mommy and Mommy Points! But they are two totally different posters!!!! @:-)

TWA44

We had a dinner and drinks Meet-Up in PDX in early April. Here's a link:

http://www.meetup.com/Frequent-Flyer...1_grp&rv=co1.1

They consensus was to do it again. The same group also holds events in Seattle.

TWA44

I have been reading widely on FT as I get going in this game, but never saw the above post until now. What a sweet story! Having watched your valiant effort to get this forum going, I had no idea you were such a romantic guy! Happy Anniversary to you both!

oliver2002

While I see the charm in organising an event with x00 'expert' FTers in one room, hallway or bar, my experience shows smaller events like this fridays MUC Stammtisch, the London bmi drinkies or the Washington area drink evenings are far more effective to bond and exchange tips/tricks/deals. When 100 or more are involved you tend to interact like you are speed dating, with 2-3 minutes per participant, or rather you get stuck talking to a chatty drunk FTer and all the while feel like you are missing out on networking with a dozen or so others...

The Deal Mommy

I actually think there's enough material for an entire family travel seminar! Hmmm...Revenge of the Mommy bloggers, FT style

kokonutz

Question I just thought of. With the Freddies co-located with the FTUDC....did any of the employees of the Freddie finalists stick around for the weekend to see how their programs are getting 'hacked'?

I wonder especially if any attended the 'Secrets' session.

sbm12

I know that at least one UA employee was at the FTU event. He doesn't work in the loyalty program and was there as a paid attendee because he has a bunch of miles he uses from time to time for his family to travel.

kokonutz

Lol, I know he wasn't there to win any Freddie awards!!!!

Thanks for the 411.

itsaboutthejourney

or as the people at Delta's General Office referred to the event: "that gamer convention"