Looking for a "Starter Pack"
 

Hi everyone,

I just got a new job as a consultant and now its time to get ready for a lot of traveling and so on. I also just want to get bonus points and so on from different programs.

Can you guys recommend some of the "must haves" I need for business traveling around the world?

I mean such things like: what bag can you recommend for notebook and clothes and also all the other programs like Hilton Honors, Miles & More, ...

What credit card with extra services can you recommend?

I am currently only have a small stupid MasterCard. I thought about getting a card with a higher status with concierge service.

I would like to hear from you what you think are the must haves for me?


Thank you very much and have a nice weekend!

Bye,
Andre

Hey Andre... I think none of us can say that our way of doing things is the best, or the only... but we can provide a little insight that helps you make your own desitions.

I'm a HHonors member and fly mostly with the Star Alliance, my prefered airline is Continental (OnePass member).

As for luggage I use a rollaboard from a swiss company. Try to get your rollaboard as light as possible, it might not be a big problem in America, but in Europe you can carry on only around 8 kilos.

For a laptop bag I use a samsonite soft-shelled 'briefcase' that attaches to the handle of the rollaboard.

Don't overpack with stuff like a blowdrier or a travel steamer or iron... people forget hotels have these things.

Andre,

Welcome to FT, and enjoy your traveling on somebody dime:)
Please read this http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...z-threads.html
Have a safe and fun travel.
Karung99

Welcome to FT! I'm going to move your question over to the MilesBuzz forum for discussion by the experts there

Jenbel
Co-moderator, CommunityBuzz!

What city will you be flying from?

Hi Andre,

Welcome to the crazy world of business travel. I would recommend joining all of the airline frequent flier clubs. Figure out your most used program and try to book always on the same airline or alliance to quickly get status. You may also want to get a credit card that will provide you with miles or hotel points. For example, AMEX SPG (my personal favorite), AA Visa, UA mileage plus visa, Delta skymiles visa etc. If you are traveling a lot you should also join a mileage dining rewards plan and link that credit card to it to get more points. The website varies by airline. By doing that you gain more points by dining at participating restaurants. Hope that helps some. Happy Trails.

Besides your origin city (or area), it would help people help you if you mentioned probable destinations. And probable length of time for trips.

Find out both the published rules for travel (max per meal, hotel night, etc.) and the unpublished ones (ask around a bit, it varies from company to company). Can you book business class or do you have to search out the cheapest fare? Can you go out of direct route a little to maximize mileage? Can you stay over a Friday night and do a little touristing Saturday before returning home?

Will you be doing your own booking, or does your company use a specific travel agency (either internal or external)?

Do some studying on the rules of the various frequent flyer programs. For example, I learned the hard way that while Continental was a partner with Northwest, when you flew a leg of Continental it only booked at 50% of the miles traveled. Lots more subtleties, that was just a big stupid example way back on my learning curve and not vary subtle either. I just missed the fine print.

Romelle

The SPG AmEx is held in pretty high regard by almost everyone here. There is currently a 30,000 point bonus offer, as seen here.

welcome to ft andre....you need to figure out where your travels will be taking you & which hotels you would like to stay at....once you have that then check out the threads in those respective airlines & cities & hotel forums....there is a world of information out there on ft....

Here's a simple game plan:

1. Enroll is SPG and Marriot programs (spg better, but Marriot has a ton of properties depending on where you may need to go)

2. Enroll in UAL and AA's programs. Get both, but consolidate on the one that is more flights from your home airport/or to where you want to go.

3. Sign up for a SPG, UAL, and AA (if your going to be using both airlines) CC. keep an eye on mile promotions before you do on this sight.

4. Buy a quality rollerboard; Travelpro, Briggs & Riley, etc, Check them out and get the one you like. Personally, I stick to a 20" version. Match with a hand carry on piece that will fit you computer, personal items for the flight, etc.

5. Next step, focus on one Hotel and Air program until you have elite status (at least mid tier) before you spread miles/points out. Keep reading flyertalk.

Forgot to mention - I hope you are using "guys" here in the generic sense, since FT includes all genders.

It reminded me of an event many years ago. I was flying into a small town and was supposed to be met by local people. I waited patiently until there was almost nobody left in the terminal except me and a couple males walking around looking expectantly at faces. I approached them, and asked if they were waiting for "my name". "Oh yes", they replied. Then this sort of amazement/oops spread across their faces. Turns out they were looking for a "guy" of the male persuasion. Had just been looking totally over me.

I do have one of those non-gender-specific names, and it just never occurred to them it could be female.

For your new career - my very best wishes.

Romelle

Andre,

If you will be flying on AA check out the Platinum/Gold Challenge over in the AA section.

It is an awesome way to get status quickly!

And welcome to FT!

And don't forget
 

About car rentals, depending on promo's you can rack up some serious miles/credits/points by joining up with Hertz/National/Avis/Alamo and pointing your awards to your airline/hotel chain of your choice.

Personally I take the Hertz #1 Awards for the free rental days but some folks roll them all into other programs.

For me and where I fly it's Delta / United for air and Marriott / SPG for hotel.

They work for me but its mostly about where you have to go and what your personal tastes are.

Recommendations
 

Recommend: a small Samsonite spinner (at a discout from Bags.com or etc.)as it can avoid the regional jets tossing your bag in the hold and the spinners are very light and manueverable; noise cancelling headphones - Sony has them for a modest price; an SPG personal and an SPG business card each with sign on bonuses; geeks.com for the personal laptop (I buy VAIOs fior about $500); clothes in a poly cotton blend for no wrinkles; Sperry slipon topsiders or equivalent for lightweight secondary shoes; to carry the laptop and headphones, etc. get a backback since it can do double work if you get a chance to go out and about on business travel; get a passport ASAP, xerox it, and leave a copy in the suitcase; sign up with CreditKarma.com and monitor your credit score as you start to accumulate miles by credit card sign on offers; a status card with concierge service may or may not be worth it (I do AMEX Platinum and the critical advantage to lounge access is primarily showers and cleanup on layovers - food, TV, drinks can always be bought if needed); in Europe (i.e. reference to Miles and More) take advantage of Google maps which can should you actual road camera views when you consider road trips; get a small travel alarm, small AAA flashlight, Band Aids, nailclippers, sunglasses, and small denominations of Euros to stay in your suitcase along with a spare cell phone charger and an electric current adapter.

Figure what part of the world you want to see and structure your cards and ff programs to accumulate miles into the necessary carriers (I'm global with a few dozen ff programs). SPGs are Swiss Army Knife Cards - more flexible than plain AMEX.

Welcome to the frequent flyer club, Andre. You’re going to have a lot of fun traveling the world. One thing I would recommend is to, as far as possible, stick to the same air carrier and hotel to get a preferred guest status quickly. I usually only fly Delta and stay at Marriot wherever possible. For luggage, I use the Briggs & Riley Verb Fuse carry-on, which is perfect for business travel as it comes with a removable laptop sleeve. So, it eliminates the need for a separate laptop case. My Amex credit card works pretty well internationally and also gets me Delta SKYMILES. Have safe travels!

The OP can create his own "starter pack" by spending a few hours browing the FT threads and analyzing his own travel patterns and spending habits.

very true....