Not exactly answering your question.
I actually asked for more pay (and got it) when the travel load headed north. As another poster said, some people would take a pay cut for less travel. I am in that category. Catching an outbound overseas flight on Sunday and returning home the following Saturday is not my idea of having a good time.

I'd put a negative value on it. Traveling for work means that you work more, are away from family and friends, commonly end up spending more of your own money while traveling and have to put up with the hassle of travel. The costs of losing time and health far outweigh any travel benefit. Most of the travel benefits are only really valuable for people on here because they travel so much.

If I traveled only once per year, going to the airport an hour later because I have no status would be no big deal.

I think travel for work could end up being a financial positive, if you work for the right company. If you are gone two weeks for business (I'm single, so have no family considerations weighing in here), that's two weeks you don't have your typical expenses at home. You are not buying groceries, using your own air conditioning, paying for your commute, or washing your own towels or making your bed. You save money in that regard. On top of that, you probably have a per diem covering your meals and anything extra. Working harder means you have less time to spend that per diem, and could pay off with a bigger bonus at the end of the year. And that doesn't even include the value, which varies person to person, of status-earning programs...

When I travel for work, I tend to come out ahead...

Usually I'd agree...except for the fact that the OP's travel job allows him more overall time (than a traditional in-town office job) with family/friends because of a favorable arrangement on the non-travel days.

Financially, I always come out ahead on the weeks that I travel... Healthy? Yeah, I gotta agree there... I bring my running gear with me and try to bang out a 6-8 miler each day I'm traveling, but I'm sure it doesn't offset the food & booze I consumer during business trips.

Here, here! Very well put.

Steve

I tend to agree with Mile-Hor. When I'm on the road (80% of the time) all of my expenses are paid - Food, rental car, gas, incidentals, etc.. When I'm home, all of those expense are on me. I would guess I "earn" an extra $5K-$10K per year due to not incurring expenses.

I do not attribute any of this to elite status though. To me Elite Status just makes the travel time more comfortable. If I stopped travelling I would not need these benefits and thus they'd have no value.

I've been married for 21 years; I assume that's longer than you.

Do what your wife wants if it's not that big a deal to you either way. It works out better and cheaper in the long run, believe me.

"I think travel for work could end up being a financial positive, if you work for the right company. If you are gone two weeks for business (I'm single, so have no family considerations weighing in here), that's two weeks you don't have your typical expenses at home. You are not buying groceries, using your own air conditioning, paying for your commute, or washing your own towels or making your bed. You save money in that regard. On top of that, you probably have a per diem covering your meals and anything extra. Working harder means you have less time to spend that per diem, and could pay off with a bigger bonus at the end of the year. And that doesn't even include the value, which varies person to person, of status-earning programs...

When I travel for work, I tend to come out ahead..."

I can see your point there. It seems to me though that I always end up eating costs (missing receipts, toiletry items, etc) and by the time I get my expenses paid there's often a finance charge. There's also the cost of more business clothes, dry cleaning, etc. You have to figure those costs.

As for a per diem, that would be applicable if you work for a company that does that. Most don't, but if yours does that is certainly a consideration. I'm also yet to see or hear of anyone getting a bigger bonus related to extra travel. That might happen with some consultants, but I'd verify that before you put that into consideration.

In terms of being young and having no family, I find it worse being this way and having to travel for work. It is very difficult to keep momentum in relationships when you're gone 1/2 of the time and working like crazy. Spending a weekend sitting around your house because you're jet lagged and burnt out from a long week of being the road warrior is much easier for someone with kids who want him/her at home. That is not to mention that your friends will want to go to restaurants and bars and that's what you've done all week. It also makes it very hard to keep participating in sports teams, etc, when your schedule is erratic.

To me, traveling when you're young is much easier than when you're older. Most people I work with call it a break given their insanely busy daily domestic schedules and pretty much all of their real quality time with the kids is on the weekends anyways.

Even with my basic travel expenses all reimbursed by my employer/clients, I still end up spending a lot of money out of pocket for all my weekly travel. There are many extra expenses involved in being on the road that are not reimbursable or above reimbursable amounts that I wouldn't have if I was at home. I haven't done the math, but I think if I saved up all that money I'd otherwise be spending on the road, I'd be able to pay for the vacations I'm taking using points and miles. I could probably get more bonuses, too, if I was able to spend all the unproductive time I spend in transit working on going the extra mile for my job, as well. It seems to me like it would all even out. The difference would be that I'm used to getting my vacation travel for "free" and not saving up for it.

Amen. I've been home 4 days and 3 nights in the past 30 days. I'd take a 20k cut just to know I'll be home twice that each month.

*sigh*

I left my job where I was traveling every week to take a job with a pay cut as well as with no travel. I am sure then when you take out all the per diem expenses, I lost quite a bit, but I was much happier at my job so the pay wasn't as important... Of course I was since laid off from that job, so be careful what you wish for!

As many have already said, there is no definate value to put on it. I left my previous job partially because my wife and I were tired of the constant travel. On the other hand, I did accumulate a decent amount of points and free trips so we took full advantage of that. A business trip to an interesting destination once in a while is a nice break from the office. Repeated trips gets to be a drag.

I would put zero value on it or perhaps see it as a negative, because no employer would pay you less, dangling the status and points in front of you. There are probably more people that would rather not have to travel than have to.

Did you do a search? I think you should do a search first.