Tips for someone about to become a real frequent traveler
 

So good morning all.

It looks like I may be starting a job where I go from occasional travel (once every month or two) to 50% on the road all over the world.

I know all the travel 101 and even 201 stuff and travel all the time for leisure, too. I still get a kick out of when I get long haul J, but it's definitely nothing new (though I'm sure it will get old fast).

I'm looking for what sort of advice people have for going to real frequent status.

One of my big concerns is my health as it's easy to keep track of what I eat and just make the travel days a splurge but I suppose I'll have to start turning down extra champagne in the lounge for example.

My biggest question is basically what is that I don't know I don't know about the lifestyle I'm choosing to watch out for?

It sounds a lot more glamorous than it actually is
It's OK for a while if you have no family and friends
Get a multination power point adapter
Carry condoms

Get a refillable water bottle. Fill it at every airport (post security) and drink at least 2-3 full bottles a day. Hydration is your friend.

Match status now now if you can

you really do need to watch your diet or it can get bad very quickly. Also, figure out how you'll exercise in the road. I liked speed walking through cities. It let me see things while exercising.

You'll know you're in trouble when you wake up in a hotel room & don't remember what city/country you're in.

Even worse when you don't know where you are and then realize that you're home.

Agree with every single one of these. Even if it's just one mile a day on the treadmill that's better than nothing.

Also learn to say no to the free bread offered whenever you go out and look into salads for lunch.

It's also important to find out how your body adjusts to timezone shifts to help combat jetlag and hit the ground running. From many months of IAD - LAX weekly travel I found that for me it's about eating on the timezone I'm going to (which essentially translates to an extra breakfast going IAD - LAX and only breakfast and then a meal that serves as lunch and dinner when going LAX - IAD). That strategy has worked for me wherever I travel in the world but of course everyone is different so it's important to find out what works for you body.

EDIT: I also typically held the belief that I was entitled to one "nice" meal a week (potentially a team dinner) and the rest of the week I would eat healthy. I usually would make the "nice" meal Wednesday night so it was a nice little reward for the long week and for being healthy the other days of the trip (I was on a M-Th travel schedule).

Get some exercise and eat healthy whenever you have control over the meals.

On my trips, I try to find at least 1 night where I'm chilling out, going for a long(ish) run, and eating light. (Usually sashimi.) There's guaranteed to be other nights with client/colleague dinners - those are long, heavy meals and booze-fueled late nights. The solo night is needed to cleanse from all of that crap.

Customs are different around the world, but I've never encountered a sushi bar that wasn't welcoming to a solo diner. So depending on where you travel, you might begin to experiment with sushi if you aren't into it already.

Hotel bars are the other domain of the solo diner, but the food is often crazy-salty and frankly uninspiring. Of course some cities have a good streetfood scene...quality may vary. :)

Assuming you'll be collecting a zillion FF miles/points, consider bringing friends or family members along with you on a trip or two. I did that back when I was frequently flying, and it was a fantastic experience for me and for the companion.

Depending on your work / type of trips you do:

1. If you need to rent a car often make sure you have a status card and use one of the major companies. Points and upgrades are nice but the time saving of just walking to you car can be huge at places.

2. Same for hotels, anything that allows you to check in online and not having to wait inline makes a difference. Especially if changing hotels daily.

3. This depends a lot on the type of person you are / company you work / your contract / etc but I would say in general that road warriors in many occasions get taken advantage off. Yes you get to fly away, stay in hotels etc but overall the amount of work vs compensation is lacking.

While I *hope* the OP collects a zillion FF miles, he should go in with the expectations that the airline miles game is substantially less rewarding than it once was. You usually have to fly farther and on higher fares to earn status, and the total redeemable miles coming back to you is generally less than it once was. Different airlines have different mechanics for limiting the RDMs you receive: U.S. carriers have gone to revenue multipliers; many non-U.S. carriers have gone to gradually moving more and more common coach fares into fractional-earning categories. Bonuses-upon-bonuses are mostly a thing of the past. Route bonuses are rare; booking bonuses are mostly gone, etc. Airline miles have become a big credit card game in some parts of the world, although I'm not sure what that landscape is like in Spain.

Even in business class, there are more and more discounted fare buckets that don't earn what full-J once did.

The hotel game is still pretty lucrative with stackable bonuses in play. 2017-2018 are volatile years with the big HHonors and Hyatt devaluations earlier this year and the Marriott/Starwood unknowns ahead. But I still like what I get from these programs. My HHonors stay last week earned 52 points per dollar thanks to a variety of bonuses, and I'll redeem those points this summer at just under 1 cent per point. So that's still not too bad...

It's a very good idea. It's no fun trying to find a chemist that is open at 3am in a country you don't speak the language of. It only takes that happening once before you realize it's worth the small amount of space required for a few packs of condoms.

And to add to the original conversation, one of the things I always pack with me are anti-diarrhea pills. I've only needed them a few times, but they are crucial when you need them.

Depending on where you travel, there are *extra* shots you should get if you plan on *that* level of interaction with the local population, especially if it's the local professional industry.

Prior to a trip to Africa, the doctor actually asked: do you plan on, well, that...? It would have been an additional hepatitis shot beyond the normal tourist regimen, IIRC.

I've done both.:confused::o