New FF seeking advice
 

Hello,

It is so great to find this forum. I have been worry about this new FF life. I will start commuting weekly PDX to SLC (live in one state, work in another-Crazy...I know, therefore my username:LaVidaLoca :))

I'll like to know your best tips on:
- Commuting smart: My work is pretty flexible. Do you think it is better to fly Monday come back Fri? Or leave Tu & return Fri? How about Leave Mo & return TH? Any ideas?

- Booking online: What are the best places to find great prices, airlines, etc. I usually use Travelocity to book, and Yapta to track

- Audiobooks: What is the best online place to buy business audiobooks?

- Balance (is there really such a thing?) work/family: If any of you have kids and commute between States, do you have any advice, ideas, etc.

- Wireless connection in PDX & SLC airports: What is the cheapest provider for wireless while in the airport?

Well, txs for your advice and I'm looking forward to be an active member of this community.

Best!

Advice is to find which airline is the best (convenience, quality) for flying between these 2 cities. Then join the airlines frequent flyer club to start earning miles and getting to an elite level. Makes a huge difference to be an elite - upgrades, better access to other fights if you need to change a ticket, etc For airlines, there is often a group in an alliance and if you need to use another airline, if in the alliance you can fly the other airline but use your frequent flyer number from your primary airline

For buying tickets, better to buy online directly on the airline website. usually better miles and also lower costs

Same for hotels, choose the best chain for you and join their frequent guest program.

Have some fun, do some sightseeing

Txs Jerseygirl,
I followed your advice and signed up for Delta FF program. Southwest is cheaper but there delays are atrocious.
My commuting is paid from my own pocket, so price is very important, but also convenience, on time flights, and quality.

Txs again and happy travels to you.

I prefer to fly out Monday mornings and fly back on the last flight Thursday. I don't like flying on Fridays in case of delays that would ruin weekend plans. Also many clients take off on Friday. You can also work from home on Fridays if your job allows. My other tip is to send out emails on Sunday evening that get people started on projects/tasks for Monday morning so you can hit the ground running when you make it in.

Welcome to FT, LaVidaLoca. Although it is early, I notice you're not getting many responses to your post. Since some of your questions aren't specific to women, you might get a better response if you posted those questions in an appropriate forum (if you haven't done this already).

Bobette

Welcome to FlyerTalk. I've moved this thread to Travel Buzz since it is of a general nature. I did leave your post about blogs for female frequent flyers in the Women Travelers forum. It's now a separate thread.

Happy travels.

l'etoile
Women Travelers moderator

great advise, txs. prncess674

LaVidaLoca, just so you know, PDX has free wi-fi throughout the terminal. And it's a fairly acceptable connection (I've never had a problem with it).

And I agree with the poster who said to buy directly from the airline. It usually is cheaper and you can usually manipulate the airline's website to show you all available flights between point A and point B. Plus, you avoid the online booking fees for some of the travel sites.

Sounds like the travel component of the job will become quickly non-glamourous, which makes u part of the vast majority of biz travelers. For every person who gets to fly business class to Paris there are several who just get to fly short hauls for sales purposes or visit plants in places like Peoria. It goes without saying that you wanna maximize FF benefits and try to fly up front as much as possible. Hopefully you'll benefit always from others matching WN so that you don't have to fly WN. SLC is a great place for them to send you if they don't want you getting in trouble...it's like the Singapore of the U.S. in that respect.

Sorry to shamefully plug the podcast I participate in, but check out the link below and catch up on some of our previous episodes. You will learn a lot about the finer points of frequent flying.

Welcome to FlyerTalk LaVidaLoca!

You should also get a credit card that earns points or miles. If you are concentrating on DL, you could get a DL AMEX card that gives you miles directly into your DL account or a Starwood AMEX card that lets you transfer points to most airlines.

Fyi, just heard on the radio this morning that they are changing the law in Utah so non-residents can actually patronize bars. :D

Along the lines of airline FF programs, do the same with hotel and rental car programs. It's nice to get a little extra from status, even if it's something small like an extra bottle of water or an upgrade to a non-parking-lot-facing room. ;)

For audiobooks look at www.audible.com They have a subscription that makes the books very reasonable and you get free d/l's on some podcasts etc.

Pick a hotel chain that is in the area you want to stay at. Then pick a specific hotel and talk to the manager. Look for a Homewood Suites type place. That way you get a kitchen area and avoid eating out every meal. See what types of rates they can give you if you will be booking every Mon-Thursday for a long period. Try to avoid traveling on Fridays. You are more likely to run into problems then.

Many hotels will hold luggage for you over the weekend. This is a huge advantage when traveling. You really only need to bring back dirty clothes, or do them at the hotel, and just travel with carry-on.

Get an affiliated credit card either with an airline or hotel. It really earns points and can get you some expensive vacations free!

I don't think you can go wrong the Starwood AMEX.

For car rentals, see the National board for instant access to Executive status. This will get you pretty good car selection and you always pay the midsize rate.

For hotels, I know nothing specifically about SLC. Definitely get the credit card associated with your chosen hotel chain. In fact, aside from the signup bonus, I might pass on the DL Amex and just roll with the SPG or HH Amex for all expenses. If you choose Marriott as your hotel chain, only use that Visa card at Marriotts and use one of the Amexes for other expenses.

All of the hotel credit cards include some sort of elite status, but your stay pattern will quickly put you into a mid/high tier if you're doing this weekly. HHonors accelerates that a bit in that you get Gold instantly with their Surpass (Amex) card.

All hotel chains seem to be constantly running loyalty promotions. Whichever one you pick, get familiar with its FT forum for the latest promos and any fast-tracks / comps to elite status.

I hate flying Fridays. If your client is cool with Mon-Thu, do that.