NYTimes: Long Day’s Journey Into Platinum

From The New York Times:
... A mans gotta do...
Long Day's Journey Into Platinum
By SCOTT TUROW

From Chicago to San Francisco, a writer goes on a one-day flying marathon in search of elite status. ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/27/travel/27personal.html

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NYTimes: For Security Ideas, Ask Business Travelers

From The New York Times:

For Security Ideas, Ask Business Travelers
By JOE SHARKEY

Frequent travelers say it's a mistake to complicate security so much that normal travel is further discouraged. ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/29/business/29road.html

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Interesting article on TIME Mobile: Bomb Attempt Makes Flying More Confusing

Sent from TIME Mobile. To get the free TIME Mobile application on your own BlackBerry device today, visit http://app.time.com

http://bit.ly/6zSmP8
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NYTimes: For Airline Passengers, Searches and Restroom Monitors

From The New York Times:

For Airline Passengers, Searches and Restroom Monitors
By MICHELINE MAYNARD

Passengers at airports around the world encountered extra security, with international travelers undergoing new bag inspections, body searches and questioning. ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/29/us/29security.html

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Lucky and weird

At ORD to way to Munich. Got the second last seat on upgrade list. 14E. That was the lucky part.
The weird part is the waiting list. The only people waiting was myself and 4 colleagues. No one else. We all got upgraded except our CFO. Bet he wishes he authorized business class travel now. Time to sit back, relax and have a glass of bubbly. Looking forward to Germany.
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Yum

Writing this at 30,000ft or so. It is my first trip in domestic first class for some time, and I must say the lunch on the UA flight is fantastic. I take back the moan about the bulk head seat.
Cream of broccoli soup gets a 5 star, the chicken sandwich as nice (not 5 star, but that's hard for a sandwich), and the cheese plate is better than international business, with walnuts and dried fruit making it ask to be joined by some wine. Trying a drop of the white wine with this, and its not bad at all. Not quite sure what it is though.

Fingers crosses I get the upgrade on the next flight to Munich, or its going to be a hassle with upgrade payments.
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Seat 1A to chicago. Sounds good....but its a tight bulkhead seat on a 767-300. Complaining about my upgrade... Sorry for all those who did not get theirs...including my boss ;-)

SFO - Chicago - National much more hassle than international

Off to Munich today, but the flight transits in Chicago..That means checking in at the SFO UA domestic terminal. It was a zoo...even the dedicated first class and 1K line. It takes took about twice the time to get through security and check in, as i normally experience at the domestic terminal. Who hoo...upgraded.

The Southwest standby game

Coming back LAX to OAK. Arrived early and took a standby for earlier flight. The gate said the chance was slim. I added my name AFTER my colleague who had the same ticket. I pointed out I had Business Select, he kept quiet.
I got the last seat on the plane. He had to wait for the next one.

Don't be shy to let them know your status or ticket class. Its not always automatic.
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Free Beer

Today flying OAK - SFO on Southwest, using their business select service. I printed out the boarding pass in the office and it came with a drink coupon. Too early to use on the 7am flight, so I will keep for the return. On arriving at the airport in Oakland I printed the return boarding pass, part of that process reprinted the departing pass, both with drink coupons. When I get to LAX for the return, I will reprint again....4 drink coupons for the flight...Merry Christmas.
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Its just wrong

This was a GUY, walking around Yoyogi park in Tokyo watching the Tokyo Rockabilly club. A bit scary, and i have a very open mind. At least its not hairy!

Harajuku Wierdos

One of my favorite pastimes in Tokyo is photographing the wierd people on Harajuku bridge.

Room With a View

24 Hours in Tokyo

A not so perfect sleep the first night, but the trick is to keep your eyes closed, and stay horizontal until its time to wake up... you will be surprised how may hours of sleep you log even if it seems you are awake half the night.

First meetings today at 7am... far to early to be civilized, but if has to be done, better at the start of a trip rather than the end.. let jet lag be your friend.

Lots of coffee today. Why do Starbucks Latte's taste so much better in Tokyo...and their New York cheese cake is a must try.

Yum.

Dinner tonight at a micro brewery called T.Y. Harbor Brewery in Shinagawa. http://www.tyharborbrewing.co.jp/restaurants/tyh_e.html They had good food, great beer and the location by the riverside is fantastic. Try the beer flight taster. It looks like 4 large shot glasses of beer.. Pale Ale, Amber, Wheat and Porter. Wheat was my favorite.

Back too the Westin for an early night..save myself for some nightlife tomorrow.

Ambien and red wine don't mix

The warning label says don't mix with alcohol, but that does not apply to flying...I thought. I feel rough as a badger... Hopefully a nice ambien induced sleep tonight in Tokyo

Aggressive ANA

While gulping the last of the champagne, they started the "last call" announcements. There must have been 20, and I counted at least 5 ANA ladies where trolling the moving walkways looking for stragglers like me. There where 5 behind me she said. That makes me early.
Looks like ANA fly a "no one left behind policy".
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New Bar setup at SFO red carpet club

Have clamored my way past checking and security, the first place I head is the red carpet club for a well needed drink.
A freeway crash caused my to be a bit frantic as the drive took 20 mins more than planned. Lucky I had lied to my wife about the true departure time. It was still tight, arriving 1 hour before takeoff. ANA had no queue. Straight to the desk. No upgrade available, but have a full row to myself in premium economy..and UA has no seats.
I was not allowed to go through the express lane at security for 1k members...must be as I am not on a UA flight. It was a bit of a zoo, but did not take too long.
The red carpet club has a new premium drink program. Quality wines for two coupons. My favorite bar maid was on duty and she insisted I try the Taittinger champagne. "Its real" she said. I must say its good.
The other customers are snapping up these 2 ticket drinks. I great move. Wolfing down 2 crap drinks can be replaced with savoring quality.

Cheers
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When to start packing?

About now...Leaving for airport in one hour...lots of time to have breakfast, pack and tidy the house. Now..is it cold in Tokyo?

From @boxee : on route to LAX. airport security in Toronto confiscated my toothpaste. the world is safer now.

Happened to me last week coming back from San Diego...seemed fine on the way there. And there was more in the tube.

AIRLINES WEBSITE - ANA

Eghhhh.

http://www.ana.co.jp/asw/wws/us/e

This is a clumsy one. I tried to log on to check my seat assignment. Simple i thought. Wrong. Once i found the hidden link to the "view reservation" section, it would not accept my reservation number. To complicate matters, my ANA reservation, though made through my corporate travel agency, is purchased via UA. These leaves me with 2 reservation codes. None of them work. I am able to see the reservation on the UA website it turn out... but with limited functionality, no seat maps. This was a frustrating experience.

I am considering moving my point accumulation from UA to ANA, as I expect the travel experience to be better, but it seems you need a PhD in algebra to figure out the ANA points program. Lets see what happens. UA has a great website.

Lets se how this all works out.

UNITED Mileage bonues

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Earn even more miles by using your Mileage Plus(R) Visa(R) card. Start shopping online now!

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SEARS

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APPLE STORE

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SHOES

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Starwood Sale

U.S. & CANADA--NOVEMBER 30, 2009-- For 72 hours only, Starwood Resorts (including Westin and Sheraton) have dropped rates by as much as $200 for peak-season dates across the U.S., Canada, Hawaii, Mexico, the Caribbean and more.

This broad sale is valid for stays January through April at both beach and ski resorts.

Resorts on sale include:

- The Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa ... $99-$149

- Sheraton Princess Kaiulani (Oahu) ... $109

- The Westin Trillium House (Ontario) ... CAD$129-$159

- The Westin La Cantera Resort (Texas) ... $159-$179

- Sheraton Waikiki ... $179

This sale ends Wednesday, Dec. 2. Book early for the best availability.

www.spg.com

To do list - the day before my trip

Check flight times
Arrange transportation to airport
Check I booked the hotel
Review meeting schedule for trip
Battery charge for
-laptop (s)
-i pod
-US phone
-japan phone
-Bose headphones
-camera and camera spare
Prepare gadgets and cables
-Camera gear
-USB cables
-USB polycom speaker phone

Clothes, wash stuff, suitcases can all be left to tomorrow am. Why do some people need days to pack. Its a 15 minute task at most.

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Frequent Flyer and Sleeper

I have been a UA 1k flier for at least the last 5 years... who's counting at this point. I also have the Million Mile Flyer status. More on that later.

Currently I am a Platinum Starwood member....In he past I have played with Priority Club, holding their Platinum status, but...Starwood is preferred.

I also hold frequent flier cards from most alliances, and most major hotel chains.

Racking up the miles has put a lot of experience under my belt... So one question i keep asking myself is "Why UA?".. The service is crap, the planes are crap, the flight attendants are, eh, "very experienced".

This week i will fly SFO - NRT (Tokyo), and as UA cancelled one of their two daily flights, and I don't want to be sat at 62G, I have booked ANA. Looking forward to something new.

Starting again...

Another attempt at a blog... First photography, then Livermore wine.... But what i do most, and think i have advice to share on is Travel. I fly to Asia about every month, have some sneaky tips to make travel easier and love to get the best deal.