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

Plus, earn bonus miles when you shop at select stores at the Mileage Plus Mall by December 21, 2009:

-- Spend $500 earn 1,000 extra bonus miles

-- Spend $750 earn 1,500 extra bonus miles

-- Spend $1,000 earn 2,000 extra bonus miles

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

http://mymileageplus.com/mmps/113443/245057/b8e228faa600bd09113341a802bf53b2

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NORDSTROM

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9 miles/$2 spent

http://mymileageplus.com/mmps/113443/245057/b8e228faa600bd09113341a802bf53b2

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BARNES & NOBLE

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4 miles/$1 spent

http://mymileageplus.com/mmps/113443/245057/b8e228faa600bd09113341a802bf53b2

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MACY'S

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4 miles/$1 spent

http://mymileageplus.com/mmps/113443/245057/b8e228faa600bd09113341a802bf53b2

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SEARS

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7 miles/$2 spent

http://mymileageplus.com/mmps/113443/245057/b8e228faa600bd09113341a802bf53b2

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APPLE STORE

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3 miles/$2 spent

http://mymileageplus.com/mmps/113443/245057/b8e228faa600bd09113341a802bf53b2

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REI

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7 miles/$2 spent

http://mymileageplus.com/mmps/113443/245057/b8e228faa600bd09113341a802bf53b2

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OVERSTOCK

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5 miles/$2 spent

http://mymileageplus.com/mmps/113443/245057/b8e228faa600bd09113341a802bf53b2

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RED ENVELOPE

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11 miles/$2 spent

http://mymileageplus.com/mmps/113443/245057/b8e228faa600bd09113341a802bf53b2

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SHOES

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15 miles/$2 spent

http://mymileageplus.com/mmps/113443/245057/b8e228faa600bd09113341a802bf53b2

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DELL

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2 miles/$1 spent

http://mymileageplus.com/mmps/113443/245057/b8e228faa600bd09113341a802bf53b2

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CLINIQUE

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4 miles/$1 spent

http://mymileageplus.com/mmps/113443/245057/b8e228faa600bd09113341a802bf53b2

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WILLIAMS-SONOMA

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3 miles/$1 spent

http://mymileageplus.com/mmps/113443/245057/b8e228faa600bd09113341a802bf53b2

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BROOKSTONE

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9 miles/$2 spent

http://mymileageplus.com/mmps/113443/245057/b8e228faa600bd09113341a802bf53b2

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CIRCUIT CITY

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3 miles/$1 spent

http://mymileageplus.com/mmps/113443/245057/b8e228faa600bd09113341a802bf53b2

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HARRY & DAVID

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9 miles/$2 spent

http://mymileageplus.com/mmps/113443/245057/b8e228faa600bd09113341a802bf53b2

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MAGAZINES

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22 miles/$1 spent

http://mymileageplus.com/mmps/113443/245057/b8e228faa600bd09113341a802bf53b2

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KOHL'S

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5 miles/$2 spent

http://mymileageplus.com/mmps/113443/245057/b8e228faa600bd09113341a802bf53b2

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SEPHORA

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7 miles/$2 spent

http://mymileageplus.com/mmps/113443/245057/b8e228faa600bd09113341a802bf53b2

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BLUE NILE

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3 miles/$1 spent

http://mymileageplus.com/mmps/113443/245057/b8e228faa600bd09113341a802bf53b2

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HICKORY FARMS

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3 miles/$1 spent

http://mymileageplus.com/mmps/113443/245057/b8e228faa600bd09113341a802bf53b2

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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Sent using BlackBerry

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.