Do I have your attention? Looking for a good laugh today? Great, keep reading.

The Situation

There are lots of things I do for my job. Some I don’t enjoy, but others are really great. Among the latter is a student organization (Collegiate DECA, iykyk) I’m the faculty advisor for. What a great organization and group of students! One of the things they get to do is participate in a series of competitions, largely based on business cases. And as it turns out, their national competition this year is in Bourbon City (Louisville, Kentucky). Fantastic.

In years past, the competitions were far enough away that the students needed to fly to compete. That’s not really an issue, except, for reasons I’m not able to explain, they seem to always find themselves in the midst of flight delays and cancellations. That’s stressful, because if they’re delayed too long, it seriously impacts their ability to participate in their competition.

So, when they announced this year’s competition would be in Louisville, they immediately told me they were driving. Great. And the plan was for me to drive with them, until I realized I’d double-booked myself and needed to come home the day before they were. Okay, no problem, they take the cars, and I’ll take a flight.

Trouble is, our university just renegotiated our rental car agreement, so I wasn’t really sure the students would be able to pick up their cars without issue. So I was glued to my phone all morning, just waiting for someone to tell me they had a problem (fortunately, my student organization is fantastic at getting itself out of a bind, so I really had no reason to worry). Then, finally, it came: a text message from one of my co-Presidents telling me…everything was fine. They got their cars and were already headed back to campus to pick up their colleagues and head to the land of bourbon. Excellent.

A few hours later, I was off to the airport. It was a beautiful morning: cool, a few clouds, no bad weather, and the slightest hint of a breeze (read: Zara was living her best life). I even made it to the airport a little earlier than I’d expected because there was almost no traffic (the week before, when I was going to Chicago, there was some traffic as a semi pulling a load of clementines had fallen over into the shoulder…random, I know). And I got a parking space closer to the terminal. Amazing. As ours is a fairly small airport, we’re usually through security (with Pre-check, obviously) and to our gate in about 10 minutes. This was also true today. Everything is going so well.

Where it Went Wrong

And all was well, as I sat at the gate waiting for the plane to arrive. My itinerary took me to Chicago first, with a very quick 55-minute layover (I know, I know), and then from there to Louisville.

So there I was, drinking my coffee, looking out the massive window, and just waiting. And…waiting. And, waiting. Finally, we heard our plane had landed – about 10 minutes before we were supposed to take off. You’ll recall I had a 55-minute layover.

The gate agent was very calm and collected, reassuring us that they’d get the plane unloaded, cleaned, and ready to go in about 10-15 minutes, so we should take off approximately on time. We were further reassured that there was a strong tailwind that should help us get to Chicago on time, if not a little early. Cool.

Delays 1 & 2

Shortly thereafter, we assumed our positions as our boarding groups were called, dutifully lining up and heading down the jet bridge. Weirdly, everyone seemed to understand we were dancing on the precipice of being late, and so they just did what they were told, and we were on the plane in no time. Once fully boarded, the flight attendant closed the door and told the captain we were ready to go.

And then we sat there for what seemed like an eternity. Okay, fine, it was probably more like 10 minutes, but it felt like forever. Then, mercifully, the captain came on and said we were ready to go. So we did the usual taxiing thing and headed for the runway.

And then we sat. WTF, mate?

With as much as we travel, I’ve heard a lot of reasons for flight delays. But when the captain came over the intercom and told us they’d put too much fuel on the plane, I was…well, I’m not sure what the right word is. Surprised? Shocked? Confused? How does that happen? Isn’t this all measured? You know all of the variables involved in this equation: the type of plane, the distance to travel, current weather conditions, and how many people will be on the plane. I suppose they don’t know how much each person weighs, but we can use some population information to get a reasonably good guess, right? Wrong, evidently.

So, rather than take off, we had to sit close to the runway – just close enough to see it – and run the engines for 20 minutes to burn enough fuel to avoid being overweight at takeoff. We all looked around at each other, thinking the same thing: can’t they just…pump…it back out? Nope.

Delay 3

Finally, we heard the engines whine as the captain pushed the throttle and told us we were light enough for liftoff. So off we went, climbing into the sky and heading toward Chicago.

One of the unique things about Chicago’s O’Hare airport is that no matter where you land or which terminal your connecting flight departs from, you’ll inevitably taxi along the runway for what feels like the rest of your natural-born life. I keep saying I need to time this, but I always forget, likely out of frustration and pure rage every time I’m there. But honestly, am I wrong? I legitimately think we taxi for the better part of 20 minutes each time we’re there. It’s unreal.

And of course, when you’re already concerned about missing your connection, that taxi situation really does seem to take forever. Honestly, O’Hare, get it together.

Delays 4, 5, 6, and $%^&!

This part might be slightly exaggerated, but this is my story, so I’ll tell it how I like.

After touching down and finishing the taxi process, or so we thought, we came to a stop. Thinking we’d reached our gate, the plane full of people, most of whom had tight layovers, got up and started reaching for their things.

‘The captain hasn’t turned off the seatbelt sign, please stay in your seats, ‘ our friendly flight attendant said over the intercom. I was sitting in seat 1B, so literally the entire plane was behind me, but I can only imagine the looks sent toward the front. We were never told why we’d stopped (it was for about 5 minutes), but all of a sudden we started moving again. Yes! Nope. Stopped again about 20 feet later. Then moving. Yay! Nope, stopped again. This time there was another plane in our way, which is fair, because it’s not like they’re ABSOLUTELY HUGE vehicles, nor do our pilots have AN ENTIRE WINDSCREEN they’re looking out of.

It’s fine. Everything is fine. The other plane moves, then we do, too. Finally! We’ve arrived at our gate. Only, not. WHAT IN THE ACTUAL H*LL?! No ground crew at the gate. But, of course, there isn’t.

As we’re sitting there, I look at the flight attendant who seems to be anticipating my question. ‘What are my odds of making my 2.10 flight to Louisville?’ I ask. ‘What gate are you out of?’ she replies. ‘E6, just a 3-minute walk from our gate, so says the United app,’ I said. ‘Oh, you should be fine. Or well, I think you should be fine,’ she says with a slight smile. Sure. I look at my watch, and that’s about 25 minutes from now.

My Remedy

I put a lot of faith in my flight attendants knowing what they’re doing and saying, but at this point, let’s just say my faith was in serious question. As I stared at my watch, all I could think about was there being no plausible situation where I was getting on that plane.

Rather than get frustrated, I leveraged the magic that is the United app. I pulled up my itinerary, said I wanted to change my next flight, and was immediately presented with a list of flights from Chicago to Louisville the same day. The next flight was about 3 hours later, which was fine, because I’d just head to the lounge and have a beer (okay, maybe two).

A few clicks later, I was rebooked, had a new boarding pass, and instantly felt my stress disappear. All the while, my fellow passengers continued freaking out in the general direction of a flight attendant who was completely unable to move our plane to the gate, despite her best wishes.

One More Delay

We finally got to our gate roughly an hour after we were supposed to. The flight attendant asked everyone with longer connections to remain seated, as there were several folks with very tight connections. Amazingly, people actually listened, so our panicked friends could make their best attempt (some futile, of course) to make their connecting flights.

And as I got up to grab my backpack and leave the plane, I was immediately happy that I’d moved my flight. As I walked off the jetbridge, I was met by a crowd of people, the very same people with those very tight connections, who were now waiting for our valet-checked bags to get to us. Thoughts and prayers, friends.

Concluding Thoughts

Why am I writing this? What’s the point? Truthfully, I’m not sure. If you’re laughing, I assume you’ve been in a similar situation. You’re going to miss your flight despite doing everything you were supposed to do. It isn’t fair. But what is there to do? Two answers come to mind.

First, use technology to your advantage. We’ve mentioned this before, but it really does pay to use the tools the airlines make available for you. I was able to use their app to rebook my flight before I even left the plane. That meant I was less stressed because I had a good Plan B, which involved a trip to the lounge for refreshment.

Second, we’ve also mentioned this before, but be nice to your flight attendant. They’re probably stressed, too, both because they also have another flight to get to and because they’re legitimately ill-equipped to help resolve your tight connections and missed flights. Ask them for suggestions, but don’t expect them to fix the problem right then and there.

And remember, traveling is stressful for everyone, even the pros, so be nice.

P.S.

After a layover in the closest United lounge, I headed to my new gate. Once there, I glanced at my boarding pass to see which group I was in. Group 1. Weird, that’s reserved for…First Class. I hadn’t realized that when I changed my flight, it must have upgraded me to the First cabin.

Touche, Travel Gods. I see you.

The post Drat! The Travel Gods Strike. Again first appeared on The DeBode Way.

What we haven’t talked about very much is how to make your actual flight better. Mostly this is because we didn’t learn about it until recently, but now that we have, we wanted to share. If you’re like us, when you board the plane, you immediately head to the right, back in steerage while quietly wondering what it’s like to turn left. And, like many of you, we always assumed business-class seats were well beyond our financial reach, instead hoping – in vain – for the complimentary upgrades your friend of a friend of a friend got that one time. Or at least that’s the rumor.

Certainly, we’ve shared the products we use to help make our flight experience better, but wouldn’t it also be nice to fly in relatively more comfortable environs? Lay flat seat, anyone?

Booking for Business-Class

We can’t be the only ones who have been on an airline’s website looking for flights and, just for fun, told the engine to search for business (or higher!) class seats. And despite our most fervent wishes for one of those enigmatic ‘fluke’ fares (when the airline accidentally lists a really low price for an upper-class seat), our hopes are always dashed. You want how much for that seat?!

The thing is, when you book a flight in an upper-class cabin, like business-class, you’re booking your full itinerary in that class, or at least insofar as those cabins exist on the planes you’re flying on.

For example, when we leave from Springfield on United Airlines, we almost always head to Denver, Houston, or Chicago before jumping across the pond. That flight out of Springfield is almost always on a small, regional jet (commonly with a 1×2 seating configuration). Those planes don’t have a business-class cabin, so there’s little point in booking the full business-class ticket when some of our flights don’t have business-class seats. Especially at those prices!

We’ve also learned that we’re more interested in business-class seats on the way to Europe, but not as much on the way back. Why? Our flight to Europe is always overnight, meaning that we land first thing in the morning. That means if you don’t sleep on the plane, you’re awake for nearly 48 hours, and the older we get, the harder this is to pull off without any embarrassment. If you can sleep sitting up and your legs don’t throb after being under you for a few hours, kudos to you; it doesn’t work for either of us!

Upgrading to Business Class

If you’re following along, this means that what we’re really interested in is an upgrade to business class on our trans-Atlantic flight on the way to Europe, only. This next part is important: I *need* the airlines to understand that we’re fully prepared to accept complimentary upgrades to business- or first-class as often as they’re willing to give them to us. This conversation is only about the upgrades we must pay for.

To make this happen, we’ve found this process works best for us:

1. Book your flight at your regular ticket class. We’ve previously discussed how, especially on long-haul flights, we prefer the Premium Economy seats, so this is where we usually start when booking flights to Europe.
2. After your ticket is confirmed (usually, we wait a few days), log into your frequent flier account (if you don’t have one, you should; they’re free) and find your flight. Where these are located depends on the airline, but for United, they’re referred to as ‘Current trips’.
3. Then look for the ‘Upgrade Cabin’ option, which, again for United, is in the same area as seat changes, insurance, and ways to change or cancel your flight.
4. Click on the Upgrade Cabin button and in the new window it’ll give you the option to upgrade your flight using either money or miles. At first, we only ever looked at the Money option, which was frequently in the thousands of dollars. Nope. But then we started looking at the Miles option and things changed.

For example, on our upcoming flight to London, we can upgrade (to business-class) for $6,016 per person. This is just for the flight from Newark to London, not the flights from Springfield to Chicago or Chicago to Newark. Again, nope. OR we can upgrade using miles, in which case it’s 20,000 miles per person for our entire itinerary. There is also a fee of $425 per person, but that’s considerably more reasonable than $6,000, right?

Other Important Details

There are a few things we want to be clear about:

• First, this is our cost to upgrade from the Premium Economy to Business-class cabin. If you purchase a regular Economy ticket, the upgrade miles + fees might be different, and they won’t let you upgrade at all if you buy a Basic Economy seat.

• Keep in mind that in this scenario, it’s 20,000 miles + $425 for each side of our itinerary. In other words, we’d have to pay this on the way to Europe and the same on the way back, meaning that our total upgrade cost would be 40,000 miles and $850 per person. But again, we’re mostly focused on the upgrade to Europe and will then roll the dice and hope for some kind of complimentary upgrade on the way home. A person can dream.

• We recently learned that if you pay for the upgrade (either with Money or Miles) a while before you leave, you might get put on a Waitlist. You will still be charged, but they’ll wait to upgrade you until closer to your flight, often 24-48 hours before you leave. That’s frustrating but know that if the upgrade ends up not being available, you’ll be refunded for the upgrade charge.

We know $425 per person is still a hefty price to pay, especially when flights are getting more expensive. However, it’s much less than paying directly for the upper-level cabin, so we’re okay with it. Especially since we’ll arrive at our destination ready for a great time instead of with painful legs, desperate for some rest, and seriously jetlagged. Remember, all this time we’ve talked about ways to save money so you can either travel for less, or be more discerning about where/when you splurge; this is one place we see the value in splurging when we can.

Not sure you have enough miles? No problem. You can purchase miles, but we never go this route. Instead, if you have a credit card that accrues points and is a partner with United (check your credit card portal for details), you can transfer points from your credit card to your United account. Alternatively, if you know where to look (we always leverage help from our friends at 10X Travel), you can find great sign-up bonus deals for a new credit card. As always, if you decide to open a new card, we always advocate for knowing your spending limits and never going beyond that. In other words, when we open new cards, it’s for the bonus, and we already know how it fits into our current spending and how to offset any annual fees with the benefits the card brings. Always spend responsibly!

We hope this is as helpful for you as it has been for us. Again, we don’t do this every flight, but for the long-haul flights, those lay-flat seats and quieter cabin really do make a difference.

Whatever you do, get out there and live your best life! See you out there!

The post The Hidden Secret to United Business Class Upgrades first appeared on The DeBode Way.

As I was sitting at the rooftop bar at my hotel in the heart of Madrid back in August, I got a notification from Air France for my flight the following day. If you’ve been reading along about my adventure of getting to Madrid this summer, you might read this with a tinge of panic; I know that was my immediate reaction when I got their notice. Fortunately, all was fine, and they were letting me know there was an option to upgrade my regular economy seat to business class for $130. *whew*

I see these updates all the time, and always ignore them. That’s not to say I’m uninterested in flying in an upgraded cabin, but the upgrade fees can easily end up being more than the cost of my entire ticket, and so it never really seems worth it. But, $130? That’s a different story. I should clarify this was a one-way flight from Madrid to Paris that was scheduled to take about 2 hours. Still, they had my interest.

I figured the upgrade would get me a nicer seat, with more space, drinks, better food, and other ‘gourmet delights’ that were sure to make my experience worth the extra money. Sure. But I was curious and was willing to spend the $130 to find out whether Air France’s business class, at least on a short-haul flight, was worth the money. So, after thinking it over for a few minutes, I forked over the money for the upgrade and was rewarded with a new seat number. What I didn’t know was all the other stuff that came with my upgrade.

At the Airport

As it turns out, when I got to the airport the following morning to check in for my flight, I was able to go through the line specifically for business and first-class customers. Sounds obvious but it wasn’t something I’d really thought about. This was nice, as it turned out there were 30 or so folks in the line for economy passengers and…wait for it…no one in the business line. As the gate agent was finishing up the check-in process, she told me to go to the VIP security area, not the regular security area. Eh? I had no idea.

She was very nice and, seeing my confusion, pointed me in the right direction: go ALL the way down and you’ll find the VIP area. Okay, seems simple enough. So off I go, wondering what exactly a VIP security area is. A few minutes later, I found out. It’s basically the same thing as a regular security line (sadly, no TSA Pre-Check lanes in international airports) but with almost no passengers. So, while the regular security check point had the familiar lines winding back and forth, the VIP area had a single couple in line ahead of me. I still had to take my belt off, computer out of my backpack, and the usual routine, but because there was no one else in line, it went so much faster.

Pre-Departure Nibbles

What the gate agent also told me was that I could get into the VIP lounge while I was waiting for the gate assignment for my flight. If you’ve read our blog before, you know that one of the best perks of our travel credit cards – especially our Platinum Card from American Express – is that it gets us into lounges (you can read about them here). Some lounges are better than others, but all of them generally let you relax before your next flight and grab a bite to eat, which, in an era of ever-more frustrating travel experiences, has a ton of value for us.

So, after going through VIP security, off I went to the VIP lounge. Nice. After walking in and scanning my boarding pass, I was directed to the food and drink selection. As it was roughly 10am, the food was a typical European breakfast: deli meats and cheeses, fresh fruit, pastries, and coffee stations. But the self-service bar was also open (and not monitored…I see you, VIP lounge staffers), as was a huge cooler that had all manner of drinks: beer, sodas, juices, water, and so on, as well as sandwiches, yogurts, and the like. All self-service. So, I grabbed a coffee, a few pastries, and fresh fruit and snagged a seat along the wall of windows that had a pretty cool view: I got to watch the planes landing at the airport while munching on croissants. Pretty cool.

Shortly after my breakfast, I got a whiskey and Coke Zero, because…wait, do I need a reason? No, and stop judging me. I threw in a lime slice for good measure, and limes are fruit, so it was basically a smoothie.

After relaxing for a bit, I headed off to my gate to board my short flight to Paris. Fortunately, something, or rather someone else was waiting for me in Paris: Tasha. More on that here, but suffice it to say I was ready to be in Paris and see my partner for the first time in nearly three weeks.

In-Fight Experience

I wish I could say the business-class experience on my flight was as nice as the pre-flight accoutrements, but it’s more accurate to describe it as meh. Much to my surprise, the seat itself didn’t seem any different than the economy seats other than there were fewer seats in our section, and they were only two across. But the actual seat looked exactly the same as the economy seats. I will say we had our own flight attendant, which was nice. It’s also not nothing to have fewer people fighting over the overhead bin space. In fact, the seat next to me was empty, so I had the full overhead bin to myself and got to spread out a little more than usual. Talk about small luxuries…

Our cabin did get pre-departure cool towels to wipe down with (yes cool, because it was crazy hot in Madrid, so a hot towel would have been insulting), which was super refreshing. Once the flight took off, we got a light meal shortly after the familiar *ding* indicating we’d just broken through 10,000 feet. The menu: a roll with butter, small salad, and a cold salmon salad over pasta kind of situation. Not something I’d have ordered, but it was tasty. Or maybe it was the wine. Or the whisky and Coke Zero. Either way, I didn’t hate the experience.

Once we landed it was also nice being at the front of the plane and with fewer people swarming around. All that meant a more relaxed exit which, again, isn’t nothing.

The Verdict

In the end, the biggest question I asked myself was whether I’d shell out the money for a similar upgrade in the future. I’ll admit the overall experience wasn’t what I was expecting, but taking everything into account, I think I’d do it again, just with more accurate expectations. Thinking about everything that was included in the $130: shorter wait time to check my bag, VIP security area, access to the lounge, fewer people in the cabin, the meal and drinks, and better service all made for a more relaxing flight experience. More than anything, after the craziness of Madrid, that was worth the money, at least for me. The only thing I was really disappointed with was the physical seat I was in, but even then, for only a two-hour flight, it wasn’t really that bad.

Now I’m just keeping my fingers crossed to get a similar offer for our next long-haul flight to Scotland. Probably best to not hold my breath as well.

The post Unexpected Paid Airline Upgrade – Worth It or Not? first appeared on The DeBode Way.

We hope you all had/have a wonderful Spring Break. We had grand plans for an East Coast adventure to visit family and a new little niece, and catch some sleep on a plane after a busy few weeks, but we decided to stay home in the end to organize our life. It has been a very busy semester for Jason at the University, so laying low and getting work done while everyone else was away on trips was the best plan for us this time.

One of the unexpected things on our list involved finding a way for Jason to sleep wearing goggles following his LASIK surgery. I had an epiphany as he tossed and turned the first night – my travel pillow! I have trialed various versions of the trusty neck pillow over the years and had a few options for him to try – hard memory foam, soft memory foam, and a foam version with a buckle strap to hold it in place. All with a hole in the middle for his goggles when used as a regular pillow. Ultimately, he opted for his version of a throw pillow and the couch for 5 nights, but it left me shaking my head. He is an adamant hater of the travel pillow, which is unfortunate. It makes my life so much more manageable on those overnight flights! We all know getting sleep on a plane is nearly impossible unless you’re one of the blessed who can sleep through anything.

I should elaborate. Jason is a hater of the neck pillow in flight situations (but also apparently in this recent one as well) because he is a stomach sleeper. He has never been able to sleep even slightly upright. This poses quite an issue on all our overnight flights to Europe. He usually arrives with no sleep, and we typically try to keep the arrival day very busy so we are immediately operating in the right time zone. Oh, and lots of coffee.

Our trials after no sleep on airplanes

You may recall our trek from Edinburgh to the tip of the Isle of Skye as soon as we got off the plane last April (read about it here). Not the smartest thing we’ve ever done. We’ve also tried hop-on-hop-off bus tours in Edinburgh and Dublin to get the lay of the land…and fell asleep. Most recently, we found a slight winner by taking a walking tour of Hampton Court in London that kept us moving all day (read about that here), although the train ride there left us head bobbing. But the best option we’ve found is a flight that arrives later in the morning, an afternoon shopping trip to get organized for the rest of our trip, checking into the hotel as early as possible and getting an early dinner before calling it an early night. That leaves us ready to take on the first full day in the country come morning. The main thing here is to avoid going to bed or taking a nap until it’s the correct time in your new location.

If you are one of those people who can sleep anywhere, we’re totally jealous. I too do not sleep well unless I’m in my own bed and following my night routine, which is really annoying for someone who travels so much! But, I have adopted what I call high-maintenance hacks to help get a little shut-eye on flights and in hotels. Let’s talk about airplane sleep hacks first.

Location, Location, Location

Now, everyone sleeps differently, so you may prefer seat location other than what we suggest, but here’s what we do. We typically look for flights with seating that’s just two seats across, next to the window. I typically take the window seat so I can close the shade, and lean my head and sometimes my knees against the side of the plane and Jason typically takes the aisle seat so he can stretch out. This way, we’re only dealing with each other and our known sleep habits and not crawling over strangers or have them crawling over us in the middle of the flight. We also try to choose seats in sight of the lavatory, so we can see when it’s empty (so as not to crowd the aisle), but also far enough away that we’re not jostled by every person on the plane on their way to use it.

Many airlines let you see the seating charts available before you book your flight (I know this is true of United and American). Seat Guru is also another helpful tool for seeing what the seat options are on a particular style of plane before you book.

Stick to your Routine

You may find it a little odd to brush your teeth and put your favorite jammies on in the midst of hundreds of strangers, but your typical nighttime routine helps to mentally prepare your body for sleep. If you don’t opt to change clothes (we don’t), at least dress in comfortable layers so you can regulate your temperature and comfort level. Eating dinner at your regular time, brushing your teeth (with a bottle of water), and journaling or reading a book like I do can help your brain realize it’s time for some shut eye. This could mean opting out of the onboard meals and not turning on your screen in favor of trying to sleep. Even if you aren’t using a screen, wearing your noise cancelling headphones can help lower the volume on the plane so you can catch some zz’s.

I SWEAR by the neck pillow but also, the lumbar pillow.

As mentioned, I’ve tried many versions of neck pillows looking for the best option for me. Currently, I’m using a memory foam version with a buckle that straps the pillow around my neck (this one). As a side sleeper, this works best for me because it allows me to slightly tilt my head without it completely, embarrassingly, falling over and jerking me awake. Previously, I used a softer memory foam “C” shaped pillow that I wore backward (opening at the back of my neck) to keep my head from falling forward and my head/neck against the seat, but it wouldn’t stay put. I’ve also tried a hard memory foam version, but it was just downright uncomfortable and extremely bulky to pack. My current version rolls up and packs into its own little bag that I tie on the outside of my travel backpack. Space saver!

The real MVP for uncomfortable plane seats is the little pillow and sometimes the blanket they often give you on overnight flights. I typically stick these behind my lower back to help support it.

Let’s get a little high-maintenance

My pillow came with an eye mask and earplugs in a cute little case. At first, I thought that was excessive. I’d never used an eye mask in my life! I grew up in the country where the night is black and still bask in the darkness today, so there has never been a need to make it even darker. So until recently, I’ve always just closed my eyes and wore my noise-canceling headphones with sleepy music playing during the flight. Well. I was wrong. On our last overnight flight, I was desperate for sleep, so I put on the eye mask and plugged in the earplugs. Complete darkness, peace, AND some sleep ensued. I’m forever changed.

Get your feet up

I once had a chiropractor tell me I need to keep my body moving on long trips. Unfortunately, we know how impossible this can be on an airplane or a long car trip. It’s true that on long-haul flights, the flight attendants are more okay with you getting up to walk around and stretch your legs, but even this has its limits. I have scoliosis and it’s very painful for me to sit or stand for very long without moving. His tip was to put my backpack under my feet and then remove it in roughly 20-minute intervals to keep the curve in my low back moving while I’m forced to be in one seated position. This worked beautifully for me along with a little lumbar pillow until we started traveling with our computers. I didn’t want to crush it in my backpack, so I went on a search for another option.

Hello, foot sling! This little gem works perfectly when we have to take a long flight. The strap hooks over the tray table on the seat in front of me and adjusts to whatever height I need it. A note of caution though – don’t irritate your neighbor in the seat in front of you. Carefully put your feet in the sling and remove them without leaning into it so you don’t jerk their seat. Nobody likes someone jerking the back of their seat around. I love that this version of the foot sling has a hard metal insert to keep the base flat so your feet don’t smash into each other. As a bonus, it packs flat into its bag, and it’s highly padded, so it’s like you have your feet up in your favorite recliner at home…almost.

While the sling does a great job of getting my feet up and my back moving, it really only works well in economy seating for me. In premium economy, the seats are too far apart (I’ll never say that again) for it to be comfortable in my low back for me. In United’s premium plus, I don’t need it at all because there are built-in footrests, which are glorious. While we would all love to fly business or first class and have the space to actually lie down, that’s generally not feasible for anyone looking to stretch their dollar and miles over multiple trips. Our biggest splurge so far has been for the premium plus cabin on miles and now I’m forever ruined. But if you haven’t jumped on the points/miles train yet (um…why?), this sling helps so much with the cramped seating situation. And…the metal part comes out, so it’s completely washable!

Don’t forget about your circulation

And finally…compression socks. This is a new one for me that I’ve just recently started experimenting with. I’ve started to notice how tired, sore, and swollen my legs and feet get after a series of long flights. It takes all of my willpower to drag them through the border control line at the end of our flight and then I have to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate to get them working again. Liquid IV is a great help to rehydrate faster, but I’ve been looking for an option with far less sugar. Instagram knew and I stumbled upon these from Basis Hydration that we’ll be taking on the next trip.

I’ve been hunting for some extremely stylish compression socks to give a try at the recommendation of my sister, a surgical tech who spends her day on her feet sporting fabulous compression socks. You bet I ordered some of these for our next flight with an army of students. Maybe I can embarrass them with my stylish travel mom fashion. Or maybe, I need some of these to really up my game! I’m glad I found some made with Merino wool, it’s my favorite fiber for socks – especially travel socks because wool doesn’t stink at the end of a long day.

Hotel sleep is crucial too

As a bonus, I give you my hotel sleep hacks.

I’m an extremely light sleeper, every little noise has my eyes popping open. Our first defense against this is choosing hotels in quiet locations, away from busy highways, and busy tourist locations with nightlife. We also choose high floors away from elevators. If we can be tucked away in the corner room at the end of the hallway on the top floor, this is best. I love being a Hilton Diamond member so we can choose exactly where we want our room!

When all or some of that fails, sound machine. I have an app on my phone called White Noise Generator that allows me to create a symphony of sounds (rain, fan, rustling leaves, rolling thunder, white noise, etc.) to drown out any other noises and lull us to sleep. If you can still hear things happening around you, pull out your trusty earplugs and turn up the volume on your alarm if you need it the next morning. Getting enough sleep is crucial to the enjoyment of your trip. Trust me.

I hope this leaves you with some shut-eye

Flying is my least favorite part of our travels for various reasons, but these airplane sleep hacks have made it more bearable for me. And yes, all these things fit into our carry-on only packing routine! I’m hoping one or a combination of these hacks can help make your trip far more comfortable too. There’s so much world to see, we want you prepared to take it on!

The post How to Get Good Sleep on a Plane first appeared on The DeBode Way.

You’ve heard us drone on about some of our favorite travel hacks, time savers, favorite travel products, and money savers for about a year now, but have we talked about TSA PreCheck & Global Entry yet? Lets!

Picture this: it’s the day of your much-anticipated trip to wherever you’re excited about going. You’re packed and ready to go until life happens and delays you leaving for the airport on time (this usually means some sort of escaped animal, frozen water, or no electricity for us…sigh…we could write a whole post about ridiculous things that happen as we’re trying to leave). When you finally get to the airport, as a savvy traveler you’ve already checked in online and have your boarding pass on your phone, so you head straight for security because you’re not checking bags. Excellent. And then you get to the security line and things slow…way…down. You know the drill, file through the line where you’ll invariably end up behind the folks who have never traveled before, have no clue what to do, and have 5 kids with them. Yep, these are the folks who don’t take the liquids out of their bag, can’t understand why they should take their shoes off, and ask several times whether their iPad is the same as a laptop and so needs to come out of their bag. Hey, everyone has to start somewhere. If you’re like us, you only plan to get to the airport with just enough time to grab a coffee and stroll to your gate, with maybe a last-minute trip to the restroom before your plane is ready for you. So, when things happen to cause delays (because they always do), it can be a stressful start to your trip.

Similarly, have you ever traveled internationally and, after your long flight home (on which you may or may not have slept) you get the joyful experience of US Customs at your first airport in the US. Not familiar? Imagine a very long line (seriously, where did all these people come from?!) that never really seems to move. At the end you get to talk to a stoic Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agent who asks about your trip, what you did, where you went, what you brought home with you, and the like. Finally, you’re welcomed home so you can collect your checked bag (we only check on the way home if we can help it) and re-check it to your final destination while heading to face security, again. Fun stuff.

Surely, you’re thinking, there must be a better way. Fortunately, there is. Welcome to the world of TSA PreCheck and Global Entry. Both are things we were a little reluctant to spend the money on at the beginning of our travel adventures and neither are things we’re willing to do without now that we’ve seen the light. Let’s explain.

TSA PreCheck

This is probably our favorite travel program we’re a part of. Yes, even more than Global Entry, but that’s mostly because we use PreCheck more. So, what’s the big deal? When you get to the airport and find your way to the security screening area, you’ll notice two lines. Commonly on your right is the line where most folks go. You know, the one that moves slower than the laws of physics and time might suggest it should. Then, usually on the left, there’s a line that almost never has anyone in it, at least at our local airport. That line, the empty one, is the TSA PreCheck line. If you’re part of the club and are PreCheck approved, you’ll take that left and head straight to the TSA officer. They’ll check your documents and then tell you to go left again, at which point you toss your bag on the conveyor belt for its screening and walk through a regular metal detector before heading on your way. Note: at no point do you take anything out of your bag, remove your shoes, or anything else. You will need to empty your pockets, but otherwise, that’s about it. Easy breezy, grab your bag and head to your gate, after a coffee stop, naturally.

You might not think the regular security screening line takes that much time, but after you’ve had the PreCheck experience once, going back to the regular line is about as appealing as your upcoming high school reunion (shudder). Plus, not having to remove any of your things from your carefully packed bag keeps your belongings cleaner and less exposed to the nasty stuff you can pick up in the public transit world.

So, how do you join the PreCheck club? Great question. According to the TSA PreCheck Website, you’ll need to submit an application that takes roughly 5 minutes to complete. Once that’s done there’s a brief appointment (about 10 minutes) where you’ll answer a few questions and get fingerprinted. Then TSA will conduct a background check, making sure you’re not on any of the no-fly (or other) lists the government keeps. Once that’s done, you’ll get your approval and you’re all set. There is a $78 application fee and, once approved, your PreCheck is good for 5 years, at which point you’ll need to renew. Believe us, it’s well worth the money.

One quick reminder: after you’ve been approved for TSA PreCheck, each time you check in for your flight, take a quick look at your boarding pass. See a green check mark on the pass? Great, you’re all set to head to the PreCheck screening lane when you get to the airport. But, if you don’t see that check, make sure you stop by your airline’s check in desk at the airport to see if they can look into it. When you purchase your ticket, you must put your Known Traveler number in your reservation so they know you’re part of PreCheck and you get your little check mark. Also keep in mind that PreCheck is usually only found at US airports; if you’re travelling abroad, you might need to visit the regular line with everyone else. Apologies.

Global Entry

So, PreCheck is great for your domestic flights in the US, but it doesn’t really do you any favors when you’re coming home from a trip abroad and have to go through US Customs and Boarder Control. Good news, friends: this is where Global Entry comes into play.

After you deplane at your first airport in the US, your first stop will be US Customs. If you don’t have Global Entry, you’ll experience a scene not dissimilar from the one we described above with the security line. If you do have Global Entry, you can walk past that very long, slow line. Friendly tip: don’t wave as you walk by; it’s not received well. So, keep walking past those lines to the Global Entry area (there will be signs directing you, or just ask one of the helpful CBP folks in the area). Once there, you’ll walk up to a kiosk, which are typically quite empty, it’ll take your picture and give you a receipt. Then walk to the CBP officer, hand them your receipt, and continue on your way. In all, this experience almost always takes us less than 5 minutes. Amazing, right?

Interested? Good. If so, head over to the CBP’s Global Entry website and fill out your application. As with PreCheck, once your application is processed you’ll receive an e-mail directing you to schedule an in-person appointment at a Global Entry office (they’re usually located in international airports). At your appointment they’ll scan your passport, ask you a few questions, and take your picture. Once all of that is processed, you’ll receive your Global Entry card and Known Traveler ID number, which you can add to your flight information when you purchase your ticket(s).

The Global Entry application fee is $100 per person, but as with TSA PreCheck, to say this is worth the money is an understatement.

Free is Always Best

If you’re wanting to enroll in both PreCheck and Global Entry, the fees will total $178 per person and, again, the programs are good for 5 years (which amounts to about $36/year). But, if you’re a savvy traveler who responsibly uses travel-focused credit cards, make sure you check out the benefits that come with your card(s). If you have a mid- or top-tier card, the odds are good the card will cover your PreCheck and/or Global Entry fees so long as you use that card to pay for the application fees. For us, both our Platinum Card from American Express and United Club Infinite cards come with this benefit.

To sum it up, these programs are well worth the money to make your life easier and less stressful during your travels. And if you can get them for free, why not?

Happy travels!

The post Approved: An Easier Way to Travel – TSA PreCheck & Global Entry first appeared on The DeBode Way.

In prior posts, we’ve talked about different things we do to try to keep some of those costs down, like traveling with carry-on luggage only as often as possible. One of the other ways we’ve managed to keep our costs down is through the responsible use of travel-focused credit cards; we’ve also talked about these in a handful of other blog posts. And while there are plenty of travel-related benefits that come with those cards (e.g., airport lounge access, waived baggage fees, point multipliers, hotel & airline credits, etc.), the most lucrative is one we have yet to discuss, so let’s remedy that now.

As we’ve mentioned before, the main reason we use travel credit cards is because they accrue points (e.g., our Chase Sapphire Preferred card) or miles (e.g., United Club Infinite Card), both of which can later be exchanged for actual travel benefits.

Free Stays with Hilton

For example, our Hilton Honors American Express Surpass card rapidly accrues Hilton Honors points every time it’s swiped or tapped (12X the points of any other card at Hilton hotels) and we use those points for free hotel stays, which is exactly what we’re doing to head to an all-inclusive resort in Mexico next month. To build upon this, we are ALSO part of the Hilton Honors loyalty program (you should be, too; it’s free) which keeps track of the number of nights you stay with Hilton and rewards you for your loyalty (right now we’ve managed to maintain our Diamond status for the past 3 years and yes, it’s as fancy as it sounds). Status can net you some pretty snazzy perks, like free room upgrades, free breakfasts & drinks, and access to more private parts of the hotel. Our Hilton Surpass card automatically awards you Gold status with the loyalty program without having to accrue all those nights on your own, giving you a helpful boost toward earning that top Diamond status. However, we originally earned Diamond the hard way by accruing nights in the loyalty program, during a pandemic that still had us on the road for work. Don’t be us. Get the card and use the perks.

Free Flights with United

Similarly, our United Club Infinite Card earns, as you might guess, United Airlines frequent flier miles. As with our Hilton card, the miles we earn with the United card earn us both status (which can get complimentary upgrades for you and others in your party, among other perks) and free flights. Every time we use that card to book a United flight, we earn 4X the miles with United than we would with another card. Miles = free flights. We like free flights. This obviously requires loyalty to a certain airline to work in your favor. Lucky for us, United is usually a great lower-priced option from Springfield with a quick layover in Chicago on our way to Europe, Denver on our way West, or Houston/Dallas on our way to Mexico.

So, the benefits that come with these cards are pretty great, even if there are annual fees you have to cough up to have them, most of which range from $95 – $700 each year (but it’s really not that bad; see a prior post about how we offset the annual fee for our United card). But how do we actually accrue those points? Well, there are two main ways.

Gas = Free Hotel Stays

First, we pay attention to how we can maximize our point accruals with our regular spending. Let’s say we’re on the road a lot and so spend more than our fair share on gas (story of our life). If that’s the case, then we’d look at the point multipliers for our different credit cards, see which has the highest multiplier for gas stations, and use that card for gas. Currently, for us, that’s our Hilton card at 6X the points at gas stations, aka Hilton points. Gas = free hotel stays. Often those multipliers on various cards can be 3-10x your purchase. So, if you spend $50 on gas, you can sometimes earn 150 – 500 points (but check your specific card’s terms to be sure). If you buy $50 worth of gas each week, every week of the year, that adds up to 7,800 – 26,000 points, and that’s just for your gas and probably just for one car (friendly heads up, if you get gas at a station affiliated with another kind of store (e.g., Wal-Mart), the gas charge isn’t always categorized as gas, but might instead show up as coming from that store, in which case you don’t get the multiplier – do your research before you choose where to fill).

We take a similar approach with most of our usual monthly bills so we can maximize the points we earn on each of our different cards. Importantly, this is our regular spending; we’re not buying new TVs every other day just to get the points, as that would be reckless, and are we reckless? Definitely not.

Still, through careful diligence and planning, earning points the normal way can take a good bit of time to accrue enough for a free vacation. Fortunately, there’s a way to supercharge your point accruals: the sign-up bonus. Let’s explain.

The Sign-Up Bonus

Most of the cards that carry an annual fee have what’s known in the business as a sign-up bonus (SUB). Each card has its own requirements for this, but the general process is that you need to spend a certain amount of money on that card (usually $3,000 – $5,000) in a certain amount of time (usually the first 3-6 months you have the card) to be rewarded with a huge chunk of points. You’d be surprised, as most of these are completely doable. For example, let’s take our first and favorite card: the Chase Sapphire Preferred. This card has an annual fee of $95 and is commonly considered among the best travel-focused credit card for most people. It has tons of great benefits, many of which we use all the time. Right now, this card has a SUB of 60,000 Chase points, which is great because Chase (like AMEX) points are super flexible because they can be transferred to Chase’s partners (like airlines, in which case they become frequent flier miles) or you can use them in Chase’s travel portal (which gives you a discount when paying with your points). To earn that SUB, you need to spend $4,000 in the first 3 months of having the card. That calculates to just over $1,300 for each of the first three months you have the card. If you’re currently spending more than this each month on another card, you can shift that spending to this card, if only temporarily, to earn the SUB and then change back. And remember: this is your usual spending, not anything new.

Similarly, the current SUB on our Hilton Honors American Express Surpass card ($95 annual fee) is 130,000 Hilton Honors points. To earn this, you need to spend $2,000 on the card in the first 3 months you have it; that’s less than $1,000 per month. And, just for another example, the current SUB on our United Club Infinite card ($525 annual fee) is 100,000 United Club miles after you spend $5,000 on the card in the first 3 months you have it. These are all enough points for multiple flights or hotel stays when planned carefully.

Have a Strategy

Just to tie this all together, let’s suppose you applied for and were approved for all three of the above cards in the space of a year (there are reasons why you’d want to space this out; we’ll talk about this in a different post). As a reminder, here are the details for the SUBs:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred: 60,000 Chase points after $4,000 in 3 months.
• Hilton Honors American Express Surpass: 130,000 Hilton Honors points after $2,000 in 3 months
• United Club Infinite: 100,000 United miles after $5,000 in 3 months

In total, you’d need to spend $11,000 on the three cards to earn the above SUBs. Okay, first yes, that’s a big chunk of change. But again, if this is over a year, that’s less than $1,000 per month. This is how we’re able to fit these cards into our regular spending, as we spend well over $1,000 each month on our cards.

But the points are in three different places, how is that helpful? You might ask. Well, that’s only kinda correct. The nice thing about Chase, or one of the nice things, is they have a ton of transfer partners. One of those transfer partners is United Airlines (sadly, not Hilton hotels). So, you can move those 60,000 Chase points to your United account and now you have 160,000 miles to cash in on your next trip (note that these transfers are one-way; you can’t transfer United miles to Chase and convert them into points). You also have 130,000 Hilton Honors points, which means you’re likely flying United to get where you want to go and will stay at one of the many Hilton properties across the world. Oh, and as an added bonus you can book a regular room with Hilton and because this card also gives you Gold status, you get complimentary room upgrades, space permitting.

Reminders

So, by using certain cards with your regular spending, you’ve earned a free or heavily discounted vacation. Not too shabby, right? Right. Now for a few reminders:

• The above cards do have annual fees. If you got all three of these cards, you’d spend $715 in annual fees alone. That’s not nothing, but again, if you can divert your regular spending to these cards and it results in a free vacation, you can consider that vacation as having cost you $715. That’s still not too bad. Oh, and that’s assuming you don’t use any of the other benefits from those cards, which would be silly. Those benefits pay for the cards. Again, it’s important to have a strategy here.
• As we’ve said repeatedly in this post, and this is important so worth saying again: we advocate for the responsible use of these cards. As we said above, we’re not reckless. Spending beyond your means is a great way to get both yourself and your credit score (which you’ll need to get these cards) in trouble, and that’s a loss regardless of how nice the vacation is. We’ve found ways to leverage these cards and their benefits in our regular spending, so they don’t cause problems for us. They are paid off every month and we never pay interest. We’d encourage you to do the same, even if it takes a little longer to get that vacation.
• As with many things, when you move from one to multiple cards, things can get complicated (hello, spreadsheets!). There are behind-the-scenes rules that can make getting more cards more challenging, and sometimes impossible (we’ll talk about these in a different post soon). So, if that’s your plan, make sure you start with the card with the highest benefit for you.

Not sure where to start? Fortunately, our friends over at 10x Travel have done most of the hard work for you and have been a tremendous help to us over the years, so make sure you check out their website. We’re always happy to answer questions, too.

Happy traveling!

The post Using Points and Miles to Get You that Free Trip first appeared on The DeBode Way.

In other posts we’ve talked generally about the different kinds of fee-based credit cards we use that allow us to gather points and miles to travel the way we like. All that’s still true, but let’s use a specific example and break down the fee, what we get for it, and why we see enough value to fork over the money.

The Annual Fee

One of our newer credit cards is the United Club Mileage Plus Infinite credit card, issued by Chase. Okay, let’s get this out of the way from the start: it has an annual fee of $525. Ouch, right? Well, maybe. Let’s talk about this and how we utilized it on our last trip.

Perk #1: No Baggage Fees

Okay, yes, we’ll admit $525 is a lot of money for a credit card, especially when there are plenty of other cards that don’t cost you anything. However, keep in mind that, as with everything else, we aren’t giving Chase $525 each year for nothing. Instead, we expect something in return. This card has plenty of perks, but there are just a few we really focus on (for this card…other cards have other benefits that we like…different conversation). First are the checked baggage fees: we get up to two bags checked for our United flights, for free (Note: we know it’s not actually free, consider it pre-paid if you like). As far as we know (we rarely check bags), checked baggage fees can easily run you $50 per bag, so for two people flying that’s $100 each way. Keeping that in mind, our card’s annual fee just dropped from $525 to $425 (we didn’t check bags on the way to our last destination, just the way home – we care less about them being lost by that point).

Perk #2: Lounge Access

One of the other perks we really like about this card is that it gets us into the United Lounges at the airports (note, we’re not talking about their fancier Polaris lounges; those are only for people travelling in either Polaris Business Class or First-Class cabins – goals). Entrance to the United Lounge will set you back $59 per person per entry. Oh, that’s unless you have a card that’ll get you in gratis, like this one. That means what would ordinarily cost us $118 to visit the lounge is…already paid for. That annual fee now drops from $425 to $307 (remember: Annual Fee ($525) – Baggage Fees ($100) – Lounge Access ($118)). However, if you have a flight with multiple legs and you schedule them correctly, this can increase quickly.

Example: A Recent Trip Home from London

Take one of our recent trips to Europe as an example. On the way from Springfield to London, we had a layover in Denver. Fortunately, Denver has a Centurion Lounge (our preferred lounge experience), so we were able to head in to relax, grab some food and a drink, and connect to the Wi-Fi while we waited for our flight to board. Unfortunately, our Chase card doesn’t do us any good for the Centurion Lounges (but one of our AMEX cards does…different conversation), so we’ll skip to the return trip. When we came home, we went from London to Newark to Chicago to Springfield. Fortunately for us, London, Newark, and Chicago all have United Lounges, which as we said above, is one of the perks we get with our United credit card. Without the card, we’d have paid $118 per lounge (remember, $59 per person) for each of the three lounges we visited, or a total of $354 in lounge fees. Of course, we could have opted to stay out in the crowded terminal eating gross, overpriced airport food, and dealing with the general chaos while trying to relax and get some work done during our layover. And if that’s your jam, you do you. We prefer the quiet of the lounges, especially on our really long travel days. Oh, and don’t forget the bar. And the food. And the Wi-Fi. And way nicer bathrooms. And even…a shower if you want. Included. So, we were able to enjoy three meals (breakfast in London, lunch in Newark, and dinner in Chicago) and drinks all without paying (another) dime.

The Verdict

Okay, so if we add this up, we got into 3 different United Lounges (total value: $354) and had our baggage fees waived (total value: $100), for a total dollar value of $454. Keeping in mind that our annual fee for the card is $525, that dropped our effective annual fee to $71. And that was just on this one trip, only on the return. Had we been to a United Lounge on the way to London (rather than the Centurion Lounge), the card would have paid for itself with just this one trip. Imagine going on multiple adventures each year and you can see how a card like this can easily pay for itself a few times assuming you structure your travels correctly. We’ve used this card on two trips now since we got it in May and it’s more than paid for itself twice over. Plus, these are just TWO of the perks we get from this card – we’ll talk about more in the next post.

Caveats

A few things we should point out here. First, different people have different perspectives when it comes to travel preferences. For example, some folks want their travels to happen as quickly as possible with tiny layovers and jogs through the airport to catch your next plane. This probably means you want to minimize your time in airports and wouldn’t really have enough time to properly enjoy lounge access. If that’s a good description for you, then paying for a credit card that gives you access to its lounges might not make sense for you. Similarly, having this card and the perks it grants assumes you want to travel; if you don’t, then it doesn’t make sense to have a card like this. We are grateful that the lounges not only offer food options for our sometimes-tricky diet but also a (usually) quiet workspace between legs to catch up on emails, edit photos, schedule social, and write blog posts (like this one…written in the United Lounge in Newark) so we don’t lose entire workdays at a time while traveling.

Beyond that, not all airports have the same types of lounges. For example, like we said above, Denver has a Centurion Lounge (so does London), but Chicago and Newark don’t – yet. Chicago and Newark both have United Lounges (so do London and Denver). Of course, other airlines have lounges at different airports around the world, too. All that’s to say, if you’re going to spend the money on a card that gives you lounge access, that might mean you need to pay a little more attention to how you schedule your flights and what airports you have access to. For example, if we didn’t have the United card and its accompanying United Lounge access, we’d *only* have access to the Centurion Lounges via our AMEX card (Does that sound extra? We’re okay with it). In that scenario, we’d try to fly through Denver, Houston, Dallas, or Charlotte as much as possible, as they all have Centurion Lounges. It also means we’d look for layovers between two and three hours long, to give us enough time to get to the lounge and enjoy it, with enough buffer room in case our flight is delayed and to get to our next flight before they close the gate.

We should also point out that there are plenty of other perks that come with this credit card (like getting discounted prices on in-flight purchases and statement credits), we just don’t use them as much because they either don’t apply to how to live/travel or we get the same benefits from other cards. But there are others that apply like status with Hertz that give us discounts and upgrades on car rentals, primary car rental insurance so we can wave the insurance provided by the rental agency, enrollment credit for TSA pre-check and Global Entry (huge musts in our book), and no foreign transaction fees. We’ll break these all down for you in another post in a couple weeks.

Caveat Emptor

As before, we’re not suggesting fee-based cards are right for everyone. We pick cards that fit into our lifestyle and normal spending habits and give us perks that make travelling more enjoyable. Regardless of what kind of credit card you decide to use, we always encourage you to use them responsibly and to not overextend yourself.

What’s your favorite credit card perk? Leave us a comment to let us know!

Happy traveling!

The post Fee-based Credit Cards: Are They Worth It? Part One first appeared on The DeBode Way.

We’ve talked before about the different credit cards we routinely use and why. We’ve also talked about some of the benefits that come with those cards, particularly the Chase Sapphire Preferred and, even more, the Platinum Card from American Express. And while there’s loads of benefits and perks that come with these cards (many of which help to offset the sometimes eye-watering annual fees), there is one that seems to stand out among the crowd: access to airport lounges.

Okay, we know how extra this sounds: Oh, just heading to the airport lounge, nbd. As if this is something everyone does on a regular basis. When we first heard of these, we assumed they were yet another thing reserved for…well…folks in a higher tax bracket than ourselves. Fortunately, we were wrong and have since come to appreciate these hidden gems. Interested? Great; keep reading for more nuggets of wisdom.

There are multiple ways you can gain access to airport lounges, or at least some of them. We have access to two different kinds of lounges. Our AMEX card gets us into the Centurion Lounge collection from AMEX. These are only at certain airports though, and so to get to them we sometimes have to take different routes – and longer layovers – when we fly, but it’s totally worth it. To get in, we need the AMEX card, a photo ID, and a boarding pass for a flight no more than 3 hours from the time we enter the lounge. We should also note that not all AMEX cards will get you into these lounges; as of the writing of this post, only the Platinum and Centurion (otherwise known as the Black card) cards will get you in. Yes, those have higher Annual Fees (AFs) as well.

Once you’re in, the lounge is a hidden oasis among the chaos of today’s airports. Hungry? There’s always food available, and we mean full meals, not just snacks. The hot food buffets are always stocked with locally inspired dishes, and we were surprised at how many are compliant with our eating habits (i.e., fresh-made, no preservatives or other stuff we can’t pronounce, and so on). Thirsty? Head on over to the bar for whatever you like (wine, beer, cocktails, etc.) from one of the friendly barkeeps. Need to see what’s going on in the world? Coincidentally there’s free Wi-Fi. Of course, there’s plenty of seating, coffee flowing non-stop, and some even have showers you can use. And best of all, everything is already included in the AF you pay for your credit card; other than tipping the bar folks, you don’t need to pay for anything (except some of the premium cocktails). You’re allowed to hang out in the lounge for up to 3 hours before heading out to your gate to catch your next flight. Oh, the peace and comfort!

Our AMEX and Chase cards also give us access to the Priority Pass collection of lounges, too. These are often affiliated with specific airlines (not their first-class lounges) and are pretty common in both domestic and international airports. However, thus far we haven’t needed to use them because we’ve been going to the Centurion Lounges. That said, these look to also have snacks (not full buffets) and (more limited) bars, along with seating and Wi-Fi. Our understanding is most of these also have 3-hour limits. And, while they might not be as fancy as the Centurion Lounges, you can also get a membership to Priority Pass directly. That means a larger number of people can access them, but it also means they’re likely to be a bit more crowded, so best to plan accordingly if you want to use them so you don’t miss your flight.

Our newest card, the United Club Infinite Visa Card, gives us access to the United Club lounges (not Polaris), which is helpful to us because we spend most of our time in United terminals. We hope to take full advantage of these whenever we fly United but pass through airports that either do not have a Centurion Lounge (our #1 choice), or Centurion and Priority lounges are full or too far away. We’ll report back at the end of the summer once we’ve had a chance to use them.

And there you have it. Lounges are among our favorite parts of air travel these days. It isn’t so much the lounge itself (which is pretty neat, tbh), but rather a chance to catch our breath, grab an included bite to eat (airport food is SO expensive these days), and relax during what could otherwise be a stressful experience (especially if you’re Tasha and hate to fly). And if you’re already paying for it, or could be, as one of the perks with your credit card, why not?

Have you been to airport lounges? Are there any you like in particular? Drop us a comment or, even better, a picture or two, to let us know.

Happy travels!

The post Exclusive access: The (relatively) unknown world of airport lounges first appeared on The DeBode Way.

What we eventually found out was that there are better ways to book travel plans. To clarify, by ‘better’ we don’t necessarily mean less expensive, so if that’s your main goal then perhaps stick with what works best. However, after traveling a bit, we found that the actual travel experience can be better when you book directly with different companies. Let’s go through a few quick examples.

Hotels.

Like most of our friends, we used to be pretty loyal bookers on Hotels.com. We could typically find a low-cost, no-frills room wherever we wanted to go. Then, on our first trip to Scotland, we befriended a hotel manager who got a disappointed look on her face when we told her our process when she asked how we found them. Yes, we often got the lowest price from Hotels.com (or other, similar websites), but she told us they take a pretty high percentage of the booking, so the hotel itself made less on the sale than if you book through them directly. We also learned that many hotels, particularly smaller and independent ones, don’t put their better rooms on those websites, specifically because they don’t get the same return on them. Plus, we’ve found that if you book directly and something happens, the hotel staff are more likely to work with you than if you book through some third-party site.

The same goes for major hotel chains. A few years ago, when the Pandemic was really revving up, we started noticing what people were saying about their experience with major hotel brands, specifically if they needed to change or cancel a reservation. Many hotel brands weren’t exactly open to working with people when life happened, and so in many cases they were out of luck when trying to make a change. Or, if a change was possible there were always fees charged to do so. Except one: Hilton. (Disclaimer: there were probably others that took the Hilton approach, this one just stuck out to us) Not only did Hilton not charge cancellation or reservation change fees (unless you cancel or change within 24 hours of your stay as a loyalty member), but they were also really easy to work with to make those changes. In fact, most of the time you can do everything you need through their app, it’s super easy and user-friendly, no hours on hold required. So, we started being more intentional about staying with them when we travel within the US and stay in major cities abroad. During 2020-2021 Hilton made it easier to earn and maintain their Diamond level of status, which has all kinds of perks we find valuable and so we’ve stayed with them since. Could we find less expensive rooms through third-party sides like Hotels.com? For sure. But we’ve found the folks at Hilton are happy to help, and more so when we book with them directly rather than third-party and being a loyalty member often gets you a great room at a discount price. Plus, we’ve racked up a pile of loyalty points that we can’t wait to use on a free vacation, we get free breakfast or hotel credit for food, and a plethora of other perks. Just something to consider.

Flights.

Just like with hotels, there are loads of third-party websites you can scan to find rock-bottom prices on flights. In a prior life, we did that, too. Trouble is, that often means you’re flying with different airlines. Sound familiar? That, in turn, makes it very difficult to earn status with any one airline. By ‘status’ we mean being able to use your frequent flier miles, become eligible for upgrades or perks, fly with free checked bags and so on. I’ll say that again: the more you fly with multiple airlines, the harder it is to earn status with one of them. Makes sense, right? As with hotels, it’s also true, at least in our experience, that airline customer service agents are more willing to work with you (and obligated, in some cases) if you’ve booked with them directly rather than third-party. That comes in handy if your flight is delayed getting out, causing you to miss your connection.

So, after a while of buying tickets third-party, we started paying more attention to the experiences we had during our flights. As it turns out, we enjoyed our experience with United Airlines more than anyone else. Because of that and where we live (often flying to their Chicago or Houston hubs), for most of our travels that’s where we head to book our flights: the United website. Can we find less expensive flights from third-party websites? Absolutely. But again, the benefits of booking directly, accruing miles, earning status, and having better customer service are worth the sometimes slightly higher price we’ll pay to book directly with the airline.

As a sidenote: interested in jumpstarting your status with your favorite airline? You might consider checking out cobranded credit cards (a regular card like Visa that gains you points with a particular company, in this case an airline). Want to learn more? Our friends over at 10X Travel will be happy to help.

Overall.

Much of the information we share on this blog is focused on saving money while traveling internationally so we can do it more often. That’s something we’re passionate about and want to share with you. At the same time, there are times to focus on hunting around for the best deals and there are times to recognize when there’s value in paying a little more and booking directly with companies to get the discount or loyalty points in the long run. We do both because that’s what helps us travel the way we like best.

Just so we’re all on the same page, our goal is to share our process with you, not tell you what you should or shouldn’t be doing. So, if your goal is to save as much money as possible and booking through third-party sites works for you, then keep on keepin’ on. However, if you’re open to unlocking the value of booking directly with companies, even if it’s a little more expensive in the short term, we just want you to know about the option. And as G.I. Joe says, ‘knowing is half the battle.’

Happy travels!

The post Pick It and Stick (with) It – When Loyalty Matters More first appeared on The DeBode Way.

Okay, let’s talk about traveling, especially in the midst of a pandemic.

First, let’s separate traveling (getting from Point A to Point B) from exploring (seeing all there is to see in Point B). We like to do both, but more the latter than the former. Travelling isn’t what it used to be, and for a whole bunch of reasons. And while travelling is more complicated and can be a pain, we’ve picked up a few things along the way that make a world of difference for our traveling experience.

What we’ve Learned about Travelling, Part 1: The Airport Experience.

If you’re flying, TSA Pre-Check is easily among the best investments we’ve ever made. Yes, lots of other people have it. Yes, it’s still valuable and handy to have. It’s SO nice to not wait in the long lines, not have to take your shoes/belt/jacket off, and not have to take things out of our carry-on bags. These all sound like small things, and they are, but they add up quickly. And when travelling has become more complicated and can be a headache, why not rack up the small wins when you can? Just in our small hometown airport alone, we can walk in the door and straight through security to be at the gate in about 5-10 minutes. It definitely takes longer at larger US airports but not having to re-dress yourself and cram everything back into your carefully packed bags alone is worth it. Plus, you’re trading that hour long security line for one that’s only a few minutes long. Major win for your stress levels.

Along the same lines, if you’re leaving the country, we’d recommend two different programs to consider, as either can make your life easier when you re-enter the States. First, Global Entry. Being in this program means you have a MUCH shorter process to journey through Customs when you get back to the US (note, this does not change your entry process into other countries). You have to submit your application, wait for approval, and then schedule your interview (at an international airport), during which they’ll ask you a few questions and take your picture. Once complete, you’ll receive your card in the mail a short while later. Because of this, it’s important to plan well in advance to make this happen. Also keep in mind that, as of the time we’re writing this, Global Entry also gets you TSA Pre-Check (win!). If you are a credit card points gathering fool like we are and hold a card with travel benefits, check to see if they cover the cost of Pre-Check and Global Entry. Many do as part of your annual fee and this puts you well on your way to justifying that annual fee.

Second, if you don’t want to shell out the money for Global Entry, we’d strongly recommend an app on your phone called Mobile Passport. You know the form you’ll receive on the plane when you get back asking you to declare things you’ve purchased on your trip? Mobile passport captures your passport information and has you answer those questions, all in a handy app. It won’t work before you land at your point-of-entry back into the US (we do it as soon as we touch down while the plane taxis to the gate), but once you submit and it’s accepted, there’s a different and much shorter/faster line to go through in Customs. Best part? It’s totally free. Usually we do that, even though we have Global Entry, and then just go through whichever line is shorter.
However, on our most recent trip back from Mexico we didn’t have to fill out a paper form and even though we were super prepared by filling out our Mobile Passport App, they never asked for it. We glided through the Global Entry line and on to pick up our bags and re-drop them for the second leg of our trip.
Mental note – they run you through security again after an international flight, don’t buy a giant bottle of water in the airport unless you plan to drink it ALL because they will make you dump it. Sad face. Also, a Kindle counts as a computer these days apparently, take it out of your bag or they’ll make you rescan and wait forever. FOR-EV-ER.

Another thing you’re going to be asked about at flight check-in for an international trip these days is your Covid test. As of this writing you have to have a negative test to re-enter the country, taken the day before your flight (not necessarily 24 hours before). Luckily our resort in Cabo offered us a test so we didn’t have to track one down. If you’re not staying somewhere that offers testing the day before you leave, you can bring an at home test to bring with you to take online. This is where I refer you to the experts – The Points Guy has a whole team of travel experts that stay on top of the ever changing requirements. This article really breaks down the current requirements.

We hope to see you back out there soon. We’re just scratching the surface. Stay tuned for more tips and more travel from us! Have a wonderful Christmas!

The post Travel Lessons – How to breeze through the airport first appeared on The DeBode Way.