Thread on Airline & Travel experiences

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

88. He is at Williams.

Edit: We took 81 to 88. I did think about you when we hit New York, but I wasn't sure which town you were in.

I'm in Newburgh, so if you would have taken 84 at Scranton that would take you to me.

Congrats on the graduation. In three years it will be my daughter's turn.

[GrantDawg]

Thanks. We are having dinner in Vermont right now. I could so see myself living here.

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[Ksyrup]

We really enjoyed Vermont the couple of times we've been. First was a long weekend (5 days), just the wife and I, in the fall chasing colors and covered bridges. Second was passing back and forth through with the kids on a NE trip.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Just sharing a note from Will's current journey

He landed safely in Tokyo (HAN) about 415 U.S. time this morning

The one travel wrinkle was that ATL-MPS-HAN was supposed to have about a 2h layover in Minneapolis. Delta delayed his flight (notified the night before) -- seemed maybe they combined 2 flights? His plane was only about 60% full -- turning it into 6 hrs in the airport. So from leaving home til takeoff in MPS was only about an hour less than the flight to Japan from there.

Baggage plus customs took about an hour.
Hailing a taxi? 2 minutes.

[Edward64]

MPS is a nice airport to be delayed in (unless it was in the middle of the night).

Access to lounges also helps. I got the Cap One Venture X because it was the lowest of the Premium cards that provided Priority Club lounge access. $395 but you get $300 travel credit a year so if he flies at least once a year it brings it down to $95 cost. There's also an anniversary 10k miles which theoretically brings the cost of the card from $395 to -$5.

I've been happy with it because of the Priority Club lounges which I've used maybe 5-6 times now. The Cap One portal for hotels really, really suck (I'm surprised how amateurish it is). It's okay for flights.

[Edward64]

I think I want to be a flight attendant in my 2nd career. Not for US domestic but for international routes. Domestic 2-4 hour jaunts would be horrible.

Along with travel benefits, there are plenty of size 1-2 beautiful flight attendants. Have to read up on eligibility & process.

[cartman]

I'm flying coach to Portugal on Thursday. Which normally would be suboptimal, but I got super lucky checking the seat map daily, and the one seat behind the exit row with no seat in front of it opened up. So all the legroom I want.

[Edward64]

I called IHG hotels for a support question. After resolving the issue, the rep asked if I wanted 500 points by talking with a IHG sales rep.

I'm still not sure of all the details, but apparently I can get 3/4 or 4/5 night stay at specific locations for about $200-$300 (e.g. hotels vs resorts) and have 100% of that refunded to me (other than taxes, ancillary charges) if I do a 2 hour listen to their sales pitch when I get on location. Orlando is one of their locations, and we were already thinking about Galaxy's Edge.

I don't know what their sales pitch is (probably some timeshare in their resorts) but I'm thinking I've sat through a bunch of 2 hour worthless presentations before. And I know how to say "no", multiple times as needed, and firmly. So getting the $200-$300 refunded to me, essentially free stay at an IHG is enticing.

If anyone has done anything like this before, please share your experience.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Edward64

I called IHG hotels for a support question. After resolving the issue, the rep asked if I wanted 500 points by talking with a IHG sales rep.

I'm still not sure of all the details, but apparently I can get 3/4 or 4/5 night stay at specific locations for about $200-$300 (e.g. hotels vs resorts) and have 100% of that refunded to me (other than taxes, ancillary charges) if I do a 2 hour listen to their sales pitch when I get on location. Orlando is one of their locations, and we were already thinking about Galaxy's Edge.

I don't know what their sales pitch is (probably some timeshare in their resorts) but I'm thinking I've sat through a bunch of 2 hour worthless presentations before. And I know how to say "no", multiple times as needed, and firmly. So getting the $200-$300 refunded to me, essentially free stay at an IHG is enticing.

If anyone has done anything like this before, please share your experience.

I remember as a kid we used to get mail to inform my parents they "won" a free stay at a fabulous Florida resort, and all they has to do is listen to a 2-3 hour presentation. My parents would never do it. I probably would now. I have heard though those presentation take up more time than they say and get real pushy.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

I remember as a kid we used to get mail to inform my parents they "won" a free stay at a fabulous Florida resort, and all they has to do is listen to a 2-3 hour presentation. My parents would never do it. I probably would now. I have heard though those presentation take up more time than they say and get real pushy.

Good to see one vote for this.

My wife said count her out, which is fine because she'll either get visibly PO'd with that "look", or she'll be all-in and want to buy something.

I'll just attend by myself. I know how to say no.

[GrantDawg]

This reminded me of watching someone on social media vacationing in a Sandals resort. They talked about how much they loved their accommodations and it is nice that it is "all inclusive", but what people don't tell you is how everywhere you go in the resort the staff is constantly trying to up sell you on something. They also had this guy badgering them to come to a sales pitch and if they did they would get a discounted future stay. They said they eventually had to get real rude to get that guy to stop bothering them.

[Lathum]

We did one several years ago. Just an FYI they may require you and your wife to go. I don't recall them being pushy, but they were very convincing. Despite being total bottom feeders they are very good at what they do. They obviously get an ROI on these free trips otherwise they wouldn't do them.

I remember they didn't even contact us to set up the presentation until we had been there several days. Probably by design so we could "fall in love" with the resort. My wife was wanting to at least consider it but I shut it down at every step of the way and I think they figured out pretty quick I wasn't an easy mark.

[Edward64]

Thank you both for your feedback. Appreciate it.

[JPhillips]

[Ksyrup]

We did one of these back in 2021 with IHG. We did a big family vacation to the NE and spent 7 nights at an IHG resort in the White Mountains of Vermont. We got a week in a suite for $700 plus a $175 gift card after we finished the 2 hour presentation.

I'll say this - if you have a hard time saying no and have an issue with feeling guilty (or whatever) disappointing people, you will walk out of there way poorer than you walked in. We said no and never had any intention of signing anything, but I probably let it go longer than I should have. Once they think they see a crack, that's when they get pushy and won't let go. But it was fine.

I remember waiting outside the place for one of the kids to go get something and overhearing the woman who did the presentation really down on herself because not a single person bought anything. I can't imagine the pressure those people get to make sales. But the reality is, timeshares suck in almost any situation. Right now, we're about to give my parent's 3 Marriott timeshares back to Marriott for nothing because it's better than paying the $7000 (!!!) in maintenance fees they owe annually. It was $6600 last year and seemed to be going up $400-800 a year. That's outrageous. And Marriott won't buy them back or help sell them, so we think it'll just be easier to give them up rather than spending time trying to work through Redweek or some other service. Saving all that money in maintenance fees is almost like selling them - addition by subtraction.

But 25-30 years ago, it made sense for my parents because it guaranteed a vacation they couldn't otherwise afford. As my parents reminded me, we're in a much different financial situation than they were. Not only can we afford it, but now you've got AirBNB, VRBO, etc., to stay at. Plus, with my deep dive into credit card and affinity rewards programs, we can stay at some really nice places at a good discount. It's just a different world now.

[JPhillips]

Wesley Financial is always advertising around here about canceling time shares, but I don't have any personal experience with them.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

We did one of these back in 2021 with IHG. We did a big family vacation to the NE and spent 7 nights at an IHG resort in the White Mountains of Vermont. We got a week in a suite for $700 plus a $175 gift card after we finished the 2 hour presentation.

The deal is something like 3/4 nights cost $199 but if I attended the 2 hour presentation, they would credit me the $199. They also had an option where they'd give me something like $100 back + 20k in points.

Did your deal have this "refund" or was it just a discounted rate?

[Silver Owl]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

I remember as a kid we used to get mail to inform my parents they "won" a free stay at a fabulous Florida resort, and all they has to do is listen to a 2-3 hour presentation. My parents would never do it. I probably would now. I have heard though those presentation take up more time than they say and get real pushy.

We did a couple of these years ago, and they can get really really pushy until they realize that its a lost cause for them. Just a constant no, no, no pushed us out the door pretty quickly with whatever reward we got.

[GrantDawg]

If you use IHG pretty regularly, take the 20k points. I was just looking tonight and 18k points is worth a $200+ room.

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[Edward64]

FWIW below is only for those interested in decent but not top tier hotels for international travel ...


Speaking of IHG, just got an email where I can get 100% "bonus" with buying IHG points. I have their $99 IHG card.

So, if I bought 250k points for $2,500, they will give me another +250k points for free. Their recent promotion was like 80%, and from reading reviews, the 100% is the best that they do. Without an 80% or 100% bonus, it's not worth it to me.

With the bonus, it is worth it to me. I'm not into fancy hotels, all I need is a basic, nice hotel when we travel. And Holiday Inn is pretty good in Asia (nothing like the HI in the US). And IHG will give the 4th night free.

So as an example, I can typically get a 4 night stay at a basic IHG for 28k to 32k points in Asia with 1-2 months booking. For this to work, have to plan on 4 night increments to get the bonus 4th night free.

Doing some math using 32k points for 4 nights ...

500,000 / 32,000 = 15.6 stays of 4 nights
15.6 x 4 = 63 nights

Therefore, cost per night using points purchased (500k points for $2,500) is

$2,500 / 63 = $40

For 28k points for 4 nights, the math works out to 71 nights or $35. The $35-$40 range for a Holiday Inn in Asia (or anywhere else) is pretty darn good. Two additional bonuses (1) when you book using points, you don't have the traditional 8-10% of taxes/stuff and (2) with the IHG card, your chances of getting an upgrade is pretty good in Asia.

I have to do the same analysis for Europe but I'm likely going to do this. The points don't expire and there's not been any "devaluation" recently that I've read.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Edward64

The deal is something like 3/4 nights cost $199 but if I attended the 2 hour presentation, they would credit me the $199. They also had an option where they'd give me something like $100 back + 20k in points.

Did your deal have this "refund" or was it just a discounted rate?

Just the discounted rate. I think they are dying to sell timeshares right now. Although we did get $175 back in a gift card.

[Ksyrup]

Also, IHG at 100% bonus is almost always a no-brainer. We've stayed at 3 Intercontinentals this year in Auckland, Sydney and London for a fraction of the cash cost. All in 4 night increments to max out the 4th night free deal.

I'm not buying this time because I've still got 350K points stashed.

[Edward64]

Got an email, it's "club vacations". She said it could be any of the IHG hotels or resorts, and she sent me below offer for Holiday Inn Orange Lake Resorts.

For just a $279 deposit, get a 5-day/4-night stay,

With a refund/credit after sitting through the sales pitch ...

$179 cash back, 20,000 IHG® Rewards Club points and a feel for the awaiting fun through a special Holiday Inn Club Vacations® preview in your choice of resort destinations.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...e_Florida.html

Tripadvisor says the resort is decent but room pics make it seem "older". The tripadvisor room rates are about $130'ish which would make regular price of 4 nights for $520, meaning my offer price of $279 is a pretty good discount.

Or in other words, I'd be saving about $520 for suffering through their pitch (but get to visit Galaxy's Edge).

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Also, IHG at 100% bonus is almost always a no-brainer. We've stayed at 3 Intercontinentals this year in Auckland, Sydney and London for a fraction of the cash cost. All in 4 night increments to max out the 4th night free deal.

I'm not buying this time because I've still got 350K points stashed.

I've decided to buy some points but struggling with how much to buy. I currently have about 90k points, and I know I don't need 250k+250k in 2025.

These 100% bonus deals come out at least once a year so I can catch it next year if needed for 2026.

Have to talk with the missus on her individual travel plans next year. With daughter just graduated, we may just take a 3-4 month world tour.

[Ksyrup]

Yeah, only buy what you know you'll use in the next year or so. With the way nearly all rewards programs devalue their points on little to no notice, you don't want to be stuck with points you paid cash for now that in 2 years aren't worth as much.

I only have so many because we had to cancel our fall trip due to my wife's hip surgery. We've just written off the rest of the year and will start fresh with a cruise in February.

[Ghost Econ]

I've been trying to convince my wife to do a timeshare presentation for a cheap trip to Disney, but she won't bite. I was getting calls for a $200 5 night Orlando one almost daily. We would have no issues saying no, she just doesn't want to waste 2 hours. I've tried pointing out she has long, pointless meetings for work all the time, but she didn't bite yet.

I even had one guy offer a $100 5 night all inclusive if I sit through one but just didn't want to bite at the time.

That being said, we've done a few all inclusives in general and never had anyone ask us to sit in a sales pitch or get pushy for anything.

That being said, my mom has a blue-green time share and I am not looking forward to dealing with that shit when she dies. She says she's leaving it to my sister's and I. I want nothing to do with that. From what I understand you have to file some document with the courts revoking your rights or else you're stuck with it and there's nothing you can do.

[Ksyrup]

Yeah, one of the reasons it was a no-brainer for us was it was a 7 night vacation. 2 hours out of 7 days is nothing. A 3-day to someplace like Orlando? Eh, that might restrict other plans. 5 days, sure.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Ghost Econ

I've been trying to convince my wife to do a timeshare presentation for a cheap trip to Disney, but she won't bite.

I don't know her obviously, but suddenly I kinda like your wife lol

[Edward64]

I told her no on the free nights.

Decided we were trying too hard to justify a trip to Orlando.

[JonInMiddleGA]

No clue what thread this really fits into, so I'll stick it here

Since we've already -- somewhat bitterly -- laughed about this as much as we can, I'll share it here too

As Will's fantastic trip comes to an end (due home about 28 hours from this post), he made a really depressing but painfully accurate observation, which I'll paraphrase best I can.

You want to talk about "culture shock"? Get on a plane and leave what might in many ways be the pinnacle of modern human civilization ... and land 13 hours later in College Park, GA.

There could be worse scenarios -- landing in Detroit or Memphis came to mind -- but not by much.

I was already depressed on his behalf about the trip winding down, but that realization just added to an already very emotional end of trip for him. The whole "changing of the seasons" aspect of this happening, and now ending, has really hit hard.

[Edward64]

I understand what he is going through. I always feel down when I come back from international travels.

[JPhillips]

I remember going from Paris to Belgrade in 2005 and that was quite a difference. Between people with chickens and tatted up ex-soldiers manning security it was like stepping back behind the Iron Curtain.