travel

Glenn Brooke | June 10, 2015 | 4 Comments

How Bad Was This Trip, Really? – Glenn Brooke

Not long ago I traveled from Des Moines, Iowa to Wilmington, Delaware.

On my way to the dentist that morning for a routine cleaning I received a phone call that my flight was moved up. I changed my dentist appointment, zipped down to the airport, and was told my flight was now delayed by an hour.

The flight attendant accidentally spilled a Coke on me when we hit turbulence. Nice big stain on my dress shirt. The baby near me cried inconsolably most of the flight to Atlanta. The guy in front of me dropped his seat back all the way, leaving me almost no room to write in my notebook.

Glenn Brooke | October 8, 2014 | 5 Comments

The Well-Equipped Laptop Bag for Travel – Glenn Brooke

Many leaders I know are out of their regular office more than they are in it, moving around between conference rooms or multiple sites. You are facilitating meetings, taking notes, giving presentations, and trying to keep up with everything else going on outside the meeting you’re involved in. Set yourself up for success with a well-stocked bag. (Note: Use whatever brand preferences you like, and whatever makes you effective.)

Here’s my current checklist for what goes in my laptop bag:

Local presentations and meetings where I take my laptop

Laptop, power cord
Portable mouse (with spare battery)
Paper notepad for taking notes
Documents for use in meetings
My current task-tracking checklist
Index cards for making/leaving notes – I like the Levenger 3×5 cards for this
Flash drive – use for backups of presentations/documents, or transferring files if a network is not available
A fresh whiteboard marker, because the ones in the conference room are often dried out
LAN cable – I like this style of compact retractable LAN cables
Remote control/laser pointer (I’m pleased with this Keyspan unit)
Security tokens
Spare pens, highlighter
Mints

Add for travel — so I can work effectively from anywhere

Flight/rental car/hotel information
Driving directions to key locations
Small notebook (I’m fond of Moleskines!)
Digital copies of documents under development
Tablet for Kindle reading and work when a full laptop is just too much– I have used both iPads and Surface Pro devices. I load up the Kindle books before a trip.
Business cards
List of contacts, phone numbers, email addresses, help desk contact info (printed, as backup)
Printed calendar (again, good backup if there are smartphone problems)
Chargers for all devices
Envelope for storing receipts
Post-it notes
Pencil (for writing on bumpy flights or cars)
Chapstick, dental floss, vitamins, Tylenol + prescriptions
Spare shoelaces
Spare AAA batteries for devices
Rubber bands and spare ziplock bags
Spare change in a ziplock bag
Foam ear plugs for work in noisy spaces
Some small snacks that don’t require refrigeration
Cheat sheets for how to do VPN, wireless, other connections – because the Help Desk isn’t always easily available
Backup charts for presentations
An extra Flash drive I can leave with someone if necessary
Headset mic for Skype calls (optional)
My “On Return” checklist for things to do when I’m back in the office
Extra reading materials: Trade magazines for catchup reading, Printouts of blog posts and articles.

Do you have other recommendations and suggestions?

Vincent Russell | February 2, 2014 | 2 Comments

Creative Ways to Hack Your Travel

For the past five months or so, I have been following a pretty well-known travel blogger who goes by the name of Nomadic Matt. Matt’s blog focuses on providing information to travelers on how to travel the world without spending their life savings. Through his blog and his book, How to Travel the World on $50 a Day, I have learned some pretty creative tips for seeing the world, without selling my left arm. Today, I would like to share what I have experienced for myself thus far. I will cover some basics about the credit card I used to gain points (commonly referred to as miles) through a promotion and how I have personally “hacked” my travel in regards to flying for dirt-cheap.

I will be planning a trip in April to see one of my favorite bands CHVRCHES (yes, it’s spelled with a ‘v’) play at the Ogden Theatre in Denver, Colorado. So for this example, I will be using actual travel dates, prices, Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards® points, et cetera.

1. How I earned 50,000 points in less than 3 months.

When I originally signed up for this credit card back in October, Southwest was (and still is, at this current moment) offering 50,000 points as part of a promotion for new cardmembers. There are, of course, a few stipulations to be able to receive this credit card. One must have good credit, be a new cardmember, and spend $2,000 in the first three months upon opening the credit card account.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. “$2,000?! That’s a lot of money!” You’re right. It is. But there are easy ways to reach that milestone without going into debt. I was able to reach $2,000 about one month before the deadline. I paid my rent, utilities, gas, and food all on my Southwest credit card. As soon as I charged any payment to that card, I transferred the amount from my main checking account to a secondary account so that I would not lose track of my spending. When the bill was due, I simply paid my credit card statement with my secondary checking account. I did not incur any added debt because I was able to maintain the funds needed to pay off the credit card via the aforementioned secondary account.

2. Hacked travel equals a happy wallet.

The picture above shows an example of what a normal flyer would pay to fly from Dallas Love Field to Denver, Colorado on Thursday, April 24^th, returning Saturday, April 26^th, booking three months in advance – $158 – and that’s using the cheapest option possible, the “Wanna Get Away” airfare. The “Wanna Get Away” option is actually not a bad deal. It is your guaranteed cheapest option when flying with Southwest. To make sure you get a good seat, you have the option to check-in for your flight early via their mobile application or online.

The picture above shows an example of what a Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards® member pays total for their flight using points earned. In this example here, I will be using 7,144 points, which is amazing. There are still government fees associated with all airfare, but as you can see, I’ll only be paying $5.00 for this flight.

The key to affordable travel can be summed up in a three simple points.

1. Take advantage of rewards programs.

There are so many rewards programs out there such as Southwest, British Airways, American Airlines, and many more. Do your research on these programs, their partnerships, and find out which one works best for you and your travel needs.

2. Book early.

Booking early should be common knowledge. The further out you can plan your travel and book it, the cheaper your flight will be.

3. Research, research, research.

If you are not using a rewards program, do your research! There are many travel booking websites that say they will guarantee the cheapest flight, but from what I have found (and also extensive research on the behalf of many travel bloggers) is that more than half the time, booking through the airline’s official website can be a more affordable option.

What rewards program do you use? Has it been effective for you? Share in the comments below!

Photo from: flightonabudget.com

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