Today I was flying out of SEA and at the check point I was at it appeared that all of the Backscatter machines were in use so it didn’t matter what line I chose.

I also noticed that instead of the TSOs directing people whether to use the Backscatter or the metal detector, people just self-queued in front of the AIT.  Instead of queuing, I just approached the metal detector and I was motioned right through.  No one questioned why I wasn’t queuing for the AIT.  No one made me wait for a pat down.  People were just choosing the line the person before them went through.

Last year AMEX gave $25 statement credits for supporting small businesses.  I earned mine by eating at my favorite local restaurant and paying with my AMEX.

The first great news is that the same promotion is returning again this year, so mark your calendars for Saturday, November 26.

The other exciting news is that Fedex is supporting the promotion by giving away 30,000 small business gift cards worth $25 each at 1PM ET on Tuesday, November 1. All you have to do is “like” Fedex on Facebook and be one of the first 30,000 people to register on Tuesday. Be sure you’re quick, because I assume these will be gone in no time.

Good luck!

HT Lucky

This is one of the few travel tips that I didn’t learn the hard way…at least not this time.

To get from Seattle to Victoria I’m flying on Kenmore Air’s Seaplanes.  Originally I thought this was a milk run, but it turns out it just included shuttle service from SEA to Kenmore’s Seaplane terminal, then on to YHW.

As I discovered that I also discovered another little nugget: there is a 25 pound luggage allowance.  Since this didn’t say 24 pounds per bag, but rather 24 pounds total (with no indication of what an overage entailed) I had to do some rearranging.  I got a luggage scale at TBEX ’10 so I put my laptop bag on it.  15 pounds!  Then I weighed my rollerboard: 20 pounds!  I need my laptop and I’d prefer not to purchase clothes at the last minute so I switched from a roller to my old athletic duffel bag and I took out all non-essentials such as the old android chargers I’d been carrying, car chargers since I wasn’t going to have a car, I’m going blazerless, and I also carefully counted undergarments.

When I checked in I had 22 pounds so everything is coming with me.  Other customers were way over so their bags are going “stand-by” whatever that means.

I had flown on a 15-ish passenger Cessna down in Costa Rica so I figured since the seaplane is smaller they would need my weight for weight and balance if luggage is limited to 24 pounds total.  I’m sure others might think it is an odd question, but the others checking in all responded politely.  The passenger with 40 pounds of luggage, however, was not as polite about being separated from her luggage.  If I had known 100% that I could bring extra baggage for a fee I would have.  One lady was 8 pounds over and it was like $11 extra.

I know I’ve talked about getting an iPhone for a while, but I finally did go to the Apple Store last week and I picked up a 4S on Verizon.

1. I wanted to get back on Verizon because I my friends with Verizon have coverage where I need it
2. The features I like are finally available in iOS including Multitasking, wireless syncing, copy and paste
3. It finally dawned on me that I could just get a bluetooth keyboard so I could still have a physical keyboard
4. iMessage is pretty cool
5. But the main reason I at least needed a new phone was because the Intercept just pretty much didn’t work.  It would take 4-5 tries to actually unlock the phone.  I didn’t have a fancy unlock screen, just  the basic 2.2 unlock screen where you swipe from one side to the other.

Another feature which pushed me to the 4S over any previous version is something of key importance to travelers…the iPhone is dual band CDMA and GSM.  The 2 US CDMA carriers are also quite willing to unlock the microSim.  Sprint offers it unlocked from the get-go, and after 60 days Verizon should happily unlock it for me.  Apparently the unlock might still be restricted so I couldn’t use the phone on AT&T or T-Mobile, but I don’t plan on doing that anyway.

It’s not easy getting from the south to British Columbia so I’m flying to Seattle, then making a milk run on Kenmore Air Harbour next week.  Wish me luck!

I recently saw the movie Contagion in theatres.  Without revealing too much of the plot, the premise is about a business traveler who visits Asia and comes home to the US to start an epidemic.  Sure, a lot of the movie is farfetched, but the underlying premise is true: travelers, especially business travelers, are known to carry a disease from one area and introduce it to another.  Look at H1N1 with kids who visited Mexico or SARS with people who visited Asia.

Also, as a business traveler, if I just flew 800 miles and spent the night at a hotel on your dime it is pretty hard for me to suddenly have to call in sick.

Frequent hand washing is easy, but adequate rest and nutrition are often difficult with a busy travel schedule.  What more can be done?  How about the GermBana?  GermBana offers three solutions with germ fighting fabric including a Face Gator, Scarf, and Gloves.  All are proven to even fight MRSA which is a difficult to fight infection that used to be relegated to hospitals.  GermBana is anti-Bacterial.  Now, the diseases I listed above were mostly viruses, but there are plenty of bacteria we encounter on tray tables, bathroom doors, and other public places that are difficult to avoid.  Also, just adding a barrier between these surfaces and our hands which should prevent touching our eyes and face can help with viruses.  The gloves make it very easy to prevent touching these surfaces and the scarf has pockets that a hand can easily slip into before opening a bathroom stall door or turning a faucet on/off.  The scarf was very light and I could hide it easily under a cardigan or just wear it on top of my clothes.

GermBanas can be purchased at many outlets including Skymall or Amazon

Please note, I was provided a GermBana scarf for testing purposes.

Last weekend was Clemson homecoming.  At the last minute I decided to check and see how close I could get a room.  I was traveling with a Silver member and he could only find rewards over 30 miles away, but I was able to pick up a special diamond only award night at the Hampton Inn in Clemson.

Another friend who is a Marriott Platinum was stuck staying at a Jameson Inn 10 miles away for $$ since she couldn’t use her points as close as she wanted to be on points.

This is just one data point, but still Hilton has treated me well.

I know I love to diss HMS Host, but here is one thing it seems they are doing right.

This is more of an Android App suggestion since I haven’t been to one of the airports that utilizes this recently, but HMS Host has created an app for iOS and Android to allow users to order food for delivery at the gate.  Right now it is just at ORD, MSP and JFK (Terminal 3).

I like the concept of this app because if I have a close layover I often feel like there isn’t enough time for food.  If I could place an order right after landing so I could either grab at my connecting gate or en route to my connecting gate that would be nice.  Otherwise I’m usually not that lazy.  One thing I do hate, however, is navigating an airport with a fountain beverage.  My luggage + a fountain beverage = too much potential for an accident.  If someone else is navigating the airport with a fountain beverage then I have less of an issue.

iOS link

Android Link