Every week on Wednesday afternoons I will post an update of my previous travel week so you can see how glamorous business travel can be. Certain details will be omitted to protect the innocent and to make sure that I don’t jeopardize my job as a business traveler, but I want for you all to see what my week is like.

Monday:
Flew to PHL by way of DCA since that was ~$500 less than the direct. I will never do that again! I had a 30 minute connection and had to take a bus from one concourse to another and then a bus to my airplane.
Drove down to Maryland and stayed at the Hampton Inn in Hagerstown, MD

Tuesday:
Had 2 meetings in Maryland and drove to Morgontown, WV and stayed at the Hampton Inn there. This Hampton Inn has a great location near the university so there were many places to go to eat. I chose Volcano sushi based on a recommendation from the front desk.

Wednesday:
Had a meeting in Morgantown, then drove to Clarksburg, WV and had a meeting there and then drove to Huntington, WV and stayed at the Hampton Inn there. The front desk recommended Fat Patty’s for dinner, but Outback Steakhouse was pretty close so I ate there instead.

Thursday:
Two meetings in Huntington and then flew out of HTS on a direct flight back to Charlotte. Home at 6 pm.

So I earned 3 segments on US Airways, 1500 PQM, and 3 stays/nights at Hilton which leaves me at:
Delta: 45 MQS/36,693 MQM = at least Silver for 2014
US Airways: 29 PQS/24,245 PQM – 1 flght from at least Silver for 2014
Hilton: 19 stays/28 nights
Marriott: 38 nights

I had a night to kill before it was time to work and I had an extra category 1-4 certificate from a Marriott promotion last year so I decided to try out the Courtyard Denver.  I had a king-sized room on the second floor.

I liked the hotel, but actually ended up going out to Boulder to visit a friend so I didn’t explore the area much although I have been on 16th before.  I did have some people partying in the room next to me.  It was still an OK time to be a little loud and it’s not their fault I wanted to go to bed at East coast time so I gave them the benefit of the doubt.  They cleared out long before it would have been time to call the front desk, but I just wanted you to know that sound does travel from room to room.

I ate breakfast in the restaurant connected on the main floor and it was pretty good and service was excellent.  I had the spinach omelet and it was quite tasty.

I never had to wait long for valet which is good since it was $28.

Scott McCartney from the Wall Street Journal recently evaluated airlines for reward redemption.  Among US carriers Southwest and JetBlue topped the charts with Delta and US Airways rounding out the bottom tied for last amount airlines evaluated.

At a recent travel blogging conference many of us were talking about what kind of a traveler we are.  Since I have to travel where I need to go each week for work and want to do it as comfortably as possible I’m not a mileage runner kind of flyer and I’m not a churner to get free vacations all on credit card points.  My primary goal is to travel as comfortably as possible and hopefully get first class upgrades often.  This is part of why I changed from crediting to United to US Airways since I fly on US.  This means I’m actually getting upgrades, but I’m not sure how everything will play out booking my next vacation.  I booked my vacation this fall using my remaining United miles since they had low-tier availability and Delta didn’t.  I just keep letting Delta miles build up because I can never use them, but I love flying Delta.

So let me rehash an old meme and point out that McKayla is not impressed with Delta and US.

By Ben Mutzabaugh, USA TODAY

Goal: to be the preeminent business travel blogger for the Charlotte market as evidenced by page views and quotes in news outlets.

Step one towards this goal: Why do I live in Charlotte.

Unlike most workers and even many business travelers I have the luxury of living near any hub I want.
I could live in a glamourous city like NYC or LA
I could live near a mega hub airport like ATL or ORD
I could even live somewhere with super dirt cheap direct flights like MCO

I chose Charlotte and I think that is an important thing to understand.  I moved there for the airport and I stay because of friends and because the airport still suits my needs.

What keeps me in Charlotte?  A variety of suitable flights with plenty of mainline and larger regional jets on major carriers (US Airways and Delta), fast security, and convenient parking.

What would I like to see?

• Lower fares for sure.  Charlotte may not always be the cheapest.
• More direct flights to the west coast.  When I head over there US Airways is usually the the cheapest, but most west coast destinations require a hop in PHX.  It’s crazy how many people on my flights between CLT and PHX are double hopping XXX-PHX-CLT-YYY instead of XXX-hub-YYY like I can usually do on Delta.  It will be interesting to see how that plays out with the AA merger and adding DFW and ORD to the list of hubs in the middle.
• Fix the moving walkway from A concourse back to the terminal so it works more than 1 week before it breaks again!
• I wish there was still a parking lot to walk to the concourse, but I also see the big picture that things will be much better very soon.

What is CLT doing well?  Unlike the impression I get at the NYC airports, there is no doubt CLT is a very light and airy airport.  I think it is kept very clean (hence my post years ago about the bathroom attendants), the new signage put in before the DNC is very clear, bright, and inviting.  There are a variety of places to eat from sushi to gelato Chilis and even Bad Daddy’s to bring some local Charlotte flavor.

Going forward I will do my best to be more timely with posts about this great city’s airport.

Today on CNN.com Katia Hetter writes about passengers who disregard flight attendant instructions and leave devices on during flight.

While more than 90% agree those flight attendant directions to turn off devices are clear, 59% say they always turn their devices completely off and 21% say they switch their devices to “airplane mode.” Some 5% say they sometimes completely shut down their devices.

As you can see from the image I carry many devices: laptop, iPad, Coby Kyros android tablet, portable 4G hotspot, and a WIFI router and I also have a GPS and my phone used to take the picture.  On any given flight I have at least one device on when forbidden.  I do, however, make sure I put my devices away.  Don’t be that person flaunting your devices when the flight attendant comes by.  He or she had no input on the rule but is required by the FAA to enforce it or incur fines.  Don’t argue with the FA that the device doesn’t interfere with navigation equipment.  Just put it away!

If you leave your cell phone on (and not in airplane mode) make sure it is silent.  Nothing is more of a dead give-away that your device is on than “Thrift Shop” blaring from your seat.  And at altitude put your device in airplane mode or you will drain the battery searching for signal.  If you want to use Gogo pretty much every phone I’ve had allows you to put the phone in airplane mode and then turn on WIFI.

I know I bash US Airways a lot. I like Delta’s service much better and I like to point out US’s shortcomings.
Yesterday’s flight from CLT to DEN was an exception. The lady working First Class (name withheld, but reported to US already) was probably the most friendly and service-oriented FA I have experienced on US in a while.
It is not a true fair comparison since I have been flying in Delta first class for 6 years, but I have only been flying in First on US since October. I also can’t compare the FA in first to the FA in coach since they are never apples to apples.
So thank you for making my 3 hours in the air pleasant and letting us all see how much you enjoy your job. I hope you are a positive influence on your coworkers who may be jaded.

I know my posts meander about a variety of topics and I don’t think that will entirely change, but as a whole I need to refocus now that I have reestablished myself.

Topics:
Airlines: Delta and US Airways
Hotels: Hilton and Marriott
Airports: Charlotte and occasionally Atlanta
App reviews and first world problems.
I will also remain a TSA hater.
Current events as relevant.

Why focus? I feel like I really need to state my focus to emphasize my areas of expertise. I am a business traveler. I travel for business as my primary source of income. I am here to share my stories and I feel like I have become a reposter for programs I know little about and don’t participate in. I would rather focus on what i know and present myself as the experts in those programs. Boarding Area has plenty of experts in other programs and I encourage you to explore the other blogs.

I didn’t really have allergies until a few years ago and I don’t know if it’s an age related thing or a pollen count related thing, but they keep getting worse.

A couple years ago I started taking Claritin and that helped so I never bothered to go to an allergist to find out the exact things I’m allergic to or to get a prescription.  The problem with travel is you really have to be preemptive and stay on top of it.  Whatever I’m allergic to started about 1 month ago so that is when I started taking pills, but when I would travel to colder climates I would forget to bring my pills or I’d skip a few days.  This meant I landed in Atlanta or Charlotte and would be that annoying person next to you sneezing with a runny nose “It’s not contagious, it’s just allergies!”  It’s still annoying, none-the-less.

Now Charlotte is mostly cleared up, but if the same pollen is where I travel I’m sure I’ll continue sneezing.  I’m getting sick of Claritin and it’s expense, even for the generic form and even at Costco.  Since “local” means something different to travelers and I can’t moderate myself with sweeteners I have not tried the local honey route.  I used to have easy access to local honey and my allergies were actually worse when I was eating it.  Instead of just sneezing I had horrible eye itching as well and had to use allergy eye drops.

Just last week I decided to give up on Claritin and I started taking Quercetin instead.  Now I rarely sneeze and when I travel to markets with weather a month behind Charlotte I have no issues.  It doesn’t give me any medicine head and seems to work much better than Claritin, Zyrtec, or Allegra ever did.

As of yesterday, May 7, international itineraries are finally available for Pre✓ as well.

Passengers flying internationally from the 40 participating TSA Pre✓™ airports may be eligible to receive expedited screening. In addition, passengers with connecting domestic flights who arrive in the United States on an international flight may use the TSA Pre✓™ lanes when going through the screening process at participating airports after being cleared by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

I’m happy to see this since I’ve already been to Canada 3 times this year and those were also the 3 times I have not been selected for Pre✓ at CLT.  I just got taken off my next trip to Canada so I won’t have time to test this out for a couple months, but for many other Pre✓ eligible travelers this will make the program finally usable.

I received this email today:

	Now dining out can be rewarding. You can earn 6 Hilton HHonors Bonus Points when you use your Card at U.S. restaurants.
			Now there’s a delicious new way to boost your points balance, whether grabbing a bite with the family or celebrating a special occasion. NEW! 6 Points at U.S. restaurants Earn 6 Hilton HHonors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases at U.S. restaurants.1 Continue to earn Points everyday 12 Hilton HHonors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases charged directly with a participating hotel or resort within the Hilton HHonors portfolio of brands.2 6 Hilton HHonors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases at U.S supermarkets and U.S. gas stations.1 3 Hilton HHonors Bonus Points for all other eligible purchases on your Card.3 Earn more points than ever before and make the most of them with your Hilton HHonors Surpass Card from American Express.

I mainly just use my Surpass card at Hilton properties since I earn plenty of Hilton points and prefer to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards instead, but I do occasionally use my Surpass at restaurants so this is a nice change.