Tips on Traveling Well
May 21
As I posted last night, our hearts go out to the people of Oklahoma. Mommypoints has a great post up listing various ways you can help. As much as I know Boardingarea is a place about miles, points, travel….and an occasional MJ inspired cruise report, it’s hard not to acknowledge the tragedy that has happened now that the sun is up on a new day. But there was more than one miracle out of all this madness. Watch….
As a follow on to my recent random post on changing cell phone numbers after relocation, I thought I’d take things to the next step. The great debate of our time, Android vs iOS, or in my case, iPhone vs Galaxy. A little background. I have had a personal iPhone for four years now. The day job has historically provided me with a BlackBerry. Recently, that BlackBerry was replaced with an iPhone 4. Now, I carry an iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. Yes, I’ve become that guy…. tinkering with his two iPhones. For a fleeting moment, I considered switching my personal iPhone to an Android device, specifically, a Samsung Galaxy, but I have decided to stick with the iPhone platform totally. Why?
I acknowledge that Android devices, the Galaxy specifically, are great phones. I like them, really, I do. I just don’t love them. The apps I use most are available on both platforms, so that’s not the issue. It’s just that I like the look, and feel of iPhone. I like the integration between iPhone, iPad, and MacBook Air. Actually, I love the integration. In fact, that integration is probably the number one reason I’m sticking with iPhone, but the fact that I even considered switching is saying something. Am I missing something by not switching to Android? I’d love to hear your opinions.
Now, about switching from AT&T to Verizon…..
-MJ, May 21, 2013
May 20
Unless you’ve been following the blog for a long time, you might not know that I spent four years in Tulsa, Oklahoma, from 1996 to 2000. If the number one place an American Airlines employee (current, or former in my case) is likely to cycle through at some point is Dallas/Fort Worth, the second most likely must be Tulsa. The area around Oklahoma City appears to be most affected, and thankfully, my friends there all appear to be OK. There was just no way I was going to let the clock strike midnight, and not say something about what happened today. #PrayForOklahoma
Maybe old news, but I missed it earlier in the month. US Airways Dividend Miles is offering a 50 percent bonus on hotel stays and car rentals with their partners through July 31, 2013. An easy way to pick up a few extra Dividend Miles that will become AAdvantage miles sometime in the future after their proposed merger with American Airlines. Click here, and register with promo code HC13.
Terms & Conditions (from usairways.com)
Eligibility:
Registration required. Offer void where prohibited by law. Only miles earned after registration and between May 1, 2013 and July 31, 2013 are eligible (‘Eligible Activity Date’). Bonus miles do not count towards Dividend Miles Preferred status.
Earning bonus miles:
All Dividend Miles hotel and car rental partners are included in this promotion (‘Qualifying Partners’). Registered Dividend Miles members will earn a 50% bonus on all Dividend Miles earned directly from partners for hotels stays and car rentals (‘Qualifying Activity’). Please note: Hotel point conversions will not count toward a 50% bonus. In order to earn bonus miles you must request Dividend Miles from the partner when making your reservation, checking in or when requesting your points transfer. Bonus miles will post weekly beginning on May 7, 2013.
Eligible activity date:
Eligible Activity Date is based on the date the Qualifying Partner records the mileage transaction, and not necessarily the date on which the transaction occurred. US Airways assumes no responsibility for how qualifying partners record Eligible Activity Dates. The last date that activity from a qualifying partner can be received by US Airways for bonus miles consideration is October 30, 2013.
General terms:
All Dividend Miles Terms and Conditions apply. You must be subscribed to US Airways e-Statement and Earn More Miles emails in order to register for this promotion. If you are not currently subscribed, we will automatically subscribe you using the email address you provide when registering. You may opt out of US Airways emails at any time. US Airways is not responsible for the quality or delivery of goods and/or services provided by Dividend Miles partners. All Dividend Miles partner terms and conditions apply. Partner offers are subject to change without notice. Hotel points transfers are subject to terms and conditions as stipulated in your agreement with your hotel program.
Introduction — Status Matters – A New Cruising with MJ Series
Cruising with MJ – Elite Status with Carnival
Cruising with MJ – Elite Status with Disney
Cruising with MJ – Elite Status with NCL
Cruising with MJ – Elite Status with Princess
Cruising with MJ – Elite Status with Holland America
Cruising with MJ – Elite Status with Celebrity
Cruising with MJ – Elite Status with Royal Caribbean
Cruising with MJ – Elite Status Reciprocity with Affiliate Brands
Cruising with MJ – Elite Status Summary
Castaway Club is Disney Cruise Line’s loyalty program. Like most of the cruise line programs, you can join after your first cruise with Disney. We actually have our first Disney cruise booked for next March, and are very excited to enjoy the Disney cruise experience for ourselves. Unfortunately, since we have yet to take that first cruise, we are not members of Castaway Club and I had to piece together information I could find online into a review of their elite program.
Disney Cruise Line - Castaway Club
Disney’s elite levels are divided into three categories. You obtain Silver after 1 cruise, Gold after 5 cruises, and Platinum after 10 cruises. Disney will automatically enroll you in the program after your first cruise. The perks that come with each level get progressively better the more you cruise. There are the basics such as a dedicated reservations line and priority boarding. You also get priority booking access for shore excursions. For example, as a Disney newbie, I cannot book any cruise line shore excursions until 75 days prior to departure. Past guests, however, can book at progressively earlier times based on their elite status with Platinums able to book at 120 days prior to sailing, 105 days for Gold, and 90 days for Silver. These same advance booking guidelines apply to specialty restaurants and the spa as well.
Additionally, there’s the usual welcome back gift (aka swag) with all levels. At the Gold and Platinum levels you get an invite to a cocktail party onboard, and Platinum members receive a complimentary dining at Palo, a highly regarded, adults-only specialty restaurant featured on all 4 Disney ships. In my research, I found a very nice summary chart of Castaway Club elite benefits on DIS. You can access Disney’s public website page for the Castaway Club here.
In summary, Disney’s Castaway Club offers standard benefits for repeat cruisers with perks that improve the more you sail. The jump in benefits is especially notable when advancing from Silver to Gold status. I’m sure internet access is more important to a blogger than your average cruiser, but the absence of an internet credit for elite cruisers is a drawback of the program. Disney has an excellent reputation for delivering a wonderful cruising experience. Keep an eye out for my DINKS Cruise Disney posts as our Disney Fantasy sailing approaches in March 2014.
I’m in the office for the remainder of the month, and that’s making me a little twitchy. 
I could use a little break to catch up on some things around the office, so I won’t complain…..much. This week, I’ll continue with my cruise line loyalty program elite series, and I’m sure we’ll find a few other things to talk about along the way too. This week:
We’ll talk about these things, and I would bet just a few more, this week at MJ on Travel.
-MJ, May 19, 2013
No, this isn’t about how I dutifully do my share of the laundry, it is about keeping MJ on Travel in order. This is an administrative post, if anything, and it’s one that will tell you about a thing or two that have been done, and more things that are to come.
The BAcon conference of Boardingarea and other bloggers that I attended last weekend is no secret. I learned a lot, and I am going to be implementing some changes here that I hope make the blog better and more beneficial for readers. I’ll tell you something that I’ve done already. I’ve had a menu bar up top for a while, but I never thought about that menu bar as saying something about the blog. I reordered the tabs that I currently have as a result. Now they go something like this: Home (which is always be first), Ethics, About Me, Contact Me, and Credit Cards For Traveling Well (which is divided into Airline Rewards, Hotel Rewards, and Other Rewards).
Something else happened at BAcon too. I heard from a lot of great speakers, including my fellow BA bloggers, Two BA Bloggers spoke to us about some of their blogging successes. Both of them inspired me to be a better blogger, but one said something that has stuck with me in more ways than one. His advice was “write your passion” and that really resonated with me because it reminded me of why I started MJ on Travel in the first place. Write your passion speaks to me because that’s why I started MJ on Travel in the first place. I’ve told you before, my day job is very writing intensive…and editing intensive. As a result, writing MJ on Travel is almost therapeutic. 
I’m sure you hadn’t noticed that I’m pretty passionate about cruising, but I feel the same about travel in general, and the tools we all love to use to help us do so in comfort.
I’ve got some other clean up work to do with the blog as well. Priority number one is finding a different picture for the area above the menu bar. Why? That is not me up there….not that I’m planning on sticking a picture of my lovely self at the top…but I want something different. I’ll find it. I mean, seriously, that guy has great hair. Second, I’m going to add a professional shot of the real me to the About Me page just so you can pick me out of a crowd 
. And finally, I want to take the name of the blog back to what got me started – MJ on Travel. You know who I am, and that’s the way I want it. I actually thought about joining the rest of the modern world and coming up with some cute moniker of a name. In the end, the MJ on Travel brand is out there, I own the url, mjontravel.com, and…well… I kind of like the way the logo looks. Besides, what would I call the blog? Captain Baldman Flies Up Front would make for one heck of an email address change. Most, if not all of this will likely need to wait until some behind the scenes IT upgrades are done at Boardingarea. Then I’ll feel like I can bug the great folks there with some mundane template tweaks.
In the meantime, thanks for reading MJ on Travel. I feel like the next 1,500 posts are going to be a lot of fun.
As I am sure you are aware, I spend a bit of time in the Delta Sky Club. I debated whether to weigh in on this or not given the bit of attention it’s already received, but I decided to go ahead and opine. First, a little background. Delta has announced a change to its Sky Club complimentary alcohol options. If you liked what they had, you are probably not pleased. Here’s the scoop, courtesy of DLCorpGuy on Flyertalk:
Delta Sky Clubs are changing the selection of both complimentary and for-purchase premium alcoholic beverages beginning tomorrow. Complimentary well-known alcohol brands will still be provided at the Club just as they have been.
Altering our complimentary offerings will enable us to expand our portfolio of premium for-purchase products and maintain complimentary spirits, beer and wine as we continue to invest in the overall Club experience. We review our Club offerings periodically so that we are able to make changes based on customer feedback, financial considerations and other factors including the variety of options we offer our members.
The new offerings are comparable to house/well brands in other airport lounges.
Other brands will be available through our for-purchase options available through our Luxury Bar. Our goal is to offer members quality products and services at reasonable prices that are competitive with other airport lounges while continuing to provide good value for membership.
While I stick to wine, and rarely imbibe in hard liquors, I’m pretty sure this does not represent a quality increase. However, in contrast to a lot of what I’m reading online, I am indifferent to these changes. It’s Delta’s club product, and we all have the option to join or not, or procure a card product that provides access. At least they are offering some complimentary alcohol. Who else remembers when American and United charged for all alcohol? Truth is, I haven’t consumed the complimentary wine offered in the Sky Club since Luxury Bar first appeared on the scene.
In contemplating Delta’s changes and preparing for this post, I asked myself why I invest in access to the Sky Club? Free booze, as appreciated as it is, did not make the list. The top reasons I continue to pay for Sky Club access are:
As long as I get these things, I will continue paying for Sky Club access, which I consider to be an investment in myself. I don’t mind paying for a glass of decent wine either. And if Delta is interested in knowing, I’d probably pay for some enhanced food options too, as long as they do not ever mess with the olives and cheese. Hint, hint. How do you feel about Delta’s changes to its Sky Club product?
-MJ, May 17, 2013
May 17
The winner of my 1500 post give away of two GoGo passes and a $50 dollar Amex gift card is commenter #36, Marcm. Look for an email from me to get details on where you want me to send the prizes.
I’m giving away two free GoGo passes and a $50 dollar American Express Gift Card in celebration of my 1,500th blog post at MJ on Travel. Surf over to this post to enter.
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