A joyous day here in northwest DC.  Why, you ask?  Because my AAdvantage Million Miler card and bag tags arrived!  I know, it really doesn’t take much to make me happy.  Nothing special, just a standard AAdvantage elite packet, with a missive from Dan Garton about hitting the million mile mark.  Lifetime Gold comes with hitting 1 million AAdvantage miles, but since I’m already Platinum, my packet contains the Platinum card and bag tags.  I noted a slight design change in elite cards and bag tags which I assume applies to all elite cards, not just the million miler variety.  Here’s a picture for your viewing pleasure.  Sorry about the big blot out of my AAdvantage number.

AAdvantage Million Miler Packet

Hat tip to Frugal Travel Guy.

Amex and JetBlue are giving away points.  All you have to do is follow @AmericanExpress on Twitter and tweet the following message:  “Hey @americanexpress I want to win 25,000 @jetblue TrueBlue points! I’d fly to INSERT LOCATION #amexjetblue http://srm.vitrue.com/LWs“

I just tweeted, and you should too.  What do you have to lose?  The Promo runs through May 17th, and 3 followers will win.

Reader Jonathan would like more tips on how to find cheap cruises.  I’m a bad person to ask, because 1) I tend to stick with one cruise family (Royal Caribbean and sister companies), and 2) I shop for when and where I want to go and on what ship ahead of price.  That said, I love a good deal as good as the next guy, and if you’re interested in cruising Royal Caribbean, you have an opportunity for deals coming up.

Royal Caribbean has announced a 2-day WOW sale on May 18th and 19th.  The sale applies to any itinerary after September 1, 2010, and even includes Oasis and Allure, the 2 largest ships in the world.  The sale offers discounts and on board credits, but I think the best deal is the 50 percent off reduced deposit.  With half 0ff the deposit, you can avoid tying up a sometimes not insignificant amount of cash in a vacation that could be many months away.  Check out the details as well as terms and conditions here.  If you’re able to travel on short notice, join Twitter and follow @RoyalHotDeals for special pricing on any number of Royal Caribbean itineraries.

I work with a local Virtuoso travel agent for all cruise vacations.  That said there are a number of cruise-only agencies out there that reportedly offer some good deals from time to time.  CruCon comes to mind, and I’m sure there are others.  Obviously, there are cruise lines out there other than my number one choice that may work for you, and I hope other readers will chime in for tips for finding good deals with those lines.

I’ve posted previously about my experience with Southwest’s Early Bird Check In (EBCI).  I thought I’d share the scoop on my most recent EBCI experiment.

Mrs MJonTravel and I took a trip from BWI to Columbus (CMH) over Mother’s Day weekend.  About 2 weeks before, I knew that I would be in the middle of a business trip at the 24 hour before check in point, and really in no position to check in for the next day’s Southwest flights.  Furthermore, at the 24 hour mark before our return flight, I would be sitting in the middle of a Church service and I really didn’t want to be whipping out the iPhone to check in, lest I be frowned upon by less understanding folks.

Seems to me that situations like that are exactly what EBCI is made for, so I went to Southwest.com and paid for it.  For the record, on the way out, we were A26 and 27, and on the return, A33 and A34.  I don’t think $10 dollars per person each way is at all unreasonable to ensure some peace of mind, and overhead bin space.  Flying Southwest?  Don’t forget to think about EBCI.  This is one extra fee that really is value-added.

American AAdvantage is giving away prizes, including an opportunity to win 500,000 AAdvantage miles.  Go to aa.com/promo for details and registration.

Honestly, I’m not really sure what day of the week it is as I blog from the Doubletree Dayton Downtown.  After arriving home late Friday night, Mrs MJonTravel and I made the drive to BWI and boarded a Southwest flight to Columbus, which is our usual way to get to Dayton.  It is almost always significantly less expensive than flying directly to Dayton from DCA.

In the past month I’ve done DC-Denver-Cheyenne-DC, DC-Seattle-DC, DC-Phoenix-Dallas-DC, and now DC-Ohio-DC.  There’s another trip in there that I’m forgetting, but you get the picture.  I don’t by any means proclaim to be the world’s most frequent flier (for a month) but it’s certainly been busy.  It reminded me of a time back in the day when I spent 42 weeks on the road in one year.  I was doing station and supplier audits for my airline employer so I had no access to things like the Admirals Club, helpful agents, priority boarding, priority baggage, etc.  And oh yeah, even though I was flying on company business, all that travel was still done on a standby basis.  Somehow, I survived.  Probably because I was 27 years old, didn’t know things like elite status existed, and I was seeing the world on the company dime.

My current job requires about 30 percent travel on average.  This year, that’s more like 70 percent, and that’s not even counting the above average amount of personal travel that Mrs MJonTravel and I tend to do.  I’ve been incredibly fortunate during this little spurt to not have experienced very much in the way of delay and disruption that sometimes plague travelers.  But one thing is certain, I cannot fathom having to do this without elite status.  The value of access to shorter lines, pre-boarding, waived fees, and when needed, an actual airline employee that usually at least pretends to be on your side can’t be measured in dollars.  I just don’t know how I’d be able to fly without it.  While I appreciate elite status at 2 hotel brands, it’s just not quite as important to me as being an elite at my favorite airline, OK, my 2 favorite airlines.    I don’t ever, ever, ever, ever, want to be without elite status.

I guess if there’s a conclusion to be drawn from this random reflection, it’s this.  I love to travel, I love to come home.  But I can’t imagine a life of sitting still.  Travel broadens your mind, your perspective, and your network.  I can’t imagine not being out there moving around.  If you’re a homebody, you don’t know what you’re missing.

I’m at the DFW C 19 Admirals Club now waiting for my flight home.  The upgrade has cleared, the flight is on time, and life is generally good.  I apologize profusely for the lack of new and useful information on this blog in the last couple of weeks.  To say that my day job has been getting in my way would be an understatement.  In short, I’ve been busy.

In the next few days, I owe you a review of the Embassy Suites Phoenix-Scottsdale (unquestionably the best Embassy Suites I’ve ever set foot in) and any number of other thoughts on the last few weeks in travel.  And yes, I have plenty.  Much has been going on.  In the mean time, sit back, relax, and enjoy your weekend.  More to come very soon, I promise.

Beginning June 1, holders of the Delta SkyMiles Amex Gold, Platinum or Reserve Cards will receive a fee waiver for their first checked bag.  Up to 8 traveling companions in the same reservation will receive the waiver as well.

This is a benefit of actual value for those folks who carry these cards and fly Delta.  If you fly just a couple of roundtrips per year, and check luggage, the fee for the Gold Delta Amex is paid for.  I wouldn’t run out and get one of these cards just because of this enhancement.  However, if I lived in a Delta hub city, one of these cards is certainly worth your consideration.

I recently completed a 4-night stay at the Embassy Suites Seattle Tacoma International Airport.  My last stay at this hotel was something like 10 years ago, when the lobby bar was equipped with a juke box!  The stay was basic Embassy Suites, with the typical manager’s reception and morning breakfast.

Check In

The lone desk clerk was not attending to anyone when I arrived, so I walked right up to the desk.  She was pleasant enough, but did not acknowledge my Hilton HHonors status or use my name during the check in conversation.  Trivial, I know, but I appreciate it when I’m thanked for my loyalty, and I definitely appreciate usage of my name.  Oh well, it is what it is, and soon enough I was on my way to my 7th floor corner suite.

The Room

Room 701 was adjacent to the elevator, but I never experienced any noticeable noise due to the location.  Frankly, it was a great corner room.  The living area was huge, certainly as large as any I’ve seen at any Embassy Suites.  Other than being obviously larger than most, the room was standard Embassy Suites with flat screen TV, refrigerator, microwave, and wet bar.  Most importantly, the large desk and work area were very well lit.

The separate bedroom was also standard Embassy Suites, with comfortable bed, functional closet, and its own flat screen TV.  The hotel earned extra points with me for providing lamps on each side of the bed equipped with an electrical outlet making it easy to charge my iPhone (which I use as an alarm clock) right by my bed.

Around the Hotel

The hotel was equipped with a smallish gym on the first floor which was adjacent to the indoor pool and jacuzzi.  While small, I never had to wait for equipment in the gym, and it was equipped with modern Precor equipment which included cable TV at each station, so bring your earbuds!

In addition to the usual breakfast and nightly manager’s reception, the hotel restaurant/lounge, Basil’s Kitchen, turned out pretty good bar food, and offered a good selection of bottled and draught beer as well as wine and other mixed drinks.

Venturing out in the evenings was usually limited to one of several restaurants surrounding the nearby Southcenter Mall and shopping area, although we did make it downtown for one dinner.  You’ll find your standard options here such as Cheesecake Factory and Olive Garden.  But I also visited Duke’s Chowderhouse, which was excellent.  Try the Lobster Pernod Chowder, and let me know what you think!  Another favorite during the week was Joey’s.

The Bottom Line

The hotel grew on me with each passing day.  It certainly wasn’t the W Seattle, but it wasn’t supposed to be.  I’d certainly stay here again, especially if I could get one of those corner rooms again!

Last week I booked 2 First Class tickets from DC to London Heathrow on American Airlines using AAdvantage miles.  This is for a long weekend trip to a family wedding.  We are leaving Wednesday, and returning Sunday.  Of course, every flight American offers between the US and London wasn’t available, but I certainly got acceptable schedules on the days I wanted, and at the MileSAAver level of 125,000 miles each.  What can I say except….saaweeeet!

You might remember that I have a separate trip to Rome planned for late June on American, again booked at the MileSAAver level, albeit in business class since that’s all American offers to/from Rome.  So this summer I’ve managed to spend 450,000 AAdvantage miles at the restricted level, and gotten transportation to/from Europe in a premium class of service to 2 pretty popular European destinations.  The sad part?  My AAdvantage balance is now 1,688 miles!  But I’m working on building that back up as I type from seat 6B via GoGo Inflight Internet aboard an American flight!

For what it’s worth, I priced Delta SkyMiles for the same London trip.  I was able to find seats, but the cost was 200,000 miles per person in Business since Delta doesn’t offer a First Class cabin on international flights.  I priced United in First and Business.  First was not available at the saver level, but I could get a standard award for 270,000 per person.  The standard Business award on United was 210,000 miles.  In fairness, historically, United has had ok availability, and normally, I would’ve been searching for these tickets much further in advance.  But the results for this exercise are that AAdvantage really worked for me.