A couple months back, I received an email from a buddy of mine with a question. He was starting a new business that would require a good bit of travel and wanted some insights into what mileage program he should use. My friend lives near Greensboro, North Carolina and his business trips are taking him up and down the east coast as well as west to Colorado. I recommended either Delta or US Airways, and since he already had a few thousand miles with US Airways, he decided to stick with them.

I also suggested that he check out the US Airways Trial Preferred program in order to make his near term travels easier to tolerate and allow him to achieve some elite status. He successfully signed up, and has even had a few nice First Class upgrades since then. He’s easily met the requirements for Silver Preferred, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he attains Platinum Preferred with US Airways through the trial program at the rate he’s flying. I love a good story, especially when it includes flights in First Class.

Finally, I offered a recommendation for charge cards as well. I’ll be you already know what that was, don’t you? The American Express Platinum Card. Lounge access on US Airways, and all the other benefits too. Not to mention, it will probably make sense for my friend to fly Delta from time to time, and he’ll have lounge access with them too. He was just approved for that so you’ll find him soon in a lounge near you.

I love it when people travel well. (OK, it’s US Airways, but hey…they fly where he needs to fly!)

The headline says it all. I have several travel tools that keep me productive and engaged on the road. They are mostly electronic, but you may be surprised at what I consider to be a “travel tool.” Frankly, my travel tools range from computers and smartphones to credit cards. Here they are in order of preference.

1) 11.1″ Apple MacBook Air – I can’t say enough good things about this great computer. I’m not quite at a place where I control my own destiny yet, so I travel with 2 computers. One big boat anchor Dell and my MB Air. I’ll let you guess which is my favorite. Super thin and light, my MB Air literally slips into a file folder pocket in my briefcase.

2) Verizon 4G LTE Mi-Fi – It never crossed my mind that a Mi-Fi device might be for me, but I can’t say enough good things about it. Small, light, and providing blazing fast internet, I love my 4G Mi-Fi device. I no longer fret when I’m staying with a hotel chain where I’m not “elite enough” to receive free wi-fi.

3) American Express Platinum Card - I’ve been blogging for a long time about how much I like my Amex Platinum Card. The lounge access with American, Delta, and US Airways are reason enough to carry this card. The multiple benefits like the $200 dollar annual airline fee credit and the Cruise Privileges program are just icing on the cake. For what it’s worth, my Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa occupies the other permanent card slot in my wallet. The Sapphire Preferred card offers the great Ultimate Rewards program, and serves as a fabulous backup to the Amex Platinum Card.

4) TripIt – I love TripIt – The ease of aggregating my itineraries into an easy to follow format simply by emailing them to TripIt is just too fab to ignore.

5) Apple iPhone and iPad – My iPhone 4S is my go-to device for staying in touch on the road. Couple that with its much improved camera, and it’s the ideal tool for the intrepid blogger or businessman. My iPad, a company provided device, has quickly become a favorite. For short business trips I don’t even bother taking my boat anchor Dell laptop out of the dock at my office. The ability to carry multiple books and magazine on the iPad….divine.

6) Cranky Concierge – While I consider myself to be above average on being informed about all things travel, I really love reserving Cranky Concierge service when I’m traveling for leisure purposes with MrsMJonTravel. I’ve reviewed the service before, and I stand by that review now. Cranky Concierge belongs in every traveler’s toolkit. For me, basic business trips are handled on my own….but vacations….. I’ll let Cranky Concierge watch my back.

So there you have it, the six basics in my MJonTravel toolkit. What’s in yours? Comment to the blog!

The annual fee for my Amex Platinum Card just appeared on my monthly statement, and this year, just like every one before, I think about it. Is any card worth $450 dollars per year? The answer for now is yes. The card grants me lounge access to the airlines I fly most, American, Delta, and US Airways, and it is very likely that I would purchase lounge access from one of those airlines if I didn’t already get it with the Platinum Card. This, in combination with the Cruise Privileges Program, justify the annual fee for me. That’s just 2 of the many benefits this card offers travelers, so I will remain an Amex Platinum Cardmember for another year. You can read my post on the many other virtues of the Amex Platinum Card here.

One item of note. As I was reviewing my monthly statement I noted that Amex is dropping the complimentary TripIt Pro subscription that was offered with the card last year. Will I renew TripIt Pro on my own? I’m undecided for now.

I’ve been meaning to mention this, but it just kept slipping my mind. You might remember that I signed up for the Dividend Miles Trial Preferred program on the first day of the Grand Slam promotion back in September. My trial period ended on December 13th and a couple days later I received an email from US Airways, “Your Trial Preferred Status.”

“Congratulations, you’ve qualified for Silver Preferred! You’ll keep this status through February 28, 2013. Take a look at your Preferred benefits. And did you know you can buy up to Preferred to maintain or elevate your status? The cost depends on how many miles and segments you’ve flown in 2011.”

Of course, I’d already received my Silver Preferred membership card a couple weeks before which had a February 2013 expiration date. I mention all this because it confirms the answer to a question I’ve seen on some of the forums about how long your US trial preferred status is good for. Since I started in the second half of the year, my status was good for the remainder of 2011 and all of 2012. US Airways website was slightly confusing on the topic in that it only listed one date…. February of 2012 if you signed up for the program. I confirmed with a US Airways representative that the status would be good for all of 2012 before signing up for the program, and the membership card and email from US Airways confirm what I hoped I knew.

Living where I live, US Airways is a very useful airline, and I like having status on them even though I wish it was Gold status and not just Silver. We’ll see how this year goes. Now I just wish Dividend Miles offered one-way awards.

I was perusing around the interweb this morning and discovered this thread on FlyerTalk which points out that US Airways has loaded it’s first round of new schedules following the big slot swap with Delta. I only checked one route, DCA-FAY, which I might actually use, and it starts on 3/25/12. While I’m not surprised that things are majority RJ, I would hope that phase 2 of the expansion will include some additional mainline service to somewhere. The last thing US needs is a bevy of new 50 seat CRJs trying to fly in/out of the gate 35A charlie foxtrot at DCA. There’s a Milepoint thread on the same topic you can review here.

According to the poster on FT, here’s the first round of destinations:

Reader S writes:

“Thanks for all your insights.
I live in Seattle and wanted to know what your thoughts are on which airline frequent flier plan I should focus on.
We travel 3-4 times a year.  We mainly like to go to Hawaii, California with occasional trips to Asia (Korea) and Europe.
Thanks a bunch!”

MJ on Travel Responds:

“Thanks for your email. This is just my opinion, but I think your
location and places you want to fly fit perfectly with Alaska Airlines
Mileage Plan. They offer flights to the destinations you mention, and
for the destinations that they don’t serve, Korea and Europe, you
could fly Other airlines including AA, BA, or Delta and credit your
mileage to your Alaska account since these airlines (and others) are
partners with Alaska.

Consider the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature card as well. Not only
will you earn extra miles, the card comes with an annual $99 dollar
companion certificate valid in any class of service.

You can find details about Alaska’s mileage program, partners and
credit cards at alaskaair.com/mileageplan.”

This is the synopsis of a recent email conversation with a reader edited for content and clarity. What do you think of my suggestions and what other tips would you have offered?

Reader A writes:

Hi Marshall,

I’m a high school teacher with a child in college and one in high school.  I am researching the points system in hopes of finding a way to take my family on a big vacation, such as Hawaii, or similar.  My credit score is excellent.  What would your suggestions be of how I should get started.  I main expenses are gas, groceries, dining, utilities, of course tuition and clothing.   Thanks for your help.

MJ on Travel Responds:

Hi. Thanks for your note. Let me ask you a couple of questions…. What airport would you normally fly out of, and is there an airline where you already have a bank of miles? Do you have any airlines that you prefer over all others? 

And the answer is:

Thank you so much for replying to me .  Normally, we either fly from Greensboro or Charlotte which are the closest (about 2 hours away) or Raleigh.  We do not fly often.  Maybe once a year.  Neither my profession, nor my husbands requires us to travel.  In fact its just the opposite.  Both of our professions keep us very close to home.  I don’t have a preference on airline.  I did a little research on the Chase Saphire Preferred Card, and the reviews are very good on it.  I just need to make sure that the cards I apply for will earn points for the items I purchase monthly. THANK YOU so much for your help.  I am REALLY excited to learn but very conservative about making good decisions financally at the same time.

And MJ on Travel offers:

There are a lot of ways to go at this, and I will offer a few thoughts.

First, I’m a big big fan of the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. Ultimate Rewards points are very useful, with 1 to 1 transfer to some big mileage programs like United and Continental (soon to be just United), British Airways, Marriott Rewards, and more. You earn double points for travel and dining. If you got that card, which is currently offering a 50,000 point signup bonus AND the United MileagePlus Explorer Card (I’ve seen 40 and 50,000 mile bonus offers for that) you could have 90 to 100,000 United miles right there. Have your husband apply for the same 2 cards and you’ve got 180 to 200,000 miles. 

Living where you live, you might consider one of the US Airways MasterCards too…if you fly US Airways? You could also fly US Airways and credit your mileage earning to your United account since they are both in the Star Alliance too. US Airways miles are pretty good because you can spend them on Star Alliance carriers. US Airways can get you to Hawaii from Charlotte via Phoenix too. Just something to consider.

What I’ve written here is by no means the only way to go at free travel. Just something to think about. Feel free to write back with questions, clarification, anything you need.

You might remember that MrsMJonTravel and I are traveling to Europe next year to celebrate a certain unnumbered birthday. We are flying over on the big day, spending a few days with friends, and then traveling up to Venice where we will board the then brand new Celebrity Reflection for a 14-night cruise from Venice to Barcelona. I posted previously that I had nabbed 2 first class seats on United from Dulles to Rome next October, and was waiting for return flights to open up in mid November.

Well, the calendar finally ticked forward far enough for me to start looking at availability. For the return trip, there are no real nonstop options from Barcelona at this time, so I knew I’d be connecting. Furthermore, I followed Lucky’s advice and used the Continental website to perform my search. Not that I ever doubted, but boy was he right about it being a better way to book awards than United.com. Of course, November isn’t exactly a peak travel time for US-Europe travel, so I’m not surprised that availability was out there, but I have to say, it was easy to find exactly what I wanted.

For the return, I was thinking Lufthansa via Frankfurt or Munich. There is no First Class availability right now, but Business is available and I nabbed 2 seats. A321 service to Frankfurt and then 747-400 service from Frankfurt to Dulles. Continental.com could not assign seats so I rang up the Continental elite line and retrieved our Lufthansa confirmation numbers (we are in separate PNRs for the return) then gave Lufthansa a call. Row 3 on the A321 and row 1 on the 747-400, which I’m pretty pleased about. Something about riding in the nose of a 747 appeals to me. Also, I’ll keep an eye out for First Class, and if availability happens to appear, I might switch to that. Business is plenty acceptable for a trans-Atlantic flight, but this is an important trip for us, and a visit to the First Class terminal in Frankfurt would be icing on the birthday cake for sure.

Note: This is reposted from 12/24. The original post went missing due to a technical error.

The headline says it all. After 3 weeks of carrying my new Chase Sapphire Preferred, and using it exclusively, I have to admit that I really love it. Aside from the obvious things like it looks and feels really cool, the all-around acceptability of your basic Visa card is helpful. (NOTE: That’s not a dig on Amex. My Amex Platinum Card remains my favorite T&E card) Not to mention, there’s no foreign transaction fee.

Chase is currently offering 50,000 Ultimate Rewards points if you spend $3,000.00 in the first 3 months of card membership, and the $95 dollar annual fee is waived the first year as well. This is a great deal because those points can be transferred to many great rewards programs like MileagePlus and Marriott Rewards, not to mention, you can use them to purchase travel through Chase. Seriously, I’m starting to think that the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card and the American Express Platinum Card are the only 2 cards I’ll carry semi-permanently. (As long as the benefits remain valuable) I’ve only begun to explore the Ultimate Rewards program, so stay tuned for a future post all about that.

You can apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card by clicking here. Note: I do not yet accept referral income, and this link is directly to the Chase website.

Here are a few facts. If you see me walking down the street, you won’t say, wow look how fat that guy is. I fit in my own airplane seat, even in coach, and I don’t have to shop for clothes at the big man’s store. Still, I don’t know what it is… a combination of being 41, making enough money to afford food, and who knows what else…. the truth is, I’ve gotten a little chunky.

I think our last cruise aboard Allure of the Seas finally helped me see the light. I actually worked at not gaining any weight and staying well hydrated. Nonetheless, I did put on 2 pounds. Big deal. What really did it for me was seeing several people who suffered from mobility issues. Lots of scooters. Now, don’t send me a bunch of hate mail. I know there’s any kind of illness in the world that could negatively impact the mobility of a person, but the truth of it is that most of the people I saw who were having challenges were overweight. A few were downright morbidly obese. I’d seen enough.

I am a Type 1, insulin-pumping, diabetic, and every extra pound I carry makes it just a tiny bit more difficult to manage my diabetes. I haven’t had any real issues or complications with diabetes and I aim to keep it that way. Not to mention, rest assured that it is a lifelong goal of mine to live longer than my father who unfortunately passed away at age 48 (I was 14). It’s time to not only tread water with good health, it’s time to get serious!

What have I done? You can bet that I have not downloaded any internet diets. What I have done is pay much closer attention to what I’m eating, and drinking. Portion control is key. And while I’m no boozer, most everyone knows I love a little red wine from time to time. I’m eating better. On the exercise front, I rejoined my local gym AND maintained my membership at the gym provided by my employer. I’ve made it a point to exercise at least 5 days a week. The results? The first week, nadda. No weight lost, no weight gained. However, over the last 2 weeks I’ve dropped a whopping 5 pounds. Hey, it’s a start.

I’ve also been off the road during this time. Now, it’s time to get back at it, and I know traveling will be a special challenge. Eating at restaurants every night can be difficult, but I think I can do it right by focusing on the things I’ve been working on, portion control and exercise. It may be tough, but I don’t want to just not gain any weight this week, I’d really like to drop a pound or 2….even on the road. Can I do it? We’ll see. I’m sure I’m not the only business traveler who has a little weight to drop. Any tips and tricks to share for staying healthy and fit on the road?

Royal Caribbean has joined the American Express Cruise Privileges Program for Platinum and Centurion Card holders. I first heard of this several weeks ago when a posting on Cruise Critic caught my eye. However, the Amex website was not updated to reflect the change, so I did not mention it. Today, I took a quick look at the Cruise Privileges website, and Royal Caribbean has appeared as a partner.

According to the site, Cruise Privileges participants will receive the following amenities with Royal Caribbean:

• Two-category stateroom upgrade OR up to a $300 dollar on board credit (depending on ship and category booked)
• Complementary dinner for 2 in a specialty restaurant (or a $50 dollar spa credit on Grandeur, Legend, Majesty, Monarch, Rhapsody, and Vision (in other words, ships without a specialty restaurant))
• Bottle of premium champagne

I’m a big proponent of the American Express Platinum Card for travelers, and here’s one more reason why. For a guy like me, this is obviously useful. So if you find yourself wanting to take a Royal Caribbean cruise, and you carry an Amex Platinum or Centurion card, be sure to claim your Cruise Privileges benefits.