One year ago….

• TSA crossed the line….again.
• I fell in love with navy and discovered the awesoness of gel soles.
• On my journey to more miles, one strategy worked (a miles credit card) and one backfired (trying for a travel voucher).
• Movie streaming apps on my phone changed my life. No joke.
• The Top Five Travel Necessities: Things I Wear is still very true, and something I consult for packing all the time.

Two years ago…..

• I answered readers’ question about traveling to rainy destinations and plus-size travel outfits.
• The TSA announced some updates to its liquids carry-on rules.
• I got super excited about flats, boots, and travel wallets.
• Andi Fisher from Misadventures with Andi wrote a great post about healthy eating on the road.
• Readers voted, and decided the correct term is “rollaboard” instead of “rollerboard”.

Three years ago…..

• The Home Warrior and I had a fantastic trip to Napa.
• I wrote about the importance of sleep on the road.

Today’s guest post is from a fellow Boarding Area blogger, Mommy Points. She writes about the quickest, easiest ways to maximize points—leading to fantastic vacations for her family without spending a dime. Thanks so much for the post!!

With Road Warriorette temporarily somewhat home-bound with her infant, I happily agreed to do a guest post so she could spend some extra time with her brand new family member.  I very clearly remember how busy those days with a newborn can be!  I do a fair amount of traveling myself, but my time away from home pales in comparison to my husband, who is a true Road Warrior.  Recently, he has been away from home at least part of the week every single week for months.  We have a two-year-old child, and I can tell you from first-hand experience how hard it is having a family separated frequently due to work obligations.

While clearly the main purpose of his business trips is because his work requires it, and having gainful employment is a necessity, what makes the trips much more tolerable for us are the miles and points he earns on the road.  Call it a consolation prize to sleeping alone, doing the bedtime routine alone, packing lunches alone, doing dishes alone, teaching a two year old how to effectively communicate with Daddy on the iPhone, etc.  When it became clear that his work travels weren’t slowing down anytime soon, we sat down and strategized how to maximize his time away so that we can reap some free vacation benefits of our own down the road by using the elite status and points he earned while away.

Here are some steps we went through when deciding how to maximize his mandatory travel for our own vacations:

• Look at the number of nights you are likely to have in hotels in a given year, and then go after hotel elite status accordingly.  For example, my husband will have well over 50 nights in a hotel for work in 2012, so we decided it made sense for him to obtain top tier status in both Hyatt and Starwood.  It is usually easier to qualify on stays vs nights, so he did 25 one-night stays at Hyatt hotels to re-qualify for Hyatt Diamond status by late April.  He is now almost done qualifying for Starwood Platinum status via a “Platinum Challenge”.  By doing this we will have our choice elite status with two hotel chains when we travel as a family.  Suite upgrades, free breakfasts, food and beverage amenities, free internet, etc. are now all ours free on family vacations as a direct result of his mandatory business travel.  The same principles hold true for airline status, as having elite status with an airline can result in first class upgrades and a more seamless travel experience when you vacation with your family.
• Pay attention to hotel promotions.  Virtually all of the major hotel chains run points promotions off and on throughout the year.  Assuming you have some flexibility in selecting your hotel chain while traveling, give some thought to who has the best points promotion going on at any given time.  Again to use my husband as an example, we knew he was going to have a cluster of Starwood Preferred Guest stays at some point in the year.  When SPG announced their “Better by the Night” promotion that allowed you to earn triple SPG points by having 15 nights or more in a three-month period, it made perfect sense to time his SPG stays within that three month period.  By doing so he is earning triple the number of SPG points than he would have by ignoring the available promotions.  Earlier this year when Club Carlson was offering up to 50,000 points for staying just one night at one of their hotels, we were sure to switch his business stays to Club Carlson hotels until he maxed out that promotion.  Those points were then used to stay at a hotel in London during the Olympics we would never have been able to afford otherwise.  We earn tens of thousands (or perhaps hundreds of thousands) of additional hotel points per year just by being strategic about promotions.  Along those same lines, register for every hotel promotion that may possibly be relevant for you, as you never know where your business travels may take you.
• Register your business cards for dining rewards programs.  Of course, don’t register your corporate cards for anything your boss would disapprove of, but there are many hotels and airlines that participate with the iDine Rewards program.  There is no charge for this program, and you can earn miles for meals on the road that you were going to eat anyway.  Like most road warriors, my husband eats out virtually every meal while away from home.  Some of the meals happen to be at restaurants where he earns miles for every dollar he spends.  He now has “VIP” status with the MileagePlus Dining program, so he earns 5 United Miles per dollar on those meals.  Since some of his meals involve paying for clients and coworkers, the number of points he can earn from this really add up quickly!  Once you register, it requires no additional work, so it is an easy way to earn some extra miles.

There are many more ways to squeeze the maximum points value from business trips, but those are a few of the strategies that have worked well for us.  Enjoying quality family time together in comfortable hotel suites, or on flights paid for with miles, really does take a bit of the sting out of having a husband who is gone so much during the week for work.  It isn’t as good as actually having him home to read stories at bedtime to my daughter, but it certainly helps!

Today’s guest post is from someone who knows business and business travel—Kat Griffin, author of Corporette. She writes about fashion and lifestyle for overachieving ladies, and is one of my most favorite bloggers. Thanks so much for the post, Kat!!

There are so many tips for business women on how to travel, that sorting through them can be kind of a pain. After a few years of covering this for Corporette (along with other fashion and lifestyle tips for overachieving chicks), I’ve learned a few things — so I’ve rounded up my top three travel tips below. (Thanks to Road Warriorette for asking me to guest post — congrats on the baby!)

- Use a contact lens case for liquids. There are some liquids that I use so sparingly that even a 3-oz travel bottle is totally overkill for me. For example, my facial moisturizer and my eyemakeup remover. My solution: squirt a little bit into a contact lens case, and put the case through the dishwasher when I return from my trip. I’ve also done this for sunscreen and foundation. (Pictured: How fun is this ladybug contact lens case? Available for $2.99 from Drugstore.com.)

- Use an envelope for receipts. I like to keep an envelope in my purse to put all of my trip-related receipts, both big and small. As I add receipts (or at the the end of the day), I’ll write on the outside of the envelope what the receipts are that are going inside. For example: “cab to airport, $36+$3; breakfast at airport, $6″.

- Consider a netbook. Netbooks have fallen out of favor in recent years, but I love mine. In particular, I love that it has a full keyboard, is super lightweight (less than three pounds), that the battery lasts for 8 hours — and that it only cost $350, so I feel totally comfortable traveling with it. It’s also pretty indestructible, as I’ve found out when my infant son has thrown it to the ground. I still travel with my iPad, too, but I’m thrilled to avoid the heft of my bigger laptop.

- Kat’s bonus tip: check out my video on how to fold a suit jacket.

Readers, what are your top three travel tips?

My name is Terri, and I write a yoga blog at FindingDrishti.com. Since Road Warriorette and I share yoga-ing, traveling and now mommy-ing in common, she asked me to write a guest post while she is snuggling and bonding with her new baby. Being a seasoned business traveler myself, I began my yoga practice around the time when my airline miles became more important to me, which is by no coincidence AT ALL.

5 Go-to Postures to Undo Plane Stiffness

Unless you have loads of upgrades to sit first class every time, you’re probably back in coach with your knees hitting the seat in front of you, your neighbor’s elbow encroaching in your space, and your body horribly slouched to find a comfortable position. By the time you get off the plane, your back and your legs feel pretty wrecked. (Same goes for super long flights and delays.)

A yoga session provides the perfect relief. It gets the blood moving and brings your body back to the length it was pre-flight. All you need are some common hotel items as makeshift props as noted and a clean surface. These are my favorite postures to do when I feel cramped and stiff after a flight.

Upward-facing dog. Photo Source: yoganonymous.com

1. Upward-facing dog. The chest-opening action of upward dog pulls your shoulder blades together on your back and creates length from your head down through your spine. The key to undoing some of the “crunch” along the vertebrae is to press into your hands and lift your knees off the ground, as pictured. Keep lengthening, pulling shoulders away from the ears, and you may even feel some nice “pops” along your spine as gravity gently pulls down your hips. Opening the chest also counterbalances slouching.

Supine twist. Photo Source: athleta.net

2. Supine twist. The opposing action of arm/head in one direction and leg twisting in the other while lying down is seriously yummy along the back and through the mid-section. Make sure to do both sides evenly. This twist can also help with any indigestion and bloating you may feel post-flight (and post-airport food).

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