I know I listed this as a recap of the week of May 13, but it actually started before then since I spent a weekend at my destination.  Note, I don’t do this regularly and I always make sure the airfare is cheaper to do this and don’t expense anything before I would have normally expensed anything.  Always check with your company’s travel policies before doing this.

Friday: Flew from CLT to DEN on US Airways (upgraded) and was supposed to connect in DEN to COS for BAcon.  United had other plans for me though.  My flight was delayed 2 hours so I asked to stand-by for the earlier flight, but I was #10 on the standby list with 1 seat available so I decided to get a car and drive.  I was going to need a car eventually this trip and I could get to COS before my original flight even boarded so I hopped in a car and headed to the hotel.  It also helped that I had booked that ticket on my own and it was a one-way ticket so I didn’t have to worry about my return ticket getting cancelled. 

I stayed at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort.  My room was super comfortable and I enjoyed the bedding as well as the lights in the headboard for easy reading.  WIFI was free and I had no issues with speed, but I did not do a speed test.  It looked like there were other meetings going on as well as a couple weddings.  The staff was genuinely friendly and the breakfast buffet had plenty of options I enjoyed. 

Sunday: After the conference ended I headed back to Denver and used a Marriott category 1-4 award night I had from a promotion last year and stayed at the Courtyard downtown.  I’ve been to Denver before so I didn’t explore as much as I normally do on weekend trips, instead I visited a friend I hadn’t seen in a while.

Monday: Since Monday is my normal travel day I took a few business calls at the Courtyard and then headed out to my hotel for Monday night, the Hilton Garden Inn Tech Park.  The location was what I expected with many office buildings near by as well as restaurants that cater to that crowd.  I ate lunch at Maria’s which was very fast and allowed me to make my subsequent calls.  For dinner I headed to the local tavern.  It was on the restaurant list provided by the hotel, but wasn’t one of the starred locations.  Dinner and service were great.

Tuesday:  After the meetings in Denver it was time to head to Des Moines.  I was flying United and I still have Silver status on them and my travel agent had applied my United number instead of my US Airways number.  I checked in still under United and managed to get an exit row, then at the gate I had them swap out for my US Airways number.  I’ll have to follow that and make sure it credits properly.  I stayed at the Hampton Inn near DSM.  It was late and I had a lot of work to do so I didn’t explore this hotel much.

Wednesday: Drove from Des Moines to Omaha.  I had an afternoon meeting today and by this time I was already exhausted.  I ate dinner at Upstream and got to the hotel at 9 pm and went right to bed at the Hampton Inn.  I actually got upgraded but I think I heard the hotel was full.  I didn’t even open my laptop to test the internet I was just so tired at this point.

Thursday: After my morning meeting I headed to the airport and took a direct flight home on US Airways (upgraded).

So:
3 segments credited to US Airways (I’ll try for Original Routing Credit for the 4th, but I don’t think I’m technically entitled since I chose to not take the flight, but I chose to not take it due to a delay.)
1 award redemption
3 stays at the Hilton family
1 Avis rental

This puts me at:
US Airways: 31 PQS/25,000 PQM – Requalified for at least Silver 2014
Delta: 45 MQM/36,000 MQM –  at least Silver 2014
Hilton: 20 stays/29 nights – at least Gold for 2014
Marriott: 38 elite nights – at least Silver for 2014 
Avis: 6 rentals – lost First for this year and not sure if I’ll get it back.

As many have said before me, it is an overpriced view. We got there at 4:30 pm since we are both Eastern timers and there was no wait. We were seated at a table with a nice view of Terminal 2 and had a good line of sight for take offs and landings.

I had the shrimp pasta which was good. My coworker had the salmon. Over all it was a good experience and when I find myself with time to kill before a redeye I may find myself back here, but I wouldn’t suggest coming here for dinner unless you plan on mainly enjoying the view.

How to figure out where the stupid fuel door is.

I started my business travel career as I’m sure many of you did: shadowing someone already in the field. Like the protege in Up in the Air I hoped for a Ryan Bingham to show me the ropes. Instead I ended up teaching her a few things.

She had been traveling in her position for a year of weekly travel and 2 rentals a week. She pulled up to the gas pump only to realize the fuel door was on the other side. “Didn’t you just look at the arrow” I said. “The arrow?” she asked. Yes! The arrow by the fuel gauge that points to the fuel door. I drive an Audi and that doesn’t have an arrow, but I can’t remember any rental without one. Even the Aveo I got in Missouri that didn’t have any power still managed to splurge for a strip of paint to tell me where to put the gas I didn’t use but would be charge for without a receipt.

Save yourself some difficult maneuvering next time and check the arrow.

There are advantages to splitting the hotel and meal charges on separate credit cards, but when I’m paying with the same card I prefer to have it all on the same bill and all of my Hilton charges are going on my Hilton Surpass AMEX (NOT an affiliate link) so I just add breakfast to my room.  Yes, I could get breakfast free since I’m a diamond, but I prefer the points and I pay for breakfast.

From Hilton.com

1. HOW TO EARN BASE POINTS

Earn 10 HHonors Base Points for every eligible US dollar spent on your room
When you stay at a hotel or resort within the Hilton Worldwide portfolio, you earn 10 Base Points for every US dollar spent on your room rate and other eligible room charges, including telephone calls and room service.

Some exceptions apply: At Hampton Inn™ or Homewood Suites by Hilton™ hotels, earn 10 Base Points for every US dollar spent on your room rate only. At Home2 Suites by Hilton™ hotels, earn 5 Base Points for every US dollar spent on your room rate only.

So Hamptons and Homewoods only earn on the room rate, but with the exception of parking or the pantry there usually isn’t too much else to bill to the room.

From Marriott.com

Earn for every stay. Depending on the hotel, you may earn up to 10 points or 2 air miles for every US dollar spent on your room rate or your total bill.

With clarification here about what brands earn on room rate only and what brands earn on the total spent with Gaylord, Edition, AC Hotels, Courtyard, Fairfield Inn, SpringHill Suites, Residence Inn, and TownePlace Suites earning on room rate only.  Since I mainly stay at Courtyards or SpringHill Suites when I stay at Marriott brands this means I rarely would get points for breakfast.

So what do you do?  Pay for meals separately so you can use a different card?  Put it on your portfolio?  Never eat hotel breakfast?  Leave a comment below.

It’s rather ironic that I didn’t actually move to Charlotte until after the Bobcats had been established.  Even with the Bobcats here for over a decade you’ll see much more Hornets gear (Charlotte, not New Orleans) worn out and about the town.  I think that is sad that we aren’t supporting our actual home team, but something about the bobcats has just failed to ignite fire in the city the way the Hornets did.  I’d also prefer if they kept the same color scheme, but Hugo may be due for an updated look.

I, for one, am excited to hear that Michael Jordan’s team has applied to resume the name.  I think the $3million quoted to rebrand will pay for itself by people actually going to games.  I have been uptown during Bobcat games and never had a problem finding a parking spot so it makes me wonder how full the Time Warner Cable Arena actually is.  If people like me put our money where our mouth is and actually attend games then the rebranding is totally worth it.  Merchandise sales alone will be good.

(link to Charlotte Observer Article)

Now, I used to belong to the Sky Club for the free drinks when I first joined (part of the reason why I changed from the Red Carpet Club to the Crown Room Club years ago), but now I don’t drink too much anymore.  I think I’m Delta’s target Sky Club member.  This change doesn’t affect me much, but to others this is a huge change and I’m sure many will be reevaulating their membership.  Will I change?  It depends on the state of things in February of next year when my membership is up.  I will definitely check out the US Airways club and if they have made improvements to the program I might join it since it’s at my local airport.

Points, Miles & Martinis also points out that instead of complimentary Heiniken and Blue Moon (and I’m assuming Sweet Water at the ATL clubs) only Budweiser and Miller will continue to be free.

Flying Biscuit Cafe

1. Heist Brewery (NoDa)- Their beer is only so-so and I can’t stand mimosas ($10 for bottomless, but legally $9.95 + $0.01/refill)  so I mainly stick to water here, but I come here for the food.  The buffet is $15.00 and well worth it with brie and bread, flatbreads, some kind of benedict, eggs, bacon (really chewy), sausage, some donuts, waffles, omelets, and oysters…yes! oysters.  The wait here from around 11:30 am to 1:00 pm is usually over 30 minutes, but if you come after 1:30 pm it has usually cleared out.  You will find me here at least once a month.
2. Terrace Cafe (SouthPark/Ballantyne)- This place is great for good old southern cooking with a modern flair.  They have 2 locations: Piedmont Row by SouthPark Mall and down in Ballantyne Village.  I mainly go for the healthy turkey omelet, but I hear the red velvet waffles are the best.  I’d highly recommend Open Table to make a reservation and if you miss Brunch they are closed for dinner on Sundays
3. Toast (Dilworth/Davidson/Ballantyne)- I’ve only been to the Dilworth location, but they have a few and are looking to franchise more.  It’s usually not to hard to get seated here with at most a 15 minute wait.  There is something about their turkey I don’t like so although I got their turkey omelet the first time I went, I got other options the other times I’ve been.  Their cornbread is pretty good and they use the “anyone is your server” concept like in many other countries.  They also usually have a toast guy hanging outside on Park Rd.  They appear to have full bar, but I can’t think of a time when my friends actually ordered any alcohol.
4. Dragon Court (N. Tryon not far from NoDa)- No, you are reading correctly…some times I want something besides eggs and waffles for brunch so I come here for dim sum.  Some times it seems that the carts with the crappy stuff just keep circulating, but if you ask for something specific eventually that cart will make it over to you.  I love their mocchi balls with bean paste.
5. Flying Biscuit Cafe (SouthPark/Ballantyne)- boy, there seems to be a theme with me…have a location in SouthPark and Ballantyne!  I’ve been to both of these locations many times and although the service and quality fluctuate more than I’d like, I still keep going back for their Southern Scramble and of course the Flying Biscuits!
6. Whole Foods Market (SouthPark)- If I can’t convince any of my friends to do brunch I just head over here and get some of the hot bar by the pound ($8.49 although sometimes cheaper).  There are always scrambled eggs, empanadas, tofu scramble, biscuits and gravy, bacon, usually some non-pork breakfast meat such as turkey bacon or chicken sausage, grits, oatmeal, and a full salad bar.  It’s often quite busy.  If the lines for the hot bar checkout are long, look at the 10-items or fewer lines and they might be shorter.

So just remember, even if the place opens before noon, alcohol can’t be served until then so many brunch places that cater to that crowd tend to be busiest anticipating that noon hour.  Go before if you’d prefer to miss that, but then you’ll miss the alcohol specials as well.

But flight attendants don’t want that to happen. They protested a proposal to change the TSA policy at Charlotte Douglas Airport on Thursday. They’re also pushing the “No Knives Act of 2013″ to permanently ban knives in the passenger cabin. Glenda Tally with the Association of Flight Attendants says, “All knives are weapons.”

I just got home today so this must have been earlier since I didn’t see anything at the airport.

Bell Man: Are you checking-in?  You can park your car over there
Me: Isn’t this the valet stand, I was hoping to valet
Bell Man: Yes, this is the valet stand, let me help you with your bags.
—
I go to the front desk and check in, then leave the main building to head to my building
—
Bell Man: I hope you enjoy your wedding
Me: (confused) I’m not here for a wedding.  I’m here for a travel blogger conference.  You might want to be on your best behavior this weekend since the hotel will be swarming with travel bloggers and we will all review this hotel online.
Bell Man: I’m sorry, did I say something wrong
Me: I’m sorry, that came out wrong I guess.  I was just trying to give you a heads up.

…Everyone on the entire staff seemed to know my name and refered to me as Ms. Alexander the entire weekend.  Maybe they just do that anyway, but I felt awkward, especially when actual professionals were there for the conference.

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