Wanderus - Travel Tips for the Traveling Wanderlust

Let’s get the basic out of the way. So what exactly are hotel programs/points? How do they work?

An official definition: Frequent guest programs are the hotel and hospitality sector equivalent to frequent flyer program. The target of most frequent guest programs are business travelers. Frequent guest programs allow hotel guests to earn points as part of a reward program, and such points can be redeemed for free extra nights. These points are accrued in direct proportion to the amount spent, and as such are equivalent to a percentage price reduction. Some large hotel chains offer bonus points for staying in certain locations or for staying multiple nights in the same hotel. A common example is a deal whereby a guest will stay ten nights and get one night free. For frequent business travelers, the points can rack up quickly and can be applied to nights spent in hotels in different locations of the same hotel group or brand. Some of these programs, if you are short on points, allow guests to pay the difference between points earned and the actual room rate.

1. Why does it matter to me?

1. They’re free at no charge
2. They treat you better (especially if you have a certain status they call you by first name!)
3. The more you travel, the more free rewards you’ll get! Which may include free rooms, promotions, free food/free service in your room, free upgrades to corner suites (my favorite!), etc.

2. Great, how do I rack up points?

1. Always, always put your personal program # down when you make reservations; every point counts!
2. Apply and use the hotel credit card when booking your travels particularly if you’re staying with that hotel company (e.g. Starwood American Express Card)
3. Sign-up for promotions which always happen a lot
4. Preferably, stick with one hotel so you can continuously accumulate points

3. That’s great, I could have read all this online. What are some insider personal tips?

1. The 3 largest programs are: Hilton HHonors, Starwood Preferred Guest, Marriott Rewards; Personally, I feel Starwood offers the best rewards and the most pleasant, gracious hotels around the world. They don’t have as many worldwide hotel locations, but I guarantee you once you reach status they’ll take care of you and points DO NOT expire (unlike HHonors). I’ve heard the Starwood AMEX card allows you to collects points FAST as well as their promotions are ridiculously generous!
2. Want to do a fast track to get status for these programs? Talk to their customer care and explain that you’ll be staying with them frequently in the next coming weeks and if they can put you either on a special fast-track promotion or get you a certain status immediately. If you travel for work this is particularly easy. Better yet, I know if you have reached the highest status for a competitor’s program - they’ll likely match it to try to win your business (just have to show proof).
3. Go to Flyertalk.com and go to their discussion forums. This is like the GOD site for folks trying to maximize their points and discussions about promotions, etc. They’ll have a lot more detail about each of the programs and current promotions and even reviews on actual hotels!

Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) - simply why its better in my opinion.. (most comfortable beds!

This wasn’t my picture, but I got upgraded for free to this corner suite since I had status. This is from the W Hotel in downtown Seattle. Exactly like how I remember it.

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It’s about 2:42am right now in Los Angeles and I’ve been counting sheep for the last 2 hours… Counting sheep and tomatoes and french bread and other things that I need to buy at the grocery tomorrow. There’s nothing worse than having jet lag when you come back from vacation. Except, of course, if you’re on a 12 hour flight seated next to a pair of horney teenagers who are on their first school trip overseas.

I thought I’d introduce myself to the Wanderus world since I stopped thinking about my grocery list and moved on to cross comparing the cost of tomatoes in Taiwan to LA to DC. (Why are tomatoes so freaken expensive??) Anyhow, I’m Wanderaaahh. It’s my super secret pseudonym for the just-in-case-work googles me and finds out that I actually spend my nights blogging about traveling and not doing some sort of analysis of their bottom line. What? Wanderaaahh? You don’t care? No, sir, I actually couldn’t give a hairy monkey’s balls about your bottom line between the hours of 6pm-8am. But on those hours that I am at work, YES SIR. Coffee? Right away! My dignity? Of course!

Truth’s out. If I could be traveling, I would. I even got lasik done just to get through security faster. Take that Homeland Security! I have no 3-oz liquid containers in a clear ziplock bag! Don’t let anyone tell you that lasik is painless. Would I compare it to a stab wound? Probably not, but definitely some really sucky discomfort for a day followed by mental panic attacks about the possibility of permanently losing your vision b/c your doctor MIGHT HAVE twitched during the procedure or you DIDN”T look directly at the little red light enough. WHAT IF. But all that was worth not having to go to a tiny drug store in Costa Rica looking for solution b/c sand flew into your eyes in the most beautiful beach in the world. Whoa. Talk about digressing.

Anyhow, I’m currently in my late-twenties searching for my soul-purpose in life, only finding out that YES. fried stuff in any country is still as tasty as you’d think. Happiness in my tummy and cellulite in my thighs. It’s a good life. I was born in Los Angeles and spent a good part of my twenties in the SF Bay Area. I currently live in DC where I discovered that not everyone wears flip flops all year round. No kidding, huh?

What I like the most about traveling is learning about new cultures and having new experiences. Great generic line, huh? Okay, I also enjoy playing diarrhea roulette every time I have a glass of water overseas. I live in suburbia next to a Bed Bath and Beyond. I like to live dangerously.

Anyhow, I like to travel and I like thinking that if I can help one person in this world slack off at work then my day is complete. Enjoy reading the blog.

Being that awesome girlfriend that I am, I brought my phone to Taiwan so that I could call my boyfriend back in the States. This is what you might call “loving”, but it’s also known as being a “SUCKAAAAAA in love”. Whatever, how else he is going to know exactly what I did every minute of the day?

Many countries in Asia sell pre-paid SIM cards that gives you a local number so that you can make domestic calls (in case you’re drunk and need to call the hotel for direction back) or international calls (in case you’re drunk and and want to drunk dial INTERNATIONALLY BABY!!!). Either way, it’s useful to have. Just be sure to bring your cellphone.

In Taiwan and Hong Kong, you can pop into your nearest 7eleven and pick up one of these SIM cards. 7 Elevens are on every block so I wouldn’t worry about finding one. In other parts of Asia, like China, you may want to go directly to a cell phone dealer.

Tips on getting your cell phone hooked up:

1. Cellphone (Before you leave): You can use your own cellphone as long as it can be used internationally. These are known as Tri-band or Quad-band phones. If you’re unsure, call your cell phone service provider and ask while you’re still in the US. Either way, you need to talk to them in order to “unlock” your phone. Your phone must be unlocked so that it will accept another SIM card. When I called T-mobile, they emailed me my unlock code and a set of instructions to do it myself. Very painless.

2. Address: Taiwan has a strict policy on how to get one of these since they had problems with criminals using fake IDs buying pre-paid cards. Now, you must present 2 forms of IDs: Passport and Alien Resident Certificate (ARC), Working Visa, or other authorized documents. Point being, you must present a local address. My cousin helped sign me up for one. They will make copies of your IDs and fax it somewhere. Two hours later, voila! you’re hooked up!  Hong Kong is more lenient and they don’t require a local address.

4. Uh oh. No more credit!: Credit can be bought in different price increments. After I used up the $99 NTD credit, I went back to 7eleven and picked up a credit voucher to recharge my credit for $300 NTD. Once I got my voucher, I called them (dial 722 for Open Cards) and followed the automated instructions. It did get tricky since my Mandarin is as perfect as a 8 year olds and I ended up having to talk to the operator in Mandarin. (”Excuse me, what’s recharge credit in Mandarin?) If you only speak English, you may want to seek help. The automated service doesn’t translate into English.

5. Example of Rates: Based on Open Card/Far East Tone in NTD

• Voice Rate: $ 0.71/ per 6 seconds
• Domestic SMS Rate/ each: $2
• International SMS Rate/ each $5

Voicemails are NT $0.36 per 6 sec incremental.

Lastly, I usually called my bf in the States and had him call me back. Incoming calls aren’t counted towards your credit.

Overall, I thought it was great to have a cell phone so that I can call local numbers easily if I got lost or even send a quick text message to friends. It still may be cheaper to use calling cards, but the convenience is priceless.

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• Forbes has a list of the most time-draining airports in the U.S., what causes them and what you can do about it. The worst airport for delays? Chicago O’Hare.

• Mexico is going to give a sales tax rebate to all visitors this summer. There are procedures to follow so read carefully and print out instructions.

• Our “favorite” airline AA is adding a $5 mileage-redemption fee “on frequent-flier award tickets booked on its website.” To be fair, I’ve always gotten charged a tax for doing the same on Continental, but I wonder if this fee is on top of any applicable tax. AA has also responded to critics of the $15 baggage fee (Budget Travel).

• Not to be outdone, United Airlines is requiring minimum stays for all domestic flights starting in October as well as raising its cheapest fares by as much as $90 one-way. The race for the worst domestic airline has apparently begun.

• Travel + Leisure has a list of the best new budget hotels. “The major players (in the U.S.) are InterContinental’s Hotel Indigo, Hyatt Place, Starwood’s Aloft, and Nylo.”

• Budget Travel takes you to an African safari - no-frills style.

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