Upgrading the travel experience

Brookswood

Brookswood

Senior Member
I am in the position of not having a lot of extras to spend my money on. And life is uncertain. And, I have my investments set on a track that seems safe, sensible and reasonably profitable for the foreseen future. So....

I have been thinking of changing my normal modes of travel. Normally, I get the cheap economy airline seats (sometimes I will spring for extra room on long flights), and small rooms in locally owned hotels that are usually in the $50 to $80 range. The free breakfast is cold cereal, fake orange juice and weak coffee. Rooms are dimly lit with old furnishings and thin towels.

Now, I a thinking of upgrading to some of the Economy Plus services when I travel on a jet - wider seat, more leg room, better food, free checked luggage, free drinks, etc. I am also thinking of going with certain hotels that offer some nice extras - hot breakfast, rooms with a nice sized sitting area, morning paper, Jacuzzi tubs, evening treats and wine, etc.

I will not upgrade if it will cost me much time in my destination. A cheapo room in Rome for a week is better than a luxury one for four days. But, if I can upgrade and get in all my travel plans, well... why not?

Have you upgraded your travel experience? If so, how?
 

We are good at finding bargains, but sometimes we splash out. We have upgraded to economy plus (on the overnight flight home from the US), and several times we've upgraded to business class on very long trips using airmiles. We normally use chain hotels at a good price and book well ahead of time and get nonrefundable which is much cheaper. However, on our very long trips with 2 or 3 legs we find it well worth the cost to stay overnight in a hotel to break up the trip. Many of our trips are on Emirates and we transfer in Dubai. So we stay in the only hotel in the airport which makes it pricey but includes all the food and drink we want. And we are well-rested for the next flight.

We stay in Thailand for the winter (3 months) but we don't stay in expensive posh resorts. We rent a house which isn't directly on the beach but is a 5 minute walk.
 
I can only speak for United having worked for them for almost 34 years. They offer seats in "Economy" with extra leg room for an additional fee. I suggest older passengers buy these, if they are in their budget. By having extra leg room, especially on flights lasting longer than two hours, I suggest doing some leg, feet and toes exercises to aid in preventing blood clots. It may also be a good idea to get up and move around in the cabin while the seatbelt light is turned off. And, of course, to drink plenty of liquids, but not alcohol. Water is best, but coffee is also acceptable. This will aid in helping with the effects of jet lag, especially if flying coast to coast.

Hotels, I have found Holiday Inn Express to be a good deal. They include a hot breakfast as does the Hampton Inn, but since Hampton is owned by the Hilton group, they are more expensive.

Maybe you should consider using a credit card that gives back points for travel. You can use the points for upgrades while on the plane and also for lodging. Even though I get free travel on the plane, I use the points for upgrades and lodging. I try to use the card for as mush as possible and then pay it off every month. I live by the motto my dad did. "Interest is something that the bank pays me."
 
Will never forget the one (and only) time my wife and I splurged on 1st class tickets on a cross country trip to WA state. It was to celebrate our anniversary. Once in a while when we fly Jet Blue we'll get the extra leg room seats, if only because you board sooner and thus have quicker access to the overhead bins. Generally we fly regular economy class and stay in less expensive Marriott properties (Fairfield Inns, Residence Inn, Townplace Suites), since we have one of their credit cards. Sure have racked up a ton of points on the credit card over the years and used them for some nice vacations. The best was probably to Hilton Head, SC. They upgraded our room to ocean front with a nice balcony. Starting to visit some Hilton properties too.
 
We have splurged a few times on 5 star hotels/lodges. One was when attending a wedding, and a few times at a couple of different lodges in Uganda. Spent both our wedding anniversaries at the same 5 star lodge while we lived in Uganda.

We still have one night to book at a hotel at Heathrow Airport for when we return from Thailand the end of Feb. We're considering one of the nice ones inside the airport as we'll be exhausted from an 11 hour flight and want a good sleep before the short flight home.
 
Thanks. I am seriously thinking of traveling in Premium Economy or even Business Class (if the extra cost is not to very high) on long flights of 5+ hours or more.

And, a nice hotel room can make a visit much more easy. These old bones no longer want to sleep in a hostel with three other snoring guys.
 
Ameriscot said:
We still have one night to book at a hotel at Heathrow Airport for when we return from Thailand the end of Feb. We're considering one of the nice ones inside the airport as we'll be exhausted from an 11 hour flight and want a good sleep before the short flight home.
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A few years ago I accidently booked what I thought was a connecting flight at 7:00 PM giving me a three hour lay over at most. Then I discovered I had booked the flight for 7:00 AM the next day. Not wanting to spend the night on an airport chair, or get up to early to race to the hotel, I managed to find a POD Hotel in the airport's international zone, so no going out and having to get back in through security. I got a small room with a shower of about maybe 80 sq ft. It worked. I was up and out at 6:15, walked to the gate and got on the plane. Thankfully, the flight served breakfast.
 
The only time I seriously upgraded was on my only trip overseas---to India. A 5 star hotel in Madras was cheaper than most any hotel here, at the time. So I guess that doesn't really count. It was summer, off season there.
 
We changed credit cards to one that rewards you with these types of upgrades. It gives you points no matter what you are purchasing. This has really allowed us to upgrade our travel experiences..............plus we learned a little trick, when you are checking in (at least on American) you can check to see what an upgrade would be, we upgraded to first class for only $40 twice.
 
My friend and I usually fly reg. economy, would love to upgrade next time...most always fly American, occasionally SW...as for hotels, we stay in cheapos when passing through and try to get nicer ones if we're staying a few days..Choice hotels offer good rewards and there are many to choose from....we stay in the nicer hotels when in Vegas and pamper ourselves for a few days...I use my American frequent flyer points to rent cars and my friend buys the gas. Some of the cheaper hotels I like are American Suites, Fairfield Inn and Motel 6 and 8 (make sure and check reviews on the Motel 6 and 8 in advance).
 
MANY Years ago, I was buying my airline ticket. The girl said that for $6 more I could fly 1st class.

HAH! Being the big spender that I am, I went for the deal.

(One other guy and I were the only two in 1st class.) Them was the good ole days. :eek:nthego:
 

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