Frequent Traveler University: December 5-7, Hyatt Regency Crystal City
The next Frequent Traveler University, in partnership with USA Today, promises to be the biggest gathering of frequent flyers ever — topping even last April’s sold out event in Northern Virginia.
The event will be held at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City minutes from Washington’s National airport.
It’s a fantastic venue to support us all, and Hyatt has made available (2) $250 Hyatt gift cards for me to give away here. Gift cards that could be used on your stay during Frequent Traveler University!
All you need to do to be eligible to win is leave a comment on this post. You may answer one of two questions,
- What would you most want to learn at a gathering of frequent flyers? Or..
- What is the most important thing for a conference host hotel to know, or to do?
Since there are two gift cards, and two questions, you may enter up to two times.
Just leave a comment or two comments and I will draw the winning comments at random from those left by October 14 at Noon Eastern. (Void where prohibited by law. All of my decisions are final and unappealable, I want to make giveaways as easy as possible and with the fewest headaches possible.)
And I hope to see you at the upcoming Frequent Traveler University!
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FTU – credit card management.
Used to do a Platinum mileage run every winter. Fun!
No longer… tips on how to make it ‘fun’ again!?
I’d like to know more about how to utilize earned seat upgrades if one loses status. It seems like the airlines won’t allow you to use them at all and they just sit in an account. This has been my experience with American.
I would like to learn about booking an award
I have $30,000 in unbonused spend coming up. I’d discuss strategies for maximizing the value of that.
I would like to see the host hotel make amenities available to all registered conference participants, not just registered guests. Last time I was at an event, I wanted to use the hotel’s airport shuttle, but since I was staying elsewhere to earn points, I had to go back to my own hotel first. I understand they can’t offer that to just anyone off the street, but if someone is at their property participating in group that spends a lot of money there, they should at least be able to offer a shuttle ride to a conference-goer on a space available basis.
Top ways to earn points that most people are not aware of.
I’d like to see the hosts make sure the room temperature isn’t frigid. Seems to be a really small detail, but many conferences seem to keep the temp cold enough to keep ice cream in the room. Otherwise, holding sessions for people of varying knowledge on the travel industry would be excellent.
If the hosting hotel provided a small amenity along with a welcome note to all conference participants, it would be a great way to start off. it wouldn’t cost the hotel much, and is a nice welcome. People just getting started in the business may not have status yet and would appreciate the gesture.
provide useful knowledge of the surrounding area.
Free wifi
What would you most want to learn at a gathering of frequent flyers? How to fly 30 hours in a day
I would like to know which miles tip use for certain trips. … basically the best use of miles and some unknown tips and tricks to make the miles go farther!
From the frequent milers who blog I would want to know how they balance the line of letting people know about the golden opportunities without hitting critical mass where the offers are then clawed back.
A glossary for all the abbreviations used!
A conference hotel host needs to know that dozens, hundreds, or thousands of people will be leaving at once at the end of the conference and they should have cabs/shuttles/car service ready to go
A hotel hosting a conference should provide free wifi not only in common areas, but also in attendees rooms.
I’d like to learn more how to use Expertflyer.com and other tips
I would like to learn how to compare and contrast elite benefits with my travel patterns to be sir I am taking advantage of both reward redemptions and elite benefits that matter to me the most!
id like to learn about running a miles blog
i would most want to learn tips and tricks for booking award flights
I’d like to learn about fuel dumps.
The most important thing for a conference host hotel to know and/or do is roll out the red carpet for this occasion. There’ll be a lot of well connected guests staying at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City from Dec. 5-7. The Hyatt Regency would be well served to explain how guests can obtain elite status, the benefits that come with each, and perhaps offer a special one-time “sample” of these benefits, e.g. a one-time breakfast pass and/or visit to the executive lounge.
I like to learn about award bookings and how you can sometimes call in to get around things not listed on the award site itself.
Most important thing for a host hotel to know about the conference is the profile/flow of an event because that will make or break the event.
I would most want to learn all about currently available opportunities for “manufactured spending.”
I would want to learn more about United and Star Alliance. I’ve previously mostly focused on American and OneWorld.
What I would most want to learn at a gathering of frequent flyers involves the once central, albeit controversial, issue that keeps rearing its ugly head: the relative merits of developing a set of norms around MS. Many posts evidence conflicting views on the subject, but they have little opportunity of being resolved online when there seems to be a lot of implicit judgement and assumption and 2) where the details of subject are obscured. As people share the whens and hows of MS, I bet a structured conversation about the relative merit of an in-person conference vs online information sharing would be very productive.
I would want to learn more about manufactured spending.
The most important thing for a conference host hotel to do is to make certain that they have adequate staff available to accommodate the needs of the large number of conference attendees — at restaurants, check-in, check-out, airport shuttle, etc.
I want to learn more about ways to hack into elite status with hotels and airlines and Oneworld info.
The hotel should know that they are playing with fire as they may get reviews from many folks attending.
I wish conference hotels would open hotel amenities to all conference goers not just the ones staying at the hotel.
I never win. Should keep trying though. You don’t try, you don’t win
What I most want to learn at a gathering of frequent flyers is the joy they feel when they get a lot of miles.
Coffee. The hotel should make sure coffee service is continuous all day. Nothing worse than getting out of a long and tiring afternoon session to find you’re in a gap between the lunch and snack services, and no caffeine is nearby.
I would love to network with people to see how best to manage what loyalty programs that I already have and what would be best to complement them as I have retired and my spending needs to be maximized.
manufactured spending ideas!
Hotel: for the older folks, sufficient lighting in rooms, public spaces, and conference hall
1. Learn more about open jaw rules
2. Keep the coffee fresh & the bathrooms clean!
Conference: getting beyond collecting/using United points exclusively. Also, figuring out shopping portals
In a gathering of frequent flyers, I want to learn if they remember their first flight on an airplane.
I just want to win a travel card.
I would love to learn more about various MS techniques
What is the most important thing for a conference host hotel to know, or to do?
FREE WIFI FOREVER AND EVER AND ALWAYS.
I’d like to hear about time management practices for the hobbyist in this game. Where to focus, how time to spend, etc. It seems like I spend endless time reading up on everything and changes and with a family and work, I have a hard time being able to implement much.
What would you most want to learn at a gathering of frequent flyers?
How best to stretch miles. I’m not so interested in elite status or flying first class, I just want tips and tricks for getting the most number of flights out of a certain number of miles.
The host hotel should offer free wifi to attendees.
Im planning a trip to Hawaii Regency Maui, these would come in handy there. Thanks
Manufactured Spend
What would you most want to learn at a gathering of frequent flyers?
Meet MSrs and learn from them