Guerrilla Travel Tactics
Kimberly L. McCall, Copyright 2004
Travel can be a grueling endeavor for salespeople headed
to meetings. Theo Brandt-Sarif, author of Guerrilla Travel Tactics, offers
tips for road warriors to minimize the toll travel takes on one’s
body and maximize flight comfort and value.
Travel comfortably.
To earn upgraded domestic travel, if you fly at least 25,000 miles in
a calendar year focus all your travel on one major airline. This will
enable you to achieve elite frequent-flyer status, with perks such as
cheap or free upgrades, and a special phone number for reservations.
Use your frequent-flyer miles to upgrade on long-haul trips where business
or first class would be extraordinarily expensive. If your company reimburses
upgrades, keep your frequent-flyer miles for some exotic dream vacation.
If you must fly in coach, request an aisle with an open middle seat as
far back on the plane as possible. Middle seats at the back are the last
to be allocated. At the gate, check that the middle seat remains open.
If not, ask to be reassigned to another aisle (or window) where there’s
an open middle seat.
Bring your own food to guarantee your favorite meal. Drink lots of water
before boarding and while in flight. Not only will you stay hydrated,
frequent trips to the bathroom will force you to walk, an activity that
is especially important to prevent deep-vein thrombosis.
If you cannot fall asleep easily when flying overnight, consult your
physician about prescription sleeping pills such as Ambien or Sonata to
get a good rest without a hangover.
Get the best deals.
When seeking a coach-class fare, buy your ticket at least 7 to 14 days
ahead of departure to get the advance-purchase discounted price. Even
better: If you have at least 3 months until your date of departure, wait
for the airlines to have a sale, which typically occurs every 6 to 9 weeks.
Go online. Start with bookingbuddy.com for airfare quotes and tripadvisor.com
for standard hotel rates. You can input your dates and destination just
once at both sites and search several online reservations sites. The latter
also includes feedback from real people who have stayed at the hotels
you are considering. Check out prices with low-cost airlines such as Southwest
and Jet Blue. Major carriers usually will match the fares of these low-cost
competitors with the benefit of assigned seating and frequent flyer miles
that do not expire for at least 3 years.
Always charge all personal and business expenses with a mileage-earning
credit card. If you have a corporate credit card provided by your employer,
check to see if frequent-flyer miles can be earned.
If you see an opportunity to purchase frequent-flyer miles at a significant
discount, go for it. Brandt-Sarif once saw a magazine offering subscribers
a significant frequent-flyer mile bonus. He purchased 176 subscriptions,
which enabled him to fly to Australia first class for $2,500 versus a
retail price of $13,000.
To receive free travel alerts on the latest promotions, sign up at Brandt-Sarif's
website www.traveltactics.com.
Kimberly L. McCall ("Marketing Angel") is president of
McCall Media & Marketing, Inc., a business communications and writing
company in Maine. She's the author of Sell it, Baby! Marketing Angel's
37 Down-to-Earth & Practical How-To's on Marketing, Branding & Sales.
Sign up for the free Marketing Angel newsletter at www.MarketingAngel.com.
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