The app also gave us an option to Email the entire scorecard to our friends. The app saved the scorecard for us, too, so that we can compare how much better we do the next time. And, if we play on the same course again, the app remembers the par values and automatically fills them in.

I think it’s a fun app to have. Next time when you’re at the golf course for a business meeting or pleasure, forget the paper scorecards and golf pencils - keep track of your scores through the Golf Leaderboard iPhone app.

After getting through Dulles’s horrible security checkpoint and train, I finally got to the United Customer Service desk. When I inquired about standing by for an earlier flight, I was told that it would cost me $50 if I get on to the flight. When I told the United Customer Services agent that I was never informed of this new policy, she informed me that it was put in place February of 2010. The United Customer Services agent was also shocked that she had to ask for my credit card when she noticed that I was a United Premiere Executive.

Still in disbelief, I rang United Customer Services’ number and was connected to their Indian call center. The offshore United Customer Services agent told me United began charging $50 for taking an earlier flight and the only way around it is if you’d a full fare ticket - not even Premiere Executive members are spared of the fee. I dug through United.com and found this article (link for your reference). I believe Premiere Executive 1K and Global Services members can get the standby fees waived.

I now know why I have stopped giving United my business as being a loyal customer doesn’t pay. United’s learned from USAir by charging their customers for standby when their planes are empty (perhaps charging for water on a flight is next - see previous post about USAir). United’s latest customer gouging approach makes Delta’s poor customer service and trying to squeeze every penny from you at JFK seem harmless. Now I understand why I have been flying Delta more and more, especially when they offer “confirmed” standby within 4 hours of the flight. Yes!  If you’ve Delta Medallion status, they’ll give you a seat on the flight 4 hours in advance or within 4 hours of the next flight if you’ve missed your earlier flight. No wonder I wrote this previous article (Delta’s Medallion Program puts them above other airlines).

Don’t be afraid to ask for the services that you’d normally have to earn or pay for at the hotel. Below are the things that you should ask for and would most likely get:

1.  Ask for an upgraded room or simply a better room (like closer to the elevator or away from the ice machine, etc.). There’s no reason why your request wouldn’t be met.

2.  Ask for a discounted or client rate by letting the staff know that you’ll be there for an extended period of time for a client. This works especially well if you are in a group (i.e., traveling with team members)!

3.  Ask the hotel staff to book your future reservations so you don’t have to call or reserve online every week (don’t worry, you have up to the previous day of arrival or 6pm on the date of arrival to cancel for each reservation).

4.  If the hotel charges for Internet, ask for the service to be complementary or get the hotel manager to get your hotel status to a level where it is free (see previous post). You may not get platinum status day one but it will help in the long run.

5. If you do not have hotel status, ask the manager to make it happen. We have gotten entry level silver and gold status at Hilton and SPG (Four Points, Sheraton, etc.) when we were rookies. Hotels still honor loyalty unlike airlines.

The Coach ft. Captain G

The R, N and Q trains run north-south along Broadway and through the center of Manhattan island to Queens. Once you get to Queens, hop on the M60 bus for about 20 minutes max and you’ll be at a LGA terminal.

Here are the step by step directions to get to LaGuardia Airport LGA from Manhattan.

1a. Get on the Q when you are at an interchange station because the Q runs express vs the N and R.

2. Get off the N or Q train when you’re at Astoria Boulevard - which is 6 stops after you have arrived to Queens (you’ll know when the train moves onto elevated tracks).

3. Exit Astoria Boulevard station and stay on your right hand side. Look for signs that read M60 bus and display an airplane.

5. The M60 bus will be coming off the bridge from Manhattan. Jump on the M60 and it will take you straight to all the LGA terminals.

You can pick up the same bus from LGA if you’re arriving into NYC. However, there are no vending machines in LGA for you to get a Metrocard. You’ll need to have US$2.25 in change, or you’re out of luck. For NYC visitors, you may want to check out my NYC Visitor’s Guide.

For your convenience, here are links on how to get from Manhattan to Newark (How to get to NYC from Newark) and JFK (How to take NYC public transportation to/from JFK).

AA was pressured to make the triple miles and EQM offer to compete against United at their Chicago hub. AA’s shuttle service between LGA and Boston Logan cannot compete with the hourly Delta Shuttle or US Airway’s Shuttle services. Let’s see if USAir will jump on this triple miles and EQM offer, since they are a direct competitor of Delta’s Shuttle LGA/BOS and LGA/DCA routes.

Looks like a great summer for New Yorkers to earn some airline status this year.

Recently, Google Voice came out of beta and is now available to all within the U.S.  You can do a lot with Google Voice, one of which is make international calls for very cheap.  Once you sign up for Google Voice, you can make cheap international calls on your cell phone.  Kudos to this post for explaining how: http://readystate4.com/2009/07/31/google-voice-skype-the-unrelenting-phone-industry-and-a-cool-iphone-tip/

In a nutshell, you will need to use this formula when saving international numbers on your iPhone:

(aaa) aaa-aaaa , pppp, 2, 011 bb cccccccccc#

Where:
a = your Google Voice number
p = your Google Voice pin number
b = country code of the number you’re dialing
c = local number of the number you’re dialing

Delta’s Triple Miles and MQM offer is a lot sweeter. Basically all you have to do is hop on the Delta Shuttle from LGA to either ORD, DCA (Washington DC) or BOS (Boston). There are not residency restrictions. I also believe Delta has upgraded most of its Delta Shuttle flights to new Embraer planes. Both offers start in mid June and end on August 31, 2010.

Delta has been expanding its presences in the greater New York area for the past two years with non-stop flights from JFK to SFO, LAX and ORD. The coast to cost long haul flights used to be United and American’s bread and butter in the New York market since they don’t really have a strong presence in NYC (I have made 1K on United and Executive Platinum on AA on the same year doing these coast to coast trips). United and AA also dominated the LGA/ORD route as well - I have made United 1K just doing this route.

We glad to see Delta is in the mix and playing with the big boys! Now we have three options to go from JFK to the West coast, Midwest and even London Heathrow. The increased in competition should be great for NYC-based travelers as we do not have a hometown airline or airline using NYC as a hub. Sorry, JetBlue doesn’t have enough of a presence in the globe and Newark doesn’t really count as NYC. Now we will wait to see when the airlines look for their bailout (see previous post).

The US has a pretty streamlined process for passport renewals but it still takes three to four weeks for the US government to process your request. You can always pay extra for expedited service but who would want to do that?

The recommended approach is to stop by a US consulate when you’re abroad and have them add the pages to your US passport. The process takes no more than 30 minutes at a US consulate abroad - probably faster than clearing airport security. Just walk up to the counter and tell the associate that you wish to add pages to your passport. The associate will process it immediately. Make sure you go during off peak hours to save time.

Recently I found a new best practice to add to Captain G’s list of best practices for renting cars. If you want a mid-size car or get upgraded to a full size at no extra costs, make your Hertz rental car reservation as a mid-size reservations and add satellite radio (Sirius XM) as an option. Satellite radio cost you about $5 per day depending on the city you’re renting from but it almost guarantees you a mid-size if not full size car. The rationale behind this logic is Hertz will not put satellite radio in their Corolla and other compact size fleet. Regular renters will not rent a compact car and upgrade to a satellite radio. So if you’ve $5 to spare per day and want to ensure you have a midsize to full size car, make sure you’ve Sirius XM radio as an option on your rental reservation. And if you’re lucky (this happens to me about 75% of the time), you’ll also end up with a Neverlost too, at no cost!

Furthermore, I wouldn’t be shocked if United will follow Spirit Airlines’ lead and begin charging for carry on baggage for non-Premier members. You heard the prediction here first! Vacationers and casual flyers are going to get squeezed either way, whether they pay for carry on or get the Premier Baggage membership for $250.00.

The good news here is it will take these two inefficient airlines another 18 months to 2 years to merge their internal systems. It is definitely time to burn your airline miles and consider switching to the SkyTeam or OneWorld alliances, or JetBlue or Southwest if they’re available in your market.