A Thousand Miles from Nowhere

US Nevada 50 is truly the loneliest road in America. About once a quarter I find myself driving across Highway 50 heading to some forgotten town in nowhere Nevada. Most likely, none of you will get the opportunity to travel this road unless you either get lost or you like wasting your time in the rural Nevada desert. It’s not just the lack of traffic that makes this highway so lonesome…it’s more the lack of towns and signs of life along the way that truly makes this highway stand out. Knowing that you are most likely the only car and possibly person in a 25 mile radius gives you a rather ominous feeling. Despite the overwhelming feeling of isolation, I love it out here. As I look out over the horizon I can’t help but think that little has changed since the days of the Pony Express and what I am looking at is probably the same view they saw as they raced across the desert.

Danger Zone

Fine, I'll admit it...I am addicted to rewards points. In the same why that an alcoholic craves alcohol, I crave some type point, mile, bonus or what ever the business calls their rewards for every purchase I make. It's controlling my life.

I was 20 years old when I started traveling for work. Knowing little about sales and even less about frequent flyer miles I decided to sign up for a Delta Frequent Flyer number. My intentions where to earn enough for a free trip. Status, segments, total miles and upgrades meant nothing to me at the time...all I was looking forward to was a free round trip.

My career took off quickly and I found myself on an airplane most every week. I never noticed or payed attention to my miles until I received my first upgrade to first class after reaching Delta's Silver Medallion status of 25,000 miles flown. I remember the flight well, IAH-SLC, breakfast flight, seat 4b. Things were now different, I didn't wait in line with the common crowd, I boarded first, hung out in a special room before the flight and they even called me Sir and it wasn't used in a term like "Sir, you are making a scene." My traveling life quickly changed after this. Soon I was on my way trying to reach the different levels of status, Gold, Platinum and Diamond. The addiction grew when I discovered that hotels and rental car companies had similar programs.

It's come to the point now where I no longer fly for free round trips...in fact, its hard for me to even cash in my points. I refuse to fly airlines where I do not have status and can not earn miles regardless if their flights are cheaper or quicker. I'm willing to drive 90min one way to stay at a Marriott or Hilton vs. another brand, all because of points earned. I only rent from Hertz, regardless of how bad their customer service is. I'm sick.

We should applaud the travel industry for their ability to create customer "loyalty" though points programs because I am not alone in this addiction. Next time you are at the airport and you see all the blank faces of the people sitting in first class or the people that bypass the lines at hotel check-in, my guess is that they share this same addiction I have.

After the Gold Rush

This nonsense of tipping needs to come to an end. For awhile I use to pride myself on being a "good tipper" and I actually enjoyed tipping someone who went above and beyond their normal service. However it's now come down to everyone in the service industry feeling entitled to at least 20% of their service regardless of the quality of service they provide. All of this came to a breaking point for me last Monday. Below is a typical travel day and the gratuities involved.

Shuttle from the car park to the airport. Tipped the drive $2.00...all he did was pick up my bag from the curb, put it on the shuttle and manage not to crash while en-route to the terminal.

Curbside baggage check-in. Now normally I don't check a bag while traveling (this is for the amateurs), however because of the zealots at the TSA my bag needed to be checked. The agent got $2.00 for his work...which by the way is the same task as the people inside however you are not required to tip them.

Hotel Valet Parking Agent. The total for the day was $10.00, dropping it off and picking it up.

Bellman. $2.00

Housekeeping. $5.00 per night

Meal gratuity, lunch and dinner total $65 @ 20%...$13

So for those of you keeping score at home, that's close to $35 in gratuity for just one day of travel! May not sound like a lot, but figure I'm gone 2-3 days a week!

I guess overall I try and tell myself that these people are making my life easier and their "help" is what I am tipping. It's fuzzy logic but it's the only thing that gets me into my wallet.