Loyalties - Bringing comfort back to travel

Using loyalties

I have always worked in the premise that there are rewards for loyalty especially when it come travel such that certain considerations go into what airlines I fly with and what hotels I stay in.

There is always a deal somewhere if you’ve done something long enough and been diligent to tot up the points, awards, miles, credits or whatever they might call them.

Hotel deals

For hotels, I frequented those of the Accor hotel chain or the Carlson hotel chain, the former offered very good deals in the UK and Germany, France just seemed to be overpriced compared to what one could get elsewhere, but after acquiring points over time having subscribed to a fee-paying loyalty scheme, the point could be exchanged for vouchers to defray costs.

The Carlson hotel chain offered a better value proposition that included free wireless internet access, discounts to services, late check-outs and points that could count towards hotel costs.

Airline deals

Living in the Netherlands, KLM was the airline of choice; though slightly more expensive accumulating miles of travels of a number of flights in a calendar year bumped you up to an elite status that allowed priority check-in, more baggage allowance, access to business lounges, possibly upgrades where available and much more.

I both acquired enough miles and flights to defray the cost of my trip to India last December that privileged status allowed me to check-in an extra piece of baggage on return.

Telling loss of status

On my last trip, my frequent flyer status had lapsed such that I had to be smarter about how to pack my bags. The weight limit is now set at 23kg because punier men than before handle baggage.

By the time my suitcase was weighed, it came to 25.6kg on the automatic baggage drop system, I then thought I might get it past a check-in attendant but I failed in that quest.

I was asked to move stuff from my suitcase into my hand luggage which was just a few kilogrammes short of the statutory 12kg. Now, I am only allowed one piece of hand luggage, however, if you do put your suits in a suit holder, you are allowed to two pieces of hand luggage just for the fact that one is not expected to pack suits in bag.

So, I moved two books and an external hard disk from the suitcase into my hand luggage and by sheer coincidence, luck or genius, the suitcase weighed exactly 23kg and the hand luggage exactly 12kg – we were good to go.

Other pleasures

I still have the mercy of one last loyalty card, the Privium Plus card which allows iris-scan customs control, access to their business lounge with a variety of drinks, food and snacks and now we are also given priority boarding.

In terms of loyalty, it is good to check what you frequently do and assess who has the scale and scope  - you do not want to use a hotel chain just limited to one country, likewise, it is best to join one of the major airline alliances like SkyTeam, Star Alliance or OneWorld they have more global coverage to exploit your loyalties and reap the benefits.

Frequent traveller takes to air again

Landmarks in recovery

It is a landmark day for me, as this is my first journey out of the Netherlands by air since before I was hospitalised and diagnosed with cancer last year.

In many ways, I see the ability to do some of the things I once was unable to do for sickness and the lack of means as part of the recovery process.

It is not full by any means, it is a gradual process and in some ways miraculous if I were to echo the words of my doctor who thought when he saw me last month that the state of my recovery was well beyond what they had ever expected for the duration in which I had been monitored.

The other day, when I said to my colleagues that I was born at 26 weeks, one of them said he saw a fighting spirit for survival in me that he had noticed in a niece of his who was also prematurely born.

Now, I do not know if there is any correlation but somehow you just believe you either would get out of it good or succumb, though the idea of succumbing is never given the space to take root.

Between priorities and perks

Having checked in my baggage, I went to the Privium Plus lounge which is a service for frequent travellers that allows for unencumbered access through airport and checking in facilities as well as iris scanning facilities for border controls.

I remember well that I was just about to be admitted in hospital the renewal notice came for my Privium Plus membership and basically, I ignored it. I just could not be bothered with frequent travel and the perks that it entailed; I was fighting for my life.

Then a few months after, a debt collector’s agency sent the first threatening letter and I wrote to both Privium Plus and the debt collector that this matter was just too far from my top priority of getting well and getting up with the sub-tone of telling them to do their worst – on the scale of recovery priority issues membership advantage subscriptions do not feature.

Eventually, I contacted the people and offered to come to some arrangement on paying off the debts which I eventually did within a month of agreement.

It has been a journey and as I plan to go by the iris scanning system in a few minutes, one just wonders if I would be recognised or some assistance would be needed – maybe chemotherapy could change the so unique identification that the iris represents – we’ll see.

Let us be thankful that the once frequent traveller is starting to travel again.