Where's Johnny Jet? Greetings from South Florida! I had a wonderful week highlighted by the baptism of our daughter Olivia on Sunday. After the celebration, I took my son to see the annual Manhattan Beach Christmas fireworks, which are always special.
A few hours later, Jack was fast asleep and I was on a plane to New York City to attend the second-annual TPG Awards. I’m not a big fan of red-eyes but I didn’t really have a choice, since I needed to be in the Big Apple on Monday and didn’t want to chance taking a same-day flight. I cashed in 20,000 AA miles for a one-way ticket on American, which wasn’t the best deal, but since I rarely use my AA miles for myself (I’m always chasing Elite Qualifying Dollars aka EQDs and I hit my target a few weeks ago), I figured I might as well put them to use and save some money.
Flying LAX-JFK
When I landed in NYC around 7am, it was pouring rain but was unseasonably mild (high 50s), which I'll take over the bitter cold any day. I used one of my Blacklane vouchers (I’m a brand ambassador) to get a ride downtown from JFK, and the traffic at rush hour was horrendous. The 16-mile drive took 1.5 hours. My driver said that if you land before 6am, the drive takes 35 minutes. Note to self: Take the earlier red-eye (9:30pm) instead of the 10:50pm or 12:30am to avoid the traffic.
However, because we took off at 11pm, I got to see the Seattle Seahawks' chartered Hawaiian Airlines plane taking off from LAX. The only reason I knew it was their plane is that I'd read this ESPN story last week. The story didn’t disclose the airline but showed photos of the interior, and I knew those seats were Hawaiian's.
The Conrad New York Downtown
TPG partnered with Hilton Honors to put their influencers up in a hotel, so I spent the night at the swanky Conrad New York Downtown. It’s a beautiful hotel with arguably the best shower in town (and all rooms are suites). When I checked in at 9am, the friendly clerk told me that there was a room available for me, which I was very grateful for. I took a hot shower and dove into the bed like Superman to recharge my batteries.
The 2019 TPG Awards
TPG doesn’t mess around when they throw a party. The team rented out the Intrepid, which is a feat in itself, but everything after that was first-class, too. Even the food for 500 people was darn good, and they had Carly Rae Jepsen sing at the after-party. Here’s a list of winners from the TPG Awards.
Flying LGA-PBI
Since I was relatively close to Florida (2.5 hours), I decided to cash in some of my Delta miles (9,500) and jump on a flight from NYC down to West Palm Beach to see my dad. He’s 91 so I visit him as often as I can. I took the 3:55pm flight instead of the 12:50pm because I had a meeting in the morning and because the later flight was wide open. And I mean wide open. I didn’t even have to debate whether I should splurge for Economy Comfort. What’s funny is the front of the plane (First Class and Economy Comfort) was packed, but the back was empty.
I had a whole row to myself! When was the last time you had a row to yourself? The flight was great until I started to fall asleep, while working on my laptop and laying across my three seats. I heard some rude dude watching movies on his phone without earbuds. He was three rows away and across the aisle. Instead of bugging the flight attendants, which I really should have done, I got up and politely asked him to put earbuds in. He looked at me like I was from Mars for being so rude to ask him and then told me he didn't have them. I didn't hear the sound after that but he kept looking at me like he wanted to fight. The man was about 15 years older than me and was with his wife. What is wrong with people?
On descent, the flight got really turbulent for about 30 seconds and I was surrounded by some nervous flyers. One dude was yelling expletives, and when we landed, he and about a dozen people clapped—and then he capped off the flight by pumping his fists in the air and yelling, "Life goes on!”
10 ways to find cheap Christmas flights
If you'll be flying over Christmas and you haven’t purchased your tickets yet (what are you waiting for?), you'll want to consult my 10 ways to find cheap Christmas flights.
Scottevest sale: 15% off site-wide through December 31! Scottevest, which as my readers know I love, just kicked off a big sale. Everything on the site except gift cards and items in the outlet section will be 15% off through December 31. Just use code DEC19 to save. I use Scottevest products every time I travel because their multiple hidden pockets not only keep my valuables safe but can act as an extra carry-on, as well. Check out the collection here!
Companies I work with and recommend:
Allianz (travel insurance), Amazon (travel gadgets and supplies), Blacklane PASS and Blacklane (fast-track through airport and reliable car service), Bluffworks (wrinkle-free clothing), Booking.com (hotel deals), Hotspot Shield (VPN to protect your data and get cheaper travel deals), Scottevest (travel clothes).
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The Scott’s Cheap Flights newsletters (free & premium) bring flight deals into your inbox. Scott could double the premium cost ($49/year) and I'd still subscribe!
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