The hilarious Jason Matheson - host of The Jason Show on FOX and a 20-year veteran of morning talk radio - joins the show to talk all things travel with Kyle and Gunnar. Claiming to be Thrifty Traveler’s #1 fan, Jason tells us what Canadian city sparked his love of travel before diving deep into what he loves about Hawaii and Disney. He also tries to sell the guys on cruising and he even reveals his bougiest travel take. Join us for the funniest episode of the Thrifty Traveler Podcast yet!
The hilarious Jason Matheson - host of The Jason Show on FOX and a 20-year veteran of morning talk radio - joins the show to talk all things travel with Kyle and Gunnar. Claiming to be Thrifty Traveler’s #1 fan, Jason tells us what Canadian city sparked his love of travel before diving deep into what he loves about Hawaii and Disney. He also tries to sell the guys on cruising and he even reveals his bougiest travel take. Join us for the funniest episode of the Thrifty Traveler Podcast yet!
00:00 - Introducing Thrifty Traveler’s #1 Fan
01:02 - We fix CLEAR and put airport speakerphone users on the no-fly list
05:35 - The new Delta One Lounge impresses at LAX … but would you eat the sushi?
13:00 - Who’s fighting back against AI and “surveillance-based” airfare pricing?
18:50 - Jason tells us about the latest flight deal that impressed him and his friends (use promo code TTPOD for $20 off your first year of deals!)
20:00 - Jason’s travel story: how Vancouver (& The Fantastic Four) sparked his love of travel
22:30 - What’s next on Jason’s travel bucket list? And what got taken off the list because of “critters.”
23:20 - His long love affair with Hawaii & why Jason loves Oahu the most
28:30 - Why everyone needs to go see Susan at the Mai Tai Bar
32:15 - Jason’s Delta loyalty – the good, the bad, the ugly, and when he cheats on them with United…
38:00 - Jason pitches the guys on (most) cruises
41:00 - Why his first Disney Cruise blew him away
45:30 - Tips to do Disney for adults
51:00 - Why did Jason get into travel and how he became Thrifty Traveler’s #1 fan
58:45 - Listener Question: Are flexible points worth the pain? Should you just retreat to Delta SkyMiles?
01:02:50 - On the spot: Jason and Kyle’s bougiest travel taste, take, or rule
Produced by Gunnar Olson & Nick Serati
Edited by David Strutt
Show music: “All That” by Benjamin Tissot
Yo. Welcome to the show. I am Gunnar Olson here with Thrifty Traveler executive editor Kyle Potter. But today, we have a very special guest. He's a travel enthusiast, a Delta loyalist, and an MSP based super traveler.
He's in his twentieth year hosting a daily radio show for MyTalk one zero seven point one Twin Cities, and he just finished his tenth year hosting the Jason Show, which you can see live every day on Fox nine here in the Twin Cities and on Fox stations all over the country. It's friend of Thrifty Traveler, Jason Matheson. Jason, how you doing? I prefer to say number one fan of Thrifty Traveler. A lot of people can claim that.
I think I am the number one fan. So Well, I think well, it depends on how you measure number one. And if it's first, it's certainly Karen Kimrowski. Okay. Very true.
You're yeah. You're all you're yeah. You're right about that. Okay. I'll find I'll take 1 to 4 1 to 5 maybe.
1 to Yeah. I think we can give you that. Yeah. Yeah. Well, either way, we're so excited to have you here.
Told to be here. You're an obvious guest for this show, and I think you're an obvious person to answer this question for us because I need to find something out at the beginning of the show here from both of you. So just a few days after announcing that everyone was allowed to keep their shoes on through the security screening process, the Department of Homeland Security teased that they wanna make changes to the limits on liquids and gels next. So things seem to be getting better, I guess, at security for most travelers. But what I wanna find out is what's the next thing that needs a change in the airport experience?
What else is due for a face lift between the curb and the gate? This is a broad answer, but yet specific. And that is whether you're dealing with CLEAR or any of any system at any airport. The repetitive nature of some of the things we do, like, if we show an ID once, why do I have to keep showing it within four steps? If I'm showing Vicky here and I go up and there's Rob, why can't Vicky tell Rob that I just gave him my ID?
Like, CLEAR drives me nuts because and they're fixing it at some airports. But if I what's the purpose of CLEAR if I have to if I show it to, Fernando, a clear representative and then Fernando has to walk me up and then I have to reshow my ID to the TSA guy. What's the point? So streamline how many times we have to whip out the boarding pass. I know that seems broad, but there seems to be too many repetitive steps in the system.
The point is to get you to pay $209 a year. I hate to break two, Jason. I know. Thank you, Kyle. So early in the podcast to break bad news to me.
I get it. I get it. That's what we do here. Yeah. That's a good one.
I think, especially, when, you know, you go to, like, the really nice fancy airports in Asia and The Middle East, they have kinda streamlined a lot of that where you go through and it's just like one time, here's my passport, here's who I am, and they're like, we know who you are. We have tapped on you through the rest of the experience. But here, it's like, is this a ID day? Is this a full boarding pass ID day? Do I need my passport?
Like, what do they need from me this morning? What's yours, Kyle? That is a really good one. You know, mine absent this news that, you know, DHS is gonna try to do away with the liquid limits. I had made what I considered a modest proposal, which was keep the 3.4 ounce limit in place because we all know if you bring 3.5 ounces of a liquid, you're probably a terrorist.
And I get that. That's that's a given. Own 3.8. Yeah. Right.
Oh, gosh. But let people bring bigger bottles of sunscreen because that is a life literally a life saving liquid. So as long if they do away with all of it, great. We're good. Past that, though, and this goes beyond airport lounges.
If you are in an airport or an airplane and you are listening to something on speaker, be it your laptop or your phone or, God forbid, taking a FaceTime call, you should be put on the no fly list. Kyle, I already really liked you. I have a t shirt being made right now, and it's no joke from TeePublic that says nobody wants to hear your FaceTime. It is the bait it is one of my biggest pet peeves of humans, human beings. I don't wanna hear your speaker phone.
I don't but, yes. Oh, gosh. That's a good one. I mean, any anywhere. But Anywhere.
Emotions are so heightened in airports and on airplanes and just, like, that sensation of hearing somebody's conversation or YouTube video noise. Yeah. Of the fate. No. It's it's like a dog whistle that brings out the worst in all of us.
Man, I mean, you're preaching to the choir with the sunscreen thing, but then you even outtake yourself with the second one. That was All Those are both amazing. Gunnar and all his fellow ginger listeners are just pumping their fist in their car right now. Demanding it for years. Offensive that I have to go buy sunscreen wherever I go.
Mine was going to be something that they actually have started already, which is the, security lanes for families, for traveling families. Yeah. He's a brand new father. That is very interesting to me. And, also, it's something I've thought of forever.
It's like if we get the families and the kids out of the lines, it's better for everyone, less stress for the families, way faster for everybody else. And the fact that they're piloting it at Orlando is just perfect. Like Or it's gonna be a nightmare. Gonna be a nightmare. Yeah.
I don't wanna be the first person to do that line. No. But, yeah, we'll see how that goes. But those are all great answers. Thanks, guys.
So today on the show, we're talking to Jason about all things travel from cruises to Delta loyalty and his travel journey. All that and more. Welcome back to Thrifty Traveler podcast. Alright. Let's jump into something hot and something cold where we look at the good and the bad news out there for travelers from the past week, and we'll start as always with something hot.
Okay. So the new Delta One lounges, have opened at the coastal hubs of JFK and now LAX. And our very own Peter Thornton got a glimpse inside the LAX lounge this week and chronicled the experience, with a very thorough review of the space on our website. We will we'll link to that review for sure, and we'll show you some photos here if you're watching us on YouTube. But, just to remind travelers, these are not the kind of credit card Delta Sky Clubs where you can kinda gain access through one of those cards.
These are lounges only for Delta one flyers or travelers flying in the premium cabin of Delta's partners like Air France or KLM, or others. So they're a little bit more exclusive. We have heard of some lines already at JFK, though. Surprise. Yeah.
Surprise. So not exclusive enough, I guess. But they're most known for the private check-in and the private security, which I think people are really excited about. And that's what makes them kinda totally unique for US lounges. But some of the things that Peter found at this lounge, the sit down made to order dining an outdoor patio with a self serve bubbly station, which would be very lovely.
Just stop the review. Like, I'm in. Yeah. Right there. Less.
Thanks. We're done. Yeah. There's, of course, complimentary cocktails and drinks, showers, nap pods, and a wellness area, including a great photo of Peter that he took a selfie photo of him with the Hyperice Leg Air Compressors with himself sitting in the lounge chair. That's for journalism.
That's just good Yeah. By Peter. And, of course, a sushi bar, which is kind of the special LAX touch there. And Peter swears that the sushi was, quote, shockingly high quality. Yeah.
Because I It's gotta be really good. It has to be because order to sell airport sushi. Trust grocery store sushi, let alone airport sushi. I don't know. Yeah.
I wonder if the debut sushi, you know, when Peter reviewed this still pretty early on after they opened, maybe I trust it. But I don't know. Couple of months down the line after they've after the glosses worn off, I'm not sure. Alright, Kyle. So you've been to the Delta 1 Lounge at JFK.
How does I mean, based on what you've How's the sushi? Well, it's JFK, so it's just, l lox on a bagel. Yeah. Right. Yeah.
No. I mean, the JFK Lounge does not have sushi, so that's you dock a couple of points right there. I mean, first of all, the LA Lounge is significantly smaller. I mean, we're talking, like, 10 ish thousand square feet compared to 40,000 square feet. And yet, the JFK Lounge when I was there, and this was last fall, so it's past the peak of summer of summer travel, It was on a Saturday, which is one of the slower days in Delta's network in global travel, and it was still, like, uncomfortably busy by about 4PM to the point where it's like, okay.
Yes. It was harder to get in. Yes. The food is great. Yes.
It's it's got a sit down restaurant and shower suites, and you can go get, you know, a facial treatment before your flight if you can wait three hours because that's how long the wait is. But how is this still feel kind of like a Delta Sky Club inside? And so what stood out to me most, about Peter's experience in LA, which granted was in the morning, but he still said, you know what? It really never got busy even by the time he left in the afternoon, which that is the number one thing that I think people want from any airport lounge, let alone a business class or first class lounge is a little bit more room to stretch out, a little bit more cozy rather than the feeling like you're rubbing elbows with people at the buffet while you scrape up some food. Yeah.
Well, it's kind of like how do you solve a problem like Maria? Is the problem then or is the solution? Don't build these unless you have the real estate to do it because you're inevitably just going to make people mad, and it doesn't it's not gonna seem like a premium experience. That's just my amateur take on it, having never been in one yet. Yet, Delta, if you'd like to send me one, I'm ready to go.
But yeah. Yeah. I'm sorry. I don't think people down in Atlanta listen to this podcast. Yeah.
I would. That's what you're gonna have to send a couple emails. We've given them enough to be angry at us about Yeah. Already. And I think you're right.
And I think by building these, they raise the expectations. And so people go to the airport even earlier in order to visit these lounges. And I think, you know, candidly, while I don't wanna give them ideas that are gonna make people mad, one of the mistakes that Delta has made in JFK in particular is that they allow people to visit with a business class ticket at any time. Whereas at a Sky Club, you can only visit three hours before your flight. And I do think if they continue to see problems at in New York in particular, that this is something that's probably gonna have to change.
Yeah. We got airport dads showing up to the airport eight hours early to take advantage. Look. Listen. Did I do that?
I sure did. That was that was for science. You weren't working. Yeah. You were working.
Let's be clear. Yeah. This place is too crowded, but I'm not one of them. Yeah. But not me.
I'm not the one who's over the limit. So, Jason, you said, you know, if Delta called and said, hey. Come on down to the Delta Lounge, you'd go. But is this something you'd seek out with, your own money or your own point? Look.
I have been known, to pick a flight based on the aircraft. I have been known to switch oh, we're in that? And, let's let's take this flight because this has a you know? I would if it wasn't much of a, if it wasn't much of a hassle, I would check this out. I like the fact that they have this.
But like you said, Kyle, be careful because my as before you even said that, my expectation as a consumer would be, oh, I better not be able to get in. Yeah. If I'm a Delta one customer and you're telling me then I would I know what I would think I would think then what is the difference between this and a Delta Club a regular Sky Club? I who I worry about that for them. And the thing is it's going to be a constant problem because to your point, there is not there's never going to be enough real estate available in airports in order to fix this.
All the while, every airline worth their salt right now and every credit card company keeps trying to raise the bar while building more lounges and upgrading the experience and raising the bar and the expectations even higher all while letting more people in, whether they're more people are booking a Delta or Air France or KLM business class ticket with their cash or with their points or with a credit card that gets them into one of the other lounges. So we're just kind of in this vicious cycle where I don't know that the problem if the problem is lounge overcrowding is ever really going to actually get better, I think it's just going to plateau. Yeah. Definitely. I think, that's also a line outside the Delta One Lounge is a line of people that are probably prone to a nice meltdown too, especially if they've if you spent $6,000 or whatever it is on a Delta One seat and all of a sudden they're saying, hey.
Sorry. You gotta wait in line like cattle. I'm sure there are some people who have not taken that news very well. Let's go let's speaking of some bad news, let's head over to something cold, which is, we're gonna talk a little bit more about AI flight pricing. Last week on the show, we wondered aloud if any lawmakers would ever step up after Delta's kind of brash comments about using AI to set flight prices up to 20% of their fares by the end of the year.
It appears at least two members of the house were already working on something. Two Democrats, representative Greg Casar of Texas and representative, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan signed on to the bill that seeks to ban surveillance based pricing on things like airfare. It's not just airfare. So meaning if you were, searching for Rolexes in your browser and then you went over to delta.com to book a flight, maybe Delta would serve you a higher fare knowing that you would pay it. So this announcement of this bill comes after Delta got a little overzealous bragging to investors about its AI plans next week.
We covered that extensively and talked all about it on last week's episode, which I encourage you to listen to if you haven't already. But so as I understand it, these lawmakers are starting to fight back, Kyle, but Delta's not even doing surveillance based pricing yet. Right? Right. So far as we know, which, I mean, comes reinforces the point that we've made a couple of times and I think taps into all of the frustration that we've seen this year, whether it's about AI or about penalizing solo travelers, which is nobody understands this stuff.
No there's no clarity, no transparency whatsoever in how airlines set prices. So what we can sit here and say, theoretically, knowing how the systems that airlines use, they aren't currently using personalized pricing. I mean, what average consumer is gonna believe that? I mean, and, I mean, to you, kind of on the outside of the airline industry, what do you feel when you hear and talk about these things? Well, as some someone outside and someone who travels a lot, I certainly wouldn't want I'm I'm not and I'm also not naive.
I know that within four or five years, AI will be taking over a lot of systems for a lot of things that we do. So I'm not naive and I'm not pollyannish about it. However, what I don't like is the fact that just because, like, the scenario you gave, just because I happen to Google a Mercedes, you know, show me what the interior of the new Mercedes looks like. I don't want Delta to be like twisting their mustache waiting to tie me to a train track, you know, and, like, oh, well, this rich guy can I'm gonna charge him more than, you know, Gloria who Googled the Toyota Corolla. You know, I because I just I think that's, I I that would really anger me.
That would be something that would kinda test my loyalty is finding that out, because it's not arbitrary, but still, oof, you're making a lot of assumptions based on my web searches, which there's a I mean, there you can make a lot of assumptions about my web searches. But yeah. I mean, there's there's the version that you laid out where Delta or whichever airline because, again, this is bigger than just Delta. This is an industry wide push, and there's not one airline that's gonna do this while the rest of them sit back and say, let's see how this goes. They're gonna all do this together if and when that happens.
There's that version of wealthy people or people who have signs of wealth, like, whatever their web searches or their previous purchases with the airline are, where they use that. The vision that, you know, congressman Casar laid out was charging somebody a higher fare because they search for a funeral. And, therefore, the airline knows or believes that this person needs to be somewhere and, therefore, needs to travel more, which, again, every single airline in the country will tell you right now. Believe them or not, that's not what we're going to do. But currently, there are, so far as I know, no limits on what kind of data airlines could use in order to personalize pricing.
So does it stop at, you know, at the airline headquarters? Can they only do this based upon your previous purchase history so they that they know because you have previously paid $229 one way to fly from Minneapolis to Miami? They can probably charge you then higher than a $149. That in itself is pretty troubling. But if you start to fold in external factors, like your recent purchases and what that says about your economic status and therefore how much you're willing to pay, that's where I think things Or taking advantage of something like, oh, I have to go to aunt Betsy's funeral.
Right. That's awful. And so while Delta so, again, so far as we know, isn't doing this already nor is any other airline at any semblance of scale, we need to be having these conversations right now. And, you know, while I am not super bullish about the odds of this bill making much headway in a Republican controlled congress because two Democrats introduced it, and there's no Republican cosponsors on board that I've seen so far. We need to have more of these conversations.
And I think if nothing else, you know, Delta's comments earlier this month probably just served as a trial balloon to see just how far the American traveling public would be willing to accept this. And so far, the answer seems like not at all. And Not at all. And I think, you know, like you said, Kyle, and you said last week in last week's episode, it is time to start the conversation. I'm glad these two lawmakers are stepping forward.
I've gotta imagine this is a pretty popular issue, probably a bipartisan issue. I gotta imagine there's gonna be a lot more support for this, especially given how people have reacted to this Delta news in the general public over the last few days and weeks. So lots, lots to look forward to there. Unfortunately, we'll be talking about it every step of the way. We will definitely be covering this story.
But we're gonna focus on a little happier note and talk a little bit more about Jason's life and travel and, talk about some Disney and some cruises and whatever else. Hawaii. Hawaii. Whatever else we get to, on the other end of this break. We've said it before, but I need to say it again.
If you want flight deals, you need Thrifty Traveler Premium. $24.07, 3 65, our team is sending out the cheapest flights and the hardest to book business class deals that you can book with your points. So the deals have been especially good lately. And Jason, you're a premium subscriber and you can attest to this. Do you have a favorite, deal from the past little bit that, you think showcases those serve as well?
Yeah. My best friend, Lisa, who I have to credit her, and if I don't, she'll kill me about you guys. She, had a round trip to Paris for, like, $200, because you guys in the middle of the night, they really do are they're in the middle of the night doing these deals. Trust me. Because Lisa got one of these deals in the middle of the night.
200 around $200. So, yeah, it's so worth it. Beyond worth it. Sign up today. I mean, we can't promise you another $200 flight deal in Paris in the middle of the night, but if you want other great flight deals, sign up today at thriftytraveler.com/premium.
As a special treat, our podcast listeners can use the promo code t pod for $20 off your first year of deal alerts. That's thriftytraveler.com/premium. Use the promo code t pod, five letters, all one word, for $20 off your first year. Back to the show. Alright.
Welcome back. Let's get into the extra mile topic, which this week is Jason. Hi. In all thing Jason all things Jason's travels, okay. Let's start from the beginning.
When did you start traveling or when did you fall in love with traveling? Great question. I recently thought about this. I didn't really start, you know, like so many of us. I didn't have a lot of disposable income in my twenties.
I was really focused on my career. And I and I didn't realize I didn't realize what I didn't do until about a year ago. I'm like, oh, I really didn't travel much in my twenties when, you know, after college, a lot of people do that. They take time off. I didn't.
I went right into doing my career. So, it happened to me in my mid thirties. I had a little bit of disposable income and that all went to travel. So, that's what I decided to do with my money was to have adventures and have experiences. So, yeah, it started at mid thirties.
That's awesome. Were there any kind of destinations in the mid thirties that you hit that kind of started at this and fueled it for you? Yeah. Absolutely. Vancouver of all places.
I went there for work, but I extended it. I was there for the Fantastic Four, the one with Jessica Alba. And I fell in love with that city, so I extended my trip. And when people ask me now, like favorite cities, Vancouver is always oddly in my list of, like, top 20, places to go. But, yeah, it was I have to give it to the good Vancouverans.
Yeah, you did it. Vancouver is my favorite city in the world. Really? I love Vancouver. Yeah.
I honestly didn't know that. I did. I mean, I've been several times. I love it there. I I just booked and had to dump another trip to Vancouver this fall.
We were trying to, to take my new daughter there just to show her my favorite city. She's an infant. She will never remember it. Fuck. I need to show her.
It wasn't about Emory. It was about you. Right. This is my excuse. But I love Vancouver.
Just, like, just set in the mountains right on the water. Gorgeous. Yeah. Just a beautiful, incredibly diverse city, and the drives up the coast and up to Whistler and the Sea To Sky Highway. Everything.
Yep. Everything about it. I love Canada. I love Vancouver, especially. I do love that you had to specify which fantastic four press tour you were talking about.
Oh, there's been four. I know. I mean, it's been, like, four different versions of the darn thing. Yeah. Okay.
Vancouver started it out for you. What I guess, what's left on your list that where you haven't been yet? I want to yeah. Vancouver started it. Hawaii energized it, and I know we'll get into that.
That really energized it. And, on my list, I wanna do Ireland, and I eventually would love to do Australia, but I'm backing off on the Australia, just because of the critters. The the wildlife they have there scares the hell out of me. I mean, just the fact they have spiders the size of fourth graders. I am I'm honestly backing off of of Australia.
And I really am serious about that. It freaks me out. But, yeah, I'm not a spider guy. But, no, Ireland is, on that list. That would be the next place I would like to go.
And then I know we will also get into Disney a little bit. It will be a life goal. I wanna visit all of the international parks of, of the Disney universe. So That's really cool. Let's let's do let's talk about Hawaii.
Okay. So what about it? Where did you first go to Hawaii? And then, just tell us about kinda where you've been since. Yeah.
Honeymoon. So that was the '20, '14, and, that was on a we did Oahu and Maui, and that was the most touristy Hawaii trip we've done. Maybe the next one too. But Wahoo, I know I know what people are thinking because I have people in my life that go, oh, really out of all the islands of Wahoo? Where they Waikiki?
I go, I know. I know. I know. You have a lot of British friends? I do.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I do. I have two.
But, I go I know it is, you know, Waikiki is very it's Vegas, Hawaii, I call it. But I love Oahu because it really is one stop shopping to me for people. You know, that island has every mood you could possibly want. You can go to the North Shore and get that vibe. You can go to where the Disney Resort is in the 4 Seasons, which, Colina, which is a different vibe.
You can go down to the city and get that vibe. You can go in the more residential areas. I just think dollar for dollar, Oahu and I've been to all of them now, oddly except for the Big Island, which we're getting ready to go to. Dollar for dollar, it's still my favorite. I know it's cheesy, but you can literally do anything there to me.
Yeah. There are things that I don't like about Oahu, but there is not another, I mean, one of the Hawaiian Islands to my knowledge that you can go to and find a genuine dive bar. And you can you can you can walk. I'm not a joke. Absolutely right.
Not even five minutes from Waikiki Beach. You can find dive bars with, like, $4 beers and $6 cocktails. Yeah. And so if you want the beauty of Hawaii, but also being able to do it on a budget, that's not a bad place to start. No.
So what was it other than, you know, Oahu and kind of seeing all of the different facets of what you can do and what an island can be? What was it that made Hawaii? Like, at this point, I would say, like, a lifelong love of travel. Oh, yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. You know, this sounds so cheesy, but it's true. It really is the people. And I know maybe you feel that I now have genuine friends there. And I just, the people and the culture there, they were so welcoming that I've I found and this is when I knew I'm like, oh, god.
They got me. Is when I started feeling very protective, and I started feeling even more of a need to be respectful of the island. I found myself yelling at a woman on the beach because she was littering. And I thought, okay, Jason, you need to calm down. You're making a fool of yourself.
This woman you're yelling at this woman because she's littering, but I was really upset. And I and I was like, what is that? I just I find everything about it to be very magical and special. And and I feel that look, I've I've felt that in Maui. I've felt that in Kauai even though that's sleepy girl.
That's you. That's Kauai is very sleepy. But it's there's something special about those people and the fact that they have to deal with so many tourists and they and I mean this. The fact that they have to deal with so many tourists who don't respect their home and they still manage to greet you and put a, you know, smile, that's amazing, man. That's that's something that's something special.
So Yeah. Like, true high end hospitality. And we've we've all seen headlines of, you know, overtourism in Hawaii over the last few years, and, you know, you gotta feel for those people. And you're right. Like, it's just a true next level of hospitality.
And people are getting worse. I don't wanna go on too much about this, but whether it's whether it's, hospitality people in Hawaii or my friends at Disney, at my cast member friends at Disney, It is not, an isolated incident. I have heard from everybody, and I have somebody in each facet of these things. People are getting worse. It is really a problem.
The tourists are getting meaner. They're getting more demanding. They're getting, they're just and I have seen it take a toll on my friends who work in bartending or they work in, service. I've seen it. It's it makes me it makes me sad.
It really does. Yeah. I want you know, it's probably an entire podcast topic just to talk about the kind of deterioration of Yeah. Travel ethics. How to stop being a bad traveler and a bad person?
So that's a podcast episode. We need to file that away. Yeah. If we could take note of that one. But, yeah, I think it's, you know, obviously, we all try to do our best, but I think it's clear out there that there has something has changed.
Whether it's maybe things are more expensive, so people feel like they're entitled to a little bit more when they go to places, but, like, especially places that are sacred, like Hawaii. Yes. Yes. It's hard to, fathom why you would possibly act like that in a place like that. The last time I was in Hawaii, which was a couple years ago now, you and Colin had recently been.
Mhmm. And I just remembered you saying something about go to the Royal Hawaiian, go to Mai Tai bar, and ask for Susan at the Mai Tai bar That's right, Kyle. And tell him tell her I sent you. Yes. Why did you tell me to do that?
What is it about Susan that's so special out of all of the people that you know? Well, because I like you, Kyle. I always try to be nice to you. Why would I they offer that tip to you. Susan is and I don't wanna go too long on this because we could do an entire episode on her.
With Susan. This is an episode. The Susan is the first woman allowed to be a bartender at that bar. She was hired, like, in 1978 and the first woman to be allowed to be a bartender. And that is a legendary spot in Waikiki, Bruno Mars saying at that bar.
You name it, the many singers have performed there and it's just the spot. And Susan is like the grandmother, of that bar and she knows service. Like, she is the one that when we come in on a when we land and we get to the hotel, I can't change quick enough. And I get down to the Mai Tai bar, and she just outstretches her hands and cries and runs around and gives me a hug. And, it's just, yeah, I and she treats everybody.
She'll save you a seat. Like, if you go to the beach for a little while, she'll put a little reserve sign on your chair to reserve. It's just a level of service you don't see a lot anymore. So you hear this all the time on the Internet now and in social media in particular. Like, go to this place, tell this person I sent you.
And no offense to you, but, you know, you can you can drop these things and be like, oh, okay. What can I get you? So you kind of half expect that. Right? Absolutely.
So we go to the Mai Tai bar. We find Susan, and we say, Jason Matheson from Minnesota told us to come and say hi to you. Really nice and kind of went about or got some drinks in, and then, like, ten minutes later, she comes back with a basket of fries that we did not ask for. We're like, you have to try these. These are delectable.
But the best the best story is probably ten, fifteen minutes later, we're sitting there, and this woman comes up. And I don't know if this is podcast appropriate, but she was just doing some good old fashioned prostituting. Mhmm. And it was just, like, surreal where everybody else around the bar is like, what do we what do we do? And then, eventually, she it was clear that she had no clientele around the Mai Tai bar.
And Susan just looks at us, and she goes, you read my mind. Yeah. Susan won't be I'm so glad. Susan won't be overly, not gracious. She won't be over she won't be effusive, but she'll do stuff like that to let you know that you I'm so glad you said that, that you are special.
It'll be here's some fries or she won't over make a drink like a frozen drink and she'll slide you the extras. If you sit there, you're absolutely right because she's she doesn't have to be, oh my god. She's not that kind of personality. It'll be the subtle, oh, subtle service. Subtle pieces of service.
Yeah. Yeah. It was great. It's always nice to feel like you're actually being taken care of. But they're all like that there.
Every guy, Cooey at night is great. Hi, Cooey. Cooey, thanks for watching. Alright. So we're talking about good service, great hospitality.
You are, not shy about your Delta loyalty. Has Delta given you good service in return for your loyalty to them? We'll be right back. Thrifty traveler will continue after these messages. We've we've established the people in Atlanta are not watching nor listening.
So Look, I have had my tussles with Delta over the years. I will tell you though, knock on wood, I've had lately a pretty good run with them. Look. Have I been frustrated? I think my number one frustration with them, they've they've provided me good service.
But I think my number one frustration is the perks, kind of like our conversation about, what we would streamline at airports. If you're gonna give us a perk, don't make it so hard to use said perk. I think that goes a lot because that's where my irritation level and again, it's not just with Delta. If you're gonna give me a companion certificate with my $4,000 annual fee credit card, my goodness, don't make the companion certificate only valid to Hooterville at 4PM on a Wednesday. That is my eternal beef is because then I just feel like you don't really value me.
That's just my thing with them. But in fairness, they've been they we're we're good. We're we're we're haven't broken up lately. Yeah. But you said, which I think a lot of people felt in the fall it started really loudly in the 2023 when Delta announced all of the changes to its medallion status program, some of which they rolled back, many of which they didn't.
So I'm just I dressed up as a credit card for Halloween that said no value. We still have that credit card in the office, by the way. Have you have you changed how you spend and reward Delta with your loyalty at all since then, or is Delta just the only game in town and they know they can get away with these things? No. I have changed a little bit, you know, Hawaii, for instance.
Admittedly, we'll go United. We depending on the aircraft, United's, first class, the cabins, you know, Delta only flies older planes to Hawaii, which really Delta. Yeah. I don't understand that. No.
It's not, you know and if we can get a good deal because we have another credit card that we can transfer to United points because of you guys. I learned that from you guys. No. My loyalty is to Delta. I wanna get the points.
I want the status, but I'm not. I'll cheat on them. I'm a philanderer. I'm a delta philanderer mainly with United. Yeah.
If I can get a good flight to Hawaii, sorry. I did it last, this last Christmas trip. Yeah. Probably. It's not often that we would encourage people to be philanderers Yeah.
On podcasts or on our website, but, you know, people We've already talked about prostitute. What did you call it? I got Good old fashioned prostituting? Yeah. Yeah.
I dropped I dropped the g. So it had a little bit of Was that the first thing that term that's been used on the Thrifty Traveler podcast? That was. It's probably the last, I hope. But all joking aside, I'm loyal.
It's changed me a little bit. I wish I was, oh, I wish I was as mad as I was that day, where I'm like, I'm never flying them again. Oh, I want that status. Yeah. You know what?
You're you're not alone. And so we try to remind ourselves every time something like this happens, whether it's Delta with its medallion status program changes or a credit card raising the annual fee or most recently with Southwest and everything that they've done to basically blow up their entire business model. We do things like surveys, and we ask people, are you actually changing your habits? Are you spending on a different credit card? Are you booking a different airline?
And we just have to tell ourselves that there are a majority, if not a vast majority of people will say yes, but when push comes to shove, they're not gonna do anything differently. And I think in large part because you may not really have a realistic alternative. And, you know, in the case of Delta, for as much as we the three of us and others out there might gripe about them, they're the number one airline in The United States for a reason. That doesn't happen by accident. Right?
Yeah. My complaints are far lower than what I love about them, and, and I still feel we may get into it later in a future episode. I still feel I get a pretty good value. I can still cut a deal with them as far as points. Mhmm.
Me, I hoard points like a little raccoon. I still feel like I can get a good deal every so often. So that keeps me halfway in the game too. Yeah. I think I feel exactly the same way where and, also, like you mentioned, you know, if I if I broke up with Delta, Delta would never feel that.
They're winning that breakup every single time, and then I can't fly the airline that flies 60% of the flights out of my home airport. So we all are kinda tied. We have to fly Delta in some regards. And I do think that I still, like you said, do pretty well, with my points and miles redemptions on Delta, especially when you can leverage their partners and then take advantage of some SkyMiles flash sales. But, yeah, you definitely you have to be a bit of a free agent to make things work, and it's, good to hear that you that you had some good experiences in United Polaris too.
So you're gonna say it's good to hear you were a philanderer. Oh, no. You're not. Yeah. Polaris.
Oh, that's why I couldn't think of yeah. Polaris. Beautiful cabins, man. I mean Yeah. It's great.
Delta, please. Will you get a new I was gonna say ship. Will you get a new thing, a new plane for Hawaii? Thank you. That's all I ask.
Thank you. Well, you mentioned ships. I have a question. Do you do you love or hate cruises? It's funny.
You can't tell by my social because all I do is complain. No. I have learned to love cruising, and I wasn't sure I was going to. I like kids on a case by case basis, and there are a lot of them on these on these vessels. And I just wasn't sure I did royal first and then I moved to celebrity and then I did Disney and I love it I have to say now to answer I do love it.
Not all aspects of it. Not all brands, but I do love it. So what are pit pitch me on it because I've I've never been on, like, a real cruise. Pitch me on pitch me on why you like it and, you know, what's what's the case for cruises? Let me let me specifically, I'll take the two brands that I love the most, and I'll make this brief.
Let me take Celebrity first. Yeah. I think Celebrity, now you're different because you have a new what do they call child children. You have a new child. I will say if you're like me and you have no children, celebrity is the way to go.
I think the vessels are beautiful, they are geared toward adults, they are geared probably toward people that are afraid of cruising and think, oh, it's just a sea of people and no one washes their hands and it's gross. These ships are beautiful with art and you can tell they're made for adults with lounge spaces all over. Great restaurants, both included in the price and great extra dining. Quality food, not, you know, and I'm picky. I'm I'm not a foodie, but I'm lucky enough to have people in my life that are foodies.
The food is tremendous. The way they treat you at the ports, it's tremendous. I remember really quick, we docked at, Grand Cayman. This was a couple years ago, and it was hotter than it was just yeah. And we were coming back and we saw two lines.
And I won't say which one, but the other line, it was serpentine, like, 4,000 times. And Colin looks at me and he goes, oh, God, we have to because you have to take a tender. They can't dock at Grand Haven to take a tender. So this was the line for the tender and Colin goes, look at that line and get on the ship. And the woman that was with us or one of the people walking with us goes, oh, no, honey, that's not our line.
That's the cruise ship. I won't say which one. It was another cruise ship. She was, that's our line. And we walk up.
I am not joking. They had covered waiting areas. They had wet towels to give us and fruit kebabs. And I thought, okay, these people know celebrity knows how to do it because that's all that right there. That's the stuff I care about is that extra that's not what I expected.
And the ports are great for a celebrity. Let me talk Disney. And I would never let me say this too. Let me slip this in there. If you are watching and you have a family, I'm being serious.
Not that I don't want you on the vessel with me, but I just would never bring a kid on a celebrity cruise and it baffles me when parents do because there are no slides, there are no things for these kids to do. Disney shocked me the most. I think maybe I don't know if you and I talked about this, but Disney shocked me. As much as I love Disney in the Disney parks, it took me look at this. It took me ten years before I did a Disney cruise.
I am not joking you two. The further I am away from the Disney cruise, the more I'm blown away. And Colin who's even pickier, it's probably his favorite cruise because Disney the service, the ships are gorgeous, and they don't mess around with the adult only areas. They enforce that. So, the grown ups actually have a wonderful time.
And there's so much for kids to do. If you don't wanna see a child, you don't have to see a kid. For all of that, I people told me and I didn't believe them, Disney Cruise Line blew me away. And I was ready. I love it.
I was ready to go on the shows and say, oh, okay. This was too much. Like, this the kids were feral. They were running around. They'd go, blew me away.
Blew me away. That's awesome. That's great to hear. Yeah. Like Gunnar, I'm a bit of a cruise skeptic.
I would say I'm pretty averse to it. So a lot of you a lot of what you described, I would say, and tell me tell me how I'm wrong here. A lot of what you described with great service and attention to detail and, you know, making sure that people have the places that they can go. You can get that at a hotel or a resort. So what is it about being on the ship in particular that clicked for you?
It is the convenience of you're you're done. I hate the question, every night. Like, I'm I'm surprised I don't have it yet. What are we doing for dinner tonight? It's a really good Colin impression.
Thank you. Yeah. You that's such a good question. You are done. The minute you board that ship, everything is kinda done for you.
You don't yes. And you can get all this in a hotel, but everything is right there. If you wanna sleep at if you wanna go to a seafood restaurant, you go to the Fifth Floor. You don't have to whip out a credit card. Everything's paid for.
You can get everything. There's a convenience factor to it that relaxes like subconsciously relaxes you. And, I found that to be freeing. And I just like and I like the experience of the sea. Like, I know that sounds goofy, but it's it's it's beautiful.
Like, my favorite things on it were an evening walk. You know, they have, celebrity has a beautiful track around. No water slide. In lieu of a water slide, they have, like, a jogging track. Every night, Colin and I would walk around the ship and the breeze.
And I know it sounds goofy, but there is just something, kind of beautiful about that. And I found it relaxed me in a way that, you know, if I'm in Key West or I've been Disney or if I'm in Hawaii, I I'm still kind of on. I still have to make a lot of decisions. They're all made for me on the ship. Yeah.
The idea of the single check-in at the beginning is something that kinda relieves some anxiety for me. So in that way, I'm definitely cruise curious because the idea of changing hotels and lodging several times throughout a trip, like, I like to do. I like to pack in lots of different things and places. That part is always the most annoying where it's, you know, you're packing up your life again and moving again. Yeah.
So that part, I'm definitely interested in. It's it's I was both of you. I really was both of you, and it really celebrity changed me. That sounds really dramatic. So they just it just did that brand.
They do a they do a phenomenal job. It whenever I just had this conversation with somebody over the weekend that are very apprehensive, and I said they wanna do it adult. I go do celebrity. Do one of the, new ships. You'll love it.
Alright. Let's talk about, something else with the a cult following that you are definitely an expert on, Disney. Oh. You said, obviously, your Disney cruise experience Yeah. Was amazing, but your love for Disney kinda spans throughout all of their, I don't know, platforms.
Mhmm. I don't know how you'd call it with Disney, but, you also hosted a Disney podcast, the fairy godfather. Two fairy godfather. Yeah. It's coming back, actually.
Coming back? I'm not busy enough. Yeah. Awesome. So what's the what's the first topic on two ferry god the cruising.
Oh, yeah. The cruises. Yeah. Disney because we do the podcast is about, there's because the world does not need another podcast, and it doesn't need especially doesn't need another Disney podcast. But ours is about how to do Disney as adults because we do it very differently.
Like, Colin, I do Disney. People are like, oh, that's how you do it. I'm like, yeah. It's we don't we're not taking pictures with Donald. And I it's just yeah.
It's goofy. It's very, very goofy. Yeah. So what's the key then for, Disney for adults? Disney for adults is, the key is probably Epcot Center.
If you're gonna put something in the middle of it, is Epcot Center, because it is the most adult of all the parks. And if you're it also helps you gotta be a ride person. Colin and I love rides. So we joke that it's, go on ride a cocktail, go on a ride cocktail, and then and then kind of rinse and repeat. With EPCOT, with the World Showcase, their rotation of festivals, you know, basically every time of the year, there's gonna be a festival, whether it's the art festival, their legendary food and wine festival, which is so fantastic where there are additional booths all around Epcot with food from around the world, wines from around the world.
And just, you know, the properties that are there, whether it's the JW, you know, Disney property has now every big brand, every hotel brand has a beautiful property there. And I'm big on hotels. When I was a little kid, I didn't get to stay at big hotels, so I always loved them. So I love to explore properties. And whether it's the JW there or the Waldorf Astoria, or the Four Seasons, Orlando, the Walt Disney World Four Seasons is probably one of the most beautiful properties I've been to, period.
The Swan Reserve is a favorite of mine. It's a Marriott property. Get those bon voyage points. They I just and then Disney Springs, which you don't need a ticket for, and that's kind of a shopping food mecca. We go there every night, you know, at the end of a park day.
It just really has something for everyone and there's an energy to it that I just love, I really do. And I'm in a bit the fundamental thing is I'm a ride person, I love rides and yeah. Aside from the rides, what really does it for you? Is part of it just nostalgia or No. No.
It's I think it Kyle, it's a great question. I think it is the energy. It's the people. And now we also know people there. We're friends with people, but it is the energy.
And you would think given the job that I do that I would want to not be around a lot of people, but because I don't have to talk to them, and I can just be you know, I can just walk around and eat a, you know, Mickey bar or what I'm not eating those. But it there is an energy to it that I that I really love. And it's just, you know, the parks are incredible. I mean, the fact that you can go into EPCOT and, you know, go on Guardians of the Galaxy and then go down to fake France, I call it. And, you know, fake France and fake UK and, you know, get champagne.
And, you know, each of those countries are hosted by representatives from that country, which I think is fantastic. So when you go to France, fake France, the young people they're working are from the host country. So Yeah. I don't know. There's just a there's a lot for me to enjoy.
You mentioned, that you wanna, you know, hit all of the Disney parks around the world. Which ones have you been to so far? Any of the stand? I haven't been into any of them, actually. Not to any.
I haven't been to any of them. What are there any that are kinda highest on your list that you wanna go to next? Yeah. Shanghai. Yeah.
Shanghai just has, a, it took so long for them to build. It was such a, you know, dealing with the government's, dealing with well, it just took a long time to build in the rides they have there are spectacular. Disneyland Paris, because of how beautiful it's considered the most beautiful of all the parks, it really is the the stained glass they want. I mean, it's in Europe. Disney couldn't put up something crappy.
They knew they would be held to a different standard. So that's considered the most beautiful park. So those two are on my list, Top two. Our coworker, Casey, is heading to Shanghai soon, and I believe it's her last one. Yeah.
I'm sure it is. I'd be shocked if it wasn't. But that is really cool. I've I've heard many, many good things about that park in particular too. So would you do you have a plan?
Do you have, any, you know, anything set in stone for how you wanna get this done? Yeah. When I, when one of the shows go goes away, when I stop doing two jobs, then I'm gonna do just a tour. I'm not joking. I literally do that.
I want to be a trip, one fundamental trip where I just do them all, and I don't know if I'll ever be able to do that. No. I will. I'm gonna put it out there. You gotta you gotta commit to it.
Yeah. I'm gonna do it. Yeah. And you gotta stop accepting invitations to come on shows like this. I mean, you know, hey.
Are you kidding me? I was I was excited. So You are, I would say, an unconventional fan of Thrifty Traveler. Mhmm. What sucked you into this world?
I just I do a q and a with the studio audience every day after the talk show, after the Jason show. And I get asked not about you guys, but I get asked about certain guests and stuff. And I said, with Jared, but you guys, you know, because Jared does the show. I like it oh, it connects to Disney. With Disney and getting, like, lightning lane reservations, it's almost like a game of, like, okay.
I got a plan. Okay. I gotta get Tower of Terror at 11:15, and I'm gonna get back on the app, and then I gotta get, you know, the next ride. I wanna schedule it at twelve, and I keep refreshing, refreshing, refreshing. And you'll see where I'm going in a minute.
And I like that aspect of it. It's frustrating, but I like it. With you guys, I now consider it's almost a mental game for me of how can I construct my trip and how many deals okay? I'm gonna use like, you guys taught me. I call it the game.
Thrifty Traveler taught me. Okay. I'm gonna use the Amex gold card for restaurants and, restaurants and grocery shopping because I get four times points. And then I'm gonna use my Amex can transfer to Marriott. So I put all year round, I put all my groceries on that credit card.
Then my Delta, obviously, my Delta, reserve, I put all my travel on there. And any big expense I put on there because I wanna get that status. So it's a game. When we go to plan, I get two big trips a year. I get a summer hiatus from the shows and I get three weeks off in in, the holidays.
The quick example that you guys did for me, and this is what I tell the audience. This is why I brought up the audience. I'm a little off on the numbers, but I'm I'm in the ballpark. Last year was my fiftieth birthday, and we did two weeks in Hawaii. And we went to, we went to Maui to the Ritz Carlton for a couple days just because we wanted to see the property.
And then we did the rest of it at the Royal Hawaiian, and Colin and I flew Delta one there and back. I only spent $2,300 on that whole trip. Yeah. That's good. $2,300 on all everything I just said.
So that's I think that's the part that piques people's interest. Mhmm. But you need something to kinda hook you into this world and say, like, hey. This is worth spending, in some cases, obscene amounts of time on because the reward is worth it. Oh, yeah.
But you need more than the reward, and I'm so glad that you said that you start to see it as a fun game because it is a puzzle trying to fit these pieces together. And I think absent the reward of getting this amazing trip for literally pennies on the dollar, the fun part of the game is when you start to see this and be like, this is fun for me, and it's not for everybody. Right? It's certainly for the three of us in this room and, you know, hundreds, thousands of people out there. But for a lot of people, it's just endlessly frustrating, and they want somebody else to deal with it or don't wanna do it at all.
But you need that viewing the travel planning and booking process as the beginning of the trip Mhmm. Makes the entire thing even more rewarding regardless of how much money you save. Yeah. Our living room kinda looks like this when we're the night that we're doing it. I have my iPad.
Colin has his, MacBook. I have my phone, and he's looking up his points on that one. I'm looking up my points on this one. And then he's he has an encyclopedic mind, so he handles, like, all credit due to him. He is going, okay, Jace.
He okay. How many go back. How many delta points do you have? And I'll be like, okay. I have or not.
But how many mile miles? I'll be like, okay. I have I think, like, honestly, right now, I think I have, like, 253,000. So he'll say, okay. Okay.
I want you to book. I just saw it. You can get a one way Delta one to Hawaii. So I need you to book that. Okay.
Then I booked that. And then he goes, okay. How many and it takes a night, but it is it is a puzzle. And I love that he handles it, but it is fun, like, just watching him piece it together. Yeah.
It's kind of a type two fun. You know? It's it's It's yeah. When people are some people are like that, it's yeah. I know.
Believe me. I hear you. It's not fun for everybody. No. But it is, like, it is it's really rewarding.
And, yeah, I think just the puzzle part of it, and the fact that, you know, we're all good Midwesterners. We love to brag about a bargain, and it's you know, it helps to be able to at a dinner party when someone says, you know, how'd you just get to Africa and back? And then I get to tell them how little I paid for it. That's even better. Because that trip I described, you know, the Royal Hawaiian, like, if I pull it up right now, I mean, you know, a Royal Hawaiian night per night, it can go, like, $600 easily.
And I, you know, got all but one night paid for by my Amex points. Right. Transferred that bad boy, those points over. I got most of my trip free because I put everything in one card that you guys taught me. Yeah.
There's the there's two really important parts of this journey. There's the entry point of being like, I'll give this a shot. But then I feel like the hardest part is the, oh, no. Like, I this is just something that I do now. This is an important part of my life, and, you know, we talk all the time on the show together and when whenever we have a guest on of what the moment was when you realize that this is worth it, and this is worth spending more of your time on.
So what was your moment? The first trip, seeing it was a few trips ago, and it was another Hawaii because it's so expensive. It was the moment came actually because we didn't play the game well for that particular trip. Hold that. I just remember this.
It happened on a in the planning of a trip, but we went, oh god. If we only had I think it was Amex points. He goes, okay. We gotta start putting more on the Amex point on that Amex January through August or whatever. And then that next year, I was prepared.
And let me tell you, I I followed through with the strategy. It was that gold card. I oh, I got the AmEx gold, and I just put all groceries and restaurants because you get four times points. And I watched the points rack up. Like, oh, I just went to Whole Foods and, oh, my, I got a thousand.
You know what I mean? I don't go to Whole Foods, but I'm just saying, yeah, that's when the moment because I messed up. The moment came through a mess up and then I did better. We have stories like that too. That's, I mean, failure is the greatest teacher, and that's not to say that you failed because it's it's the lowest stakes failure of all time.
Yeah. I just had to pay. But yeah. Right. Mhmm.
But you have to be willing to mess up a little bit and then learn from your mistake and then do better the next time. That's that's maybe the biggest piece of this game as you call it. Yeah. And, also, like, what airports should you know, like, for some place like Hawaii, if we're gonna have a layover, I've learned, like, what a good layover city and what's not a good layover city and what you know, I it's, yeah, it's it's been it's been fun for me. Yeah.
That's great advice. Get in the game so you can start to play it, but you have to you have to learn by doing when you're doing all of this. Can we help a listener? Let's help a listener. Let's help a listener.
Today, we have a really interesting question from listener Alex Calderon. I'm paraphrasing here, but Alex has some issues with booking Delta flights with partner airlines. Specifically, an airline made a big schedule change that left him feeling, like, really stuck in an itinerary that would have been too expensive to change. Plus, Alex noted what we discussed about premium travel credit cards a few weeks ago, namely that they're getting more expensive and kinda less friendly to the average consumer with the, you know, kinda coupon book style of credit card. That said, here's his question.
Is there a case for the average traveler to instead forego the flexible ecosystem and put their eggs into the local airlines basket? He is talking specifically about Delta like we have. And he said it makes him sick to think about having to commit to the SkyMiles program. But he admits that with a three year old, he's a little less flexible than he used to be and that just taking the easy route might be the play. Kyle, what do you think about what Alex is saying here?
Kinda goes against some of what we say. Right? It does, but it I think it all comes back to the point that the bigger point that we've tried to make is that there's no one size fits all answer. What's right for you and I is gonna be different than what's right for Jason, and it's certainly gonna be different than what's right for Alex with a three year old and what he wants to do with his travel. I would say you shouldn't look at it as a black and white.
You gotta find somewhere on the spectrum of, alright. I've been really leaning towards flexible cars, and I feel like I've been getting burned. And, you know, SkyMiles, the rates are a lot higher when I'm going to redeem them. It's easy, and it works well. And when things go wrong, it's much easier to unwind.
So I would just I would step back a little bit and think, okay. How can I do both in a way that's gonna suit me best? And, Jason, honestly, your story is about using Delta the way that you do, I think, makes this point pretty perf perfectly. Yeah. I would agree with you.
I I to me, for him, I don't know. I maybe would put if he wants ease, if you don't wanna play the game and what the previous segment of that made your eyes roll in the back of your head, then I would do this is just me. I would do all eggs in one basket. I mean, it just makes it easy. You don't have to do math.
You know, you it's just all right there. That's what I would do, my friend. Yeah. Yeah. I it's a really interesting question because, obviously, the the cheapest way, to get around some of those crazy sky miles rates is to, you know, is to not retreat, to stay with these other programs and try and book Delta in other ways.
But, yeah, if you're looking for just the simplest way possible, it's just earn your sky miles, burn your sky miles, and then you don't have to think about it at all. But you do have to live with the fact that you might not be getting the best deal all the time. Yeah. And, I mean, at the end of the day, there really is no wrong answer. We could sit here and judge somebody for saying, oh, I'm just only earning SkyMiles, and that defeats the purpose.
That doesn't help anyone. You know, if you tell somebody who is, you know, has 200,000 SkyMiles and is planning a trip, oh, well, you're doing it wrong. It's like, that doesn't help that person. You know? You just gotta say, oh, okay.
Well, here's the here's what you should think about for the next trip. That's the best thing that you can do. And maybe it's not just, you know, think a little, broader, my friend, especially if you stay at a hotel on your trips, if it's not a business. Maybe put all of your eggs in one basket, for flight, but then stick another flag down on a hotel company. And then that's what I did.
I basically just use I, I do my AmEx and I do my Delta card, and I stuck my flag in Marriott Bonvoy. Now you kinda have the same problem with Marriott as you do with Delta that you know, compared to, like, say, Hyatt. You don't get as much out of it, but they have more properties. Again, we could debate this all day long, but maybe get two cards and that you know, one for to help with your flight. And then if you require hotel, do another one that transfers easily to a hotel property or a hotel family that you like.
Yeah. That's all great advice. I hope we were able to help you out a little bit, Alex. If you want us to answer your question, email us at podcast@thriftytraveler.com, and your question might be featured in next week's show. Alright.
We're almost done here. I'm gonna put you two on the spot with the question. Okay? This is a bit of a retread, actually. Kyle hit me with this one, and I just loved it so much.
And I need to I need to send it right back to you guys. What is your bougiest travel habit or take? What's something that you do during your travels that would make you seem out of touch? Mine, for people who didn't listen to the show a few weeks ago, is that especially when I land in a very foreign place that's very far away, I like to have someone with my name on a card waiting for me, a driver with my name on a card at the airport. That's my bougiest travel take.
What are, two of your ideas? You go first. See, I I refuse to answer this when you punted it back to me last time because I did You didn't answer it last time? I didn't have any hey. It was my turn to put them on the side.
We follow the rules under the show. I don't know that this is You don't seem like a bougie guy. I'm I'm not, and so that makes this a little bit hard to answer. I mean, my wife and I have kind of an unspoken rule that no matter what kind of trip we go on, we always have one big splurge, and we just kinda build the trip around that. So we are not the type of people to go out and spend $5,600 on a dinner, though, you know, we've traveled to some places where you very easily can do that.
But as we started planning the last trip that we went on to go to Istanbul and Cape Town and go out on safari, we knew that we wanted to, eat at this special restaurant whose name is escaping me right now in my La Colom. That's what it is. My my friend Mallory would have killed me had it have I not remembered this. We knew that we wanted to go there, that was going to be a signature piece of this trip, and it was like, alright. That's our splurge.
We're gonna we're gonna spend good money on this because it's a special experience, and that's our splurge. And everything else, we, you know, make sure we're watching our budget and using points however we can, but that was our splurge. So we there's always one of those on every trip that we take together. That's a good one. Jason?
The broad one is, delta one to Hawaii. Like, that's so I'm 50. I don't and I'm six two, so I'm not gonna do comfort too. And I hate I'm I'm like, I don't like I joke about it, but I don't like to, seem that way because, again, I didn't have disposable income until I was almost 40. But I do like my Delta one.
It's a Hawaii. My bougie this is the bougie est and it's under the Disney category is I will occasionally do a VIP tour at Disney because, I won't I don't like to wait in line and at Disney, so I will pay. I will budget in a VIP tour, where you don't wait. That's real booj. Like, that's just booj.
And I took the show staff a couple months ago, and they were like, wow. You get to walk past all these people. And I said, you sure do. And just enjoy it and have fun and don't expect this ever again. Yeah.
You won't get this. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But that's on Disney.
Yeah. Oh, that's awesome. Well, thank you guys for sharing. And, Jason, thank you so much for coming on the show. This was really fun.
We had a great time. Thank you all for listening to the Thrifty Traveler podcast. If you could rate us five stars on your platform of choice, we would really appreciate it. Like and subscribe to the show on YouTube where you can watch us every week and send this episode to somebody you know who needs a vacation or needs to get to know Jason a little better. If you have feedback for us, send me a note, podcast at thrifty traveler dot com.
We'd love to hear from you there. Kyle, tell us about the Thrifty Traveler podcast team. Yeah. This episode was produced by our cofounder, Nick Serrati, and your favorite host who needs DHS to drop the liquids limit so he can stop overpaying for sunscreen, Gunnar Olson. It was edited by David Strutt.
Our theme music is by Benjamin Tissot. See you guys next time. See you.