One of the questions that I get asked all the time is “How do you get upgraded on a flight?” Well that is not a simple question. There are many factors that go into that equation. Things have changed alot in the last couple of years in regards to the upgrade process due to the use of computers. In the past, grooming and a nice suit and asking nicely may have gotten you an upgrade but those days are long gone. Today, most upgrades are predetermined before you get to the gate and any other left over upgrades are determined by the computer. There are some upgrades that are called “Operational Upgrades” which are last minute decisions to move people due to an oversell situation in economy. But these are elusive and the agent is most likely going to move an elite into that seat. The Wall Street Journal just did an article. I don’t agree with the whole article but it does give you a simple layout for understanding the upgrade process by airline.

You want a first-class upgrade on your next trip—who doesn’t? But airlines have made it more expensive—and more confusing—to snare one.

In recent months, many big carriers have changed their upgrade rules, adding more restrictions and upping fees. More changes have already been announced for next year. So now is a great time to take a close look and compare airlines’ programs.

Continental Airlines Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc. fliers should pay particular attention because Continental is leaving its SkyTeam partnership with Delta this month and joining the Star Alliance with UAL Corp.’s United Airlines and US Airways Group Inc. That means customers of Delta and Northwest will lose some opportunities to earn miles and will see their reward trip options shrink. United and US Airways partisans, however, stand to gain. New York will be a prime battleground since Continental and Delta customers will likely want to choose one or the other, but the changes may lead to frequent-flier program jockeying across the country.

Read the rest of the article here.

If you have read the article you realize there is method to their madness but just because there is a system does not mean it cannot happen. Keep tuned in and I will share with you the art and science to get upgraded and working the system.

If this is your first time reading my Travel Tech Thursday Tip I want to welcome you to this post. I travel over 100,000 miles a year, and along the way I have discovered some really useful tech tips that I believe can help your travel experience. Todays travel technology tip is ExpertFlyer.com .

As a frequent flyer there are two important things for me. First, I want to fly in first class for the price of economy. Second, I want to be able to use my airline miles for free seats, or as they call it, award travel when we go on vacation or see our family on the west coast.

If you have ever tried to upgrade or use your miles, you know that airlines do not make it easy. If you have ever called an airline agent, you know that they are not really motivated to seek upgrades or award seating. That is why when you want to upgrade or get award seats, knowledge is power. When you call the airlines you should already know which flights have upgrade or award seat availability. Expertflyer.com gives you that ability. So when you call you can direct the agents to the flights you are requesting.

Here is an example. My friend Steve was trying to take his family (two adults and two teens) to Italy in the summer season. The summer season is the busiest season for travel to Europe, and it is impossible to get 1 award seat, let alone get 4. His wife Rhonda had called a couple of times and they could not get tickets, so I offered to help them. Through use of Expertflyer I was able to get them 4 tickets in the summer flying to Italy non-stop on the same flight for only 40,000 airmiles per person. The agent I dealt with kept saying, “Wow! This is a miracle! I have never seen award seating be available during the summer, and to get 4 on the same flight is just nearly impossible.”

I do have some other air miles ninja black arts that I use but I think Expertflyer.com is one of the most accurate and simple tools to use. There is $99 a year fee for use, but if you are able to upgrade or even to use your air miles for award seats that is worth it.

If this is your first time reading my Travel Tech Thursday Tip. I want to welcome you to this post every Thursday on Travel Technology tips. I travel over 100,000 miles a year and along the way I have discovered some really useful tech tips that I believe can help your travel experience. Today’s travel tech tip is: The Rolled Towel.

Have you ever heard of Taco Neck Syndrome or TNS? The Urban Dictionary defines Taco Neck Syndrome(TNS):

“A permanent crook in the neck (usually tending to stick at a 45 degree angle to the left or right) due to the over-eating abuse of hard-shell tacos. The unnatural exertions placed on the neck due to the “crunchy taco-eating bend” develop into Taco Neck Syndrome. Reports have shown that cases of taco neck syndrome have been developing more and more frequently with Taco Bell’s new crunch wrap supreme, as well.”

Although, a fictitious ailment, I believe at one time or another all of us have suffered a neck ache or TNS. These are really painful and annoying. I believe that travelers are susceptible to this because of all the different elements that can contribute to our neck ache. We usually blame the “unknown pillow” at a hotel as the culprit for our neck pain. I believe the true culprit is that you have travailed in the war zone called the airport and then boarded a plane to sit for hours in an awkward position. Furthermore, you are tense because the next day you have to do a presentation at 9:00 AM, or as in my case, speak in front of an audience. You get into bed and toss and turn and wrestle with the “unknown pillow” and the result is you wake up with a neck ache.

To avoid this, I use a simple low-tech item available in all hotel rooms: the medium towel. I first close hotel drapes by using my potato chip clips on the drapes. I drink lots of water to rehydrate from the dry air in the airplane, and take a hot shower. Then I roll up a medium size towel and place it underneath my neck so that my shoulders are touching on the bed. This stretches and realigns your neck and when you fall asleep it will make sure that the tension does not make your neck stiff. Wake up in the morning and you should be TNS free.

What do you do to relive neck aches or TNS when traveling? Would love to hear your tips.

I grew up in NYC and when I moved to Portland, OR, to attend school I had a difficult time sleeping. I realized that it was because it was too quiet. I needed the sounds of the city. If you are not from the city it is hard to describe to you the symphony the city makes. It is a combination of chaos that becomes a harmonious sound.

But as I have gotten older, and with 4 kids (2 under the age of 3) I have realized I need quiet. Where I used to find solace in the noise of cnbc, the “you’ve got mail” sound of my inbox, the hum of my night stand as my blackberry vibrates, the sound of ringing iphone, the sound of my mac opening up to the first chord of Sinead O’Connor’s song, “Nothing Compare 2 You”, the cacophony of multiple phones in our house, crying infants, moody teenagers and meowing cats. I am now looking for quiet.

Albert Einstein once wrote,

“The monotony and solitude of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind.”

Last week I reviewed the Bose Quiet Comfort 2. As I said, they are a great pair of headphones, but I no longer travel with them because they are just too big. One of Chico’s laws of flying is, “Thou shall never check a bag.” These take up too much space in my carry-on.

I currently travel with the tiny Shure EC2, which do a great job of sound isolation. This is a different technology than the Bose. The Bose has a processor that cancels ambient sound. With Shures, even without music you are totally isolated from ALL noise. The only noise that you can hear is your own breathing. Professional musicians use them for in-ear monitors onstage. Once you connect them to an iPod, the reproduction of music is unbelievable too. I recommend these for discreet use when you need some quiet time during a car ride or at the airport or at a coffee shop or simply at home.

They come with a great case and a couple of different in-ear inserts that can be used to make it more comfortable. Although I don’t have first hand experience, Shure is known to have great customer service. My friends who have had issues with their Shure earpieces have told me that the company was over the top in taking care of warranty issues.

These are on sale for $69 at Amazon, and in my opinion are as good as the Shure 5 series which retail for over $500.

Sorry about not being able to do my Travel Tech Thursday. Was just too busy yesterday.

After 15 years or so of marriage I still like hanging with my wife. One of the things that attracted me to her other than her hot body was her contagious laughter. I love going to a movie with my wife and hearing her laugh while the popcorn falls all over the floor. Due to having 4 kids and just busyness we don’t get to watch many movies together but we recently went to see Get Smart. My wife laughed her head off. I enjoyed her laughing as much I enjoyed Steve Carell doing Agent 86. I remember watching it as a kid and being fascinated with the cone of silence. One of the reasons was that growing up, our family of 4 lived in a one-bedroom apartment in the middle of a big apartment complex in NYC. The other thing about our apartment building is that it was on the path for La Guardia Airport, so on cloudy days airplanes would fly over my building. It was so loud you could hear the windows rattle. Some days I wished for a cone of silence.

Today I’m reviewing the Bose Quiet Comfort 2 Acoustic Noise Cancelling headphones. Three years ago I purchased these headphones for travel. If you have seen the advertisements, they promise to give you the cone of silence. Honestly, I got them because everyone else in first class had them and I looked like a dork wearing the headphones provided by United. They have these cool cases and look really substantial. I would see the advertisements in the sky mall and United Hemisphere magazine, so when I had a coupon for Crutchfields I got myself a pair. My wife says I’m easily susceptible to marketing for luxury items – must be cause I’m Korean. But I have to say that I love these Bose Headsets. It is not like the silence cone where you don’t hear anything at all, but they reduce ambient noise really well. Usually high-pitched whining noises such as jet engine are not only blocked out but they also reproduce sound incredibly from your ipod/iphone. So with the headphones in noise reduction mode and music playing, it is virtually isolated from outside noise. There are reports that constant annoying ambient noise will cause fatigue. Until I wore these I did not realize this, but after long trips I could tell the difference. I really recommend these if you travel or just want a silence cone where you work or at home. Furthermore, I recommend Bose; I broke them and called Bose and without question they replaced them and even paid shipping. Unfortunately, I don’t use these headphones any more because they were too bulky for traveling. I try to travel as light as possible. I currently use the Shure in-ear headphones that I will be reviewing next week.

“The Department of Homeland Security has issued a warning at the threat level of Martha Stewart Pewter. If you see an unattended bag please report it immediately to authorities….” “Remember, it is three one one. Three ounces of liquid, one bag, one quart, one big stupid hassle. We will begin our boarding process in a few minutes. If you are weak and disabled you will be trampled by the stronger and evolutionary gifted so step aside for them, as I am too lazy and uncaring to go by rows or sections. If you are on this plane- RUN! Run right now and get on the plane!!!” “Uhmmm. Yeah I know that I was going to keep updating you, but I had no clue really why this plane was delayed. So whatever I said in the last 4 hours as you missed your connections to your pre-paid nonrefundable vacations – well I made it all up. The hydraulic manifold extractor that I said we needed is not real. I just made it up. Oh yeah. By the way, the flight has been cancelled. I have to go on my smoke break so no questions. If you need something run right now to customer service in the concourse that is the farthest possible away from here to wait in a line that will be longer than lines at Pinkberry.”

Yeah, travel in the post 9/11 era. Terror threats, bankruptcies, lost pension plans, angry employees, nonexistent customer service except from outsourced employees, dirty planes, etc…It is all so difficult. Add to that the airlines like the Cosa Nostra are plotting to start extorting from you. Check a bag in? $25. Check two bags in? $75. Ask for water? $1. You are overweight? Buy extra seat. Want headphones? $3. Want a stale sandwich? $6. Want to use bathroom? $5. Want a window seat? $10 Want an aisle seat $10. Want to sit on the floor? $5.

As you can see flying is not a fun past time. We do it because we have to – whether for business or for vacation. One of the biggest things that can make a difference in flying is legroom. Just a few inches of legroom makes a big change towards a bearable long flight. Everyone knows there is great legroom in an exit row, but more and more these seats are being reserved for their elite status customers. But on every plane there are other rows that have good seats too- sometimes even better than an exit seat. One invaluable tool is Seatguru. Seatguru is a website that has all of the major airlines and each plane they fly. They list each seat on the plane and give you the pros and cons of each seat. They provide you with details such as, “This seat is a good seat but can be noisy during meal service,” or “This is a good business seat, but flyers have complained about the overhead fan.” Seatguru is a priceless service for any flyer, whether you are a frequent business flyer sitting in first class, or a family with small children trying to sit together on your way to Disney.