Travel with Grant at CES Las Vegas (January 9-10) and FTU in Seattle (April 25-27)
Good evening everyone, sorry for missing so many days of blogging, I’ve been very busy with work lately and went to see Anchorman 2 last night and got home late. Now that I finally have a few minutes to blog, here’s whats new.
I will be at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas on Thursday and Friday (January 9-10) – will anyone else be there? It is my first time and I have always wanted to go, so I am really excited.
Secondly, it’s time for another FTU (Frequent Traveler University) aka travel-blogging conference. If you read the big blogs on Boarding Area, Million Mile Secrets, The Points Guy, etc and want to meet the bloggers in person, this is the event for you.
Ticket Options:
Tickets to the event, held Friday-Sunday April 25-27 at the Seattle Airport Marriott are $100 and include alcoholic drinks on Friday night, as well as lunch on Saturday and Sunday. You can purchase tickets here (tickets will sell out quickly since only ~400 tickets will be available).
Hotel Options:
- You can stay at the Marriott hotel for $99 a night (group rate) by purchasing here.
- You can stay at the Hilton Seattle Airport for cash (~$120 per night), for points (30,000 HH points per night), or for points and money (12,000 HH points + $56 per night).
- There is also a Holiday Inn Express, Radisson Hotel, and a Red Lion Hotel nearby. I am staying at the Hilton since I am Hilton Gold and it is literally across the street.
Airfare Options:
- Since Seattle is an Alaska Airlines hub, you can probably find American Airlines award space from your city.
- Depending how far away you live, you may be better off using British Airways Avios instead of American Airlines miles. You will have to call British Airways to book your award ticket though (1-800-528-4800, not open 24 hours).
- Purchase tickets if the price is low enough for you. A round trip from Orange County, CA to Seattle on Alaska Airlines was only $238.
- I suppose you could also drive, but where’s the fun in that?
Current Lineup:
- Lead professor Gary Leff (View from the Wing) is still in charge of the FTU faculty
- Lucky (Ben Schlappig) from One Mile at a Time
- Frequent Miler (Greg) from Frequent Miler
- Pizzaman (Ed Pizzarello) from Pizza in Motion
- The Godfather of Frequent Flyer Miles, Randy Petersen!
- More to come as the event gets closer… No one has asked me to speak yet :(
Preliminary Program:
- Friday April 25th
- 5:30PM Registration is open
- 6:30PM Happy hour sponsored by Marriott and Milepoint
- Saturday April 26th
- 8:00AM Registration opens
- 9:00AM Sessions start
- 12:00PM Lunch
- 1:30PM Afternoon sessions start
- 5:00PM Program ends
- Sunday April 27th
- 9:00AM Sessions start
- 12:00PM Lunch
- 1:30PM Afternoon sessions start
- 5:00PM Program ends
All other details can be found here. Are you coming? If you have any questions, please let me know. Happy holidays!
2 thoughts on the frequent flyer conference: how far in advance do they schedule these frequent flyer conferences usually? From Orange County, it seems like there’s plenty of award space available anyway. However, it seems like the further out in advance they schedule these frequent flyer conferences, the easier it would be for attendees to find award space. Another thought: what other upcoming frequent flyer conferences do you know about?
They just announced the FTU in Seattle a few days ago, so you have 4+ months to book your flights. The only other travel conference similar to FTU is called the Chicago Seminars, which takes place in Chicago in September or October every year.