Triangle Trip

Don’t be afraid to ask for the services that you’d normally have to earn or pay for at the hotel. Below are the things that you should ask for and would most likely get:

1.  Ask for an upgraded room or simply a better room (like closer to the elevator or away from the ice machine, etc.). There’s no reason why your request wouldn’t be met.

2.  Ask for a discounted or client rate by letting the staff know that you’ll be there for an extended period of time for a client. This works especially well if you are in a group (i.e., traveling with team members)!

3.  Ask the hotel staff to book your future reservations so you don’t have to call or reserve online every week (don’t worry, you have up to the previous day of arrival or 6pm on the date of arrival to cancel for each reservation).

4.  If the hotel charges for Internet, ask for the service to be complementary or get the hotel manager to get your hotel status to a level where it is free (see previous post). You may not get platinum status day one but it will help in the long run.

5. If you do not have hotel status, ask the manager to make it happen. We have gotten entry level silver and gold status at Hilton and SPG (Four Points, Sheraton, etc.) when we were rookies. Hotels still honor loyalty unlike airlines.

The Coach ft. Captain G

One of the most efficient and economical ways to get to LaGuardia Airport (LGA) from below 57th street Manhattan is via MTA’s R, N or Q train. Total cost for a one way trip will be less than US$3.00, which includes a transfer from the train to the bus. If you’re in NYC for a few days, consider reading my article on how to maximize the value of the unlimited MTA Metrocard.

The R, N and Q trains run north-south along Broadway and through the center of Manhattan island to Queens. Once you get to Queens, hop on the M60 bus for about 20 minutes max and you’ll be at a LGA terminal.

Here are the step by step directions to get to LaGuardia Airport LGA from Manhattan.

1a. Get on the Q when you are at an interchange station because the Q runs express vs the N and R.

2. Get off the N or Q train when you’re at Astoria Boulevard – which is 6 stops after you have arrived to Queens (you’ll know when the train moves onto elevated tracks).

3. Exit Astoria Boulevard station and stay on your right hand side. Look for signs that read M60 bus and display an airplane.

5. The M60 bus will be coming off the bridge from Manhattan. Jump on the M60 and it will take you straight to all the LGA terminals.

You can pick up the same bus from LGA if you’re arriving into NYC. However, there are no vending machines in LGA for you to get a Metrocard. You’ll need to have US$2.25 in change, or you’re out of luck. For NYC visitors, you may want to check out my NYC Visitor’s Guide.

For your convenience, here are links on how to get from Manhattan to Newark (How to get to NYC from Newark) and JFK (How to take NYC public transportation to/from JFK).

As frequent travelers, especially to countries that insist on stamping your US passport every time you enter or depart the country, having enough pages in your US passport is really important. The 15 or so pages in your US passport generally won’t last the 10 year period. When you run out of pages in your passport, you can apply for a renewal or simply request to add more pages to save the renewal fee.

The US has a pretty streamlined process for passport renewals but it still takes three to four weeks for the US government to process your request. You can always pay extra for expedited service but who would want to do that?

The recommended approach is to stop by a US consulate when you’re abroad and have them add the pages to your US passport. The process takes no more than 30 minutes at a US consulate abroad – probably faster than clearing airport security. Just walk up to the counter and tell the associate that you wish to add pages to your passport. The associate will process it immediately. Make sure you go during off peak hours to save time.