The Joy of Giving

This morning we had to swing by Javits again to order a few things mom forgot about yesterday. We stopped by the Pendleton booth to say hi to Mandy. We then went to TJ Maxx because I always like to hit those up in big cities. I had a $10 rewards card that was going to expire today for the GAP companies, so we popped into Banana Republic and then the GAP before I found some socks to buy with my “free” money. We concluded our time in NYC with a stop at a new “Cake Box” location located in the theater district. I had heard Buddy in an interview say that if he had to have a last meal for dessert he would have a “Lobster Tail”. He then went on to explain it is basically a pastry filled with cream. When I saw one of those left in the case, I knew that’s what I wanted. Mom ordered a cannoli. The cannoli was good but the lobster tail was amazing. With that we were off to the hotel to pick up our stuff and make our way to JFK.

The cab ride out was uneventful which meant it took 45 minutes or so. Check in was easy enough as was the security line. We then went to the United Club where mom gave the check in lady her ticket from SFO to EUG. This made her think we traveling first class on our PS Service, which gave us access to the First Class lounge, which is like the United Club on steroids. The perks are better for those who drink (there is a large top shelf bar) but mom and still enjoyed the ability to easily find a seat and serve ourselves improved food option and easily accessed cans of diet soda.

Our flight to SFO was nice. United’s PS Service is closer to international travel. The business class seats have leg rests which is really nice on a 6+ hour flight. Upon landing in San Francisco I was on a mission. Our layover was roughly an hour long. I had three system-wide upgrades that were going to expire at 12am. I had tried hard to give them away to friends over the last month or two but no one I knew was traveling on an eligible fare. On our outbound flight I tried to give them to some servicemen in Eugene who were going to Thailand but since they were traveling on a government rate, United wouldn’t let me use them. I checked the departure board in the United Club and noted that a flight was leaving for Sydney in roughly an hour. I really wanted to give away the upgrades because like any option, they would be valueless upon expiration at midnight. If I could give away the upgrades, that would be the equivalent of a $6,000 present per person. I decided to make my way out to gate 102 in the international terminal.

I watched the scene at the gate for a bit and then picked the agent I wanted to approach about helping me. To successfully give these away I was going to need an agent willing to look at the fare payed by passengers and find me three eligible travelers. I approached an agent and explained what I wanted. She looked at me like I was crazy. She then passed me on to another guy who she said would be better suited to help me. I again explained to him that I had some system-wide upgrades that were going to expire and that I just wanted to give them away. I told him I would wander around looking for the cutest guy to give them to but that wouldn’t work because I wouldn’t know if his fare was eligible. Instead I thought it would be better if he just picked three people off his computer that he knew were eligible. He agreed. Took the time to call out three people and called them up. It was really entertaining watching the agents. It spread through the four of them quickly what I was doing. This one older lady in particular kept coming by going, “I can’t believe this. In all my time working here, no one has ever done this!” They all seemed genuinely happy about it. Which was a relief to me because I was worried they would be annoyed about having to put forth an effort to do it.

The three people who ended up getting the upgrades were different. The first guy seemed to be 30ish, 5’ 11” American dude. He was clearly the most excited of the three. I asked him if he had ever traveled business class and he said no. “I always just walk by and look longingly at the seats.” He was actually moving to Australia to marry his Australian fiancee. I was happy to get this next chapter in his life off to a good start.

The next passenger was a tiny Japanese lady. Her English wasn’t perfect, so I’m not certain how quickly it hit her how cool of thing she was getting. She was probably 5’ 1” and 98 pounds. I saw her previous ticket and her seat was 61G. She was literally in the LAST row of the plane. Undoubtedly she was about to embark upon an improved experience.

Finally the third guy was one who greatly appreciate the increased size of the seat. He, like the first guy, was an American. However, he fit the fast food stereotype. He was probably 6’1”, 250 pounds. I was as happy for him about his upgrade as I was about it for the people that would have been sitting next to him in coach. He definitely as he commented “will fit much better in a business class seat”.

I managed to get all three expiring SWUs given away by 9:59pm. I now had to hustle back to the domestic terminal, pick up mom and my stuff in the United Club and get to our gate to board at 10:11pm. I made it out there in ten minutes, so I was going to have to hustle.

Mom and I are now nearly back in Eugene. All in it was a fantastic trip highlighted by good business, great food, great friends, and the enjoyment of giving things away.

My next trip is Brazil in three weeks.

Until then,
Katy