My last post was written in the backseat of a VW Passat on the way to the Shanghai Pudong airport. As you likely read, the front tire blew and it needed to be changed. No worries, I always plan for extra time but seriously am considering my next trip (Christmastime) to the airport will be via the subway-maglev-subway option; it might be crowded, I might not get a seat, and it might take 3.5 hours … but man, sitting in a car for that long to get to the airport just really is not ideal!
Tonight, waiting on my first of two connections, I’m back at one of my old haunts: The Amex Centurion Lounge at SFO. This place is absolutely fantastic … unless you’re here during one of the more busy periods of the day and then it’s so crowded there’s even a line to get in. To gain access into this airport oasis you need to have a very specific type of Amex charge card in your possession: The Platinum card or the Centurion card. I can’t talk much about the Centurion card as I will likely never make enough money in my life to afford even the initiation fee. The Platinum card comes with a pretty steep annual feel — $550 per year, if I remember correctly — but you get a lot of perks with it: Access to the Centurion Lounges in airports, Priority Pass lounges in other airports, $200 to use while onboard an airplane, $25 or $35 per month in Uber credits, discounts with online shopping retailers, 2-for-1 business class airline tickets with certain airlines, and even rental car insurance when you rent a vehicle. That last one is really important to me as I’ve not owned a car for *many* years now and, as such, have not paid for car insurance. Yup, I definitely get my money’s worth for that annual fee!
What I like most about the Amex lounges comes to the surface on a night like this. Slowly I’m making my way from Suzhou China to Roanoke Virginia, two places on earth that could literally not be more of a world apart. I’ve got some downtime at the SFO airport and here I am sipping some pretty good chardonnay, am able to get a delicious hot meal for free, and could even hop in the shower if I wanted to. It makes flying 8700+ miles in economy class almost tolerable. But who am I kidding, economy class is just not humane after you’ve had a trip or twelve “up front”.
This trip, as usual, is on United Airlines and I was able to snag a seat on a 787-800 flying the long leg across the Pacific. If I have to fly in economy, this is definitely the plane I like to be in. You don’t feel nearly as terrible upon landing due to the lower air pressurized cabin and the increased humidity. The seats are wider than on the new retrofitted 777-200 and brand new 777-300 — neither of which do my shoulders fit making me hunch forward for the entire trip. There’s power plugs available for your devices and seat-back entertainment. Pretty nice for cattle class 🙂 But you’re still “jammed” packed and, unless you’re able to have an empty seat next to you, it’s difficult to catch some shuteye or just relax.
Now it’s time to head to my connecting flight, let’s hope it’s on time as I’m officially ON MY WAY TO SEE THE HOKIES PLAY!
GOBBLE GOBBLE
I BELIEVE.
Good luck to your Hokies!