How do you guys fly business/first class?

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I don’t fly coach. If it’s coach I’m not going. I spend enough time putting gen pop to sleep, I don’t want to deal with them on vacation. Work hard, play hard.
If you love it splurge
- I am against first for the kids though… my brother made this mistake with his kids once and now they throw a fit if they have to fly coach.
 
amyl said:
I don’t fly coach. If it’s coach I’m not going. I spend enough time putting gen pop to sleep, I don’t want to deal with them on vacation. Work hard, play hard.
If you love it splurge
- I am against first for the kids though… my brother made this mistake with his kids once and now they throw a fit if they have to fly coach.
Click to expand...
Speaking of kids. These 2 kids in Air France biz class on way back right now (love starlink internet) making too much noise. Flight attendants finally told the parents to get their kids to quiet down

And I had a 8-10 month baby wake me up in next aisle on delta one overnight on way to Europe last week. (I know that couple didn’t have a choice with the baby )

But I do think premium select is best bang for the buck or u can split the difference and fly lay flat overnight and on way back do premium select.

Most of my affluent west coast friends don’t use regular commercial airlines domestically on the west coast. They fly


More of a regional carrier but it’s a way better experience and not much more than domestic first class prices.
 
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amyl said:
I don’t fly coach. If it’s coach I’m not going. I spend enough time putting gen pop to sleep, I don’t want to deal with them on vacation. Work hard, play hard.
If you love it splurge
- I am against first for the kids though… my brother made this mistake with his kids once and now they throw a fit if they have to fly coach.
Click to expand...

Domestic 5-6 hrs max if direct ill do coach.
International is business or bust.
 
finalpsychyear said:
Domestic 5-6 hrs max if direct ill do coach.
International is business or bust.
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Really depends if you are on the northeast like Boston or New York to London/paris. That’s basically the same (5.5-6 hr) as going New York to LA. You can get away with coach to be honest to London from New York.

Now flying to Taiwan other parts of Asia from the east coast. That’s a pain. 25-30 of of real time including layover. And it’s 12 hr of real flight time in the air from la to most parts of Asia like Japan.

Australia. …add another 3 hrs. To make it 15 hours.

Maldives …I gotta connect in Dubai first than Maldives.
 
Prioritize your spending. I drive the absolute sh*ttiest car so we can spend the extra money on first class for any overseas vacation bc I don’t care about cars but we love travel and appreciate the upgraded experience. Also only fly one airline and have their credit cards for max miles and status. Also being able to be flexible with dates helps. Most often if there are “deals” you are leaving on a Tuesday and returning on a Wednesday.
 
circleK said:
Prioritize your spending. I drive the absolute sh*ttiest car so we can spend the extra money on first class for any overseas vacation bc I don’t care about cars but we love travel and appreciate the upgraded experience. Also only fly one airline and have their credit cards for max miles and status. Also being able to be flexible with dates helps. Most often if there are “deals” you are leaving on a Tuesday and returning on a Wednesday.
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I second this. Went thru leasing a few cars several years ago and saw how much a pain some german cars are for maintainence/cost and what goes wrong so got that out of my system also wrote off some of the payments for business and its not a bad idea to do it if you have that intial desire rather than dropping 50-70k to buy.

Im all about safety so thats my only requirement and i wont even consider replacement before 100-150k miles which is easily doable for toyotas/teslas etc.

Will be hitting up Italy this summer going business and staying/dining only at 4-5 star places during the 10 day trip. Spending money on experience is painless for me esp doing it during your prime is a huge bonus.
 
circleK said:
Prioritize your spending. I drive the absolute sh*ttiest car so we can spend the extra money on first class for any overseas vacation bc I don’t care about cars but we love travel and appreciate the upgraded experience. Also only fly one airline and have their credit cards for max miles and status. Also being able to be flexible with dates helps. Most often if there are “deals” you are leaving on a Tuesday and returning on a Wednesday.
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I take opposite approach id rather buy 120k car that I sit in literally everyday and just fly premium economy rather than sit in something terrible everyday to fly first class a few times a year.
 
ERRES2288 said:
I take opposite approach id rather buy 120k car that I sit in literally everyday and just fly premium economy rather than sit in something terrible everyday to fly first class a few times a year.
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💯 “Experiences over things” is the biggest psy-op ever. Why blow your cash on fleeting jet lag when you can architect a flawless daily reality? Much rather daily-drive a Turbo S to a $400-a-month luxury gym where the premium price tag acts as a convenient velvet rope, filtering out the riffraff and leaving only top-tier networking buddies. Anchor that lifestyle with a sprawling house and a chef-worthy kitchen in a prime Tier-1 suburb, and your everyday existence instantly beats any five-star resort.
 
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sloh said:
💯 “Experiences over things” is the biggest psy-op ever. Why blow your cash on fleeting jet lag when you can architect a flawless daily reality? Much rather daily-drive a Turbo S to a $400-a-month luxury where the premium price tag acts as a convenient velvet rope, filtering out the riffraff and leaving only top-tier networking buddies. Anchor that lifestyle with a sprawling house and a chef-worthy kitchen in a prime Tier-1 suburb, and your everyday existence instantly beats any five-star resort.
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Agree. I think everyone on here can have both. Do u buy or lease these cars?
 
sloh said:
💯 “Experiences over things” is the biggest psy-op ever. Why blow your cash on fleeting jet lag when you can architect a flawless daily reality? Much rather daily-drive a Turbo S to a $400-a-month luxury where the premium price tag acts as a convenient velvet rope, filtering out the riffraff and leaving only top-tier networking buddies. Anchor that lifestyle with a sprawling house and a chef-worthy kitchen in a prime Tier-1 suburb, and your everyday existence instantly beats any five-star resort.
Click to expand...


In your examples, it appears that “things=experience”.


This is my idea of a suburban nightmare.


 
sloh said:
💯 “Experiences over things” is the biggest psy-op ever. Why blow your cash on fleeting jet lag when you can architect a flawless daily reality? Much rather daily-drive a Turbo S to a $400-a-month luxury where the premium price tag acts as a convenient velvet rope, filtering out the riffraff and leaving only top-tier networking buddies. Anchor that lifestyle with a sprawling house and a chef-worthy kitchen in a prime Tier-1 suburb, and your everyday existence instantly beats any five-star resort.
Click to expand...
For sure. Don’t see how driving a 2001 Camry so you can afford first class tickets is seen as “winning”
 
ERRES2288 said:
For sure. Don’t see how driving a 2001 Camry so you can afford first class tickets is seen as “winning”
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Back in 2018. I thought about buying a cheap Toyota Corolla (like the bare bones LE) it was 16-17k? As a spare to drive to work. So I can save miles on my Range Rover. One test drive around the block and I’m like. I can’t do this. What the f am I doing trying to drive a Corolla.

But I did end getting rid of the range range after $6500 in just out of warranty repairs in 2020. So luxury cars have expensive repairs bills when warranty expires. But the women in the country club joking (although I don’t think they were joking). Their version of women are expensive quotes. About picking one in your price range.

Luxury car are expensive. Buy one you can afford.
 
sloh said:
💯 “Experiences over things” is the biggest psy-op ever. Why blow your cash on fleeting jet lag when you can architect a flawless daily reality? Much rather daily-drive a Turbo S to a $400-a-month luxury where the premium price tag acts as a convenient velvet rope, filtering out the riffraff and leaving only top-tier networking buddies. Anchor that lifestyle with a sprawling house and a chef-worthy kitchen in a prime Tier-1 suburb, and your everyday existence instantly beats any five-star resort.
Click to expand...

It's not a psy-op to acknowledge that novelty is one of the most powerful natural triggers for dopamine release in the brain. Whether someone prefers new travel destinations or new sports cars or new houses is irrelevant. In your example, once the car and the house and the kitchen become too familiar the rush of that existence will wear off and you'll be looking for the bigger house, the newer model of your car, etc for that same novelty that a traveler gets with each trip. None of us is immune to hedonic adaptation.
 
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circleK said:
Prioritize your spending. I drive the absolute sh*ttiest car so we can spend the extra money on first class for any overseas vacation bc I don’t care about cars but we love travel and appreciate the upgraded experience. Also only fly one airline and have their credit cards for max miles and status. Also being able to be flexible with dates helps. Most often if there are “deals” you are leaving on a Tuesday and returning on a Wednesday.
Click to expand...

What's your example of a $hitty car?

Any physician, definitely an anesthesiologist, can easily afford a $75k luxury car that is comfortable and safe without breaking the bank. These types of cars usually last awhile.

Unless you're buying one every year, you can still afford whatever types of trips typically.

At my hospital, one of the anesthesiologists had a lambo and then switched to McLaren and he's still taking nice vacations. He's got the nicest car out of all the docs. Lol.
 
anonperson said:
What's your example of a $hitty car?


At my hospital, one of the anesthesiologists had a lambo and then switched to McLaren and he's still taking nice vacations. He's got the nicest car out of all the docs. Lol.
Click to expand...


Those cars are most likely not from anesthesia money. If they are, he’s spending too much.
 
anonperson said:
What's your example of a $hitty car?

Any physician, definitely an anesthesiologist, can easily afford a $75k luxury car that is comfortable and safe without breaking the bank. These types of cars usually last awhile.

Unless you're buying one every year, you can still afford whatever types of trips typically.

At my hospital, one of the anesthesiologists had a lambo and then switched to McLaren and he's still taking nice vacations. He's got the nicest car out of all the docs. Lol.
Click to expand...
The average cost of a new car is 50k. So a Tesla model y is average car.

Kia telluride is 45-50k.

****ty car is like cars less than those average cars
 
aneftp said:
Back in 2018. I thought about buying a cheap Toyota Corolla (like the bare bones LE) it was 16-17k? As a spare to drive to work. So I can save miles on my Range Rover. One test drive around the block and I’m like. I can’t do this. What the f am I doing trying to drive a Corolla.

But I did end getting rid of the range range after $6500 in just out of warranty repairs in 2020. So luxury cars have expensive repairs bills when warranty expires. But the women in the country club joking (although I don’t think they were joking). Their version of women are expensive quotes. About picking one in your price range.

Luxury car are expensive. Buy one you can afford.
Click to expand...
The goal is to be rich, not look rich.

You keep buyin' Range Rovers, payin' those country club initiation and annual dues to "network" and changin out your women frequently you are gonna be one of those MFs that everyone talks about in the O.R. Bein 71 years old still arguing with surgeons, fallin asleep in the lounge between cases. That **** is for the birds. Be sensible. NEtwork at the YMCA
 
NPJR said:
The goal is to be rich, not look rich.

You keep buyin' Range Rovers, payin' those country club initiation and annual dues to "network" and changin out your women frequently you are gonna be one of those MFs that everyone talks about in the O.R. Bein 71 years old still arguing with surgeons, fallin asleep in the lounge between cases. That **** is for the birds. Be sensible. NEtwork at the YMCA
Click to expand...
U can be both like others said.

There are way more expensive habits like boats and planes. My friend who owns a 700k fishing boat. He just traded in his 500k fishing boat. Spent 40k on gasoline alone last year. With gas prices soaring this year due to Iran. It’s likely much higher.
 
aneftp said:
The average cost of a new car is 50k. So a Tesla model y is average car.

Kia telluride is 45-50k.

****ty car is like cars less than those average cars
Click to expand...

Want to be in the safest possible car and a bonus if it has some high speed. Tough to beat model x. 20 bucks to fill it up in my garage and 3 years free super charge.. Taken it once for some warranty repairs and changed tires once in 3 years.
 
finalpsychyear said:
Want to be in the safest possible car and a bonus if it has some high speed. Tough to beat model x. 20 bucks to fill it up in my garage and 3 years free super charge.. Taken it once for some warranty repairs and changed tires once in 3 years.
Click to expand...
Yes. I got the new model y redesign back in September for my son to drive when he turns 16 next week. Easy and safe car to drive.

He doesn’t like to drive the cybertruck or the Lexus TX that his mom drives primarily.
 
circleK said:
Prioritize your spending. I drive the absolute sh*ttiest car so we can spend the extra money on first class for any overseas vacation bc I don’t care about cars but we love travel and appreciate the upgraded experience. Also only fly one airline and have their credit cards for max miles and status. Also being able to be flexible with dates helps. Most often if there are “deals” you are leaving on a Tuesday and returning on a Wednesday.
Click to expand...
I'm on this team too. Cars just don't do a ton for me. The take us from A to B. We own 3 Toyota. '06 tundra and '12 Prius are my dailies (more Prius with current gas prices). '20 sienna Limited for the family car. I'll probably upgrade the truck in the next few years but still no need for something fancy.
 
circleK said:
Prioritize your spending. I drive the absolute sh*ttiest car so we can spend the extra money on first class for any overseas vacation bc I don’t care about cars but we love travel and appreciate the upgraded experience. Also only fly one airline and have their credit cards for max miles and status. Also being able to be flexible with dates helps. Most often if there are “deals” you are leaving on a Tuesday and returning on a Wednesday.
Click to expand...
I love my 2016 Tacoma, and I bought a new Outback last year for my regular driving car -- they aren't crappy cars, but they also aren't fancy. I also prefer to fly First/business class domestic and international. It's just me and my cats. I had a Lexus RX, and I wouldn't buy that again; it was nice, but what I really miss is my 2005 Honda CR-V I got when I started med school.
 
Different strokes for different folks. I’ve seen people spend hundreds of dollars of their dogs grooming every couple of months. It adds up. I find ordering alcohol or buying alcohol a waste of money.

Not every one is a big fan of Dave Ramsey/suzy Ormond I don’t agree with a lot of things they say. They have different perspective of how to save and how to spend.

If it makes you happy. And doesn’t affect their standard of living or savings. Let them do what they want to do.
 
stop liking what I don't like

🙂


We earn enough that we can basically buy anything we want, but not everything.

Doesn't matter if you like a nice daily driver car or luxury vacations.

But if you're working hard in your 60s and 70s to keep up with the things or experiences you like, the truth is that those things or experiences own you and you're doing it wrong.
 
pgg said:
stop liking what I don't like

🙂
Click to expand...
I bought this old Porsche back in 2019. Something I'd wanted a long time, and it cost maybe $40K (unless you count all the tires I've gone thru since), so I didn't feel too irresponsible about it. I was never one of those guys who ever felt like I needed more than that. But then Instagram seemed to want something different for me, and I can't get the thought of the new GT3 S/C out of my head. So I might have to become one of those guys working into his 60s....
 
amyl said:
I don’t fly coach. If it’s coach I’m not going. I spend enough time putting gen pop to sleep, I don’t want to deal with them on vacation. Work hard, play hard.
If you love it splurge
- I am against first for the kids though… my brother made this mistake with his kids once and now they throw a fit if they have to fly coach.
Click to expand...
incomparablyme GIF
 
amyl said:
I don’t fly coach. If it’s coach I’m not going. I spend enough time putting gen pop to sleep, I don’t want to deal with them on vacation. Work hard, play hard.
If you love it splurge
- I am against first for the kids though… my brother made this mistake with his kids once and now they throw a fit if they have to fly coach.
Click to expand...


Isn’t your husband an airline pilot? I wouldn’t fly coach either.
 
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kidthor said:
An anesthesiologist friend of mine's wife requires that they only fly private, which he must pay for. The wife is a part time CRNA.
Click to expand...
Happy wife happy life

Netjets or similar companies. a few people I know pay like 200k a year. You get like 20 hrs of flight time. Like these prepaid game coins at ur local Dave and busters lol. So that’s like 10k an hour.

But when you are making 5 million plus a year as a sports agent. It’s worth it. I’m sure everyone is writing it off as well. So that’s like 37% off.
 
aneftp said:
Happy wife happy life

Netjets or similar companies. a few people I know pay like 200k a year. You get like 20 hrs of flight time. Like these prepaid game coins at ur local Dave and busters lol. So that’s like 10k an hour.

But when you are making 5 million plus a year as a sports agent. It’s worth it. I’m sure everyone is writing it off as well. So that’s like 37% off.
Click to expand...

Are the doctors you know who do this at 10m or greater liquid NW or making 2m+?
 
cittykat said:
Isn’t your husband an airline pilot? I wouldn’t fly coach either.
Click to expand...
Yes - we do get 20% credit for the next flight we book but only on American “metal” (that’s airline lingo - we don’t get discounts on one world or code share…. Some flights to Europe are AA metal but we usually dont get a discount on fun places like bora bora
 
kidthor said:
An anesthesiologist friend of mine's wife requires that they only fly private, which he must pay for. The wife is a part time CRNA.
Click to expand...


I work with a married couple, both anesthesiologists. One day the husband was running the board and I noticed the wife ended up with a longish addon late in the afternoon. I asked her why she was there so late. She said, “I want to get face LASER and Bill (not his real name) wants me to pay for it.” 😂
 
urge said:
I grew up cash strapped.

I can’t fathom myself anywhere but coach. I don’t even pay for comfort plus.

No Rolex, no German car.
Click to expand...

You can swing business class that is heavily discounted with points.

A co worker of mine, OBGYN, puts all of her spending on one card and uses it for various business class tickets.

My parents basically will only fly business with points. It's like a game.

There's huge Facebook and Reddit groups dedicated to this hobby.

Now rolexes are a different story.
 
anonperson said:
You can swing business class that is heavily discounted with points.

A co worker of mine, OBGYN, puts all of her spending on one card and uses it for various business class tickets.

My parents basically will only fly business with points. It's like a game.

There's huge Facebook and Reddit groups dedicated to this hobby.

Now rolexes are a different story.
Click to expand...
It’s fun to play with points but also way time consuming.

I mean if you get joy out of maximizing value out of your points.

But I’m not gonna to restrict myself to traveling on mid week or making an extra stop just to save 5k on tickets.

Maybe the 2017 version of me would do it. Nickel and dining.

But yes. Lots of small business own their practice and charge 200-300k or more each year to their credit card routinely or even more. So the points add up quickly especially multipliers like combining Amex gold for day to day points and Amex plat for airline 5x and Amex blue business for 2x points.
 
anonperson said:
You can swing business class that is heavily discounted with points.

A co worker of mine, OBGYN, puts all of her spending on one card and uses it for various business class tickets.

My parents basically will only fly business with points. It's like a game.

There's huge Facebook and Reddit groups dedicated to this hobby.

Now rolexes are a different story.
Click to expand...

Go to japan and get it second hand with cheaper price, high quality and a tax refund
 
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anonperson said:
You can swing business class that is heavily discounted with points.

A co worker of mine, OBGYN, puts all of her spending on one card and uses it for various business class tickets.

My parents basically will only fly business with points. It's like a game.

There's huge Facebook and Reddit groups dedicated to this hobby.

Now rolexes are a different story.
Click to expand...
Have never had a fancy credit card either.

My fanciest card is the Costco visa.

My friends make fun of it when I drop it on the pile along with their Platinum and Sapphire cards when splitting the bill
 
urge said:
Have never had a fancy credit card either.

My fanciest card is the Costco visa.

My friends make fun of it when I drop it on the pile along with their Platinum and Sapphire cards when splitting the bill
Click to expand...

Costco Visa is a solid card.
No foreign transaction fee. 5% back on gas. 3% on restaurants.
I exclusively fill up at Costco so is very useful there. For other purchases, there are cards that are more optimal.
 
urge said:
Have never had a fancy credit card either.

My fanciest card is the Costco visa.

My friends make fun of it when I drop it on the pile along with their Platinum and Sapphire cards when splitting the bill
Click to expand...
U break even at min with Amex plat ($895) and sapphire reserve ($795)

I don’t game
The credit card points as much as others like I mention before. But I like the cell phone protection (Amex makes it super easy to claim) used to 3x now with $50 deductible. Saves me on Apple care which has gotten ridiculously expensive with monthly Apple care and no prepaid 2 year option.

Chase sapphire preferred $95 annual fee with 100k promo has comes out with even more new perks today which probably makes it the best mid range credit card. (Free Apple TV plus, $120 tsa, 5x travel , DoorDash etc c)’ I think it’s better deal than Chase sapphire reserved

I have the business Chase sapphire reserve so different perks than personal sapphire reserve. I amex plat personal and business cards as well. I write off the business cards annual fees.
 
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