I’m in Blissdom

I’m in Nashville, ya’ll for Blissdom 2009. I can’t wait to meet to all the other bloggers at this conference. This is my first of hopefully many blogging conferences I will be attending. I’ve had a smooth trip flying Southwest Air and I want to tell you a little about their great service.

Originally I was going to drive because I didn’t think I would have any real time saving and didn’t want to spend $200 + to fly. I knew my company had some Southwest Rewards to use but at first glance, I didn’t think there was a flight from Indianapolis to Nashville. After twittering, a helpful twitter friend told me I could do this very easily by flying through another city without having to spend extra rewards.

So thanks to my awesome day job and awesome boss (love ya Dad!), I was able to fly to Nashville FRUGALLY! For $10, I was able to book my trip. No way would I have been able to drive to Nashville for that. In addition, no worries about driving by myself, getting lost, and all that jazz!!

Here’s a little tip for earning Southwest Rewards quickly! For our business, we use it make everyday purchases and pay it off in a timely manner. Usually within just a couple of days of making the purchase. Many vendors accept credit card as payment. At one point, even the Indiana Department of Revenue was accepting monthly tax payments. I think they’ve cut this off for certain taxpayers in 2009. So by using it for insurance payments, internet transactions, and tax payments, the points add up quickly. So quickly, some have expired and led us to start using a GM Card for the bulk of our transaction instead.

I’m not a frequent flier but I have flown several different airlines in the past few years. None of them compare to Southwest Air in terms of price, services, and hospitality. In college a few years back, we studied Southwest’s business model as it was considered top of the line. It still is!

I flew out of Indianapolis to Chicago. Indianapolis has a new terminal as many of my Hoosier friends will know. I was very impressed with the new structure in terms of layout, amenities, vastness.. However, not as impressed with the time I had to wait for security considering they were not as busy as other airports I have visited in the past.

No hidden fees with Southwest. I remember seeing the CEO in an interview a few months back and he emphasized this. You can check two bags at NO additional cost. You get the best value for with Southwest and they plan to continue to do this.

Overall, my experience with Southwest has been pleasant. On other airlines, it seems the employees just don’t care. Southwest’s employees seem to genuinely love their jobs. I’m not sure if this is just in Chicago but the waiting area had nice new seats, with power outlets next to recliner like chairs all over!

I did forget my free Southwest Drink Coupons! I have a ton of those stacked up. Oh well, I really don’t need an adult beverage at 9am in the morning. Now if my kids were with me….

I will be posting more Blissdom updates as they happen. Don’t worry, your normal deals will be posted this weekend. There may be a little delay if I’m having too much fun here but CVS, Walgreens, Meijer, and Walmart should all be posted by Sunday evening.

UPDATE: I found a roommate at the airport! I was going to room by myself because I didn’t find one in advance but I was “picked up” at the airport by Julie.  So cool! I’m rooming with Julie from Cool Mom Guide, Renee FreeFlys, Carrie from NaturalMomstalkRadio!