Hotels generally have been seeing low occupancy, with declines in business travel and also leisure travel which tends to be discretionary. This is great for those who are continuing to travel, there are some real bargains out there. This also should mean less pressure to raise redemption rates at hotel chains (and yet Hilton has increased the number of points required on the outstanding value AXON awards, 4 nights in a category 6 Hhonors property has gone from 125,000 to 145,000 with no notice). And it should mean more inventory available on opaque channels like Priceline, and at lower price points. 2002, here we come! One of the most hrad hit of markets is Las Vegas, with conventions being among the most economically-sensitive segment of the business travel market and where leisure stays dry up…
Monthly Archives
Monthly Archives for February 2009.
Hyatt Bonus Redux: Earn Progressively More Hyatt Points for Stays Through April 30
Following on Hyatt’s generous bonus offers with Air Canada and with Southwest, it now seems there’s a similar offer for earning bonus Hyatt points. Naturally, registration is required, and nights through April 30 count towards the promo. Stay 2 nights 4 nights 6 nights 8 nights Points Earned 2,000 +4,000 +6,000 +8,000 Total Points 2,000 6,000 12,000 20,000
Citibank Beginning Devaluation of Thank You Points Fixed Point Redemption Prior to the Previously Announced March 1?
Citibank announced last month that ‘fixed point redemption’ (which allows redemptions valued up to 3 cents a point instead of the standard 1 cent) would be ending March 1. It appears that they’ve already gone ahead and pulled the plug on 3 cents value, capping redemptions at 2 cents as of last week. This despite the FAQ on the Citi Thank You Network website still showing the 3 cents value, and the Thank You Network terms and conditions requiring 30 days written notice for changes to the program. This is all second-hand, at this point, per this thread on Flyertalk. It’s of particular concern to me because I’m hurtling towards 90,000 points to make a redemption… and I need to wait until my credit card points post on or about February 19 in order to…
5000 Bonus Thank You Points for 2-Night Hotel Stay Booked on Expedia
If you book a 2-night hotel stay on Expedia using promo code TY5K09 you’ll earn a 5,000 Thank You Point bonus. Frugal Travel Guy suggests it as a hail mary ot get to 90,000 Thank You points prior to March 1, getting in before the devaluation of the program. I’m a bit more conservative. Sure, if you have no other plays it’s worth trying. As Rick notes, it’s unclear whether you have to check in to get the bonus (though on an Expedia pre-paid hotel I doubt it) or whether the points will post in time (my gut says no). As a result I wouldn’t spend incremental dollars to ‘buy’ Thank You Points this way, even the property he suggests @ $15/night. But if you’re going to be booking hotel rooms anyway (by March 1…
Singapore Offers 25% Discount on Awards Booked Online
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer is offering 25% discounts on all awards booked online by September 15 for travel from March 1 through September 30. In addition, coach awards on specific routes in specific months are being discounted 50%. But that’s not the part that interests me most, it’s the 25% discount on first class awards that’s interesting (of course, on those routes where it’s still possible to redeem at standard levels for first class, which means where Singapore still flies 747s). Singapore Airlines is an American Express Membership Rewards partner. On the one hand, you won’t want to go transferring bucketloads of points without checking out their standard reward chart, it can be expensive relative to US-based programs. On the other hand, availability on Singapore Airliens is generally better for Singapore KrisFlyer redemptions than for partners.…
Double Miles for Tax Payments with United Visa
In the first of the tax season bonus miles offers I’ve seen, the Chase United Visa is offering double miles on tax payments charged to the card up to 15,000 bonus miles for charges made between March 14, 2009 and May 31, 2009. Of course paying your taxes online entails a ‘convenience fee’ so you’re still paying better than a penny a mile. So if you were going to put your taxes on a credit card anyway, this may be the one to use — unless and until other cards match with a similar bonus, as several have in the past. Sadly the best bonus days are behind us, I recall one year when the United Visa offered 5000 bonus miles for any tax payment and so I charged $1…
1000 Delta Miles for any Skymiles Shopping Purchase
Via Frugal Travel Guy, registering for Skymiles Shopping and making a purchase yields 1000 bonus miles. From Fatwallet and there from Slickdeals comes an easy 1000 DL miles for registering with SkymallShopping. Here is your link Terms and Conditions: And a sample purchase for $1 Link Just what we all really want a Prince CD. Go ahead and register. And then use the Skymiles shopping website to navigate to your store of choice (don’t just go to the Prince CD link above). I notice that that CD is backordered, and that the $1 mentioned above doesn’t include shipping. So take it as an example only.
