Yesterday I outlined what I think is wrong with Starwood Preferred Guest: they overpromise and underdeliver on elite benefits (a Platinum without an upgrade at a hotel without club lounge basically gets nothing for their stay) and there aren’t really exceptional points values for redemption at Starwood’s many truly top properties. I believe these criticisms are fair. And I also find that Hyatt Gold Passport has become more rewarding than Starwood Preferred Guest, though I’m frustrated by Gold Passport’s withdrawal of property-specific “G bonuses” which meant several thousand extra points per stay. Supposedly the removal of these bonuses was due to the manual process to post them and how often members were frustrated in following up to get them. But just eliminating the bonuses doesn’t satisfy members more, Hyatt has said that something will be…
Monthly Archives
Monthly Archives for June 2011.
What’s Wrong with Starwood Preferred Guest?
I posted that Starwood was ending their status match program with only a window of several hours left to request a match, and Ben over at One Mile at a Time did just that. He’s been sampling Starwood Preferred Guest, and offers his first impressions. Roughly speaking I agree with them: that Starwood often overpromises and under delivers (upgrades are subject to availability at checkin and there’s little transparency or consistency across hotels in how that benefit turns out in practice), and that at hotels without club lounge facilities there’s not a huge benefit to top tier status when you aren’t upgraded (there’s no breakfast benefit outside of the lounge, all you get is free internet and 500 bonus points for being Platinum rather than Gold). Starwood was an absolute pioneer, they were the first…
100 Free Aeroplan Miles
Registering at HomeHardware.ca earns 100 free Aeroplan points. (Via Rewards Canada and The Points Guy)
Excellent Advice on Credit Card Mileage Earning, Redemption, and Special Perks
Wendy Perrin’s Conde Nast column this month is all about credit cards. While it draws heavily on my advice, Wendy does a great job of making really complex topics accessible and useful to large numbers of travelers. She begins talking signup bonuses, it’s one of the few times I’ve seen credit card churning discussed in a major publication, so there’s something fun about that. Plus I managed to convince Wendy (and by extension, Wendy’s husband) to sign up for American AAdvantage credit cards from Citi, three cards at 75,000 bonus miles apiece, and for British Airways Visas at 100,000 miles apiece. The main article lays out some basic tips. Don’t overlook hotel credit cards. Wendy mentions at the top of the piece that she uses a Starwood Amex for its flexibility for hotel stays and…
New Priority Club Bonuses for Stays
Priority Club Insider lists a bunch of new bonuses for stays between July 1 and September 30. You can only register one, and will want to pick the one that best matches your anticipated stay plans. You can only pick one, and once you register you can’t change your mind. Register: -Stay 3 nights earn 5,000 Register: -Stay 7 nights earn 10,000 Register: -Stay 15 nights earn 15,000
Free Miles on Your Choice of Airlines!
Through August 31, new members who enroll in Frontier Early Returns receive 1000 miles. A year and a half ago they ran a 1500 point signup bonus, and I recommended signing up just to convert the miles to a $6 Starbucks gift card. Frontier participates in Points.com, and you can convert 1000 miles to your choice of (among other options): 184 US Airways miles 297 Priority Club points 138 Delta miles 297 AsiaMiles 148 Aeroplan miles 153 Contiental miles 153 American miles You can use the opportunity to extend expiration on an American or US Airways account, for instance.
It’s Back! 50% Bonus on First-Time Transfers from American Express to Delta, Plus 25,000 Elite Qualifying Miles on Transfers of 100,000 Points or More
Via this Milepoint thread, Delta’s offer of a 50% bonus on transfers from American Express Membership Rewards for first time transfers is back through September 30. Transfers of 100,000 miles or more will generate 25,000 elite qualifying (status, not redeemable) miles as well. Registration is required, and the terms and conditions explicitly say that the bonus cannot be combined with other offers. They apparently learned their lesson after the recent error that had them awarding 80% bonuses… Presumably it won’t stack with the current (up to) 40% bonus on transfers from Amex to Delta. But folks who don’t qualify for the 50% offer, because they’ve transferred points from Membership Rewards to Delta Skymiles in the past, can use this one instead.
Delta Should Have Stood Firm: No Obligation to Provide Fourth Checked Bag Free to Military
Plane Reality says take it easy on Delta over the recent kerfuffle that the airline has been charging for fourth checked bags for soldiers returning from combat. He thinks they ought to get that fourth bag free, but c’mon, Delta is really patriotic! Delta already provides the military with more free checked bags and ‘regular’ customers. There was a YouTube viral video about a soldier who had to pay to check his grenade launcher. The outrage, though, seems misplaced. The military is causing him to carry weaponry, Delta is already extending a courtesy with three free checked bags, and it strikes me that the government is the one that’s unreasonable here in not covering the transportation cost for military equipment. Not Delta. If the government wants Delta to carry rocket launchers, the government should pay…
Free Hilton Gold Status Through August 31 and 5000 HHonors Points for Current Gold and Diamond Members
I’m a little late to this party since others have mentioned this several hours ago, but you can sign up for instant Gold status in the Hilton HHonors program just by entering any Visa Signature credit card number. The status will last through August 31, and three Hilton stays by August 31 will extend status through March 2013. Gold status gets some modest upgrades with Hilton (even Diamond doesn’t include suites as part of the terms and conditions of the HHonors program) and it gets complimentary breakfast. The offer is supposed to require a US-based Visa Signature, but there are reports of non-US cards working. The offer also specifies that the three stays to extend status must be paid for with a Visa Signature, though it’s unclear whether this will be enforced. Current Gold and…
American AAdvantage President Maya Leibman Answers More Member Questions (Spoiler Alert…)
As a followup to American AAdvantage President Maya Leibman’s online chat with Milepoint.com members, she’s gone through questions that were submitted but weren’t answered due to lack of time, and written up answers. The new American AAdvantage rep on Milepoint has posted a link with additional questions and answers from Maya. I was especially intrigued to hear hints about the return of threshold bonuses for AAdvantage members flying beyond 100,000 miles per year. Hopefully they’ll keep segment qualifiers in mind, too, as they develop this part of the program.. Meanwhile, I understand there will be more questions and answers to come, and great to see the new American AAdvantage presence on Milepoint.
