Back on March 31, Starwood announced with one day’s notice that they would no longer do status matches, and that beginning April 1 would only offer challenges which were later revealed to be an offer of Platinum status after 15 nights in 90 days. I believe that my writing about it prompted Ben from One Mile at a Time to request a match right away, and now he’s a Starwood Platinum. And I’ve gotten to relive some of my own past hotel stays through his trip reports. Now Loyalty Traveler reports that Starwood Preferred Guest will again be tweaking their status fast track offerings, we don’t have the details yet but they are believed to be getting more restrictive on November 1. So if you’re considering a status challenge with Starwood, it may be worthwhile…
Monthly Archives
Monthly Archives for October 2011.
Oneworld MegaDO Goes On Sale Noon Eastern on Thursday
The signup page opens to the public at noon Eastern time on Thursday. Folks who attended the launch party in Los Angeles earlier in the month got to start booking at noon today (the page is password protected for the first 24 hours, but don’t worry there weren’t as many people at the launch party as there are seats on the plane). There’s an optional part of the trip at the front end, that’s not available for booking yet, though you can indicate your interest during the booking process. That begins in New York on January 23, flies to London, and winds up in Dallas for the start of the main event. But what opens tomorrow is the US portion of the MegaDO — Begins in Dallas on Wednesday January 25 with an American Airlines…
Report from the Inaugural Boeing 787 Tokyo-Hong Kong Flight
Scott Mayerowitz takes the first commercial flight of the Boeing 787 from Tokyo to Hong Kong on All Nippon, and writes up the experience. I’m not really into aircraft as much as the inflight products, but I still love the upper deck (and nose) of a 747. Still, I don’t chase products, I’ve never flown on an A380 (still!). But being on board the first flight of this new long-awaited aircraft is pretty cool. Supposedly the aircraft has more light, bigger windows, bigger overhead bins, better humidity control for passenger comfort. The bigger impact of the plane will come from its operating efficiencies that should make greater point-to-point travel for thin routes possible, e.g. Japan Airlines will be operating the aircraft from Tokyo to Boston. And one could imagine it very much fits the Continental…
35,000 Membership Rewards Points for $45 or Less
American Express is offering 5000 Membership Rewards points for signing up for their pay over time option. You don’t actually have to use it, I still think you shouldn’t, continue to treat your Amex as a charge card and not as a credit card. But opting in gives you bonus points, which sounds good to me. Only problem is that the website seems not to be working right. Online Travel Review says you can call 800-528-4800 “and ask them to apply Bonus ID: 5670, 5671, or 5688” — me I would just log into my account and request this via secure message. Meanwhile, deltaGOLDflyer emails to remind me of an offer I think I’ve seen several times before but never taken advantage of or written about, 15,000 Membership Rewards points for activating an FX International…
Delta Selling Lounge Access on Groupon
Delta is selling lounge access on Groupon: $25 for a single visit pass, $89 for a five-visit punch card. The passes expire after six months. And don’t forget you can earn points and cash back for Groupon purchases. Expires Apr 30, 2012. Limit 3 per person, may buy multiple as gifts. Not valid until 10/28/11. Must be 21 or older or be accompanied by guardian. Valid only when traveling same-day on any airline. Guest passes not included. United is straight up selling access to walk-ins for $19. So I don’t really consider this an amazing, Groupon-worthy deal. But it’s still notable, since Delta normally sells one-day passes for $50. Which strikes me as sorta crazy pricing, since the lounges aren’t that great, although some of them do have showers. I could imagine passengers in LAX…
70,000 Bonus Points for Marriott Rewards Visa Signup
Ok, so you won’t be able to use the points towards an all-inclusive. But this is the biggest signup bonus I’ve seen for a Marriott Rewards card: 70,000 bonus points after first purchase (offer expired), a free night (up to category 4), and fee waived the first year. You also get 15 nights towards elite status. The card also comes with no foreign currency transaction fees, so it may be worthwhile to grab this card for the no fee year on that basis alone if you don’t have another card which offers this benefit. If you keep the card, the annual fee is $85 and nets you a free room night (up to category 5) each year. Sadly I’ve had (several) Marriott Rewards Visa cards from Chase in the past so I’m unlikely to be…
Marriott Eliminates All-Inclusive Rewards With No Notice Whatsoever
Loyalty Traveler writes that Marriott Rewards has eliminated its “all inclusive” rewards. With no notice, whatsoever. The option was simply pulled, and they acknowledged it through social media channels after the fact. All-inclusive rewards providing food and beverage and kids activities at seven Marriott Resorts in Mexico, Costa Rica and the Caribbean have been discontinued effective October 17, 2011 with no advance notice to members. Inclusive rewards were 70,000 points for five nights or 90,000 points for seven nights at select all-inclusive resorts and covered meals, beverages including alcohol and some activities for two adults and children under 12. The all-inclusive reward option was on top of the regular hotel reward cost.. Regular readers on this blog know my feelings about no-notice and short-notice program changes. Customers fly, stay, and earn points in loyalty programs…
Bits ‘n Pieces for October 21
Live and Let’s Fly says you can’t buy them at this price online, but if you walk into a United club they’ll sell you a day pass for $19. The Man of a Thousand Places put together a spreadsheet on how much it’s worth to spend in exchange for a marginal ‘hit’ in the US Airways Grand Slam promotion. Mommy Points updates on her plans to earn hits 25 – 32 in the US Airways Grand Slam. I’ve done 28 hits so far, know how I’m getting to 33 for sure, and have a list I’m considering for getting to 36 in order to earn 100,000 miles. The Travel Insider points out that it isn’t just the TSA — Security Theatre on the Northern Border. There are too many agents, with nothing to do. But…
Mark Your Calendar for November 9: Live Online Chat with Hyatt Gold Passport
Jeff Zidell, Vice President of Hyatt for the Gold Passport program, will hold a live chat on Milepoint on November 9. You can sign up for an email reminder, and you can also submit questions in advance if you’d like. You’ll also be able to see the questions that others are asking. American Airlines kicked off the first chat, and Maya Leibman (President of AAdvantage) went back and answered questions that didn’t make it into the live chat. At the end of last night’s live chat with Jonathan Clarkson of Southwest Rapid Rewards there was a similar commitment to do the same. So getting your questions in usually means getting them answered. I can guess that there will be plenty of questions in the Hyatt chat about promotions — Faster Free Nights (stay twice, get…
Delta Introducing Economy Plus Fleet-wide
Delta has been offering ‘economy comfort’ seating on its international aircraft, with additional legroom at the front of coach. It’s available for a premium but free for elites. Wandering Aramean notes that Delta is now planning to roll out the extra legroom seating to all of their domestic aircraft, including two-cabin regional jets, by summer. Pricing will run $19 – $99 per segment. However, they’re only going to be putting 3-5 rows of extra legroom seating in. So this is nowhere near as extensive as United’s offering, which will be extending to the Continental fleet over the coming year as well. United’s new configuration 777 — which has 9 seats across in coach — offers 12 rows with extra legroom. Delta’s economy plus seating will be available for free at booking to their Gold elites…
