Capital One Shopping is showing that Bonvoy elites often get smaller rebates than nonmembers and base members booking the same chain. Marriott is willing to pay more to acquire a guest it does not think it already owns, while elite members are treated as captured customers who can be rewarded less at the point of sale.
Marriott allows hotels to impose cash co-pays on award stays, and the Westin LAX is now charging a $20 destination fee even when you redeem points for a free night. It is one of the ugliest differences between Bonvoy and rivals like Hyatt and Hilton, which do not let hotels tack resort or destination fees onto standard award stays.
Marriott is finally ending one of the most quietly annoying things about staying at its hotels: Pepsi. After 34 years, Coca-Cola is taking over across nearly 10,000 properties worldwide, a huge switch that says Marriott thinks guests notice the difference — and that superior economics justify replacing a decades-old global deal.
I’m rooting for them each time they add something new, because competition benefits all of us even if you don’t make bookings through Rove – but I find I do occasionally use their shopping portal (when it offers the best deal) and they offer points for booking hotels that still earn hotel points and elite status credit, also.
Delta pilots are opening contract talks early and pushing for a fast deal even though they already earn as much as $465.13 an hour at the top of the scale, because they know their leverage may not last. Delta is highly profitable now, pilot hiring is resuming, and new aircraft types are entering the fleet, but oil prices, the economy, and politics can all turn quickly — so the union is trying to lock in gains while the window is still open.
The new DHS secretary says the administration is “looking at” pulling Customs and Border Protection officers from airports in sanctuary cities, which would shut those airports off from international arrivals. The idea is absurd by the standards of the administration’s own policy goals. Many of the airports are not even in the cities being targeted, and cutting off major hubs like JFK, LAX, or O’Hare would ripple far beyond red-blue politics into the entire U.S. air travel system and economy.
A traveler at a pet-friendly hotel in China was reportedly sent recommendations for dog meat restaurants, in one of the stranger travel stories of the day. Also: Amex’s Fort Lauderdale lounge waitlist hits 197, politicians are debuting airport holograms, bees delay a flight in Charlotte, and American’s new A319 interiors look far better even as the cabins get tighter.
The White House budget would bar federal spending on COVID air travel mask mandates, reopening one of the most polarizing fights in modern flying even though the federal rule died in court and vanished four years ago. What makes this feel especially strange is that it is not responding to any current mandate at all — it is a symbolic attempt to settle an argument that already ended on April 18, 2022.
Citi new Strata Elite card delivers a surprisingly strong first-year value play. The current offer combines 75,000 points with up to $1,200 in travel credits, and those points can now transfer directly to American Airlines AAdvantage.
JetBlue and Barclays just made the $499 JetBlue Premier Card materially better, adding a companion pass, a 15% rebate on award redemptions, new travel credits, and a 25-tile head start toward status — without raising the annual fee.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
