Yesterday Mommy Points pointed out that Hyatt had introduced a new process for their ‘Best Rate Guarantee‘. Hotels see a really significant commission expense for bookings that are made through third party channels, especially the online travel agencies like Expedia and Orbitz. The major chains have managed to push down those commissions somewhat over the past few years. They may no longer be over 20% in most cases. But they’re still a significant business expense. So they’ve taken many tactics to reduce those costs. One thing they do is try to push their own frequent customers to book through their own websites and call centers. Marriott and Hyatt will recognize status, but won’t allow members to earn credit towards their status with these stays. Hotel chains like Hilton and Starwood have a policy against even…
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Air France KLM Flying Blue Allowing Free Award Changes and Cancellation Within 24 Hours
I’ve never said “your mileage may vary” as much as I have about working with Air France KLM’s Flying Blue phone agents. You get different stories, different levels of understanding, and inconsistently-applied requirements. In the past I have had to fax written authorization to book a domestic connection in coach on a business class award (they would have gladly booked the award without the coach connection, but if I wanted that coach flight included for free I had to fax my written permission for the downgrade). And I’ve been told that Africa awards had to be ticketed in person at the airport. Of course different agents, different requirements. (Hang up, call back.) But there’s something new — a minor improvement worth noting — that’s come up in recent days dealing with them through my award…
Is There a Rogue Airline Employee Shutting Down Frequent Flyer Accounts Without Reason?
Last month I wrote about how airlines combat fraudulent tickets and what airlines look for to crack down on the sale of miles. And in perhaps one of the most important posts I’ve ever written on the blog, What To Do If Your Frequent Flyer Account Gets Audited. Selling award tickets, tricking their systems to generate miles you don’t deserve, and sometimes ‘abusing’ the programs completely within their rules can draw extra attention to your frequent flyer account. Over the past several years American and United have probably been the most active in policing accounts. Occasionally US Airways has frozen accounts but after a month-long review period has generally been open to reasonable argument and restored miles. IHG Rewards Club has shut down tons of accounts for bonuses earned. Historically Delta’s “Revenue Protection Unit” (RPU)…
New IHG Rewards Club 5000 Point Discounted Redemptions Coming on Tuesday
PointBreaks will be released on Tuesday for bookings and stays between May 27 and July 31. There will be more than 150 hotels participating in this round of discounted redemptions. The short teaser list of properties released so far: Crowne Plaza Hotel Bangkok- Lumpini Park, Thailand Crowne Plaza Johannesburg-The Rosebank, South Africa Hotel Indigo San Jose Forum, Costa Rica Holiday Inn Hotel Laval- Montreal, Canada Holiday Inn Hotel Frankfurt – Airport, Germany Staybridge Suites Guadalajara Expo, Mexico I’m surprised to see only one hotel in Thailand being promoted. Perhaps there will be more, but I see no reason not to include the Intercontinental Koh Samui, Hua Hin, and Bangkok given the current unpleasantness. The most popular, best value PointBreaks properties — which may cost 40,000 normally and get reduced to just 5000 points — go…
The IRS Looks to Be On the Verge of Imposing a Big Tax Burden on Loyalty Points
The IRS is expected to propose new rules that will mean an increased tax burden on airline and hotel loyalty programs, which will in turn reduce the value of points in those programs. I noticed a brief mention this week in Politico Four major travel associations today will send a letter to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew on the future of loyalty programs, calling for him to “reject including any projects related to the elimination of long-standing tax treatment of customer loyalty programs under r §451.” The groups — Airlines for America, U.S. Travel Association, the American Hotel & Lodging Association and American Resort Development Association — write that the IRS is currently considering a plan that would “negatively impact loyalty programs” by making changes to the accounting methods. “Let us be clear, the IRS’ proposal…
The Greatest Questions in All of Travel
I tried this last month and it was really useful. The best questions in all of travel are yours. Your suggestions turn out to be a great jumping-off point for posts. So I would love to hear what you’re thinking. What have your travels been like this week? What are you wondering, or what would you like to know? Booked any great awards? How’s your team doing? The comments are yours to do with as you wish, please express yourself, and I may drop in here or there with answers — but I don’t know the answer to everything, so hopefully the wisdom of crowds being what it is perhaps one of your fellow readers will know what I do not. You can join the 40,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day…
Alaska’s Next Move in the War With Delta Revealed!
Emceeing the Freddie Awards last month I welcomed the crowd and shared a story of my travels to Seattle. Everyone in the audience was going to have to accept a downgrade — I was up on stage instead of Randy Petersen who has presented the awards in years past. But of course this crowd is used to cutbacks! I mean, for my flight to Seattle I was actually charged for my emotional baggage! ::rimshot:: Alaska’s running double elite qualifying miles to Delta’s Salt Lake and Detroit hubs reminds me of something else that I told the audience. We were in Seattle for the ceremony. Delta was in the room, including Skymiles head Jeff Robertson. And as everyone there knows, Delta has been growing like crazy. They’ve even opened a hub in Seattle. The awards ceremony…
Here’s Why Upgrades With Miles Aren’t a Good Deal… And They’re Getting Worse
Conventional wisdom used to be that the most lucrative way to use miles was for upgrading paid international coach tickets to business class. That’s because you would accrue miles for the paid travel, plus earn status. And because upgrades require fewer points than a free ticket, you stretch your miles further. Unfortunately that’s no longer true. Upgrade awards have become harder to get Airlines have introduced cash co-pays in addition to miles, or restricted the fare class you have to buy, making upgrades far more expensive Award tickets have gotten more flexible, allowing you to combine travel on different partners While upgrade awards haven’t gotten nearly as flexible for partner travel, generally requiring purchase of a full fare ticket if the option is offered at all. When you buy the cheapest ticket most U.S.…
How Will Thailand’s Military Coup Affect Your Travel?
Thailand has again seen a military coup. What does it mean for travelers? Thaksin Shinawatra served as Thai Prime Minister from 2001 until 2006 when he was ousted by a military coup. The country has seen a period of intense political turmoil over the past decade. Shinawatra is a populist who draws his political power from the North of the country, from the country’s poor. His rule threatened Thailand’s traditional elites based in Bangkok. Those traditional power structures, in control of the military at the time of Shinawatra’s ouster, struck back. Shinawatra was convicted on corruption charges and fled the country. When the military handed control of the government back to civilian hands, Shinawatra’s allies were placed back into office. There was a period of relative stability during military rule, but with Shinawatra’s allies back…
Forget First Class, Business Class Is What You Want, and It’s Available and Even Better Than You Think
My partner in booking frequent flyer awards for clients is Steve Belkin, known online as beaubo. He’s the legendary frequent flyer that became a labor broker and hired disabled rice farmers to travel in and out of the Golden Triangle region of Thailand, and hired New Zealand college students to travel to Europe — flying, earning top tier elite status, and assigning the benefits of that status to their ’employers’. He’s earned countless tens of millions of miles and flown all over the world for business and taken his family around the world as well. And he’s a strong advocate for business class as the best class of travel, with the best availability. That you want multiple seats for a family, and the most convenient schedule, rather than chasing better champagne and caviar inflight. Since…
