Alert reader Erik in the comments points to the IHG online community where they’ve posted a ‘preview’ of hotels that should be participating in the next round of ‘PointBreaks’ discounted award nights available at just 5000 points per night. There may be some differences between the list posted now and what ultimately becomes bookable, though the this should be close to final. 5000 points per night is a fantastic deal, especially for higher end hotels that may otherwise run 40,000 points per night. (And sou can buy these points at 7/10ths of a cent apiece). But they have to be available for a hotel you can use during the promotion period — the hotels that should become bookable on Monday will only be available for reservations through October 31. And you have to act fast,…
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New IHG Rewards Promotion Launching Monday: “The Big Win”
IHG Rewards — the hotel loyalty program formerly known as Priority Club which includes Intercontinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, and other brands — will launch its end of year promotion this coming Monday. Registration will be required (the registration URL – ihgrewardsclub.com/win is not yet active and as of this writing redirects to the main IHG Rewards page), and earning will be from September 1 through December 31. “The Big Win” will be offers customized to different members, but with a minimum of 50,000 bonus points or 10,000 airline miles available. The first night stayed under the promotion will award 1000 bonus points or 500 miles. Beyond that, members will reeceive varying offers that will reward: increasing stays weekend stays stays with more brands Presumably it will be Monday before we know how lucrative –…
Would You Rent Someone’s Couch Instead of a Hotel Room? Should the Government Let You?
I haven’t paid a ton of attention to Airbnb and similar services that let residents in a city rent out a portion of their home (or the entire thing) on a night-by-night basis to guests. I like my privacy, I tend to like the impersonal nature of hotels even as I like being treated warmly as a guest. And I’m fairly ingrained in the elite status and points world. No doubt there are great values to be had by paying a small amount of money to rent out someone’s apartment instead of a hotel. And no doubt it’s a great way for residents to make use of underutilized resources such as an extra room or their whole place when they aren’t going to be using it. Have you used Airbnb or similar services? They’ve certainly…
Get Out of the Resort on Maui: Two Restaurants in Lahaina Worth Trying, Star Noodle and Aloha Mixed Plate
My mental model of Maui is that the better restaurants are mostly clustered in the towns closer to the airport like Kihei or Wailea. There are plenty of big resorts in Lahaina, like the Marriott and the Westin and the Hyatt Regency, but that the food offerings were middling at best. And even the better Maui restaurants offered fantastic views but food that wouldn’t be as impressive if you weren’t in a beautiful location on holiday and certainly wouldn’t impress at the price point in other cities. I discovered Aloha Mixed Plate on a visit to Maui in 2009. Mind you, it isn’t the world greatest food or service though the food is good. What it does offer is reasonably authentic local food, in an open air setting on the water (though somewhat obscured by…
Hyatt’s New Promotion is Progressively More Bonus Points For Every Five Nights
Registration is required, will not open until September 9, and must be completed by October 31. You’ll earn bonus points every 5 eligible nights between September 9 and November 30 as follows: Stays at MGM M Life-participating properties in Las Vegas count, too, by the way. How Does this Promotion Compare to Past Hyatt Offerings? This promotion is very similar to the one offered last September through November. That one offered bonus points every 5 nights, though starting with night 10 the bonus was 10,000 points and this time it increases with each set of 5 nights. It’s actually a pretty lucrative promotion for guests racking up lots of nights. Last year’s gave you 35,000 points after 20 nights and this year’s gives you 50,000. However, one difference is that unlike recent promotions there’s no…
Review: Hyatt Regency Maui
Yesterday I wrote about how I wound up staying here, and why my Deluxe Ocean Suite was free. I was originally booked at the Andaz, an the opening date for the hotel was changed so my reservation got split — one night at the Hyatt Regency, two nights at the Andaz. The Director of Rooms promised me a suite upgrade as an apology Then the opening date for the Andaz changed again, so I had to get moved twice. So they comped a stay at the Regency instead — and since that’s clearly a downgrade, and I was to be in a suite at the Andaz, they gave me a suite at the Hyatt Regency Maui as well. And since Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond members aren’t even charged the resort fee there, I was going…
How I Wound Up With an Absolutely Free Ocean Suite at the Hyatt Regency Maui
Deciding to Visit Hawaii – Where I Don’t Often Go I don’t travel to Hawaii often. It’s beautiful and the weather’s great but it’s a long way to go from the East Coast and lodging and airfare prices tend to be high. Inflight products to get there aren’t that comfortable. For less money, and more comfortable and a bit further travel, I can usually get what I consider to be a more interesting experience. Frequent Hawaii visits, to me, the juice just isn’t worth the squeeze. But I was really interested in the new Andaz Maui, enough to get me to plan a trip out there. Back in late May I decided I wanted to visit it shortly after opening, which usually is something I try to avoid — I like to give a new…
Bits ‘n Pieces for August 21, 2013
News and notes from around the interweb: Registration for Starwood’s double points plus 2500 bonus points for every 5 eligible nights (up to 10,000 points) between September 1 and December 15 is now open. If you didn’t join in for last night’s live chat on Milepoint with the heads of the Hyatt Gold Passport and MGM M Life programs, you can “replay” the chat to see what was revealed (such as a timetable to add more M Life hotels into the relationship). Dutch, British, German, Korean and Qatari citizens can get access to Global Entry expedited US border control formalities. An increasing number of people are using inflight internet. JFK may eventually get an on-airport hotel, yet by transforming the old TWA terminal into a 150 room property. It won’t be opening in time for…
Does Someone Actually Own the Right to All Points Transfers Between Programs?
A whole bunch of patent infringement lawsuits were filed on Tuesday — against Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Airlines,Frontier Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, United Airlines, and U.S. Airways. The suits allege that there’s a portfolio of patents on loyalty programs where you can transfer miles and rewards from one program to another program electronically without going through an intermediary. Each is a separate suit, though similar. Here’s a copy of the filing against Hawaiian. The two patents at issue are for “Exchange of non-negotiable credits of an entity’s rewards program for entity independent funds” and “Graphical user interface for the conversion of loyalty points via a loyalty point website” Do they have a claim? Does someone really own the rights to being able to transfer points? I spoke with Robert…
The House of Lies Team is Pitching for Frequent Flyer Program Business: Another Flawed Study About Miles
Terry Maxon gives coverage to a study Deloitte has been pitching about frequent flyer programs, claiming customers aren’t especially loyal so the programs are failing and they need to take a more tailored approach. Consulting firm Deloitte and Touche surveyed frequent travelers to gather their thoughts on their airline loyalty programs. It concluded that the programs aren’t working as intended – to nail frequent fliers to one airline and one loyalty program. “Our findings strongly suggest that the state of airline loyalty is less than what carriers would like it to be. More sobering is our finding that airline loyalty programs are far from effective in engendering that loyalty,” Deloitte executive Adam Weissenberg wrote in the foreword to the study. “We conclude that airlines should approach any effort to improve loyalty programs as a customized…
