On Saturday I shared that registration and special hotel rate booking opened for Frequent Traveler University, April 26-28 in Northern Virginia. I’m helping to organize the event, in particular the program, and I’ve also mentioned that I’m not locking down speakers and topics until after the Los Angeles Frequent Traveler University event November 30 – December 2. However, I’ve already shared that Mommy Points, One Mile at a Time, and I are going to be on the program. I’ve since received a commitment from The Points Guy and Million Mile Secrets to participate as well. Already I’ve had some great feedback about differentiating the program from past events — there’s a desire for much of the same core content because many people haven’t had a chance to attend similar events in the past, at several…
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Another Le Club Accorhotels Instant Platinum Status Offer
Instant Platinum (top tier) status in the Accor Hotels loyalty program comes around with some frequency, each time it does the signup link won’t stay active for long. But there’s almost always another offer right around the corner. I posted one yesterday afternoon that was live for about 18 hours, as far as I’m aware. Yesterday’s signup link is no longer active. Now there’s already another one. This even has a landing page which offers the status. It’s in Norwegian Dutch but Google Chrome has built in translations which works nicely. Here’s the offer for instant Platinum status. You must open a new account, it cannot be applied to existing accounts. And when you do so you must use an email address that’s not currently on file with them. (As was pointed out in the…
Bits ‘n Pieces for November 6, 2012
News and notes from around the interweb: Loyalty Traveler says that online travel booking sites like Expedia and Orbitz are getting lower commissions from hotels than they used to — down from 20% – 25% from the major chains to closer to 15%. It’s these high commissions that cause the chains to restrict points and elite benefits on reservations made through these sites, in order to encourage direct booking. While non-chain hotels pay more (due to less negotiating power), apparently the commissions they’re paying are down too — though I’ve certainly seen some properties which have to cough up close to 40% of a room night to the booking sites. One Mile at a Time highlights the new frequent flyer partnership between Bangkok Airways and Japan Airlines. That sounds obscure, but it’s really useful —…
50% Bonus on American Express Transfers to Virgin America
Through November 21, American Express Membership Rewards is offering a 50% bonus on points transferred to Virgin America. Virgin America is one of the lowest value points transfers that American Express offers. A 50% bonus doesn’t materially change that. But, if you need to make a modest top off of a Virgin America account for a specific award, doing so while the 50% bonus is in effect makes good sense.
I Need Your Help: You Decide How Much I Donate to Storm Relief
I was supposed to be in New York this past weekend, and it was a pleasure trip, so I cancelled it (for obvious reasons). I grew up on Long Island, and have family on Staten Island. My uncle there, a first-responder, has been a part of search and rescue efforts. My family is fortunate to all be ok and to have just property damaged. The storm there is shocking in so many ways, and almost a week later they’ve only just scratched the surface of recovery. Mommy Points came up with an idea of ‘Comments for Contributions.’ The original idea was something like ‘100 for $100’ where a blogger would donate $1 per comment, up to $100. But bloggers can be a competitive bunch, and a collaborative bunch too, and we’ve challenged each other to…
New Labor Agreement Nearly Reached Between American and its Pilots?
The Dallas Morning News aviation blog carries a letter to pilots that purports to contain the details of what has been negotiated between American and its pilots union. The letter seems to agree, though, with the take on internal union politics that I offered a couple of week ago when I said The internal politics is complex. The last pilot union head was ousted, the new leadership needs to appear tough to their membership. And they need to make it seem like the pilots are getting something if they’re going to pass a contract. Indeed, it looks like a deal has almost been reached but that the author of this letter believes the new union leadership is too timid to send it out to its membership — that it’s a very good offer, the best…
Free Instant Accor Hotels Platinum Status is Back
Ron B. flags for me that Le Club Accorhotels is again offering instant Platinum (top tier status) with new account signup. Note that the signup page is just a signup page, no indication on that page that accounts will start at the Platinum level, but indeed it’s currently working. As I explained the last time there was a similar offer of instant platinum, this is marketed to a specific group, I’m not sure which one, but anyone should be able to use the link and keep the status. At some point soon the link will stop awarding Platinum status and there won’t be any advance warning, but for now it’s working. These offers seem to pop up every couple of months or so. Sometimes more often than that. Even if you don’t frequently stay at…
When Are Hotel Rooms Available on Points?
Hotels used to operate like airlines, they would evaluate which rooms were likely to go unsold n a given night and make only those rooms available as awards. As a result, it could be as ‘tough’ to use hotel points as it is to use airline miles. The idea here was that hotel programs were compensating individual hotel properties with very little cash for the room nights, just enough to cover costs and then a little bit more, and they wanted to make sure not to trade off with any paid stays the hotel might be able to get. Starwood Preferred Guest revolutionized the hotel loyalty industry, they introduced what they called ‘true redemption’ which was usually referred to as ‘no blackout dates’ (specific dates where you weren’t permitted to use your points) but it…
Dinner With Mommy Points: Earning at the Blue Duck Tavern With Hyatt Gold Passport While Not a Hotel Guest
Last night I was fortunate to have dinner with Mommy Points at one of my favorite restaurants in DC, the Blue Duck Tavern at the Park Hyatt. Food and service are good but it also has to be the best looking restaurant space in the City. And Hyatt now allows members to earn and redeem points at restaurants and spas even when not staying at the hotel. The only downside is the lighting, not ideal for picture taking, especially with a phone. But the food is excellent, I had the foie gras starter. And the braised beef rib as my entree. The apple pie is the diamond food amenity, for those top tier elites staying on property and opting not to take the points. I grabbed the check, I’m a full-time professional with a business…
Does it Make Sense to Spend Miles on Magazine Subscriptions?
Using miles for things other than travel has been an increasing trend, the loyalty programs have been offering several new options over the past few years — whether it’s redeeming miles for other travel like hotels and rental cars, or for LCD toasters. The idea is that miles are a general currency, they can be spent like money. Heavy travelers may not want more flights. And if there are limited award seats available getting members to spend miles on other things satisfies those members rather than frustrating them. But frequent flyer programs can buy saver awards (likely to go unsold, spoiling inventory) at a deep discount, a much deeper discount than they can buy toasters — especially since they’re not usually the ones in the fulfillment business actually warehousing and shipping the toaster. So merchandise…
