It appears that Hyatt may finally be on the verge of introducing a credit card partnership. This has been rumored for years, it’s been seriously examined and worked on at Hyatt for years, and the chatter out of Hyatt’s offices has really picked up the past few months. Hyatt has been the only major chain without a credit card partner, although it is and has been possible to earn Hyatt points via credit card spend (Diners Club). There’s a current thread on Flyertalk discussing a survey about potential mixes of benefits for a Hyatt co-branded credit card. It’s naturally likely to come with a signup bonus and bonus points for Hyatt spend. Other possible benefits include: Confirmed suite upgrades, possibly valid on award stays not just paid stays (which makes sense, since card spend earns…
About Gary Leff
Re-booking Cancelled Flights During the Snowpocalypse
Wendy Perrin offers her lessons learned from a cancelled flight, the result of Snowpocalypse-induced cancellation of her flights to Hawaii. She sums up — don’t wait for the airline to inform you of the cancellation, be proactive (if you wait, alternate flight options will be gone), suggest alternate routes to the agent when rebooking (don’t just accept that nothing’s available), and ask your hotel to waive cancellation penalties if you don’t make it there on the intended check-in day. I did a major set of rebookings during the storm, it’s not really part of my job as such but I’m “the expert” and we had a major event on the West Coast with a large contingent traveling from DC across several days, myriad flights, and different airlines. I echo Wendy’s remarks about rebooking early. The…
Another Excellent Stay at the Westin Diplomat
Several folks asked me about this post from yesterday morning, the sunrise photo I was waking up to, where I was? It was another great stay at the Westin Diplomat. This isn’t the nicest or most refined property in Starwood, or even of theirs in South Florida. There’s a new W in Ft. Lauderdale that was tempting to check out. But this hotel offers the very best Platinum elite treatment of any property, anywhere. They have something like 86 suites in the upgrade pool, about three-quarters of which are “corner suites” — a bedroom and separate living room with small dining area and large bathroom. These suites have a wraparound balcony looking straight out at the Atlantic ocean, and to the side the ability to see the Intracoastal Waterway as well. With this many suites,…
Starwood Introduces Free Internet for Platinums
Lucky reports that Starwood Platinum members will begin receiving complimentary in-room internet worldwide on March 1. Hyatt added free internet as a benefit for all elites last year, at the same time they added four confirmed-at-booking suite upgrades per year. This is a good move to match Hyatt, but I still consider Hyatt’s Diamond upgrade program better than Starwood’s, although Starwood Platinums do have the chance of more suites than Hyatt Diamonds (quite rare for a Diamond to receive a suite without confirming it, in my experience). I’ve long been saying that Starwood hsa needed to ramp up benefits to stay competitive. What was once an industry-leading program has been matched and even surpassed. Starwood’s unique selling propositions were two-fold: True Redemptions: No capacity controls on awards. Hilton and Hyatt now both offer this. Upgrades…
Best Western Status Match Offer
Best Western is offering to match elite status. To match your ELITE status in any other hotel program you can either email our Customer Care team at BWRelite@bestwestern.com, or call 1-800-444-7646. Just tell us you want to upgrade your membership with Status Match…No CatchSM, provide us with proof of elite status with another hotel program and we’ll take care of the rest! If you hold elite status in another program, and you might stay at a Best Western, great. Me? I have no Best Western plans in my future, so probably won’t take advantage of the offer. (HT: Frugal Travel Guy.)
Free Hyatt Platinum Status and Fast Track to Diamond
Hyatt is offering instant platinum status (valid for 180 days) and a fast-track to retaining Platinum and achieving Diamond. The key benefits of Platinum status are avoiding the worst room in the house, free internet, and a 15% bonus on points earning. The offer is valid through December 30. New members receive their status instantly via the online link, current members need to call to register for the offer. The elite status fast track component of the offer is 5 nights during the 180 day trial to requalify through February 2012, or 15 nights to achieve Diamond status until then. Hyatt Diamond, in my estimation, is the best top tier of any major program at the moment (Intercontinental Royal Ambassador doesn’t count for the comparison). Hyatt matched Starwood on award redemption, so Hyatt points are…
Wonderful to Wake Up To
$100 Amazon Gift Card for Every Two Westin Stays
Register by April 30 and then every two stays — with Sunday through Thursday checkin — through May 13, 2010 will earn a $100 Amazon gift card. The bonus can be earned up to 3 times. No reason not to register, of course, even if you aren’t sure you’ll net two Westin stays.
A Series of Travel Giveaways to Come, Follow Me on Twitter
After the free Hilton Hotel night giveaway generated so much interest, I’m really enjoying giving away travel items. This next time I think I’m going to try something a little bit different. I’m going to offer some giveaways on Twietter, and you’ll have to follow @garyleff in order to be eligible. Details to come, follow me now so you don’t miss out!
Marriott Offers Elite Status Buyback for Members Who Did Not Requalify
In March 2008 I posted an offer to sign up for Marriott Rewards with instant gold status. The offer was even around for a few months. Well, I signed up, and my status was valid through February, 2010. I took advantage of it a bit, but am just not much of a Marriott guy. So my status is about to end… or is it? Yesterday I received an email offering me a chance to keep it. Through April 1 I have the following option: Limited-time only! Buy back your Gold status for just 25,000 points – a 15,000-point savings. Use points you already have, or purchase points. Anyone with status in 2009 can redeem points to keep that status through February, 2001. And Marriott will sell you up to 50,000 points per year for 1.25…
