News and notes from around the interweb:
- Hyatt added European Inclusive Collection resorts from its AMR acquisition into the World of Hyatt loyalty program. Hyatt also reports increasing loyalty program membership by 20% in 2022 (and 2022 isn’t over!).
- AMC Theaters is launching a co-brand credit card. People forget what a marketer AMC’s CEO is – Adam Aron launched Pan Am’s first frequent flyer program. As Hyatt’s Chief Marketing Officer he launched Gold Passport. And he was Senior Vice President of Marketing at United. He was also the CEO who sold Starwood to Marriott (though my sense is he did not want to do that deal, but effectively had little choice). Oy, the value proposition of the card though… (HT: Bill S)
There’s a waitlist for the card (cough) and Aron even pitches it to the Apes.
“There also is another extremely important constituency for whom we care greatly, and who will find the AMC Entertainment Visa Card to be of compelling appeal: AMC’s millions of enthusiastic and passionate shareholders. This new AMC Entertainment Visa Card was certainly designed with them in mind.”
- United serves expired snacks too – but here only by a day
Shout out to @united for serving expired cookies on my flight today. pic.twitter.com/KXCwI4tTzj
— just peachin' (@h0tmess_) December 13, 2022
- Airbnb Debuts Total Prices Before Taxes With Plan to Make It Default View will it “have a ripple effect, prompting some hosts to reduce cleaning fees”..?
- Singapore Airlines no longer serves Dom Perignon in Suites or First Class because Emirates now has a deal to be the exclusive airline with Dom Perignon. Dom is a Moët & Chandon brand, and the deal turns out to extend to Moët (unsurprisingly) but they also reportedly have exclusivity with LVMH’s Veuve Clicquot.
Emirates uses Veuve on some numerous business class routes, and this is no great loss for other carriers in my view. However it may mean no one can serve La Grande Dame in First?
- Never wait on hold with airline customer service again
- Order more $0 Covid tests from the federal government
Before any jerk makes a thoughtless comment about COVID, remember that some individuals have medical conditions that make them extremely vulnerable to COVID, including the risk of death. I have *another* family member who might now be succumbing to COVID and has asked me to administer her estate.
No. The snack was not expired. That would be “use by.” These are clearly marked ” Best by”. There is truly a difference, and not semantics.
But since this a concern for you, here is a tip. Supermarkets often reduce the price of items marked “Best by” date that has passed. If these are items you usually buy at a higher price, stock up, and put them in the freezer until needed.
Gold Passport. A throwback to my younger days working at a Hyatt! The Platinum members got hooked up. The 2 courtesy cards I saw were really hooked up. I’m sure that’s probably still a thing.