When the President of the United States, himself a successful promoter whose primary asset is his brand, gives free marketing advice it’s actually worth listening to, even if he’s just cribbing it straight from Stringer Bell in The Wire.
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
I stumbled upon a treasure trove of current data on frequent flyer programs published at the beginning of the year. Some airlines have disclosed newer data in investor filings over the past three months since this was published, however it’s still largely current.
How many members do frequent flyer programs have? When will miles be redeemed? How many miles will never be redeemed? How much will redemptions cost the airlines?
Here’s what I’ve done in a similar situation. I once checked in at the Park Hyatt Sydney early in the morning after a long transpacific flight. They told me they did not have any standard rooms available (I had redeemed points) but they did have an Opera View King available and if I wanted that room it would be an extra AU$100 per night for my 5 night stay. (Since they were ‘full’ they wouldn’t offer any complimentary upgrades.)
Unquestionably this is a room type eligible for elite upgrade. And by definition it was available for the entire length of my stay (as with Marriott, a requirement for Hyatt) since they were offering it to me. I was tired and wanted to go to my room, so I accepted…
First they came for the straws, but I don’t drink from plastic straws so I said nothing. Now they’re coming for miniature shampoo, conditioner, and bath gel as California considers outlawing single use toiletries.
That means hotels would install wall dispensers in the shower but wall dispensers are awful and must be stopped. And it turns out this is a gift to corporate hotel interests under the fig leaf of the environment.
American Airlines, in a letter to employees, announced this morning that they had extended their grounding of the aircraft through August 19th.
They were explicit, though, that they believe the plane will be flying before then – and that an earlier return to service will mean using the MAX as spare aircraft to help during peak summer travel.
In many ways this is the golden age of rewards. There are big initial bonus offers, fast earning for spend, and rich benefits. And rewards expense is higher than ever for card issuers.
There are risks though, and challenges for issuers. Here’s how rewards are going to have to change to be successful.
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
There’s a major difference between “know that” and “know how.” The latter comes from deep practice and a development of tacit knowledge that comes from first-hand experience. And airline executives too often lack know how in loyalty marketing and make big mistakes that undermine profits as a result.
The basis for this silly claim is, “[H]istorically, when JetBlue enters an international market, fares plummet by on average 12 per cent. Though it can be even more. Hopper pointed out that when the carrier launched flights from Fort Lauderdale and New York’s JFK to Trinidad and Tobago, it spurred savings on all airlines of up to 26 per cent.”
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
