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.
Hyatt’s ‘soft brand’ – the umbrella for independent hotels to join Hyatt without matching specific brand standards – is called “Unbound Collection.” The chain is offering double elite qualifying nights for stays at Unbound Collection hotels through end of year. (Registration required.)
There are 20 Unbound Collection properties.
Already on their sixth transfer bonus of the year, having just launched transferable points, and Capital One has shared in the past that “limited-time offers like this will be another major perk for Venture and Spark Miles account holders to take advantage of.”
This month they’re back with a bonus on transfers to Air France KLM Flying Blue, a great program to pool points in, with reasonable redemption rates and good business class availability.
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.
Many Marriott Platinums see their suite night awards expire unused. Nonetheless, when they work they’re great.
Marriott has made two changes to Suite Night Awards, each reflecting problems with Marriott’s own internal systems that they’ve been unable to solve.
United has held firm that they can take a customer’s money for a lifetime service and change the terms (the “our fingers were crossed” rule). Unlike Delta and American, people who purchased lifetime United Club memberships cannot continue to use United Clubs unless they’re flying United or designated partners same day.
To me United’s decision undermines CEO Oscar Munoz’s credibility to claims that the airline is motivated by a desire to do the right thing for customers. It all come down to trust. But then what do you think their elimination of award charts means?
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.
Customers at a certain value (in this case buying the most expensive fares when other customers tend not to be doing so) should be able to use their miles any time they wish without penalty. And it’s worth letting them do so even if the flight they might book onto would otherwise be full.
Citi is sending out year-end gift offers to Prestige cardmembers, though I don’t yet know wehther this is a targeted offer or something sent far and wide. It’s the opportunity to choose a complimentary gift from Tiffany & Co: a pen, a bowl, a platter, tumblers or wine glasses.
There was a time I would have argued that the Qantas first class lounge at LAX was the best lounge in the United States. That was before United opened its Polaris lounges, and American opened its Flagship First Class dining rooms.
While I prefer the ambiance of the Star Alliance business class lounge’s outdoor deck with fire pits at LAX, the sit down dining of the Qantas lounge makes it the most desirable place to spend time in the Tom Bradley international terminal prior to a flight.
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 »
