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.
Up to 25% off points redemptions for New York hotel stays at 5 IHG Rewards Club properties if you book and stay by April 30.
University of Arkansas Law School professor Khaled Beydoun is claiming he was assaulted by a Delta Connection regional jet pilot after flying from Atlanta to Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport on Delta flight DL5325 operated by Endeavor Air, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Delta Airlines.
The man was upgraded to first class based on his Platinum status but then downgraded to extra legroom coach. He says it’s because of his race. He then had words with the captain, whom he claims proceeded to ‘grab him by the neck’ and call the police on him.
Earlier I wrote about Hilton’s new highest priced award. Up until this week no hotel cost more than 95,000 points per night. That’s been the maximum since Hilton increased some of their most expensive hotels like the Conrad Koh Samui in Thailand (all stand-alone villas) from 50,000 to 95,000 during high season in 2013.
When they eliminated award charts 2 years ago we were told that hotels wouldn’t get more expensive, that the top rates in place would apply but pricing might go down.
Now with the opening of the Waldorf Astoria in the Maldives we’re seeing standard awards there pricing at 120,000 points per night.
American today could have been a real player in New York. Instead the world’s largest airline doesn’t seem to know what to do – or if they should do anything at all – with the nation’s most important air city.
They don’t serve New York JFK – Zurich. They don’t serve Frankfurt. Or Munich. Or Amsterdam. Or Tel Aviv. Or.. Denver. And they keep cutting markets.
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.
The new Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi is open and bookable on points. And it prices at 120,000 points per night for a standard room.
We don’t yet see hotels like the Conrad Maldives, Conrad Bora Bora, or Conrad Koh Samui pricing at over 95,000 points per night. But Hilton is no longer anchored to a 95,000 point maximum. At least that is how it appears at first blush. I’ve reached out to Hilton, hoping to learn that this is some sort of mistake.
Actress Jessica Chastain is aghast that flight attendants aren’t ‘getting paid’ during boarding, they are working, how can this be legal she wants to know?
The Academy Award nominee isn’t alone. Several flight attendants who read this blog feel they shouldn’t have to serve predeparture beverages since they ‘aren’t getting paid’.
When Marriott announced their award category changes that go into effect March 5, I noted that 346 hotels would cost more points and 37 would cost fewer.
I initially wrote that you could use points advance to lock in reservations now at the current rate even if you don’t have the points, and redeem later (after March 5 when prices go up). Several readers pointed out to me that Marriott implied in their announcement that this wasn’t the case. However I’ve re-confirmed this still works.
Hyatt has announced changes to hotel award category assignments that will go into effect March 18 at 11:01 p.m. Central time. A total of 259 hotels change category, about a third of Hyatt’s portfolio, but this is balanced with an equal number going up (130) and down (129).
You can book future stays at hotels going up in award price and lock in their current price up until March 18. If you have a future stay at a hotel that’s going down in price, Hyatt will refund the points difference to you automatically. They’ll be doing a sweep starting March 19.
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 »
