With the addition of Miraval to the Hyatt portfolio we’re seeing something dangerous.
Hyatt has amended its terms and conditions to describe properties “not included by Hyatt (in its sole discretion) in the category 1-7 classification system.”
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.
Alaska Airlines subsidiary Horizon Air has a significant shortage of pilots for its 76 seat Bombardier Q400 aircraft. And the pilots union doesn’t like the airline paying pilots a higher rate of overtime.
Water dripping from the ceiling is fairly common on an aircraft. So is heavy misting in the cabin on planes departing hot climates. So the mere dripping of water on a Delta flight from Atlanta to Ft. Myers isn’t surprising.
However “a half-dozen people [being] soaked by flight’s end” is a bit less common, as well as flight attendants not bothering to “address the leak until the flight was in its final descent.”
Air France KLM’s Flying Blue program should be interesting to U.S. frequent flyers for several reasons: they offer one-way awards; they are an American Express Membership Rewards, Citi Thank You points, and a Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer partner; they have far more award space on their own flights than Delta has access to; they have most of their partners available for online booking.
And they have a bunch of business class award routes on sale to anywhere in Europe (including Israel for the same price).
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.
Airlines sometimes miss that the key question for a lounge isn’t “are there enough seats for passengers?” but “is there enough space and enough empty seats so the lounge doesn’t feel full?”
If a lounge feels just as packed as the gate area, it isn’t a peaceful escape from the terminal. I’ve been to too many lounges that feel like refugee camps during peak times. You have to hunt for a place to sit. Staff can’t keep up with the turnover and trash piles up. Food and drink go unreplenished.
Most air redemptions — even if you don’t maximize value by redeeming at the upper end of a redemption tier — will get you 1.6 cents apiece or more for your points. So fixed value 1.5 cents a point redemptions are a devaluation.
The official signup bonus for Hyatt’s co-brand credit card has changed from earning 2 free nights at any participating property to earning 40,000 bonus points. But if you’ve recently gotten it, or you act fast to do so, there’s a real way to leverage the free nights.
Two people staying at Miraval is normally 65,000 points per night. The stay includes “enjoy a $175 resort credit per person, per day along with unlimited meals, snacks and over 120 wellness activities and classes each week.”
Four hotels are going up in maximum award price, which since they no longer have award charts.
All of the specific changes they’re making seem on-face reasonable, but I replied asking if they would “reconsider posting a standard award “maximum price” chart” since that would foster the kind of transparency they appear to be seeking in sharing changes like this.
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 »
