A year ago United introduced free domestic first class upgrades farther in advance, and free international business to first upgrades to high value customers.
But here’s something I didn’t know about — the number of flights in a row that a 1K misses an upgrade can influence their upgrade priority on an upcoming trip.
Since Marriott and Starwood accounts can now be linked, and you can transfer points back and forth between accounts, I was curious about the process to see how it would work in practice. I learned three things when I made a transfer of 1000 Starwood points into 3000 Marriott points.
The cheapest coach roundtrips between New York and London on Virgin America are running $658 – $780 per person depending on the day of travel. Meanwhile Premium Economy is available for the same price or less, it’s $658 even when coach is more.
This deal is available from other East Coast Virgin Atlantic cities as well, for instance I’ve found it from Washington Dulles. This gets even better. If you’re buying two tickets, you can get $200 back…!
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 like American’s new safety video even though (perhaps because of) I’m not much of a fan of cheesy or over-the-top safety videos. I think it’s a solid effort, and I give it high marks precisely because it’s not the most wild and creative thing out there. It’s modern, and does the job.
However I have to give real kudos to Delta’s new safety video which debuts onboard October 1.
Marriott has acquired Starwood, and on day one they’re already making it possible to link frequent guest accounts, match status, and transfer points between programs.
Marriott and Starwood are still separate, the programs are still independent — you earn and redeem Starwood points at Sheraton, Westin, etc. and you earn and redeem Marriott points at Marriott, Renaissance, etc. — but you can move your points back and forth and elite customers of one can be treated as elites with both.
Now that Marriott’s acquisition has closed, and they’re already letting you link accounts, match elite status, and move points between programs, there are fantastic arbitrage opportunities created.
However long the period lasts where the Marriott program and Starwood program retain their separate identities while letting members move their points and status back and forth between the two — whether only a little over a year, or for two years — this period may wind up as one of the real golden ages of hotel loyalty programs.
Marriott’s deal to acquire Starwood has closed. And they’re seriously ahead of the curve with member benefits.
They are ready to let members link Starwood and Marriott Rewards accounts. Starwood and Marriott elites can have status matches, and members can move points between programs at will.
This will take some time to roll out, for instance my flights on American last night still aired the older videos that American has been playing for years (which featured different crew members speaking different parts but that was generally corporate and straight-forward). I expect my American flights today will still have the older video as well, and of course MD80s don’t have inflight video at all.
However the new video is more modern, it has a little bit too long of a lead-in in my opinion, but is more ‘fun’ without being too cheesy either.
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.
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 »
