Mar 17 2016

Even as US airline programs are devaluing their points and restructuring the (relatively small) portion of earning that derives from flights, loyalty programs are expanding.

Loyalty marketing is increasing in importance as companies are better able to: track consumer behavior through technology and communicate effectively with consumers electronically.

The crux of loyalty programs is that consumer behavior can be driven through recognition and reward.

Loyalty programs aren’t going anywhere.

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Mar 16 2016

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.

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Mar 16 2016

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.

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Mar 16 2016

The narrative about air travel has been that basic economy fares get less and less, and pay for more and more things. About 8 years ago the trend began charging for checked bags in economy.

On the other hand, it’s usually expected that premium cabins get more. There’s more perks for people who pay more.

That’s not always true. And continuing the trend of taking away from premium passengers, American shared with me today that they’re eliminating the 3rd free checked bag from domestic first class and international business class.

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Mar 16 2016

Back in November Starwood brought their 11th brand Design Hotels into the SPG program.

Now Starwood is letting you earn free nights when you stay at their ‘Deisgn Hotels’ properties.

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Mar 16 2016

With American AAdvantage devaluing its award chart March 22 there’s a ton of last minute requests for space.

And for the conspiracy theorists out there expecting American to remove all award space until March 22 arrives, I’ve pointed out fantastic space to South America. There’s decent Asia availability come the end of the year. And here’s a route to try when nothing else works.

You can go to Europe for the holidays as well.

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Mar 16 2016

Last month an Alaska Airlines a passenger brought their own booze onboard, drank it, and screamed “we’re all gonna die!” This was deemed a customer service issue. (Just like with their frequent flyer program, they do things a little differently up in Seattle.)

Because a mere few weeks later, another drunk passenger forced an Alaska Airlines diversion.

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Mar 16 2016

With American AAdvantage devaluing its award chart March 22 there’s a ton of last minute requests for space.

For quite some time American has been really really tough with award space on their own international flights. However American has been going to lengths to improve their premium cabin award availability. At the end of last year American finally opened pretty good award space on their new Sydney flight. I covered the floodgates opening for award space on London routes. And how they opened up China flying. That was just the start. And they opened up space to Auckland, too.

It seems though that right as the window is about to close to book at current prices, American has shut the window on availability for many of its own flights. But that’s not true in every market. Want to redeem premium cabin miles at current pricing? Look to South America.

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Mar 15 2016

The bottom-line, no matter what anyone else tells you, is who makes the biggest credible offer to buy Starwood.

Contra the claim that “Starwood’s board has to determine whether or not it wants to go with this cash deal or whether it wants to go with Marriott, and see how Marriott’s stock does over the long term” they really won’t be deciding whether they think long-term Marriott’s stock will do better than cash now.

If they get more cash for their shareholders, those shareholders can choose to buy even more Marriott stock or anything else they wish. Turning down a substantially more lucrative offer isn’t just a recipe for shareholder lawsuits, it’s a recipe for successful shareholder lawsuits for a breach of the board’s fiduciary duty.

NWA‘s “Gangsta Gangsta” pretty much summed up the decision tree here, Starwood’s life ain’t nothin but money. The only question for Starwood’s board, then, comes down to how real the Anbang offer is and whether Marriott raises their offer to match it.

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