A year ago IHG acquired Kimpton. Hyatt was in the running for that prize, and almost bought Starwood before Marriott scooped Starwood up.
Fairmont Hotels has been on the auction block as well. IHG was rumored as a possible buyer. Accor, which was also named as a possible suitor for Starwood, has done the deal picking up the parent of Fairmont, Raffles, and Swissotel for $2.9 billion.
IHG Rewards Club – the loyalty program for Intercontinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and related brands — is offering a 100% bonus on purchased points through December 11.
This means you can buy points at just $0.00575 apiece which is a lower price than what they’re worth.
Two weeks ago I wrote that American was considering introducing a premium economy cabin. This morning American has announced they’ll be the first US airline to offer a premium economy cabin on most of their widebody international fleet.
Overall I’m a big fan of premium economy (in much the way that I’m a fan of JetBlue’s Mint), a premium product that’s within reach of more passengers. However it raises concern for frequent flyers looking to upgrade. The sections will be small (so upgrades to premium economy could be tough) and airlines with premium economy may not offer upgrades from economy to business class. Will the upgrade experience be diminished as a result of this new offering?
American Express Membership Rewards transfers to Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles receive a 25% bonus through December 21.
Now that you can no longer use American AAdvantage miles to fly between the mainland and Hawaii and indeed flying from the mainland to Hawaii and then beyond on Hawaiian Airlines is charged as two separate awards by American, using the HawaiianMiles program for Hawaii and South Pacific travel can be strategically useful.
Although HawaiianMiles doesn’t qualify as one of the Top 5 Deals to Hawaii with Miles or Money.
American’s revenue management has been notoriously stingy about releasing seats for premium cabin international travel — over the past three years to Europe, and over the past 18 months or so even to Latin America and Asia.
When American releases premium cabin awards on their own flights, that’s notable (and means no fuel surcharges).
JonNYC just tweeted that there’s a new ‘third region exception’ as part of American AAdvantage’s unpublished award rules. Here’s what’s changed.
Malaysia Airports (Sepang) Sdn Bhd, which operates Kuala Lumpur International Airport, took out an ad looking for the owner of 3 Boeing 747-200 freighters that have been left at the airport.
Three years ago American Airlines introduced pre-order meals. Premium cabin customers can pre-select their meal choice either online or over the phone within 30 days of (and up to 24 hours prior to) travel.
In mid-September American took this functionality down off their website. But it turns out there’s a website ‘hack’ to let you pre-order your meal.
“Get 50 percent off first class seats or main cabin select seats, which comes with priority security screening and boarding, two checked bags (a true luxury these days), in-flight Wi-Fi, Dean and Deluca snacks, and a massive selection of on-demand entertainment.”
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 »
