IHG Rewards Club has made a big change in their terms and conditions with no advance notice, or even any notice, to members: they will no longer award points even for incidentals on stays booked through third party website. Hotel loyalty programs have spent years trying to gain control over the distribution of rooms. Years ago Priceline nights counted towards Hyatt elite status and even towards promotion earning (such as ‘Faster Free Nights’). In some cases such generosity was because of systems limitations. Bookings through third party websites like Expedia, Orbitz, or Booking.com are costly to hotel chains. On the whole they’ve driven down those costs over the past few years as hotel occupancy has gone up, but it’s still a huge expense that can run 15% – 25% of a room night. So hotels…
Hilton HHonors Announces Hotel Award Category Changes — Find Out Which Hotels Will Cost You More (or Fewer) Points to Redeem
After Hilton’s dramatic award chart gutting of nearly two years ago, there weren’t huge changes again this year. And Hilton decided to change the way they made changes to how they re-assign hotels to award categories. Instead of an annual change to tons of hotels (a schedule they really weren’t wedded to in the past anyway) they decided they would make rolling changes throughout the year. And instead of informing all members proactively of these changes, they would just post them on a web page in the name of ‘transparency’. At least they are announcing the changes. And savvy members could create a change detection for the page. Towards that end, Hilton is making category adjustments to several hotels effective January 14.
David vs. Goliath, United and Orbitz Try Cracking Down on Cheap Airfare Practices
Regular readers may be familiar with the indispensable guide to saving money on airfare using hidden city and throwaway tickets. In the guide I explain how to find extra flights for your ticket that allow you to save money, I outline the risks and how to make best use of the techniques. A year ago a new website called Skiplagged launched to help find those extra flights that save you money. Last month Orbitz and United sued to shut down the site. Hidden city ticketing is not illegal (and the New York Times “Ethicist” endorses it), but it’s generally against airline rules, and there are some basic practices you need to follow to make sure you or your bags don’t wind up in the wrong city!
Hyatt Diamond Status Challenge Returns Thursday!
Be sure to see the update to this post about eligibility for this offer. Hyatt has been exceptionally generous in being willing to give elite members of other hotel chains temporary top tier status in the Gold Passport program, while offering an expedited way to keep that status. And they even gave these temporary Diamond full confirmed suite upgrades as though they had earned the status for a year. This was exceptionally game-able. Plenty of folks signed up for a credit card that gave them Hilton Gold status and leveraged that into Hyatt Diamond — maybe transferred some points into Hyatt from Chase Ultimate Rewards, booked cash and points award stays, upgraded them to suites at booking and enjoyed free breakfasts during their stays.
Thailand’s Iron Chef Cooks Ancient Recipes in a Deserted Top Notch Restaurant
Must-read Earlier Installments: Singapore, Cathay, and Qantas First Class.. Some of the Best Meals of My Life, and a Tour of Hyatts in Bangkok, Singapore, and Sydney Inside the New Oneworld Lounge at LAX’s Tom Bradley International Terminal Cathay Pacific First Class, Los Angeles – Hong Kong Cathay Pacific “The Wing” First Class Lounge, Hong Kong Cathay Pacific Business Class, Hong Kong – Bangkok Grand Hyatt Bangkok: Suite, Club Lounge, and Facilities Thai Molecular Gastronomy at Sra Bua in Bangkok Getting Custom Tailored Suits Made in Bangkok at Empire Tailors Nahm at the Metropolitan: the Best Thai Food in Thailand? Siam Wisdom opened this past April. It’s the restaurant of Thai Iron Chef Chumphol Jaengprai. It was recommended to me by the owner of Elephant Jumps in Northern Virginia, not as a place he’s been…
Earn Miles for Doctor Visits, Don’t Trust United With Your Pet, and Where to Find Very Important $500 Gift Cards…
News and notes from around the interweb: Earn miles for doctor visits. This could either tax the health care system, or really incentivize cost-saving preventive care.. Grocery stores that sell $500 gift cards Skift takes an interesting approach to valuing miles: averaging the values assigned by me, Lucky, and The Points Guy. I think that’s wrong-headed of course, as I believe my valuations to be correct (or else they wouldn’t be my valuations). Nonetheless, interesting.. United wasn’t very nice to this dog and their social media team passed the buck to a third party. I can’t imagine turning my little guy over to an airline, having to trust them… Democrat Senators focusing on Uber and Lyft privacy policies and technologies US airlines don’t compete in the same markets with Gulf carriers. Thus, arguably, there’s fertile…
50% Off Business Class Awards to Europe If You Book in January
Air France KLM’s Flying Blue program should be interesting to U.S. frequent flyers for several reasons. They offer one-way awards, which Delta won’t have until next year. They are an American Express Membership Rewards and a Citi Thank You points transfer partner. They have access to award space that Delta won’t let you have. They have most of their partners available for online booking Unfortunately their call centers are frustrating, their website can be too (and has been known to show ‘phantom’ award availability, seats that look available but aren’t really here to book). And they add fuel surcharges onto award tickets. One of the great values, historically, has been their ‘promo awards’.
oneworld Airline TAM’s New “Fifth Freedom” Route is a Great Opportunity to Use British Airways Avios and Also Save on Fuel Surcharges!
Brazil-based oneworld member airline TAM is going to start flying New York JFK – Toronto 5 days a week effective March 28 and will launch daily Brasilia – Orlando service effective June 12. Both routes will use 767s. (HT: World Airline News) This news is much more interesting than it would at first appear. A Great British Airways Avios Redemption New York – Toronto is another great use of British Airways Avios — 4500 points one-way in economy, 9000 points in business class. Business class can be worthwhile on such a short route because: It gets you an increased baggage allowance As well as priority airport services For folks without airline status, an incremental 4500 points can be worth it just for baggage. Already American Airlines flies the route, and the forward cabin is considered…
Did You Come ‘This Close’ to an Elite Status Level? American AAdvantage May Just Be Giving It To You Anyway!
Hat tip to JonNYC and then I’ve been seeing it pop up across my Facebook feed. American AAdvantage appears to be sending out emails to members that didn’t quite make a status level, and granting them the higher status. The criteria for their doing so does not appear clear. I’ve seen a couple of folks within 500 miles of a status level given the higher status. I’ve seen at least one report of someone within that range not receiving the email (yet?). And there are reports of others that were substantially farther away being bumped up. The email begins, for instance: We appreciate your business so much that, even though you didn’t fly quite enough to earn elite status, we would like to offer you AAdvantage® Platinum membership in recognition of your revenue contribution. (Emphasis…
Yankees Pitcher CC Sabathia Books 12 First Class Seats, Then Shows Up Late and ‘Freaks Out’
It’s been a rough fall for celebrities running late to catch flights. Will.i.am showed up too late for his United flight to China. He wasn’t allowed to board and took to social media… Jeremih showed up for a flight after the jetway door had closed. His entourage members already on the flight proceeded to open the door themselves. Now it’s New York Yankees’ pitcher “CC” Sabathia’s turn. (HT: Alan H.) Yankees ace CC Sabathia allegedly went ball-istic at Newark Airport over the weekend when he and his entourage just missed a flight to Jamaica. And by ‘just’, he apparently turned up at the ticket counter 15 minutes prior to departure.
