Heels First Travel reports that Expedia Rewards is changing its points earning structure. They are doubling points earning for hotels and dropping points earning on airfare from 1 point per $2 (it used to be 1 point per dollar) down to 1 point per $5. Personally I used Expedia only for airfare, since I care about getting elite benefits on stays (many chains like Hilton and Starwood won’t honor those if booking through an online travel agent) and I care about earning points and stay credit (the rest of the chains won’t award that). What’s striking is that the changes have gone into effect immediately, with no advance notice whatsoever. And that this isn’t the first devaluation the program has made with no notice — and the program is only two years old! The program…
Bits ‘n Pieces for August 17, 2013
News and notes from around the interweb: The DOJ lawsuit against the American-US Airways merger puts a lot of personnel changes on hold. Both airlines now need people to run operations that were told they wouldn’t have a job once the merger closed. Guy sticks a camera on his plane. Then he winds up crashing. Makes for a great video, if not a great flight. Fortunately he’s alright. Two Turkish Airlines pilots were abducted by Lebanese Shiites and are being held hostage to try to force Turkey to pressure Syrian rebels to release Lebanese kidnapped in Syria. This story deserves greater coverage. With the merger of LAN and TAM and the clarity that the combined entity becomes a member of oneworld, it’s not surprising that American miles will be able to be used on TAM…
Has Hertz Figured Out the Rental Experience of the Future?
There have been only two major breakthroughs in the rental car industry, from a consumer perspective, in recent decades: The rental car ‘club’ you join where your car is pre-assigned and your billing information is on file — no need to wait in line or fill out paperwork. Choose your own vehicle, pioneered by National (Emerald Aisle) but recently starting to get copied by others. Now Hertz is trying to think through their own innovations, a couple of which are hits but some are clear misses. Hertz unveiled redesigned car rental locations, featuring on-site printing capabilities, mobile device recharging stations and retail options, according to the company. Redesigned locations sell food, drinks and some travel accessories. Hertz also is “piloting new telematics for its buses” that would allow travelers to use an app to determine…
Priority Club Points Can Now Officially Be Included in Your Estate Plans
Yesterday IHG Rewards (“the hotel loyalty program formerly known as Priority Club”) revised its terms and conditions to codify a benefit that was previously undocumented — the ability to transfer miles from an account upon death. Transfer of IHG® Rewards Club Points Upon Death. When an IHG® Rewards Club member passes away, the member’s IHG® Rewards Club points may be transferred to the IHG® Rewards Club account(s) of the member’s beneficiary(ies). The request for transfer should be sent to the IHG® Rewards Club Service Center by the executor or administrator of the decedent’s estate, along with court documents showing authority, or by a sole beneficiary, along with copies of the decedent’s will and death certificate. The request must be received within one (1) year of the date of death. Transfer fees will be waived. They…
Why Devaluations Can Be Even Worse for Programs Than They Are for Members
Program devaluations can kill the golden goose. And, it appears, we may already be seeing that with Hilton. Ric Garrido points to a really interesting article in Hotel News Now on the value and evolution of loyalty programs which quoted hotel program execs on how the programs generate value and on the risks in disrupting that relationship. In general frequent flyer programs are highly profitable. That’s why I’ve been so skeptical of totally remaking their business models (“revenue-based” airline frequent flyer programs). Sure, members can be frustrated with redemptions on the airline side especially, not finding enough seats. That’s mostly an HR and technology problem. Agents aren’t incentivized to work hard for frequent flyers — they don’t get paid a bonus for successfully booking an award, or for spending lots of time on the phone…
The Andaz 5th Avenue — and How Hotels Choose What Room Types to Use for Upgrades
Another blogger emailed me for my thoughts about upgrades at the Grand Hyatt Tampa, a property I’ll be visiting in September for the first time for Frequent Traveler University. He was frustrated because the hotel confirms upgrades (using Diamond confirmed upgrade certificates or points) to a room type that is better than the base-level suite. There weren’t any of these rooms available during his stay. There were lesser suites, he would have been happy with one, but they weren’t initially made available to him. He pushed and apparently an exception was made. Nonetheless he felt that the hotel was being less generous than they should be, not allowing confirmed upgrades into their base suite (which are more plentiful than the room category they do assign). I thought this was an interesting take, and one which…
W Hotels Store 40% Off on Everything (includes Beds and Bedding)
The W Hotels Store is running a 40% off sale on everything through September 4 with coupon code LD4W7. I bought my own bed with a 40% discount — the last time I remember this being offered was March 2012 but I may have missed one or two along the way. It was much more common to see 40% discounts between 2006 and 2009. And I got in before the May 2010 price increase. I bought my Queen Plush Top bed and frame for $720 all-in, free shipping and no sales tax. The same purchase today, with this deal is about $100 more. But still a great value I think. Charges at the W Hotel Store do earn double points on the Starwood American Express cards. I’ve been happy with the purchase. It’s a good…
Review: Grand Hyatt Singapore (Upgrade to a Duplex Suite) and Hotel Pickup #FAIL
Last year I stayed at the Grand Hyatt Singapore and really enjoyed it. If you want to be on Orchard Road it’s a great option. Singapore is a very tough hotel town, lots of good hotels but only a few that are close to great — and even the good ones can be pricey. So the ability to leverage elite benefits or points can be a strong benefit. I booked a discounted paid rate and confirmed my upgrade in advance. Hyatt allows Diamonds to confirm upgrades to suites at time of booking (subject to availability) 4 times per year for up to 7 nights each time. And they allow all members to use just 6000 points to confirm an upgrade of up to 4 nights if paying the ‘Hyatt Daily Rate’. The standard upgrade here…
Bits ‘n Pieces for August 15, 2013
News and notes from around the interweb: Cranky Flier walks through a few of the markets where the Department of Justice claims that an American – US Airways merger would constitute a violation of anti-trust law. Doesn’t look good for DOJ, and I’m increasingly wondering if DOJ just wanted to get something filed before today’s bankruptcy hearing where the judge was expected to approve the merger — to put a flag down on the play. But the rhetoric of the brief was stronger than I’d have expected if that were true (more difficult to walk back from), so I’m still not sure. Pizza in Motion interviews the heads of the MGM M Life and Hyatt Gold Passport programs for Milepoint.tv Lucky says that the increase in price of Delta SKymiles business class awards for travel…
An Introduction to Singapore Hawker Centers – How They Work, and Which One is Best for You?
Singapore is one of the world’s best food cities, both at the high and low end of the spectrum Hawker centers are one of the primary reasons that Singapore — far from just being ‘a stopover’ — is one of my favorite cities in the world. What are Hawker Centers? Hawker centers are basically food courts which host a variety of providers, each of which usually specializes in one or just a few dishes. Because there are many providers, many of whom make the same or similar things, competition is intense. The best, then, become very good. The dishes are usually cheap. Singapore is known for the hawker center, and the government owns the facilities — originally they were a move towards centralizing the food stalls and ensuring hygiene. More recently they’re supported to preserve…
