President Biden Calls For Ban On Hotel Resort Fees – Almost Guarantees Nothing Will Change

by Gary Leff

Feb 01 2023

President Biden went to war against hotel resort fees and other consumer fees this past fall. He directed federal agencies to find a way to clamp down on or ban them.

Now, however, the CFPB is prepared to limit credit card late fees to $8 but as for the rest of junk fees the President criticized, agencies will do nothing more than continue to “prioritize them” and he’s instead calling on Congress to act. That’s akin to doing nothing, but is also potentially better for the President politically.

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Better Upgrades To Suites, Premium Room Awards Coming For IHG One Rewards Guests

by Gary Leff

Feb 01 2023

Last year IHG rebranded its loyalty program IHG One Rewards, meant to unify all of the chains brands and give customers a reason to stay loyal. They introduced whole new suites of benefits including top tier Diamond status with free daily breakfast, and benefit choices like confirmed suite upgrades, club lounge access, and food and beverage spending credit to use on property.

I spoke with IHG’s Senior Vice President Heather Balsley to learn more about how the new program is going, and what benefits are coming next.

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TODAY ONLY: 100% Transfer Bonus To Hawaiian And Up To 6x Points Earning From Bilt Rewards

by Gary Leff

Feb 01 2023

For February 1 Bilt is offering their staple double points, up to 6 points per dollar spent, on their Bilt Mastercard. They’re also giving away free points and free tickets to Hawaii (plus paying rent for some program members). And they’re offering an unprecedented 100% transfer bonus to Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles, putting free tickets, upgrades, and partner awards within reach.

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Location Of 9th Chase Airport Lounge Discovered, As Bank Soon Becomes #3 Travel Platform In World

by Gary Leff

Jan 31 2023

Chase expects their travel platform will generate $10 billion in sales initially 2023, and $15 billion within a couple of years, becoming the third largest travel agency behind Expedia and Booking.com. Already Chase generates 25% of total leisure travel spend on its cards.

As Chase puts together the details, we learned Last summer that there were plans for a total of 9 Chase Sapphire lounges, but only 6 locations had been detailed.

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Wide Open Singapore Airlines Business Class Awards: Up To 8 Award Seats Per Flight To Asia!

by Gary Leff

first class airline seat
Jan 31 2023

Right now San Francisco – Singapore non-stop has amazing award availability as well. There are numerous dates where there are 8 award seats available, when booking into the future. In fact there are days where both of Singapore’s daily A350-900 San Francisco non-stops have 8 award seats available.

Singapore Airlines does a very nice job making premium cabin award seats available to its own members, often close to departure but almost certainly booked far into the future. The best availability for non-stop awards to Singapore from San Francisco is September – November right now.

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