How Much Did Marriott’s Change To Dynamic Award Prices Devalue The Currency?

by Gary Leff

outside marriott hotel
Apr 17 2022

Marriott did what they said they would do – limit the carnage in the first year, in much the same way they over-indexed Bonvoy value when the program first launched (they waited to add a higher tier category and launch peak and off peak pricing, even though they announced it as their plan).

The playbook is ‘announce a negative change but wait to fully implement it’ so everyone looks at the new program and says “great!” or “not so bad!” before it gets worse. We should believe Marriott when they say next year will be worse!

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Dumb – And Chillingly Ignorant – American’s Suites With Doors Won’t ‘Show The Door To The Poor’

by Gary Leff

Apr 17 2022

Chris Matyszczyk is known for taking my airline leaks and sensationalizing them. Here, though he takes word of American Airlines business class seats coming with doors on the airline’s new delivery Boeing 787-9s and uses that to pull his very best Christopher Elliott, which is to say taking a travel story he doesn’t understand and doing his best to turn it into an allegory about class warfare and socialism of the North Korean variety.

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The Backstory Behind The First Really Innovative Loyalty Program In Years

by Gary Leff

Apr 16 2022

It turns out that redeeming points for a mortgage down payment may have been illegal and Bilt had to get explicit regulatory approval from the Federal Housing Administration. The specific sources of funds used for mortgage down payments are heavily regulated.

They got an explicit government no at first, before approval, and then they had to get landlords to sign on, and many were skeptical (more homeowners means fewer renters). And that was just the start, because they completely revamped their earning value proposition in the three months prior to launching last fall.

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Woman Checks $12,000 Worth Of Goods On Flight Leaving Cancun, Of Course They Were Stolen

by Gary Leff

Apr 16 2022

Don’t check things that are super-valuable, forget theft an airline can lose your luggage. You can insure your valuables separately. Remember that for international flights checked bag liability is limited under the Montreal Convention.

Of course putting items in your carry on bag, above you in the overhead, can also entail risk especially on long haul flights when everyone in the cabin goes to sleep but there’s still less risk. You can keep truly valuable items with you, under your seat, or at least concealed.

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