In explaining the no-notice elimination of air and hotel travel packages they say they cannot support category-based stay certificates once they eliminate award categories in March – so these packages go away, and any unused certificates can only be cancelled and converted back to points.
Last week Marriott dropped into their terms and conditions that they were eliminating travel packages effective January 19, 2022. This was apparently published in the terms and conditions too early, and Marriott removed this from their published terms telling me they “published prematurely..[w]e will have additional details for members in the coming days.”
However Marriott never told members in advance about this change.
The view now is that we just need to get through Omicron. Indeed the industry is gearing up for a return to normal after the Omicron wave. There’s hope that more borders will re-open, more employees will return to office, and there’ll be a return to normal travel and then some given intertemporal substitution – that people refrained from travel for a long time, and will make up for it quickly.
Underlying this belief are several assumptions, which are very much the ‘base case’ but are far from assured.
The federal government’s free Covid-19 test distribution site is live one day early. CovidTests.gov will simply send you to the U.S. Postal Service to place an order. They’re offering four tests per residential address and expect to ship in 7 to 12 days after ordering.
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.
With these three offers you can earn nearly 10,000 miles and loyalty points at a cost of $15 – $70, which is easily worthwhile for many. That’s even one third the way towards Gold elite status, and no AAdvantage Mastercard or flight is even necessary.
Last week former Miss Universe and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover model Olivia Culpo was asked to cover up in order to be allowed to fly American Airlines to Cabo. Olivia was called up to the counter at the gate and told she needed to “put on a blouse” over her sports bra or she wouldn’t be allowed to fly. Now she’s trolling American Airlines on Instagram.
Marriott snuck a change into their terms and conditions saying that they’re eliminating hotel and airline mile ‘travel packages’ from the program. These haven’t been useful in several years because of price increases and the elimination of 5-night packages. Except those 5 night packages still exist and you may have a short window to claim them.
The Carambola Beach Resort St. Croix is a sad tale. Marriott has 30 brands, but this hotel is an unbranded Marriott. You see, it used to be a Renaissance. It’s fallen into such disrepair that they don’t show that name any longer.
How this happened is fascinating because it’s a tale of incompetence and, in my opinion, likely corruption on the part of the government employee pension fund of the US Virgin Islands. This story is insane.
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 »
