IHG Cyber Sale: Save 25% when booking through the app
A couple of weeks ahead of Cyber Monday, IHG has unveiled its Cyber Sale for 2024 and savings are live for bookings made from today. Members of the IHG One Rewards program are being given early access to the sale can save 25% while non-members will be able to save 17% from Wednesday.
Get 20% back on points bookings with Homes & Hideaways from Hyatt
While Marriott's Homes & Villas offering has been around for some time, Hyatt is considerably newer to the vacation rentals space, and just like Marriott, it seems to be keen to incentivise usage of its Homes and Hideaways properties through its World of Hyatt loyalty program. For a limited time, Hyatt is now offering World of Hyatt members the chance to get 20% back on points bookings that are consumed between now and March next year.
Ends today: 50% bonus on Chase transfers to Marriott (this may have its uses)
Way back in September, Chase launched a promotion in which it has been offering a 50% bonus to cardholders who convert Ultimate Rewards points to Marriott Bonvoy points and that promotion is set to end today. The last time we saw such a promotion (August) there was a 70% bonus on the table, so this is a transfer off to pass on unless what is discussed below applies to you.
Buy up to 400,000 IHG One Rewards points at 0.5 cents each
IHG One Rewards is back with yet another points sale and, unsurprisingly, this one is considerably better than the 80% bonus sale that recently ended. This time around, members can buy up to 400,000 points at a cost of just 0.5 cents per point and for some, this will represent a good opportunity to top up an account at the best rate that IHG usually sells its currency.
Buy Marriott Bonvoy points from just 0.86 cents each (45% bonus)
Marriott has unveiled a new points sale today and this sale appears to be an slight improvement over the last sale we saw which ended back in September. Back then, the best bonus on offer was for 40% while this time around we're seeing bonuses as high as 45%.
IHG promotion: Get 15% off award bookings (co-branded cardholders + select elites)
IHG has brought back an excellent deal that, I think, we last saw towards the end of April so, once again, select IHG One Rewards members can enjoy a 15% discount on award stays made in the next few weeks.
Update on Hyatt reservations at the Tommie Hollywood
A couple of days ago we wrote about the news that Hyatt will be losing one, possibly two, of its properties in Los Angeles and as I just happen to have reservations at both of the properties in question, I can now offer an update on what Hyatt's official line appears to be and on how it's dealing with cash bookings at one of the affected properties.
Hyatt is losing one (possibly two) of its properties in Los Angeles
Even though we have a home in Los Angeles, a need to get some work done to our home means that I have to move out for a few days, and because hotel loyalty programs can still make me do irrational things, those few days were meant to see me staying at two of Hyatt properties in the city.
Unsurprisingly, Hilton Points are on sale again (get 5 nights in the Maldives for...
Hilton is back with yet another mystery points sale just a couple of weeks after the last points sale ended, so it's probably time that we stop thinking of these events as 'sales' and start thinking of the times when a sale isn't on as an aberration.
Big devaluation coming to the Hyatt & American Airlines partnership
Under the guise of offering members "new choices, valuable redemptions and status opportunities" Hyatt and American Airlines have announced a series of serious changes to their partnership which will, in effect, make that partnership considerably less useful for most people. This is a big devaluation that's on the way.
Marriott Bonvoy and Aeroplan now offer reciprocal elite status
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World of Hyatt Free Night Awards – everything you need to know
All four major hotel chains in the miles & points world issue awards or certificates that allow the bearer to book a free night* at properties in their portfolio, but Hyatt's free night awards can be little more complicated than the awards issued by Marriott, IHG, and Hilton, so this article will, hopefully, clear up any confusion.
These are the major 4Q 2024 hotel promotions from Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, and Marriott
Now that we're into October and into the fourth quarter of 2024, there's a good chance that we're not going to see any more major hotel promotions announced before the end of the year and with that in mind, here are all the big promotions from Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, and Marriott that cover some or all of the period between now and 31 December 2024.
Get up to 10% back on your next Radisson Rewards award booking (capped at...
Radisson Rewards (the non-Americas version) is currently offering members a one-off chance to earn a rebate of up to 10% (capped at 9,000 points) on their next award stay. Clearly, this isn't a reason to get excited about a program that has been devalued so badly that even Delta SkyMiles executives think things may have gone too far, but if you still have a stack of Radisson points, this may be of interest.
Earn double Hyatt points at Mr & Mrs Smith hotels
Coming a week after we saw Hyatt announce a double points promotion for select stays made in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania, Hyatt is back with another double points promotion that covers all Mr & Mrs Smith properties that currently participate in the World of Hyatt.
Get 15% off award night stays at new IHG hotels and resorts
Hyatt offers a handful of bonus points to customers staying at one of its recently opened properties, but IHG goes a little further by making stays at select new properties a little cheaper for customers booking with points. Specifically, it makes bookings 15% cheaper for a limited time and for some, this will be a useful saving to be offered.
Earn double Hyatt points at 320+ properties (all regions except Americas)
IHG, Hilton, and Marriott are all running global promotions for the upcoming months, so out of the major miles & points hotel chains, Hyatt has been the only one that up until now, hasn't thrown its customers a bone. Well, a bone (of sorts) has now been thrown, but Hyatt fans hoping for a Bonus Journeys promotion that's valid worldwide are in for a bit of a disappointment.
Stack two points promotions + a 10% cash back deal on your next IHG...
The latest IHG global promotion has had quite a lot of publicity, so you probably already know that you can earn 3,000 bonus points for every 2 nights that you stay at IHG properties by the end of the year.
But did you know that for select IHG brands, you should now be able to stack the global promotion with a second (less well-known) promotion and a cash back deal to really maximize your earnings and savings?
How Marriott Bonvoy’s Starbucks partnership works (+ earn 1,000 bonus Bonvoy Points)
Starbucks and Delta have had a loyalty partnership for almost two years, but it was only in June of this year that Starbucks launched a partnership with a hotel loyalty program. That program was Marriott Bonvoy and the partnership with Bonvoy gives U.S. Starbucks Rewards members and US Marriott Bonvoy members cross program earning opportunities.
Now live: The last big IHG promotion of 2024
After a few fallow months, IHG finally unveiled a new global promotion last week, and it's now live and valid on bookings though the end of the year. Like quite a few recent promotions that we've seen, this one isn't going to get many pulses racing, but if there's any chance that you're going to be booking with IHG anyway, you should register now and pick up a few bonus points along the way.
Four key reasons why points are better than Marriott Free Night Certificates
Over the past couple of years, when Chase and American Express have boosted the welcome bonuses on their Marriott co-branded cards, they have sometimes chosen to offer successful new applicants the chance to earn three or more Free Night Certificates instead of the more usual points bonanza.
Now live: Marriott’s two promotions for stays through 26 November 2024
A few weeks ago, Marriott announced two promotions that would run until 26 November 2024, so this is your reminder that as of today, both promotions are live. Registration is required for both promotions so if you haven't done so already, you should probably head over to Marriott.com and do that right now.
IHG One Rewards is sending out anniversary special offers
I've been a member of IHG One Rewards (in one form of another) since the universe was nothing more than a very dense, very small, extremely hot single point, and I don't recall ever receiving an anniversary bonus of any kind from the loyalty program.
IHG One Rewards anniversary bonuses are, however, a thing, and I know this because Joanna just had one drop into her inbox.
Were you targeted for this Hyatt road warrior promotion? (up to 90,000 bonus points...
Recently, a reader recently sent us a link to a Hyatt promotion that we weren't aware was available, so as we know of someone who hasn't been told they had been targeted but was able to register, I thought we'd mention it in case anyone reading this is in the same position (i.e. eligible but blissfully unaware).
Earn 10,000 bonus Hilton points when you spend with Delta [Targeted]
There's a noticeable dearth of new travel offers in our Amex accounts, but one targeted offer that caught our eye this morning is for Hilton Honors co-branded card holders who can now earn 10,000 bonus Hilton points when they spend at least $300 with Delta.
Earn 2x Marriott elite night credits with Homes & Villas
After saying that the last promotion that was run would be the last big promotion of the year, Marriott Homes & Villas launched a new promotion over the weekend in which its offering Bonvoy members double elite night credits on select stays made by the end of the year.
Now live: Hilton’s final big promotion for 2024 (register now)
Hilton’s final big global promotion of 2024 was announced back in the middle of August but it didn't go live until today. It runs through to 31 December 2024 and if you want to make sure you take part (or accidentally miss out on points), now would be a good time to register.
How the Hyatt Leverage program works & how it can help you save on...
Not everything in the miles & points world is aimed squarely at individuals (although you could be forgiven for thinking that's the case) so you'll find that some of the big names in the airline and hotel industries offer programs designed to secure the loyalty of small- and medium-sized businesses as well. In this article, I'm going to focus on one of the less well-known small business programs - the Hyatt Leverage program.
Marriott’s new global promotion for stays through 26 November 2024
It's a double promo day for Marriott because as well as launching a new promotion for select holders of its co-branded credit cards, it has also launched a new global promotion covering stays between 10 September and 26 November 2024.
New Marriott cardholder promotion: 2,000 bonus points on select stays
A little earlier, we wrote about a new promotion that Hyatt has launched for holders of its co-branded credit cards, and it now looks like Marriott has followed that lead with its own promotion for most co-branded cardholders in eleven countries across the globe.
Hyatt cardholders can now earn up to 20,000 bonus points at Unbound Collection properties
Hyatt has launched a new promotion for holders of its two co-branded credit cards, so for the next few months, anyone holding The World of Hyatt Credit Card or the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card can earn up to 20,000 bonus points on stays made at Unbound Collection properties worldwide.
Reminder: Hyatt will give you up to 1.54 cents in value per World of...
When Hyatt announced that it would be introducing peak and off-peak pricing (in the dark days of 2019), a further announcement was also made. That announcement, however, got a little lost among the noise generated by the award chart devaluation and the pandemic that followed shortly thereafter.
These are the current Hilton Honors status match promotions
In recent years we've seen some very generous status match promotions from Hilton with the requirements for top-tier Diamond Elite status reduced to just 9 or 12 nights.
Hilton's current status match promotions aren't quite as generous, but they're still pretty good, and if you don't have access to credit cards that offers Hilton elite status as a benefit, these promotions may offer you the easiest route to more comfortable and rewarding stays with Hilton.
Reminder: Earn double Hilton elite night credits with Hilton for Business
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Earn 3x Hyatt points at Homes & Hideaways by World of Hyatt
For a limited time, Hyatt is now offering World of Hyatt members the chance to earn 3x points on stays booked through its Homes & Hideaways portal that take place in the next couple of months.
How to handle hotels that refuse elite upgrades
A recurring theme among many travelers with hotel elite status is that they frequently fail to score upgrades at properties that are far from full and where an upgrade should be offered per the terms of the loyalty program to which they belong.
There is no easy fix to this and there's no guaranteed method of 'forcing' a property to offer an upgrade, but there are things you can do to give yourself a better chance when you're checking in.
The one fundamental rule to follow when buying miles or points
Whether they're scrabbling around for money when their stock price falls or whether they just want to make some quick and easy cash, a lot of the corporations that operate the big loyalty programs like to run sales on the points and miles they issue.
Some of these sales can offer a very economical way to travel in comfort and are worth investigating, but regardless of how good a sale is, all of them should come with a health warning that everyone should heed.
Get Radisson Rewards top-tier status INSTANTLY and for up to 2 years
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How to pool Hilton Honors points (it’s free!)
Unlike most hotel loyalty programs, Hilton has allowed its members to pool points for several years. There's no fee to pool Hilton Honors points and up to 11 people can participate in the pooling, so this is definitely something all Hilton Honors members should be aware of.
[Targeted] Fast track to American Airlines status for World of Hyatt elites
Yesterday, we published an article about the opportunities being given to AAdvantage members seeking World of Hyatt, so this article will focus on the more targeted and more limited opportunities being offered to select World of Hyatt elites seeking American Airlines AAdvantage elite status.
How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points with Uber in the US
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Fast track to World of Hyatt status for American Airlines elites
American Airlines and the World of Hyatt have brought back a fast track status promotion that we've seen, in one guise or another, published each year since the Hyatt/American Airlines partnership was launched.
This promotion gives select American Airlines elites the opportunity to enjoy immediate World of Hyatt elite status for 90 days and the opportunity to extend that elite status by completing qualifying activity within those 90 days.
Earn 24,000 bonus points/stay and get 10% off select bookings with Marriott Homes &...
If the last Marriott Homes & Villas promotion didn't tempt you into a booking or didn't cover the geographic area in which you're planning a stay, perhaps this latest offer of 24,000 bonus points per stay + 10% off at select properties worldwide will suit you better.
How to transfer Amex points to partner loyalty programs
This is our simple step-by-step guide showing how to transfer American Express Membership Rewards Points to Amex's numerous transfer partners like Singapore Airlines, Emirates, and Delta (amongst others).
Two Hyatt promotions that you can still register for (double elite nights + bonus...
There has been quite a lot of email activity from Hyatt in the past few weeks as the hotelier promotes discounts for stays in various parts of the world (check your spam/junk folders if you haven't been getting these), so I'm using this article to highlight a couple of good Hyatt promotions that may have got missed in all the noise.
How to earn Hilton Honors points when you book rides with Lyft (limited-time 1,500...
Lyft currently partners with four loyalty programs and its partnership with Hilton dates back to 2019. For most people, this is probably Lyft's most rewarding partnership and it allows Hilton Honors members to earn points on rides booked in the United States and Canada.
Here's everything you need to know about the Hilton/Lyft partnership.
What is the InterContinental Ambassador program and is it worth it? (2024 edition)
IHG One Rewards is the primary loyalty program associated with all of IHG's brands, but the InterContinental brand has its own rewards program too. This is called InterContinental Ambassador and in this article, we take a look at what benefits this program offers and what value those benefits can provide.
The World of Hyatt now has a property in a ‘country’ where no other...
Generally speaking, the big name brands of the hospitality industry shun locations that can be seen as controversial or where international law has very little influence, so you may be surprised to find that the World of Hyatt now has a property in a country that isn't really a country.
An illogical free night certificate rule Marriott Bonvoy needs to change
I recently booked a stay at the London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square and leaving aside the fact that I wasn't particularly impressed with the property (reviewed here), there was something else about the booking that stood out for me - Marriott as has an illogical (some may say ridiculous) rule when it comes to booking rooms with a Free Night Certificate.
Hotel loyalty programs can still make me do ‘irrational’ things
I've been playing around with loyalty programs for a long, long time, so it would be nice to think that after all these years I've grown impervious to the ways in which some programs can make one do things that, to an outsider looking in, look completely irrational and a little mad. Sadly, that imperviousness still eludes me.
Hilton London Canary Wharf review
Continuing our recent run of London hotel reviews, today's review takes a look at the Hilton London Canary Wharf which sits in a eastern area of the city and in one of London's two financial centers.
A look inside the Marriott Bonvoy suite at London’s O2 arena
Marriott Bonvoy Moments is the successor to SPG Moments and is a program that allows Marriott Bonvoy members to spend their points on sports, concerts, and experiences at various arenas around the world and, in some circumstances, these can offer Bonvoy members a good alternative use for their points.
Remember to be patient when redeeming these two Hyatt Milestone Awards
At the beginning of the year, we a saw Hyatt push through a few changes to the World of Hyatt program and most of these centered around its Milestone Rewards. Mostly, the news was positive (even if not all the changes went far enough) and two of the changes that were introduced means that it can now pay to be patient when it comes to redeeming a couple of Hyatt's Milestone awards.
Hilton’s second global promotion for 2024 is now live
Hilton's first major promotion of 2024 ended yesterday and in true Hilton fashion, its second global promotion of the year went live earlier today. This latest promotion runs to 2 September 2024 and, thankfully, is noticeably better than the one it is replacing.
IHG One Rewards is targeting select members for a 2x elite night promotion (check...
Ok, I'm very late with this news but blame email spam filters and not me - IHG One Rewards is emailing select members with an offer of double elite nights on their next two stays. The maximum bonus nights that you can earn is 14, but if you're chasing IHG status or IHG milestones and have been targeted, that's still a very nice boost to be given.
Mr & Mrs Smith properties are now being added to the World of Hyatt,...
As we were promised a few months ago (following Hyatt's purchase of the Mr & Mrs Smith booking platform), Hyatt is now adding Mr & Mrs Smith properties to the World of Hyatt, and we finally know what these properties will offer members when they stay. Frankly, I'm underwhelmed.
Have you been targeted for one of Hyatt’s new promotions? (check these links)
Hyatt has brought back a series of targeted deals that we last saw published at the beginning of 2023. There seem to be slightly fewer targeted deals in this iteration of the promotion (18 deals in 2024 v 23 deals in 2023) and it looks like the target audience may be narrower in 2024 than it was in 2023, but some of the offers still look good so it will be worth checking to see if Hyatt lists you among the chosen few.
The Rio Hotel & Casino Las Vegas joins the World of Hyatt
Hyatt has now confirmed that effective 1 March 2024, the Rio Hotel & Casino Las Vegas has joined the World of Hyatt while it's still in the middle of its renovations, and it has been added to the program as a Category 3 property costing 9,000/12,000/15,000 points per night on off-peak/standard/peak dates.
Why I think Hyatt is publishing weak promotions (and why I think it can...
The latest World of Hyatt promotion goes live tomorrow and as promotions go, this one is weak. Very weak. And this appears to be the continuation of a recent Hyatt trend. Prior to last year, Hyatt had been known for offering promotions that offered real value (yes, even before the pandemic forced hotel chains to be nicer to everyone), but in the past twelve months, things seem to have gone noticeably downhill.
The IHG European spring sale is now live (up to 20% off)
The IHG spring sale (for bookings at the chain's participating European properties) is now live and runs through to 5 March for stays into 2025. The sale is in two parts. For most IHG properties the sale is offering IHG One Rewards members up to 20% off a property's best flexible rate, while the Iberostar Beachfront Resorts have their own deal with savings of up to 15%.
The World of Hyatt 2024 devaluation (key category movers & a few statistics)
As is usual this time of year (pandemics aside), the World Hyatt has now announced its hotel category changes for 2024 and once again, it's not great reading if you're a Hyatt fan. Yes, the announcement that came yesterday could have been a lot worse, but even so, there isn't much to be happy about with the changes that are on the way.
Hyatt’s new Bonus Journeys promotion is now open for registration
As was first rumored two weeks ago, Hyatt has today formally announced its latest Bonus Journeys promotion and not only is registration for the promotion now open, but it looks like all the details that were accidentally leaked towards the beginning of the month were correct, so don't expect fireworks!
How I may use the upcoming Hyatt promotion to help me retain top-tier Globalist...
Officially, Hyatt isn't currently running a global promotion and no global Hyatt promotion has been announced, but thanks to what appears to have been an unintentional leak, we think we know what will be announced in the coming days, and I may be able to use this promotion to my advantage.
Be careful, Marriott’s new promotion isn’t quite as generous as it has been in...
Marriott's latest global promotion is now live and it's one of the best Marriott promotions that we've seen for a while. It isn't, however, quite as generous as a similar promotion that it has run in the past, so this is a gentle warning not to expect too much.
This is the new IHG One Rewards Diamond fast track offer (targeted)
IHG One Rewards is targeting select members for its latest fast track to top-tier elite status promotion which is running through 24 March 2024. The promotion requires targeted members to stay just 8 nights at any of IHG's properties around the world before the promotion's end date, and that will then earn them top-tier Diamond elite status.
BIG NEWS: Hilton & Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) agree a new...
Hilton and Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) have announced a new partnership which as the press release puts it, will 'dramatically expand the luxury experiences offered by Hilton' and will see SLH properties participating in the Hilton Honors program.
Complete guide to the Marriott Bonvoy elite breakfast benefit
One of the benefits that comes with Marriott Bonvoy Platinum and Marriott Bonvoy Titanium status is complimentary breakfast, but Marriott has made the benefit so complicated that you need a definitive guide to understand it. Here is your guide.
Great Marriott Bonvoy promotion: Bonus elite nights and bonus points on stays through April
Marriott Bonvoy has launched a great new promotion (which may or may not be targeted) in which it's offering bonus elite night credits and bonus points for every night consumed during the 76-night promotion period.
Reminder: RewardsPlus is currently running a special promo for United & Marriott top-tier elites
As we covered the Marriott/United partnership yesterday, now seems like a good time to for a reminder that top-tier Marriott Bonvoy and with United MileagePlus elites are being offered a limited-time promotion which allows them to earn upgrades in the other's loyalty program.
How the Marriott Bonvoy & United Airlines partnership works
In recent weeks we have highlighted Marriott's recently enhanced partnership with Singapore Airlines and its partnership with Emirates, so it makes sense to now cover the more major of Marriott's airline partnerships - it's partnership with United Airlines MileagePlus.
How the Marriott and Emirates partnership works
Marriott's partnership with Singapore Airlines was making news a couple of weeks ago, but that's not the only airline partnership that the hotel giant has. There's Marriott's strong partnership with United Airlines and as I'm about to discuss, there the partnership with Emirates as well.
The hotel points game is alive and well, you just have to play harder
At the risk of sounding old, I'm going to say that the miles & points game was a lot easier 15 years ago. Back then, most travel loyalty programs still had fixed award charts, international flight upgrades weren't rarer than unicorns, hotels didn't (usually) play games with elite benefits, and 'Bonvoy' wasn't a verb.
I’m giving away my Hyatt Club Access Awards (expire end of February)
As a Hyatt Globalist member, the Club Access Awards that I have earned over the past two years are not of any real use to me as my status gives me access to Hyatt’s clubs/lounges anyway and, up until now, they have just gone unused. Now, however, thanks to the gifting option that’s live on Hyatt’s website, I can give them away to someone who can use them on a future stay … so that’s what I plan to do.
Details of the new Marriott Bonvoy/MGM Rewards partnership (brace for disappointment!)
Marriott Bonvoy and MGM Rewards have finally announced the details of their upcoming partnership that is set to go live at some point this year. The partnership covers benefits offered to each program's members when they stay at Marriott and MGM properties, the assimilation of four MGM properties into three of Marriott's brands, and the creation of the MGM Collection.
The Marriott Bonvoy & Singapore KrisFlyer status match offer
When you look into the Bonvoy program closely, you'll find that Marriott has relationships with considerably more airlines that any other hotel loyalty program and that with some airlines, like Emirates and United Airlines, it even has a reciprocal benefits agreement (of sorts).
Four ways Hyatt should have gone further with its World of Hyatt changes
Some aspects of the World of Hyatt program (Milestone Rewards and the Guest of Honor benefit) have been refreshed for 2024 and, on the whole, the changes that Hyatt has made are positive. The fact is, however, that as far as some benefits are concerned, the changes didn't really go far enough.
Marriott Bonvoy is giving members ‘soft landings’ this year
If you had Marriott Bonvoy elite status in 2023 but didn't earn enough elite night credits to retain elite status 2024, you may be expecting to lose that status after your benefits run out at the end of February. That is, after all, what usually happens (when pandemics aren't ravaging the planet).
Is this an unethical use of one of Hyatt’s new benefit changes?
After considering one of the recent changes made to the World of Hyatt program, I can see a way to use the change in a way that could benefit our household but that isn't in the spirit of how the benefit is supposed to work, so I'm now considering the ethics behind using the change/benefit in this way.
Hyatt & Chase really need to address this frustrating issue
One of the major selling points of the World of Hyatt credit card is that cardholders can earn 2 elite night credits for every $5,000 of spending charged to their card. For big spenders, this can offer an easy pathway to World of Hyatt elite status without the need for many Hyatt stays while for the rest of us, these nights can make earning or retaining status slightly easier.
Marriott Bonvoy changes to suite night awards for 2024
With the deadline for Marriott's Annual Choice Benefits approaching (7 January) and with the default option for those not meeting that deadline being 5 Suite Night Awards, this seems like an opportune time to remind TFM readers that Marriott Suite Night Awards will be getting a new name and will work in a slightly different way this year.
The promised changes to the World of Hyatt are now live
Hyatt announced a few key changes to the World of Hyatt program back in November last year and now that the new year has come around, those changes are in full effect. Fortunately, this set of changes hasn't brought about much to disappoint most Hyatt loyalists, but with Milestone Rewards and Guest of Honor benefits now looking very different to how they looked last year, now seems a good time to go over just what these changes are.
2024: Another year in travel, miles & points coming up
So, here we go again. Another year has past and another begins and that means that, for a lot of us, the the quest for the miles and points that make that our travels more comfortable and more affordable begins all over again.
Which key credit cards offer hotel elite status?
Frequent visitors to this site may have already seen our article coveringing hotel loyalty programs that offer lifetime elite status and our article that looks at whether or not lifetime elite status with hotel loyalty programs is a worthwhile thing to pursue, so a natural progression from those articles is to take a look at the credit cards that offer cardholders elite status with some of the major hotel chains as part of their overall package of benefits.
Now live: Hyatt ‘Bonus Journeys’ 4Q 2023 global promotion
Hyatt latest global promotion (once again called 'Bonus Journeys') is now live, so any stays made between today and the end of November will qualify for the bonus points on offer. As we've seen in previous promotions, holders of Hyatt's co-branded credit cards get the chance to earn a bonus that others don't, but no one will be ending this promotion with an enviable stack of points they wouldn't otherwise have earned.
Marriott’s 4Q 2023 worldwide promotion is now live
While the latest World of Hyatt global promotion doesn't go live until next month, Marriott's idea of a 4Q 2023 promotion is now live so if you haven't already registered, now is probably the time to do so.
This Chase free night certificate “glitch” is annoying
Free night certificates that come as a credit card benefit are mostly pretty simple to use, but things aren't always as straightforward as they should be. I, for example, have recently had an incredibly annoying time trying to redeem one particular certificate and as a quick web search has revealed that I'm far from alone, I thought that I'd flag the issue so that anyone reading this knows what can go wrong and how I eventually got around the problem I faced.
Yet another Hyatt property is playing around with award availability
When it comes to award night availability, the World of Hyatt rules are simple – if a property is selling an entry-level room for cash, that same room must also be made available for award bookings. This is part of the ‘no blackout dates’ policy enshrined in the World of Hyatt terms and conditions and it's one of the things that a lot of us really love about Hyatt's loyalty program.
Booking IHG reward nights? Beware the hidden junk fees!
When you make an award booking with Hilton or Hyatt you don't have to worry about resort/destination/amenity fees because those chains waive their junk fees on award bookings. You don't even have to hold elite status with Hilton or Hyatt to avoid these fees because everyone gets junk fees waived when booking awards with these guys. Sadly, the same is not true of award bookings with IHG or Marriott.
World of Hyatt devaluation – these are numbers & some key movers
Last week, Hyatt announced that a significant number of properties that participate in the World of Hyatt program will be moving categories at the end of this month. Overall, the news isn't good, but a look at the numbers shows that how someone views the upcoming changes will probably depend on where in the world they most enjoy spending their points so the upcoming changes will almost certainly not be universally disliked.
Accor ALL points now convert to Flying Blue in a ratio of 1:1
Flying Blue, the loyalty program for Air France and KLM, has had a partnership with Accor's ALL program for some time and in the past few hours, that partnership has got a little bit more interesting as the ratio in which Accor points transfer across to Flying Blue was improved significantly.
A mostly pointless Marriott Bonvoy elite status is getting more expensive
Ambassador Elite status is the very highest level of status that you can earn with the Marriott Bonvoy program and it's the only Bonvoy Elite status that currently comes with a spending requirement. In 2023, that spending requirement will be going up.
The InterContinental Ambassador program is rolling back some positive changes
There aren't many things that you can point to that got better as a result of the Covid pandemic but the rules surrounding some of the benefits offered by the InterContinental Ambassador program can be counted among them. Now, because the world is almost back to how it was in 2019 (albeit, sadly, without the low interest rates!), IHG is rolling back those positive changes.
Hilton’s free night certificates will now be usable every day of the week
Three of Hilton's co-branded credit cards have, historically, allowed cardholders to earn free night certificates that could be used at any Hilton property in the world...but only on weekends. Now, however, it looks like Hilton is turning a temporary, pandemic-induced enhancement into a permanent enhancement and making the certificates considerably more valuable.
Radisson Rewards is introducing dynamic awards & more
It has been a long, long time since I last considered myself to be a fan of Radisson Rewards and outside of the occasional good points sale/promotion, I had stopped engaging with the program in any meaningful way some time before it split in two and became ever more cumbersome to use than ever before.
Will Marriott devalue Bonvoy Platinum Elite status?
It's not much of a secret that there are few things that Marriott likes more than a good old-fashioned devaluation so following the news that Bonvoy Platinum Elite status is now being handed out as a credit card benefit, speculation has been growing that the benefits associated with Platinum Elite status will soon be cut. So, is a devaluation imminent?
Double dip Avios & ALL points with the new Qatar Airways/Accor partnership (but be...
The Qatar Airways Privilege Club and Accor Live Limitless (ALL) have announced an expansion of their partnership that will allow travelers to earn the currencies of both loyalty programs on just a single booking.
How to edit or disable Hilton’s two-factor authentication
Hilton seems to be using two-factor authentication a lot more of late and that may or may not suit all the Hilton Honors members out there. If you're in the position of needing to change or disable your two-factor authentication settings, this article will show you just how easy that is to do.
How Hyatt credit card elite night credits work & key differences in how they’re...
Chase issues two Hyatt co-branded credit cards (a consumer card and a business card) and as both offer cardholders a way of earning World of Hyatt elite night credits from the spending they put on their cards, I thought that I'd write a quick article covering how these credit card elite nights work.
Three examples of how hotels can make it hard for you to use points
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Is Lifetime Elite status with hotel programs worth aiming for?
We have already taken a look at which of the major hotel loyalty programs offer members the chance to earn lifetime elite status, and as that information leads to questions surrounding how worthwhile lifetime status is and if lifetime elite status is something that travelers should be actively trying to earn, a post addressing these questions seemed appropriate.
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