Author: Mark

American Express are offering Membership Rewards members a 50% bonus when transferring Membership Rewards Points to Hilton Honors.  The bonus is on offer for transfers made between February 22 and March 15, 2019. For members of the Ascent or Gateway programs, the normal transfer rate is 1,000 Membership Rewards points equals 1,000 Hilton Honors points. During the bonus period, you will be able to get 1,500 Hilton Honors points for that 1,000 Membership Rewards points. Redemption Changes It is worth remembering that there are some broad changes that are coming to American Express redemption’s on April15. At that time, the…

Accor has announced that it will replace its current Le Club AccorHotels loyalty program with ALL (Accor Live Limitless) by early 2020. Described by Accor as a lifestyle loyalty program, some of the details are a bit vague. It seems the idea is to bring various Accor activities under the same loyalty umbrella. Or, in Accor’s own words, to create a fully integrated global platform integrating rewards, services, and experiences across our entire ecosystem It would seem that they are working on a new program to bring together some disparate parts of their operations. What we know Accor have outlined…

As I have reported in another article, Qantas have released a Double Status Credits offer. In this article, I will take a look at considerations you should pay attention to if you want to take advantage of the offer. Terms and Conditions It is really important that you read and understand the terms and conditions of the promotion. First up, you need to register your Qantas Frequent Flyer number for the promotion. Once you have done that, the most important things are ensuring you book during the booking period, travel during the right time-frame, and make sure you book an…

Members of the Citi Rewards program can now transfer their points to FlyBuys. As an introductory offer, Citi and FlyBuys are offering a 15% bonus on the number of FlyBuys points you will received when transferring. For Citi Rewards cardholders, this opens up a range of options that are otherwise not available to Citi Rewards members. One interesting feature of FlyBuys is that you can transfer the points to Velocity. This in itself could open some options in some cases. Transfer Rates The transfer rate for Citi rewards Points to Flybuys depends on the type of card that you hold.…

World of Hyatt has kicked off a new Earn Points Faster promotion. Valid for stays from February 15 – May 15, 2019, it will be offering a bonus of 1,000 bonus points per night. Unfortunately, you don’t get the bonus on your first stay – you have to wait until your second stay to start collecting the bonus. Key Details The following outlines the key details of the offer: Offer: Earn 1,000 Bonus Points per qualifying night at participating hotels. This include 800+ Hyatt hotels, participating M life Rewards destinations and participating Small Luxury Hotels of the World hotels Earn…

American Express are offering a bonus of between 15% and 25% when transferring Membership Rewards points to Velocity. The bonus depends on the number of points that you choose to transfer. The bonus comes at a good time for those that are considering their options for their Membership Rewards balance. For some members, the upcoming changes on April 15 will see the looking at the value of the Membership Rewards halving overnight. Details The bonus is available for transfers that take place between February 15 and March 15, 2019. The exact bonus will vary, depending on: The Membership Rewards program…

Anyone that has flown Qantas through Singapore in the last few months will know how busy the existing lounge can be. As a result of the crowding issues, Qantas has previously announced a new First Lounge for Singapore. The design is taking shape, and Qantas has announce some initial design details for the new lounge. Scheduled to open late in 2019, it will feature a neutral colour palette, luxurious materials and leafy green highlights. The idea is to make customers feel relaxed as soon as they enter the lounge. Qantas is working with David Caon in collaboration with Akin Atelier,…

Lovers of the A380 received some bad news from Airbus today. Airbus has officially announced the end of the A380 program. The death knell came with Emirates announcing an adjustment in its orders for new aircraft. Emirates has decided to reduce the number of A380s in its order book, and has switched to an order for 70 of the smaller A350 and A330neo aircraft. As per the Airbus press release Following a review of its operations, and in light of developments in aircraft and engine technologies, Emirates is reducing its A380 order book from 162 to 123 aircraft. Emirates will…

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has announced the purchase of  Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas for $300 million. Six Senses currently operates 16 luxury hotels, resorts and spas, with another 18 in the pipeline. On top of that, there are another 50 opportunities in various phases of discussion. While the properties are located in diverse locations, there is a focus on Asia and the Indian Ocean. For example, there are properties in locations such as the Maldives, the Seychelles, Yao Noi in Thailand, Zighy Bay in Oman, and Portugal’s Douro Valley. About Six Senses Six Senses properties tend to be luxurious.…

It’s that time of year – when hotel programs announce their upcoming category changes. Now, it’s World of Hyatt’s turn, announcing a set of changes taking place on March 18. While the recent Marriott announcement was heavily skewed towards category increases, World of Hyatt is more balanced.  Of the  259 properties changing  categories—130 properties are moving up, while 129 properties are moving down. No changes have been made to the categories themselves. There have not been any new categories created, nor have the points required for a given category changed. The only changes are hotels moving up or down a category. In addition, there…