In addition to a new Flagship Suite Preferred seat, American Airlines is upgrading their soft product. Business class will be getting new amenity kits, new bedding, and new menus.
Additionally, the Flagship Suite Preferred seat will be getting amenities that go beyond business class.
AA's press release offers more on that: "This seat will offer customers expansive space, several storage areas and exclusive amenities like a Nest Bedding® mattress pad, a throw blanket, a memory foam lumbar pillow, Nest Bedding® pajamas and an exclusive amenity kit featuring additional skincare products from Thirteen Lune by Joanna Vargas and Relevant.
One Mile At A Time: "American Airlines has just announced that it will introduce a special product within business class, known as the Flagship Suite Preferred seat."
"This product will offer a larger space with more storage areas, and you can find renderings of it below."
"American is far from the first airline to try something like this. A lot of premium airline products can be configured efficiently by using the space to the side of the seat in front. However, in bulkhead seats there’s often a bit of extra space, so airlines are increasingly trying to monetize that."
Frequent Miler: "The not-quite-amazing news is that Hilton only expects around 100 properties to go online this year. That’s less than 20% of the SLH portfolio which means that opportunities to book SLH stays via Hilton will be limited initially."
Some highlights from Greg's conversation with Hilton's Chief Marketing Officer:
One Mile At A Time: "Lufthansa is preparing to introduce its new premium cabin experience, known as Allegris. This will include a new business class product (to be installed initially on newly delivered A350s and 787s), as well as a new first class product (to be installed initially on newly delivered A350s)."
"Lufthansa’s rollout of its new premium cabins has been the laughing stock of the industry for years. Lufthansa announced its new business class in 2017, and nearly seven years later, not a single aircraft with these cabins is in service."
Just under a week ago, Citi was the first bank to announce that their Global Entry statement credit would increase to match the new Global Entry price of $120. Now, Chase has jumped on board and will be doing the same.
Hopefully, American Express and Capital One will join the party soon!
Miles Talk: "As of today, Capital One made two processor changes on its cards. The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card switched from a Visa to a Mastercard. The Capital One Venture X Business credit card switched from a Mastercard to a Visa."
The Capital One Venture X Business is one of the few cards that still has access to Priority Pass restaurants. Visa Infinite cards such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve have lost this access. Will this mean the Venture X Business lose access? TBD, but I wouldn't be shocked given the recent trend.
For some, this wouldn't have much of an impact but it could be a big blow to the value of the Venture X Business card to others.
Skift: "Marriott and IHG each announced Monday their latest expansion plans in Europe. Marriott set its sights on adding nearly 100 hotels by 2026, while IHG signed a deal to add more than 100 in Germany."
"The announcements came as all hotel groups strive to sustain or speed up the addition of hotels to their networks. High financing costs have slowed new construction in Europe, and many companies seek to renovate and rebrand existing properties."
If there's a chance you'll stay at a Fairmont property in the Americas between May 1 and June 30, 2024, you should register to earn 4x Accor points. To take advantage of this promo, you need to book your stay by May 15, 2024.
Many Fairmont properties participate in the Accor STEP program. Benefits can include daily breakfast for 2, up to a $100 property credit, upgrade on arrival (if available), early check-in/late checkout (if available).
Amex is running a targeted Amex Offer in which you can get $50 back as a statement credit when you spend $200+ with Frontier Airlines.
Important Details
You can transfer Citi ThankYou Points to Accor Live Limitless with a 50% bonus by 11:59pm ET on May 11, 2024. The standard Citi transfer rate to Accor is 2:1 with a minimum transfer of 1,000 points - 1,000 Citi points = 500 Accor points. With the 50% transfer bonus, 1,000 Citi points will get you 750 Accor points.
Since Accor Live Limitless is a revenue-based program, points have a set value of €0.02 (~$0.213) with a minimum redemption of 2,000 Accor points. You can apply Accor points to a cash booking at an Accor property.
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