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:
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."
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.
Live And Let's Fly: "An interesting thread on FlyerTalk discusses a recent survey sent to select Mileage Plus members suggesting that United Airlines is considering a more premium product within its Polaris Business Class cabin."
"United has not announced any new Polaris seat, though Live And Let’s Fly has been told that a new seat with doors will eventually be announced for future Boeing 787 Dreamliner deliveries and we will also see new business class lie-flat seats for the Boeing 737 MAX 10, should that aircraft ever take flight."
Accor Live Limitless has launched a summer promo in which you can earn double points at many properties across Europe and North Africa this summer.
Important Details
Participating countries: Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, French Guyana, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Reunion, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, the United Kingdom and Uzbekistan.
Points Wire Note:
If you're booking a Fairmont, Raffles, or Sofitel property, make sure you book via Accor's STEP program so you get VIP perks such as daily breakfast for two, a $100 property credit, room upgrade (if available), etc.
Link your Qatar Airways account to earn bonus Avios.
Upgraded Points: "To qualify for the bonus miles, log into your AAdvantage Dining account, find a restaurant that accepts OpenTable reservations, book the reservation, show up for your reservation and enjoy your meal, and then pay with your linked credit card to earn up to 5 AAdvantage miles per dollar spent and the 150 AAdvantage bonus miles."
You can earn a bonus once per day and up to eight times per month.
One Mile At A Time: "For the past few years, higher tier Mileage Plan elite members have also received some international upgrade certificates for travel on American. These have just been sent to members for 2024. Unfortunately it has also been announced that this perk will be discontinued as of next year."
Loyalty Lobby: "ANA Business Class passengers on international flights can enjoy complimentary in-flight WiFi starting this coming summer (the service has been complimentary for first-class passengers)."
"Premium Economy and Economy class passengers will be eligible for complimentary messaging on international flights by March 2025."
The Mile Lion: "One of the hardest KrisFlyer awards to book is the Star Alliance Round-the-World (RTW) award, but when the stars align just right, it can be magical."
"Unfortunately, Singapore Airlines has announced that it will be eliminating this award type from 1 May 2024, though there’s still time to book one now if you don’t mind doing the (not insignificant) legwork!"
View From The Wing: "Delta Air Lines is moving from ‘branded boarding’ to having 8 boarding zones starting May 1, although things are even more complicated than that because there are still groups that are called to board before and in the middle of those zones."
"This is supposed to streamline boarding and be better for customers by… copying American and United, and copying Delta itself from 2017."
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