There's an Amex Offer in which you can get $50 back when you spend $250+ on room rates and room chartes at one of IHG's "mainstream brands". This appears to be a targeted offer.
Eligible Brands
Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, EVEN Hotels, avid hotels, Atwell Suites, Garner Hotels
Important Terms
Award Wallet: "A new Avianca LifeMiles award sale is now live. The promotion offers a 20% discount on awards on selected routes. The promotion applies to certain routes from Miami and San Francisco to destinations in South America. It applies only to economy flights operated by Avianca and not any other Star Alliance partners, nor does it apply to premium cabins. The promotion is valid for bookings through March 16, 2024."
The Bulkhead Seat: "The Confidante Miami Beach is part of Hyatt’s Unbound Collection, but it might be most famous for being the setting of Dua Lipa’s “New Rules” video. I stayed at the hotel last year and found the experience a mixed bag. It’s perfectly located for enjoying the beach, but service and elite benefits were spotty at best. I’m happy that it’s getting a huge renovation and reopening as an Andaz at the end of 2024."
Points Wire Note:
I booked several clients at The Confidante via Hyatt Privé a few years ago. Many of my clients had similarly mixed feelings about the property. Hopefully, the rebranding as an Andaz will mean a nicer and more consistent experience when the property reopens later this year.
One Mile At A Time: "In November 2023, it was announced that major changes would be made to Alaska Mileage Plan as of March 2024. At the time, no exact dates beyond that were given. There’s now a major update — the new award pricing is being rolled out between March 11 and March 31, 2024, so we’re going to start seeing this new pricing now."
"New award pricing will roll out today and throughout the week for travel from the United States to Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and for travel within the Middle East and Africa."
"Then remaining regions will be rolled out in subsequent weeks, with all the new pricing being live by the end of March 2024."
Frequent Miler: "Finding first class award availability with partner programs like Air Canada Aeroplan and United MileagePlus was always much easier when booking same-day or up to three days out, but that now seems to be the rule rather than the norm."
Points Wire Note:
Traditionally, Lufthansa would start releasing first class award space to partner programs about two weeks from departure. It wasn't guaranteed, of course. In recent years, I'd noticed space wasn't getting released at that two-week mark, but it did happen.
I'll be keeping an eye on this as I'm not sure if this is an actual policy change or if it stems from Lufthansa crew going on strike.
Barclays has launched a new 100,000-point welcome offer for the Wyndham Earner Plus Card. The minimum spend is only $2,000 in 6 months. The card comes with automatic Wyndham Platinum status.
Long-term, the Wyndham Earner Business Card is probably a better bet, but this offer is your easiest path to 100,000 Wyhdnam points. However, I wouldn't prioritize either card over those that earn transferable points.
Barclays has launched a new 100,000-point welcome offer for the Wyndham Earner Business Card. The minimum spend requirement is steep at $15,000, but you have 12 months to meet the spend.
The card comes with automatic Wyndham Diamond status.
Long-term, this is probably the best card if you're a fan of Wyndham. That being said, I still wouldn't prioritize it over cards that earn transferable points.
Etihad Guest might not have great award rates (and awful award cancellation fees), but they're running an impressive transfer bonus promo.
You can receive a bonus of up to 40% when you transfer points from select banks. Of the options, the only US bank option is Capital One. Please note that this transfer bonus is handled on the Etihad side and won't be reflected on Capital One's site.
Transfer Bonus Tiers
Important Terms
Points Wire Note:
I would not recommend transferring Capital One Miles to Etihad Guest speculatively. The program has niche uses, the bonus miles might not post for a while, and the cancellation fees make it to risky.
One scenario in which a transfer could make sense is if you want to book Etihad first class (or The Apartments) or business class more than 30 days from departure. Etihad has restricted partner access to award space to within 30 days so, currently, Etihad Guest is your only option.
Enilria reports that JetBlue is telling employees that they plan to open airport lounges at New York (JFK) and Boston (BOS) and that the lounges are expected to be called Mosaic Clubs. Currently, that's the only info that's been shared, but more details may be shared in May 2024.
Personally, I think this has the potential to help make JetBlue even more competitive on transatlantic and transcontinental routes. They already offer a fantastic business class (Mint) experience and having lounges could take that to another level, especially if they can continue to offer competitive fares.
If they do end up opening lounges, just keep in mind that it could be a while as they'll have to get the requisite approvals first.
Skift: "Hilton has signed deals for three new hotels in Saudi Arabia: There are two Curio Collections, one focused on “eco” and the other on adventure. And an LXR resort will be an “agritourism” property as part of a tie-in with Saudi’s new farming tourism organization, Dan Company."
"Al-Ahsa Agritourism Resort, LXR Hotels & Resorts will be the most high-end of the bunch and connected to a garden, an amphitheater, dining and retail options, a farmers’ market, and spaces for local agricultural vendors."
"On average, LXR properties are the most expensive in the Hilton network – above the rates of the historic Waldorf Astoria. Average daily rates were $519 according to Hilton’s latest results. It is also one of Hilton’s smallest brands in terms of footprint, with 13 locations."
Points Wire Note:
We've seen quite a bit of movement in the luxury hotel space in Saudi Arabia lately. I'm not surprised to see Hilton getting in on the action. I'll be curious to see the cash rates and award rates at the LXR property.
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