I have been a Hilton Hotels Diamond in their Honors loyalty program for several years and was horrified to see the telltale signs my account had been hacked. I acted quickly and identified the fraud, it’s a shame Hilton...
Replacing Doug Parker Wouldn’t Solve American Airlines Woes
Armchair CEOs are everywhere, but perhaps not more so than in the frequent flyer community regarding airline leadership. But replacing American Airlines CEO, Doug Parker, wouldn’t necessarily solve their problems. If you are considering booking travel or signing up for a new...
A Loyalty-Free Weekend on Alaska and American
I spent the weekend in Seattle, flying up on Friday and back on Sunday. Oddly, for me at least, the weekend included no flights on United. It was strangely liberating to fly from Burbank to Seattle on Alaska on...
Confirmable Suite Upgrades Places Hilton Diamond Status Above Peers
Hilton has been trialing a new Honors Diamond perk, confirmed suite upgrades. If Hilton adds the perk to their program permanently, Honors would be the hotel loyalty program to beat and Diamond status the best in the business. If...
Leaving Marriott/SPG “Bonvoy?” Here’s Where I’d Move
The Marriott/SPG merger has not gone swimmingly for so many loyal members and some have suggested they are leaving. Where should they stay instead of the world’s largest hotel chain? If you are considering booking travel or signing up for a new...
Elite Status Is About More Than Upgrades
As the year closes, some elite travelers book unnecessary trips or hotel nights to maintain or “level up” their status. Some argue that status is just priority boarding and upgrades that don’t clear, causing irrational expenditure. But elite status...
Reasons to Embrace Hyatt’s Category 8 Redemptions
The party line for travel bloggers and point enthusiasts is that any potential devaluation is a bad thing, but I am not so sure that in Hyatt’s case it’s true. I have some reasons to embrace Hyatt’s coming Category...
Review: Hyatt Regency Hong Kong Tsim Sha Tsui (Suite)
As part of my United status run this year, I decided to try the Hyatt Regency Hong Kong Tsim Sha Tsui one last time after I hadn’t loved my previous two experiences. The third time was the charm! If...
Mileage Runs May Be Dead, Status Runs Still Alive
Mileage runs were the hallmark of travel enthusiasts who found more to gain from unnecessary trips than not taking them. Elite status runs have the same principle but different result, taking unnecessary trips to retain or “level up” your...
Review: Philadelphia International Airport Marriott Hotel
As part of a long journey, I briefly stayed at the Philadelphia Airport Marriott and ended my stay both pleased and disappointed. If you are considering booking travel or signing up for a new credit card please click here. Both support LiveAndLetsFly.com....
Hypocrisy: Why I’m Doubling Down on Hyatt
Despite my bitterness toward Hyatt, reviewing my actual results for the year I decided to return to the brand full force and double down. Oh, the hypocrisy. If you are considering booking travel or signing up for a new credit card...
Mid-Year Status Update – Surprising Results
For the first time since I became a serious frequent flyer, I am carefully tracking all of my traveling metrics for elite status. Every flight and hotel stay is logged and I am sharing my results – my expectations didn’t...
Hyatt Knows They Went Too Far With Globalist Requirements
Hyatt changed their loyalty program, Gold Passport to World of Hyatt, increasing their requirements for Globalists (top-tier elites) as much as 140%. They went too far and now their actions demonstrate that they know it. But is it a case...
All The Hotel Points In The World Can’t Beat This Airbnb
We fell in love with Mérida, Mexico before we even landed. With several million hotel points we could have had our pick from just about anywhere, so why did we spend money on an Airbnb when we could have...
Proposals For An Airbnb Loyalty Program
After reviewing some Airbnb properties and staying in one recently, it became evident that an Airbnb loyalty program is needed, not just for guests, but for their hosts as well. If you are considering booking travel or signing up for a...
The Beguiling and Sometimes Accurate Freddie Awards
My wife and I recently attended the 2018 Freddies Awards for loyalty programs. The winners and losers were both predictable and confounding depending on the award. Some made perfect sense while others left the room gasping. Which ones made...
Where Are My Rollover Nights, IHG?
As a road warrior, hotel status is very important to my travel experience and day-to-day business operations. Some programs like Intercontinental Hotels Group Rewards Club (IHG) allow guests who have over-qualified for their status to rollover excess nights to...
Confirmation That Elites Are Leaving Hyatt
Hyatt changed their very popular loyalty program in 2017 and may have upset their best customers. Hyatt has made a series of changes to the program that walked back some of the restrictions keeping elites from qualifying for the...
World of Hyatt Program Enhancements Announced, On Par With Competitors
World of Hyatt has been going through changes over the last 18 months with the retirement of Hyatt’s Gold Passport and the rollout of World of Hyatt to the change in management of Hyatt loyalty itself. Some changes were...
When Dynamic Award Pricing Goes Wrong
Increasingly loyalty programs are shifting from a fixed-price redemption for their loyal members to dynamically priced awards. This can mean cheaper prices for shorter distance flights where airlines need to fill seats and costs are low, but it can...