New from Carlson: Member-Only Hotel Rates

It’s a fact of loyalty-program life: Airline and hotel programs periodically adjust their award prices. Of course, those adjustments amount to price hikes more often than not. And, all things being equal, higher award prices amount to an overall devaluation of the program.

While the Marriott acquisition of Starwood closed in September, the two companies’ integration is far from complete. In particular, Marriott Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest continue to operate independently, although members may now link their accounts, transfer points, and have their status matched.

Judging by their load factors, U.S. airlines are doing just fine. For June, Alaska Airlines filled 86 percent of its seats; Delta flew 87.7 percent full; other carriers’ results are expected to be similarly robust.

Until yesterday, American Airlines customers dismayed at the airline’s August 1 pivot to a spend-based mileage program had a fallback option: Earn miles for their American flights in Alaska Airlines’ Mileage Plan program, which still awards miles the old-fashioned way, according to the distance flown.

Enter the Liberty Richter “Kitchens of India” sweepstakes by June 15, 2016, for a chance to win the grand prize: a six-day trip for two to New Delhi, India, including air, transfers, and hotel.

For U.S. News & World Report, the road from weekly news magazine to publisher of company rankings has been a long and winding one. The key, though, to its shift toward data-driven ratings of companies and institutions was its 1983 publication of “America’s Best Colleges.”

With almost 1,400 hotels in operation or under development, the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group isn’t the largest of the hotel chains. But with six brands in more than 100 countries, it’s big enough to accommodate the needs of most travelers. That makes its Club Carlson loyalty program a contender.

There’s nothing new about discounted hotel rates available only to members of the hotel’s loyalty program who book direct. Of the major chains, Starwood was the first to offer member-only rates, beginning last year. And Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, and InterContinental have since followed suit.

On Friday evening—traditional timing for bad-news announcements that companies hope will go unnoticed by the public and unreported by the media—American published the new mileage-earning rates, effective from August 1, for travel on AAdvantage partner airlines.

Enter the Babich Wines “Trip to New Zealand” sweepstakes by August 31, 2016, for a chance to win the grand prize: a seven-night trip for two to New Zealand, including air to and within New Zealand; hotels in Auckland, Marlborough, and Queenstown; choice of activities; and a NZD$1,000 gift card.

If you flew TWA to or from New York before the airline declared bankruptcy for the third and final time, in 2001, your travel experience was elevated by a walk through one of the world’s most enduring architectural spaces.

Supersonic speed – mainstream fares