With Eye on Starwood, Marriott Adds Loyalty-Program Perks

I'm not a fan of red-eye flights, but as a travel reporter, I often take them.

‘Slipping through my fingers all the time / I try to capture every minute …,” mourns Meryl Streep in Mamma Mia! as we drive along a dusty road lined with goats and olive trees to Kefalos beach. I glance over at my girl – rosy cheeks, sun-kissed hair, phone glued to hand – and I’m overcome with emotion and involuntarily snort tears down my face.

I left my apartment in NYC at 9 p.m. on a Friday last month for my red-eye flight to Barcelona. It wasn't my first rodeo on a late-night, long-haul flight, and I felt totally prepared. I ate dinner beforehand and took zero naps, so I figured I'd sleep on the plane and wake up in Spain feeling rested and ready to explore without the brutal jet lag.

When my children were young, I drove a VW station wagon with a multicolored bumper sticker that read, "Where have all the hippies gone?" It took me a while but I finally have the answer: The hippies have gone cruising.

Hyatt Hotels Corporation is on the fast track to growing its brand, its property portfolio and its loyalty partnerships. While not the biggest hospitality company, it is laser-focused on being the best by expanding its geography and listening to customers. Even during the tough pandemic era, Hyatt found opportunity to grow in key markets and evolve with the ever-changing travel landscape. All of this helped position Hyatt for the post-Covid travel boom, benefiting both consumers and investors.

Many are aware of the VIP tours at Disney parks, but Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando Resort also offer various levels of VIP tours daily.

By traditional measures, Alaska Airlines is a carrier of decidedly modest size, even after its acquisition of Virgin America. Its own flight network is small, compared to those of American, Delta, and United. And it’s not a member of one of the three global airline alliances.

Marriott has just published its list of award-price changes for 2016. As Marriott Rewards members have come to expect from these annual pronouncements, the news amounts to yet another decrease in the value of their points.

Although Uber has relationships with several airline and hotel loyalty programs, it has so far stopped short of launching its own program. That changes this week, with the announcement of a simple buy-nine-get-one-free offer in conjunction with Capital One.

With Alaska Airline’s acquisition of Virgin America, it was just a matter of time before Virgin’s loyalty program, Elevate, was terminated and its members folded into Alaska’s Mileage Plan program. In the meantime, the programs were somewhat integrated, allowing reciprocal mileage earning. And beginning on January 9, 2017, Elevate members will be able to convert their points at a 1:1.3 ratio to miles in Mileage Plan, and have their Virgin status matched in Alaska’s program.

Marriott has long been known as a corporation with a conscience.

American’s AAdvantage program isn’t the only loyalty scheme converting to spend-based points accrual later this year. Starbucks, the world’s largest purveyor of coffee-based beverages, has announced plans to make a similar change to its Rewards program, effective some time in April.