In Case You Missed It – A Recap Of The Week (29 April 2018)

a calendar with a picture of a building and a city

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Summaries and links for all the posts which appeared on Traveling For Miles this week. Includes new information on the upcoming Marriott reward chart changes, news of a new Qatar Airways Qsuite route, why you won’t be staying in Bora Bora as cheaply as has been suggested, news of a few points promotions you should take a closer look at (and one you should probably avoid), a look at a very cool (if probably very expensive) new residence at the Conrad Maldives, a sneak peek at the IHG PointBreaks list that’s coming out on Monday and a lot more.

Click on the headlines to read more

Monday

Warning: You’re Not Going To Be Booking Bora Bora For 20,000 Starpoints

a building on a island in the ocean

I’ve seen suggestions (in more than one place) that we should be looking forward to booking some of the most aspirational Starwood properties in the world for the equivalent of just 20,000 Starpoints/night but I’m here to tell you that, in some cases, that’s simply not going to happen. These properties are designated as “all suite” properties and Marriott has already said that, as of now, they’re not included in the award chart.

Another New Qatar Airways Qsuite Route Announced

Qatar Airways is adding Shanghai to the list of cities to which the airline offers its Qsuite Business Class cabin. From 15 May 2018 a refitted Boeing 777-300ER will operate on the Doha – Shanghai route but, and this may just be a coincidence, another destination looks set to lose Qsuites service around that time.

The Alaska & Virgin America Merger Is Almost Complete – 25 April Is The Big Day

a large white airplane with red text on it

Alaska Airlines and Virgin America have been in the process of merging their operations since December 2016 and, as of 25 April 2018, the merger will be all but complete and the Virgin America brand will mostly disappear into history. We’ll still see a few aircraft with the Virgin America livery dotted around various airports until all aircraft have been repainted in the Alaska Airlines colors but, from 25 April, that will be the only physical sign that Virgin America ever existed.

You Can Now Buy United Miles At 2.21 Cents Each….But Should You?

United’s last points sale ended at the end of March so, unsurprisingly, the airline is back with another attempt at tempting travelers into buying its currency. The last points sale offered up miles at around 2.25 cents each while this time around the cost/mile is slightly less…but should you buy?

Tuesday

IHG Accelerate Promotion Starts Next Week – Register Now

IHG Rewards

IHG Rewards is back with another “IHG Accelerate” promotion for 2Q 2018 and with Hilton’s promotion looking only ok, Marriott’s latest promotion looking pretty terrible and Starwood’s promotion looking even worse, this is likely to be one of the better opportunities we’re given to earn hotel points over the next 3 months.

Marriott’s Award Chart Examples (And What They Didn’t Show You)

a group of tall buildings

Although Marriott released details of its new award chart at the beginning of last week it was only partially useful to those of us who care about these things because it only gave us half the information we need. Now Marriott has selected 91 hotels from 5 cities/regions and told us what categories they will be in come 1 August 2018.

Earn 20% More Hyatt Points In Vegas (Registration Required)

There’s nothing tricky, complicated or difficult to understand about the latest promotion to come out of the World of Hyatt – it’s a simple “earn 20% more points” promotion available to everyone staying at Hyatt or MGM properties in Las Vegas over the coming few months….but you’ll have to register first.

Qantas Will End 747 Service To Los Angeles This Year (Other Changes Coming Too)

a red and white airplane tail

Qantas has confirmed that it will be pulling its ageing Boeing 747 aircraft from its Sydney – Los Angeles route in time for the busy period at the end of the year. In a press release put out earlier today the Australian carrier said that its last Boeing 747 service to Los Angeles will take place on 27 November 2018 as the aircraft flys one last time between Sydney and LAX.

Wednesday

Get A 50% Bonus When You Buy Avios Through 8 May

British Airways has launched a promotion in which it’s offering Executive Club members a 50% bonus when they purchase Avios by 8 May 2018. On top of offering the same bonus as we saw back in November the airline has also kept in place the increased 200,000 annual limit for Avios purchases that was introduced last year.

Get A 40% Bonus When You Buy Hyatt Points (Highest Bonus Generally Available)

a canal with boats lined with palm trees

Hyatt has launched its latest points promotion and is offering World of Hyatt members a 40% bonus when they buy at least 10,000 points. 40% Hyatt promotions don’t come around all that often and when they do they’re usually targeted so not everyone gets offered the top bonus….but not this time. This time the 40% bonus appears to be open to all World of Hyatt members.

Check-in At Home, Your Hotel Or At Work With Emirates (Dubai Only)

Etihad offers the ability for passengers to check-in at various city locations in Abu Dhabi and you can check-in for various flights in downtown Hong Kong but Emirates has just gone one better – you can now check in from pretty much anywhere in Dubai with the Emirates Home Check-in service.

Thursday

Hilton Is Selling Points With A 100% Bonus – Good Or Bad Deal?

a group of huts on a dock over water

Hilton is back with another points sale and, once again, there’s a 100% bonus on offer as long as you buy at least 5,000 points. For some this will be an improvement over the 100% offer we saw launched back in February as this time around the bonus isn’t targeted – everyone qualifies.

British Airways Adds Service To Washington D.C. & Santiago

British Airways has announced that it will be increasing the number of flights it offers to both Washington D.C. and Santiago (Chile) for the winter 2018/19 season. The bigger increase in capacity will be to Washington D.C. but considering the Santiago route only launched last year it’s impressive that it will be seeing a capacity increase at all.

The Conrad Maldives Will Offer An Undersea Residence From This Year

a bed in a room with fish in the water

The Conrad Maldives has announced that it will soon offer an undersea residence. Due to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year the new residence will be called “Muraka” (which means coral in the local language) and will offer “an intimate and immersive experience of one of the Earth’s most breathtaking marine environments”.

This Is Why You Probably Shouldn’t Buy IHG Points Right Now

IHG Rewards is currently running a points sale in which its offering an 80% bonus on purchases of 30,000 points or more and, to sweeten the pot, IHG has also increased the number of points you can buy in a calendar year…but I think most people should stay away from this deal.

Friday

FLASH SALE: Save Up To £100 On British Airways Holidays (Ends 1 May)

Last weekend British Airways had a flash sale offering £50 or $70 (depending on your location) off its long-haul route fares and now the airline is back with another flash sale offering up to £100 off holidays booked via ba.com.

United’s New San Francisco Polaris Lounge Opens On Monday

people sitting at a bar

United Airlines is opening the doors to its new Polaris Lounge in San Francisco on Monday 30 April 2018 and we’ve now been given a small insight in to what guest can expect when they walk through the doors next week.

Full IHG PointBreaks List Out On Monday – Preview Here

The new IHG PointBreaks list is due to be published on Monday 30 April and, as a teaser, IHG Rewards has named of 9 of the properties that we can expect to find alongside a further 161 properties when the full list is published.

You’ll Soon Control Your Hotel Room From The Hilton App

Hilton first unveiled its “Connected Room” back in December and it was announced as the first hotel room in which guests could control their stay from one central device – the guest’s mobile device. The whole project has been in beta testing for a number of months but now Hilton is stating to roll out the Connected Room concept across the US.