If you’re a Marriott Rewards member, you may have recently received an email titled "Introducing No Blackout Dates" with a link to this promotion. In mid-September, we posted an article referencing a leaked Marriott promotion that was the precursor to this promotion. It looks like most of the original promotion items are true, but there are a few additional changes which actually makes this bad news for Marriott Rewards members. Before you get all excited about new benefits like, "Redeem 4 nights and get the 5th night free!" and "Enjoy a 50% Platinum Elite Bonus" take a behind the scenes look at what they have done to the points required for stays.
TABLE 1: Changes in Required Points (Each cell represents the INCREASE or DECREASE in points required, NOT the total points)
| CATEGORY | 1 night | 2 nights | 3 nights | 4 nights | 5 nights | 6 nights | 7 nights |
| 1 | 0 | 1000 | 2500 | 5000 | 0 | 2500 | 12500 |
| 2 | 0 | 1000 | 3000 | 5000 | -3000 | 0 | 15000 |
| 3 | 0 | 2000 | 4000 | 8000 | -3000 | 2000 | 23000 |
| 4 | 0 | 2000 | 5000 | 10000 | -3000 | 5000 | 35000 |
| 5 | 0 | 4000 | 10000 | 20000 | 5000 | 20000 | 60000 |
| 6 | 0 | 5000 | 12000 | 25000 | 10000 | 30000 | 80000 |
| 7 | 0 | 5000 | 15000 | 30000 | 10000 | 35000 | 95000 |
As an example, you will now need 25,000 more points to stay 4 nights at a Category 6 hotel at an increase of 26% over the original required points of 95,000 points for a total of 120,000 points! To stay 7 nights at a Category 7 hotel will require an additional 95000 points - that’s an increase in required points of over 63%!!!
Looks like Marriott is going the airline route and devaluing their points as well. Shame on Marriott for trying to pull a fast one. MTP advises you to use those reward points this year if you can help it because on January 15th 2009, they will be worth a lot less.
All that gold is not glitter.
United Airlines recently raised the fee imposed for a ticket change from $100 to $150. This is not good news for frequent flyers who end up changing flights quite often based on a dynamic schedule. United is only digging themselves deeper in a hole - short gains for long term pain. The majority of airlines out there play the”captive audience” game - they figure you have no choice but to fly with them because of your destination. They are missing the bigger picture - with frequent flyer points being de-valued everyday, the only reason you would stick with an airline, is so you can board first. That’s a sad state of affairs for airlines.
I’ve switched to Southwest and their customer service and operational efficiency is bar-none, the best in the industry. I am off the plane a minute after it reaches the gate. They almost always depart and arrive on time. They are that good.
Some of you won’t have that option based on the airports available to your travel schedule, but for those of you who have Southwest as an option, I implore you to look into it. For the business travelers who’ve tried it, there’s no turning back.
Reuters News Feed:
NEW YORK (Reuters) — United Airlines said Sunday it was hiking the fee it charges passengers to change tickets from $100 to $150 in an effort to combat high fuel costs.
A spokeswoman for the airline said in an e-mailed statement that the company this weekend made the change to its ticketing policy.
It also added a Saturday night stay requirement on all tickets where it competes head-to-head with other legacy carriers, which she said will affect 65% of all the markets it serves. That will have the most impact on business travelers, who typically don’t want to spend a Saturday night in their destination.
U.S. airlines have announced a number of fare hikes, fuel surcharges and fee increases recently as they battle higher fuel prices and a weakening economy.
United parent UAL said on April 10 it has raised fares in the United States and Canada by up to $30 round-trip. United has raised fares by $4 to $30 per round-trip depending on mileage and competition from low-cost carriers.
Unfortunately, it will only get worse as airlines look for additional ways to cut costs or pass those costs onto the customer.
Coins are tiny banes of our traveling existence – bearable, but annoying, like mosquitoes bites. I have stacks of change at my various clients as a result of my morning and afternoon coffee runs.
I do my best to get rid of the change, when I remember to take some with me. Usually I grab a stack of coins and hope for the best. All Things Marked had a simple, but effective way to get rid of your change, 10 coins at a time.
Carry the following before leaving for your coffee run:
- 3 Quarters
- 1 Dime
- 2 Nickles
- 4 Pennies
Seems a little obvious, seeing how it adds up to 99 cents, but I never really gave it much thought.
Simple is good.