I don’t have all of the details, since I can’t find anything published on the Iberia website, but you should receive a 50% discount when redeeming Avios this weekend on Iberia reward flights. (the cash amount will remain unchanged)

• Booking Period – May 6-7, 2023
• Travel Period – May 8 – June 30, 2023 and September 1 – December 15, 2023

I believe that you will only see the discount on Iberia flights (including Iberia Express, Air Nostrum and Iberia Regional). You will NOT receive a discount on any partner reward flights – no Oneworld partners, British Airways or even Vueling or LEVEL.

All cabins, including Business Class and Premium Economy, are included in this promotion, so you can potentially fly Business Class to Madrid for 17,000 Avios each way!

Bottom Line

Time to get booking!

Since Iberia Plus has a reasonable 25 euro (or $40 if you book in US dollars) award cancellation fee, there’s no excuse for not making a speculative booking or two this weekend.  There is no disadvantage to booking one-way flights (apart from the extra cancellation fees) if you want to maintain maximum flexibility.

Let us know in the comments section if you manage to book something fantastic…

The post Two Days Only! 50% Discount on Iberia Award Flights appeared first on InsideFlyer.

I have little doubt that the majority of InsideFlyer readers will HATE this promotion. Hilton Honors members can earn:

• 4,000 bonus points per STAY at selected resorts
• 2,000 bonus points per STAY at other hotels

Registration is required. Click here to be taken to the landing page for this promotion.

Why is this Promotion so Bad?

It doesn’t matter whether you stay one night or ten – you will only earn 2,000 bonus points for your “stay”. Don’t bother trying to book each night individually – unless you move to a different hotel, your separate reservations will be merged into one…

Since Hilton Honors members earn 10 points per US dollar spent, 2,000 bonus points is equivalent to earning “double points” on a mere $200 of spend.  (i.e. Hilton’s standard “double points” promotion would have resulted in more bonus points for almost everybody)

From a different perspective, 2,000 points are worth $10 at best. This is a terrible rebate on any long, expensive stay.  You do earn these bonus points on award stays, though, so there’s a tiny bit of upside for those who are planning to redeem their Hilton points this summer.

Which Hotels are “Resorts”?

You can find the list of “resort hotels” by clicking here. And no… you cannot sort, search or otherwise make this list user-friendly.

Bottom Line

Even though this promotion is barely worth the effort, you will want to register nonetheless. But if you have any flexibility in your summer travel plans, you will want to avoid Hilton hotels for everything other than cheap one-night stays.

The post Hilton Honors Announces a Summer Promotion that Almost Everybody Will Hate appeared first on InsideFlyer.

Thanks to the 50% bonus, you would pay 0.69 US cents per point.

You can usually buy up to 180,000 points every calendar year, although the annual limit is often raised later in the year.  Click here to be taken to the Choice website.

Does it Make Sense?

If you are currently planning a trip to Scandinavia, you can find some amazing value from buying Choice points today to spend on award stays.

However, if you can wait around until the next Daily Getaways, you will probably be able to buy Choice points for 0.5-0.6 cents each.

I have also found that it can make sense to buy Choice points in order to convert them to United miles – but only when a bonus is applied to hotel point conversions.  However, those promotions typically arrive during the summer – click here for details of last year’s Choice –> United promo – so you have time to wait before buying Choice points…

The post Should You Buy Choice Points with a 50% Bonus? appeared first on InsideFlyer.

You can earn a maximum of 10,000 bonus points from this promotion.

Registration is required. You can register by clicking here and entering your World of Hyatt account number.

According to the Terms & Conditions, you must have been a member of Lindner Nights prior to March 1st. But it appears that Hyatt isn’t really checking, so anybody can register…

For the avoidance of doubt, Hyatt allows members redeeming points or free night certificates to also participate in these “points per night” promotions. So you can pick up 1,000 points per night in Europe even when spending your points on award stays…

Bottom Line

If you are travelling to Europe this spring, you will want to register for this promotion. Even if you’ve never heard of Germany’s Lindner hotels – soon to join World of Hyatt – you might pick up some bonus points…

The post Earn 1,000 Hyatt Points per Night in Europe appeared first on InsideFlyer.

What Has Changed?

Old Method

Previously, Marriott Bonvoy points could be converted at a ratio of 3 Marriott points to 1.1 United miles. You would also earn the standard 5,000 mile bonus when converting exactly 60,000 Marriott points.

Because it only ever made sense to convert in chunks of 60,000 Marriott points, conversions of that amount would have become 27,500 United miles.

New Method

The 3 : 1.1 ratio has gone away.  Marriott to United conversions now use the standard 3 : 1 ratio of every other airline partner. However, thanks to the 10,000 mile bonus, you will receive 30,000 United miles when converting exactly 60,000 Marriott points.

As a result, you receive an extra 2,500 miles when converting your Marriott points efficiently –> good news!

Bottom Line

Thanks to this change – and the removal of the 5,000 mile bonus on conversions to American Airlines (click here for details) – United should become the clear preference of any Marriott Bonvoy members looking to convert their points into miles from a major US airline.

It’s also worth remembering that United usually offers a conversion bonus in September of every year.  (click here for details of 2022’s promotion)  Unless you are desperate for 30,000 United miles, you should try to wait for that promotion to come around.  That said, the bonus miles from 2022’s promotion took several months to arrive to members’ United Mileage Plus account…

The post Earn Even MORE United Miles When Converting Marriott Points appeared first on InsideFlyer.

Going forward, Flying Club members must pay:

• Economy return flight (Europe & Central/Eastern USA to Tokyo) – 65,000 Virgin points
• Economy return flight (Australia & Western USA to Tokyo) – 60,000 Virgin points
• Business return flight (Europe & Central/Eastern USA to Tokyo) – 95,000 Virgin points
• Business return flight (Australia & Western USA to Tokyo) – 90,000 Virgin points
• First Class return flight (Europe & Central/Eastern USA to Tokyo) – 170,000 Virgin points
• First Class return flight (Australia & Western USA to Tokyo) – 145,000 Virgin points

This Could Have Been Worse…

With Virgin Atlantic joining Skyteam, this redemption option could easily have disappeared overnight, instead of merely being devalued. It appears, therefore, that the Business Class sweetspot will remain for awhile longer – 45k – 47.5k points each way is still an incredible bargain!

And since Flying Club partners with all of the major transferable points currencies, you can still pick up 170,000 Virgin points quite easily – your main problem will still be finding that elusive award space…

The post Virgin Atlantic Flying Club has Devalued its Number One Sweetspot! appeared first on InsideFlyer.

The bonus is tiered – the more you buy, the higher your bonus…

• Buy 5,000-20,000 points, get a 20% bonus
• Buy 25,000-60,000 points, get a 30% bonus
• Buy 70,000-100,000 points, get a 50% bonus
• Buy 125,000-200,000 points, get a 70% bonus

How much do Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points cost?

The cost to purchase Flying Club points varies based on where your account is registered:

• If your account is registered in the United States, you’ll pay $25 per 1,000 points (before any discounts or bonuses)
• If your account is registered in the United Kingdom, you’ll pay £15 per 1,000 points (before any discounts or bonuses)
• There’s also a flat transaction fee of £15 or $22

Those with accounts in the US can therefore buy points for 1.48 cents per Flying Club point. Those with accounts in the UK can purchase points for 0.89 pence per Flying Club point (1.05 cents).

Bottom line

Because Flying Club partners with all of the major transferable point currencies, you might not really need to buy Virgin points that often. Nonetheless, UK-based members in particular might want to look at buying Virgin points when this relatively rare promotion comes around…

The post Buy Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Points with a 70% Bonus appeared first on InsideFlyer.

Although the news isn’t good, it’s worth pausing to remember that no other major hotel chain makes these announcements – because they have already moved to “dynamic award pricing”.  (which allows them to increase award pricing at any time – which they do!)

372 hotels will be changing categories, with 214 hotels moving to a higher category and 158 hotels moving to a lower category. You can find a full list of hotels changing categories here.

How Can I Avoid The Increases?

• All bookings made prior to March 28th will follow the current award chart, even if your stay comes later
• If you’ve already booked a hotel that will go down a category, you will receive an automatic refund of the points difference starting March 28
• Any adjustments made after the changes go into effect will follow the new pricing – if you have any doubt about your dates, therefore, you should book each award night individually

Notable Changes

When paying with points, any increases are merely inflationary. The most painful changes are hotels moving from Category 4 –> 5 and hotels moving from Category 7 –> 8.  This takes hotels out of range of free night certificates available from credit cards and staying 30 or 60 nights in a calendar year.

4 –> 5 Changes

• Andaz San Diego
• Hyatt House Naples / 5th Avenue
• Lahaina Shores Beach Resort, a Destination by Hyatt Residence
• Chicago Athletic Association
• The Eliza Jane
• Hyatt Regency Grand Reserve Puerto Rico
• Hyatt Place Moab
• Grand Hyatt Sanya Haitang Bay Resort and Spa
• Grand Hyatt Jeju
• Grand Hyatt Seoul
• Park Hyatt Saigon
• Mexico City Downtown
• Hotel La Compañia (Panama City)
• Park Hotel ai Cappuccini  (Umbria, Italy)
• Hyatt Regency Amsterdam
• Thompson Madrid

7 –> 8 Changes

• 7Pines Resort Sardinia (Destination by Hyatt)
• Alila Marea Beach Resort Encinitas
• Carmel Valley Ranch (The Unbound Collection by Hyatt)
• Hotel Martinez (The Unbound Collection by Hyatt)
• Hyatt Carmel Highlands, Overlooking Big Sur Coast & Highlands Inn
• Hyatt Centric Key West Resort & Spa
• Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Resort and Spa
• Park Hyatt Zurich
• The Lodge at Spruce Peak (Destination by Hyatt)
• Several SLH hotels

Bottom Line

These changes were inevitable. Room rates at many luxury hotels are increasing rapidly – if those hotels also fill up with guests redeeming points, Hyatt must pay substantially more to the hotel owner / operator.

Even though you might not feel much better, it is worth remembering that World of Hyatt still offers many sweetspots – it might just be a little bit harder to find them starting on March 28th…

The post Hyatt Announces Painful Award Category Changes appeared first on InsideFlyer.

The promotion appears to be:

• 3,000 bonus points every second night
• starting with your second stay

Registration is due to open on February 21, 2023 so we should find out more details soon…

You can follow speculation on this Flyertalk thread.

Bottom Line

It’s nice to have a rough idea of what Hyatt’s next promotion will be – especially if you are planning some springtime travels…

The post Details of Hyatt’s Next Promotion Have Leaked Early appeared first on InsideFlyer.

Does it Make Sense?

The regular price of a Marriott point is 1.25 cents. A 40% bonus means that you would be paying 0.89 cents per point.

If you are redeeming points at expensive hotels using Marriott’s fifth night free award pricing, you can occasionally find a bargain by buying points (instead of paying cash). You are less likely to find value when redeeming points for shorter stays…

Marriott Bonvoy points also have a useful floor value – converting them to airline miles. 60,000 Marriott points will convert into 25,000 miles in a large number of frequent flyer programs. (except for 3!)

A Little Bit Extra…

If you are already a member of Topcashback, you will know that they regularly offer members an additional $2.50 of cashback when spending at least $10.

What does this have to do with Marriott Bonvoy? Well… the purchase of Marriott points is processed by Points.com, which is available on the Topcashback website…

So… if you find yourself needing to spend $10 online and you can’t think of anything… you could spend $25 to buy 2,800 points from Marriott Bonvoy…

$15 for New Members of Topcashback

If you are not yet a member of Topcashback, you can earn an additional $15. Simply sign up using this referral link – http://www.topcashback.com/join-us/inside-flyer/ref/craigsowerby – and earn $10 of cashback.

It’s really quite simple to earn $10 of cashback. The number of hotel chains available via Topcashback is impressive – Hilton, IHG, Marriott, Accor, Choice, Best Western, etc. – as well as the major Online Travel Agencies. Or you could buy $400 of Marriott points and earn the $10 of cashback straight away…

Bottom Line

If you are absolutely desperate for some Marriott points, a 40% bonus is better than nothing. But this is one of the lower bonuses that Marriott has offered recently, so most people should just wait for a better offer to come along…

The post Should You Buy Marriott Points with a 40% Bonus? appeared first on InsideFlyer.