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Members of Delta's SkyMiles program who also hold American Express Gold or Platinum SkyMiles credit cards now have a choice when paying for flights on Delta and Delta Connection: redeem miles; charge the flight to their SkyMiles credit card; or combine the two.
The new "Pay with Miles" option can be used to book flights on delta.com as follows:
For base fares less than $100, redeem 25,000 miles to cover the total fare.
For base fares equal to or greater than $100 and less than $250, redeem 10,000 miles for $100 off the total fare or increase the redemption to cover the total fare, starting at 25,000 miles and increase in increments of 5,000 miles ($50 off) to cover the total fare.
For base fares equal to or greater than $250 and total fares less than $1,000, redeem 10,000 miles for $100 off the total fare or increase the redemption in increments of 5,000 miles ($50 off) to cover all or part of the total fare (15,000 miles for $150 off, 20,000 miles for $200 off, etc.).
And for total fares equal to or greater than $1,000, redeem 10,000 miles for $100 off the total fare or increase the redemption in increments of 10,000 miles ($100 off) to cover all or part of the total fare (20,000 miles for $200 off, 30,000 miles for $300 off, etc.).
So in most cases, the miles have an effective value of 1 cent each when redeemed through Pay with Miles. That's decent if not spectacular value. The more profound benefit associated with Pay with Miles is the restriction-free access to seats. A SkyMiles member combining cash and miles through Pay with Miles can book the same seats available to a paying customer. That's a significant step in the right direction.
Some will be concerned that access to Pay with Miles is limited to holders of American Express credit cards, which otherwise might not be the customer's best choice, based on cost or merchant acceptance. (The Gold card carries an $85 annual fee, waived the first year; and the Platinum card costs $135 annually. And American Express cards are not as widely accepted as Visa or MasterCard cards.)
Overall, though, the increased flexibility, transparency, and convenience will be welcomed by SkyMiles members and sets a new industry standard for award availability.
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Between March 1 and May 31, Hilton HHonors members will earn 10,000 Hilton HHonors bonus points plus double miles in the programs of one of 18 airline programs and a spa-style bathrobe when staying four or more consecutive nights at any of eight participating Hilton Family hotels in Hawaii.
The offer applies to stays at hotels on three Hawaiian islands: the Hilton Kauai Beach Resort on Kuai; the Hilton Hawaiian Village, Hilton Grand Vacations Club at Hilton Hawaiian Village, Hilton Waikiki Prince Kuhio, Doubletree Alana Hotel, and Embassy Suites - Waikiki Beach Walk on Oahu; and the Hilton Waikoloa Village and Hilton Grand Vacations Club at Waikoloa Beach Resort on Hawaii's Big Island.
To earn the bonus, stays can be booked online or by calling 1-800-HHONORS. If booking by phone, request plan code H9 for Hiltons or HH9 for Doubletree and Embassy Suites hotels.
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Beginning on March 4, members of Starwood's Preferred Guest program will have to redeem more points when booking free nights at over 200 hotels.
Starwood is reclassifying approximately 235 hotels. Of those, just 14 are downgrades; the rest are hotels being bumped to a higher category, which means higher prices for awards at almost 25 percent of the hotels participating in the Preferred Guest program.
Award bookings made before March 4 can be made at the current levels, so there's still time to lock in the lower rate.
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Hard on the heels of United's adoption of a similar policy, US Airways has announced that a new $25 fee for the second checked bag will take effect on May 5.
Elite members of US Airways' Dividend Miles program, and Star Alliance Silver and Gold status members, needn't worry: they're exempted from this latest bit of nickel-and-dimeing.
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