Hotels.com app-booking bonus stamp offer
Hotels.com is running a new offer to encourage customers to book through the app. Details of the offer can be found here.
To participate, remember that it works on the app only.
- Book by 22/09
- Stay by 31/03/2021
- Enter code APPRWD1 at checkout and collect one extra stamp per stay
Like all such promotions, you must choose the Pay Now option to be able to apply the code, even if the reservation is refundable. Also note that the bonus is per stay, so it works best on one-night stays; in theory if you have a longer stay you can probably split it into multiple bookings.
I don’t value Hotels.com rewards much, as it usually represents a delayed, under 10% return (or with this promotion, 20%) only, which is nothing exceptional at all. However, I do appreciate their elite benefits, especially the hassle free guarantee which means you could cancel non-refundable bookings for free if plans change. And with this promotion, you can potentially reach Silver with only five nights, which isn’t bad.
Ascott launches status match promotion
Ascott is a serviced apartment group based in Singapore. We wrote about their generous buy points promotion a while ago (already ended), and then the status match opportunity to Amex Platinum membership. They have just started a wider status match promotion, which makes becoming elite even easier.
The offer’s page is here. You need to have status with Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, IHG or Accor, and at least one stay with that programme in the last 18 months. Applications are processed within 10 business days, and once approved the status is valid for a year.
A reminder of the benefits:
Ascott Gold
- 30% off birthday voucher
- Welcome gift or drink
- Early check-in & late check-out
- Free airport transfer in the Middle East
- Room upgrade in Europe (subject to availability)
Ascott Platinum
- 40% off birthday voucher
- Welcome gift or drink
- Early check-in & late check-out
- Free airport transfer in the Middle East
- Free breakfast in Europe
- Room upgrade worldwide (subject to availability)
For stays in Europe, Platinum members get free breakfast at the minimum which is not bad. Other benefits like room upgrade are subject to availability, unless your experiences say otherwise I wouldn’t have high expectations.
My Review of JW Marriott Ankara
There aren’t many destinations welcoming UK tourists at the moment, and for most of them you have to self-isolate after returning. Considering this, Turkey is probably the best choice, or at least for me.
(more…)Has Amex Platinum increased their retention offer?
When you attempt to cancel a credit card, especially one with a high annual fee, they will sometimes offer you a retention offer to keep the card.
American Express is known to have marks on your card account. If the agent tries to start the cancellation process, they will see a retention offer right away, if available.
A few months back, it’s widely reported that Amex Platinum cardholders were offered an offer of 15,000 or 20,000 points when called to cancel. I myself was offered 15,000 points as well, which I happily accepted 🙂
However, it appears that Amex has decided that the incentive was not strong enough. Two readers called to cancel recently, and received 30,000 / 40,000 points respectively. This is a 100% increase compared to the last batch.
If you hold the UK Amex Platinum card, feel free to call and make the inquiry, and there may be a nice surprise awaiting!
Amazon offer: £5 voucher for topping up with Visa
Amazon just launched a new promotion with Visa card, and even better it doesn’t seem to be targeted this time!
The offer page and terms are here. To participate, simply click the Top Up Now button and top up at least £50 with a Visa card, and you will get a £5 discount voucher which applies to your future purchase automatically.
The t&c only excludes those who’ve participated in a Visa promotion in the past three months, so I think everyone is eligible. But of course, it’s only valid once.
The offer runs until 30 September, by which time you must use the £5 voucher too.
Preferred Hotels offer: Elite status after one stay
Preferred Hotels is a soft hotel alliance, similar to Leading Hotels of the World and Small Luxury Hotels. Some very well-known hotels in London are part of this group, for example Royal Lancaster London and the Beaumont Hotel.
You can force open IHG reward availability
Being able to redeem “free” nights using points is one of the best benefits of hotel loyalty programmes. Most hotel groups abide by the Last Room Availability principle, i.e. standard rooms are always available for redemption as long as they are not fully booked.
(more…)The Amex airport and lounge benefits that you don’t know of
American Express Platinum is one of the most premium credit card product out there which is publicly available. One benefit that many people value most is airport lounge access.
Amex has a dedicated webpage listing all participating lounges. The mostly known and used ones are probably Priority Pass, Plaza Premium, and Centurion lounges. However, this list isn’t really exhaustive, so I’ll list a few more options which you may find useful. The list blow is not limited to airport lounges, but also other ones plus fast track services.
Obviously all benefits are applicable to the Centurion card as well, if not at all enhanced.
[United States]
Plaza Premium is one of the major lounge partners with American Express. What you probably don’t know however, is that they operate most of Virgin Atlantic’s clubhouses. Actually all five clubhouses overseas (except the London flagship) are operated by Plaza Premium:
- New York JFK
- Boston
- Washington DC
- San Francisco
- Johannesburg
You don’t need to be flying with Virgin Atlantic or Delta, and can bring one guest.
I went to the London Clubhouse recently which was swarmed with Delta passengers and it wasn’t the nicest experience one could expect. I was at the Boston one a few years back (when it was still operated by Virgin itself) and it was pleasant.
Note that Flyertalk has reported frequent access restrictions, which is unsurprising given how many Amex Platinum cardholders there are in the US.
[United Kingdom]
If you hold Amex Centurion or Business Platinum, you could use fast track security when departing from London Heathrow. Note that it doesn’t apply to personal Platinum cardholders.
You could also use the Business Premier lounges when travelling on Eurostar. It applies to all lounges across the Eurostar network, not just in the UK.
[Germany]
When flying Lufthansa, Swiss or Austria, Amex Platinum cardholders could use the Lufthansa business lounge regardless of the class of travel, or Senator lounge when flying business class; and Centurion cardholders could use the first class lounge.
The benefit was trialled at Munich and Frankfurt initially, and now extended to many global locations including Berlin, London, Paris, Milan, Dubai, New York and Boston.
According to Wikipedia, Centurion cardholders enjoy complimentary access to Deutsche-Bahn first class lounges when travelling by train.
[Canada]
Pearson Priority Security Lane (fast track) at Toronto Pearson Airport’s Terminal 1 and Terminal 3.
[Belgium]
Fast lane is available to Platinum and Centurion cardholders at Brussels airport.
[Austria]
Fast track service is available to Platinum and Centurion cardholders at Vienna airport.
[Italy]
Fast track service is available to Platinum and Centurion cardholders at the following airports:
- Rome / FCO
- Milan / MXP
- Milan / LIN
- Naples / NAP
- Turin / TRN
- Palermo / PMO
- Catania / CTA
[Spain]
Fast track service is available to Platinum and Centurion cardholders at any AENA airports. The exhaustive list is here, which includes many, if not all Spanish airports, such as:
- Madrid
- Barcelona
- Seville
- Valencia
- Ibiza
- Palma de Mallorca
- Gran Canaria
- Tenerife
Instructions say you must generate a QR code first via the Amex Experiences app. However, anecdotes suggest you can also show your (non-Spain-issued) card for the staff to take down the details manually.
[Scandinavia]
Fast track service is available to Platinum and Centurion cardholders at the following airports:
- Stockholm / ARN Terminal 2 & 5
- Gothenburg / GOT
- Malmo / MMX
- Helsinki / HEL
[Australia]
Platinum / Centurion cardholders can access Virgin Australian domestic lounges with one guest with a same-day departing flight.
Note that some of these benefits may be limited to cards issued by certain countries only. For example, the Eurostar benefit is limited to UK- and France-issued cards, and the staff at St Pancras do always check.