Home » Posts tagged 'points trick' (Page 2)

Tag Archives: points trick

Buy (very cheap) IHG points through stay add-ons

31 May 2023 / 2 Comments on Buy (very cheap) IHG points through stay add-ons

If you are an IHG frequent, the name Bonus Points Package is probably no stranger to you. Basically you can buy additional points as an add-on to your stay, and these points are elite-qualifying. In addition to earning more points, they could also help you achieve higher status sooner.

There are two limitations though:

  • They are only available on (member-discount) best flexible rate, with or without breakfast
  • Prices ain’t typically attractive

That said, there are occasional offers which makes it a much better deal. To find out, go to the hotel’s rate plans page, and select a best flexible rate. You should see a pop-up like this:

The image above shows an pretty solid deal – you pay only $11 for 5,000 points, which usually sell for $25 under their half-price sales. If you cancel the reservation within the permitted window you won’t be charged.

It’s hard to find great deals though. Thanks to my friend @zaozaoba, here are a list of select hotels that offer the best bonus points packages.

Unless otherwise states, the $ prices are for 5,000 points.

The list above is by no means exhaustive, and you can play with IHG’s website to dig more. As you can see, you could pay as low as $1 to buy 3,000 points – very impressive!

You can only buy maximum 5,000 points per night though so it’s not a quick or substantial way of buying points. However, if you have travel plans and don’t mind paying the best flexible rate, it may be worth checking out the bonus points package.

Up to 55% conversion bonus from hotel points to Cathay Pacific miles

15 April 2023 / Leave a comment

Cathay Pacific has launched a conversion bonus promotion for select hotel programs, and you can view the details here.

Until May 15th, you will earn a bonus when converting points from participating hotel programs to Asia Miles, including but not limited to:

  • Shangri-la: 30% (1000 : 1300)
  • IHG: 25% (10000 : 2500)
  • Accor: 15% (4000 : 2300)
  • Hilton: 15% (10000 : 1150)
  • Hyatt: 15% (5000 : 2300)

If you have never converted any points between April 1, 2022 and April 11, 2023, you will earn an additional 25% bonus when converting Shangri-la and IHG points.

The bottom line is, even after factoring in the bonus the conversion still loses a lot of value in most cases. IHG may be the only outlier here, where you get 3,000 miles for 10,000 points if you meet the qualification criterion.

As you can buy IHG points at 0.5 cent during their sales, you are essentially paying 1.67c per mile under this promotion, which is not great but a lot cheaper than the official rate. If you have a stash of IHG points and need to top up your Asia miles account to redeem a flight, this offer may be useful.

How to book LATAM flight with Avios

3 April 2023 / Leave a comment

LATAM left Oneworld in 2020, which was a blow to the alliance as it was the only airline they had in South America. In 2018 I few to Peru on a cheap LATAM business class ticket which helped me earn BA Gold status, and I also redeemed Avios for some domestic trip which would otherwise be more expensive.

Fortunately, LATAM maintains its ties with most of its alliance partners except American Airlines. You can still earn Avios when travelling with LATAM if crediting the flight to BA, although you won’t earn tier points and BA elite benefits don’t apply.

More importantly, we didn’t lose the ability to redeem Avios on LATAM flights. You can do it with either BA or Iberia, and they charge the same:

Here are the catches:

  • You can redeem LATAM tickets online with Iberia, however they are non-changeable and non refundable
  • You cannot redeem LATAM tickets online with BA, and intra-continent economy class tickets don’t come with baggage allowance

If you are very certain about your trip, it’s better to book your trip on Iberia’s website. It’s hassle free and you are guaranteed one-piece baggage allowance when travelling in economy.

However, for the peace of mind I’d say flexibility is very important under most circumstances, so I’d rather book with BA and you can change / cancel for the standard £35 fee. You can check availability on Iberia’s website first and then phone BAEC’s hotline, but be prepared for a long call. Many of the agents aren’t well trained or familiar with the LATAM procedure, and even if they are issuing the ticket can still take quite some time.

Once the ticket is issued, you can manage your booking on LATAM’s website but it requires their own PNR. The quickest way to figure it out, from my experience, is by messaging @Latam_Chile on Twitter with your itinerary details. They are very helpful and prompt.

A final non-Avios-related tip for those who hold an US-issued American Express card: you might want to check the ticket price on Amex Travel too. It turns out LATAM is an Amex Insider Fares partner so you can sometimes get preferential rates:

In my case, the ticket from Buenos Aires to Santiago is more than 50% cheaper on Amex Travel for the Easter holiday period, as long as you have enough Membership Rewards points to pay for it. It also comes with free seat selection and one-piece baggage allowance.

Hotel redemption guide on London New Year’s Eve

26 January 2023 / Leave a comment

London New Year’s Eve, thanks to the famous fireworks show, attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists every year. If you are looking for a hotel on that night, you should act as soon as possible, especially if you want to burn some points.

[Marriott]

Marriott London County Hall is the best hotel for watching the fireworks show, and redeemable with points. The redemption price has gone up a little bit this year, from 100K to 106K, but it’s still great value compared to the £1,500 NYE package rate.

Award availability is temporarily blocked right now, but my friend did manage to grab a room a few days ago. I believe more availability will be released in the future – in fact last year it was even bookable on the day.

Marriott London County Hall is inside the Fireworks Zone. The hotel will send you the wristbands a couple of days ahead by courier, which you’ll need to travel in and out of the zone freely. You can chill in your hotel room until the firework starts, and then walk to the White Zone, which is one minute away, to enjoy the show. Fireworks can be seen from rooms with London Eye view too, but don’t expect any upgrade on that day.

I have a couple of friends who stayed here on the 2023 NYE. To be honest the viewing angle from the White Zone is far from ideal, but it is an experience nonetheless.

[Hyatt]

Hyatt “poached” two Crowne Plazas last year, which happens to be the only two London IHG hotels that I liked. The former Crowne Plaza Albert Embankment, to be re-opened as Hyatt Regency London Albert Embankment, is already bookable for NYE.

It costs 20,000 points which isn’t cheap, but acceptable for a special occasion. Interestingly, Twin Room with River View (priced at £500+) is available for the same amount of points, although I don’t think you can see any fireworks from the room.

Hyatt Regency London Blackfriars has a better location, but it’s not bookable yet and we don’t know its redemption category.

[Hilton and IHG]

Somehow most Hilton hotels in central London have already sold out. The only sensible redemption right now is the Westminster, a Curio hotel. It’s a newly-renovated hotel, converted from a Doubletree, but at 60,000 points it feels a bit steep.

In terms of IHG, the only economical option left in central London is Holiday Inn Oxford Circus at 32,000 points. There were many more better options when I checked last week:

But the availability has gone now. Keep checking as they might come back, but I’m most certain that it’s just going to get more and more expensive.

IHG Cyber Monday: 10k points for every two nights

28 November 2022 / 2 Comments on IHG Cyber Monday: 10k points for every two nights

As we have revealed earlier, IHG has now started their lucrative Cyber Monday offer.

The offer page is here, and you can register here.

  • Book on November 28 and 29
  • Stay by December 31
  • Earn 10,000 bonus points for every two qualifying nights

A qualifying night is a paid reservation booked via official IHG channels and the nightly rate should exceed $30. It is a great offer, especially considering that it could stack with the current global promotion, which means you earn 30,000 bonus points for every four nights stayed.

There are two other Cyber Monday offers:

Up to 25% off select catalogue items. However it is still one of the worst ways to spend your IHG points.

25% off Points & Cash bookings:

  • Book by December 2
  • Say in January & February
  • 25% off the cash component of Points & Cash bookings

As we’ve discussed many times, such sales present an opportunity to buy cheap IHG points. In theory it could be as low as 0.42c per point this time, but the usual suspects (InterContinental hotels in Macau) are not open for reservations.

(UPDATE: the following hotels may be available on certain dates:

Try other dates if the cheap rate isn’t available anymore on the specified date.)

Book St Regis Marsa Arabia Island Doha’s premium suite for 31,000 points

22 November 2022 / Leave a comment

World Cup is happening in Qatar, and although I don’t follow football at all some interesting articles have surfaced recently about what new hotels have opened, and which hotel each team is staying etc. I did a bit research myself, and it turns out that Doha has become a great location for a bargain holiday in luxury hotels, by using points of course.

The outstanding property is the new St Regis Marsa Arabia Island, The Pearl Qatar.

It is a brand new hotel set to open its doors in December. It occupies a private island, owns a private beach and has seven restaurants for dining. Most importantly, it’s an all-suite hotel which means you never need to worry about being trapped in a small room even if no upgrade is provided.

Ready for some even better news? Premium Suite, which is two-level above the entry-level suite, is available for redemption for the same price.

The suite measures 122 sqm, with sea view and a terrace. It’s retail price is roughly 3,600 QAR (£837) a night, whereas for the Christmas period redemption costs only 37,000 points. It gets to as low as 31,000 points on some January dates. It is no doubt one of the best Marriott redemptions in the world – at least for now, as with Marriott’s dynamic redemption system the price could shoot up drastically any time.

There are a couple of more Marriott hotels worth mentioning:

  • Le Royal Meridien Doha – new hotel in the West Bay, costing only 20,000 points a night or lower
  • Ritz Carlton Doha – all room types including suite are available for redemption. Club Room (with lounge access) costs 44,000 points or 28,000 points + 300 QAR, great value if you are looking for an all-inclusive stay

Batch search Cathay Pacific’s award availability

21 November 2022 / Leave a comment

Cathay Pacific is a reputable airline and Hong Kong is an important hub when people visit Asia from Europe or the States. As Cathay is an Oneworld member, you can book their award tickets using BA Avios or Alaska miles, but as with most airlines the availability is much thinner compared to booking with Cathay directly.

Having been laid off by Twitter, I suddenly have a lot of free time to kill, and decided to go back to China despite the still ongoing quarantine policy. Transiting via Hong Kong is the most economical choice, and in terms of direct flight only Cathay Pacific is operating at the moment.

I still have 200k+ Avios surplus in my account but finding Cathay availability especially in business class is very difficult. Therefore I’m switching to Cathay instead, as they are an American Express Membership Rewards transfer partner and I have a lot of points to spend too!

Cathay Pacific upgraded their website recently and searching for award availability is no longer trivial, as there isn’t a straightforward calendar view of some sort. To facilitate your search, I recommend using a Chrome add-on developed by @jaytw from Taiwan, as it has helped me a lot for booking my flight ticket.

@jaytw has explained his work in this flyertalk post. If it’s still unclear, here are the steps:

Using this new tool, you can batch search award availability for a 20-day window, and different cabin / transit options are all displayed.

It is a lot easier than having to click through various dates or even perform multiple searches.

I found my LHR-HKG flight and transferred my US Amex MR points to Cathay which arrived instantly. UK Amex MR is also a partner but if I remember correctly the transfer takes a few days.

Here’s a reminder how much Cathay’s LHR-HKG in business class costs:

  • Cathay Pacific: 65,000 miles + £360
  • BA Avios: 92,500 Avios + £360
  • Alaska Mileage Plan: 42,500 miles + $298

Alaska’s cost is the lowest, but it’s not an Amex MR transfer partner, and its access to Cathay’s award inventory is limited just like BA.

Aeroplan: the best flight redemption between UK / Europe and Middle East

3 November 2022 / 2 Comments on Aeroplan: the best flight redemption between UK / Europe and Middle East

I’ve been in the miles and points game for like eight years now, and my international background / connections mean that I dip into loyalty programs of countries besides the UK. Yet Air Canada’s Aeroplan never entered my horizons until very recently, and it turned out to be an excellent redemption program for people living in the UK or Europe.

My friend told me about Aeroplan when he booked Bangkok – London in Oman Air’s first class for only 100k points. I will only focus on the Middle East redemption today however, as I think that’s where Aeroplan’s biggest edge lies.

[The Advantages]

Aeroplan has the the following advantages when it comes to flight redemptions:

  • Extensive partner network, including many non Star Alliance carriers
  • Easy to book online
  • No carrier-imposed surcharges
  • Adding a stopover for only 5,000 points

I don’t want to expand too much here, but not charging YQ alone can save you at least £300 for a long-haul return flight compared to British Airways and Etihad Guest etc.

[Getting Points]

I have the US Amex Platinum card through global transfer, and Aeroplan is a Membership Rewards conversion partner in the United States. I can transfer my MR points to Aeroplan at 1:1 ratio and it’s instant.

Aeroplan is not a MR conversion partner in the UK. However, it is with Marriott Bonvoy (60,000 Marriott points = 25,000 Aeroplan points) which is accessible globally.

[Pricing]

You can find Aeroplan’s redemption chart here. Europe and the Middle East both fall into the Atlantic Zone, so the following pricing applies:

Depart from UK or Europe, you are most likely looking at the 2,001 – 4,000 miles range, which means a one-way business class redemption costs only 45,000 points.

Most importantly, you can book the following carries on Aeroplan’s website, and availability is usually pretty good:

  • Etihad
  • Oman Air
  • Gulf Air
  • Egypt Air

Obviously Star Alliance carriers such as Lufthansa and Swiss are also available, but they are probably less exciting and availability is worse.

For a LHR – DXB / AUH business class return redemption, here’s roughly what each program wants:

  • Aeroplan: 90k points + £313
  • British Airways: 100k Avios + £717
  • Etihad Guest: 125k miles + £687
  • Emirates Skywards: 117.5k miles + £931

Assuming that 1 Avios / point = 1p, two people travelling together on BA’s 2-for-1 voucher is still no better deal than Aeroplan. It contrasts even more sharply if you look at the one-way UK inbound flight only.

I booked my Dubai flight on Egypt Air departing right before Christmas. There’s one Etihad flight with empty business class seats left but unfortunately the arrival time is inconvenient. I’m still quite happy though to find any available for the festive period.

You can also redeem in first class for 60,000 points per way, but availability is much harder to find.

[The Catch]

Aeroplan charges up to C$100 (£64) for changing your ticket, and C$150 (£96) for cancellation. It is much more expensive than Avios tickets with British Airways, although still manageable. Flexible Rewards are possible at the time of booking which can be changed / cancelled for free, however they are at least 20% more expensive which kind of defeats the purpose.

You can cancel your booking for free within 24 hours, which is inline with the other programs.

Post navigation

← Older posts Newer posts →