Let’s be honest, on some level, everyone who loves elite status in travel kind of loves to see themselves as George Clooney or Vera Farmiga in ‘Up In The Air’. It’s fun to be the mysterious, ultra-important customer who the seas part for. That movie made people who previously didn’t pay attention, pay attention and aspire.

This week, people are mad at Delta Airlines for being a little bit more overt about which people truly matter enough to them to open up the coveted velvet ropes and extend valuable perks going forward.

Unfortunately for most of us, we’re just not nearly as important to our chosen hotel or airline loyalty program as we’d like to think we are.

It’s ok — take a deep breath and stop being emotional. The best thing we can do is to be as rational with our travel decisions as they are with their customer decisions.

Emotion VS Metrics

In an AI driven, data analytics world, we travelers still operate emotionally with our loyalty and in my opinion, it’s becoming our fatal flaw. No tears have been shed by airlines or hotels over you deciding not to renew your elite status. You either hit the heavily scrutinized and modeled numbers, or you don’t.

Yet here we are trying to justify spending hundreds or thousands on a trip we don’t need, or staying on the wrong side of town, just to hit that next level of the elite status game. We potentially get a perk in return which may in reality be worth less than the expense extended just to achieve it or too much hassle to enjoy.

Everyone has their vocals with violin of “I gave X number of loyal years to this, or that” and they can sing with that violin all they want, but when push comes to shove, no one is listening, no one truly cares and those days are over.

If we approach each travel transaction with equal clarity as these loyalty programs we can still have fun and enjoy the ever changing games.

My advice here is simple: always earn — and don’t play stupid games.

Participating in loyalty is always better than not. At the very least, points add up to discounts, savings or perks. Even if you no longer hit elite status benchmarks you’d be a fool to not earn something.

If you’re going to continue to pursue perks or elite status, choose your battles with the precision and data these programs do. Find the best perks that fit the organic patterns of your travels and don’t be struck with FOMO (fear of missing out) for things like perks you don’t really need, or will struggle to redeem later.

Enjoy the freedom of picking the best hotel on merit, or the best flight on schedule. And yes, still earn points and status where you can, obviously, just don’t get caught on a hamster wheel if the cheese isn’t worth the calories.

I made a conscious decision not to chase any hotel loyalty, because I found that working with travel agents with Virtuoso and other benefits yielded equal, if not better perks and allowed me to remain a free agent, not beholden to any one group. I stand by that, for my personal travel. I still earn minor tiers naturally, but I’m not addicted to top tier.

To be fair, I’m not a top tier guest either. That’s me coming to terms with my true value to the programs.

Let this data driven “show me the money” era of travel loyalty be freeing. Don’t chase status just so you can feel some sort of superiority or stand in line ahead of others at the airport or hotel. Trust me, no one is really that interested in your shiny luggage tag.

The adjustment will be seeing that there are still benefits if you stick with a program — heck Delta gives free wifi to all Skymiles members — just perhaps not the level of benefits people believe they were e-n-t-i-t-l-e-d to.

People talk about swapping over to other programs, but most data points would suggest its hot air. Very few actually swap, due to the ever changing nature of the game.

If Delta truly has superior products, it’d also be self sabotage to leave just out of spite. That’s personal choice. It’d be easy to argue that Delta’s products will only get better as the top tiers thin out to only those who spend enough with the airline to justify truly premium experiences. Harsh world, but real.

I’ve long argued that if everyone is “VIP”, no one is.

The reality is, many people lamenting Delta’s changes, and recent changes from other programs were doing crazy things to earn perks to fuel some sort of emotional feeling or connection. The ones that hit it naturally really aren’t impacted.

Delta has made it clear that spending money on flights or their credit cards is what matters to them. If that’s cool for you, cool. If it’s not, enjoy the feeling of free agency. Take even a small step out of the echo chamber of frequent travel forum and you’ll be told plainly that the behavior of flying somewhere or staying somewhere just to earn something you may or may not be able to use, is mental. It’s nice not to be crazy.

In many ways its sad that the “games” around status are over, but in many ways it’s also just cutting the chatter of the philosophical arguments rather than the cold hard numbers which truly justify the businesses giving out the benefits.

People did too much to earn things they probably didn’t need, or could’ve easily lived without, and that overstretched behavior created this deeply emotional rub between programs and travelers.

Path Of Least Resistance

Most but not all people choose the loyalty program with the easiest route to the thing that they want. In a world of comparison shopping and price drop alerts, it’s natural to look for the best pathway to the best perk.

But is that loyalty? It’s a handshake driving some sales for sure, but is it driving the best sales or the mutually beneficial loyalty where both parties are happy to indulge each other in rich benefits without red tape or hassle?

If too many people are “VIP”, no one is.

The truth is that for any functioning business, expenses are justified by income and the completely fun and totally amusing, but also completely convoluted world of air travel elite recognition metrics we mutually created is done.

Flying on a $200 USA to Australia ticket back and forth — over and over again where the airline makes $1 off the customer, but that customer gets more perks than the person who spends $1000 to fly from New York to Washington DC every week is just wrong.

Those in the know loved “the game”, including me — but if you ask me, the games that were created are dead, or certainly calling for the defibrillator. When we put emotions aside, we know it just doesn’t make sense, even if we’d like it to.

The true “dream” customer is unfortunately for most of us, a truly high margin one. The more data that comes in, the more that can be tracked back to that margin for the business, the more the airline or hotel has to invest in the benefits.

Loyalty will only become more impressive for those who pledge that 360° loyalty to fly, stay and spend with one airline and hit lofty numbers, and for everyone else, enjoy the freedom of making logical decisions for each trip. There will still be perks, but they’ll be different.

In 1994, the Wu Tang Clan declared “cash rules everything around me”, and when we put the emotion aside, it rules everything in travel these days too.

The post Stop Being So Emotional About Elite Status And Travel Perks appeared first on God Save The Points.

Let me start by saying that in a travel world governed by protecting share price and shareholder value, rather than innovation and driving hospitality standards I admire those that take big swings or find new ways to please all. I don’t think Global Airlines will deliver in either of those avenues.

I’ve never been one to shy away from opinion and I’ve seen more than my fair share of big talking egos in the travel industry over the last decade. Few of these machismo ego types have been have been more easily ignored than James Asquith, the “founder and CEO” of paper airline, Global Airlines. I’d love to be wrong about this, I just so rarely am.

Almost as if my readers know I have a nose for this sort of extreme thing, I’ve had more people get in touch begging for content than virtually any other airline topic in the decades long history of this blog.

I aim to please, so it’s my pleasure to lay out a hybrid article out below, sharing some vital and factual industry hurdles facing Global Airlines first. Then, I’ll interject my brief, juicy and amusing encounters with this ultra visionary money spinner and social count fluffer and share some real, no BS woes.

Real Industry Hurdles For Global Airlines

Seth Miller of paxex.aero fame may not be the most glass half full member of the airline press thanks to his pedantic attention to detail but by sticking to that script, it rarely make him flat-out wrong about something.

He “gets” the airline industry and its regulatory processes at a very gritty level, whether that’s seemingly simple things like certifying an airline seat for flight (not simple at all), or applying for air operator certificates (extra not simple at all) in well regulated flying markets like the US, Europe or UK. I like him for that, a lot.

In Seth’s great piece about Global Airlines, he not only lists the mountain of vital regulatory challenges facing Global, he also shares how they apparently lied about having already achieved some of these regulatory milestones via the airlines pitch deck. The airline told Seth they’ve “moved on” from that deck.

But let’s be clear: there’s no grey here. Many of these claims are black and white, true or untrue, where one claim cannot be true if the other is not. Knowing the orders and processes involved in this highly complicated dance to become a real passenger flying airline, many are simply not true, according to the article.

• Air Operator Certificate: Global will need CAA approval and some checks from the FAA for an AOC and this is a crazy complicated and stringent process in which two highly bureaucratic bodies must be satisfied over a myriad of checks.
• Landing Slots at Prime Airports: Global says they’ll fly New York-London as their big route launch. Last I knew, a pair of slots at Heathrow cost about $70 million and weren’t exactly on eBay. JFK… yeah. Gatwick isn’t exactly cheap either.
• Seats And Other…Parts: You really should read Seth’s article linked above. Many of the seats Global Airlines claims it will use were purely concepts that don’t exist, or are preexisting seats which bring zero innovation. They’re super expensive too, these airline seats. Some business class seats cost more than $100k per seat!

Some rather insane people have tried to create a narrative that these hurdles are like a young Richard Branson and the doubt he faced when launching the truly iconic Virgin Atlantic. Well done, Global PR team, and solely Global PR team.

Let me just say I’ve very been fortunate to meet Sir Richard many a’time and the man is a very serious “business first” clever machine and Virgin’s entry hurdles and scope to innovate in the year 1984 bear no resemblance to today in 2023. That’s just silly. Nice try, Global PR team — you may actually be worth keeping around.

Fake Followers, Ban Rumors And Angry Messages

Around the time British Airways got some A350’s delivered, James Asquith very briefly followed me on Instagram. He immediately messaged and was fuming that he wasn’t invited to the media event which saw virtually all print and television outlets in the UK alongside many bloggers and social media people onboard to tour the new delivery.

He sent me some weird messages, got angry when I didn’t agree with his tirade and then unfollowed me pretty shortly thereafter. Sorry, “bro”, I don’t do the follow for a follow thing. Good luck with that though!

I’d never heard of him and found it weird that he had “a million” followers on the platform. Someone later confirmed to me some hilarious purchases of followers and bots. That tracks, considering Global, an airline which only exists on paper right now already has 447,000 followers on Instagram.

Zero flights, zero customers, almost half a million social followers? Ok then…

Despite global recognition and routes, a famous founder and almost 40 years in the business with internationally known celebrities regularly tagging them, Virgin Atlantic only has 646,000. The biggest global US carriers hover around the 1 million mark.

Because I keep my lawyers busy enough, I certainly won’t outright claim that James’ entire online presence and that of Global is a sham, but I am not-not claiming that either?

Though I never actually saw the printed list of “banned” flyers to confirm and can’t verify myself, I have it on very good authority that at least a couple airlines temporarily banned this guy from flying because of antics aimed at drawing social attention and disrupting cabin service. Maybe that’s why he needs an airline of his own?

Follow The Money?

I am not a forensic accountant. I make no claim to prove any wrongdoing, and I am only here to ask reasonable questions. James Asquith theoretically founded something called Holiday Swap and it claims to be huge. I don’t know of a singular ‘Holiday Swap’ customer that has ever actually made a booking.

That current/former business of Mr. Asquith has always been mired by rumors. If it’s somehow part of the bankroll for this new Global Airlines, that is something regulators should probably look to understand more, along with the true origins of some of the financing.

Wouldn’t it be good to know the true investors of an airline, and the entities which they represent? I’ve heard caviar is often served!

Safety Drives Airlines More Than These People Know

There’s a lesser talked truth about success in the airline industry and it’s not how fancy a seat is, the global airlines alliances one possesses, credit card perks on offer or what booze is served on board. It’s safety.

S-a-f-e-t-y is actually really what drives airlines more than most factors. It’s not sexy to talk about nor easy or fun to message, which is why we don’t really talk about it — but it’s so real.

Corporates buy travel on airlines with impeccable safety records so that they can feel confidence that their key stakeholders are in good hands. Families choose airlines that are known to put safety first for all the obvious reasons.

Whatever you think about James Asquith, and yes many travel social media follow for follow types do love him, I ask you one thing. Do you ever feel “safety culture” when you browse his Instagram, or that of Global, even? Was Fyre Festival safe?

You tell me.

Serious airlines spend serious money, time and resource to develop safety cultures which keep them out of the news, rather than do odd things to try to gain news.

Business In The Front, Party In The Back

If you look at recent airline upstarts which went from paper, to planes flying actual passengers, they’ve been like mullets. I mean that with real love.

Business in the front, party in the back.

They’ve been founded by highly credible people like David Neeleman who has been a true innovator and business leader in travel. The guy founded JetBlue which was the first to introduce live TV, leather seats in economy and innovative f&b offerings.

His most recent airline, Breeze, which has flown millions of people has just 63K followers, by the way.

These airlines were business first approaches where all of the dense regulatory hurdles were cleared with clarity and purpose thanks to other highly credible people hired to ensure regulators knew how seriously these things are taken. You should not be able to fudge safety and standards. No one’s life should be taken for granted.

Unlike Global Airlines pitch deck, these flying upstarts were not telling investors they had air operator certificates when they didn’t, or slots when they couldn’t legally have them, because they didn’t actually have an air operator certificate.

Once the business was in place, the rest came after. It’s just impossible to take a company seriously when they don’t understand this fundamental, vital part of the airline business. You can try all the wacky stuff you want once you’re air worthy and have slots.

I firmly believe that the best investment in Global Airlines is the sweatshirts from their online store, because unlike their planes, they may actually fly one day if you wear one on another airline. And if you’re really lucky, and this turns out to be the Fyre Festival documentary I think it will be in my heart, you’ll have an eBay memorabilia piece to wear to music festivals.

If I’m wrong, I will make (1) Instagram reel, (1) Facebook post and (1) blog post for James bowing in apology and waive my usual fee.

The post Global Airlines: Officially Calling “BS” appeared first on God Save The Points.

When people talk about Virgin Atlantic, the conversation is often shaped similarly to the David vs. Goliath story. You know, all starting back to one plane and a mildly wild man named Richard with a big dream of taking down the “big guys” and all that.

Despite significant growth, innovation and accomplishment, that’s kind of where the narrative stayed throughout the 36+ year history of Virgin Atlantic. A small airline vs lots of big scary “corporate” ones.

Until ever so recently, the “red” airline was still a boutique operation with major destination gaps, no major airline alliance adding value and an inconsistent product up front. If it wasn’t coastal United States, South Africa, India or the Caribbean you were after, there wasn’t all that much to pick and choose from either.

Other than affinity, there also wasn’t a definitive, non emotion led reason to pick Virgin Atlantic over other airlines, particularly for something like a major corporate account or for a busy flyer. Sure, you may “like them” but tangibly what was better at scale?

It was often the airline for once a year holiday makers for leisure destinations, and people who flew regularly between London, New York and Los Angeles who wanted an alternative to bland, or who’d simply been exposed to one too many British Airways IT failures. Harsh, sure, but kind of true? Definitely.

It’s All Changed For Virgin Atlantic

In under a year, Virgin Atlantic has dramatically transformed the narrative of this airline, whether anyone realizes it yet or not. From the Maldives to Dubai and Sao Paulo, new continents and destinations are everywhere; turning it into a bonafide global force.

Once cited drawbacks to flying the red airline have largely been nixed as a variety of on board, on ground and strategic partnership moves unfold into something bigger.

SkyTeam Is A Big Deal

Virgin Atlantic is also now a member of SkyTeam, adding regional partners basically everywhere, including Asia. Virgin Points can be used on airlines that can take people all over the world now, and points and status credits are earned when you fly on any of the SkyTeam member airlines.

In itself, this is a huge move, making it easier to lure frequent travelers who depend on network connectivity and the ability to earn and be recognized with elite perks globally, rather than just on one airline.

It’s nice to matter to any airline and Virgin was always good at making Gold customers, their “top tier” frequent fliers feel some love. But when you know that top tier fliers on other airlines feel the move across 13 or more airlines as a top tier customer, it didn’t feel like the same pursuit.

It does now, with SkyTeam airlines recognizing Virgin Atlantic status and awarding things like lounge access and priority benefits. Elite benefits now apply on airlines like Delta, Air France, KLM, China Airlines, Korean Air, Aeromexico, Garuda Indonesia, Vietnam Airlines and more.

The Products And Technology

And then there’s the products. The introduction of the Airbus A350 and particularly the new Airbus A330neo add “wow factor” to every Virgin cabin. This also gives Virgin one of the “greenest” fleets in the skies, so points there for sure.

Virgin Atlantic has always been a feel good factor and passenger favorite in economy and premium. People love the small touches which make the experience feel elevated along with friendly service customer but it’s a real force up front now too with high margin customers.

For the most part, those old “coffin” style seats are gone and the new private suites, with actual privacy doors on the Airbus A330neo are in. The airline is onboarding new planes with regularity now and each one despatched is setting benchmarks on most routes.

GSTP would happily argue with anyone who would rate another business class cabin over the Virgin Atlantic A330neo Upper Class experience on the direct routes it flies. In my falsely modest opinion, it’s the best business class seat flying New York – JFK, which is historically the only $1bn annual airline route.

For clarification, the seat/suite itself is great, but it’s really about Virgin Atlantic’s very forward thinking investment in technology, such as wireless bluetooth pairing for your headphones, lightning fast Viasat wifi and lighting. The onboard social space is just an extra nice touch.

Increasingly Robust Route Network

From 2024, Virgin will tick a few boxes that change the boutique airline or regional perception. Couple that with the expanded “one stop” reach offered by their SkyTeam partners and there aren’t many places you can’t get anymore with a Virgin ticket.

Virgin is launching its first route to South America with Sao Paulo, alongside more India and the Maldives. Connectivity into Europe is now excellent with options to fly KLM, Air France or Czech after a hop in London.

Connecting in the US is also immense thanks to recent route launches including Tampa and Austin. Delta doesn’t hurt either. Delta operates one of the most robust domestic networks from virtually all entry points Virgin flies to.

Asia Pacific is now also very much connected, with China Airlines and Korean Airlines offering one stop solutions to most destinations out of their home bases in Taipei and Seoul, respectively.

No Longer Boutique But Still Unique?

The Virgin Atlantic experience still very much feels boutique, at least to me. But when you factor an ever expanding fleet, route network and partnerships including Sky Team it’s quite difficult to really see Virgin Atlantic as a David in the Goliath story anymore.

The airline doesn’t do short haul like its Heathrow neighbors in British Airways and is unlikely ever to be quite so big, but growth and reach are increasing daily and things at the red airline certainly feel grown up.

In an impartial debate, there are just fewer and fewer things Virgin doesn’t have, and quite a few it does, that others don’t.

The post Is Virgin Atlantic Outgrowing “Boutique” Label? appeared first on God Save The Points.

I haven’t seriously considered a Star Alliance flight in months, and that makes me one of the illogical people I always tell my readers not to be. On that note, there are many interesting philosophical debates to be had about loyalty programs of the to be, or not to be, essence.

Many would argue that if no one spent on marketing, no one would lose a thing, but as long as someone does, everyone does — and must. The same goes for perks and airline elite status. Once an airline is offering perks, everyone must.

So what’s the point of loyalty? It turns otherwise logical people into illogical consumers who can’t simply press purchase on the lowest priced option. There’s always a greater equation at play, and it weighs on people.

I Can’t Book Star Alliance Right Now

I hold top tier status in both Oneworld and SkyTeam. I love many Star Alliance airlines, but now that I’ve reviewed most of the major Star Alliance airlines and lounges, I never fly them.

Why? Because I’ve got two statuses and points goals to maintain and work toward and even if Star Alliance is marginally cheaper for a need, I need all of my flight purchases to be working towards benefits and perks from which I truly benefit.

There’s an opportunity cost if I DON’T take a SkyTeam or Oneworld flight at the moment. Sure, I might save $200 by booking SkyTeam, but that fails to account for a variety of things people don’t instantly consider on the transaction, like…

• More Points Earned: thanks to higher points multipliers for customers with elite status flying the airline. An extra 10,000 miles could be worth $100 at a minimum.
• Unlocking Valuable One Time Benefits: hitting status goals can unlock elite benefits like international upgrade certificates or companion tickets, which can be worth many thousands.
• “Always On” Day Of Travel Perks: maintaining a good status can unlock lounges and fast tracks, even when flying on economy tickets. This is a valuable add for people who don’t always buy up to premium cabins.

Practical Example: say I’m looking at a $2,000 business class ticket from New York to London. But — TAP has an $1800 fare. I could save $200 booking TAP Portugal. But by doing so, I’d earn a fraction of the miles because I wouldn’t receive my elite multiplier for miles, which can be 3X more points. The bonus points alone might narrow the gap to $100 in price or less, and then when you factor that I’m near a companion ticket with Oneworld or SkyTeam already, not staying loyal could actually cost me a $2000 savings on a future ticket. Because of this, I can’t even look at other airlines until I’ve over-achieved my status goals.

I get actual value from both my SkyTeam and Oneworld statuses in the form of lounge access, fee waivers, time savings and even upgrades. I know I could in Star Alliance too, but when I started out, I chose other programs over those in Star and stuck with it.

Because of that, it would take a considerable status match offer or instant perks to make me consider a swap.

Loyalty Is Working On Me

I’ve mused before that people who feel as if they’re on a hamster wheel of loyalty and aren’t getting the cheese they desire should really hop off for a second and consider the effort versus reward. It’s a vital sanity check I can attest that many would benefit from.

I give myself that check regularly, yet loyalty is clearly functioning the way programs would like, because it’s creating outsized wallet share from me, to ensure I am always building. Flights for which I should be considering other airlines, I’m simply not.

I’ve found games that delivers enough for me that I’m not “shopping” for flights, I’m simply weighing options between two alliances from which I benefit. The only game left is which one of the two wins that two way wallet share.

When you think of the breadth of options out there, it’s proof that even on a seasoned and level headed person (ok, I may be neither!) the right benefits can create action and make customers less price sensitive. I’ll pay more to work towards things which bring value both as one off benefits and “always on” travel benefits.

This is where the funny side of “error fares” kicks in, because they’re not always errors. If a Star Alliance airline had an error fare to Australia, a personal fave, which I simply could not resist, it might be the only actual lever to get me to switch over and then want to earn more.

My “blinders on” approach to most flight bookings is such a drastic departure from most consumers who have three alliances, multiple non alliance airlines and all the other upstarts to consider for any purchase decision.

Done right, airline loyalty really can make people insane.

The post Done Right, Airline Elite Status Makes People Insane appeared first on God Save The Points.

I’m sorry, I just can’t. Malcolm Gladwell would call it the tipping point, but I’ll just call the current state of the airport lounge what it is – insanity. Mass transit masquerading as luxury.

What were once refined spaces and places for road warriors and those who pay for the best when they fly are now basically hospital waiting rooms at a push, with very slightly upgraded snacks and queues that rival a Taylor Swift merch booth just to get in.

And to be clear, unlike the hospital waiting room which usually has enough chairs upon entry, these spaces no longer do, so on behalf of the airline or credit card, please take your “free” snacks and bounce.

A time may be on the horizon where it actually makes sense to stop offering lounge access to some elite statuses and reimagining day of travel benefits that people can enjoy. There’s just not a lot of joy in lounges right now.

Valuable Airport Real Estate

Airport lounges are so crowded now that lines form to get in them. Some airlines even have two lanes to try to fast track more valuable customers.

Modest food offerings from the lounge are now often placed at the entry door as “grab n go” designed to turn people around when they do reach the door. Wait, what?

I’ve long said if everyone is “VIP”, no one is. That couldn’t be more true here.

This was always a problem for the flawed business model of pay as you go lounges, where the business goals run counter to the customer goals — aka the more heads through the door the better, versus the customer side of the more exclusivity and peace the better.

Now it’s hit breaking point with all lounges. The people having a coffee in the terminal did not have to wait in line to get there. They simply sat down and are even treated to tarmac or airplane views upon their seating.

Counter that with people who have paid more for their ticket, for their credit card, or have pledged allegiance to an airline, all waiting in line for the pleasure of entering a lounge space so crowded that there aren’t even seats. If there were, there wouldn’t be a f**king line.

This also makes me question the intelligence of everyone who willingly waits in said lines, because honestly, what do you expect to find at the end of the line? The reality is grim and the ways out of this mess are not short term.

I applaud the airlines and card issuers for their various efforts to upend the problem, but its bandaids for bullet wounds, or however that saying goes right now.

It sounds like a story from The Onion, but many airlines now have “grab and go” facilities designed to keep all who have access from actually coming in. Grab and go is a lovely concept when paired with a half empty space as the perfect accompaniment to lounge access for those hustling in transit, but not as a replacement for refinement and comfort.

My Historical Take On “The Problem”

There’s real business to be had from airport spaces. Lounges can be one of the better ones too. The problem is that airline bean counters don’t like how opaque the value and profit of running these spaces appeared on profit and loss sheets. The business case isn’t as simple as we sold X and got Y.

How do we know that paying all this money for wine, food and space is actually a good investment if everyone is getting in “for free” for being loyal? These people love a clean transactional trail and many facets of loyalty require a deeper dive than a single excel file. The justifications are 100% there, they just require more forensic accounting.

“So big time CFO Jimbo, that person using the lounge “for free” chooses to spend $2,000 a week with us, rather than with other airlines because we have this space and because it’s nice. If we start ramming it with people who just want to be that person giving us $2,000 a week that one time a year they fly, that $2,000 a week person might scram”.

Some airlines punch well above their boutique weight by offering amazing lounge and ground experiences. It’s hard to precisely measure how someone values that lounge experience in the P&L sheet, but it’s incredibly real.

Because everyone in corporate America likes ticking boxes and reporting up that they’re doing a job deserving of a salary and “maximizing” something for their boss, the notion of selling access to these spaces became too much to pass up for many airlines and credit card companies.

The 2008 global financial crisis was an additional catalyst as weakened airlines looked to pull money from thin air and absolutely managed to. At a cost, of course.

Credit card companies have always been eager to secure new and exciting perks for customers and that’s great! It created the perfect transaction. Airlines were happy to sell access and make money every time an eligible credit card customer swiped in and for the card companies it was an instant “no lift” way to offer more value.

The thing is, airport lounges historically have been small spaces for a select few — not spaces for everyone with plastic in their pocket.

Though no one will tell you outright, because so much money has been made, even those early airline and credit card partnerships somewhat went south quickly, with the guest expectation of premium credit card holders rarely being met by the dwindling airport lounge standards.

More people through the door was met with decreasing offerings to control costs of the access. Airlines were only happy to have these people pop in if they were profiting on the transaction — not if they drank them dry.

What were once a la carte “full meal” buffets became stale chips and dips, with some pretzels if you were lucky. What was once palatable $15-$20 wines became true super market bottom shelf which liquor that may well double as varnish for the spaces.

Cutting Out The Middle Men

So then credit card companies cut out the middlemen, the airlines, and opened their own spaces… only to create the same problem. You build it and they will come — and stay super long because they love getting value from their cards! Rightfully so, right?

When you sell airport happiness as a card perk, everyone wants that perk because everyone hates the airport. Plus, no one wants to feel like they’re losing on their big annual fee, which these days is increasingly… big. It might need to get bigger.

Airports are where airlines operate, sure, but the spaces are open for anyone to bid and contract on. It’s created a fever pitched competition to acquire spaces, and with such limited real estate, getting enough space to make the space worthwhile is truly difficult.

The Way Forward: Old Becomes New Again, New Becomes Better

There are ways to make every airport experience better and I genuinely believe many are happening. Paris Charles De Gaulle (CDG) is trialling putting truly local, unique and independent stores in place of chains like Starbucks to create an exciting environment for guests, which make people without lounge access really happy.

Generally, I’d say terminals are getting better. I often opt to pay $20 for a single nice glass of wine at a wine bar or steak house rather than waiting in line to have swill in a lounge. It’s often equally tranquil and there’s more selection.

Many airports are investing in food delivery within the terminal, with robots or people hustling to go fetch you something and bring it to your perfectly adequate seat in the terminal. With advancements like these, I don’t always bother with lounges.

If I so much as see a five person line, I immediately beeline my way towards an empty gate area where a flight has just departed and set up camp. If a lounge isn’t truly a haven, it does not have a place in my world. And havens in crowded places are valuable!

What Airlines Must Do: Hard Pill

Airlines and credit card companies need to stop trying to please everyone and start delivering on the marketing claims they make for the people who drive revenue and value for them.

If they get more exclusive with which credit cards gain access and which elite statuses are eligible for the richest airport perks, they can go back to driving value to their good old flying products.

Many airlines have, or are tinkering with “cabin only” lounges, where you can only enter if you’re actually flying in a premium cabin like business or first. There should be no exclusion as to using miles or paying cash for these experiences and offering these will allow precise control over passenger numbers.

You know how many seats you have in these cabins out of any market and that’s the number of people you’ll get.

A time will come when it might make serious sense to cut lounge access for lower their elite statuses and instead focus on just calling a spade a spade, and setting up a grab and go area, or enhanced terminal wifi proposition for people with low status. It might actually be a lot better than delivering sub-bar experiences.

There’s so much open ground to play with in an airport that isn’t a stuffy room. A passenger could really benefit from a credit to use at independent airport vendors, or lightning fast wifi they can bank on for free.

One thing is for sure, the present is not aspirational.

Bonus Content: Hierarchy Of Lounge Guest Hell

A funny truth about these airport lounges is that most of the people in them hold a grudge against each other, feeling others are unworthy.

Those who earn lounge access as a perk of “butt in seat” flying feel that their loyalty is certainly more valuable than anyone who spends a lot on a credit card annual fee.

Many paying the highest credit card annual fees don’t like mixing with middle manager road warriors, and last but not least, those who may fly infrequently but pay top dollar for the best experiences when they do are mad at both of the above for getting in for any way that isn’t cold hard cash on the specific transaction – aka flight.

The post Welcome To The Airport VIP Lounge, Please Grab Snacks And Leave appeared first on God Save The Points.

During a recent stint in sunny Madrid, a series of decisions got me thinking about something we’ve all pretty much just resigned to happening – and that’s the credit card authorizations when checking in to almost any hotel.

The hotel tell you it’s all about incidentals or room damage, but it’s so much more than that. In today’s world of modern digital payments, a hotel putting an additional hold or “authorization” of any amount over what the room costs is pure consumer psychology. Specifically, the psychology of additional revenue.

Surprise, surprise, it often works.

Hotel Authorizations

Many hotels rates are pre-paid these days. You arrive and owe “nothing”, yet you still end up handing over a card. What gives, right?

Even if you haven’t prepaid, you end up paying more than what it says on the folio for the actual reservation charge, because virtually all hotels take an additional credit card authorization between $50-$150 per day, per room on top of the room rate.

What is this, and why? A hotel authorization can be justified by a front desk team in many ways. Some say it’s like insurance against room damage or theft while others will talk about it covering any incidental charges like clothes pressing or minibar.

In reality though, the hotel could very easily handle these things without taking an extra $50-$150 per day to hold onto from the start, in addition to what you paid for your room.

They take this because speed and ease of transaction makes you more likely to leave some of that deposit behind than if you pulled your credit card out every time you wanted to buy a round of drinks or order room service.

The Psychology Of Hotel Authorizations

We all know the phrase “don’t cry over spilled milk” and I think it’s fairly apt with this discussion. When a hotel takes an additional authorization of $50-$150 per day, even though it’s only a hold on a credit card and basically like non-existent money that was never actually spent, people feel like it’s money that’s already been spent.

• It shows up against your available credit.
• You see it listed in your transactions as pending spend.
• It doesn’t “fall off” as a charge for up to 7+ days.

Naturally, you feel in some way, however illogical it may be, as if this money is already gone in some way. With it already “gone”, people are more likely to spend more loosely than they might otherwise. They already took the $100 per day, so that $20 cocktail at the bar just feels more justified, right?

And then there’s speed and ease.

Anyone ever feel cheaper when holding actual cash than paying with credit card? You’re not alone. Watching each $20 leave your hands is a very different experience to handing over a piece of plastic. Yet simply signing your name is an entirely different level to both. You hardly think!

You don’t reach into your pocket for a card at all and all you need to remember is your room number and name. The server loves the ease, you love the ease and off you go. You simply sign and money is spent. And don’t forget — in your mind it’s money already spent, so it’s like it’s not even happening.

Extracting Extra Spend

Particularly with factors like jet-lag, fatigue and long days of meetings or touring a city, making transactions “easy” has significant benefit to a hotel. Think of that feeling of just getting up from breakfast without signing. It’s a treat in life.

Someone on the verge of going out but feeling fatigued will find it difficult to argue with the ease of spending that already swiped money and simply signing a folio charge for room service or at the cozy hotel bar.

The less someone needs to work or think to spend money, the more money they might spend. Particularly when traveling internationally as a family, I find myself falling into this clever trap more and more often, however aware I am. Sure, one more glass, it’s already spent anyway.

Just keep that in mind the next time you’re at a hotel.

Bonus Content

If you ever want to see anger, look at the TripAdvisor comments of people who put their debit card down to cover a stay not realizing that they’ll be charged the incidental too.

People’s generosity with stars starts to go down when they realize the hotel is holding an extra $150 per day and they won’t get it back for 7 days. Which is a good reminder never to use a debit card for an incidental charge at a hotel.

The post The Psychology Of Hotel Credit Card Authorizations appeared first on God Save The Points.

With each day, more and more people are becoming digital nomads and setting out to travel the world. Not only does it sound cool — it kind of is.

Being a digital nomad means working a job which doesn’t tether you to a fixed location, opening the door for endless travel. Work doesn’t care where you work as long as you do actually… work.

As millions more people find their employers moving to hybrid or fully remote setups, the once niche dream is now mainstream. In some ways it’s glorious but depending on who you ask in countries popular to digital nomads you may hear some less enthused voices.

Digital Nomads Seek Exploration And Value

Digital nomads take different forms, but the freedom to roam is a common thread. Seeking value, or making a paycheck go further is also common.

Some nomads setup a quasi-home base in a given location and travel regularly in search of visiting every country or following the sun. Others set up a more permanent home base abroad, on a half year, year or multi year basis and use the work flexibility to “slow travel” around and really immerse in each destination.

In either form, once someone gets out of the traditional hotel setup, there’s a local impact. Not necessarily a bad one, but not necessarily a good one either.

The First Rub: Lodging

The first rub is housing. Hotels have always been purposed for transient guests, but what happens when apartments which once rented long term and local — are now hotels in everything but name, operating as short term rentals for visitors on Airbnb?

Benefits of services like Airbnb in the world are enumerable but the impacts are too. In even semi desirable tourism and nomad locations, apartment owners are typically able to make more profit than renting annually by operating as an Airbnb, even if the place is only occupied half the time

Consider a rent of €1000 a month in Spain, a medium high end figure which should get a nice apartment and would’ve once rented to locals. If an owner can charge €150 a night averaging just 15 nights per month, they’ve more than doubled the monthly income from that property.

Higher Price Tolerance On Long Term Too

Some places really are paradise and when you factor in lower cost of living — they become even more desirable. If you’ve got the flexibility, why pay $3k a month for a freezing closet sized apartment in Boston when you can pay $1000 a month for a two bedroom stunner in sunny Athens?

No offense, Boston I love you too.

The issue is that many desirable places are cheaper because income levels of locals have historically set the price of rent. The typical salaries or median incomes in these places popular to the digital nomad such as Mexico City, Bogota, Prague, Ho Chi Minh or Bangkok are often lower than visiting digital nomads.

When larger influxes of digital nomads push into a market without price sensitivity, prices go up and many local people who could previously afford a certain way of life in a desired neighborhood find themselves pushed further and further out, or in.

It’s very fair to say that cities are always evolving and this could happen with, or without any digital nomads interfering, but it’s hard to argue with the speed of change digital nomads and remote workers bring.

The Counter Argument: Opportunity For Local Business & Entrepreneurship

Owning a hipster coffee shop in an increasingly digital nomad focused neighborhood could mean being a local who is suddenly less price sensitive too — just like the visiting nomads being served, thanks to increasing profits.

The argument that weighs against the negative impacts of some people being driven out of their historic communities by price, is that nomads bring an influx of cash into the area, with more support for a wide range of local businesses.

From vintage tee’s to mezcal, well plated food and strong coffee, there’s a blueprint to enticing the digital nomad and places which previously just”got by” tend to get a shot in the arm as new wealth trickles in. People also need laundry, cleaning service, food, transport and a myriad of things which aren’t strictly “travel” related.

Think of it like opening a cool boutique in a neighborhood right before it becomes Williamsburg. No, not the one in Virginia. If you’re in a business that benefits, nomads can bring benefit to the community. There’s always work. The thing is, not everyone is in such a flexible role.

If you’re a local on a fixed salary in an industry that doesn’t interact with nomads then life is different and your money doesn’t go as far. Maybe the world is changing on you anyway, but when everyone around is suddenly speaking a different language it’s not how you feel.

Taxation Too

Aside from person to person economic opportunities, many countries see nomads as a way to create additional tax revenue while offering attractive rates to lure visitors in.

Many digital nomads are able to take advantage of lower tax rates, though it’s worth noting that nomads on US passports are always subject to US tax rates, even while living abroad.

Even at lower tax rates nomads can bring millions if not billions to country coffers in the sense that it’s all new revenue from new people.

A Push For Respect

As people continually become untethered from fixed locations and desires to branch out grow, there are increased calls to be the “right” type of nomad.

For many interviewed by GSTP, it’s as simple as learning the basics of a language or adhering to local customs in regards to services and traditions. It’s one thing to take someone’s nice apartment, but it’s another thing to start tipping on things that haven’t ever been tipped on, creating awkward crossroads for centuries old processes.

In the end, not being fixed to a location means constant opportunity for change. The positives for many countries greatly outweigh the negatives, particularly in places that stand to benefit from a strong economic influx for local business.

From Croatia to Colombia specific visas for digital nomads are being created every day in hopes of drawing in new tourism, taxation and opportunity.

The post Digital Nomads: “Ruining” Local Communities, Or Helping Growth? appeared first on God Save The Points.

The short answer is yes, and it’s really fun. Meeting people in the wild gives an amazing feeling that some “thing” or nugget of information I’ve shared has mattered.

In like 2017 I had an idea, or rather stole one from Richard Branson, which catapulted GSTP into the mainstream a bit. I did this thing called “catch me if you can”, where if you found me in an airport and we were on the same flight, i’d happily trade my first or business class seat with the observant traveler. I did this for months, with a published map while dropping clues on where and when.

It quickly took things from a blog and blogger doing “well” to appearances on most morning shows in the Western world like Good Morning America, and even in Australia too. I’ve oddly been on Sunrise on 7 twice, and I love David Koch the lead presenter.

News stories about the amusing “treasure hunt” went somewhat viral everywhere from daily papers in virtually all languages and continents, from far away places Brazil to Singapore to Travel & Leisure and The Times, and despite not having the readership of a couple other blogs, I’ve since seemed to get outsized recognition.

Recently I’ve had more and more friends asking if I ever get recognized in airports and planes, so for my own amusement I figured I’d answer and share some of those meets because they’re actually a real joy.

Only Planes And Airports

I’ve never had a desire to be famous and I’m not by any means. I’ve just always wanted to help improve people’s travels and that’s created a really cool sweet spot.

Particularly in big hubs like a London, LA or New York, I do often get recognized when I travel — but only in the airport and only by people who are crushing their own personal travel game. And that’s why it’s cool.

Other than Flyertalk wankers in London, all my interactions with people have just been incredibly kind. People say hello and let me know that at least one article I’ve written or tip I’ve offered has improved their travels. I’m not sure there’s anything in travel that means more.

What’s funny is that people are often shy to say hello, but I can’t tell you how impactful it is to me when people do.

Numbers and dots on the internet obscure the connection of 1:1 interaction. Even if a piece helps just one person optimize their points earning, grab a great airfare or unlock an otherwise inaccessible travel experience, I’m f*cking elated!

I’ve come to realize that you don’t memorize names or faces of people who share most things in the world, so if I’ve made a measurable enough impact on you that you do, I have all the time in the world to chat and have a coffee, err maybe wine, in the airport.

It’s Been A Really Weird Few Years

The times of the global health crisis really changed a lot for me with my activity and interests.

I’ve written about the reflection of how loyalty is in a fascinating reset, because so many people unexpectedly found themselves in new circumstances, or with time to better weigh their options and travel preferences with ample time for reflection.

Even I somewhat burned out blogging and doing TV for European and UK news during the years as I broadened my interest and thinking beyond the hamster wheel.

My heart isn’t in the granular “250 bonus points here” style content anymore. There are great resources which will make sure you vacuum up every last offer, but I don’t even have the heart to participate in some of the more pedantic and small fry earning or burning, so I can’t pretend to enthusiastically write about it.

More than ever, I love trying to focus on the big picture trends and the things that really drive the results and satisfaction in travel still. I love the “cheap” around the world business class fares, new upgrade strategies and best ways to optimize stays or flights. I’m still here.

If we ever cross paths in the real world, please do say hi. I love meeting people in the wild, particularly ones that have leveraged the advice I share for a better cabin or an airport lounge, which is often where I can be found.

The post Do You Ever Get Recognized On Planes Or In Airports? appeared first on God Save The Points.

Do you want a one way ticket, or at least two round trips?

We live in a time of buzzing trends and scarce originality where everyone is competing for increasingly fickle eyeballs. With all the distraction, It’s hard to think of something that keeps eyeballs in one place more than jaw dropping luxury travel experiences.

When you tell people it’s all “on points” the collective audience jaw almost reaches a permanent, locked position. “I want that” is the typical feeling as people consume the points content — and many people shift behavior to join the points and miles world in pursuit of experiencing these things for themselves.

TL;DR: Mind blowing luxury travel experiences are a stellar “made you look” to sell the dream. As points prices rise higher than inflation though, it’s increasingly important to consider your own dreams, and how bucket list luxury redemptions compare in value versus more long tail opportunities.

A One Way Ticket Or Two Round Trips?

For a myriad of reasons, many of the luxury travel experiences unlocked with points have seen significant “devaluations” in value or inflation in price, depending on how you like to look at things.

Loyalty programs are a tight rope balance between creating aspirational value and opportunity with points and all while maximizing the profitability and uptake of airlines and hotels.

What that’s created is an even more significant gulf between the number of points required for more “everyday” things and the wow factor luxury experiences on offer. Points pricing for flights used to be a number of points for economy, circa double for business and triple for first, but even those figures have become distorted.

In many programs, more economy style redemptions have actually gone down in points price with greater availability while the luxury side of stuff has gone up. You might be paying 5x the points for that wow factor first class flight, or more.

Utility Versus Utopia

This all begs an important sanity check. I love Emirates First Class, Singapore Suites or any of the splurge experiences more than most, but the opportunity cost of one of these is significant versus taking more trips, or at least an entire round trip.

Most people have a finite number of points and limited ability to constantly take on new cards. A first class flight with all the trimmings and “YOLO” built in is tough to pass up o, at least once in life — but so is being able to travel over and over again.

Earning enough points to do these first class flights just once is an endeavor, so most people must weigh the benefit of ticking off a bucket list luxury item ‘one way’ for the experience versus unlocking at least two “free” round trips in a standard cabin, for the same amount of points.

When you consider things like family travel the equation gets more complicated.

And Hotels Too

After years of outsized value, the gloves are mostly off with luxury hotel redemptions using points too. Previous caps on the number of points for high end properties are gone in many instances and those programs which still have charts have had the point ceiling raised.

On the budget hotel side of things, not much has changed though. It’s rarely an incremental number of points to jump from budget to luxury like it used to be, but a multiple of points. So do you want one night for 100,000 points, or a weeks vacation paid for with your points for 100,000 points.

There’s no wrong answer.

Eyes Open, More Scrutiny

I still mainly redeem my points and miles for luxury focused experiences. Comfort is a defining factor in my pursuit of these loyalty currencies and the volume of my organic travel means that my points banks are being constantly replenished.

With eyes open, I choose the higher points prices and luxury experiences because I know more points are always around the corner. I’m lucky to have the means to travel anyway, which is also a factor. Points for me are about improving journeys I’ll take either way, whereas for some people they’re the difference in going, or not.

As financial services companies like credit card providers limit card bonuses to once a lifetime, or other ways to inhibit gaming or churning of offers, the endless stream of endless points is likely on borrowed time.

Quite simply, this means many people who don’t share the same level of organic travel or who don’t have high levels of organic spend must start to look at their loyalty points with more scrutiny as to the assets.

There’s no wrong answer as to whether you’d rather use your points for caviar and vintage champagne in first class one way, or for two round trip economy flights — it’s just good to consider that sometimes more is more, and as brag worthy as some of the first class experiences can be, they’re not always the most useful if you can’t get home.

The post You Want A One Way Ticket, Or Two Round Trips For Your Points? appeared first on God Save The Points.

Is there a word travelers love more than upgrade? Don’t think so.

Upgrade means all smiles, more comfort and perhaps something cool to toast the moment. When it comes to securing these coveted travel trophies, I tend to do better than most, and I’d say that’s hardly an accident. I have a strategy, I deploy it and I find a way. If it works for me, it should work for you, so here’s the low down…

Premium Economy to Upper Class

International upgrades from the UK, from economy to premium economy rarely make sense using miles because of UK government imposed surcharges on flights to or from the UK. Basically, you’d pay a lot of miles and a lot of money to upgrade. It may, in fact just be cheaper to book premium with cash in the first place.

When Virgin or has a great sale, it totally does!

That’s because upgrades from premium economy to Upper Class make the greatest difference in amenity and also bring the best value, if you know how to use your miles (now known Virgin Points) strategically to land them.

With premium economy fares lower than ever, sometimes seen in the high 400’s, like during Virgin Atlantic sales, it’s incredible value to pay for premium and fly in business class, just from cashing in some miles.

My strategy is relatively simple.

Find flights with availability using miles in Upper Class, and then book those flights in premium economy, and call to instantly upgrade to Upper Class. Yep, if there is a seat available with miles in Upper, it’s available for an upgrade from Premium to Upper.

In case you ever need to help specify to an agent, it’s called “G Class” availability. Virgin just made it so much easier to find Upper Class seats, with the launch of their best in class reward seat checker tool.

I’ve used this strategy recently to upgrade flights to Los Angeles, New York and more, and with just a day or two of date flexibility, I’ve generally been able to get it done at the time of booking. Not everyone has flex, and fortunately sometimes you don’t even need it.

Side note: miles boost is a great way to earn lots of extra miles, as are Virgin Points sales. There’s a 70% bonus right now.

How Many Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Miles You Need To Upgrade

The amount of Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Miles you’ll need to upgrade will depend on two things: first, the season and then, the route. Each region of the world requires a different number of points, and each city will have peak and off peak dates. Obviously, peak will be more expensive in miles than off-peak, but they’re not crazy different.

Virgin Atlantic Peak Dates Are:

• 24 March – 17 April 2023
• 18 June – 4 September 2023
• 20 – 31 October 2023
• 9 – 31 December 2023
• 1 – 3 January 2024
• 22 March 2024 – 15 April 2024
• 16 June 2024 – 2 September 2024

Hopefully you’re clever enough to figure out that if your dates don’t fall in this range, they’re “off peak”.

Now that that’s out of the way, that leaves you with how many miles you’ll need for a given upgrade. There’s a chart for that, which shows the round trip upgrade prices required for each city, but I tend to focus on one way upgrades from London, since most flights tend to be longer in that direction.

Here are a few one way Virgin Atlantic Premium to Upper Class upgrade prices for both off peak and peak, like…

• Tel Aviv, Israel: 14,000 miles off peak, 16,500 miles peak.
• India:  18,700 miles off peak, 33,700 miles peak.
• East Coast USA: 23,700 miles off peak, 28,700 miles peak.
• West Coast USA: 33,700 miles off peak, 38,700 miles peak.
• South Africa: 28,700 miles off peak 33,700 miles peak.

With The Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Miles In Place

Congrats, it’s the final countdown. You’ve got your miles in place and it’s time to put all the magic together for an upgrade. If you don’t have all the Virgin Points in place, you can instantly transfer a variety points, like those from credit cards over to Virgin Flying Club, almost instantly.

But let’s get back to the magic moment, when points are in the account and ready to upgrade.

The best place to start is on VirginAtlantic.com, where you can search for a flight in Upper Class using miles, by selecting “advanced search” and pressing “price in Miles” and selecting Upper Class as the chosen cabin.

You’ll then be provided with a calendar of dates where there’s availability to use miles in Upper Class. Ignore the rates shown in both miles and money, because you’re just using this search to show you when you can upgrade at the rates discussed above. Jot down the flight numbers of which flight on your dates have availability, and then…

The choice is yours at this point: call to book over the phone and process it all in one go, or book online and then call. There’s a key benefit to calling, which is that it can all happen in one transaction, quickly.

Just a couple years ago made sweeping changes to its loyalty program, and even lower Premium Economy fares like “K” class fares are eligible for upgrade again. Read up on the latest changes, which even allow you to use a voucher earned from a Virgin credit card to upgrade or bring a companion.

PS: Virgin offers status credit when you use points for a reward flight too!

The same person should be able to pull the miles from your account and get you upgraded into the happiness of Upper Class right away. Expect to pay a premium of about £125/$150 in addition to the miles for trips originating the UK. Trips originating in the USA may be a bit higher, but may still be worth it.

And don’t forget, Virgin Atlantic also recently changed its elite status earning structure, known as ‘Tier Points’, and you still earn points to work towards perks on flights when you cash in miles. Since these were cash bookings to start, you’ll also earn Virgin Points back. Sometimes, nearly as many as you paid for an upgrade!

Not a bad strategy, eh?

The post My (Successful) Virgin Atlantic Upgrade Strategy appeared first on God Save The Points.