For all consumers, I hope that virtually everything I’m about to say will no longer be true within two years. For now, I really believe it is for Delta and what the airline just pulled off may be one of the master strokes of the decade in air travel.

People are emotionally lamenting significant changes to the Delta SkyMiles program, mainly around how people earn perks like upgrades or lounge access. Loyalty is now less of a fuzzy feeling and more of an absolute number. Scratch that — truly a number.

The reaction is amusing and even personal friends are hitting me for reaction out of sheer amusement for the exploding heads, talking heads and threats to never ever fly again. In one of those conversations I laid out what a business wide touch of genius this was, and how o-n-l-y Delta could’ve pulled it off. I think it’ll be wildly successful.

Multi Year, Multi-Phase Stickiness

Romantic ideas of loyalty are long gone in this house, though I yearn and lust for every gesture of old world hospitality and recognition still out there. Travel should be fun, it should feel personal and if you want people to really pull out their wallet, you gotta have rewards worth the squeeze.

What I believe Delta has proven, which I believe is the crux of this master stroke I speak of, is that building something superior does not need loyalty. If you have the best of the best with your products, loyalty is an icing and cherry on top of a Michelin starred dessert.

As I say, it’s always better to earn and participate in loyalty than not, but the master stroke here is that I think most of the negative reaction about switching airlines is hot air right now. People would be masochists.

Here’s why: for now, Delta is the best in the United States.

I am not even a Delta loyalist or regular, so just shut the f*ck up a bit before we start to march down the “omg paid spokesperson” stuff. I’m a mostly Oneworld frequent flyer who dabbles in SkyTeam via Virgin Atlantic. I don’t care about Delta’s bottom line or have any personal loyalty or business connection to the airline.

But — what I believe Delta has done is use it’s entire business to create a product people won’t leave. Not easily! Let me lay out why I think Delta is the best airline in the US right now.

• truly good free WiFi on all flights for simply joins Delta SkyMiles
• typically the best on-time performance of any US airline
• currently the best business class experience among US airlines
• world leading in-app capabilities for flight changes, upgrades and more
• most choice in SkyClubs for personalizing experience (premium options)
• competitive credit card program driving butt in seat benefits
• economy offerings that don’t feel degrading or cheap
• staff that feel empowered thanks to profit sharing
• CLEAR airport security benefits for top tier elites

What I’m saying is that if every “big time” DYKWIA road warrior who thinks Delta is giving them the middle finger wants to leave, they can — but they’ve gotta check their ego versus what they’ll experience with other airlines.

None of this stuff happened overnight. WiFi rollout takes years. Seats take years. App investments and co-branded credit card deals are endlessly challenging. If Delta tried this at any time before now it probably would’ve failed. If another airline tried this now, they’d probably fail.

Delta’s FOMO Advantage

There are people who will prefer experiences with the other big US airlines that offer competitive loyalty programs and some will enjoy dabbling based purely on the price of the ticket. But that in itself means Delta won. They made it clear their airline loyalty program is for wholistic loyalty. They’re not interesting in chasing cheapest fare.

I can’t think of another airline that comes near matching Delta’s wifi capability right now. That alone is worth actual money, if faced with the choice of paying for access on another carrier. My time is certainly worth a lot to me, particularly with the arrival of a new baby boy this month, and on-time performance is always going to win a share of my coin.

Whether it was always the plan or a fortuitous circling of events, Delta really picked a master stroke time to pull these changes whether you like them or not. I really don’t personally even have an opinion.

All that matters to me is that they picked a time when they had maximum advantage with their hand, when service levels were down on other airlines and when they had launched better products and customer centric offerings than their competitors to make the big, bold move.

I’d argue if American felt like they had nailed the flying side, customer side and tech side as well as Delta, they’d have gone further with their Loyalty Points status changes in the last year.

I Hope This All Changes

I love free markets behaving properly and with all hope almost every bullet point of “why I think Delta has maximum advantage” to pull this sort of loyalty move will be challenged.

Let’s see all the other major players roll out truly fast, exceptional Viasat style wifi that delivers streaming speed to every seat. Bring on airlines racing to push out better in-app experiences. Gimme’ a US carrier launching a world’s best business class product rather than a North American best. It’s been a while.

Please, pretty please let us see airlines race out with product updates, juicy card offers and fun loyalty opportunities that challenge the status quo. It’ll come — but I reckon Delta has a year to enjoy the fruits of this move.

The master stroke played by Delta here was putting years of product and tech work into creating the best product and sharing that vision with their loyalty and co-brand card teams. Once the flying side of the business was at optimal competitive advantage, Delta hit “go” on a loyalty program that won’t please everyone, but will almost certainly bring in more money which can be reinvested in richer benefits for those who Delta thinks deserves them.

The post The Multi-Year Master Stroke Behind Delta’s SkyMiles Changes appeared first on God Save The Points.

If you don’t speak points nerd, it means that the reward you get for engaging with Finnair from flights on the airline, its airline partners and many other non-flying activities will soon earn you this type of points currency called Avios. 

Avios initially became famous as the reward system for British Airways and Iberia, but has since grown in global appeal thanks to robust ways to earn and burn the points among global partners, including leading US credit cards. 

While the Finnair announcement is quite interesting on its own, I can’t help but look at the broader factors this news creates for loyalty, points and credit card rewards. It now feels like airlines might not be the only use case for Avios.

More Appeal For A Regional Program

Loyalty kept airlines alive during the 2008 financial crisis and also during the global health crisis of 2020. It’s a valuable part of any airline operation in good times and bad and helps airlines, hotels and other brands to generate engagement and revenue, not just for flying planes and putting heads in beds. 

People can earn points all day from home, or from their daily activities and that type of engagement and earning is good for loyalty programs.

Finnair, until now, was a relatively obscure program without much global appeal. Sorry, it’s true. Brass tax, it was what Finnish people defaulted to for their airline program of choice, but it’d be hard to name a large cohort of Americans, or even Europeans who ever signed up or meaningfully engaged. Further afield and that’s even more true.

Current Finnair Points and award charts (the rates they charge for flights from one place to another using points) will convert into Avios 3:2 when the conversion happens in 2024.

But adopting Avios brings an interesting angle.

Avios, the loyalty currency issued by IAG Loyalty has a much broader appeal, thanks to US financial partnerships with Amex, Chase, Capital One and BILT, allowing people to create Avios from other rewards they already earn.

In addition, the currency has global earn and burn partners including all the EU Oneworld alliance airlines, as well as Qatar Airways and a myriad of online travel and every day shopping online retailers. People can earn Avios by buying laptops online from Apple, or shoes from Adidas, or car rentals and even wine.

In plain English, Finnair will likely pick up new members and international interest from the play, since it’s easier for people to earn Avios with these things they already do, than Finnair’s previous loyalty currency with limited partnerships. 

What’s Next For Avios? 

With the news today, every European, Oneworld airline alliance member now uses Avios for their loyalty currency. Qatar Airways does too. That’s big.

Impressively, it feels like a virtuous circle at present, as each partner gives greater strength to the Avios currency, while the currency offers greater strength to under recognized programs that adopt it.

It’s no secret that points can be a great profit center for airlines, so I can’t help but wonder if there’s more to come. Many Oneworld airlines aren’t based in the US or EU and don’t have any penetration in these great markets.

Airlines like Malaysia have big ambitions abroad but a virtually non-existent loyalty program outside of the country. A move like adopting Avios seems like the fastest way to change that overnight with the flip of a switch.

I’d Love To See A Hotel?

Loyalty programs are so much more in focus as financial boons for travel businesses and hotels are in an interesting period of time. The “big” hotel groups have massively expanded their loyalty programs and this has really locked travelers into their system.

People with loyalty to a big group like Marriott, Hilton or Hyatt aren’t typically going to chance it with a smaller brand just to earn some one off points they’ll never be able to accumulate in larger droves. These big programs make it too easy to jump into perks, with great credit card welcome bonuses for points and strong benefits.

It feels like there could be a situation where a hotel group that has struggled to crack the US could be innovative and adopt Avios, rather than an unrecognized currency if they want to actually siphon off some loyalty.

I certainly don’t care about earning a one time amount of points from a smaller hotel group, but i’d actually be fairly open to staying with a new brand if I was earning Avios and complementing my daily credit card spend and air travel earning with my hotel stays too.

Basically, I’m less likely to stay with a small chain if I’ll earn a loyalty currency I don’t care about, but if I could earn points and or status with one I already engage in, that’s another story entirely.

Interesting Timing

For the first time in years, I’m seeing really meaningful fare discounts on transatlantic routes and a dip in hotel daily rates. It feels like the absurd once in a lifetime pricing and demand in the wake of the pandemic is waning. I don’t care what execs say to the contrary.

If that’s true, airlines and other travel businesses will undoubtedly need to get back to delivering value not only to shareholders, but customers too. Loyalty remains the best pathway to keeping people immersed in the brand. It seems like Finnair has timed this well and I’ll be curious to see if there’s more to come.

The post Finnair Adopts Avios, So Who’s Next? 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.

British Airways is moving to a system where you’ll earn Avios, the points currency used to fuel the loyalty program, based on how much you spend rather than how far you fly.

Air travel is a particularly emotional endeavor and that’s even true when things go on time without a hitch. It may not be new, but flying is still aspirational and vital for so many reasons.

For a long time, the way people earned miles and rewards in the British Airways Executive Club when flying was based actually on the distance flown. It matched the emotional component of more reward for longer journeys, even if it wasn’t entirely logical.

Particularly since the invention of the internet, increased airline competition and new sales technology, distance became an increasingly questioned metric for earning. This is a world where someone can fly from London to Australia for £450/$550, but fly from London to Geneva for £600/$784.

British Airways Moving To Spend Based Avios Earning: Background

The first programs to switch over to “spend based” earning were in the U.S. with programs like Delta and none have shifted course, while many have joined. That list already includes European programs like Air France/KLM’s ‘Flying Blue’ as well as Miles & More from Lufthansa and Swiss.

Spend based earning rather than distance based earning creates a tighter relationship between spend and reward points dished out. If you ask any loyalty program leader, you’ll always hear that unlocking more reward seats for members with points is a key concern. Having better economics around the points helps that cause.

It’s fair to say it’s more transactional and feels less warm and fuzzy than the emotional relationship of flying long distances to earn more points, but it’s also fair to say that it better rewards people flying shorter distances more frequently, and people flying long distances may still earn more rewards this way. Let’s dive in.

Avios Earn Rates Under British Airways New Program

Any flights booked from October 18th, 2023 will earn based on spend rather than distance. And yeah, any flights booked before that date, even for travel after that date will earn as they currently do.

To be clear, metrics for earning elite status is unchanged for the time being and this solely impacts Avios points earned which can be spent for rewards.

From October 18th, 2023 British Airways Executive Club members will earn Avios based on the following rates per pound spend. For other currencies, total eligible spend will be converted into GBP.

Fare and carrier charges apply to the new Avios earn rates but government imposed charges do not. Hopefully British Airways will do a good job of displaying how many Avios you’ll earn in the sales flow, so you don’t have to do any math.

• Blue members will receive 6 Avios per qualifying* £1 spent
• Bronze members will receive 7 Avios per qualifying £1 spent
• Silver members will receive 8 Avios per qualifying £1 spent
• Gold members will receive 9 Avios per qualifying £1 spent

For a direct, apples to apples European comparison, Air France/KLM’s “Flying Blue” offers 4 points per euro spent for base members, and then 6,7 and 8 for elites. This makes British Airways changes more generous by at least one point per tier.

I find the best way to assess loyalty changes are through practical real world examples. There will always be red herring situations, but factually speaking British Airways will actually issue more points to members via this new system rather than fewer.

Take a recent trip to Geneva

On the lowest fare, which may still be quite expensive, London Geneva earns 125 Avios each way currently. Yes, a round trip would earn a measly 250 Avios. Even the most expensive economy fares only earn 500 Avios each way, for a total of 1000 round trip.

Under the new upcoming system, a base ‘Blue’ member paying just £100 each way would earn somewhere around the current high Avios total for the economy cabin. Geneva fares often trend into the £275 each way mark during key times which means base members would earn far move Avios under the new system than before.

The £275 example would yield 1500 circa Avios each way which easily surpasses the current highs. A Gold member at 9 Avios per £ spent could make off extremely well.

Winners And Losers

Spend based earn is a concept far more familiar than many people will make this out to be. Blogs including this one shout all the time about the merits of rewards credit cards. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that these are spend based earn tools.

Spend X, get Y Avios.

The British Airways Premium American Express Card has offered as much as 70,000 points as a welcome bonus in the UK this year and has defined earn rates. All partner hotels, Uber partnerships and online e-store purchases are also spend based earn.

Take a Booking.com promo of 10 Avios per £1 spent on hotels via BA and you have an identical program to the new British Airways spend based earn for flights.

For many flight distances there will be some winners and losers in the new spend based program, but again, more points will be issued by British Airways, IAG Loyalty and Avios to support this program, which means more people are being rewarded, more.

Clear Winners

Inflexible travelers with fixed dates who often purchase high fares will mostly win out with these changes. They’ll earn more Avios. The more painful the ticket cost, the more Avios you’ll earn to soften the blow.That may likely include families on school holiday schedules, business travelers and premium leisure customers.

Generally speaking, base members will be more rewarded than they were before on short haul travel with fares at current levels or higher. Any elite Bronze, Silver and Gold members will have their spend better captured.

And though no one likes paying for ancillary purchases, ancillaries like seat selection, upgrades or other fees will also be eligible for Avios earning.

Marginal Wins And Losses

Customers who typically fly longer distances like a London – New York as their primary route will win some and lose some. New York is one of the “cheaper” routes of longer distance, with fares sometimes dipping as low as £350 round trip these days, or £1500 in business class.

With high government taxes on this route, like other US routes, the earning may really fluctuate. A “Blue” member would currently earn 1729 Avios each way to New York on most economy fares currently.

Looking at a £505 round trip fare, only £310 of that fare isn’t government taxes. A blue member would earn 1510 Avios for this flight round trip, which is an unfortunate dip in earning.

In business class, I recently flew London-New York as a Gold member and earned 17,290 Avios round trip. At a rate of 9 Avios per £1 spent, a £2,300 business class ticket would earn me more Avios, hitting exactly 18,000.

And this is a key distinction: currently, there’s no benefit to spending more. It doesn’t matter whether I paid £1500 for a business class ticket and you paid £7,0000 — we’re rewarded the same. In the new program, if you spend £7,000 on a ticket as a Gold member, you’ll earn 63,000 Avios for a flight you previously earned 17,290.

Potential Losers

I would certainly never derive pleasure from calling the most pedantic spreadsheet folks in the Flyertalk crowd losers, but they’re likely targets here. People flying almost exclusively on error fares will earn fewer points than they currently do with flights earning based on distance as they do currently.

Since these types of fare typically make it to less than .0001% of customers, it’s not something for most to really factor. Don’t get me wrong, I love a generous fare, but I am also not greedy enough to think I deserve to be top tier for enjoying them.

Those who book the lowest super sale short haul fares may also earn fewer Avios. Some like to use fares like £80 round trips as an example, but there are a lot fewer of those than there are realistic fares over £250 at the moment.

It’s not like there were big hauls of earning from these flights anyway. Pre-elite-status earnings typically topped out around 1,000 Avios round trip for most short haul routes. Hardly a primary avenue for significant points earning compared to credit card spend, wine clubs or e-store purchases.

Spend Based Earn: Sustainable Economics?

The fuel needed and crew required between London and Geneva is nowhere near the cost required to fly someone between London and Sydney, yet as previously noted, it might be cheaper to fly to Sydney and you would currently earn more points. That puts an immediate strain on loyalty program economics across the business for no logical reason.

U.S. airlines have used spend based earn to invest in better loyalty perks than those available in other markets, largely because there’s better accountability for customer value. Points are issued without question. It’s a bit “show me the money” (barf), but it’s also a lot easier for finance teams to see the value that loyalty brings in real terms.

There will always be a fair element of missing the “good ole days” of loyalty being an open ended game without perfect logic, but there’s also excitement around programs actually performing better and delivering on their value promise.

Having better tech, more valuable benefits and more seat availability is arguably far more exciting than the “game” of old, however aspirational and whimsical it felt.

However you feel, British Airways is moving to spend based earn starting October 18th, and from that day forward there will be a direct relationship to what you spend with the airline and what you earn, much like you already do with credit card rewards, e-store purchases and partnerships.

The post British Airways Is Changing How You Earn Avios From Flights appeared first on God Save The Points.

For nearly two years, Qatar Airways sat atop the business class throne, alone.

There was the Qsuite, privacy doors, big screen tv’s and bespoke touches and all — and about a mile behind – every other airlines next best.

In August, 2019, Japan’s All Nippon Airways – better known as ANA – had something to say about that. With the swift introduction of “The Room”, ANA looked as if an airline could finally take a shot at the throne, elevating the bar once more.

In 2022, these two are still battling it out to be “the best”.

With endless levels of excitement, I hopped on the first ever flight to feature the new ANA business class ‘The Room’ in 2019, and I could hardly believe my eyes. Surely, I’d made my way into the wrong cabin, and a cabin crew member would politely direct me to where “business class, not first class” could be found, and bow accordingly.

Nope, I was in the right place. Could this really be the world’s best business class and topple the Qatar Airways experience? Here’s my weigh in on the verdict.

Best Business Class Criteria

I think a flying experience can adequately be summed up into 5 parts.

The pre-flight bits like check in and lounge. The seat on board, the service on board and the food and drinks on board. Five areas of judging keeps things simple enough, and I think it’s worth weighting the seat with 2/5th of the total outcome, since it’s really the only thing you’re guaranteed.

Service can change from crew to crew, as can catering at different airports.

I’m going to award one point for pre-flight, two points for the best seat, one point for the best service and one point for the food, beverages and all other elements. With any hope, the math will add up to the winner, in the eyes of GSTP.

Pre-Flight

I’ve experienced both Qatar Airways and ANA at their respective “home bases” and also at plenty of outstations abroad.

Based on the wow-factor of lounges, the consistency of high quality food, drinks and amenities on the ground and helpful agents, Qatar takes the point here.

ANA lounges are incredibly busy in Japan, and to be fair, Qatar’s Al Mourjan lounge in Doha is too, but the overall offering in Al Mourjan is mostly superior, and the Qatar lounges elsewhere tend to be much more refined than the Star Alliance Lounges ANA typically uses.

Scoreboard: In the battle of the world’s best business class, it’s now Qatar Airways 1, ANA 0.

Business Class Seat

The Qsuite changed the game, bringing the first, business class cabin to feature a privacy door at every seat, in addition to the latest electronics and massive storage space.

It’s still a delight, but it doesn’t hold a candle to what ANA has managed to carve out with “The Room”. I cannot stress enough how large and overwhelmingly wowing this ANA seat is.

On that very first flight, I proclaimed ANA to have the world’s best business class seat, and haven’t remotely reconsidered since. It’s wider, the screen is bigger, sharper, the storage is better, and the privacy door is more substantial.

There’s even a portion of the privacy door you can open just a peek during service times to get meals. It’s next level.

The original ruling on the field stands, and I’m awarding both points to ANA here.

It’s just better in almost every way, so Qsuite doesn’t even manage a half point here, even though Qsuite is still better than every other seat out right now. Here’s a review of Qatar Qsuite, and one of ANA The Room for your own visual comparison.

Scoreboard: The crowd is going wild, because the battle for the world’s best business class just went 2-1 in favor of ANA over Qatar Airways as we head past the half way mark.

On Board Service

ANA cabin crews really couldn’t be any more professional or polite. They’re lovely, and treat every guest with such respect in line with Japan’s admirable standards.

But, it’s sometimes a style of service that can be mistaken for being impersonal by some. ANA also still sticks with a “we choose meal time” service, with just a few items available at any time.

Qatar Airways re-wrote the playbook on standards of dining in business class, bringing a successful dine on demand concept few have been able to recreate without taking an eternity.

Basically, you can eat whatever you want, whenever you want, and the cabin crew is typically fantastic at sticking to the polished service script.

From the way they place the hot (or cold) towels, which is a lovely touch, to the presentation of service, Qatar Airways service wins not necessarily on account of the people, but the incredibly high level of service and uniformity you can expect in the air.

Crew members from both airlines are wonderful, but Qatar Airways has refined this element of the experience to a rarely seen level.

Scoreboard: With the game headed into the final minutes, Qatar Airways just leveled the best business class score at 2-2, leaving the crowd on their feet as the final plays draw to a close.

The Final Showdown: Food, Drinks, Amenities

Both airlines manage to highlight and celebrate their heritage with the food, drinks and amenities found on board. I love that. I can’t pass up an okonomiyaki snack or a lovely sake with my meal on ANA, and I can’t pass up a biryani and karak chai tea on Qatar Airways.

If you know, you know!

When you get down to price points, consistency and overall quality however, Qatar starts to pull ahead. On amenity kits and other perks, the lead only extends further.

Price points don’t determine good wine, but they can certainly help, and Qatar Airways tends to have wines in business class between $20-$50, including Grand Cru chateau’s, whereas ANA tends to stick to the $10-$25 range.

Crowd sourced scores for the wines on Vivino, which are often a better indicator than price points alone, typically reflect better scores with Qatar Airways wine selections than ANA.

Catering standards are excellent on both airlines, but to most travelers the options on Qatar Airways are more accessible.

Traditional Japanese meals are a blast, but if you’re coming from outside of Asia, they can be more of an acquired taste than Qatar Airways meal choices. Amenity kits also tend to beat ANA on design and what’s inside.

Verdict On The World’s Best Business Class

Despite an inferior seat, Qatar Airways just manages to squeak by here overall, based on what’s known as the “soft product” – aka things that aren’t bolted to the floor of the plane.

If you don’t eat or drink on the plane, you could easily call this a draw, or even move the win over to ANA too. A draw would be a fair result, too.

If ANA were to match Qatar on just one of these other elements of the business class experience, such as lounge amenities or dine on demand, the scales could easily tip to their favor. b

But for now, despite ANA offering the world’s best business class seat – Qatar Airways still offers the world’s best business class experience overall, if you ask me. What will drive the next world’s best? Probably not space, but technology.

The post World’s Best Business Class: ANA Or Qatar Airways? appeared first on God Save The Points.

Points can unlock the extraordinary, but there are usually limits when it comes to “peak, peak” travel times.

Unless you’re willing to grind or become a super planner, it just ain’t easy to to bag a coveted seat during spring break to the hottest destination of the year. I say “usually”, because Avios, British Airways and IAG Loyalty are changing the record on that with a very cool opportunity.

Channeling a clever concept from Qantas but with a new level of fanfare, British Airways will offer a series of flights to peak destinations at peak times, every seat of which will be booked using Avios. Yes, every seat on the plane will solely be available using points.

British Airways “Avios Only” Flights

Starting from the home base of London, British Airways is releasing a series of flights for Avios fans and collectors to book the most sought after destinations at the most in demand times.

Rather than four or eight seats being released and people gobbling them up the moment strikes midnight almost a year in advance, entire British Airways planes will be made available exclusively using Avios.

Avios Flights: When And Where?

British Airways will operate “Avios-only” flights starting in November 2023 and continuing in February and March of 2024, with London being the launch city for both. Flights will be available to increasingly popular Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt and to Geneva during peak ski season.

• First flight will be London Gatwick to Sharm El Sheikh in November 2023.
• Four London – Geneva flights will jet off in February and March 2024.

Specifically the Geneva flights will be flight BA728 from Heathrow to Geneva and BA729 from Geneva to Heathrow on February 10th, 17th, and 24th, as well as March 2nd.

The Sharm El Sheikh “Avios Only” flight will depart Gatwick on November 3rd.

To be clear, these seats go on sale today!

How To Book

These flights will be as hot as a Jordan 1 “Chicago” drop, so make sure you tune your eyes in here for a moment to get it all right. To be eligible to book you’ll need to have an active Avios account with British Airways and have enough points.

Don’t forget that points can be transferred into Avios from Amex Membership Rewards in the UK, and from Amex, Chase, Capital One and Brex in the US, if you’re short.

Simply login to BritishAirways.com and select “Book With Avios” and enter the dates mentioned above. You should see wide open availability if you move fast. If you don’t, you’re too late and will have to wait for the next drop of destination opportunities.

Pricing for London – Geneva starts at 18,500 Avios + £1 each way in economy or £1 plus 30,000 Avios for business class, or you can use more cash to lower the Avios price still.

The London – Sharm El Sheikh flights will run £1 plus 27,500 points for economy or £1 plus 48,500 for business class, with the same opportunity to lower points costs by using more cash. One pound has a nice ring to it.

The good news is that every seat will go using Avios. The bad news is that a larger amount of people than usual will be all over this and want one too. Oh, and just FYI companion vouchers can be used.

More This, Please!

In a time where cash doesn’t seem to go as far as it once did, it’s really cool to see airlines investing in creating memories and experiences for people that bring joy. I can only imagine how many awesome and nerdy conversations will take place on these flights.

Qantas was pretty much the first to trial this before the pandemic, but these new flights take things to the next level and it’s the kind of competition where customers win in every way. I’d be elated if every airline starts doing this in some fashion.

Good lock on the hot Avios seat drop!

The post Forget Cash, This Airline Is Launching “Points Only” Flights! appeared first on God Save The Points.

Virgin Atlantic doesn’t need much introduction in most of the world.

The bold, red airline with flare tends to make quite an impression wherever it lands. But despite best efforts, it still doesn’t land “everywhere” yet, and that’s where the news news that Virgin Atlantic has officially joined SkyTeam comes in hot.

With Virgin Atlantic joining SkyTeam, a whole new world of route possibilities, ease for customers and value from the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club has emerged. Here are 5 key takeaways from the alliance move — and how they might impact your travel now that it’s all live.

More Destinations With Seamless Transfers

By joining SkyTeam, Virgin Atlantic has expanded the regions and countries it serves via its new SkyTeam member airline partners. It also makes buying tickets to these places, and flying with connections far more seamless.

Once an airline is in an alliance, bags tend to transfer more easily, tickets that could only be booked over the phone can eventually be booked online and added options in key hubs become available. All that good stuff, and connection help too!

From increased connectivity with Mexico via Aeromexico, to gorgeous Vietnam with Vietnam Airlines, Korea with Korean Air, Taipei with China Airlines and plenty more, there are so many more route possibilities. This, of course, comes in addition to the pre-existing partnerships with KLM, Delta and Air France.

New Benefits For Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

For people who achieve “elite status” with Virgin Atlantic, good times are here. It was exciting to have elite benefits like lounge access extended to Air France, KLM and Delta flying, but now that’ll expand further. The same perks apply across the alliance.

Elite status with Virgin Flying Club now unlocks access to Korean Air, China Airlines, Aerolineas Argentinas, Kenya Airways, ITA and other airline lounges — 720 in fact — all thanks to your elite status, even when flying economy.

Perks like extra baggage allowances and security fast tracks, known within SkyTeam as “Sky Priority” or “SkyTeam Elite Plus” will also be extended.

Status or no status, all Flying Club members benefit.

In addition to increased comfort and connectivity along the way, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club members now receive access to more airline seats using points, on so many more SkyTeam airline partners.

More Earn And Burn Options On More Airlines

You can find all the new “earn and burn” tables for how many Virgin Points you’ll earn, or can redeem for any given partner here. You’ll also see the tier points you’ll earn for your progress to Virgin Atlantic Silver and Gold status.

Immediately, you’ll see amazing new choices like Korean, Vietnam Airlines, and Garuda Indonesia and China Airlines, which operate stellar routes to Taipei with excellent connectivity throughout Asia. Direct London to Vietnam is now possible.

MEA and Saudia offer new connectivity throughout the Middle East and itineraries connecting with these airlines are already available using Virgin Points or cash.

More Competition For Sustainability

Virgin Atlantic has been a powerful force in sustainability, but SkyTeam stole the show last year with an incredibly clever Sustainability Challenge. That challenge will run again this year.

The alliance challenged all member airlines to compete for the most sustainable flight, but unlike other one off, “look at me” efforts from other airlines, the goal was not only to win, but to learn.

All participants shared their strategies and learnings not only within the alliance, but to the world at large. That’s pretty cool. Whether you care about sustainability, or not, less waste is good for everyone. Virgin will undoubtedly participate next year.

Strengthening Airline Alliance Functions

Airline alliances are supposed to make travel better for customers. Alliances have invested heavily over the years in things like teams to help with tight connections in major hubs, and ‘around the world’ airfare options.

With Virgin Atlantic officially in SkyTeam, it’s the first “major” signing for the alliance in recent times, and it should spur competition for passenger satisfaction from the Star Alliance and Oneworld alliances as well.

Each has announced unique ambitions, from alliance wide loyalty currencies to alliance wide upgrades and technology platforms. Let’s see what SkyTeam brings to the mix.

More Virgin Points Earning On More Airlines

There’s an opportunity cost to every airline ticket you purchase. Purchasing with an airline you’ve never flown before may offer savings, or a fresh start, but it won’t be adding to your existing mileage balances, or perk goals via elite status.

With Virgin Atlantic joining SkyTeam, you’ll be able to earn Virgin Points from the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club while flying on at least 18 alliance airlines, and counting.

More is more. It’ll be easier to work towards points goals, while expanding your travel more globally flying both on Virgin Atlantic and partners.

More points, more upgrades, fewer problems. That’s the dream and SkyTeam should help plug most of the coverage gaps in the Virgin Atlantic network. That’s good for all.

The post Virgin Atlantic Joins SkyTeam Alliance! 5 Ways It Impacts Your Travel appeared first on God Save The Points.

With inflation being everyone’s favorite word du jour, it feels like it’d be hard to convince someone that its possible to grab flights and hotels and jet off somewhere delightful for about $1/£1 per person. Incredibly, it’s true.

British Airways has launched a new option to use Avios, which allows travelers to book entire flight and hotel, or flight hotel and car packages using Avios. With things like two person trips to Spain with flights and at least two nights of hotel for 67,650 Avios and a grand total of £1 for two — nope, not per person! — there’s a lot to love.

Choice is good, so here’s everything that matters about these new offers allowing you to use Avios for British Airways holidays, including even for trip deposits.

British Airways Holidays & Avios

Avios are proving increasingly valuable with recent changes lowering taxes and fees and huge recent card bonuses certainly don’t hurt either.

Now, there’s a new way to cash out Avios, that might be just the ticket for people who want a nice getaway but don’t want to pay more than £1/$1 in cash for their flights or hotel. Even if you’re made of money, a trip for £1 has quite a ring to it. You can’t get a coffee for that.

Avios For Trip Deposits

British Airways Holidays is still offering double tier points to earn elite status with the airline and is often a source of great deals. Airlines are often willing to eat part of the retail fare for those booking holiday packages, which can lead to real savings.

Avios holders can now use their points as the deposit for a trip, allowing you to lock in a great trip without any cash outlay at all. Even for pricier trips in first or business class, BA holidays offers low deposits starting around £300.

Avios For Entire Trips

It’s always healthy to break out the value calculator and price out a trip offering with points, in cash as well to compare value — but either way you can now use Avios to cover entire British Airways Holidays trips. You can also use them to cover part of a trip too.

This can be to book flight and hotel, flight hotel and car, flight and car or basically any permutation. Whatever the cash price, there will be an Avios price too.

Again, it’s good to zoom out and look at the prices in cash separately, or elsewhere, but quite often the BA holidays price are tough to beat and these Avios prices sound very competitive. A couple real live examples from London include…

• Barcelona: Round trip flights and two nights’ hotel from £1 + 67,650 Avios for two people sharing (50p + 33,825 per person)**
• New York: Round trip flights and three nights’ hotel from £1 + 246,275 Avios for two people sharing (50p + 123,188 Avios per person)**

These prices will sit differently with everyone viewing them, but there’s a lot to love. For many people it’s all about the food, wine, museums and shopping at the other end, so being able to use points to cover flight and hotel is everything.

Paying 123,188 Avios per person for a trip to New York with three nights of hotel and no cash outlay is incredibly competitive, considering flights alone would cost 50,000 Avios per person, so you’re only paying an incremental 70,000 ish Avios per person for three nights of hotel.

Choice Is Great

Blog readers tend to get a bit holy about sacred points valuations, but for most people a deal is a deal and not forking over cash is not forking over cash. These offers simply give new choice to British Airways Avios holders and expand the ways you can redeem points at very solid rates.

Everyone can mix and match how many Avios they’ll use, if any, and during promos or great hotel sales some phenomenal values are likely to creep out. You can check out how Avios sits within the new British Airways Holidays.

The post British Airways Now Lets You Book Entire Holidays On Avios Points appeared first on God Save The Points.

Vacation is exciting and so is any excuse to hop on an international flight. Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Red are giving you reasons to be 30% more excited, with their latest offer reducing the number of points you’ll need for a reward flight or upgrade.

Whether you’re headed to the UK or actively looking for someplace nice departing from it, there are deals in both directions and they’re available immediately.

If you’re looking to get in on the action, here’s everything you need to know, including how to transfer credit card points from most programs into Virgin Points.

Virgin Atlantic 30% Off Flights Using Points

Virgin Points are the shared currency of Virgin Atlantic and the wider Virgin Group loyalty program called Virgin Red. The first thing to know is that even if you aren’t yet a member of either, you can still take advantage of this great deal.

You’ll simply need to create a Virgin Flying Club account, and ideally link it with your Virgin Red account, if you don’t already have one of those either. Once that’s done, you can transfer points from Amex, BILT, Capital One, Chase and Citi into Virgin Points and they typically appear instantly.

The Key Dates For The Deal

• You can book from February 16th to February 28th for travel until May 31st.

Reward seats come and go regularly and when there’s an offer they tend to fly. Though you technically have until the 28th of February, it always makes sense to book when and if you find a flight you want.

US based members, can enjoy 30% off the following departure points.

• New York, Boston, Washington or Antigua to London Heathrow
• Atlanta, Miami or Tampa to London Heathrow
• Austin, LA, San Francisco or Seattle to London Heathrow

UK based members, can enjoy 30% off the following departure points.

• London Heathrow to Tel Aviv from as low as 12,000 points.
• London Heathrow or Manchester to New York from 14,000 Virgin Points
• London Heathrow to Antigua from 14,000 Virgin Points
• London Heathrow to Austin from 21,000 Virgin Points 

Booking these flights should be easy and the discounts will apply automatically whether you book online at VirginAtlantic.com or via the Virgin Atlantic call center. As a nice touch, companion vouchers and upgrade vouchers from Virgin Atlantic Credit Cards can also be used in conjunction.

Amazing Virgin Seats To Aim For

Virgin Atlantic’s new A330neo ‘Upper Class‘ may feature the best business class setup flying across the Atlantic between the UK and US currently. With bluetooth wireless, privacy doors and lightning fast wifi, there’s not much else you could ask for.

Next best, the A350 is an outstanding passenger experience and not only brings a great private seat, but improved cabin environment with less noise and both better pressure and humidity which feels more like life back down on earth.

Happy booking!

The post Virgin Offering 30% Off Flights Using Points In All Cabins appeared first on God Save The Points.

Delta just made a power move that makes having a Delta American Express Card more valuable today than it was yesterday. For cardholders, it’s a “lose nothing, gain a great discount” day.

Delta and itsSkyMiles program has gained major love for its travel perks within the actual flying experience, but of late, the SkyMiles currency hasn’t always been a part of that love. Some unflattering terms such as “SkyPesos” have been coined to reflect what often felt like exorbitant pricing using points, compared to other airlines.

Despite this, the SkyMiles program has continues to grow and Delta remains one of the most loved airlines — so make of that what you will. Now, with the introduction of a new 15% discount on SkyMiles prices for Delta Amex cardmembers, there’s no sign of that changing any time soon.

Miles are more valuable and loyalty has its perks. It’s a major win for cardmembers, without a doubt.

Delta’s New 15% SkyMiles Discount

Effective immediately — and permanently, those who hold a Delta SkyMiles American Express Gold, Platinum or Reserve co-branded credit card will receive a 15% discount on the price in SkyMiles when they redeem for award travel.

Basically, if Delta wants 140,000 SkyMiles one way for a business class flight to Europe, Delta Amex cardmembers holding one of these co-branded credit cards will enjoy 15% off the points price.

That price may still be significantly higher than what other points programs charge for comparable flights, but that’s another story for another day. Delta and SkyMiles just launched limited time card offers with bonuses upward of 90,000 SkyMiles to celebrate the news.

Delta Discount On Award Travel: How It Works

The new “Takeoff 15” benefit from American Express and Delta kicks in automatically. Anyone with a Delta Skymiles Amex Gold, Platinum or Reserve Card searching in the Fly Delta App, or on Delta.com will see the benefit and discount reflected in the pricing automatically.

One key piece to note is that the discount does not apply to any partner flights, such as those on Virgin Atlantic, Air France or KLM, nor does the discount apply to thinks like taxes, fees or surcharges. Just the points price in SkyMiles, but that’s still great.

Delta Pushes Loyalty For Discounts

Delta has been aggressive with SkyMiles prices in recent years to say the least. Now, it’s offering a way out for those willing to show loyalty. It all makes plenty of business sense.

Elite loyalty program members and co-branded cardholders make up a significant share of airline profits, and increasing stickiness with these customers by offering an exclusive discount is a brilliant way to do so.

If you want the most out of your airline miles these days, expect to pledge some loyalty to get there, either with your spending or your flying.

The post If You Have A Delta Amex Card, Today Is A Good Day! appeared first on God Save The Points.