Points and Travel Absolutes
I try to avoid saying the words “always” and “never.” I’m wrong enough as it is – I don’t need to bring on more of that with terms I often find reckless. And I’m happy to be proven wrong on points and travel matters. Often, those outcomes are rosier than I’ve prepared for. But over time, I’ve felt increasingly confident about several points and travel topics. I’ll call them absolutes today. Oxford Languages defines the philosophical version of absolute as “universally valid.” So then, I’m focusing on what I find universally valid for points and travel hobbyists today. I don’t think any of these can be disproven. Here are the points and travel absolutes I most strongly identify with right now.
Having Lounge Access Is Better Than Not Having It
Opinions are certainly not in short supply in our hobby, and airport lounges can set people off in countless directions. Which one’s best? Why is access so complicated? Which one’s overrated? Why does this airline even bother with lounges? Often, we good-old-days it and talk about how lounges previously had better service, amenities, or policies. Regardless, lounges provide us with options beyond the airport terminal, which are often an utter displeasure – especially domestically. Even with diminishing return, I’ll still happily accept lounge access when I have it, which admittedly happens less often these days.
Cash Redemptions Provide Immediate Value
I love cashing out rewards – it’s still my favorite redemption. One of the key reasons I treasure this method is that I fully, immediately realize the value of the rewards when I cash out. When I redeem hotel points or airline miles, it’s mostly on reservations several months away. Since plans often change, the value from those redemptions is delayed even longer. Nothing compares to those points turning into cash in my bank account the same or next business day.
We Are Trending In a Fixed Direction
It would be too easy to just say everything is devaluing. Increasingly these days, travel loyalty programs are attaching relatively fixed values to their redemptions. Southwest and Amtrak have done it for years. Delta seems to be doing everything in their power to ensure miles are worth one cent per point on award flight reservations. Hilton redemptions generally hover around 0.4-0.5 cents per point on hotel nights. Marriott and Hyatt switching to variable points pricing reflect moves toward more fixed systems. Sure, exceptions may exist for more or less value with these programs, but the overall fixed trend is picking up more steam.
Resort Fees Are Slimy
As consumers, resort fees are just uncool. Chains know they are mostly dealing with captive audiences when people pick certain resorts, and they exploit that. We’re frequently paying for nothing we actually consume. Hotel chains know we want to stay in these properties, and they dare us not to stay there by charging resort fees. The chains are shameless about it, too. They win, anyway.
Hotel Free Night Certificates Are Useful
Earlier in the pandemic, I shared that I had a hotel free night certificate problem. It was a good problem then, and it’s still that way when I deal with it now. In and of themselves, hotel free night certificates are a useful tool in our hobby. It’s only after we introduce our own expectations, limits, schedules, and baggage (actual and otherwise) that they become more of a pain. Every so often, I take a deep breath and reflect. How silly to curse such a useful item! I just get over it and enjoy whatever juice I get from them.
Checked Baggage Still Flies Free on Southwest
In the copycat world of the airline industry, seemingly everyone has instituted unpleasant checked baggage fees – except Southwest. I generally carry on as a solo traveler. But I enjoy flying Southwest at competitive rates and checking baggage for free on family trips. “Benjy, you’re just stating the obvious”, many of you may say. Perhaps, but I still think it’s worth noting that Southwest’s generous policy can save families hundreds of dollars on just one trip.
Everyone’s Situation Is Different
Regarding someone else’s choices of points earning, redeeming, trip selecting, or other matters, it’s easy to say, “I would have done that differently.” That’s acceptable, but not at the expense of diminishing that other person’s choices. Two individuals can make completely opposite travel and points decisions and be 100% correct for their respective situations. Why? Because no individual’s situation is exactly the same as another’s. The points and travel experience is consistently different for each of us, even if just slightly.
The Marriott Abyss of Disappointment
I’ve come to the conclusion that there is no floor for Marriott Bonvoy disappointment. I returned to Marriott’s program several months ago, simultaneously flinching for the unknown, but inevitable, devaluation that would come next. It did. I put up with clunky IT and subpar customer service. Of course, resort fees increase before my trip to the property. A Diamond member shared how he saw a referral bonus on a Marriott credit card for 2,000 points. Jackpot! That one made me laugh. Just when I thought I’ve experienced or heard the worst, something else goes even lower. I don’t think we’ll ever hit the bottom.
Someone Is Always Going Harder With Amex
Just when I think I’ve spent more on Amex than I should, I hear about another individual who has spent higher, applied more, or done sillier things with Amex. And over time, I hear stories of others going even harder than those people! Perhaps I hear others’ experiences and immediately rationalize my own behavior. Regardless, with the stream of data points that I routinely receive, I’m confident that someone else is always pushing more with Amex.
Conclusion
I imagine I may get some pushback from some of you in the comments. But right now, I feel most strongly about these travel and points absolutes. I’ll probably think of a few more after this gets published, and that just speaks to the broad scope of our hobby. And that just brings me to another one – our hobby is always changing. That’s fine with me, because as I’ve said before, attentive consumers like us can largely come out ahead. What points and travel absolutes have been on your mind recently?
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I am regularly pushing back on the bandwagon claims of “devaluation,” RE: “We Are Trending In a Fixed Direction.” That view appears to apply a flat one-dimensional approach to the analysis, such as, Points Value (CPP) = (Cash Cost of Redemption)/(Points/Miles Redeemed), e.g., a $500 redemption for 30k = 0.016 CPP. The better reasoning, in my view, is that point value is based on an equation that considers “Points/Miles Earning Rate Factor,” some multiplier that values how easily the points were earned, boosted, or similar, and recognizes that over time we have had huge growth in the ways points are earned, the size of the bonuses, and the frequency of the offerings. Un-boosted points the factor is 0, but I can see where a boost based on 100k+ SUBs, upgrade offers, spending bonuses, shopping portal bonuses, etc., all of which didn’t hardly happen very much at all 10, 20 years ago. Considering how easily miles that are being used might have been earned, the formula might be more like, ($500/30k)*Earning Factor 3X = $0.0499 CPP. Anyway, perhaps imperfect, but trying to make the point that if earning ability (ease, size, variety, etc.) is increasing, that has to be considered as an off-set to higher redemption costs.
Benjy, in spite of all of the stories about hotel loyalty programs and property owners — the programs and properties make it clear that they will NOT be using KY on a guest when one stays — readers continue to post comments that a program or a property did this or that to them. These readers are enslaved. And, you of all people should have known better about Marriott.
As for the rest of the article, wise and thoughtful comments.