The Laguna Resort and Spa, Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia

Starwood Preferred Guest has raised the category level of the Luxury Collection hotel, Laguna Resort and Spa, Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia by two category levels in four years.

Dec 2003, SPG Category 2, free weekend night = 3,000 Starpoints

March 2008, SPG Category 4, free weekend night =10,000 Starpoints

Gary Leff’s post, February 25, 2008 on View from the Wing, about the SPG annual category shift got me to thinking about my reaction to the coming changes. I understand the rationale for SPG increasing the categories for high demand hotels. Yet, I feel the pain of devalued points.

I have decided to look at it initially from my personal travel perspective.

Maybe later, I’ll tackle a real analysis of the shifts if I can locate charts showing the SPG categories from 2004 and 2006 to help me track the changes. Blondebomber of FlyerTalk has active links to his SPG Hotel Category spreadsheet on the internet. The spreadsheet tracks the SPG hotel category changes from 2005 to the current March 4, 2008 changes.

Hotel Shifts I notice from past stay award rates for a single free night:

Sheraton Noosa, Noosa Heads, Queensland, Australia,
July 2003     Category 3    7,000 points

March 2008     Category 5    12,000-16,000 points

Noosa Beach by Sheraton Noosa, Australia

Four Points Darling Harbour, Sydney, Australia
July 2003     Category 2     3,000 points weekend; 4,000 points weekday

March 2008    Category 4   10,000 points

Westin Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia
December 2003    Category 1      2,000 points weekend; 3,000 points weekday

March 2008   Category 3     7,000 points

Westin Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia

The Laguna Resort, Luxury Collection, Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia

December 2003    Category 2    3,000 points weekend; 4,000 points weekday

March 2008    Category 4    10,000 points

Starwood Hotels Luxury Collection, Laguna Resort Nusa Dua, Bali

Royal Orchid Sheraton, Bangkok, Thailand
March 2004   Category 1     2,000 points weekend; 3,000 points weekday

March 2008    Category 3     7,000 points

Bangkok, Thailand, Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel

Westin Atlanta Airport
June 2007     Category 2     3,000 points weekend; 4,000 points weekday

March 2008   Category 3    7,000 points

Westin Hotel Atlanta Airport

Sheraton Newark Airport
June 2007    Category 2      3,000 points weekend; 4,000 points weekday

March 2008    Category 3    7,000 points

Sheraton Newark Airport, New Jersey

I have made a very rough estimate of the category changes at hotels I’ve visited.

I’ve probably redeemed 150,000 to 200,000 Starpoints for free nights at some of the hotels listed here and other places and locations I’ve stayed over the past five years.

I estimate it would now take about 260,000 points for the same number of nights at hotels where I redeemed points for stays for about 100,000 points.

Next month, 100,000 Starpoints might buy 10 nights at a selection of hotels where I redeemed 100,000 points for 25+ nights.Hotel room rates in most places have not risen anywhere near 150% in the past five years. Starwood point inflation has been devastatingly high on the free night redemption side for many travelers.

In Starwood’s favor, the widespread expansion of available Cash & Points rates in 2007 for hotels in all SPG categories from 1-6 has proved to be a high value use of Starpoints at many hotel properties.

$60 and 4,000 Starpoints for a Category 4 hotel award night can be a great alternative to 10,000 Starpoints or a $250+/night paid room rate. Paying $60 cash is a much higher value than spending 6,000 Starpoints.

$150 and 8,000 Starpoints for a Category 6 hotel night is often a better choice than 20,000 Starpoints or a paid room rate of $500/night.

I am glad I traveled when I did.

How much has your Starpoints earning power increased over the past five years?

My earning power hasn’t increased significantly and nowhere near 150%.

Two options for this traveler:

1. Stay fewer hotel nights or

2. Pay more money to increase the ratio of paid/award nights.

My economy will be the decider.

SIN is Singapore, Changi Airport.

Loyalty Travelers based in the United States learn that Singapore is the farthest destination in flight miles a person can easily fly to from the USA on a variety of carriers and have an easy and affordable experience.

Singapore generally requires a US-Japan-Singapore routing and this is an 8,444 mile flight distance from San Francisco-Tokyo-Singapore (SFO-NRT-SIN).
New-York City-Los Angeles-Tokyo-Singapore (JFK/LGA/EWR-LAX-NRT-SIN) is an astounding 11,250 miles one-way. Mileage runners even figure out ways of adding additional flight segments to these basic routings for 1,500 or more flight miles.

The rationale for making a “mileage run” long distance itinerary is apparent when considering the miles earned in the frequent flyer member’s account and the elite qualifying flight miles credit. After attaining 50,000-flight mile elite status, a flyer earns a 100% flight mile bonus on qualifying economy fares with any one of the major airlines Alaska, American, Continental, Delta, Northwest, United, or US Airways. The perks of complimentary flight upgrades, international lounge access, and other benefits await the elite flyer.

It is always good to know the rules for miles earned for your ticketed fares. The booking class of your ticket determines upgrade eligibility, miles earned, and eligibility for frequent flyer elite status qualifying miles (or points).

April 2008 Mileage Run Sample:
I’ll use United Mileage Plus as the carrier for this example, although a nearly identical calculation will apply for flyers in the other major airline loyalty programs of Alaska, American, Northwest, Delta, Continental, or US Airways.

Feb 28, 2008 a New York, (JFK)-Singapore (SIN) ticket, prices today at under $1,100 for all United Airlines itineraries. (Prices fluctuate and may occasionally drop below $1,000 from eastern US or below $800 from western US departure cities).

Tip: Quick mileage calculations between airports is available from the website: Great Circle Mapper, http://gc.kls2.com

The first choice of the lowest-priced itineraries offered by United.com is JFK-NRT-SIN routing in economy class “S” booking code. “S” booking code is ineligible for Mileage Plus cabin upgrades with miles or elite certificates since it is an all international flights itinerary.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

United Airlines Flight #837 (1-stop, plane change)
Depart New York, JFK 7:09
Arrive Tokyo, Japan, NRT 14:10 (next day, Thursday)
Elite Qualifying Flight Miles and Award Miles Earned: 6,745 miles

Thursday, April 3, 2008

United Airlines Flight #803
Depart Tokyo, NRT 17:50
Arrive Singapore, SIN 23:55
Elite Qualifying Flight Miles and Award Miles Earned: 3,324 miles

Thursday, April 10, 2008

United Airlines Flight #804
Depart Singapore, SIN 7:15
Arrive Tokyo, NRT 15:15
Elite Qualifying Flight Miles and Award Miles Earned: 3,324 miles

United Airlines Flight # 852 (1-stop, plane change)
Depart Tokyo, NRT 18:00
Arrive New York, JFK 22:33
Elite Qualifying Flight Miles and Award Miles Earned: 6,745 miles

Summary: JFK-SIN, United Airlines, “S” booking class,
$1,069.24 and earns 20,146 Elite Qualifying Flight Miles and
20,146 frequent flyer Award Miles (+ elite and/or promotional bonuses)

Although the screen states the flight is a one-stop, the ticket buyer must click the Plane Change links on the United reservations screen to see where the plane stops. A change of aircraft is required in San Francisco.

The New York to Tokyo routing requires a plane change in San Francisco, yet the two separate flights are given a single flight number. United Mileage Plus calculates the ticket as a non-stop flight for frequent flyer flight miles earned. This ticket will earn 20,146 flight miles for $1,069.24.

An alternative routing for the New York, JFK to Singapore “S” booking class ticket provides the frequent flyer with 22,363 award miles for $1,087.24, and also adds Hong Kong airport to the itinerary.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

United Airlines Flight #877
Depart: New York, JFK 8:00
Arrive: Los Angeles, LAX 11:14
Elite Qualifying Flight Miles and Award Miles Earned: 2,475 miles

United Airlines Flight #867
Depart: Los Angeles, LAX 12:56
Arrive: Hong Kong, HKG 18:45 (Thursday, next day)
Elite Qualifying Flight Miles and Award Miles Earned: 7,246 miles

Thursday, April 3, 2008

United Airlines Flight #895
Depart: Hong Kong, HKG 20:00
Arrive: Singapore, SIN 23:35
Elite Qualifying Flight Miles and Award Miles Earned: 1,603 miles

Thursday, April 10, 2008

United Airlines Flight # 804
Depart: Singapore, SIN 07:15
Arrive: Tokyo, Japan 15:15
Elite Qualifying Flight Miles and Award Miles Earned: 3,328 miles

United Airlines Flight # 838
Depart: Tokyo, Japan 16:05
Arrive: San Francisco, SFO 09:10 (Thursday, same day)
Elite Qualifying Flight Miles and Award Miles Earned: 5,124 miles

United Airlines Flight # 010
Depart: San Francisco, SFO 11:20
Arrive: New York, JFK 20:03
Elite Qualifying Flight Miles and Award Miles Earned: 2,586 miles

Summary: JFK-SIN, United Airlines, “S” booking class,
$1,087.24 and earns 22,363 Elite Qualifying Flight Miles and
22,363 frequent flyer Award Miles (+ elite and/or promotional bonuses)

Perhaps the greatest benefit is the ability to upgrade the transcontinental USA flights in “S” booking class since these are now domestic flights. Although the other itinerary also has two transcontinental domestic flight segments, these flights are under a single international United flight number and thus international upgrade rules apply.

A United ticket from New York, JFK to Singapore has itinerary choices that make a huge difference in loyalty program benefits for a small difference in cash. $18.00 is a small price to pay for 2,217 extra flight miles towards elite status and mileage upgrade credit, in addition to the extra frequent flier miles for awards and the potential for a transcontinental domestic upgrade.

Elite Frequent Flier Bonus Miles

A Premier Executive, 50,000-mile status member with a 100% flight miles bonus will earn 22,363 elite bonus miles on the Hong Kong routing.

$1,087.24 fare / 44,726 Mileage Plus miles = $24.31/1,000 miles earned.

Travel earns miles at a lower rate than buying miles through the airlines or credit cards.

**************
The Quest for Frequent Flier Elite Status

Two trips between New York and Singapore a year on United can easily earn 45,000 elite qualifying miles and earn 90,000 frequent flyer miles. These earned miles are redeemable for a Business Class Star Alliance award from the USA to Europe (80,000 miles) or South America (80,000 miles) or North or South Asia (90,000 miles). And a frequent flyer would only need one additional 5,000 mile trip, like New York City – San Francisco (JFK-SFO), to earn 50,000-mile elite status within the calendar year with United Mileage Plus.

United Airline Mileage Plus Business Class Star Alliance Awards:

80,000 miles Business Class award, US/Canada-Europe using United Airlines or any of these 11 Star Alliance partner airlines which currently operate flights between North America and Europe: Air Canada, Air New Zealand, Austrian Airlines, bmi, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, SAS, Singapore Airlines, Swiss, TAP Portugal, US Airways.

90,000 miles Business Class award, US/Canada-Asia using United Airlines or any of these partner airlines which currently operate flights between North America and Asia: Air Canada, Air China, All Nippon Airways, Asiana Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways.

Ric and tour guide, Cuzco, Peru, May 2000

Presidents Week Vacation – February 2000

I was anxious and suffering a vacation hangover upon my return from Holland at the end of my two week trip for flying on five member airlines of the Oneworld Alliance for a 100,000 frequent flyer miles bonus. Travel euphoria withdrawal was a shock to my mind.

The Christmas holidays 1999 were designed to celebrate my 40th birthday and the days had been a whirlwind tour of Europe. I dubbed it our “industrial tour” because the routing took us from London to Manchester on British Airways, Manchester to Amsterdam on Cathay Pacific, and Amsterdam to Barcelona on Christmas Day and back to Amsterdam on December 26 for another 3 nights in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Rotterdam blew our minds as the most cosmopolitan city we had ever visited. Rotterdam is a mix of world cultures.

The remedy for a vacation hangover is to start planning the next trip. I desired another adventure to energize my soul with the buzz of planning travel.

Fortunately, I had a quick recovery for my vacation hangover on January 7, 2000. I learned about the possibility for a one million mile bonus by flying with a group of Latin American airlines. It took a few days to ascertain the authenticity of the offer. And another week passed before the details were published on the LatinPass website.

I then worked through three weeks of intensive travel planning.
I planned an itinerary for the 500,000 mile bonus with six flights through Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Colombia, and Venezuela, and either Puerto Rico, Aruba, or Curacao. Using free award tickets from California to Central America or South America would drop the cost of airfare to under $2,000 and the miles earned would be sufficient for six Business Class tickets with KLM Airlines, a LatinPass affiliate airline, from San Francisco to Europe.

There were some reservations in planning the LatinPass tour, and I am using reservations in the hesitation sense.
1. Guatemala having a major volcanic eruption
2. Caracas having devastating floods
3. Terrorist kidnap danger in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru

I mapped out a dozen routings for flights. The routes changed all the time. The key to this trip for me was getting several free award nights at Starwood and Hilton hotels. I actually planned on using Starwood points for hotel stays on this trip and needing the points I developed a scheme for the first two weeks of February to accumulate Starwood points.

Starwood Preferred Guest became a partner in the internet company ClickRewards and for the months of February and March 2000, ClickReward miles were worth 2 Starpoints or double the normal exchange rate. In addition to that bonus, FTD had a Valentine’s Day special offer for double ClickRewards points. I was able to earn 16,000 Starpoints by purchasing $550 in gift certificates for several shops where we regularly shop anyway. I bought $110 in Barnes and Noble gift certificates and while in Denver I purchased Let’s Go Central America 2000.

My first ticket purchase for the LatinPass promotion was a KLM roundtrip from London to Amsterdam for the Easter week vacation. I booked The Pulitzer Hotel for 7,000 Starpoints. The cheapest cash rate for the week was $350 per night. I also redeemed 45,000 HHonors points for two nights at the Amsterdam Hilton.

My initial LatinPass itinerary to South America and Central America required two trips and were designed via these routings:

First LatinPass Trip: 12 flights and 7 nights
San Francisco – Guatemala City (American Airlines award ticket 30,000 miles) (SFO-GUA)
Guatemala City – San Salvador, El Salvador (GUA-SAL) – Aviateca Airlines $100 one-way
San Salvador, El Salvador – Managua, Nicaragua (SAL-MGA) – Taca Airlines $175 one-way
Managua – Miami, Florida (MGA-MIA) – Nica Airlines $500 one-way
Miami, Florida – Caracas, Venezuela (MIA-CCS) – Aeropostal $250 one-way
Caracas, Venezuela – Bogota, Colombia (CCS-BOG) – Avianca $250 one-way
Bogota, Colombia – San Juan, Puerto Rico (BOG-SJU) – ACES $450 one-way
San Juan, Puerto Rico – San Jose, Costa Rica (SJU-SJO) – Lacsa $300 one-way
San Jose, Costa Rica – Guatemala City, Guatemala (SJO-GUA) – Copa $250 one-way

Second LatinPass Trip: 6 flights and 4 nights
San Francisco – Quito, Ecuador (American Airlines award ticket – 60,000 miles Business Class)
Quito, Ecuador – Lima (UIO-LIM) – SAETA $330 round-trip
Lima, Peru – Cuzco, Peru (LIM-CUZ) – Taca Peru $170 round-trip

This LatinPass scheme kept me up all night thinking and I decided to ask for a week off work and fly the six airlines. Then I kept thinking how easy it would be to get 8 airlines in one trip as I showed above. And then I figured why not just go for one million miles since it only costs about $1,000 to $1,200 more.

First Day of LatinPass Run March 31, 2000

I completely rerouted my trip from the February planning. I waited until this morning to pack a suitcase and at the last minute I threw in my Sharper Image mini-luggage cart. I didn’t pack much: socks, underwear, 4 shirts, jeans, and Teva sandals. I didn’t bring a raincoat. I figure I won’t be outside much. I actually had jeans in the car and at the last minute before leaving the airport I went out to get them.

I am flying in seat 5A, the first row of Business Class. It has been a few years since I’ve flown this class and the comfort level is really incredible. I had to read the card on the seat control functions to learn the features of all these buttons. There are 7 knobs for adjustment and the seat goes damn near horizontal. I have the leg rest up and the head rest out and it more comfortable than any place I sit at home. I have my own video monitor with a choice of five movies and several audio channels. The flight has been incredibly smooth so far.

The plane is over Nevada and the Becks beer has arrived. The movie hasn’t yet started and I feel like I am in a near full-service bed, trapped between a video monitor straight up in front of me, a tray table horizontally across my lap and a headphones cord draped diagonally across my chest. It is good I do not feel the need to go anywhere quickly. I am on a 767 to Miami that continues on to Buenos Aires. San Francisco was gorgeous today and forecast to be 75 to 80 degrees.

So what else did I pack? I brought a flashlight, a tape recorder, an alarm clock, a camera and 7 rolls of film.

The coolest feature is being able to listen to music while watching a flight map of the current plane position. The sun is just about setting over Duncan, Oklahoma. This is so cool.

I ate a bland Hindu rice and veggie meal and drank a couple of glasses of cabernet for dinner. We are traveling at 626 mph at 37,000 feet altitude. The outside temperature is -73 F. There is a 120 mph tailwind.

I drank a couple of more Becks and grooved on New Age music and tripped on the lights of Florida. This was quite a ride. Passed over Tampa Bay as I listened to Celtic tunes with a tartan blanket across my legs to cover my bare knees against the cabin cold. I can’t wait for the harsh reality of Miami 80 degrees F at 10 pm at night. The flight attendant just offered me another Becks with only 15 minutes of flight time left. I love Business Class. I declined the beer. This buzz is just right and Miami is below. This is fun.

Avianca Airlines flight #9 on-time departure from Miami to Bogota, Colombia. The safety instructions for the flight are running in Spanish with German subtitles. Guess I will wait and see if American comes up. This flight is a 767-300 and only about 25% full in economy. I am in the back section of the plane and look to be the only person seated next to someone on the entire aircraft. The woman beside me is Spanish speaking, but holds an American passport. I moved two rows back to the empty three seats in the middle section of the plane. The safety messages are now playing in English with French subtitles as the aircraft taxis down the runway.

Flying over the Caribbean Sea and the water below is a shade of light blue, so different from the dark Pacific Ocean of the California coast. The colors are hypnotizing. Looking down on the wisps of clouds sitting above the light blue water gives the illusion of gazing up into the bright sky. The imagery is beautiful.
The white edges of sea breaking on the shoreline of Cuba breaks the hypnotic azure spell. The green agricultural landscape of Cuba comes into view.

The drink cart coming down the aisle refocuses my attention. There are 2-liter bottles of Coke and Diet Coke, and 1-liter bottles of scotch and vodka. I receive a can of Club Colombia, Bavaria Brewery, 4% Colombian beer. The two women flight attendants do not appear to be even 20 years old. Several men are also working the aisles. This flight has a large crew to service a small passenger load.

The island of Jamaica appears much browner and extensively developed compared to the interior green cultivated farmlands of rural Cuba. Jamaica passed by quickly as we skirted the western end of the island over Negril. The sea once again is reflecting the white clouds and mirrors the sky.

The snacks on the plane were something different to eat. Coctel, a Colombian product – crunchy chick peas and faba beans – kind of like Corn Nuts. I also received Achiras, original Colombian biscuits made expressly for Avianca. They are made from cottage cheese and achira starch to make a biscuit. They are quite tasty and different. I can’t think of another food they taste like. It is a kind of mini-bread stick with a cheesy flavor, sort of Cheetos-like, but definitely different.
The subtle differences of travel. Despite the hassle of a language barrier there are entertaining, ordinary changes like the kinds of snack foods served on a Colombian airline compared to United Airlines. The little alterations make all the difference in the travel experience.

We have just crossed the Colombian coastline and the rivers, brown with sediment and silt, flow into the Caribbean. There are no coastal cities below us and we cross over to land. I picked up a Colombian paper on the plane and the Bogota section had an article about deaths and 59% of people who die of unnatural causes are murder victims. Traffic accidents account for 21%, suicide 8%, 9% by accidents, and 2% undetermined causes.

Tomorrow, April 2, 2000, is some kind of Colombia Peace Day ribbon campaign, being promoted by a newspaper half-page ad.

The sky was too hazy to see the ground once we crossed over Colombia. Flying into Bogota the skies cleared and the beautiful countryside appeared below. We passed over farmhouses and country estates. An upscale country club golf course was on the outskirts of the city. The few cars on the streets below appeared to be moving slow. Most people on the roads were traveling on bicycles. Bogota Airport is situated in a beautiful valley about ten miles from the downtown urban sprawl. The region looks to be about 20 flat square miles surrounded by mountains.

[Feb 2008 note: This is interesting to see my enthusiasm for air travel back in 2000. Back in the days when travel was solely for fun. I ended up with 1,014,000 LatinPass miles. The miles allowed me to live about 4 months in the Hilton Hotels after transferring most of the airline miles to Hilton HHonors over the course of several years.]