Lucky wrote a series of posts this week on One Mile at a Time giving his take on What Airline Miles and Hotel Points are worth. I criticized his hotel points analysis without reading his ‘Introduction’ piece on the four part series where he gives this disclosure:

But my main point is simply that everyone’s valuation is going to be different, both in absolute terms and in relative terms. Disagree with my analysis? That’s great, and please let me know. This is just my opinion, and at the end of the day there’s no right or wrong answer.

Lucky travels all the time, earns and redeems millions of miles and points and he has a good background for evaluating the relative value of points and miles.

That being said, I think for the consumer collecting miles and points, the value of miles and points is so personalized, especially for hotel points, that there is little value in assigning a specific value for hotel points. The value of points or miles is not set until you actually redeem them for something tangible like a flight or hotel room.

And your elite status level is a major factor in the value of points and miles, especially when comparing value across different hotel or airline programs.

There is a value range for any specific type of hotel points.

For example, Hilton points are rarely going to be worth over $20 per 1,000 points, even if you do get a $1,000 per night hotel room for 50,000 points. Lucky says he values Hilton HHonors points at $4 per 1,000 points. He personally values 100,000 HHonors points to be worth about $400.

100,000 HHonors points buys two nights in a category 7 hotel redeeming for a standard room award. 100,000 HHonors points buys five nights in a category 3 hotel redeeming for a 5th night free award. 

Are both of these Hilton brand hotels going to be a $400 value? The answer not only depends on the hotel, but who you are in the hotel loyalty program.

Are you a general member with 100,000 HHonors points?

Or are you a Diamond member and repeat guest at the hotel where you are redeeming points?

Are you redeeming five nights at a Hilton Garden Inn where nearly all the rooms are identical?

Or are you redeeming points for the Fontainebleau Miami Beach where you can be placed in a high floor ocean view massive suite with complimentary breakfast or a standard low floor level basic hotel room.

The room you receive at a hotel and many of the services included in a hotel points award stay will depend on who you are in the hotel loyalty program and possibly your relationship with the specific hotel.

Suite Living or urban rear window dwelling?

This week I stayed at Hotel Kamp, a Starwood Luxury Collection Hotel in Helsinki, Finland. I redeemed points for a SPG Category 5 Cash & Points award. I applied a suite upgrade certificate. These are the certificates given to SPG Platinum members staying 50 nights or more in a calendar year.

I stayed in an $800 per night room in the historic section of Hotel Kamp with a two room suite, high ceilings and a corner facing view of the famous Esplanade, whereas, there was likely someone else at the hotel using the same type of SPG category Cash & Points award who received a standard room in the modern wing of the hotel with a view of the interior infrastructure of the hotel between two building wings.

We both may have spent the same $90 and 4,800 points for the hotel stay, but my elite status with Starwood and perhaps my relationship with the hotel was a major factor in the type of room I received compared with the room some other SPG base member receives for the same award cost. Besides the room upgrade, there was a bottle of wine and a box of chocolates in the suite and I had complimentary internet and Platinum members on award stays receive breakfast.

Airline Business Class seats are the same regardless of status.

The value of frequent flyer miles has a much smaller range for airline travel. The United Mileage Plus 1K member is not going to get a better seat in First Class than the Mileage Plus general member redeeming miles for the same First Class award ticket. Regardless of elite status, both members are in the same First Class cabin on the same plane with the same access to meals and drink and the same access to the airport First Class lounge. The elite member may have an advantage with award change fees or cancellation privileges, but not with the type of product received for the miles.

Yet, elite status can also play a big difference in the value of airline miles.

Again, the example of  my personal travel award this week shows how elite status can greatly impact the value of miles.

I redeemed 30,000 AA miles for economy class award tickets to travel this week from Berlin to Oslo, Norway to Helsinki, Finland to London to Chicago to San Francisco with four overnight layovers. My American Airlines Platinum elite status allowed me to visit airport lounges as part of my international award travel.

On Monday I was in the British Airways lounge at Berlin Tegel eating and drinking for 90 minutes before my flight.

On Tuesday I was in the Oneworld lounge at Oslo Airport. Sitting in the lounge I was hit with a Finnair 90 minute flight delay. No problem. I consumed the equivalent of another $100 in food and beer, based on Oslo prices. Seriously! $100 in food and drink is like two smoked salmon sandwiches and three glasses of beer based on Oslo dining prices.

On Wednesday I had dinner and beer at the Finnair lounge in Helsinki and Thursday I had a multiple course Thai, Chinese and Indian dinner with beer at the Cathay Pacific lounge in London Heathrow before getting into my economy class American Airlines seat for the flight back to the US.

30,000 United miles for an economy class award flight from Berlin to San Francisco would not have given me access to any airport lounges. I do not have elite status with United Mileage Plus.

But I can status match to Premier Executive with United Mileage Plus and on the next award flight to Europe get Star Alliance airport lounge access even when flying economy class. The value of points and miles fluctuates and with elite status the value of points and miles in your account can go up.

The value of points and miles does not necessarily go down year to year.

Value of points and miles are truly personalized and elite status matters.

Elite status is probably the biggest single factor affecting the value of your miles and points. Elite status is a major factor in the value of points for hotel award nights. Elite status primarily plays a factor in the value of airline miles when you are traveling international on economy class awards.

Marriott Rewards is lowering the qualification requirements for earning lifetime elite membership as of January 1, 2013. This is the second time since 2009 Marriott Rewards has reduced the qualification requirements for lifetime elite. The changes were posted on Marriott Rewards Insiders by MichelleL, a Marriott manager in charge of elite member recognition and social media channels.

Lifetime Milestones as of January 1, 2013

• Platinum Elite: 750 nights + 2 million points (25% fewer nights)

• Gold Elite: 500 nights + 1.6 million points (37.5% fewer nights)

• Silver Elite: 250 nights + 1.2 million points (58% fewer nights)

For more details, visit MarriottRewards.com/Lifetime.

[Loyalty Traveler Note: the MR.com Lifetime link is not yet live.]

The main change is a significant reduction in the number of qualifying nights and the elimination of the 12 years Marriott Rewards membership rule.

What is still unclear is whether all nights earned each year will still count as eligible nights?

Currently, lifetime elite counts all qualified nights count towards lifetime status including credit card nights, rollover nights, and Nights Count Double promotion nights.

There has been no further reduction in the number of Marriott rewards points a member must earn for lifetime elite at the different tiers of platinum, gold and silver. Currently all Marriott Rewards points earned count including hotel stay points, promotion bonuses, credit card points, partner activity points all count.

Earning 2 million points for Marriott Rewards lifetime elite status can be earned for far less than $200,000 in base hotel spend.

Hyatt Lifetime Diamond elite currently requires earning 1,000,000 base points ($200,000 in hotel spend) and 10 years as Hyatt Diamond. 

SPG Lifetime Platinum is achieved with 10 years SPG Platinum elite membership and 500 eligible nights. SPG Lifetime Gold is earned after 5 years elite membership and 250 eligible nights.

Marriott Rewards 2010-2012 Lifetime Elite Status Qualification Criteria:

A. 12 or more years as a Marriott Rewards member and at least one year of earned membership at the corresponding lifetime level.

(20 years as a Gold member, but never having achieved a year as Platinum elite means you can only earn Lifetime Gold, even if the nights and points thresholds for lifetime Platinum are met.)

B.

Lifetime Platinum = 1,000 nights +  2,000,000 points.

Lifetime Gold = 800 nights + 1,600,000 points.

Lifetime Silver = 600 nights + 1,200,000 points. 

All qualified nights count towards lifetime status including credit card nights, rollover nights, and Nights Count Double promotion nights.

Hotel stay points, promotion bonuses, credit card points, partner activity points all count.

Marriott Rewards lifetime status points levels were reduced in January 2010 from 3.0M Platinum, 2.0M Gold and 1.5M points Silver. The 2013 Marriott Rewards lifetime elite requirements maintain the same points requirement of 2.0M Platinum, 1.6M Gold and 1.2 M Silver introduced in 2010.

Related Post: Marriott Rewards Changes Make 2011 Elite and Lifetime Elite Easier(Jan 8, 2010)

Ric Garrido, writer and owner of Loyalty Traveler, shares news and views on hotels, hotel loyalty programs and vacation destinations for frequent guests. You can follow Loyalty Traveler on Twitter and Facebook and RSS feed.

Priority Club Rewards has amended its program terms to define “Elite Qualifying Points” and “Non-Elite Qualifying Points”.  This is a significant change that will make reaching elite tiers more difficult for Priority Club members who earn elite status with IHG hotel stays.

Beginning January 1, 2013, for purposes of determining Elite Status, Priority Club points are classified as either Elite Qualifying Points or Non-Elite Qualifying Points.

PriorityClub.com

Priority Club Rewards is the loyalty program for InterContinental Hotels Group including the hotel brands Holiday Inn, Holiday Day Inn Express, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Staybridge Suites, Candlewood Suites and InterContinental Hotels. InterContinental Hotels also has a separate paid membership for Ambassador elite membership and an invitation only Royal Ambassador elite program for privileged top-tier Ambassador members.

Priority Club offers two levels of elite status with Gold at 15 nights or 20,000 Priority Club points and Platinum at 50 nights or 60,000 Priority Club points in a calendar year.

The unique aspect of Priority Club Rewards has been that virtually all points posted to your account were eligible for elite status. This meant a Priority Club credit card enrollment with 60,000 bonus points or the purchase of 60,000 points instantly conferred Platinum elite status with its 50% bonus points and occasional upgrade on hotel stays. The only points that did not count for elite status were points purchased when making a Points & Cash reservation.

Priority Club Elite Qualifying Points

• Base points earned from Qualifying Rates paid for hotel stays
• points collected from partner transactions [Update Jan 18: according to LoyaltyLobby, Priority Club points purchase appears to be a Points.com partner transaction and count as elite points. You can buy 50,000 Priority Club points per calendar year as low as $11.50 per 1,000 points.]
• PCR Bonus Points Packages
• Meeting Rewards

All other point earning transactions, including promotional points, points vouchers, points purchase, points transfers, and points deposits, will be considered Non-Elite Qualifying Points and will not be counted towards elite status.

Elite bonus points accrued on Base points from qualifying stays are Non-Elite Qualifying points and do not count towards elite qualification.

Priority Club Non-Elite Qualifying Points

• Promotional points
• Points Vouchers
• Points Purchases (Loyalty Traveler update 1/18/13: LoyaltyLobby reports a points purchase posted as elite points so this may apply to Points & Cash Reward stay points purchases, but it is reported that Priority Club points purchases, up to 50,000 points per year, are considered a Points.com partner transaction and elite qualifying points. ) Update March 21, 2013 – Apparently the crediting of purchased points counting as elite qualifying was an anomaly. Purchased points do not count as elite qualifying points.
• Points Transfers
• Points Deposits

PRIORITY CLUB^® REWARDS GOLD, PLATINUM (“ELITE”) MEMBERSHIPS

1. Points for Elite Status – For purposes of determining Elite Status, Priority Club points are classified as either Elite Qualifying Points or Non-Elite Qualifying Points. Base points earned from Qualifying Rates paid for hotel stays, points collected from partner transactions, PCR Bonus Points Packages and Meeting Rewards are considered Elite Qualifying Points and counted towards membership elite status. A Qualifying Rate includes the following: non-discounted rate, standard corporate rate, worldwide sales negotiated rate, national/regional/local government rate and specified leisure rates as confirmed by the IHG HOLIDEX^®Plus reservation system. All other point earning transactions, including promotional points, points vouchers, points purchase, points transfers, and points deposits, will be considered Non-Elite Qualifying Points and will not be counted towards elite status.
2. Priority Club Rewards Gold membership will be awarded to you if you have a minimum of 15 nights at Qualifying Rates or if you earn at least 20,000 Elite Qualifying points during a calendar year. Priority Club Rewards Platinum membership will be awarded to you if you have a minimum of 50 nights at Qualifying Rates or if you earn at least 60,000 Elite Qualifying points during a calendar year. Once you have earned elite membership status in any calendar year, you will maintain such status through the end of the following calendar year. Members may also purchase a Gold membership for a fee of $50 USD which can only be paid for by an accepted credit card. Gold memberships that are purchased are only valid for the duration of the calendar year in which they are purchased. Follow the instructions at www.priorityclub.com/purchasegoldor contact your nearest Priority Club Service Center for assistance. No cancellations or refunds are permitted.
3. Priority Club Rewards Gold members will receive a 10% elite bonus on all base points earned during the period in which they are Priority Club Rewards Gold members. Priority Club Rewards Platinum members will receive a 50% elite bonus on all base points earned during the period in which they are Priority Club Rewards Platinum members. Elite bonus points accrued on Base points from qualifying stays are Non-Elite Qualifying points and do not count towards elite qualification.Future bonus/benefits for Gold and Platinum members may vary. Gold and Platinum level bonus points are credited only to members who choose to collect Priority Club points. Bonus points for Gold and Platinum members apply only on the base points collected by a member and not on any additional points received due to a special offer or promotion.
4. Hotel Room Upgrades for Platinum Members:Platinum level members will be offered a complimentary upgrade, as determined by the hotel, which might include rooms on higher floors, corner rooms, newly renovated rooms, or rooms with preferred views. The upgrade will be offered at time of check-in, based on availability, and will only apply to the member’s personal guest room. The hotel is not required to upgrade members to suites or specialty rooms. Upgrade benefit will not apply to rooms booked as a Reward Night reservation.
5. Guaranteed Room Availability for Platinum Members: When contacting the Priority Club Service Center directly and guaranteeing the reservation with a valid credit card, each Platinum level member will be guaranteed one room for personal use, for reservations made at least 72 hours prior to the date of arrival, except during special events that result in extraordinary room demand, as determined solely by the hotel. The member will not be charged more than the prevailing rate for the accommodation requested, and the member is not entitled to a rate less than the prevailing rate. Once made, Platinum Guarantees may not be dishonored for any reason. If the member does not arrive and has not obtained a cancellation number prior to 6 p.m. (4 p.m. in Europe), the credit card may be billed for one night’s room and tax. Platinum Guarantees do not apply to Reward Nights. A minimum stay duration requirement may apply at select Holiday Inn Club Vacations locations.

Priority Club Rewards Program Terms & Conditions

Analysis

Looks like the banks win again with their credit card enrollment bonus offers and complimentary Platinum elite status for certain co-branded Priority Club credit cards. And other partner transactions will offer elite qualifying bonus points incentives.

It seems that buying shit is more important in the new loyalty world order than staying at hotels.

Even more disconcerting is the change that bonus points like the 50% bonus Platinum members earn as an elite member staying at IHG hotels and bonus points from hotel stay promotions are not elite qualifying points.

These changes eliminate earning Priority Club Platinum elite status quickly on far fewer than 50 nights from stackable promotions.

The 60,000 bonus points earned from Priority Club credit card enrollment will still confer Platinum elite, but buying 60,000 points during a Priority Club 50% bonus points on a points purchase will no longer count as qualifying points.

Basically Priority Club is steering hotel guests to purchase Bonus Points Packages at higher hotel rates for your stay. Priority Club commonly has higher rates that include bonus points of 1,000 to 10,000 points. These packages will be the quickest way to Platinum elite on far fewer than 50 nights for members who earn elite status by staying at IHG hotels.

PCR Bonus Points Package at Holiday Inn Express Las Vegas South offers 1,000 bonus points per night at rate $10 higher than $99 Best Flexible rate Jan 3, 2013.

All in all though, aside from the 50% bonus points and the occasional one category upgrade to high floor, preferred view and maybe even a larger room, the benefits of Priority Club Platinum are weak compared to other loyalty programs.

Hopefully the change to elite status qualification will also be accompanied by improved hotel stay benefits.

There are apparently improved benefits for elite members in the greater China region hotels for 2013. We will need to see if these changes will be rolled out globally?

Brian Cohen of The Gate, a FlyerTalk blog states changes will happen for elite benefits at hotels in Greater China including Macau and Hong Kong.

•Club Member
◦Welcome drink

•Gold Member
◦Welcome drink
◦15 percent off difference in room rates to upgrade to Club Floor or suites, or Club Lounge access when upgrading to Club Floor
◦Free in-room Internet access

•Platinum Member
◦Welcome drink
◦Free upgrade to next room category
◦30 percent off difference in room rates to upgrade to Club Floor or suites, or Club Lounge access when upgrading to Club Floor
◦In-room amenity
◦Free in-room Internet access

The Gate Dec 3, 2012

Follow this FlyerTalk thread for updates on how these Priority Club elite points changes are implemented.

Ric Garrido, writer and owner of Loyalty Traveler, shares news and views on hotels, hotel loyalty programs and vacation destinations for frequent guests. You can follow Loyalty Traveler on Twitter and Facebook and RSS feed.

Priority Club will add 50% bonus points on purchases made from November 15-22, 2012. This brings the cost of buying points down to $7.67 per 1,000 points when buying 26,000 to 50,000 points.

You may buy up to 50,000 points in a calendar year with Priority Club. This offer makes it possible to buy 75,000 points, if you have not purchased points in 2012.

• 1,000 to 10,000 points = $13.50 per 1,000 points = $9.00 per 1,000 points with 50% bonus.
• 11,000 to 25,000 points = $12.50 per 1,000 points = $8.33 per 1,000 points with 50% bonus.
• 26,000 to 50,000 points = $11.50 per 1,000 points = $7.67 per 1,000 points with 50% bonus.

Earning Platinum elite buying points

Priority Club Rewards Platinum elite status is earned with 60,000 points posted to your account in a calendar year. Buying points with this 50% bonus offer counts for elite credit. Buying points at the slightly lower $7.00 per 1,000 points rate through Points & Cash trick will not earn elite credit. See below for explanation of Points & Cash trick.

Priority Club Platinum members do not get too many benefits, but some room upgrades and 50% elite bonus points on hotel spend are real benefits of Platinum elite. You can also use the Platinum status to status match with some other hotel loyalty programs.

Priority Club Gold elite is earned with 20,000 points in a calendar year. Gold elite status has the benefit of 10% bonus points on hotel spend and little else.

The primary advantage for buying points at $7.67 to $9 per 1,000 points with this offer rather than $7 per 1,000 points with a “Points & Cash purchase and cancellation” is the points purchased through this current 50% bonus offer are points that count for Priority Club Rewards elite credit.

Priority Club Points & Cash Reward trick is cheaper for buying points, but does not earn elite credit.

While almost all points earned through Priority Club count for elite qualification credit, the points purchased through Points & Cash rewards do not count for elite status. Priority Club Points & Cash Reward nights allow a member to pay $70 for 10,000 points toward a reward night stay at time of booking. The points purchased are nonrefundable meaning if you cancel the reward stay you get to keep the 10,000 points you purchased.

Some members use Points & Cash rewards to buy Priority Club points at a discount through booking a Points & Cash stay, buying 10,000 points at a rate of $70 and then cancelling the reward stay and keeping the purchased points.

This limited time points purchase offer with 50% bonus points through November 22 allows a member to purchase the points needed to grow your 2012 balance to 60,000 points and reach Platinum elite in 2012 for 2013 Priority Club Rewards status.

Even if you currently have earned no Priority Club points in 2012 you can buy 60,000 points and Priority Club Platinum for $460 to maintain that status through 2013.

Priority Club regularly offers PointsBreaks hotel reward nights at 5,000 points per night and Last Minute Reward Nights each month for 50% off the standard reward rate.

Note: While the promotion states it lasts through November 22, there is no time zone listed. Priority Club tends to end some promotions using London time, so this offer may end before midnight on Nov 22 in the USA.

American Airlines has a double elite miles (EQM) promotion for all members Nov 1-Dec 31, 2012 that also includes double redeemable miles on flights from November 16 to November 26 for all AAdvantage members.

AAdvantage elite members earn double redeemable miles (RDM) and double elite miles for all American Airlines operated flights during November and December. The two double miles promotions for Thanksgiving double redeemable miles Nov 16-26 and elite member double redeemable miles for all flights in November and December will not be combined for AAdvantage elite members.

All AAdvantage members must register for Double Miles Thank You Promotion to earn these bonuses.

“Mileage Runner Rehab is for Quitters”

It has been five years since I planned mileage runs. I used to be an expert.

This past weekend was frequent flyer university for me as I refreshed my skills for finding good flight deals. This post guides readers through some of the basic steps and pitfalls for planning mileage runs based on my experiences.  Read More…

Welcome Rewards is the 4-year old hotel loyalty program for Hotels.com booking site, an Expedia affiliate company. The loyalty program is very simple. Book through Hotels.com and after you stay 10 nights at any partner hotels. you earn one free night credit at any partner hotel. The program is a 10% rebate program for every hotel stay that you can redeem after 10 hotel nights booked through hotels.com as a Welcome Rewards member.

The value of hotels.com is you earn hotel stay credit regardless of the hotel chain. Stay 2 nights at Hilton, 3 nights at Marriott, 2 nights at independent hotels, 2 nights at Starwood and 1 night at Best Western and you earn a free night credit. Your paid nights carry over from year to year so you earn a free night credit even if it takes 30 months to reach 10 nights.

The value of the Welcome Rewards free night is the average rate of the 10 paid nights.  If your room rate for 10 nights is $1,300, then your free night room credit is $130. You can even stay at a more expensive hotel than $130 using your free night credit and pay the difference for the higher rate room.

What are the disadvantages of Hotels.com Welcome Rewards? Read More…

Marriott Rewards changed their Taste of Gold, Taste of Platinum elite challenge requirements from nights to stays over the summer. This lowers the number of hotel nights needed to successfully complete the challenge for persons who book lots of one night stays.

Marriott Rewards Challenge Levels

• Silver = 3 stays (formerly 6 nights)
• Gold = 6 stays (formerly 12 nights)
• Platinum = 9 stays (formerly 18 nights)

You have three full months to complete the challenge. A person who enrolls for a challenge now will have until December 31, 2012 to complete the stays requirement to maintain status through February 2014. As long as you avoid registering for the challenge on the first day of the month, then you have more than three months to complete the stay requirements.

Another great thing about the Marriott Rewards elite challenges is you are upgraded to the new status when you enroll for an elite challenge. Read More…

A major development in fast-track to SPG elite status has been confirmed on FlyerTalk by SPG company representatives. SPG members can earn elite night and stay credit for up to 3 rooms per hotel stay when booked under the SPG member’s name and all rooms are paid by the SPG member and the SPG member is one of the guests.

Apparently this policy change has been in effect since March 1, 2012, but the discussion on FlyerTalk is developing in the past 24 hours in two threads: Earning Points for Multiple Rooms and New Benefit for Multiple Bookings. Read More…

Yesterday Gary Leff published his View from the Wing post, “Why I’m Walking Away from the Marriott Platinum Challenge” and The Weekly Flyer responded with the Points, Miles & Martinis post “Why I’m Sticking with My Marriott Gold Status.” I recommend reading the two posts and be sure to read the comments by other Marriott Rewards members to get different viewpoints on Marriott Rewards from some high level members.

Read More…

Visa Signature cardmembers can register for instant Hilton HHonors Gold membership through August 31, 2011. After promotion registration just complete three stays at any Hilton brand hotel worldwide by August 31 and pay with a Visa Signature card to retain HHonors Gold elite through March 31, 2013.

Current HHonors Gold and Diamond members receive 5,000 points for Visa Signature card registration.

FlyerTalk members report this offer works with many airline and hotel credit cards besides HHonors Visa such as Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways, Hyatt Gold Passport, Marriott Rewards, Priority Club, and Canada Infinite Visa. Here is the HHonors Gold elite Visa Signature thread on Milepoint.com.

HHonors Gold elite includes complimentary high-speed internet, 25% bonus points and possibly hotel lounge benefits. Benefits vary by Hilton brand. Here is the link for HHonors Gold benefits.

HHonors Visa Signature promotion FAQ.

HHonors Visa Signature terms and conditions.