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Feb
Big news in the frequent flyer world last week was Delta’s new partnership with Starwood Preferred Guest.
Delta and Starwood top elites will receive what amounts to entry-level elite benefits on the other travel provider.
And all elites in each program will be able to earn points in their ‘home’ program in addition to the usual points for their travel with the other partner.
Delta elites will earn one Delta mile per dollar spent with Starwood, and Starwood elites will earn 1 Starpoint for every dollar spent on Delta tickets (some tickets will earn a flat 500 points per segment).
But this last is not a good benefit, and not one most people should take advantage of. Because Delta elites can and should do better.
In fact everyone, Delta elite or not, already should be doing better.
Everyone who has a Chase Ultimate Rewards-earning credit card, such as Chase Sapphire PreferredSM or Ink Bold or Ink Plus, can earn two points per dollar spent on airline tickets when you start at the Ultimate Rewards Mall shopping portal and buy through Travelocity.
Two Chase points can be transferred into 2 miles with United, British Airways, or Korean AIrlines. Two Chase points can be transferred into 2 Hyatt points. (Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, Priority Club, Southwest, and Amtrak are transfer partners as well.)
But the new Starwood benefit won’t apply to tickets purchased through an online travel agency.
That means you have to give up your 2 United miles or 2 Hyatt points in order to book, say, at Delta.com and earn 1 Starpoint.
And while Starwood points are a valuable currency I consider two United miles (and 2 Hyatt points for that matter) to be worth more. You have to give up those points to earn the 1 Starpoint, and it’s just not worth it. So while more options are better, this isn’t actually an improvement over the status quo — provided you have or can get a Chase Ultimate Rewards point earning credit card, and are willing to book through an online travel agency.
You can earn these Ultimate Rewards points on any most airline’s ticket, not just Delta tickets.
In some ways it’s interesting that Starwood has this new exclusive relationship with Delta, while you can thus earn 2 Hyatt points per dollar or 2 Marriott points per dollar with any airline. And I bet that those programs didn’t even realize they had such broad-based partnerships!
And it isn’t just Travelocity that earns points through the Ultimate Rewards Mall. So does Expedia, at just one point per dollar. But Expedia bookings can double dip with Expedia Rewards as well.
The Starwood-Delta partnership provides reciprocal elite benefits too (for each program’s top elites, Delta Platinums and Diamonds and Starwood Platinums) but they’re bottom-tier benefits. So I doubt they’ll move the needle a ton in terms of first choice of travel provider.
While the points-earning seemed potentially the most lucrative, I don’t see earning 1 Delta mile per dollar at Starwood as a huge driver of Delta elite business for SPG. The ability to earn 1 Starpoint per dollar on Delta tickets seems like a big deal (consider picking up say 5000 Starpoints on a business class ticket) it really isn’t because you give up more valuable points to get those Starpoints.
So the more I think about the partnership, the less valuable it seems. It doesn’t take anything away from travelers, really, and it’s more benefits — so no complaints — but as I said last week it isn’t a game-changer.
(Note that the links to the Chase cards — which I listed last week as having the very best signup bonuses of any points-earning credit cards currently — do offer referral credit to me if you’re approved for the cards, which I greatly appreciate.)
Mike said,
Your ideas doesn’t apply to all. You are only looking at the points value. What if someone aas looking to get free check bags, room upgrade, lounge access(free breakfast, etc)? In some cases, this promo works out better. As a blogger youshould think of all different situations and angles.
DaveS said,
Maybe I’m misreading something here. The Chase Sapphire Preferred card already offers 2x on all travel. You don’t need to go through the Ultimate Rewards mall or buy through Travelocity to get it. Or do you get benefits on top of the usual 2x by doing that, making it effectively 4x?
Gary said,
@Mike I thought I was pretty clearly distinguishing between the POINTS EARNING component of the partnership (available to all elites) and the reciprocal bottom-tier elite benefits (available to Starwood Platinums and Delta Platinums/Diamonds). This post is about points-earning.
(On the reciprocal benefits I suggested that I didn’t think it was going to move the needle on travel provider selection much but that’s a different issue.)
Gary said,
@DaveS – yes you get these points ON TOP OF the 2 points per dollar earned via Chase Sapphire Prefered.
If you go through the Ultimate Rewards Mall to Travelocity and pay with your Chase Sapphire Preferred you earn 4 Chase Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent on travel (not counting the additional 7% annual bonus you will get as well)
But since you also earn the 2 Chase points from paying with your Sapphire Preferred card for Delta tickets on the Delta website (and potentially earning Starpoints through this new partnership), I didn’t talk about those 2 Chase points from paying with the Sapphire Preferred card — it isn’t a differentiator, it applies to both cases.
Mike from Berlin said,
This IS a good deal for all SPG Elites in Germany, who cannot earn UR points, anyways!
DTO said,
Travelocity bonus points only apply to base fare (not tax and fuel surcharge). This means for a $1000 international flight, the base fare is usually around $400 and you’ll only get 800 bonus points.
Tom // Sit in first said,
This is good advice for a limited set of travelers. For anyone who books via corporate agency (which certainly is a large number of elites), the Starwood affiliation is only good news.
chevalier said,
What, if any, benefits would I lose by not using my Citi AA card to buy an AA flight. thanks!
Gary said,
@DTO fuel surcharges are generally only that high for Europe, often about half that to Asia and no fuel surcharges to South America. Plus domestic flights of course don’t have fuel surcharges. And those can often be ‘dumped’ anyway
@Tom // Sit in first – I agree that the Starwood affiliation is only good news, just explaining that for many folks they won’t actually want to use the benefits. (Although strictly speaking it isn’t ENTIRELY good news, if they’re spending a great deal on this marketing investment and it isn’t the most effective one they could be making, it perhaps trades off with other benefits they might have delivered the would have been better.. but this is certainly not a negative relative to the status quo program!)
Gary said,
@chevalier – first you can still use your AA card when booking through the ultimate rewards portal (if the points don’t post automatically you may have a more difficult time getting them manually posted). But the AA card provides double miles on AA flights, so you would be giving up 2 AA miles and getting 2 Chase points instead (transferrable to United, Hyatt, etc)
Xf said,
With Tom on this one. Most biz travelers can only book thru agencies like AMEX. Would these bookings earn the extra starpoint?
Gary said,
@Xf Starwood Golds and Platinums booking Delta flights through corporate travel tools will generally be able to earn Starpoints based on the purchase price of the ticket
Del said,
Hey Gary
I disagree with this post. If you use the PRG card directly on the DL site you will get 3x MR and the additional star point. Now i know UR points are probably a little more valuable than MR points however the fact that you will earn them on the taxes as well as the fare and the fact you will get that valuable star point too I think makes that the better option.
Gary said,
@Del – and if you use the PRG card on Travelocity through the Ultimate Rewards portal you will get 3 MR points per dollar AND 2 Chase points per dollar. Of course if you pay with Chase Sapphire Preferred you earn 2 Chase points for the full ticket price (including tax) and 2 Chase from Travelocity for most of the ticket cost. Plus the 7% annual bonus.
jim said,
interesting…So if I book an AA flight through travelocity using UR mall but with my Citi AA card, then I would earn 2AA miles+2 Chase points as well? That means Citi AA cards give two AA miles even if the ticket is booked through 3rd party?
Gary said,
@jim Citi AA cards give 2 miles per dollar on AA flights regardless of where you book the tickets
Jackknife said,
This is a bit off topic, but I remember there was a big hubub surrounding a new Delta policy that certain tickets purchased through 3rd parties would not earn fully MQM or RDMs… was it ever determined if tickets purchased through Travelocity or even Chase’s Ultimate Rewards Portal or AMEX’s portal earned full mileage?
gene said,
Completely disagree. I buy specific fares classes at Delta.com, my Skybonus number is automatically added to my reservation, I don’t worry about the remote possibility of lowered MQM earning, and I avoid having to deal with the horrible customer service of the third party booking sites.
Gary said,
Some fares offered by online travel agencies may be unpublished/private/consolidator fares. You’re probably saving money relative to what Delta would offer you, but those fares don’t earn 100% MQMs anymore. Book the ticket, determine fare class, and if it’s not a published fare (more fares are published) then cancel within 24 hours for free refund if the MQMs are important.
Gary said,
@gene you like booking direct with delta, and in the past i’ve outlined the many reasons why third party sites can be better. you don’t have to buy my reasoning! but i don’t buy that automated process for skybonus, and remote possibility that you’re getting a better fare on a 3rd party site because it’s a consolidator fare (gee, you’re worried that you’re saving $ :p) trump those.
I generally book my tickets on 3rd party sites unless I have a discount code to apply.
I thought you were finally going to be done with Delta??
The 3x MR on airfare with PRG said,
is better. Especially since it can be stacked with the UR mall. This is just a way to push more Chase affiliate links.
Ryan said,
And the main reason Gary wrote the post, is to have a reason to pimp the Chase affiliate links! Gee, go figure!
Jeff said,
Hey Gary,
I understand the argument, but disagree somewhat. The reason why I disagree is that if I use my Delta Reserve card to book the flight, I am earning 2x points for using that card + the Starwood points + miles flown. So to me this ends up being 3 points per dollar spent, which is essentially a wash.
Since Starwood points are fairly valuable (and Skypesos are not), I would say that the recommendation should be to choose whichever option helps you meet your short-term to mid-term travel goals. If you need to top off your UR account, then go through the mall… if you need Skypesos and SPG points, then go that route.
It seems that this is closer to an apples to apples situation, because both of these options require a branded card to get the incremental benefit (whether a Delta or a Chase UR card).
Maybe my math is off, but that is how I am viewing this promotion.
Gary said,
@Jeff you would still get your 2 Delta points per dollar using Delta Reserve to buy Delta tickets through a shopping portal, as well as miles flown. Which means you are still comparing the value of 1 Starpoint per dollar with 2 Chase points per dollar.
And of course there’s only even THAT tradeoff with Delta tickets, every other airline it’s even MORE clearcut.
Tech Trainer said,
On a related note, I recently booked an advance-purchase Marriott room via hotels.com using my Chase Sapphire Pref. card. I did this for the 4 UR/dollar bonus. But it turns out that this purchase prevents me from earning Marriott stay credit and Marriott pts. Seems odd to me, since I checked the price on Marriott.com before the purchase, and it was identical. Were you aware of this twist? It has reduced my interest in booking via the UR mall.
Gary said,
@The 3x MR on airfare with PRG – no it’s not just a reason to push affiliate links because I course I *have* affiliate links for the American Express Premier Rewards Gold card but chose not to include them as it seemed a little bit off topic for the analysis. (And separately, if this was about posting specific links then I wouldn’t do it at 7am on a Sunday morning when traffic is at its slowest :p)
But I agree that going through the Ultimate Rewards Mall as I suggest in my post and then paying with Amex PRG is better than paying with Chase Sapphire Preferred. I didn’t write about which card to pay with. That comparison is 3 Amex points > 2.14 Chase Ultimate Rewards points. That’s how *I* value them. Although many folks who abhor fuel surcharges would value them the opposite way.
Del said,
hey Gary, pardon my ignorance, but when buying tickets thought travelocity, the purchase is coded as airfare for PRG? Thought it might just be generic travel or something of the sort?
Nick said,
Have to agree, 2 Chase points are about 50-75% more valuable than 1 Starwood point. Starwood still leads the pack but I struggle to give it anything more than 2c per point, especially with recent devaluations in mind.
Bobby @ Award Booking Service said,
You also left out that Starwood points are also harder to get. Aside from Starwood Amex or hotel stays there is no easy way–that I know of. I can get UR using lots of methods.
I appreciate this post though. I learned something today!
In the end as an ATL captive I will use Starwood as I will need MQD and need more SPG points.
gene said,
@Gary — Ha! Yeah, yeah, I know. I’ve decided (for this week) that I value nonstops to ATL over earning better miles. I’ve got more miles than I can use and continuaaly get more without flying, so mileage earning isnt my primary driver when choosing my airline. I’ve even gotten to where I don’t care about SWUs since I would much rather fly international F over J.
Avi said,
My thought:
-Great post on pushing the credit cards
-Nevertheless a good idea to earn more UR
-Agree with Bobby on SPG points are harder to get.
You never mentioned:
-SPG transfers to many airlines too
-Bonus of 5k for every 20k
-One of the very few programs which can be used to fly Emirates
UAPhil said,
Gary, isn’t it safer to buy air tickets through the airline site rather than through Travelocity? (Goal: Avoid “finger pointing” between the airline and Travelocity if anything goes wrong.)
dj said,
very informative post for me. Seeing Gary & readers going back & forth with their arguments – I learned st new from this. But I think its ok for Gary to push any deals as long as he has the #s to back it up, and so far I think he has it in almost every case.
You have to learn from the info given and decide for yourself. Don’t feel entitled & just guess & tag them with stuff like ‘pushing’,'pimping’, because at the end of day you really can get enough of their stuff too.
Chris S. said,
Would I still earn Delta MQMs if I book through Travelocity through the UR mall?
Gary said,
@Chris S as long as you aren’t buying a consolidator fare, yes
Gary said,
@UAPhil I’ve never had a problem, and another way to look at it is two different venues to solve problems
Aaron said,
Gary,
What about PreCheck when booking tickets through Travelocity? I just got Global Entry and want to be able to use the precheck, but I think I read that this can only be used if you book flights directly through the ariline’s website. Anyone had any luck getting precheck when booking through travelocity, expedia, etc?
Jen said,
I have to agree with UAPhil. A bit of money saved using a 3rd party site is just not worth it when the travel plans start coming unwound and every party says, “It’s not my problem — you’ll have to contact XXX.”
Miles said,
This is pretty interesting. I’ll admit I haven’t used travelocity before.
1) Has anyone confirmed that it’s coded as travel for PRG 3x/AA citi 2x/.etc? Does it show up as a charge from the airline on the statement?
2) Are flights departing outside the US charged in USD?
3) Do any other portals partner with travelocity?
Alan said,
So when you say “everyone” above, you actually mean “US Residents”, with yet another reference to cards those of us outside the USA can’t get. Getting a little bored of this credit card focus, really takes away the international relevance of the posts here, which is ironic given this is atravel blog!
Gary said,
@Alan – it’s totally fair, I write a blog from the perspective of a US traveler
Alan said,
@Gary – thanks, I appreciate you recognise the issue and I understand the perspective you write from – it’s just you do have an international audience and when sweeping statements are made that “everyone can do better”, but upon closer examination are US-card only it’s a bit frustrating! Any chance of a separate RSS feed for the non-credit card posts?
Gary said,
@Alan way beyond my technical capabilities,, sorry!
Alan said,
@Gary, ah well, was worth a shot!!
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