By planning and making your bookings now, you can reap the benefits of receiving more redeemable points or a faster route to attaining or renewing your status.

If you book any flight that is marketed and operated by Qantas up until March 28 2023 and travel before February 28, 2024, you will have the option to choose between double points or double status credits.

Once you have enrolled in the offer, you will be required to select which reward you desire.

The decision you make will impact how you earn on flights.

Choosing double points will enable you to earn more redeemable points towards future flights and upgrades.

Choosing double status credit will allow you to renew or achieve a higher status level at a much quicker pace than a normal flyer.

You have the liberty to make as many bookings as you want, thus incentivizing you to purchase as many flights as possible before March 28, 2023.

Since you can travel until next year, almost every possible flight will be available to you.

If you can plan well in advance, you can ensure that you receive an increased earning depending on which offer you choose.

If you opt for the double status credits offer, be aware of what it takes to attain status with Qantas:

300 status credits are required for Silver

700 status credits are required for Gold

1,400 status credits are required for Platinum

3,600 status credits are required for Platinum One

To illustrate how much you might earn, let’s consider a flight from Los Angeles to Sydney:

In economy class, you can earn 6,750 Qantas points and 60 status credits.

In the premium economy, you can earn 9,000 Qantas points and 90 status credits.

In business class, you can earn 13,500 Qantas points and 180 status credits.

In the first class, you can earn 18,000 Qantas points and 270 status credits.

This offer is for a very limited time but represents a great offer to supercharge your Qantas points account.

Now if only you could actually use those points!

Guide: Qantas

Review: Qantas A330-300 Business Class – Perth to Singapore

The post Last Call For Double Qantas Points or Status Credits appeared first on Upper Class Traveller.

This applies to domestic and international flights marketed and operated by Virgin Australia. consists of home and worldwide flights marketed and operated via Virgin Australia.

To take advantage of this promotion, you will need to log into the Velocity App or on the Virgin Australia website.

You can earn double Velocity reputation credit when reserving between 30 January 2023 and 10 February 2023.

This offer covers flights taken between now and the end of March.

You would need to earn 250, 500 or 1,000 Velocity credits inside any 12 months to acquire Silver, Gold or Platinum status with Velocity Frequent Flyer.

The post Double Status Credit Offer from Virgin Australia appeared first on Upper Class Traveller.

One such change is the ability to earn milestone awards for staying a certain number of nights.

Additionally, the program is offering a generous promotion to help members reach either Gold Elite or Platinum Elite status faster.

To participate in the promotion, members must register by April 30, 2023.

Depending on the number of qualifying nights they stay, they can earn either Gold or Platinum Elite status.

For example, staying 2 qualifying nights before December 31, 2023 will earn them Gold Elite status, while staying 5 qualifying nights within 90 days of registration will earn them Platinum Elite status.

Note that qualifying stays must be a minimum of 1 night booked directly and with a rate over $30 per night, and cannot be Rewards nights or Points & Cash rates.

For those who are at risk of losing their existing status or want to take advantage of elite benefits, this promotion is a great opportunity.

Gold Elite status typically requires 20 qualifying nights or 40,000 elite-qualifying points, while Platinum Elite status requires 40 qualifying nights or 60,000 elite-qualifying points.

However, this promotion offers Gold Elite status after just 2 nights and Platinum Elite status after just 5 nights.

Platinum Elite members enjoy several benefits, including room upgrades (when available), guaranteed room availability (when booking 72 hours in advance), reward night discounts, welcome amenities at check-in, early check-in (when available), and a 60% bonus on points earned.

IHG One Rewards has vastly improved and is now more competitive with other loyalty programs, such as Hilton Honors, World of Hyatt, and Marriott Bonvoy.

This latest promotion can be a great option for those with upcoming travel plans who can stay 2 to 5 nights for Gold or Platinum Elite status.

Just be sure to register first!

The post IHG Offers New Quick Pathway to Elite Status appeared first on Upper Class Traveller.

You can earn double elite night credits plus 1000 bonus points on each eligible paid night starting from 7 February and ending 23 April.

You must register before 9 April.

It is easy to by looking for “My Promotions” on your Bonvoy app or by logging onto your web. Account.

Marriott has a large luxury hotel footprint across a diverse range of brands.

Save your Bonvoy points for incredible luxury stays at St Regis, Ritz-Carlton, EDITION, Luxury Collection, W Hotels and JW Marriott properties.

The post New Marriott Promotion: Double Elite Nights + 1000 Bonus Points Per Night appeared first on Upper Class Traveller.

From February 1, American Express will axe complimentary guest privileges for most Platinum cardholders and replace it with a charge of US$50 per guest (the current arrangement permits two guests free per visit).

There’ll be an exception made for high-spending customers who notch up US$75,000 per year on their Amex Platinum or Amex Business Platinum Card, and those holding a Corporate Platinum or Centurion card.

(These changes apply to US card holders; Executive Traveller has approached American Express seeking clarification on their impact on Australian card holders.)

But American Express isn’t alone in battling lounge crowds. 
Delta bans lounge access for staff and economy flyers

Delta Air Lines last year restricted Sky Club members from entering its lounges until three hours prior to their departure time.

As the beginning of this month it halted the sale of Sky Club memberships to ‘non-elite’ travellers while raising the price for qualifying travellers from US$545 to US$695.

From February 2, many frequent flyers will be barred from Sky Club lounges if they’re booked into economy on international flights, along with Sky Club members on ‘basic economy’ tickets.

But even that’s not enough: US blog View From The Wing reports an internal company communication in which Delta acknowledges the “lines out the door” of their clubs and high-ranking “360 and Diamond Medallion Members waiting for seats once inside.”

As a result, Delta is also banning its own employees from the lounges when they’re flying on company business or a ‘non-revenue’ ticket.

Half a world away, Qatar Airways is easing the squeeze by tapping into the scope of its sprawling Doha hub to open four new lounges in a new wing of the terminal.

This will include what is reportedly the world’s largest business class lounge – the Al Mourjan Lounge North, occupying a staggering 9,000m² (97,000ft², or around 2.2 acres) – plus six lounges dedicated to Silver, Gold and Platinum-grade frequent flyers travelling in economy.

All this might sound like the very definition of a ‘first-world problem’, but airport lounges are becoming increasingly packed as post-pandemic travel surges in wave after unprecedented wave.
Definitely not ‘a good problem to have’

The All Nippon Airways lounge at Tokyo’s Narita International Airport was once an uncrowded refuge of calm for business travelers, favored for such perks as free made-to-order noodles, a private shower, and comfy chairs with views of the tarmac and planes taxiing.

But on a recent Tuesday afternoon while connecting flights at the busy airport, Paige Emerich, a United Airlines frequent flyer, had to circle through the lounge several times before she could even find a seat.

“It was packed, packed, packed,” she says. “I’m still trying to be socially distanced, but there’s no social distancing in there right now.”
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Emerich’s experience isn’t unique. Business class lounges around the world can be standing room-only as corporate road warriors get back on planes, affluent flyers treat themselves to no-expense-spared holidays, and regular travelers pay for lounge memberships or premium credit cards that offer access to escape the hustle and bustle of airport departure halls.

The packed lounges come at a critical time for airlines. After almost two years of virtually no international travel, they’re looking to revive earnings and trim losses with sky-high airfares.

Disappointing their most valuable and revenue-generating premium passengers with poor service is something they can ill afford.

There are numerous reasons business class lounges – which almost always offer goodies including free Champagne, wine, spirits, quality nibbles and Internet access – are more crowded than usual.

Once the preserve of first and business class passengers or loyal frequent flyer program members with elite status, many lounges are also available to other travelers through paid access.

Meanwhile, premium credit cards such as American Express also offer lounge access as a benefit to some customers. 
Premium pressure points

The recent jump in the number of delayed and canceled flights has also caused more travelers to spend longer times in these once-exclusive enclaves. Lingering Covid-19 curbs have left some traditionally busy aviation hubs – Hong Kong, for instance – largely off limits, funneling more travelers through alternatives such as Singapore or Tokyo.

And some lounges simply haven’t reopened since the pandemic, boosting crowding at those that are.
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The explosion in demand has made it almost impossible for airport lounges to increase their overall footprint in response, says David Flynn, editor in chief of Executive Traveller, a website focused on premium travel.

Waves of people who’ve held off on traveling are now ready to fly, and we’re going to see “more making a beeline for the airport lounge,” Flynn says.

“Frequent flyers have especially been coming back in droves, and their status in airline loyalty programs gives them access to business class lounges even when they’re booked in economy or premium economy class. This adds to the overall capacity pressure on lounges.”

Business and first class – which include lounge access in the ticket – have also exploded in popularity.

“Travellers have moved from stockpiling points to spending them. Flynn recounts.

“They’re finally cashing in all those frequent flyer points and miles they’ve earned on the ground during the pandemic – through everyday spending and online shopping – but haven’t had the chance to use.”

“Now they’re splurging on long-awaited trips, and often doing so in business class, where lounge access is part of the package.”
Loyalty at risk

Last month, Stephen Dorrough was traveling from Salt Lake City to Tokyo on business.
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While connecting at Los Angeles International Airport, he visited both United Airlines’ Polaris lounge, available to first and business class travelers on long-haul trips, and the Club lounge.

The latter was less busy than the more exclusive Polaris one, he says.

“The lounge experience of seven or eight years ago has changed,” says Dorrough. “It’s not so relaxing because there are lots of people around.”

It’s unlikely the overcrowding will end soon. Travel operators from TUI, the world’s biggest package tour operator, to British online travel agent Thomas Cook Group report demand that’s above pre-pandemic levels.

Europe’s travel industry continues to see bumper sales, despite average travel prices being above pre-pandemic levels.

At a time when many full-service carriers are counting on premium and business travelers to buoy profits, perks that disappoint can risk alienating these prime customers.

“If business lounges are constantly overcrowded and you don’t get the service you expect as a frequent traveler, you’ll be less loyal, which is the object of the lounge – to spur loyalty,” says George Ferguson, a senior analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.

Additional reporting by Executive Traveller

The post American Express to charge for Centurion Lounge guests appeared first on Upper Class Traveller.

As long as you hold equivalent top-tier membership in the loyalty program of a competing hotel group, Hilton can set you up with an instant 90-day trial period of Hilton Honors Gold so you can sample the benefits of that status on your next Hilton stays.

And by clocking up just seven nights at properties in the Hilton group within those 90 days, that Hilton Honors Gold card is yours for almost two years. Add another five nights to your short-term tally and your Hilton Honors status will be elevated to Diamond, again for almost two years.

Hilton Honors Gold and Diamond status serves up a range of practical benefits across the Hilton portfolio, which along with its namesake includes Waldorf Astoria, DoubleTree, Conrad, LXR, Curio Collection, Embassy Suites and more.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Hilton status match program.

Hilton Honors status match: who is eligible?

First up, Hilton says it will offer a status match only to people who haven’t been granted a Hilton Honors status match before.

If you tick that box, progress to step two: you’ll need to hold equivalent status with a competing hotel group. Some of the better-known hotel loyalty programs and tiers you can use for the Hilton Honors status match include:

• Accor ALL: Gold, Platinum
• Best Western Rewards: Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Diamond Select
• Choice Privileges: Gold, Platinum, Diamond
•  IHG One Rewards: Gold, Platinum, Diamond
• Marriott Bonvoy: Gold, Platinum, Titanium and Ambassador
• Radisson Rewards: Gold, Platinum
• World of Hyatt: Explorist, Globalist and Lifetime Globalist

Of course, you’ll also need to belong to the Hilton Honors program (click here to join for free) – but you don’t need to be starting from scratch as a new member. Even if you hold Hilton Honors Silver status, a higher level of membership in a competing hotel loyalty program will get the Hilton Honors status match underway.

Hilton Honors status match: how it works

Once approved, you’ll enjoy an immediate boost to Hilton Honors Gold on a 90-day ‘trial’. Some of the benefits you’ll instantly enjoy include:

• Room upgrades (subject to availability)
• Free breakfast (depending on which Hilton hotel you’re staying at)
• An 80% bonus points haul on in-house purchases

That 90-day period then encompasses a very modest ‘status challenge’ whereby you’ll need to stay seven nights at any Hilton property to turn your trial into nearly two more years of Gold status, with your newly-bestowed credentials valid until 31 March 2024.

Better still, if you stay a further five nights, your newly-won Gold membership will firm further and turn into Diamond status, unlocking perks including:

• Access to hotel executive lounges (where available)
• Double points earn
• Faster WiFi
• Rights to gift status to a friend or family member.

Normally you’d need to collect 28 nights to reach Hilton Honors Gold or 42 nights for Diamond, so this promotion represents a serious ‘discount’ to earning status.

Of course, once you’ve locked away Gold or Diamond tier until the end of March 2024, you will need to clock up the full number of nights at Hilton properties – 20 nights for Hilton Honors Gold, or 42 nights for Hilton Honors Diamond – to stay minted into 2025 and beyond.

Timing your Hilton Honors status match application

You’ll need to be ready to go once approved, as the 90-day clock starts as soon as your application is rubber-stamped.

This means the best time to apply for the status match is around 2-3 weeks before your next trip, as it can take up to 14 business days for applications to be approved.

If you haven’t received your status trial and you’ve already checked in to a Hilton property, unfortunately that stay won’t count.

Hilton Honors status match: how can I apply?

If you’re already a member of Hilton Honors, click to statusmatch.hiltonhonors.com and be ready to upload proof of your ‘status and stay’ with an eligible competitor.

According to Hilton, acceptable forms of status validation include a screenshot of your current active account status, while acceptable forms of stay validation include a screenshot of your recent reservations or hotel receipt, redacting any personal information other than your name and membership number.

The post How to get a Hilton Honors status match appeared first on Upper Class Traveller.