Originally Posted by sdsearch
12k points instead of 10k points? I wish!!!
Well, that's where some of my favorite Starwoods went. Cat 4 to Cat 5. Some others went from Cat 3 to Cat 4 - 7k to 10k. If they make it to Cat 6, then you really pay the piper. 20k per night.
Other than the fact that some fraction those Scandics will stay at 10k, all I can see is 50% to 200% "creep"!
True, although I've never stayed at a Scandic and probably never will. My impression was that Scandics have, to this point, been very undervalued as compared to the rest of the brands, and now they are simply being categorized similarly to the rest of the program. It's the end of a nice loophole but it's not the death of HH program.
And you need to be high enough elite in HHonors to be able to get good award reservations.
Gold is high enough, and they hand that level out like candy. Use the CC for a couple of months, or sometimes just have the right promo code. Diamond is the only elite level in the HH program that you actually have to earn in the hotels.
Meanwhile, my primary airline is AA, and my use of miles there is for upgrades
Yeah, that used to be my gameplan. AA has always been my primary airline. But my favorite was the transatlantic upgrade, and that was the one they took off the board (without co-pays).
Also, keep in mind that at most all airlines outright award seats on ALL flights are available for a VOLUNTARY 100% "creep": In other words, what most people think of as "normal" award (25k domestic coach, etc) are simply just "sale" or "saver" awards, and the official "standard" awards (with few capacity controls) are almost always available at double that.
True - the 50k awards can represent good value if you need a very high-priced ticket. On airlines that allow same-day / next-day redemption, I've done a couple over the years.