mapleg

Hotels-complimentary free upgrades. That I like.
Getting a "free" 5 ounce beer (Accor)..not much value there.

txflyer77

Airlines:

* Priority baggage handling. Only works maybe 20% of the time IME
* Discounted lounge memberships
* Anything having to do with standard/anytime awards
* Duty-free discounts

I would say that welcome gifts are generally the most pointless hotel perk domestically.

MSPeconomist

I never book rental cars through airline or hotel programs as the rates are so much worse that what I can get through either my AAA discount code or AmEx PTS. It's certainly not worth the cost differential to earn a few hundred redeemable miles.

When I travel, I always have three or four ways to enter a lounge (officially--I don't mean through the back door or by breaking a window) but I cannot use them to cover guests.

To me, spouse or companion benefits not only are worthless in that I almost always travel alone but also are detrimental to me and seem fundamentally unfair in that I don't want to lose an upgrade to some other elite's spouse who never travels.

It's even worse when hotel programs allow credit for multiple rooms so that earning elite status can be very easy for those (perhaps mean bosses who take advantage of the rules at the expense of their subordinates who may actually travel more) who can credit several rooms to their account. To me, this creates additional elites who haven't earned their status, and such people then compete for benefits such as upgrades and lead to overcrowded lounges.

drvannostren

I sort of forgot about this one. I've got a couple thoughts on it. As far as the 3 25kg bags or whatever I'm allowed as a Star Gold, I used it ONCE, in 5 years. At Christmas time I was taking a bunch of stuff from Canada to my newly purchased apartment in South America, so taking clothes/gifts/household supplies made me check 2 bags and a box that I had a piece of artwork in.

The upside to this though is the FIRST bag. I don't often check a bag on a domestic flight, but now AC charges for that bag on the low class fares, much like United (they also charge them on awards too) so having my baggage allowance there is kinda nice to have the ability to check 1 bag if I need/want to.

On widebody flights, the priority baggage should really work. Doesn't always mean you get your bag right away, but it should at least be first-ish. The last couple cans loaded on those aircrafts are J/F/Priority bag cans. On a narrowbody however though, even if the bags are loaded separately (which they often aren't) the offload is usually all done at once so it's much harder to actually tell if the priorities got offloaded first of not.

pinniped

I think most of the big programs cap it at 1 EQN per night. You might get points for 3 regularly-booked rooms, or points for lots of rooms booked as an event planner, but still only 1 EQN. Of course BIG event planners can be flat-out comped status, but that's not what's leading to overcrowded lounges.

I don't know if it's possible to earn EQNs at two hotels in the same program on the same night. There have been cases where I've had a 1-night Marriott stay while I was also checked in to a 30-day Residence Inn stay, but I forget what actually posted for those stays. (Pretty sure points for both did.)

In places where there are overcrowded lounges, I suspect it's *usually* people who actually stay in the hotels. (I'm thinking a Flyertalk Do at a hotel would be the exception!!) As the chains have gotten more massive, it's much easier to consolidate stays in one program. People who get credit card comps, airline comps, status matches, or other hacks are lesser in total numbers, and they can only overcrowd a lounge in any kind of statistically-meaningful way if they start actually staying at the hotels, thus becoming no different than those who were elite all along.

84fiero

This is pretty much what I was going to write as well!

txflyer77

Someone needs to tell the crews at DEN about this policy. My theory is that once UA outsourced ground handling at DEN to Menzies that went right out the door.

aspex

Hotel: late checkout. Has been helpful to me when travelling out of Brazil on late night flights being able to shower up after work and then get on the plane.

mapleg

Yes, that's a good benefit.

Just recalled the worst hotel benefit...a personalized welcome letter thanking you for your visit. That I could do without.

365RoadWarrior

My Yay!s (+) and Nay!s (-)

Airline Program (United 1K):
+ Priority on the standby list
+ Better/more help when I need it (than I think the average passenger gets)
+ United Club Access on International Travel
+ Priority boarding...along with all the credit card holders (boo)
- Priority baggage and free baggage: I never ever check a bag.
- Drink vouchers
- GPUs and RPUs: Company policy prohibits me from sitting anywhere other than economy during business travel. Personal travel, I never fly StarAlliance (or any other airline alliance), so I can't use them then either. Year after year, unused.
+/- Mileage multiplier: My miles go to my company, so good for them.

Hotel Programs (general):
+ Late checkout: can be really useful.
- Suite upgrades: I don't happen to like suites. (Long story there.)
- Breakfast: I'm strict vegetarian, so breakfast is seldom anything but melon and dry cereal.

cpdc1030

Hotel Club lounges. Never use them, ever.

Amelorn

When in the US:

Hilton's "upgrade" to exec floor access. Oh my God, no. Overcrowded and gimp breakfast selection. Please, just give me a voucher for a peaceful sit-down breakfast in the main restaurant.

BuildingMyBento

They aren't so much negatives as they are things you wish you could replace, right?

pinniped

Hotels have created a monster that they're not sure what to do with.

When the idea was conceived: you booked a lounge level room, and you got access to a nice, relaxing, well-stocked lounge with food and an adequate bar. Because people actually paid for the rooms ($20-40/nt above a standard room or whatever), the lounges paid for themselves.

Then, early years of loyalty programs: a few people got comped in, but back then a Platinum/Diamond member meant they really spent a LOT of time in your hotels, there weren't many of them and it was a reasonable/manageable influx. In those early years, many people were still just earning frequent-flier miles at hotels and not really paying attention to the hotel programs. (I remember being told I was the only Marriott Gold in a hotel one night! )

Today: everybody and their cousin has hotel status. The lounges are just a cost to the hotel, since people who stay in hotels a lot know they don't need to actually pay for lounge access. So hotels minimize that cost - barebones food, no booze (in the U.S.), minimal staff. These days I don't even miss it when I stay at a hotel with no lounge: usually the restaurant breakfast is better anyway.

Hotels that have stayed out of this fray, where people still pay for the lounges, not surprisingly still have good lounges. Ritz is one big example, but there are some JW's and Westins as well.

Kiwi Flyer

There are some elite benefits that are of no use to me, such as

airport valet parking with home airline (valet parking facility was removed from my home airport)

wine club (only available in the home country of the airline)