Pick an upgrade within in-app check-in, a cheap flight challenge, angry hotel owners and more (Around the Web)

We periodically publish links to interesting tidbits around the web. This week, we have Hilton making it possible for elites to pick a complimentary upgrade during digital check-in, the demise of Lufthansa first class awards, a reddit challenge that sounds like it was made for Frequent Miler, and more.

I’ve bought the cheapest flight every two days for two weeks straight

This sounds to me like a frequent miler challenge in the making! A redditor challenged themselves to spend two weeks booking the cheapest flight they could every two days from whichever airport they’re at. In Europe, this could be an incredibly inexpensive challenge given the plethora of low-cost carriers, though I could see turning this into something fun based on award tickets as well. Unfortunately, this would be a cost-prohibitive exercise in the United States, but it could be really interesting in Europe or Asia.

Allegiant bought Sun Country for its credit card

In recent public comments, Allegiant suggested that its reason for buying Sun Country was primarily to sell more credit cards. Live and Let’s Fly writes, “The airline becomes the marketing department for the bank, and the planes become the loyalty program’s proof that the points are worth something.” It’s pretty wild that the loyalty currency has become the crutch on which much of the industry leans. I’m not sure there’s enough support for that to work in the low-cost carrier model. Legacy airlines have enough flights and frequency and other ways to earn and redeem miles that their currencies are a bit more robust. Always rewards points feel more like pennies, and it’s hard to continue to get customers excited about pennies. I wish them luck here, but I think it’s a tenuous position in which to be.

Alaska wants BOA points to become transferable

Doctor of Credit covers recent statements made by Alaska Airlines executives indicating that they are very interested in Bank of America’s proprietary cards offering the opportunity to transfer points to Alaska Mileage Plan. This news was really surprising to me because I heard Alaska Mileage Plan executives speak about the program a couple of years ago. At the time, they indicated that they were pretty firmly opposed to the idea of transfers into the program long term (despite the fact that at the time it was still possible to transfer American Express Membership Rewards to Hawaiian Miles) I imagine they must have seen that the economics could really work out for them. It is exciting to see that there could eventually be an opportunity for this to happen. I wouldn’t expect to see the implementation of a transfer program in the near-term, but it’s exciting to hear that there’s interest on Alaska’s side.

Singapore now restricts seat selection for business saver fares

In a concerning development for award travel enthusiasts, One Mile at a Time covers the fact that Singapore Airlines now restricts business class seat selection for those booking the cheapest cash and award tickets. Moving forward, it will only be possible to select from a subset of seats if you book a “Saver” award fare or the cheapest business class cash fares. Business class Advantage fares will still enjoy complimentary seat selection.

Lufthansa stops releasing first-class awards to partners

An additional piece of bad news from One Mile at a Time for our travel enthusiasts: Lufthansa has stopped releasing first-class awards to partners. While I haven’t heard any official word regarding the availability of first-class awards, we haven’t been seeing them available through partner programs.

I’m particularly disappointed about this because I have business class reservations on Lufthansa this summer, and I had really hoped to find the ability to snag first class close to departure. I can certainly understand Lufthansa wanting to prioritize availability for their own members, but that’s something they were already doing by restricting partner access to only three days in advance. Once American Airlines finishes eliminating its first-class cabin, this will leave British Airways as the only easily redeemable first class on transatlantic routes.

Hotel Owners Are Rebelling Against Marriott’s Loyalty Program

The Wall Street Journal provides a very interesting look at the other side of hotel loyalty. While you’ve probably seen a blog like View from the Wing note the fact that a hotel program’s true customers are hotel owners rather than hotel guests, this story provides some context behind the displeasure of hotel owners. While you might think that hotel owners are simply looking at travel enthusiasts as freeloaders, this article points out a key source of discontent among Marriott owners is actually the fact that Marriott continues to increase revenue from its credit card partnerships while not sharing that revenue with the hotel owners who are primarily responsible for delivering on the program’s elite benefit promises. It’s no wonder that we see hotel owners failing to provide the promised elite benefits. This group of owners is expressing their frustration with Marriott increasing profits while failing to pay for what it promises to deliver.

Japanese Choice properties are movin’ on up!

Loyalty Lobby covers a really unfortunate devaluation of Choice Privileges properties in Japan. Some properties have gone up by as much as 200%, which is obviously a massive devaluation of Choice Privileges awards. Japan is an expensive hotel market, so it’s not terribly surprising to see prices rise, but it is frustrating to see prices rise so quickly and sharply.

Hilton Upgrades “Evolving” & Confirmable Upgrade Rewards Transferable

Loyalty Lobby also covers the fascinating evolution of the Hilton program, including a new system being tested where elite members can (in some cases) choose a complimentary upgrade in the app during the digital check-in flow. It sounds like hotels will be identifying a block of rooms for complimentary upgrades and a block for paid upgrades. I think it’s a great idea for Hilton to incentivize using the digital check-in process by making this available. Also interesting is the fact that Diamond Reserve suite upgrades are apparently giftable. Who knew? Now, if Hilton would make free night certificates giftable, that would be terrific.

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