Saturday Selection: Marriott half credit, Book Alaska with Singapore miles, and more

This weekend’s Saturday selection includes confirmation that it is indeed possible to book Alaska Airlines flights with Singapore KrisFlyer miles, a concerning Marriott move, end of of easy Star Alliance Gold, and more. Click the headlines below to read these interesting pieces from around the net.

Huh: Marriott Bonvoy Starts Awarding Half Elite Nights

One Mile at a Time covers a very concerning development out of Marriott: nights at one brand now count as only half an elite night per night stayed. Frankly, this is ridiculous. I’ve stayed at several Protea hotels and while they aren’t at the top echelon of the Marriott ecosystem, they are not at all the cheapest game in town in the markets where they exist (often quite the opposite), If they are going to halve elite night earning at a brand that is expensive for its market, will they move toward giving less elite credit for extended stay brands in the US? Eeek.

There’s a new way to get from midtown Manhattan to JFK

If you’re visiting New York City for business or tourism, there is a good chance that you’re heading to Manhattan. But if you’re flying into the city’s largest airport, the transportation options to get there haven’t been ideal. The Points Guy covers a new Long Island Railroad option between Grand Central Madison and Jamaica station (which you can reach via AirTrain from JFK). It’s not quite like having a light rail connection directly downtown as you might find in European cities, but it’s great to have another option here.

Aegean Airlines Just Crushed Their Program for Elites Who Don’t Fly Aegean

Charlie at Running with Miles writes about changes to Greek airline Aegean’s frequent flyer program, and the news isn’t pretty. While Aegean has long been a popular program for earning and maintaining Star Alliance Gold status, these changes make it only appealing moving forward to those who can fly a few segments on Aegean every year. That might not even seem far-fetched for someone who visits Europe annually, but I think that the rolling 12-month period will be the nail in the coffin even for those who might otherwise be willing to take a couple of Aegean flights that they don’t need.

Access Virgin Atlantic Clubhouses With Plaza Premium (No Changes)

I’m including this post from One Mile at a Time for the pure intrigue of this bizarre situation. Plaza Premium lounges, which can be accessed by Amex Platinum and Capital One Venture X cardholders, added a notice to their website this week that several Virgin Atlantic Clubhouses would no longer be accessible with as Plaza Premium longes….and then representatives from Plaza Premium and card issuers did a complete 180º and said “nevermind, all of those Virgin Clubhouses are still Plaza Premium lounges”. Obviously somebody intentionally made a pretty specific website change and it quickly got taken back. To be a fly on the wall for the conversations behind the scenes on this one . . .

Part 2 of my infuriating experience using Singapore miles to book on Alaska metal

Before you click the link above and read Part 2 of Miles Per Day’s saga booking Alaska Airlines with Singapore miles, you need to click here and read part 1. This story is fascinating to me in that it shows how little the average loyalty program customer service representative even at an airline known for some of the best customer service in the world knows about their own program and partnerships. Given the resolution, I’d recommend that if you want to book an Alaska flight with Singapore miles, you should HUCA as soon as it becomes clear that the rep you’ve gotten doesn’t know what they’re doing.

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