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The points transfer rate from Amex to Starwood/Marriott is about to get worse

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With the mega-merger of the Marriott, Starwood and Ritz-Carlton hotel groups taking shape, the next big milestone will be the launch of a new unified loyalty program for the conglomerate in August.

The current Starwood and Ritz-Carlton loyalty programs will disappear, effectively to be absorbed by Marriott.

The unified program will be given a new name in early 2019, but the program changes will start to take effect from an as-yet unspecified date this August.

Starwood has been a points transfer partner for the American Express Membership Rewards program. A number of popular Amex cards earn Membership Rewards points, including the Explorer and Platinum cards I’ve reviewed on the blog.

Amex has confirmed that Membership Rewards points will be transferable to the new unified Marriott program from August. However, the bad news is that the transfer rate will be less generous than the current one.

From August (date TBC), 3 Membership Rewards points will be convertible to 2 Marriott points. Right now, the rate is 2 MR points to 1 Starwood point (which equals 3 Marriott points). So, we’re going from a 2:3 rate to a 3:2 rate – that’s a big difference.

If you were planning to use Membership Rewards points for Starwood / Marriott stays, you may want to transfer points to Starwood now at the more attractive rate. From Starwood, you can manually transfer the points to Marriott yourself, otherwise they will transfer automatically when the new program launches in August.

A few days ago, I wrote about an opportunity to get steep discounts on luxury hotel stays thanks to a quirk of how the new program is being implemented. You may also want to consider purchasing Starwood points right now, because a 35% discount is available (this offer ends on 20 July and you must have been a Starwood member for at least 14 days).

Finally, if you hold the Amex Platinum Card, the current benefit of automatic gold status with Starwood will transition to the new Gold Elite tier with Marriott. That’s a downgrade, because you’ll lose complimentary breakfasts and guaranteed 4pm checkout (instead, you get a 2pm checkout “based on availability”.)

We’ll have more news about the changes – including the exact date they take effect – later this month.

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Commonwealth Bank adds nine airline transfer partners to Commbank Awards

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The Commonwealth Bank has added nine new airline transfer partners to its credit card rewards program, Commbank Awards.

Previously, customers could only transfer points to Qantas Frequent Flyer or Velocity Frequent Flyer, but the list of transfer partners has now expanded to encompass:

  • Qantas Frequent Flyer (must opt into automatic transfer of points each month at a ratio of 2.5:1)
  • Velocity Frequent Flyer (2 or 2.5:1 points transfer ratio depending on your card)
  • Air Asia Big points – 2.5:1 points transfer ratio
  • Air France / KLM Flying Blue – 3:1 transfer
  • Eva Air Infinity MileageLands – 3:1 transfer
  • China Eastern Eastern Miles – 3:1 transfer
  • Etihad Guest – 3.5:1 transfer
  • Malaysia Airlines Enrich – 3.5:1 transfer
  • United Airlines MileagePlus – 4:1 transfer
  • Japan Airlines MileageBank – 4:1 transfer
  • Lufthansa Miles & More – 4:1 transfer.

In addition, IHG Rewards, the loyalty program of InterContinental Hotels Group, is available as a hotel transfer partner (2.5:1 transfer ratio).

This gives customers much more flexibility with how they use their points for flights. Of course, more ways to use points also means more complexity, as not only do you have to consider the different points transfer ratios above, but also how much each airline charges for an award seat.

For example, with Japan Airlines, you can fly business class from Sydney to Tokyo for as little as 35,000 miles one way, but using Qantas Points costs at least 72,000 Qantas Points. And the taxes and fees vary too.

CBA’s points earn rates are quite poor, so I usually advise people to switch to other card providers to get more from their everyday spend. But if you have a big stash of CBA points or you’re stuck with the bank, the ability to use points with more airlines is good news.

Don’t forget, CBA is axing its Amex cards later this year. If you want the best points earn rates moving forward, consider switching to a card issued by Amex directly, like:

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An amazing opportunity to save big on luxury hotel stays using points

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I haven’t written much about hotel loyalty programs here at The High Life, mostly because the topic isn’t anywhere near as popular with readers as airline reward programs (which makes sense as the latter are much more accessible), but also because I haven’t personally relied on hotel loyalty programs much when travelling.

Whenever I’ve looked at using points for hotel stays in the past – mainly by transferring American Express Membership Rewards points to the Hilton or Starwood programs – the deal never seemed as good as transferring those points to an airline for business or first class fares instead.

Plus, I’ve tended to avoid large hotel chains, preferring to stay in smaller boutique hotels or Airbnbs – so hotel points hacking and/or getting elite status hasn’t been a priority.

That being said, travel is all about new experiences, and lately I’ve been feeling the urge to try luxury hotels more. I think this has been partly sparked by experiencing elite hotel status perks recently thanks to my new American Express Platinum Card, and also because it’s a new frontier in travel for me – plus, I’m getting older, so my accommodation tastes are getting more expensive!

So, over the past few months, I’ve been looking into hotel loyalty programs more, trying to work out where the best deals and hacks are.

Unfortunately, the opportunities to get the kind of epic value I’m used to with airline points are rarely there with hotels. It’s just a function of how hotel loyalty programs work.

Nevertheless, there are some solid opportunities to be enjoyed, and I have a few tips lined up to share with readers in future posts.

Today, though, I want to cover an especially good opportunity that’s just popped up and which is causing a lot of excitement among points hackers.

As you may have heard, a mega merger is taking place right now with the Marriott, Starwood and Ritz-Carlton hotel groups. The new entity has over 6,500 hotels worldwide across an eye-popping 29 different brands. It’s massive!

Marriott has been steadily releasing details about its new unified loyalty program, which launches on 1 August. Here’s the new award chart for stays using points (the “points” don’t have a name yet – that’s coming in 2019).

As you can see, from August until the end of the year, a night’s stay will be priced according to the “Standard” columns above, but from 2019, the price will depend on whether the stay is during the peak or off-peak season (the dates for these haven’t been released yet).

In addition, the most expensive Category 8 properties will be priced at the lower Category 7 level for bookings made this year, even if the actual stays are in 2019.

We also finally learned a few days ago the category that each hotel will fall into.

So, here’s where the opportunity lies: Category 8 will include properties that have historically been very expensive to book using points. This includes ultra-luxurious hotels and resorts, including all-suite properties, in exotic locations like the Maldives and Bora Bora, which can cost thousands of dollars per night.

Booking these properties later this year means enjoying savings of up to 40% compared to current prices, and of course, you’ll also save in comparison to the 2019 prices.

You can stack this with Marriott’s “fifth night free” deal, where you get a complimentary night for an award stay of 4+ nights.

So, for bookings made from August until the end of the year, you’ll need 240,000 points to get 5 nights’ accommodation in any Category 8 property, the full list of which you can view here (sort the table by the “New award category” column).

If you have lots of SPG or Marriott points, or if you can acquire them (eg. by transferring Amex Membership Rewards Points to SPG), this is an excellent opportunity.

SPG points transfer to Marriott at a 1:3 ratio.

If you are transferring Amex Membership Rewards points, you’ll get a better deal if you do so this month, because the new Amex -> Marriott transfer rate will not be as good as the current Amex -> SPG -> Marriott transfer rate from August (we’ll have an article about this published later this week).

You can also purchase SPG points right now at a 35% discount. This offer ends on 20 July and you must have been an SPG member for 14 days to take advantage of it. Buying the maximum 30,000 SPG points costs ~AUD$950, and this converts to 90,000 Marriott points in the new scheme.

Here’s how I’m taking advantage of this opportunity.

As I have ZERO Marriott or SPG points right now, I’ve just purchased 30,000 SPG points (= 90,000 new points) and transferred 100,000 Amex Membership Rewards points from my Amex Explorer Credit Card to SPG (= 50,000 SPG points = 150,000 new points), giving me the 240,000 points I need to make a five-night booking.

The properties I’m eyeing off are for a planned trip to New York, one being the St Regis (which costs about US$1,000 per night) and the other the Ritz Carlton (which costs US$1,200 per night).

If I was paying cash, I’d have to fork out US$5000-6000 for this stay, which is about AU$6,800-$8,200! Instead, I’ve paid AU$950 for the SPG points plus Í’ll use 100,000 of my Amex Membership Rewards Points.

I consider this to be a bargain!

I’m also looking at some of the more distinctive Category 8 properties, like the Al Maha desert resort in Dubai, for a truly memorable hotel experience.

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Qatar Airways sale: Explore the world from $1090 in economy return; $6110 in business class

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oneworld member Qatar Airways has a great sale on at the moment, offering flights to Europe, North America, Africa and elsewhere via Doha starting at just $1090 return in economy or $6110 in business class (these prices are ex-Perth and will be a little higher from other cities).

The sale ends on 2 July 2018 and is valid for travel to 31 March 2019.

You can browse through all the offers and view the key info, including blackout dates, here.

If you’re interested in stopping over in Doha to check out the city, the airline and the Qatar Tourism Authority are offering a free hotel stay until 31 December, which you can read more about here.

Qatar Airways flights can be credited to Qantas Frequent Flyer, allowing you to earn both Qantas Points and status credits for your trip.

This is a great opportunity to grab a cheap fare with a world-class airline, so if you’re interested, don’t delay.

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Get an easy 10,000 bonus Qantas Points with a new Bankwest Qantas Transaction Account

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Bankwest is giving Australians an easy way to pick up 10,000 bonus Qantas Points by opening a new Bankwest Qantas Transaction Account.

This account is like a standard bank transaction account, except it has the unique feature of allowing cardholders to earn Qantas Points both while holding money in their account and when paying for purchases with their Debit Mastercard.

Customers earn 12 points per $100 in their account each month plus 5 points per eligible purchase, which is basically any regular purchase: the exclusions are listed in clause 5 of the T&Cs and feature the usual suspects like government charges and business related expenses.

(You can also earn 5 points each time you withdraw cash from an ATM overseas, but you’ll cop a 2.95% fee, so it’s probably not worth it.)

While the points earning rates are modest, at least you’re getting something when putting your money to work.

The monthly account keeping fee is $6, but this is waived when you deposit at least $2,000 per month.

The current offer of 10,000 bonus Qantas Points is for new customers only. According to the T&Cs, “if you already hold an existing Bankwest transaction account or if you have closed one in the last 30 days, or if you have previously held a Bankwest Qantas Transaction Account, you are ineligible for this promotion.”

To qualify for the bonus points, you must also make 10 transactions (purchases or withdrawals) of $2 or more within the first 2 months of account opening.

The bonus points will be credited within 60 days of qualifying, and your account must remain open until that time.

If you’re not yet a Qantas Frequent Flyer member, you can join for free at qantas.com/joinffbankwest.

This promotion ends on 31 August 2018.

For more info, check out this page on Bankwest’s website.

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Flight deal: fly to Bangkok this October and November from AUD$422 return

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oneworld member Malaysia Airlines has super cheap fares to Bangkok this October and November, starting at just AUD$422 in economy return ex-Perth, and a little bit more from other Australian cities.

This is a good opportunity to nab a cheap fare if you’re planning a tropical holiday later this year. October and November are great times to visit Thailand, and from Bangkok you can make your own way to one of the beaches or inland destinations.

The best place to search and book fares is momondo, where you can use the calendar bar chart function to find the cheapest dates to fly.

You can earn Qantas Points and status credits on these flights, which is a nice boost for Qantas Frequent Flyers.

This deal won’t last long, so if you’re interested, don’t delay.

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Qatar Airways confirms 1 July launch of Qsuite for Sydney and Canberra

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Great news, business class travellers!

Qantas partner and oneworld member Qatar Airways will launch its award-winning business class product, Qsuite, on flights between Doha and Canberra via Sydney on 1 July 2018.

The airline flagged that it would introduce Qsuite on this route a few months ago, and now it has confirmed the details.

The route will be served by Qsuite up to four times a week during July, with an alternating daily schedule until the route goes all-Qsuite daily on 1 August.

That means during July, some passengers booked on QR906/907 will still experience the airline’s outdated 2-2-2 business class product.

Sydney-based travellers should also be aware that Qatar Airways has a separate direct flight between Sydney and Doha (QR908/909), which will continue to be operated by an A380.

Qsuite is regarded by many travellers and analysts as the best business class product in the sky. It features the first-ever double bed in business class …

… as well as private cabins for up to four people that allow passengers to create their own private “room”, a first of its kind in the industry.

These features provide the most customisable travel experience you can have in commercial aviation.

Qsuite is currently available on select Qatar Airways’ Boeing 777-300ER, Airbus A350-900 and A350-1000 aircraft.

The expansion to Sydney and Canberra follows the introduction of the product to various destinations around the globe, including London, Paris, New York, Chicago, Houston and Shanghai.

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Commonwealth Bank axes American Express credit cards

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The Commonwealth Bank has announced that it will stop issuing new American Express cards and will cancel all existing CBA Amex cards later this year.

We’ve been expecting this news for some time and today it was confirmed via a statement on the bank’s website. CBA says it will formally notify customers next week.

Here’s what we know so far.

The cut-off date for getting a new Amex card as part of an Amex/Mastercard bundle is 31 August. After that, only Mastercards will be issued.

All customers will find their existing Amex cards disabled on 1 November. Companion Mastercards will continue to function as normal.

This applies to both personal and business Amex cards.

CBA will not be reducing the annual fees it charges. Given CBA credit cards were already among the worst in the country, with points earn rates that are a fraction of what competitors offer, this is a poor way to treat customers.

The bank’s decision to shut down its Amex cards is a response to new Reserve Bank regulations that have made Amex cards much less profitable for the banks. We’ve already seen Westpac, ANZ and NAB cancel their Amex cards, and CBA now joins them.

With these changes, only Amex cards issued directly by American Express Australia will remain in the market.

Since those cards are exempt from the new Reserve Bank regulations, they will continue to offer very compelling value.

CBA customers who want to get more from their everyday spend should seriously consider switching.

The top three Amex cards loved by savvy points collectors all offer a very high 1.5 frequent flyers points per dollar spent on everyday purchases, plus they come with a free flight or travel credit each year that offsets the annual fee.

For Qantas Points lovers, our top pick is the Qantas Amex Ultimate Card: you receive 1.5 Qantas Points per dollar spent on everyday purchases, plus the card comes with valuable perks like airport lounge passes, travel insurance and a $450 annual travel credit that fully offsets the card fee. You can read our card review and pick up 55,000 bonus Qantas Points here.

Virgin Australia fans should take a look at the Amex Velocity Platinum Card. It offers 1.5 Velocity Points per dollar spent on everyday purchases, and also comes with airport lounge passes, travel insurance and other perks. A free domestic return flight every year offsets the card fee. You can read our card review and pick up 50,000 bonus Velocity Points here.

If you prefer a flexible points currency, we love the Amex Explorer Credit Card. It earns 2 Amex Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on everyday purchases, which converts to 1.5 frequent flyer points when transferred to Velocity Frequent Flyer, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer or a number of other airline partners. Cardholders also enjoy airport lounge passes and travel insurance, plus a $400 travel credit each year fully offsets the card fee. You can read more and pick up 50,000 bonus points here.

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