Get triple Accor Live Limitless base points on your next hotel stay

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• Thywillbedone says:

  19 Nov19 November 06:08

  “Stench the flow” indeed!

  • Rich says:

    19 Nov19 November 06:43

    I think Rob meant to write ‘staunch’ but he’s right, there is a stench around the recent change in rate.

    • Crafty says:

      19 Nov19 November 07:15

      Stem?

      • TGLoyalty says:

        19 Nov19 November 11:00

        It’s either stem or google says it could be any of the 3

  • WaynedP says:

    19 Nov19 November 07:23

    You don’t need to have the nose of a bloodhound to smell a rat here

• Jonathan says:

  19 Nov19 November 06:08

  Perhaps BA should stop increasing cash elements in Avios tickets if they want people to use their Avios with them

• lpgm says:

  19 Nov19 November 06:31

  Avios -> Nectar. This would explain why I never got any email telling me about the change to the conversion rate.

  • Rich says:

    19 Nov19 November 06:45

    They were sent but perhaps yours ended up in spam.

• TimM says:

  19 Nov19 November 06:49

  There must have been massive outflows of Avios -> Nectar before the deadline. Certainly I have around 100 times my previous highest Nectar balance. My fear is that Sainsbury’s will reciprocate. Still, as long as there is some notice, we can decide in currency to hold our points balances.

• Andrew J says:

  19 Nov19 November 07:22

  Why did Avios agree to this two-way flow in the first place? The Tesco deal was only one-way. Not that I’m complaining, I’ve spend thousands in Sainsbury’s, M&S and on eBay in the last couple of years.

  • memesweeper says:

    19 Nov19 November 14:16

    Full Nectar partners have always been two way: that’s exactly how the scheme has been designed to work. Dozens of firms have joined Nectar and underestimated the number of their loyal customers that will turn their loyalty rewards into spending at Sainsbury’s. These companies then leave the Nectar scheme a few years later. I’m amazed BA loyalty were so naive as to think the net flow would be inbound with a reciprocal rate. I’m also shocked Nectar have agreed to a non-reciprocal rate to be introduced — this is a bad precedent for Nectar IMHO.

    • Andrew D says:

      19 Nov19 November 15:37

      Not sure where the precedent is. There’s no other ‘currency’ you can convert nectar into and every single earn/spend rate is uneven

• Yuff says:

  19 Nov19 November 08:00

  Which is best hotel scheme on the west coast of US, Hilton or IHG using points?
  Diamond and platinum elite in both.

  • Froggee says:

    19 Nov19 November 08:33

    It’s very much hotel specific. However Hilton has rubbished its top tiers somewhat with the introduction of its F&B credit which tends not to cover breakfast.

    However you might not eat breakfast?

    My inclination is if the hotel you are in has a lounge then you’d probably be better off in a Hilton. If you never eat hotel breakfast, you’d be better in the Hilton.

    If you like having a proper breakfast in the morning then IHG.

    But don’t let the tail wag the dog. It’s pretty marginal versus finding a decent hotel in the place you wish to stay in.

    • Save East Coast Rewards says:

      19 Nov19 November 10:15

      IHG platinum doesn’t come with breakfast

  • Dace says:

    19 Nov19 November 09:08

    I avoid Hilton like the plague in the US. They don’t give any status recognition at all; unless you’re very lucky.

  • Peter K says:

    19 Nov19 November 10:23

    No resort fees on Hilton bookings, using points.

    • RussellH says:

      19 Nov19 November 10:58

      Just back from Lyon, having stayed at both the CP and the IC on points. Partner is Diamond, so got free breakfast at both.
      The CP asked us to pay the taxe de séjour, but the IC said that it was not payable for points bookings.
      Our second stay at both, the first was just after the IC opened.
      The CP is struggling with staff, so the bar now only opens at 1700. No free breakfast last time, OK this time.
      IC by contrast seem to have plenty of staff – two doormen, three people on checkout yesterday morning, baggage delivered to room very promptly. Excellent breakfast too, and no waiting for coffee as enough staff there too.
      Previously it had been clear that they had not got their act together properly following the opening. Now it seems all pretty slick.
      [Only niggle was that they did not have a room for us at 0930 (NOT exactly their fault!) and we had to wait until about 1300 (check in officially at 1500) when we had been up at 0130 that morning at a wine festival, and were expected to leave our river cruise boat at 0900, so we were keen for more sleep.]

  • Pedro says:

    19 Nov19 November 13:05

    The best advice I can give – as a formerly frequent traveller to Palo Alto – is if you’re travelling there often find the right hotel for you and join their scheme – rather than let a scheme dictate your choice of a hotel. If you’re going to be around SF/PA the rates are so high you’ll accumulate tonnes of points whatever scheme you’re in. Once you’ve found the right hotel, you’ll have found the right scheme. And you’ll be where you want to be!

  • ediflyer says:

    20 Nov20 November 09:41

    For USA I’d go IHG – proper breakkie rather than suboptimal credit and much lower points redemption rates than Hilton.

• Charles Martel says:

  19 Nov19 November 08:32

  Wouldn’t every loyalty scheme prefer you to spend with them? Nectar probably want you spending with Sainsbury’s or Argos, but lure you in with the option of transferring. Ditto Marriott.

  BAs problem is that through the devaluation of flight redemptions through increased taxes, charges their own scheme is becoming relatively less attractive. Instead of competing with a better product, they’re trying to make a bag of groceries look worse.

  • Tracey says:

    19 Nov19 November 09:26

    I agree. BA will hope that, having transferred a chunk over to Nectar, spent it on food you would have bought anyway, you’ll then see a perceived value of something more exciting like flying and not bother in future.

    • Andrew J says:

      19 Nov19 November 09:49

      Or see a better way of disposing of your Avios than chasing reward flights and paying high taxes and charges and never go back to using them for flights.

      • Nick says:

        19 Nov19 November 12:04

        It’s interesting. Some charges definitely have gone up this year (LHR fees for example) and are being passed on. YQ/YR is actually intended to hit corporate travellers (their negotiated discounts don’t apply on this) but they can’t legally have a secondary rate for redemptions, it’s either all or nothing (and ‘nothing’ would need a huge increase in Avios to offset so would go down even less well). Meanwhile cash fares are going up, so unless you have *some* kind of inflation based increase on redemptions they become much less attractive to rev man when setting availability. Given these competing factors it’s hard to see an ideal solution.

        The Nectar deal was nothing to do with BA, it was entirely AGL. I do wonder if they’re regretting it now though, I doubt they ever expected many people to convert away.

        • JDB says:

          19 Nov19 November 15:48

          @Nick how much are you saying LHR fees/charges have gone up this year?

        • Callum says:

          20 Nov20 November 00:18

          What law prevents them charging different fees on reward tickets?

          If it is real it certainly didn’t stop Flybe, though I don’t see for what purpose it would exist at all?

• Doug says:

  19 Nov19 November 10:42

  IHG buy points bonus is only 80% for me 🙁

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