Marriott Bonvoy Points Purchase Promotion
Marriott Bonvoy members can benefit from a special promotion from August 15 to September 23, 2024.
During this time, members will receive a “mystery” bonus when they purchase 2,000 or more points through this site. Unfortunately, we don’t know how much the bonus will be or if it’s worth it, but if you’ve already considered purchasing additional points for a future stay, now might be the time.
Last month Marriott Bonvoy had a similar offer where I got a 35% bonus, while with this offer I only get 30%.
Additionally, the annual point purchase limit has been temporarily increased to 150,000 points, 50,000 more than usual. This is a great opportunity to build up your points balance for future room upgrades or stays.
New miles and loyalty points with American Airlines for paid upgrades
American Airlines has made changes to its AAdvantage program that members will likely welcome with enthusiasm, allowing them to earn miles and loyalty points for paid upgrades. These updates, which took effect on August 14, 2024, are a significant development for AAdvantage members who may have been frustrated by the program’s previous limitations.
Starting this week, AAdvantage members who pay for upgrades through American Airlines’ various upselling channels – whether during booking, online check-in or at the airport – can now earn 5 miles and loyalty points per dollar spent. This is a welcome change, as these paid upgrades previously did not count toward loyalty points.
In addition to the changes already implemented, American has announced that during 2024, members will also be able to:
- Upgrade with partner airlines: Redeem miles for upgrades on a wider selection of partner airlines.
- Manage system-wide upgrades online: Request and manage system-wide upgrades through an online platform.
Detailed information about AAdvantage can be found here.
These improvements are aimed at providing AAdvantage members with more flexibility and control, but many are still waiting to see how these changes will impact the availability of free upgrades in the long term.
For now, AAdvantage members can at least take comfort in the fact that they’re finally being rewarded for paid upgrades—a move that better aligns the program with the expectations of modern consumers.
You can find our latest review of American Airlines here.
Delta introduces free Wi-Fi on long-haul flights
Delta Airlines is introducing free, high-speed Wi-Fi on select long-haul international flights, significantly expanding its in-flight connectivity. The international rollout of this service began this summer, and free Wi-Fi will be offered on most transatlantic flights by the end of the summer season.
From August 2024, free Wi-Fi will be available on flights to and from the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy and more. This service will be expanded to South America later this year and to Asia-Pacific and Africa by mid- to late 2025.
While a SkyMiles membership is not currently required to access the free Wi-Fi, Delta plans to integrate the service into its Delta Sync Wi-Fi platform later this year, which will require a SkyMiles login.
More and more airlines are offering free in-flight Wi-Fi and in my view this is very welcome. When you’re paying thousands of pounds to fly in luxury cabins, it’s a disgrace to charge for connectivity.
I think (hope) that in five years Wi-Fi will be available free of charge on all airlines.
