Bits: Lufthansa closes oilandenergyclub, triple PartnerPlusBenefit points

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News in brief:

Get a half price stay at Park Hyatt Mallorca

Hyatt Gold Passport has brought back its 30% bonus for buying points. Until 31st August, you will receive a 30% bonus when buying 5,000 points or more.

This would work well at the new Park Hyatt Mallorca which looks very impressive (see below). Rooms start at €680 (£570) per night for cash this month, but the equivalent 20,000 points would cost you just £280. This is based on paying $1,128 for 61,100 points.

Alternatively, using 6,000 points per night for a suite upgrade would be a steal here. Note that you need to book a deluxe room to be able to upgrade and pay a flexible rate, plus the hotel must have suite upgrade availability.

The link to buy Hyatt points is here. A couple could each buy 61,100 points and have enough points for a six night stay.

Lufthansa closes oilandenergyclub

Just a couple of weeks after I wrote about it, Lufthansa has announced the closure of its oilandenergyclub presumably due to the slump in the oil market.

The good news is that benefits are being honoured until the expiry date on your membership card. This means that members will continue to get the benefits of Lufthansa Frequent Traveller status for a while yet.

Triple PartnerPlusBenefit points to Europe this August

PartnerPlusBenefit is the small business scheme for the UK and Ireland run by 11 of the Star Alliance airlines. This includes Lufthansa and Swiss.

I wrote about PPB in detail in this article. It is a LOT more flexible than the British Airways On Business scheme which I reviewed here – although you’d be daft not to join On Business too if you have a VAT registered UK business.

In addition, until 31st August 2016, you will earn triple the normal amount of BenefitPoints when travelling on Lufthansa, Austrian, Brussels or SWISS direct to Frankfurt, Munich, Vienna, Brussels, Zurich or Geneva.

The offer is valid from any UK airport they serve. You need to register for the offer via your PPB account.

Category

Lufthansa and Miles & More

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

Brian says:

4 Aug4 August 07:16

I noticed that Travelzoo is currently running a deal at the Park Hyatt Hamburg (which Rob rates so highly) for 255 Euros including breakfast and various extras.
- Alex says:
  
  4 Aug4 August 10:53
  
  I paid £120 a night a few weeks ago just through Hotels.com, albeit without extras
Dannyrado says:

4 Aug4 August 07:44

You have to pay a specific minimum rate to upgrade to a suite at 6000 points. That minimum rate is the cash rate for any deluxe room… Which I’m sure will be eye watering. Not entirely sure it’ll be ‘a steal’ Rob!!
- Raffles says:
  
  4 Aug4 August 09:04
  
  Hyatt suite upgrades are a genuine steal if:
  
  A deluxe room (which you need to book) is either what you would have booked anyway or is close in price to a basic room
  
  And
  
  A flexible rate, which you must book, is close in price to a non-cancellable rate or you were going to book a flexible rate anyway
  
  If these align you’ve got a deal.
Simmo says:

4 Aug4 August 09:05

£570 a night in Mallorca? Crazy money!

£280 a night sounds about right as it looks such a nice hotel…

Obviously comparing Oranges and Apples but… £2000 gets you 5* All inclusive including flights for a couple for a week is available in various hotels on the island.
- Rob says:
  
  4 Aug4 August 09:07
  
  £570 is a standard deal in August for high end luxury in Mallorca.
  
  Arguably it is cheap. I looked at the St Regis and they wanted £2,000 per night for two rooms in mid August. I assume the Hyatt will be nearer that next year. We are slumming it at the Hilton but we are still paying more than £570, albeit for a junior suite and connecting room.
  - Leo says:
    
    4 Aug4 August 09:44
    
    I’m at the Hilton in September – full report please!!!
    - Rob says:
      
      4 Aug4 August 10:19
      
      A barrister friend who I respect has been to Sa Torre numerous times and this is teh only reason we are going. They have a lot of rooms and combos which are not on the website and which you need to email them to ask about, which is what we did. Also got the standard Hilton 50% discount on a 2nd room for children which kept the cost down.
      - Leo says:
        
        4 Aug4 August 14:20
        
        Barrister’s recommendations mean very little to me – I say this also as a barrister 😉
Tom C says:

4 Aug4 August 09:15

I was not aware that for just 6k points you could get a suite upgrade. We’re flying to Fiji in 3 weeks with a 3 night layover at the PH Sydney, so this will be very useful. Cheers, Rob.
- Stewie says:
  
  4 Aug4 August 10:03
  
  Tom, you can’t use Hyatt Diamond suite upgrades at PH Sydney (specifically excluded) so I think probably the same applies to the 6k/night points suite upgrade.
- Rob says:
  
  4 Aug4 August 10:20
  
  6,000 per night, obviously.
  
  It used to be 6,000 for up to 4 nights which was insanely good.
  - Talay says:
    
    4 Aug4 August 21:46
    
    Yes, I used the 6000 points to upgrade to a suite in the Park Hyatt Tokyo which were (still are ?) insanely priced.
    
    Once my favourite hotel in the world.
Kevin says:

4 Aug4 August 19:37

Hi, sorry for OT, but at least hotel related. I *think* I read somewhere on HfP, that if you are Spire Elite with IHG and buy Ambassador, that your status changes to Spire Ambassador and you lasts for another year? Also you can choose 25000 points again? Basically, my Spire expires end of ’16. By buying Ambassador, can I extend that to ’17? Is that right or am I imagine that?
Thanks
- Leo says:
  
  4 Aug4 August 23:09
  
  Actually mine did extend till 31/12/17 though I didn’t link this to having paid for Ambassador at the time. This “extension” was never directly communicated, I just noticed the date change in my account details. Certainly no extra points.
Doodles says:

4 Aug4 August 22:45

OT but Hyatt related, Hyatt Place Hayes is now open and there is an opening offer for those collecting Hyatt Gold Passport points:

In celebration of the opening of the first Hyatt Place in the UK, book now using offer code ‘HAYES’ to receive 2,000 bonus Hyatt Gold Passport points on eligible stays that include two nights or more between July 1, 2016 and September 30, 2016.
- Lady London says:
  
  4 Aug4 August 23:07
  
  …. And from that location, pay great attention to the traffic patterns if you are trying to get from (or especially to) Heathrow anywhere near the rush hour morning or evening. Make sure you have a driver who won’t get you stuck on the Hayes bypass (A312) and knows the ways round.