The news desk · page 16 of 20
Updates, decoded.
What changed and whether it matters — grounded in the numbers, not the press release. Subscribe via RSS →
372 of 376 tracker events have stories — the desk publishes hourly. Too fast? Pulse is the monthly rollup →
IHG quietly reprices 700 hotels; the US bears the brunt
IHG repriced roughly 700 hotels into new award categories, delayed from January 14 to January 25, 2019. About 79% of the changes pushed points requirements upward, with 387 of 448 US changes increasing in cost.
KrisFlyer hikes premium-cabin award pricing roughly 10% across the board
KrisFlyer's January 24, 2019 repricing raised Premium Economy, Business and First awards by 3-8% on the low end and double digits on marquee long-haul routes, while economy stayed largely untouched. US West Coast-Singapore Business rose from 88,000 to 95,000 miles; First from 118,000 to 130,000.
ICICI Bank launches Emeralde, wedging above Sapphiro
ICICI Bank soft-launched the Emeralde credit card on January 18, 2019, slotting it above Sapphiro with a claimed ~₹3 lakh in annual benefit value against a ₹12,000 annual fee. It's ICICI's first genuine super-premium travel card.
Amex Platinum Charge goes metal, fee jumps to ₹60,000
American Express moves the Platinum Charge from plastic to metal and raises the annual fee 20% to ₹60,000 plus taxes, adding 3X earning on overseas spends and a new Mumbai T2 lounge.
Jet Airways financial woes — ₹8,600 crore debt
Jet Airways' ₹8,600 crore liability and salaries delayed for 15% of staff are a solvency warning — and a deadline on every JPMiles balance.
Jet Airways-Bangkok Airways codeshare adds 9 new cities
Jet Airways expanded its Bangkok Airways codeshare from two routes to nine new cities including Phuket, Krabi and Da Nang, while Bangkok Airways' code went onto Jet's domestic Mumbai and Delhi routes. JPMiles now earn and burn across the wider network on a single PNR.
Marriott Bonvoy Merges SPG
Marriott merged SPG and Marriott Rewards, likely reducing point value. The unified program has a single points currency and category chart.
HDFC Diners 10X SmartBuy extended again, to September 2018
HDFC extended the Diners Club Black 10X SmartBuy programme through 30 September 2018, after it had been set to expire mid-year. The programme remains officially temporary, renewed one quarter at a time.
Etihad Guest kills award chart — dynamic pricing now
Etihad Guest moves to dynamic award pricing with no fixed chart, affecting redemptions on Etihad-operated flights. Cardholders will face uncertainty and potentially higher award prices during peak travel periods.
JetPrivilege kills JPMiles expiry — no expiry
JetPrivilege removed JPMiles expiry in 2018, with no expiry as long as members logged one activity every 18 months. This change made JetPrivilege the only major Indian loyalty programme with no mileage expiry, but its impact was limited by the airline's subsequent bankruptcy.
Air India privatisation attempt collapses — zero bidders
The government's sale of a 76% stake in Air India closed on May 31, 2018 with zero expressions of interest, despite 160 preliminary queries. IndiGo, Jet Airways, Singapore Airlines and Tata all walked away from the terms.
Marriott merges loyalty programmes — a 0% improvement
Marriott merged SPG, Marriott Rewards, and Ritz-Carlton Rewards into one programme on August 18, 2018, changing the redemption math for Category 1-7 SPG points. This merger led to a less generous redemption system for SPG points.
Etihad Guest quietly hikes own-metal award pricing
Etihad Guest raised redemption costs on its own long-haul flights — Perth-JFK in Business jumped from 179,030 to 200,002 miles — and added a new $50-per-segment surcharge on some Business and First awards.
Citi kills PremierMiles 10X — a 100% devaluation
Citi PremierMiles' 10X 'Extra' partner program has ended, reducing the card's value for travel spend. The program's demise leaves cardholders with limited rewards options.
JetPrivilege HDFC World Debit Card joining bonus gutted
From November 15, 2017 the JetPrivilege HDFC World Debit Card's joining bonus was cut 75%, from 2,000 JPMiles plus 1,000 RPs to 500 JPMiles, and its blanket 2 JPMiles/₹150 earn rate was restricted to specific categories with everything else dropping to 1 JPMile/₹150.
HDFC Diners 10X drops Amazon, adds CaratLane, extends to March 2018
HDFC removed Amazon.in from the Diners Club Black 10X SmartBuy list on November 1, 2017, adding jewellery retailer CaratLane (excluding gold coins) in its place. The programme itself was extended to March 2018.
JetPrivilege rewrites partner award chart into 13 global zones
Effective September 28, 2017, JetPrivilege replaced route-specific partner redemption pricing with a 13-zone global award chart — Sydney-Singapore in economy now runs 40,000 JPMiles.
HDFC guts Regalia and Diners Club Rewards — 60% haircut
HDFC Bank cut Regalia point value by 17% and Diners Club Rewardz by 60%, with the latter also losing unlimited lounge access. This resulted in a significant reduction in the rewards value for cardholders.
Amex Gold Charge Card raises the bar to earn Membership Rewards
From July 1, 2017, American Express raised the spend threshold on the Gold Charge Card's monthly transaction bonus — the 1,000 Membership Rewards points that previously required 4 transactions of ₹1,000 a month now demand more spend for the same reward.
GST rollout adds 3 points of tax to every card fee in India
GST replaced service tax on July 1, 2017, lifting the tax on card annual fees, late fees, forex markup and finance charges from 15% to 18%. On a ₹50,000 super-premium fee, that is ₹1,500 more in pure tax.