Is the Captain Circle Loyalty Program sailing in the wake of the future?

[BamaVol]

17 hours ago, ldtr said:

The biggest value with hotel tiers is the multiplier on how fast you earn points, more value than the 15 dollars per person per day instead of supplying breakfast (hilton), or room upgrades. For both hotels and airlines you can get many of the top tier benefits from holding the right credit card, as you could from earning top tier status each year. About the only thing you cannot get is free domestic upgrades on flights.

 

 

 

I agree that my Diamond status with Hilton Honors allows me to accrue points at double the rate of a non-elite member.  But I remember when a Hampton Inn at the low end could be obtained for a saver rate of 7,500 points a night.  Try to find one for 20,000 points today.  A domestic RT trip could be had for 20,000 miles.  I just burned 40,000 on a RT this weekend, and then another 7,000 to upgrade half to Comfort +. The hotel chains and airlines give with the right hand and take away with the left.  I get less, far less, from hotel programs than I did 20 years ago.  I can’t say the same about airlines because I no longer fly twice a month. 

[Guest ldtr]

8 hours ago, BamaVol said:

I agree that my Diamond status with Hilton Honors allows me to accrue points at double the rate of a non-elite member.  But I remember when a Hampton Inn at the low end could be obtained for a saver rate of 7,500 points a night.  Try to find one for 20,000 points today.  A domestic RT trip could be had for 20,000 miles.  I just burned 40,000 on a RT this weekend, and then another 7,000 to upgrade half to Comfort +. The hotel chains and airlines give with the right hand and take away with the left.  I get less, far less, from hotel programs than I did 20 years ago.  I can’t say the same about airlines because I no longer fly twice a month. 

Sure the points have devalued, but then again hotel prices have gone up considerably as well. So with hotels the point cost is a similar ratio to hotel costs. In the US average hotel prices have gone up 64% over the last year. 

 

You are not going to see the point  requirements  remain the same while hotel prices go up. Inflation is everywhere.

 

Recently on Hilton I purchased points, then used them on a booking. The cost of purchasing the points was half of what the hotel would have cost if I had a cash booking, plus since I used points I did not have to pay the resort fee.

Edited May 1, 2023 by ldtr

[BamaVol]

3 minutes ago, ldtr said:

Sure the points have devalued, but then again hotel prices have gone up considerably as well. So with hotels the point cost is a similar ratio to hotel costs. In the US average hotel prices have gone up 64% over the last year. 

 

You are not going to see the point  requirements  remain the same while hotel prices go up. Inflation is everywhere.

True of course. Although I’m not sure the last year is representative of the last 20 years.  

 

I had an award stay this weekend.  They slipped the bill under my door and I got to see what IHG paid the property for my room.  $40 for a room that would have cost me $236 a night.

[caribill]

6 hours ago, ldtr said:

Not so much any more. While frequent business travelers may be thr primary group that hold status on airlines. The credit card holders drive most of the points use. As far as hotels go you can get top status on most of the major chains just by  having one of their credit cards like ihg premier or Hilton Aspire. The benefits more the equal the annual fee.

 

To cover the annual fee of $450 or more, cards such as Aspire will be used by very frequent travelers, not the average person that takes a Princess cruise.

[Guest ldtr]

7 hours ago, BamaVol said:

True of course. Although I’m not sure the last year is representative of the last 20 years.  

 

I had an award stay this weekend.  They slipped the bill under my door and I got to see what IHG paid the property for my room.  $40 for a room that would have cost me $236 a night.

Of course the hotel gets the benefits of the booking systems, marketing and other benefits of being a member of a large chain. The reimbursement rate are part of their costs.

[caribill]

18 hours ago, neverbeenhere said:

Brand me up a 3% on all, 5% on cruise line purchases credit card and I’m there. 

Best I have found is 3% on all travel and also with 5% on gasoline. No foreign transaction charges.

[Guest ldtr]

7 hours ago, caribill said:

 

To cover the annual fee of $450 or more, cards such as Aspire will be used by very frequent travelers, not the average person that takes a Princess cruise.

I have Aspire. The free night usually covers the annual fee if you pick the right resort.  the other benefits such as the $100 resort credit, as well as the airport club access, the Hilton diamond benefits are pure gravy on top, even if I use it only a few days each year.

 

IHG Premier is only $99 a year and also with a free night which easily covers the annual fee.

[BamaVol]

14 minutes ago, ldtr said:

 

IHG Premier is only $99 a year and also with a free night which easily covers the annual fee.

My IHG card comes with platinum status and a free night.  $75 annual fee. The platinum status is mostly useless but the free night is usually worth 3-4 times the annual fee.

[BamaVol]

21 minutes ago, ldtr said:

Of course the hotel gets the benefits of the booking systems, marketing and other benefits of being a member of a large chain. The reimbursement rate are part of their costs.

They do also get to limit the number of award rooms. Many nights I have been unable to book an award room but they’ll gladly book me one for cash.

[Guest ldtr]

1 hour ago, BamaVol said:

My IHG card comes with platinum status and a free night.  $75 annual fee. The platinum status is mostly useless but the free night is usually worth 3-4 times the annual fee.

Are you sure about the 75?  They raised the fee when they changed the loyalty structure about a year ago.

 

 The best benefits  asfar as i am concerned the up to 26 points earned per $spent with ihg hotels, the 4th night free after using points for 3 nights, the global entry fee credit, as well as the annual free night.

 

It was a bit better under the older system before they changed get the tier names. At that time you got top tier, instead of second tier.

 

Though we have spent 5 night free at an Intercontinental property on Bora Bora in an over water bungalow last May for 300,000 points. 

 

We collect points at properties when costs are low and use points at higher cost properties.

 

Edited May 1, 2023 by ldtr

[Torfamm]

33 minutes ago, ldtr said:

I have Aspire. The free night usually covers the annual fee if you pick the right resort.  the other benefits such as the $100 resort credit, as well as the airport club access, the Hilton diamond benefits are pure gravy on top, even if I use it only a few days each year.

 

IHG Premier is only $99 a year and also with a free night which easily covers the annual fee.

Along with the free night there is the $250 resort credit if you stay at a Hilton resort property.  The card pays for itself very quickly in that case.

[MissP22]

7 hours ago, caribill said:

With Princess expecting 75% of cruisers to purchase the Plus or Primier package, many, many repeat Princess passengers are spending more than the minimum cruise fare.

Where did the 75% number come from? 

[Guest ldtr]

1 hour ago, Torfamm said:

Along with the free night there is the $250 resort credit if you stay at a Hilton resort property.  The card pays for itself very quickly in that case.

I was thinking that it 100, but you are correct it is 250.

[caribill]

6 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

Where did the 75% number come from? 

CCL Corp stock analysts presentation or Princess TA webinar, I do not remember which.

 

They expect 50% to have Plus and 25% to have Premier.

 

This was before the December price increases for the packages.

[ldubs]

On 4/30/2023 at 12:18 AM, CruizinSusan70 said:

RCI gives 4 with Diamond status and 5 with Diamond Plus.  So, which is it and what other lines give out free drinks with certain tier status?    Not Carnival, NCL, MSC or Celebrity.

 

Celebrity does -- Unless it changed relatively recently.  While I have no idea of our status on Carnival, they give us a large bottled water.  I'm sure they have free beverages for upper tier members but I'm not there.   Never been on NCL or MSC.  

[MissP22]

1 minute ago, caribill said:

CCL Corp stock analysts presentation or Princess TA webinar, I do not remember which.

 

They expect 50% to have Plus and 25% to have Premier.

 

This was before the December price increases for the packages.

Thanks.

That was the last time we bought the plus package. After the price increase we made up out minds that it was just to expensive & will just buy what we want. 

[Guest ldtr]

1 hour ago, MissP22 said:

Thanks.

That was the last time we bought the plus package. After the price increase we made up out minds that it was just to expensive & will just buy what we want. 

I agree. we are on a 22 day cruise. If we purchased packages it would cost us $2640.  I estimate that at the end of the cruise with Princess excursions at most ports, my wife having Enclave for the first 14 transatlantic days, our total out of pocket spend would be  about $648 for everything beyond basic cruise fare.  No brainer to skip the package.

Edited May 1, 2023 by ldtr

[voljeep]

2 minutes ago, ldtr said:

I agree. we are on a 22 day cruise. If we purchased packages it would cost us $2640.  I estimate that at the end of the cruise with Princess excursions at most ports, my wife having Enclave for the first 14 transatlantic days, our total out of pocket spend would be  about $648 for everything beyond basic cruise fare.  No brainer to skip the package.

grats?

wifi?

coffee's, water, soda?

[CruizinSusan70]

4 hours ago, ldtr said:

Of course the entire class of repeat cruisers they need is not all Elite or even Platinum. Princess is now running the oldest average age on the main stream lines (Hal, Celebrity, Princess, Royal, Carnival, NCL).  HAL and Celebrity have been successful in lowering their demographics, while Princess has gotten older. 30 to 35% elite and platinum might be a good mix 50 to 70% is a bit much

Could you please provide a link to where the concrete evidence is that the average Princess cruiser is older than the average HAL cruiser?  I can believe they are older than the 3 entry level lines that cater to families and Celebrity has dropped in age with the evolution of their Edge class ships, but it's kind of difficult to comprehend that the average HAL cruiser is younger than the average Princess cruiser.

[Guest ldtr]

1 hour ago, voljeep said:

grats?

wifi?

coffee's, water, soda?

Yep everything.  16 days in account still negative. 800 in obc, plus the 10 excursion discounts. Pre purchased $526.50 in cash (enclave, internet, water) and expect my onboard account to be a positive 125 or so at the end for both of us.

 

OBC is a wonderful thing. minibar swaps provided sodas. water was 7.50 12 pack pre purchase. only a couple of alcohol drinks during the cruise, along with a few coffee drinks. Elite benefits saved us a little over $600 (internet, excursion discount, free laundry, 2 minibar setups, etc). So between that and obc Princess contributed $1400 to keep the cost low

 

We do have one outside excursion from busy bus that is not included.

Edited May 1, 2023 by ldtr

[ldubs]

21 hours ago, SCX22 said:

This thread is all about snobbery.  Think about the topic.  It's basically, "We're Elites and we want and we think deserve these perks."  Princess thinks otherwise.  Notice how it's never a question on the post cruise survey. 

 

Cruise Princess because you like them for something other than your status and what is reaped from their loyalty program.

 

 

"This thread is all about snobbery."

 

Come on now.  Wanting more loyalty perks has nothing to do with snobbery.  All things being relatively equal, I will select the cruise option that provides the better loyalty program.  

 

 

[Guest ldtr]

1 hour ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Could you please provide a link to where the concrete evidence is that the average Princess cruiser is older than the average HAL cruiser?  I can believe they are older than the 3 entry level lines that cater to families and Celebrity has dropped in age with the evolution of their Edge class ships, but it's kind of difficult to comprehend that the average HAL cruiser is younger than the average Princess cruiser.

Hal has dropped to around 60, Celebrity is around 55 to 57, Princess is around 65.  Came from a few different sources. Will take a look to find the links  when I get a chance over the next day or two.  10 years ago HAL was about 65, Princess was about 60 with Celebrity slightly less.  HAL and Celebrity have made major changes. In HALs case the entertainment  changes and retirement of their smaller ships alienated some of their older, long term guests, and music walk appeals to a younger demographic. Their long cruises still appeal to an older demgraphic.  But the ages on their shorter Alaska and Caribbean cruise for example have dropped significantly.

Edited May 1, 2023 by ldtr

[CruizinSusan70]

1 hour ago, ldubs said:

 

Celebrity does -- Unless it changed relatively recently.  While I have no idea of our status on Carnival, they give us a large bottled water.  I'm sure they have free beverages for upper tier members but I'm not there.   Never been on NCL or MSC.  

The free water is all you get on Carnival.  The don't even discount Cheers for their highest tier Diamond members. I've been Platinum with them for over 10 yrs and I'm aware of the perks that their top tier Diamonds get, which is a joke compared to RCI and NCL perks.

[ldubs]

1 minute ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

The free water is all you get on Carnival.  The don't even discount Cheers for their highest tier Diamond members. I've been Platinum with them for over 10 yrs and I'm aware of the perks that their top tier Diamonds get, which is a joke compared to RCI and NCL perks.

 

OK.  This comes under the don't know and don't care category for me. 🙂  I was simply responding to your quote of my previous post.  

 

My original point is if considering the suggestion of an elevated basket of perk options, free beverages, like I get on other lines, would be a good addition.  

[CruizinSusan70]

8 minutes ago, ldubs said:

 

OK.  This comes under the don't know and don't care category for me. 🙂  I was simply responding to your quote of my previous post.  

 

My original point is if considering the suggestion of an elevated basket of perk options, free beverages, like I get on other lines, would be a good addition.  

The only lines that give alcoholic perks are RCI at the Diamond level and I guess Celebrity at a happy hour at whatever level.  Since I haven't reached either of these levels yet after 50+ cruises, it's a moot point.