Today, two storied travel brands that are destined for the scrap heap announced a marketing partnership that only serves to make their imminent demise that much sadder.
Points earned in the loyalty program of Starwood hotels, which will be acquired and absorbed by Marriott, can now be converted at a 1:1 ratio into points in the loyalty program of Virgin America, which is being acquired by Alaska Airlines. And members of Virgin America’s Elevate program can now earn two points for every $1 spent on Starwood stays.
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With Starwood points convertible to miles in the programs of 34 airlines, and the 5,000-point bonus when converting 20,000 points or more, Starwood’s Preferred Guest program offers flexibility unmatched by other hotel programs (are you listening, Marriott?), which translates into exceptional value. The addition of Virgin America to the list of transfer partners makes a good program even better. And the ability to earn Elevate points for Starwood stays is a leg up for the Elevate program as well.
The new tie-up is good news for members of both programs. But it’s also a reminder that Starwood and Virgin America’s days are numbered. And for many travelers, that’s very bad news indeed.
Reader Reality Check
I’ll miss Starwood’s Preferred Guest program, and the Virgin America brand. You?
After 20 years working in the travel industry, and almost that long writing about it, Tim Winship knows a thing or two about travel. Follow him on Twitter @twinship.
This article first appeared on SmarterTravel.com, where Tim is Editor-at-Large.
I am curious how Alaska Airlines will gain any Virgin America “flyer loyalty value” from the VA acquisition when the VA brand is so closely connected to global entrepreneur and aviation icon Richard Branson (besides the unique inflight experience and fares). Sir Richard has already publicly noted that he is considering launching a new Virgin America once the AS/VA deal is completed. Virgin America – without Branson and his closely-linked cheeky brand identity – is simply a fleet of well appointed jets with crews wondering how much longer they will remain with VA and/or the combined airline (based on my recent chat with two VA crews). Combining two great but different airlines does not guarantee a successful new entity in the long run. If the “brand equity value” of Virgin America quickly nosedives without Branson in his ceremonial VA captain’s chair then AS paid a lot of money for planes they could have purchased straight from Boeing. More likely, AS overpaid to keep Jet Blue from buying VA. Therefore, the VA brand equity and cheeky crews noted above have already been written off as collateral damage of the acquisition. At least UA didn’t buy VA!