United complains to the feds about the Alaska/Hawaiian merger, Hyatt buys another boutique brand and the easiest business class flights to actually book. All that and more in this week’s Saturday Selection, our weekly round-up of interesting tidbits from around the interwebs (links to the original articles are embedded in the titles).

United complains to DOT about Alaska/Hawaiian merger

It’s time for this week’s thrilling episode of “As the Merger Turns.” First of all, a quick recap for those folks who haven’t been on pins and needles while following the latest action of the Alaska/Hawaiian merger. Alaska Airlines surprised nearly everyone last year when it announced that it was grossly overpaying for its “off-the-mainland” compatriot, Hawaiian Airlines. While it was a arguably questionable deal for Alaska shareholders, it was very exciting for most of us points and milers. Hawaiian brings a Pacific-Oceania route map and some fresh, widebody 787s that have never before darkened an Alaska hangar, while at the same point providing some potentially exciting ways to load up on roundabout Alaska miles. The DOJ, who hasn’t been a fan of domestic airline mergers over the last few years, spent several months reviewing the transaction, asked for two extensions before finally letting the review period expire without objection. That usually means smooth sailing, so points and miles folks started flocking like Emperor Penguins towards previously ugly ducklings like the Hawaiian credit cards and a transfer bonus from American Express to HawaiianMiles. But, not so fast, my friends. That champion of domestic airline competition and pedigreed consumer advocate, United Airlines, has filed a complaint saying that the merger would violate its own codeshare agreements with Hawaiian, leading to over-consolidation and a negative impact on consumers…an interesting argument from an airline that has an almost 80% market share in Houston International and a 65%+ market share at Newark and Dulles Airports.

So is the merger on or off? Who can say. But, like the Beatles famously sang, “I don’t know why you say aloha when I say aloha.” Or is it the other way around?

The easiest business class flights to book with points

Who doesn’t like international business class? Getting to fly across an ocean or continent in your own bougie little cubby with a seat that doubles as a lie-flat bed is one of the great, obtainable luxuries in modern travel…something that us funny-money hoarders sometimes don’t fully appreciate. That said, it isn’t always easy to find and book space on these pleasure cruises, and seats during school breaks can be like finding cigarettes in prison. Last week, Thrifty Traveler compiled a list of what they consider to be the six easiest business class products to actually seal the deal with when using points and miles (trigger warning – it’s also a bit of an advert for their premium service). Some folks on the East Coast might quibble with the Japan Airlines inclusion, but it’s nonetheless a good rundown on products that tend to have more availability than many others and are worth considering when you’re trying to find a bed in the sky.

Hyatt acquires a small, boutique brand again for the very first time

Hyatt’s been on a bit of an acquisition bender of late. In the last year or so, World of Hyatt has picked-up the boutiqu-y marketing consortium Mr & Mrs Smith (MMS), Germany’s me and all Hotels, and the high-end “glampground” company, Under Canvas. Now, Hyatt is diving even further into the depths of chic, hipster lodging by purchasing the international chain Standard Hotels. Standard is a far-flung company, to say the least. It only has 24 properties, but they’re scattered to the winds, with locations in Australia, Thailand, Singapore, China, The Maldives, Ibiza, London, Mexico and the US. Hyatt describes Standard as being part of an eventual “lifestyle” division that includes other “lifestyle brands” like Andaz, Dream, Thompson, and Hyatt Centric. One wonders how many “lifestyle” brands a company needs to feel well-centered…or even what a “lifestyle brand” is. Regardless, ever since the addition of Mr & Mrs Smith, we hold our breath a little when we see a new Hyatt purchase, waiting to see if these will be a part of the company’s very good-value award chart or the poor-value, dynamically-priced awards that MMS subjects us to (and that’s also shared by Under Canvas). We reached out to Hyatt to see what the pricing would look like on these properties and are still listening to the crickets in the backyard. Hopefully, that’s not an omen of dynamic pricing to come.

Points, miles, FOMO and lifestyle inflation

For points and miles collectors (and spenders), it’s easy for our eyes to be bigger than our stomachs. Ideally, this “hobby” that we’re all involved in is something fun and rewarding, adding rich experience to our families and lives. But, it can be a compulsion as well. The combination of social media and fear of missing out (FOMO) can quickly draw people into spending more time, money and effort than they intend to in pursuit of “maximizing” all those rewards floating around out there. A couple of years ago, I wrote a post about how points and miles should serve our lives and the way we travel, not the other way around. Last week, Leana over at Miles for Family wrote an interesting post in a similar-ish vein about her “…struggle to not let miles and points derail our financial future.” She paints the picture of someone who gets in the “game” looking for points to help take a family vacation to Florida and ends up manufacturing spend in pursuit of vacations to the Maldives and first class flights…that they may never take. It’s a worthwhile weekend read and something to consider for anyone who reads points and miles blogs on the weekend, like me.

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