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British Airways On Business
British Airways’ has a separate loyalty scheme for small and medium businesses, called On Business. In typical BA IT fashion, account holders have been unable to access any options or account information online since early 2023. The failure happened without warning, and there have been few updates on the issue until now.
Business Traveller is reporting that BA has now contacted members to say that they are finally making progress and believe that they should be able to relaunch in early 2024. It seems unbelievable that in 2023, you can lock people out of any online functionality for nearly a year! However, you can still use the scheme in the same way as before currently, but everything has to be done by phone.
Virgin Atlantic launches lifestyle brand
Virgin Atlantic, has today launched its first-ever lifestyle collection, featuring a range of clothing and vegan leather travel essentials. If you are Virgin fan or a bit of an aviation geek, or know someone who is, these will be of interest. I think they have done a nice job with the design which was produced in collaboration with leading sustainable British designers Fenella Smith and Oliver Co.
Premium items include the iconic ‘Queen of the Skies’ jumper (£70), inspired by the ‘Fly Virgin Atlantic’ sweatshirt famously worn by Princess Diana in the 1980s. The jumper is available in two colours, classic navy and cream and perfectly captures Virgin Atlantic’s style in super soft cotton – perfect for every occasion on and off the runway.
The Virgin Atlantic lifestyle collection also features a jumper emblazoned with the airline’s LGBTQ+ icon Oscar, who features on the side of Virgin Atlantic’s ‘Rain Bow’ plane.
The collection also includes a contemporary and luxury canvas travel tote (£90), flight bag (£95), jumpers and t-shirts with the airline’s iconic flying icons (£70/£35), Runway ready pouch (£60), High Flyer passport holders (£70), Hello luggage tags (£40) and Virgin Atlantic playing cards (£12). You can even buy Virgin Atlantic’s pronoun badges.
The items designed in collaboration with Oliver Co., including the passport holder, luggage tag, landing gear pouch and card holder, are made from tea-based plant leather which gives another British nod to this classic collection. The tea alternative uses less energy in production compared to other plant-based leathers that use fruit waste which requires an energy intensive drying process.
Shai Weiss, CEO at Virgin Atlantic, commented: “On our mission to be the most loved travel company, we’re committed to elevating our customer experience at every opportunity. Our passion for design is one of the things our customers love most, and this brand new travel range will enhance their journey, both on and off the runway. “Collaborating with talented British designers Fenella Smith and Oliver Co, we’ve curated a collection of responsibly crafted pieces, each underpinned by our commitment to providing a premium experience, while making every customer touchpoint as sustainable as possible.”
British designer and founder, Fenella Smith, said: “Virgin Atlantic’s iconic brand and focus on seeing things differently align perfectly with my creative vision of celebrating colourful self-expression. “My pieces for the collection place Virgin Atlantic’s vibrant red at the forefront, creating stylish accessories that are perfect no matter what the occasion. Each has been crafted to not only capture the airline’s elegance but to also serve as a canvas for self-expression.““
Matthew Oliver, Founder and Creative Director of Oliver Co., said: “Our pieces for Virgin Atlantic’s first-ever lifestyle collection are a celebration of the airline’s iconic colours through design-led travel essentials made from the latest in material innovation. Together, we’ve created a collection that not only represents Virgin Atlantic’s style but also reflects our shared dedication to minimising our environmental impact. It is a testament to the idea that products can and should be designed sustainably, without compromising on looks or functionality.”
Virgin Atlantic lifestyle collection includes:
- High Flier passport holder – £70
- Hello luggage tag – £40
- Big Spender card holder – £50
- Landing gear travel wallet – £90
- Canvas travel tote – £90
- Flight bag – £95
- Runway ready pouch – £60
- Billie Holiday jumper (available in blue and cream) – £70
- Billie Holiday t-shirt (available in blue and cream) – £35
- Queen of the Skies jumper (available in blue and cream) – £70
- Queen of the Skies t-shirt (available in blue and cream) – £35
- Rain Bow jumper (available in blue and cream) – £70
- Rain Bow t-shirt (available in blue and cream) – £35
- Virgin Atlantic playing cards – £12
- Virgin Atlantic pronoun badge card – £10
You can see all the items on the official page here.
What do you think of the new merchandise? Will you be buying it? Let us know in the comments below.
World of Hyatt Loyalty changes for 2024
Hyatt is generally regarded as having the best loyalty program for those that reach its top tier, but they are now enhancing their program further. From 1 January 2024, World of Hyatt will introduce new program benefits, offering more flexibility and choices for members. The newly expanded World of Hyatt Milestone Rewards are designed to offer more awards and more choice at more milestones, allowing members to choose earning points for future free nights, enhancing stays with suite upgrades or redeeming for wellbeing experiences.
“One of the reasons we’ve quadrupled our membership over the past five years is that we look for new ways to care for our World of Hyatt members by offering benefits that matter most and can be shared,” said Mark Vondrasek, chief commercial officer, Hyatt. “We’ve grown our brand presence in the luxury and lifestyle space by adding hotels in new markets and expanding our brands in the destinations where our members want to travel, making our portfolio even more desirable.
We’re proud to be adding, building, and evolving World of Hyatt to bring industry-leading changes that are redefining loyalty with our three guiding principles of care: loyalty extends beyond the member, choice is critical and recognition means everything.”
With the program updates, members will be rewarded more frequently and can choose whether to use their award or gift eligible awards to others. Milestone Rewards will begin after 20 qualifying nights or 35,000 Base Points per year and continue for each 10 qualifying nights, up to 150 nights, making World of Hyatt the only global hotel loyalty program to reward members with milestone rewards for stays beyond 100 nights.
At almost every milestone, members will be able to have their choice of three awards. Available award choices include options to:
- Earn points for future stays across the globe.
- Enhance their next stay with benefits like suite upgrades.
- Enjoy experiences designed for their wellbeing.
World of Hyatt members will be able to earn new Milestone Rewards, including:
- 2K Next Stay: Earn 2,000 Bonus Points on their next stay at a Hyatt Place, Hyatt House, Caption by Hyatt or UrCove hotel.
- FIND Experience Credit: Select FIND credit to use on any FIND experience around the globe. Credit ranges from $25-$300, depending on which Milestone Reward the member has achieved.
- Guest of Honor Award: Give someone they care about – including themselves – Globalist benefits on either award or eligible paid stays, starting at 40 qualifying nights in a year.
- Miraval Extra Night: Stay one night at a Miraval resort to receive a complimentary second night.
- The Ultimate Free Night Award: Enjoy one free night in any participating Category 1-8 hotel, Category A-F all-inclusive resort or participating Miraval resort (earned at 150 qualifying nights in a year).
As an example, the first milestone benefits options are at 20 Qualifying Nights or 35,000 Base Points:
The choices are:
- 2K Next Stay Award
- 2 Club Access Awards
- $25 FIND Experience Credit
Guest of Honor Benefit
World of Hyatt offers unique benefits like Guest of Honor, which invites members to gift a Globalist stay to someone with benefits including complimentary breakfast, best room available (up to a standard suite) and late checkout at participating properties.
World of Hyatt is now changing Guest of Honor and extending the award to more members and evolving it into a Milestone Reward offered to members starting at 40 nights or 65,000 Base Points per year, giving members a taste of Globalist status.
Members will be able to earn up to 10 Guest of Honor Awards per year through Milestone Rewards. Members can now experience Globalist benefits themselves or gift the award, on eligible paid and award stays up to seven nights. If a member chooses to gift the award to another member, they will earn one qualifying night credit towards tier status as added recognition from World of Hyatt when their Guest of Honor completes his or her stay.
You can find out more on the Hyatt website here.
4 comments
“making World of Hyatt the only global hotel loyalty program to reward members with milestone rewards for stays beyond 100 nights.”
Not correct. HHonors gives milestone rewards 10k points after 100 nights for every 10 nights credited. 110,120,130 etc. Have received those every year and latest 10k bonus came last month after 120 nights.
Considering buying a Virgin sweatshirt to wear on my next BA flight!!!
Can someone please explain “vegan leather”????
Yes I know it’s a contradiction but that’s what they call it! Really it’s just fancy pleather.
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