Good evening everyone, I hope your week is going well. Last year, I wrote 24 posts about buying miles and points, so I decided to take a look back at all the airline and hotel promotions to see what kind of insights I could find. I entered all the data in the table and then asked ChatGPT to provide some analysis and deeper insights into the promotions.
These insights can be helpful if you are wondering if a specific airline or hotel promotion is toward the higher end of the promotion spectrum. Here are the insights:
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- Air Canada: Discounts: 30% & Bonuses: 75%-100%
- Air France / KLM: Discounts: 40%-50% & Bonuses: 70%
- Alaska Airlines: Bonuses: 50%-70%
- Avianca Airlines: Bonuses: 160%-165%
- Choice Hotels: Discounts: 25%-30% & Bonuses: 30%-50%
- Etihad: Bonuses: 25%-30%
- Hawaiian Airlines: Bonuses: 50%-100%
- Hilton Hotels: Bonuses: 100%
- Hyatt Hotels: Bonuses: 20%-25%
- IHG Hotels: Bonuses: 60%-100%
- JetBlue: Bonuses: 90%-130%
- Leading Hotels of the World: Bonuses: 60%-100%
- Marriott Hotels: Bonuses: 35%-45%
- Southwest Airlines: Discounts: 35%-50%
- Spirit Airlines: Discounts: 40% & Bonuses: 60%
- United Airlines: Discounts: 30%-50% & Bonuses: 90%-100%
- Virgin Atlantic: Bonuses: 60%-70%
- Wyndham Hotels: Discounts: 25%-45% & Bonuses: 35%-60%
I then asked ChatGPT to provide a deeper analysis of the promotions by looking at expiration dates, the breakdown between airlines and hotels, and the breakdown between discounts and bonuses. Here are the insights that I found most interesting:
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- Airlines generally offer higher bonuses, especially in the second half of the year, so customers looking to maximize points or rewards may want to book flights in late spring to fall.
- The promotion cycles tend to cluster around seasonal travel patterns, with airlines pushing offers in early spring and late summer, while hotels tend to offer deals in spring, summer, and fall.
- There’s a clear seasonal trend where airlines like Southwest, Spirit, and United offer discounts during early spring (February to May) to encourage travel for spring break or early vacation periods.
- Promotions seem to peak in late summer (July-August), likely targeting vacationers during school holidays or for last-minute summer trips. Both airlines and hotels offer strong promotions during this period.
- Airlines like Air Canada and United Airlines are more likely to have multiple promotions throughout the year.
- United Airlines offers both discounts (30%-50%) and bonus offers (90%-100%). This suggests they may focus on both attracting budget-conscious travelers and those looking for greater value.
- Hotels like Hilton and Choice seem to offer a steady combination of discounts and bonuses, making them more appealing for customers seeking consistent value throughout the year.
Here is the original data set which you can search, sort, and filter:
| Program Name | Promotion | Expiration |
|---|---|---|
| Air Canada | 30% discount | 1/3/2024 |
| Air Canada | 80% bonus | 4/5/2024 |
| Air Canada | 85% bonus | 5/11/2024 |
| Air Canada | 75% bonus | 6/21/2024 |
| Air Canada | 100% bonus | 7/19/2024 |
| Air Canada | 75% bonus | 10/10/2024 |
| Air Canada | 30% discount | 11/18/2024 |
| Air France / KLM | 50% discount | 2/29/2024 |
| Air France / KLM | 70% bonus | 4/25/2024 |
| Air France / KLM | 70% bonus | 6/16/2024 |
| Air France / KLM | 40% discount | 8/4/2024 |
| Alaska Airlines | 60% bonus | 2/29/2024 |
| Alaska Airlines | 70% bonus | 3/15/2024 |
| Alaska Airlines | 60% bonus | 8/15/2024 |
| Alaska Airlines | 50% bonus | 9/24/2024 |
| Alaska Airlines | 60% bonus | 12/23/2024 |
| Avianca Airlines | 165% bonus | 3/26/2024 |
| Avianca Airlines | 160% bonus | 5/31/2024 |
| Avianca Airlines | 160% bonus | 8/16/2024 |
| Avianca Airlines | 160% bonus | 9/19/2024 |
| Avianca Airlines | 160% bonus | 11/19/2024 |
| Avianca Airlines | 160% bonus | 12/31/2024 |
| Choice Hotels | 25% discount | 3/4/2024 |
| Choice Hotels | 50% bonus | 4/9/2024 |
| Choice Hotels | 40% bonus | 4/30/2024 |
| Choice Hotels | 30% discount | 5/17/2024 |
| Choice Hotels | 30% bonus | 6/21/2024 |
| Choice Hotels | 25% discount | 8/27/2024 |
| Choice Hotels | 30% bonus | 9/24/2024 |
| Choice Hotels | 50% bonus | 10/9/2024 |
| Choice Hotels | 50% bonus | 11/10/2024 |
| Etihad | 30% bonus | 2/26/2024 |
| Etihad | 25% bonus | 5/6/2024 |
| Etihad | 30% bonus | 7/14/2024 |
| Etihad | 30% bonus | 8/25/2024 |
| Hawaiian Airlines | 100% bonus | 7/17/2024 |
| Hawaiian Airlines | 50% bonus | 9/13/2024 |
| Hawaiian Airlines | 100% bonus | 11/15/2024 |
| Hilton Hotels | 100% bonus | 3/12/2024 |
| Hilton Hotels | 100% bonus | 5/14/2024 |
| Hilton Hotels | 100% bonus | 9/24/2024 |
| Hilton Hotels | 100% bonus | 11/27/2024 |
| Hilton Hotels | 100% bonus | 12/31/2024 |
| Hyatt Hotels | 25% bonus | 1/4/2024 |
| Hyatt Hotels | 20% discount | 4/9/2024 |
| Hyatt Hotels | 20% discount | 10/8/2024 |
| IHG Hotels | 80% bonus | 3/7/2024 |
| IHG Hotels | 60% bonus | 7/14/2024 |
| IHG Hotels | 100% bonus | 10/5/2024 |
| JetBlue | 90% bonus | 3/31/2024 |
| JetBlue | 100% bonus | 9/15/2024 |
| JetBlue | 125% bonus | 11/8/2024 |
| JetBlue | 130% bonus | 12/31/2024 |
| Leading Hotels of the World | 60% bonus | 4/26/2024 |
| Leading Hotels of the World | 60% bonus | 5/6/2024 |
| Leading Hotels of the World | 100% bonus | 9/27/2024 |
| Marriott Hotels | 35% bonus | 3/31/2024 |
| Marriott Hotels | 40% bonus | 9/23/2024 |
| Marriott Hotels | 45% bonus | 12/23/2024 |
| Southwest Airlines | 50% discount | 2/23/2024 |
| Southwest Airlines | 50% discount | 4/2/2024 |
| Southwest Airlines | 35% discount | 4/14/2024 |
| Southwest Airlines | 50% discount | 5/15/2024 |
| Southwest Airlines | 50% discount | 8/19/2024 |
| Southwest Airlines | 50% discount | 9/25/2024 |
| Southwest Airlines | 50% discount | 12/31/2024 |
| Spirit Airlines | 40% discount | 3/8/2024 |
| Spirit Airlines | 60% bonus | 5/30/2024 |
| Spirit Airlines | 60% bonus | 9/13/2024 |
| Spirit Airlines | 60% bonus | 10/11/2024 |
| United Airlines | 50% discount | 2/24/2024 |
| United Airlines | 100% bonus | 4/30/2024 |
| United Airlines | 50% discount | 5/28/2024 |
| United Airlines | 50% discount | 6/18/2024 |
| United Airlines | 90% bonus | 7/31/2024 |
| United Airlines | 100% bonus | 8/25/2024 |
| United Airlines | 100% bonus | 9/20/2024 |
| United Airlines | 100% bonus | 11/21/2024 |
| United Airlines | 30% discount | 12/31/2024 |
| Virgin Atlantic | 70% bonus | 3/31/2024 |
| Virgin Atlantic | 60% bonus | 8/4/2024 |
| Wyndham Hotels | 40% bonus | 4/21/2024 |
| Wyndham Hotels | 25% discount | 5/28/2024 |
| Wyndham Hotels | 35% bonus | 8/9/2024 |
| Wyndham Hotels | 60% bonus | 11/30/2024 |
| Wyndham Hotels | 45% discount | 12/31/2024 |
Please let me know if you have any questions about the data or analysis done by ChatGPT. I am also curious if you like this type of post or would prefer less AI on TWG. Thank you for reading and have a great evening.