Intelligence – December, 17 2012

Intelligence – December, 17 2012

Wyndham Rewards members can now buy and gift Wyndham Rewards points online through a new partnership with Points.com. …

Etihad Airways has increased baggage allowance for its Coral economy class to 30kg, up to 50kg for members of Etihad Guest. This follows the airline upping the baggage allowance for premium passengers in March 2012. …

airBaltic BalticMiles members can earn points buying chocolate with PureChocolates–you can claim 50 points with a code found in a box of chocolates. …

Alaska Airlines is launching new service between Seattle and Salt Lake City starting April 4, 2013. …

Air New Zealand is suspending its existing flights between Hong Kong and London (an extension of its services from Auckland) on March 4, 2013, although it will continue to serve London via Los Angeles. …

The airline group that owns Iberia plans to cut the airline’s capacity by 15 percent. …

In the later part of 2012, Stash Hotel Rewards added nine new partner hotels to the program including, Old Santa Fe Inn, Santa Fe, N.M.; Table Mountain Inn, Golden, Colo. and Magnolia Hotel Houston, Texas, among others. …

Something gleaned from StarMegaDo4: United Airlines plans to allow members of MileagePlus to use their miles to get United Club memberships starting in 2013. …

France’s first Hilton Garden Inn, the Hilton Garden Inn Val d’Europe, is set to open near Disneyland Paris in 2015. It will feature 154 rooms and be about 25 miles from both Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports. …

Austrian Airlines will once again be flying to Chicago from Vienna as of May 17, 2013. The airline most recently served Chicago in 2008 and currently offers daily flights to New York, Washington D.C. (Dulles) and Toronto. …

Members of Virgin Australia Velocity can now earn points through Velocity Global eStore online shopping at Macy’s, Bloomingdales, Saks Fifth Avenue, Top Shop and iTunes Australia. …

Best Western and Budget Car Rental have signed a new multi-year partnership agreement and Best Western members can earn 1,500 bonus points, plus the usual 1,000 points, per rental through June 30, 2013 at participating Budget locations in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Asia. …

Alaska Airlines is launching daily nonstop service between San Diego and Boston on March 29, 2013. …

British Airways’ subsidiary OpenSkies is now a oneworld affiliate member. …

China’s Xiamen Airlines has joined the SkyTeam alliance. The airline flies to more than 50 cities including Macau, Hong Kong and Taipei. …

Southwest Rapid Rewards has announced plans to partner with points.com from mid-2013. …

Wyndham Hotel Group has opened its third Wyndham Hotel Group property in Cost Rica, the Wyndham Garden San Jose Escazu. The hotel features 111 rooms, a fitness center, indoor heated lap pool and Jacuzzi as well as designated female-friendly guest room floors along with other amenities like free WiFi. The new hotel joins TRYP by Wyndham San Jose Sabana, which opened in the capital city in 2011 and the Ramada Plaza San Jose Herradura. …

Shenzhen Airlines is a new Star Alliance member airline. The carrier is China’s fifth largest airline, adding some 400 daily flights and 70 destinations to the Star Alliance network. Among these are five new destinations in China: Juzhou (Zhejiang Province), Linyi, Qinhuangdao, Shijiazhuang and Zhoushan.