Planes, Hotels, and Automobiles

Going the Extra Mile

August 2010

Agenda

Overview

Airlines

Hotels

Rental Cars

Executive Summary

Appendix

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Overview
Maximize your miles and points by choosing carefully
All major U.S. airline, hotel, and rental car programs have been extensively analyzed and ranked A 1-10 point system was established for both for airlines and hotels Rental car reward programs have been summarized due to the lack of depth The winners are announced at the end!

The Consultants Equality

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Agenda

Overview

Airlines

Hotels

Rental Cars

Executive Summary

Appendix

Proprietary and Confidential 2010 Archstone Consulting All Rights Reserved

Airlines
Airline were compared according to six different components
A point system (max 10 points) was established for airlines based on the following criteria:
Total Earned Flights 5 Points Global Reach 1.5 Points Other Differentiators 1.5 Points Accruing Status & Bonuses 1 Points On-time Percentage .5 Points Fleet Age .5 Points

Points were allocated on the basis of importance as well as the level of differentiation between competitors within a category Credit cards and partner programs were not considered; all airlines have relatively similar credit card offers and at least some decent partners

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Global Reach
Delta and Continental are the clear winners with the most global destinations

Carrier Delta Continental* US Airways American United* Southwest JetBlue

Destinations 355 351 231 157 114 69 61

Points 1.5 1.5 1.1 0.9 1.5 0.5 0.5

When Continental and United complete their merger, they will becomes the worlds largest airline, which is why they have both been awarded 1 point

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Accruing Status & Bonuses

Deltas 4th tier with a 125% bonus on miles separates itself from the competition

Carrier Delta Continental American Miles Miles Miles Miles Bonus

T1 25K 25K 25K 25K 25 Bonus 25% Bonus 25% Bonus 25%

T2 50K 100% 50K 100% 50K 100% 50K 100%

T3 75K 100% 75K 100% 100K 100% 100K 100%

T4 125K 125% $30K 100%

Points 1.0 0.8 0.7

US Airways
United

0.6 100K 100%

0.5

Miles

25K

50K 50%

75K 75%

Bonus 25%

Due to lack of status programs, Southwest and JetBlue given the low of 0.5

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Other Differentiators
Delta has the most rewarding perks
1.5 Points - Medallion qualification miles rollover, unlimited upgrades all levels, free airport club membership for T4 status, choice of 1 reward for T3 (including 20K miles), 2 rewards for T4 1.3 Points - Unlimited upgrades for all levels, 25K mile bonus to T4, free club membership to T4, free meals for all 1.2 Points - Unlimited upgrades all levels, hidden 4th tier 1.0 Points - Unlimited upgrades for all levels, $5 charge for front of coach regardless of status, free lounge access at 150K miles flown 0.9 Points - No charge for TV use, free snacks and Dunkin Donuts coffee, free wireless in some flights and terminals, XM radio, 1st bag free 0.8 Points - Only unlimited upgrades for T3, 500 mile system otherwise 0.7 Points - Fun and energetic staff, great customer service, unlimited peanuts, no baggage fees

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Total Earned Flights

JetBlue for domestic, Delta for international
Mileage totals were calculated assuming 100K base miles (50*2 flights, 1000 mile flight average) flown during the year, at the 100K status level where all airlines give 100% mileage bonus

Earned flights assume the higher mileage rate if two-tiered (for example 50K miles, not 25K for a domestic flight), or if three-tiered the average of the top two tiers (50K for a 25/40/60 system)

Carrier Delta* American Continental US Airways

Miles 220K 200K 200K 200K

Domestic 4.4 4.0 4.0 4.0

International 2.1 2.2 2.0 1.9

Points 4.0 3.9 3.7 3.6

United JetBlue*
Southwest*

200K 245K
n/a

4.0 8.9
4.7

1.8 n/a
n/a

3.5 4.8
3.2

* Delta awards platinum customers with 20K extra miles; JetBlue offers 6 miles per dollar when booked on the website, 3 otherwise (the
above calculation assumes the flights are booked on the website with $350*50 dollars spent); Southwest gives 1 roundtrip with blackouts or .5 roundtrips without blackouts for every 8 paid roundtrips 9
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On-Time Percentage
Southwests highly efficient crews result in the most on-time flights

Carrier

On-Time Points

Southwest
US Airways United Continental Delta American JetBlue

82.1%
80.1% 79.6% 77.7% 76.8% 76.7% 76.6%

0.5
0.3 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1

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Fleet Age
JetBlue has the newest planes of any carrier, all with free TVs!! From

Carrier
JetBlue Southwest Continental* US Airways United* Delta American

Fleet Years
5.5 9.3 9.7 11.5 12.6 13.1 13.9

Points
0.5 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.0
To

When the merger completes, Continentals fleet average age will be lowered, and Uniteds will improve, hence the adjusted points

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Current Offers
Be sure to check out and sign up for the following offers

Triple Miles & MQMs on All Delta Shuttles

Earn One Mile per $1 Spent Plus $50 At Residence Inn

Hop, Skip, and Jump for Preferred Status

10,000 plus 2 Extra Points per Dollar with JetBlue AMEX Triple points between NYC, BOS and LAX

Fly Short-Hops for Discounted Miles

Double Points for Philly, DC, or Denver

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Airline Winners
Deltas emerges as the best overall frequent flyer airline, United is a close 4th

Delta 8.2 Points Continental 7.7 Points JetBlue 7.3 Points

Airlines 2010

Full results are available in the appendix

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Agenda

Overview

Airlines

Hotels

Rental Cars

Executive Summary

Appendix

14

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Hotels
Hotels were compared according to four different components
A point system (max 10 points) was established for hotels based on the following criteria:
Total Earned Nights 6 Points Global Reach 2 Points Accruing Status & Bonuses 1 Point Other Differentiators 1 Point

Points were allocated on the basis of importance as well as the level of differentiation between competitors within a category

Credit cards and partner programs were not considered; all hotels have relatively similar credit card offers and at least some decent partners

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Global Reach
Hilton comes out on top with the most hotels in desirable locations

Hotel Chain Hilton

Hotels 3,500

Points 2.0

Marriott
Intercont. Starwood Hyatt

3,200
4,400 979 434

1.8
1.6 1.0 0.7

Intercontinental (also owns Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Indigo, Staybridge, Candlewood) has most of their nicer hotels in Europe and Asia, and with a smaller percentage of resorts compared to Hilton or Marriott in locations like the Caribbean

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Accruing Status & Bonuses

Starwoods gold status and 50% bonus at 25 nights sets them apart

Carrier Starwood Hilton Intercont. Nights Bonus Nights Nights Nights Nights

T1

T2 25 50%

T3 50 50% 60 50% 50 50%

Points 1.0 0.9 0.8

10 15 10 15

36 25%

Bonus 15% Bonus 10%

Marriott
Hyatt

50 25%

75 50% 50

Bonus 20%

0.7
0.5

Bonus 10%

30%

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Total Earned Nights

Hiltons HHonors Double Dip allowing 20 points a dollar them on top
Point totals were calculated assuming $20,000 dollars were spent a year at a single hotel chain while at the highest status (50 weeks of $400 a week)

Earned nights and weeks are estimating for the same quality of hotels (i.e. even though Starwood may have some of the nicer hotels, their lower property and point values were selected)

Carrier Hilton* Marriott Hyatt* Intercont. Starwood*

Points 425K 285K 168K 270K 60K

Nights 10.1 9.5 10.2 9.8 7.7

Weeks 2.0 1.6 1.1* 1.4 1.3

Points 6.0 5.7 5.5 5.4 5.0

Some Hiltons offer point bonuses, this point total assumes an average of 500 point bonuses a week, as well as Hilton points are selected for the Double Dip, not airline miles; Diamond option for Hyatt is either 500 to 1,000 points or $15 food and beverage credit, this table assumes the 750 points on average; 1 week stays at the Hyatt include 5 free dinners, alternatively one can just book several 1 nights; Starwood total includes 500 point bonus a week
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Other Differentiators
Hyatt and Hilton compete for the top spot with great benefits
1.0 Points Internet at 15 nights, breakfast, lounge, gift, 4 annual reserved suite upgrades at 50 nights 1.0 Points Breakfast, lounge, and internet at 36 nights, various on property benefits, gift at some hotels 0.9 Points Breakfast and lounge access at 50 nights, gift at 75 nights 0.9 Points Breakfast, lounge, gift, and internet at 50 nights 0.0 Points No lounges, no free breakfast, hotel gives free breakfast to all, no one wants to stay in a Holiday Inn!

From

To

All hotel chains give room upgrades with either the 2nd or 3rd tier statuses

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Current Offers
Be sure to check out and sign up for the following offers

Double Points for all HHonors Stays (wow!)

5,000 Delta Skymiles a Stay (in addition to base points!!)

Earn 5,000 Bonus Points at Hyatt Hotels in Northern California

Three Nights, One Free at Westins Stay One Night, The Next is 40-50% Off

Up to 25K Bonus Points for Staying at Indigo Hotels

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Hotel Winners
Hilton scores a near perfect 10; Hyatt and Intercontinental are very close behind Hilton 9.9 Points

Marriott 9.3 Points

Starwood 7.9 Points

Hotels 2010
Full results are available in the appendix

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Agenda

Overview

Airlines

Hotels

Rental Cars

Executive Summary

Appendix

22

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Rental Cars
Hertz is the clear winner among the relatively underdeveloped rivals
Choose Hertz points or 200 Delta miles a day or 500 Marriott points a rental 1 Point per dollar,10 rentals a year = 10% bonus, 40 rentals a year = 25% bonus and car upgrades With 50 rentals a year, $200 a rental, you earn 25 non peak rental days or 12.5 peak days, 5 week long rentals non peak and 2.5 peak weeks Can use points fun and prestige cars too at an moderate cost Emerald Aisle where you can choose any car is a nice feature Choose National credits or 50 Delta miles a day (nothing compared to Hertz!) or 250 Hilton points a rental (Hilton points worth less than Marriott) Rental credit every rental or 4 days, one free day after 7 credits with no status, one free day with 6 credits for executive status (12 rentals a year) and car upgrades With 50 rentals a year, only 8.3 rental days earned 50 Delta miles a day (nothing compared to Hertz!) or 250 Hilton points a rental (Hilton points less worth than Marriott if youve paid attention)

The other car rental agencies offer no benefits

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Agenda

Overview

Airlines

Hotels

Rental Cars

Executive Summary

Appendix

24

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Executive Summary
Fly Delta, rent a Hertz, stay in a Hilton
For the average consultant travel schedule using Delta, Hilton, and Hertz:
Earn at least four peak domestic or two peak international round trip flights Obtain as many as two free weeks in a hotel Receive on average three weeks of car rentals

JetBlue is hands down the best airline if you only care about getting the most free North American flights (without first class and other elite perks), but one must also consider the hubs! Continental, Marriott, and National should be the only alternatives to the above For short term allegiance switches - use airline partner miles (like getting Continental miles from U.S. Airways), or choose miles instead of points (like Delta miles at a Marriott)

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Questions

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Agenda

Overview

Airlines

Hotels

Rental Cars

Executive Summary

Appendix

27

Proprietary and Confidential 2010 Archstone Consulting All Rights Reserved

Airline Full Results

Carrier
Delta Continental JetBlue United US Airways American Southwest

Total Points
8.2 7.7 7.3 7.2 6.8 6.4 5.9

Rank
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

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Hotel Full Results

Carrier
Hilton Marriott Starwood Intercont. Hyatt

Total Points
9.9 9.3 7.9 7.8 7.7

Rank
1 2 3 4 5

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JFK Airport Map

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EWR Airport Map

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LGA Airport Map

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