Wyndham's first premium credit card promises Diamond status and $400 in statement credits for $395 a year. The question nobody at headquarters is asking is whether this actually drives heads in beds... or just inflates a loyalty number that looks great on an earnings call.
Citi ThankYou's devaluation of transfers to Choice Privileges and I Prefer isn't just a credit card story... it's a brand distribution story, and the owners relying on loyalty contribution to justify their franchise fees are about to feel it in a place the FDD never warned them about.
Hyatt's co-branded credit card bonus just ended, but the real story isn't the free nights... it's a loyalty program growing at 30% annually with 60 million members, and hotel owners footing a bigger bill every year for the privilege of filling rooms they might have filled anyway.
