The Elite Experience: When Traveling On Points Gives You Access To Places You Don’t Belong – View from the Wing

The Elite Experience: When Traveling On Points Gives You Access To Places You Don’t Belong

by Gary Leff on May 4, 2024

When Beverly Hills 90210 debuted my sophomore year of high school in 1990, it was a ‘fish out of water’ story, focused heavily on the family from Minnesota as outsiders, gawking at the privilege around them. That element to the show quickly dissipated, and it more or less became a standard teen drama.

A recent online discussion got me thinking about how miles and points can have the same effect as the showrunners of 9-0.

I don’t think I ever felt out of place in premium airline cabins. But they quickly became de riguere such that I don’t think much about it. The first time I was upgraded – to business class on a United cross-country Boeing 777 flight 26 years ago – I didn’t want to get off. It was a Sunday afternoon, they brought me a coursed meal and drinks, and I had my New York Times. It was sublime and I didn’t want the flight to end.

• I’ve had Singapore A380 Suites, ANA first class, Thai first class, Korean first class cabins to myself and others too. I’ve experienced the Etihad Residence. That’s some luxury!
• About the only awkward moment I’ve had was when my wife and I flew Lufthansa first class years ago on the upper deck of their 747, had the cabin to ourselves, and took a couple of minutes to get our things together on arrival. We didn’t realize until we’d gotten down the stairs to deplane that they were still holding the whole business class cabin until we disembarked.

Singapore A380 Suites

Etihad A380 Residence

Hotels, though, are another matter. The most exclusive and expensive properties historically haven’t been ones that you could access with points. They weren’t accessible via status – travel a bunch for work as a middle manager, and open up the world.

This is what prompted plenty of stories of seeing things far outside a hotel guest’s life experience, that sometimes made the guest uncomfortable or how their own appearance and demeanor made them feel as though they stood out:

Recently stayed at the park Hyatt Kyoto 2 nights in points. I do not frequent 2k a night hotels.

We walked up to the entrance to check in with all our common person sports gear traveling bags and were immediately stopped by the staff before even making it to the door. They asked if we were lost . Once we confirmed our reservation they started acting appropriately lol. Next to us was an actual rolls Royce unloading a family out with coach luggage.

Met a guy in the public bath. Chatting him up he owns several companies. Kept complaining about how small the baths were and how the multiple ones he has at his Miami mansion were much larger and hotter.

And just generally watching people who are rich/ high class move about. They carry themselves differently. It’s strange to see and watch

Take this to another level. The story was about a Park Hyatt, and you’ve been able to redeem points for a long time to stay at a Park Hyatt, Waldorf-Astoria, or St. Regis – but certainly not for Hôtel de Crillon or Four Seasons George V in Paris; the Chedi Andermatt or Badrutt Palace St. Moritz; Cheval Blanc St Barth; or Amanyara in Turks and Caicos?

There are a few Marriotts that fall into this category such as Cala di Volpe in Sardinia. It’s only recently though that unique and exclusive independent and small chain truly high end hotels have been opened up to points travelers.

The Hyatt – SLH Hotels was a bit of a watershed for this. SLH is transitioning to Hilton, with Hyatt’s acquisition of Mr. and Mrs. Smith which should lead to greater integration and more hotel opportunities than when the luxury booking platform partnered with IHG (itself a fish out of water story!). Will we gain redemption access to Amankora, Amanwella, Amantaka, Amanzoe and Amandari?

Some things I’ve learned along the way,

• people aren’t looking at you as much as you think they are
• and even if they were, who cares, you’re traveling and probably won’t ever see them again
• you belong there as much as they do
• if you believe you belong and act like you belong, you don’t seem out of place – it’s people acting uncomfortably that makes them look out of place

In other words, the insecurity is usually in our own heads. And guess what? Rich people are insecure, too! When you see ostentatious displays of wealth, as opposed to just living their own lives without worrying over others, that’s usually insecurity and status games – acting out a game of mimesis which only matters to others playing that same game.

And by the way, you’d be surprised how not stuff the Park Hyatt Vendome is Paris is.

The way that I think about the best service and experiences is that they’re there to make you comfortable. Here’s what sticks out in my mind. The first time I dined at Tetsuya’s in Sydney I asked whether my wife and I might see the kitchen (it was very impressive at the time). Our server’s answer – in a city not known for service! – was, “of course, it is your evening.” We were shown the test kitchen as well, and Tetsuya Wakuda popped in and said hello while we were back there.

I never felt uncomfortable dining at El Bulli, when it was the toughest reservation in the world. They had given a booking to us! And so we were welcomed. You are the guest. Therefore you belong. You don’t need to conform to anyone else’s expectations. Stop caring so much about what other people think of you, and sit with your own experience. Miles and points turn out to actually be a great social equalizer.

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