
AMEX's Sidecar Lounge, Marriott Tweaks Certificate, And A Question About Tipping
From Miles to Go - Travel Tips, News & Reviews You Can't Afford to Miss! by Ed Pizza, Richard Kerr
March 19, 2026 · 33 min
About this episode
Ed and Richard discuss travel lounge experiences, loyalty program updates, and the topic of tipping hotel housekeeping.
Watch Us On YouTube! Announcing a new, ongoing benefit for annual subscribers of our Slack community. Annual subscribers receive a free Points Path Alerts subscription OR a 30% discount on Points Path Pro. Announcing a new, ongoing benefit for annual subscribers of our Slack community. Annual subscribers receive a free Points Path Alerts subscription OR a 30% discount on Points Path Pro. Ed and Richard are back on home turf this week, kicking things off with a small milestone for the podcast: crossing 5,000 YouTube subscribers and continuing to grow the audience across video and audio platforms. From there, Ed shares his experience visiting American Express's new Sidecar lounge concept in Las Vegas, a much smaller lounge designed for short visits. The service and food impressed — but the strict 90-minute access rule raises questions about how useful the concept really is. The discussion then turns to loyalty program updates. Marriott is increasing the flexibility of its free night certificates, allowing members to top them off with more points than before — a change that could make certificates significantly easier to use at higher-end properties. They also break down a new…
People in this episode
Hosts: Ed Pizza, Richard Kerr
Topics covered
- travel lounges
- loyalty programs
- hotel tipping
- podcast milestones
- travel tips
Keywords
- American Express
- Marriott
- tipping culture
- travel tips
- hotel housekeeping
- Points Path Alerts
- YouTube subscribers
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: American Express, Marriott, World of Hyatt
Products: World of Hyatt Business Credit Card
Places: Las Vegas
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