American Express Adds a Slew of New Perks For Travelers Stuck at Home by Patrick Stouffer May 2, 2020 28 American Express offers one of the largest collections of travel-oriented credit cards—some of which involve a significant annual fee. With travel at a standstill, many cardmembers are debating whether their travel cards are still worth the annual fee. In response, Amex just released the most comprehensive list of cardmember benefit updates we've seen yet.
American Express Membership Rewards (Temporarily) Loses a Transfer Partner by JT Genter May 1, 2020 20 American Express Membership Rewards is widely regarded as one of the most-valuable transferrable currencies thanks to having over 20 transfer partners and lucrative transfer bonuses. However, the program just lost a little luster with the loss of one of its airline transfer partners.
United Eliminates Partner Award Chart, Makes It Harder to Earn Elite Status When Flying Partners by Patrick Stouffer April 29, 2020 31 Over the last few days, United has made earning elite status harder and removed partner award charts from its website. Both without any notice whatsoever. They say bad things come in pairs. In this case, they were right. In this post, we go through what this means for you.
American Airlines Moves Morocco To Europe, Decreasing Award Prices and Increasing Routing Options by Ross Denkin April 28, 2020 29 Overnight, American Airlines moved the entire country of Morocco from Africa to Europe—at least for the purposes of award travel. Believe it or not, the impacts of this change are largely positive for award travelers traveling between many regions—including from the U.S. to Europe. Read more about the impacts on mileage costs, possible routings, and award ticket taxes and fees.
American Airlines Adds Automatic Mileage Refunds on Certain Award Cancellations by Patrick Stouffer April 26, 2020 34 Canceling an award trip is not something that anybody enjoys doing, especially when the process can be challenging and complicated. American Airlines seems to have recognized this and has recently made the process of canceling (some) award trips much simpler—now no longer requiring a phone call.
[Expired] Chase Automatically Extending Sign-Up Bonus Spending Period for Some Cardholders by Michelle Molloy April 25, 2020 13 There isn't a lot of great news in the travel world these days but Chase has some for new cardholders. Following the lead of American Express, Chase is extending the deadline to meet the spending requirements for new cardholders approved earlier this year.
American Airlines Increases Checked Baggage Fees in the Midst of COVID-19 by JT Genter April 21, 2020 41 Less than a week after announcing $5.8 billion in emergency aid from the U.S. Treasury, American Airlines has increased bag fees by $15 each way on certain routes. The change is effective immediately for new tickets issued as of April 21, 2020.
Citi ThankYou® Points Adds Emirates as 16th Airline Partner by JT Genter April 19, 2020 27 While Citi ThankYou® Points isn't known for being the most valuable transferrable currency, it just added its 16th airline transfer partner: Emirates Skywards. This new partnership means you can now book Emirates' legendary first-class product to Europe for just 135,000 Citi ThankYou Points round-trip, or fly to Europe in Emirates business class for 90,000 points round-trip.
‘Capital One Offers’ Launched in Beta for Select Cardmembers by Patrick Stouffer April 19, 2020 10 Capital One has launched Capital One Offers in beta to select cardmembers, offering between 10-15% back with a variety of retailers. While details are still slim, it appears to be a similar format to that of Chase Offers and Amex Offers. If Capital One Offers end up being similar, the program could add a lot of additional value to Capital One's portfolio of credit cards.
AA Extends Elite Status, Lowers Elite Requirements for 2020, Waiving Mileage Redeposit Fees by Patrick Stouffer April 14, 2020 49 American Airlines, fashionably late as always, has finally announced the extension of elite status in response to COVID-19. With elite status extensions, lowered elite requirements, waived redeposit fees, and the ability to make up the loss on your Million Miler journey through spend, it's an impressive wave of updates that will make a lot of travelers happy. But, there's a potential devaluation hidden in the good news.
Are You Eligible for the Chase Sapphire Reserve $100 Statement Credit? by Sam Helmy April 11, 2020 17 To help deal with the difficult times caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, Chase is offering certain Chase Sapphire Reserve® cardholders a $100 statement credit. The credit will be applied automatically without cardholders needing to do anything. Here's how to know if you're eligible for this credit.
Marriott Extends Elite Status, Further Extends Points Expiration by Michelle Molloy April 10, 2020 18 Marriott is back with more changes to its policies due to COVID-19. Following in the footsteps of many other hotel brands, it's extended elite status for all current elites. Plus, you won't have to worry about your points expiring anytime soon.
Marriott (Finally) Giving Travelers the Option to See All-In Price by Michelle Molloy April 8, 2020 21 Marriott customers have long been frustrated that the price shown in search results can jump 10%, 20%, or more on the final booking page when all taxes and fees are included. In a win for transparency, Marriott has added a new option to see rates that include all taxes and fees in search results. Here's how to select this option.
Marriott Extends Flexibility for Reservations, Pauses Points Expiration, Extends Benefits by Michelle Molloy April 6, 2020 28 The big travel brands are issuing policy updates every week or so these days. While most updates apply to all travelers and loyalty program members, Marriott is a good news/bad news story. Marriott extends flexibility for new and existing reservations. However, the benefits available to Bonvoy members vary depending on where you live.
Delta Extends Elite Status, Sky Club Memberships, Credit Card Benefits Due to COVID-19 by Patrick Stouffer April 5, 2020 23 Delta just announced that it's extending Medallion elite status, Sky Club memberships, credit card benefits, drink vouchers, and more in response to COVID-19 — becoming the first US-based airline to extend elite status.
Hilton Extends Elite Status, Suspends Points Expiration Due to COVID-19 by Ross Denkin October 29, 2023 32 Hilton is continuing to do the right thing for its customers. Hilton recently extended the terms of free weekend night certificates. Now, Hilton has announced even greater flexibility for Hilton Honors members in three categories: status, points, and reservations.
(Expired) Choice Hotels Suspends Points Expiration, Provides Flexible Cancellation Policies by Michelle Molloy March 28, 2020 16 COVID-19 continues to create chaos in the travel world. To help, Choice Hotels is offering travelers flexible cancelation policies—both for existing and new reservations—and pausing points expiration. However, there's no word yet on how the hotel loyalty program will adjust elite status for 2020.
Airline, Hotel Programs Begin Limiting Non-Travel Redemption Options by Patrick Stouffer March 27, 2020 38 Three loyalty programs have now suspended the ability to redeem points for most non-travel-related rewards, blaming circumstances resulting from COVID-19. More airline and hotel loyalty programs may follow suit with similar restrictions in the coming days/weeks as travel companies try to preserve cash.
Hyatt Suspends Points Expiration, Delays Peak Award Pricing, Provides Cancellation Options by Michelle Molloy March 21, 2020 31 Hyatt is rolling out policy changes that can help with existing travel plans and provide flexibility around future reservations. Peak and off-peak pricing is postponed, most category changes are on hold, and some World of Hyatt elites are getting a status extension.
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