Points of Interest: Amex Shutters a Centurion Lounge, Transfer Ratio Changes, New HSBC Redemption, and More by Tyler Glatt January 5, 2026 0 Each quarter, airlines, hotels, and loyalty programs make tons of small changes, and we distill them into a new edition of Points of Interest. While Q4 2025 was fairly quiet on the changes front, the first few days of Q1 2026 suggest there’s a lot more to come in the months ahead. Here's everything you need to know.
Mastercard Luxury Card Comparison: Statement Credits, Travel Benefits, Fees, and More by Jenna Hansen January 5, 2026 0 The Mastercard Luxury Card Collection is a trio of cards with big annual fees. Learn more about the fees, benefits, earning rates, and travel perks, so you can decide if one of these cards should earn a place in your wallet.
Discover’s 5% Cash Back Bonus Categories for Q1 2026 Are Live — Here’s How to Activate by JT Genter January 5, 2026 18 Each quarter, Discover it® Cash Back and Discover® More® Card cardmembers can earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 of purchases in select categories. And the Q1 2026 categories are now live! Here are the categories and how to activate your bonus earnings.
How To Earn British Airways Avios on Airbnb Stays and Experiences by Sam Helmy January 5, 2026 32 If you're booking Airbnb stays, you need to know about this partnership. British Airways Club members can earn 2X Avios spent on all Airbnb stays and Airbnb Experiences. Here's how to make a qualifying booking and maximize your earnings.
Top Credit Card Offers for January 2026 — 15 Offers Worth Over $1,500! by JT Genter January 4, 2026 19 Each month, the AwardWallet editorial team assembles the top credit card offers that are currently available. The welcome offer — adjusted for how much the points are worth — gets the most weight. However, we consider each card's long-term value, application restrictions, and take into account how much spending is required to capture the full bonus. Here are our top rewards card offers for January 2026 and why each made the list.
Supercharge Your AwardWallet Account by Connecting Your Email Mailbox by Samantha Holland January 4, 2026 3 Connecting your email account to AwardWallet takes just minutes to set up, and once you do it, AwardWallet will automatically build out your travel itinerary and provide more timely, detailed, and accurate information about your rewards and travel plans. Learn how to supercharge your AwardWallet account by securely connecting your email mailbox.
The 8 Best Flexible Rewards Points You Can Use for (Nearly) Free Travel by Ashley Onadele and Cameron Laufer January 4, 2026 64 The key to successful rewards travel is flexibility. In this post, we'll show you why transferable points are so valuable for unlocking big travel savings. We also compare the major flexible rewards programs to help you choose the best option based on your travel goals.
Business Class and Lots of Stopovers: 4 of Our Favorite Ways to Redeem JAL Miles for Top Value by Mark Jackson January 4, 2026 0 Japan Airlines Mileage Bank has been an overlooked program for many award travelers. That’s largely because JAL miles have historically been difficult to earn. But with new opportunities to earn JAL miles, let's dig into the best sweet-spot redemptions for the program.
Hilton Surpass Card Review: Hotel Benefits That Easily Outweigh the Annual Fee by Tyler Glatt and Gabriela Milton January 3, 2026 49 The Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card offers some quality perks easily maximized by those who stay at Hilton properties at least a few times per year. Here's an in-depth review of the card's positives and negatives, so you can decide if it's a good addition to your credit card arsenal.
Remember to Reprice Your Flights and Hotels to Save Money — Here’s Why and How to Do It by Jenna Hansen January 3, 2026 1 Airline and hotel prices can fluctuate, so it's important to regularly check your current reservations to see if the price has gone down. If it has, you can rebook at the new rate. This article covers everything you need to know about keeping an eye on prices, and how to rebook reservations to get some of your cash or points back.
Chase Freedom 5% Cash Back Categories for Q1 2026: What They Are and How to Activate by Tyler Glatt January 3, 2026 124 Cardholders of the Chase Freedom Flex℠ and Chase Freedom® can now activate and start spending to earn 5% on a new batch of bonus categories. Here's how to activate your card to earn 5% in select categories to earn 5% cash back from January 1 through March 31, 2026.
Marriott Elite Status Made Easy: Earn up to a 40 Elite Night Credits Boost With Credit Cards by Miguel Rueda and Tyler Glatt January 3, 2026 41 One of the more valuable benefits of carrying a Marriott co-branded credit card is that it comes with Elite Night Credits that can boost you to that next status tier faster. Even better, the right credit card pairing can award up to 40 Elite Night Credits! Here's all you need to know about earning Elite Night Credits from Marriott cards.
Why the Charles Schwab Bank Visa Platinum Debit Card Is a Must-Get for International Travelers by Ajay Jain and Samantha Holland January 3, 2026 9 The Schwab Bank Visa Platinum Debit Card is essential for international travel. Withdraw cash from any ATM and get reimbursed for any ATM fees at the end of each month. That's on top of paying no foreign transaction fees with the card and other traveler-friendly benefits. Here's why you need this card and how to get it.
Earn a $200 Cash Bonus on the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card — and 2% Back on Every Purchase by Tyler Glatt January 2, 2026 1 The Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card offers new applicants a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months and earns unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases. Here's why it should be the next card you apply for.
More Rewards, Fewer Fees: Does It Make Sense to Pay Tuition With a Miles-Earning Debit Card? by Cameron Laufer January 2, 2026 0 There are new debit cards on the market that let you earn United miles and Southwest points. These can be a great fit for large tuition expenses that normally come with a credit card fee. Learn how you can earn miles in situations where it previously may not have made sense.
Citi Gift Card Sale: Save 10% When You Redeem ThankYou Points for Select Gift Cards by Zhanna Startseva and Andrew George Bradshaw January 2, 2026 0 Citi is offering a 10% discount on select gift cards when you redeem ThankYou® Points for a limited time. That means you can snag a $25 gift card for just 2,250 points. It’s not the highest-value redemption, but it’s a practical one. Here's how the deal works — and whether it's worth it.
IHG Extends 15% Discount on Award Stays to These 129 New IHG Properties by Sam Helmy and JT Genter January 2, 2026 4 IHG One Rewards just extended its promotion offering a 15% award discount on award stays at new properties. Here's the full list of 129 eligible properties where you can take advantage of this promotion through the end of March 2026.
How to Redeem Aeroplan Points for up to 1.25¢ Apiece Through Chase Pay Yourself Back by Tyler Glatt and JT Genter January 2, 2026 0 Like many other Chase cards, the Aeroplan® Credit Card participates in Pay Yourself Back. Through this program, you can redeem Aeroplan points for eligible charges and get up to 1.25¢ in value per point. Here’s a quick overview of how Pay Yourself Back works with the Aeroplan Card and which types of charges you can cover with your points.
Got a Mastercard? Here’s How to Get Free Instacart+ and Monthly Savings on a Peacock Subscription by Tyler Glatt and Skye Class January 2, 2026 0 If you have a World or World Elite Mastercard, you can get three free months of Instacart+ (plus ongoing savings on eligible orders) and a rebate when you use your card to sign up for Peacock, which is a streaming service. Here’s what to know about these recently extended benefits — and how to activate them.
Delta’s Status Challenge Can Get You SkyMiles Status Into 2028 — Here’s How to Match by Tyler Glatt January 1, 2026 4 Delta’s Medallion status match lets elite flyers from other airlines enjoy complimentary status for three months. And if you complete the challenge to extend your status, you can keep your benefits through January 31, 2028.
How to Use Your Alaska Credit Card to Unlock Atmos Elite Status and Milestone Rewards in 2026 by Tyler Glatt and Mark Jackson January 1, 2026 0 If you didn't know, it's entirely possible to earn Alaska Atmos Rewards elite status and Milestone Rewards without getting on an Alaska Airlines flight. And it requires putting your Alaska Airlines credit card to good use. Here's how to leverage your co-branded Alaska Airlines credit card to earn elite status and extra perks in 2026.
Earn Marriott Points Without Leaving Home: Virtual Timeshare Presentation Offers Up to 20K Points by Skye Class January 1, 2026 1 Marriott Vacation Club offers two timeshare presentation promotions: attend a 90-minute virtual presentation to earn up to 20,000 (or more) Bonvoy points or enjoy a three-night resort stay for $299 plus 5,000 points. Here's what you need to know about both offers.
Hyatt New Hotels Bonus Offer: Earn 500 Extra Points per Night at These 45 Properties by Tyler Glatt January 1, 2026 67 To incentivize World of Hyatt members to fill new hotels, Hyatt offers members 500 bonus points for staying at new hotels within the first few months after opening. Here's how you can take advantage of this promotion, plus the 13 new properties added in January 2026.
Flying Blue Promo Rewards: Fly U.S.-Europe From Just 18,750 Miles or 45,000 Miles in Business Class by Tyler Glatt and Ross Denkin January 7, 2026 159 Flying Blue Promo Rewards are back for January 2026! This month, you can book award tickets between Europe and 11 North American cities from just 18,750 miles each way in economy or 45,000 miles in business class for travel through June 2026. And you can easily transfer your favorite flexible points to Flying Blue to score these deals.
Earn 5% Back (or More) This Quarter Using These Credit Cards With Rotating Categories in Q1 2026 by JT Genter and Toni Southam January 1, 2026 32 A new calendar quarter has started! That means now is a great time to review the credit cards with quarterly rotating bonus categories. Here are the eligible categories and how to enroll to earn up to 5% (or 5X points) on eligible cards this quarter.
How To Change Your Preferred Airline for the Amex Airline Fee Credit by JT Genter and Toni Southam January 1, 2026 3 One great perk that American Express has long offered on its premium products is the annual airline fee credit. Although you have to select an airline to use the credit with each year, you can actually change it quite simply. Here's how to change your preferred airline for the Amex airline fee credit.
Vacations by Marriott Promotion: Book in January and Earn 20k Points on a 4+ Night Package by Skye Class January 1, 2026 3 New year, new Vacations by Marriott promotion! Through January 31, 2026, Marriott Bonvoy® members can earn 20,000 bonus points when booking an eligible vacation package with a stay of four or more nights at a participating Marriott property. Eligible travel is between January 1 and May 31, 2026.
AwardWallet’s Roundup of Airline, Hotel, and Transferable Rewards Program Sweet Spots by JT Genter December 31, 2025 77 One of the biggest challenges in the points and miles world is how to get more great award redemptions — and avoid fewer bad redemptions. AwardWallet is here to help you solve that challenge. Here's a link to each of our "sweet spot" posts covering the best redemptions for dozens of the most popular loyalty programs and destinations.
How to Fly Delta One Lie-Flat Seats on Domestic Routes in January 2026 by JT Genter December 31, 2025 24 Delta mostly uses its internationally-configured aircraft, well, on international flights. However, during January 2026, Delta has scheduled widebody aircraft with lay-flat business class seats on 2,564 domestic U.S. flights. That's an average of over 82 flights a day! In this article, we list out (and map) all 75 routes and the exact flights where you'll find these aircraft flying within the U.S. Plus, we'll show you the best ways to book these flights with points and miles.
Earn up to 7,500 Bonus Points With These Hotel Dining Program New Member Bonuses by Skye Class December 31, 2025 42 Hotel dining rewards programs are a fantastic way to earn bonus points and miles through your everyday spending. Currently, new members can earn up to 7,500 bonus points when signing up for all four programs and completing the required orders. In this article, we'll dig into the hotel dining programs offering new member bonuses.
