Southwest Airlines Checked Bag Fees: What You’ll Pay — and How to Avoid Them by Tyler Glatt May 28, 2025 2 You’ve probably heard the saying "nobody rides for free." That sentiment used to go against everything Southwest stood for when it came to checked bags, but those days are long gone. Here’s what you can expect to pay the next time you check bags with Southwest and how to avoid those fees altogether.
Here’s When You Will and Won’t Pay Resort Fees on Award Stays by Toni Southam and Ben Nickel-D'Andrea May 27, 2025 3 Resort fees are never fun to pay, but they are even more frustrating when they are implemented on your free nights and award stays. Here are all of the hotel brands that waive resort fees on award nights — as well as the ones that don't. This should help you know what to expect during your next hotel stay.
Can You Transfer Miles Between Frequent Flyer Programs? by Sam Helmy November 3, 2025 66 Can you transfer points and miles between frequent flyer programs? Sadly, the answer is "no" in most cases. However, there are a few options for moving points from one program to another. Besides, you may not need to transfer points between programs after all! Here's everything you need to know about transferring points between programs.
A Beginner’s Guide to Building a Credit Card Application Strategy by Erik Paquet and Mark Jackson May 25, 2025 14 U.S banks play a huge role in the travel rewards ecosystem. Learning about credit card application rules won’t be the most exciting part of your points-and-miles education, but it’s hard to overstate the importance of building a healthy relationship with the banks for your credit card application strategy. In this post, we explain how to build a sustainable, long-term strategy.
How To Check Your Chase 5/24 Status for Free by Brie Bash and Ryan Smith May 24, 2025 73 Chase's 5/24 rule is one of the strictest — and one of the more (in)famous — credit card application rules. However, Chase doesn't publicize this rule or tell you what your 5/24 status is. Here are the best free methods for checking your 5/24 status.
Spirit Just Increased Its Online Booking Fee — Here’s How You Can Avoid It by JT Genter May 22, 2025 2 Spirit Airlines just increased the fee it charges for booking flights online — a cost that now adds up to $27.99 per segment. Here's why Spirit is making this move — and how you can still avoid the fee (if you're willing to make the effort).
American Airlines Slashes Award Ticket Hold Window — Here’s Why That Matters by Tyler Glatt April 30, 2025 1 American Airlines is reining in the amount of time you can hold an AAdvantage award ticket. And for anyone who’s relied on this feature in the past, it’s a frustrating change. Here’s what to know and why it matters.
Qatar Airways Promises a Qsuite Guarantee — Here’s When It Applies (and Doesn’t) by Ben Nickel-D'Andrea April 8, 2025 0 Not many airlines offer a guarantee to protect your bookings against aircraft changes, but Qatar Airways does whether it is a revenue or award booking for flights with their exceptional Qsuite business class product. This is how the Qatar Qsuite Guarantee works.
United Overhauls Card Portfolio to Add Perks, Increase Annual Fees by JT Genter March 24, 2025 3 Chase and United have decided to take a page out of the American Express playbook with a massive overhaul of the United card portfolio, adding a long list of new statement credits and perks in exchange for higher fees. Here's a breakdown of the changes.
Alaska Airlines’ 20-Minute Baggage Guarantee: How to Claim 2,500 Miles or a $25 Credit by Tyler Glatt and Brie Bash March 21, 2025 2 Alaska Airlines’ baggage guarantee promises checked bags at the carousel within 20 minutes of arrival. If not, you’ll get 2,500 Mileage Plan miles or a $25 discount code for a future flight. Here's how to claim your compensation if your bags are delayed.
The Ultimate Guide to Delta Sky Club Access: What’s Changed & How to Get In Now by Jenna Hansen and Andrew Kunesh February 8, 2025 2 Want to access Delta Sky Club before or after your next flight? You have options! From credit cards to elite status and from flying in the right seat to buying a membership, this post has all of the info you need for getting inside these lounges after new restrictions went into effect.
Bad Flight or Subpar Stay? Here’s How To Get Fair Compensation From Airlines and Hotels by Skye Class and Jess Farley December 27, 2024 26 Exploring the beauty of a foreign country, flying to exotic locales in luxury, sampling outlandish foods, and opening yourself up to new experiences are the best parts of travel. However, reality can sometimes fall short of our expectations, and there are valid situations when travelers need reimbursement. If you've wondered how to get fair compensation for a bad hotel stay or a problematic flight, follow these nine steps.
Family Points Pooling: Combine Miles for Faster Free Travel by Jenna Hansen and Kennedy Miller December 26, 2024 1 Family pooling lets you combine miles into one account, making it easier for families (and sometimes friends) to reach award redemptions faster. Many airlines and hotel programs offer this for free, helping groups travel together using shared points. Here’s how pooling miles can bring your family closer to their next trip.
How Far in Advance Can You Book Airline Award Tickets? Our Full Guide With Data Points for 50 Airlines. by Ian Snyder December 23, 2024 54 Finding award availability can be a challenge on its own, but knowing how far in advance award space becomes available and which miles can book at what time can make things even more confusing. We address all that here, including strategies to maximize the likelihood of snagging the seat you want. We provide the booking window for all major carriers' loyalty programs as a great reference.
My Experience Using the Ethiopian Airlines Stopover Program for a Free Hotel and Meals by Lauren Wynn November 23, 2024 2 Ethiopian Airlines currently offers the only stopover program in Africa. Travelers with a layover between eight and 24 hours can get a free hotel and meals. Here's an overview of the Ethiopian Airlines stopover program and my experience utilizing it.
The Unwritten Restriction on American Airlines Companion Upgrades to Beware Of by JT Genter November 22, 2024 1 American Airlines AAdvantage elite status members are eligible for first-class upgrades on domestic and certain short-haul international flights. And each status member can nominate one companion to upgrade with them. At least that's how it's supposed to work. Here's what to know about American Airlines companion upgrades -- and one unwritten restriction on these upgrades that I found from experience.
No-Annual-Fee Cards Are Not No-Fee Cards. Here’s Why. by Ryan Smith and Scott Sikes October 13, 2024 1 No one likes paying extra fees; it feels like extra fees are everywhere. That means many people try to avoid them. And maybe you don't want to pay annual fees on credit cards. Here's why you should be careful of discussions about "no fee" credit cards.
Airline Award Ticket Change and Cancellation Policies by Ian Snyder October 13, 2024 44 It’s often necessary to book award flights months in advance to secure your seat. With such a long period between the date you book and the date you fly, it’s easy for your plans to change. In case you need to adjust your ticket, here's a list of award ticket change and cancellation policies and the fees you can expect to pay.
The U.S. DOT Announces Investigation Into Frequent Flyer Programs. Here’s What That Means for You. by Tyler Glatt September 9, 2024 0 The U.S. Department of Transportation is investigating some of the most prominent U.S.-based frequent flyer programs. The goal? To uncover whether or not practices behind dynamic pricing, devaluations, and management borders on being unfair, anticompetitive, or deceptive. Here's what we know so far and what this means for you.
JetBlue’s Blue Basic Just Got a Bit Less Restrictive — Is It Worth the Savings Now? by Sam Helmy September 8, 2024 0 Sometimes, you just need to get from Point A to Point B and don't require anything beyond a seat on a flight. That is where basic economy fares can be very useful and economical. Like several other airlines, JetBlue offers a low-cost fare bucket for those simply looking for a seat and a bare minimum level of service. But before you book a JetBlue Blue Basic fare, there are some things you'll want to know. Here's our guide to JetBlue's cheapest fare.
Fly Without the Fees: Airline Programs That Don’t Add Fuel Surcharges to Award Flights by Mark Jackson October 20, 2025 1 Nothing ruins a great award redemption faster than surprise taxes and fees at checkout. Some programs add hundreds of dollars to what’s supposed to be a “free flight.” This post highlights the loyalty programs that skip those extra charges, helping you stretch your miles and book nearly free flights.
Save Your Wallet by Booking Flights From These Countries That Limit Fuel Surcharges by Mark Jackson and Ian Snyder August 8, 2024 0 Many air carriers like to levy "carrier-imposed surcharges," often referred to as "fuel surcharges" or "YQ" as a shorthand. These are extra fees that add up quickly when you book a flight using your miles. However, a handful of countries limit fuel surcharges on flights, and you can use this to your advantage.
How To Share Capital One Venture and Spark Miles with Anyone by Ashley Onadele and Jenna Hansen July 31, 2024 45 Capital One is changing the transferrable points status quo by allowing cardholders to share their points with anyone that has a miles-earning Capital One card. This no-limit, no-fee sharing creates new ways to collaborate with your travel companions to earn the miles needed for your next big trip.
Hotel Programs That Allow You to Gift an Award Stay by Jenna Hansen November 24, 2024 0 Free hotel nights are a perk that everyone loves to enjoy. Even better, most large hotels brands allow you to gift this to a friend or family member. In this post, we'll go over the policies for each hotel and how you can gift an award stay to a friend or loved one.
Southwest Ditches Open Seating Policy, Schedules First-Ever Redeye Flights by Sam Helmy July 25, 2024 2 Southwest Airlines announced in a press release that it will be making major changes to its operating model. The changes include introducing redeye flights and, surprisingly, abandoning its long-running and unique open seating model. Here's what Southwest flyers need to know.
What Happens to Your Hotel Points and Credit Card Rewards When You Die? by Jess Farley and Kennedy Miller July 24, 2024 14 Certain people have a lot of miles and points, but how do you access them if that person dies? Many airlines and hotels have different policies about what to do when this happens. But in this article, we’ll discuss what happens to your hotel points and credit card rewards when you die.
Hertz Gold Plus Rewards Program Changes: The Good and the Ugly by Sam Helmy July 17, 2024 2 Hertz Gold Plus Rewards just announced a slew of program changes for this year — some positive and some negative. The most negative change includes a new fixed-date points expiration policy. Here's what you need to know about the changes to the Hertz Gold Plus rewards program.
Charles Schwab Amex Platinum 1.1% Cashout Rate to be Limited to 1 Million Points per Year by Sam Helmy July 15, 2024 0 One of the defining features of the American Express Platinum Card® by Charles Schwab is the ability to cashout American Express Membership Rewards points for an account deposit at a rate of 1.1 cents per point. But soon, Amex is capping this preferential redemption rate at 1 million points per year. Here's what to know about these changes.
Cover Buy Now, Pay Later Installments With a Chase Card? This Policy Change Will Affect What Card You Can Use. by Sam Helmy October 11, 2024 1 Chase has added language to many of its credit card statements announcing that it will no longer support third-party buy now, pay later platforms. Fortunately, Chase has given ample notice about the impending changes, so members who use these programs have ample time to adjust payment methods. Here's what Chase cardholders need to know about this policy change.
Beginners Guide: What is a Stopover & What is an Open-Jaw? by Dan Miller July 7, 2024 72 Stopovers and open-jaw flights enhance the value of any frequent flyer program by allowing you to add destinations to your travel, in many cases, with no additional miles required! Here's our beginner's guide to how to book one for your next trip.
