Qatar Airways Will Adopt Avios, the Points of British Airways, Iberia & Aer Lingus by Ryan Smith February 22, 2022 5 Major news out of Qatar Airways is that the airline has adopted Avios as its mileage currency. Avios is the points currency of British Airways, Iberia, and Aer Lingus. There can be some major implications for travelers with this shift. Here is what we know so far and what remains to be clarified in the coming weeks.
Changes to Expedia Rewards Starting on February 1, 2022 by Ryan Smith January 26, 2022 5 Expedia is relaunching its rewards program on February 1, 2022. Expedia's elite status will soon require earning "Trip Elements" and the earning rate for these elite status credits depend on what type of booking you make (flight, car, hotel, cruise). Here’s a quick briefer of the new rewards program, how you earn points, and the other details you should know about.
MGM Overhauls M Life Rewards Program, Changes Coming February 1, 2022 by Ryan Smith August 31, 2023 4 MGM is making big changes to its M Life rewards program, and these will launch on February 1, 2022. The new program will be called MGM Rewards. Changes for gamblers and non-gamblers are coming, so let’s dive into all of the details.
IHG Rewards Changes Coming in March 2022: New Elite Status Tiers & Higher Requirements by Ryan Smith January 19, 2022 6 IHG Rewards just announced changes to its loyalty program, coming in March 2022. Elite status will have more tiers, and earning this status just got more complicated. Additionally, IHG's announcement means the info you see online/in the app is no longer correct. But, IHG promises "more fun" and "enhanced benefits" coming soon. Let's dig in to what we know so far.
Citi ThankYou® Rewards Adds Wyndham as Second New Hotel Transfer Partner in Under a Month by JT Genter November 14, 2021 13 Citi ThankYou® Rewards just added Wyndham Rewards as its second new hotel transfer partner in under a month. Wyndham Rewards offers a fixed-redemption-rate program, making it a great choice for times when cash rates (and points rates with other hotel brands) are high. Here's how to take advantage of this new partnership.
American Airlines Simplifies Elite Status Requirements and Makes Changes to AAdvantage® Program by Toni Southam October 26, 2021 37 American Airlines just announced that it is revamping its loyalty program and simplifying the way AAdvantage® members can achieve elite status. Beginning in 2022, AA will replace its current elite status requirements and use the all-new AAdvantage® Loyalty Points system.
Marriott Introduces Dynamic Award Pricing, Says Goodbye to Award Chart by Ryan Smith October 26, 2021 36 Big news from Marriott this morning. Over the next few months, Marriott is introducing dynamic award pricing. This will see the end of award charts and standardized pricing. Instead, award prices will mirror demand and cash prices at hotels. Here is what we know about this huge change.
Hyatt Introduces Peak and Off-Peak Pricing Model by Toni Southam October 21, 2021 24 Back in December 2019, Hyatt announced it would be changing the way award nights are priced. Those plans were temporarily put on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic. But as of October 26, 2021, Hyatt implemented these changes for all nights stayed on March 1, 2022 or after. Here's what you need to know about the new pricing.
Citi Adds Choice Hotels As Its Newest Transfer Partner by Toni Southam October 19, 2021 16 Citi ThankYou® Points just got a bit more flexible to use. As of Monday, Citi ThankYou® Points are now transferable to Choice Privilege points. That makes Choice the only hotel transfer partner for Citi. You'll get 2 Choice points for every 1 ThankYou Points® you convert.
You Can Now Transfer Capital One Miles to 6 More Airlines at a 1:1 Ratio by Ryan Smith October 7, 2021 10 You can now transfer Capital One miles to 6 more airline mileage programs at a 1:1 ratio. These improvements now mean you can transfer Capital One miles to 13 airlines at a 1:1 transfer ratio, putting it well on par with other major transfer currencies. This is a big improvement in redemption options. It should make Capital One miles much more valuable going forward.
Chase Announces New Sapphire Benefits, Improved Earning Rates by Toni Southam August 10, 2021 51 From August 16, 2021, Chase is enhancing both the Sapphire Preferred and Sapphire Reserve credit cards. Both cards are getting improved earning rates on a wide variety of categories along with other features and improvements. Even better, there's no increase in the annual fee.
You Can Now Book Etihad Awards Using Aeroplan Points — Including ‘The Apartment’ by Patrick Stouffer April 24, 2021 39 In June 2020, Air Canada Aeroplan partnered with Etihad Guest, allowing reciprocal earning and redeeming opportunities. Now that Aeroplan has relaunched as a new program, we are revisiting this partnership. While both programs can offer solid value, we're particularly excited about how this partnership makes booking Etihad's premium-class cabins a little more accessible for award travelers.
Capital One Ups Its Game: New Transfer Partners, Better Transfer Rates, New Airport Lounges by Toni Southam April 20, 2021 28 Capital One just announced a bunch of great enhancements to the Capital One Miles program, including 4 new transfer partners and better transfer rates for 7 existing partners. Capital One has also announced plans to open 2 new airport lounges, with the first opening in late summer 2021.
Southwest Devalues Rapid Rewards Program, More Points Now Needed for Award Flights by Max Prosperi April 15, 2021 23 Southwest Airlines just made some very unwelcomed changes to the airline's Rapid Rewards program. Without notice, Southwest reduced the value of Rapid Rewards points. You'll now need more Rapid Rewards points to make the same award travel redemptions.
You Can Now Fly ANA Business Class to Japan for Just 45,000 Virgin Points One-Way by Patrick Stouffer April 7, 2021 17 One of the sweetest sweet spots just got even sweeter! Flying Club members can now redeem Virgin points for one-way ANA awards in any class of service. Combined with this partnership's unbelievable award pricing, this opens incredible opportunities for flights to/from Japan. But don't delay — deals this good don't tend to last forever.
JetBlue Changes Carry-On Bag Policy and Drops Change Fees by Max Prosperi February 22, 2021 28 JetBlue announced significant changes to the airline's carry-on and change/cancellation policies. This announcement is a mixed bag (pun intended) with some good changes to change fees and some bad news for those flying on the cheapest fares. Here's what passengers need to know about these changes.
Delta SkyMiles Further Devalues Partner Awards to Europe and Asia by Patrick Stouffer February 12, 2021 37 Delta Air Lines has done it again. For reasons unknown, it's just raised partner award prices to Europe and Asia for the second time in four months. To make matters worse, these aren't small, forgettable price hikes. These are significant, balance-busting increases that make certain partner awards laughably expensive. Let's go over this and see if there's anything salvageable.
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Devalues Many Delta Awards by Ross Denkin February 9, 2021 9 Just as the calendar turned over in 2021, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club very quietly changed its redemption scheme for flights operated by Delta. Long-haul and premium cabin travelers will be disappointed to find out their points won’t take them nearly as far anymore. However, there's a silver lining in these changes for domestic and other short-haul flyers.
Chase and Air Canada Announce New Credit Card and Point Transfers Starting in 2021 by Patrick Stouffer December 17, 2020 4 Air Canada Aeroplan announced an exciting new partnership with Chase and Mastercard set to debut in late 2021. This includes a new Chase-issued Aeroplan co-branded credit card for U.S. customers and (even better) the ability to convert Ultimate Rewards points to Aeroplan points! Translation: your Ultimate Rewards points will become a whole lot more valuable!
Hyatt Credit Card Changes: Phase Out of Legacy Card, Change to Earning Free Night Awards by Patrick Stouffer November 26, 2020 27 Hyatt has announced a string of new promotions and card updates, so we've rounded them all up in one place for you. Hyatt cardholders can earn bonus points at Amazon and at grocery stores this holiday season. Plus, legacy Hyatt Card holders have the opportunity to earn a free night by the end of the year. Hyatt is also adjusting how cardholders earn Free Night Awards in 2021. And, remaining legacy Hyatt Cards are being phased out in January 2021.
American Airlines Eliminates AAdvantage Award Fees, Extends Mileage Expiration Pause by JT Genter November 10, 2020 98 American Airlines just announced three positive changes to its AAdvantage program. Effective November 11, 2020, AA is eliminating all award reservation fees and eliminating all fees for canceling awards and redepositing miles. Plus, AA is extending the pause on mileage expiration through June 30, 2021. Here's what you need to know about these changes.
Delta Devalues Partner Awards to Europe and Asia Without Notice by Patrick Stouffer October 29, 2020 24 This week, Delta devalued partner redemptions to specific destinations without any notice. Now, flights between the U.S. and Europe / Asia cost up to 40% more miles than before. While Delta isn't the first airline to raise award prices during the pandemic (we're still mad at you, United), the timing leaves many award travelers wondering—why?
New Amex Gold Cardholders Are No Longer Eligible for the $100 Airline Fee Credit by Patrick Stouffer October 23, 2020 19 One of Amex's go-to benefits for justifying high(er) annual fees is the Airline Fee Credit. This credit reimburses cardmembers for making eligible purchases with their airline of choice every year. However, for the Amex Gold, this benefit is in its last years. Starting in January 2022, Amex will no longer offer the annual $100 Airline Fee Credit to Amex Gold cardholders that signed up before February 4, 2021. What's next for this card?
Delta Removes Change Fees From Some Awards, Extends Card Benefits and Lounge Memberships by Patrick Stouffer September 24, 2020 10 Delta just announced several major SkyMiles program updates. And, that good news is it's all positive. The airline is extending Sky Club memberships, Medallion status perks, and co-branded credit card benefits. In addition, Delta is permanently slashing fees and restrictions on many domestic award tickets. But, unfortunately, there are some notable exclusions.
Additional Bonus Categories for Chase Freedom Unlimited Now Active by JT Genter August 31, 2020 34 The Chase Freedom Unlimited® has always been a great card for daily use thanks to its 1.5% cash-back earning on everything you buy. Starting on September 15, 2020, cardholders can take advantage of three additional bonus categories: 5% on travel purchased through Chase, 3% on dining, and 3% on drugstore purchases.
ANA Slashes Surcharges, Drastically Reducing Out-Of-Pocket Costs on Award Tickets by Patrick Stouffer June 12, 2020 23 All Nippon Airways (ANA) has drastically lowered the surcharges imposed on tickets to and from Japan and several other regions. While this won't necessarily make cash flights to Japan cheaper, it significantly reduces the out-of-pocket costs on award tickets. That makes already lucrative award bookings even better!
Citi Accelerates Premier Benefits, Adds Temporary Spending Bonus for Prestige by Patrick Stouffer June 4, 2020 14 Citi has accelerated increased earnings on the Citi Premier℠ Card due to go into effect later this year. Plus, Citi announced a temporary new spending bonus for the Citi Prestige® Card. Cardmembers with accounts active on May 22nd can now earn bonus ThankYou® Points on the things that we're spending more on lately—including online retailers, supermarkets, and restaurants.
