Upgraded Points: "To qualify for the bonus miles, log into your AAdvantage Dining account, find a restaurant that accepts OpenTable reservations, book the reservation, show up for your reservation and enjoy your meal, and then pay with your linked credit card to earn up to 5 AAdvantage miles per dollar spent and the 150 AAdvantage bonus miles."
You can earn a bonus once per day and up to eight times per month.
Qatar Airways is running a promo in which you can earn up to 25,000 Avios when you book a round-trip award ticket from the UK. The key to earning 25,000 Avios is booking business class as an economy ticket will only earn 10,000 Avios.
A wrinkle to this promo is that your Qatar Airways Privilege Club must list the UK as your address to be eligible to register.
If you join Qatar Airways Privilege Club today, you'll need to wait 24 hours to register for the promo.
Qatar Airways states that "Your Avios will be automatically credited to your Privilege Club account, within 30 days after the award flight has been completed."
Direct link to register
Use the promo code AVIOSBONUS24
Points Wire Note:
Keep in mind that premium cabin award tickets out of the UK will include the steep Air Passenger Duty (APD) fee which will male the taxes/fees a bit steep. Still, this is a fun promo and I'd love to see more airline programs do stuff like this!
Delta and Hilton have teamed up to offer bonus SkyMiles on Hilton stays. You can earn 1,000 SkyMiles per Hilton stay on up to three stays by July 7, 2024. You must register for the promo before booking as stays booked prior to registration are not eligible. You must book through Hilton's site or the Hilton Honors app.
Points Wire Note:
You might as well register just in case you need a stay at a Hilton property, but I wouldn't go out of my way to book because of this as 1,000 SkyMiles is worth about $10.
If you have an Amex Offer or Chase Offer for a Hilton stay, this should stack with that.
For a while now, the standard welcome bonus for all three cards has been 75,000 Avios if you spend $5,000 in 3 months. However, Chase has just added an extra incentive. New cardholders can earn 5x on gas, grocery, and dining purchases for the first 12 months with the card (up to $10,000 in spend) in addition to the usual 75,000 Avios.
That temporary 5x bonus spend could net you an additional 50,000 Avios.
If you're interested in applying, you can learn more about each here:
Points Wire Note:
I wouldn't shift a ton of spend to an Avios card, but the British Airways card does have some compelling benefits. Of the three cards, I think it's the best of the bunch for most travelers.
Travel Dealz flagged that Aer Lingus flights are now eligible to earn Tier Points toward elite status with British Airways Executive Club. While BA and Aer Lingus are both owned by IAG, you haven't been able to earn Tier Points on Aer Lingus flights until now.
I'll note that BA Sliver (oneworld Sapphire) and BA Gold (oneworld Emerald) status can often be more useful for Americans than the equivalent status with Alaska Airlines or American Airlines. Specifically, if you'd rather have lounge access on domestic flights than upgrades, BA status can be useful.
The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card is getting revamped and not everyone is happy about it.
Let's take a look at the card's new details.
Welcome Bonus
Bonus Categories
The following categories will no longer earn 6x Hilton points:
Benefits
The Hilton Business card will no longer earn a free night certificate when you spend $15,000 and $60,000 in a calendar year. Additionally, the card will no longer offer 10 free Priority Pass visit per year.
Annual Fee
IHG One Rewards has a new promo in which you can earn 2,000 bonus IHG points for every two nights you stay. You need to register before earning bonus points. Stays between April 1 and May 31, 2024 will be eligible.
Some Important Terms
Direct link to register and full T&C
Points Wire Note:
IHG Luxury & Lifestyle bookings should qualify so you can get extra perks at luxury and lifestyle properties plus earn bonus points. You can use our self-serve portal to book many luxury IHG properties.
IHG Luxury & Lifestyle benefits can include daily breakfast for 2, a room upgrade (if available), $100 property credit, guaranteed late 2pm checkout. Benefits vary by property, but you can expect luxury properties such as Intercontinental≤ Regent, and Kimpton (outside the US) to have better benefits than Kimpton (in the US) and Hotel Indigo.
Marriott announced a new partnership between Marriott Bonvoy and BetMGM. You will be able to earn Marriott Bonvoy points via the BetMGM app.
"Marriott Bonvoy, Marriott International's award-winning travel program, and BetMGM, a leading sports betting and iGaming operator, today launched an unprecedented rewards collaboration in the online sports betting and iGaming industry, giving fans an extra stake in the game."
"Players in licensed states can link their Marriott Bonvoy and BetMGM accounts and earn BetMGM Rewards points when they wager using the BetMGM sports betting app or play at the award-winning online casino. They can then exchange BetMGM Rewards points for Marriott Bonvoy points, up to 100,000 points annually, which they can then use to redeem extraordinary experiences, including future free nights with Marriott Bonvoy's more than 30 hotel brands and 10,000 destinations globally."
You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Air France-KLM Flying Blue and receive a 25% bonus. To transfer bonus runs through April 30, 2024. In most cases, the transfer should process instantly, but it is possible to have Flying Blue put an award ticket on hold while you transfer points.
Generally, I wouldn't recommend transferring points speculatively.
According to YouTuber, Joe Barreto, Citi is set to (finally) launch a card to compete in the premium card market. In fact, Citi is expected to launch a personal and business version of this card in the third quarter of this year. Both will have benefits such as travel and purchases protections. Naturally, Priority Pass lounge access is expected as well.
While I'd love to see new cards offered by Citi, I'll believe it when I see it. I've been hearing rumors about their new premiums card since late 2022!
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