Upgraded Points: "EL AL, the flag carrier of Israel, has launched partnerships with several airlines over the past year. The latest partnership lets you redeem Flying Blue miles for flights on EL AL, and the rates are quite appealing."
"Even better, you might even pay less for business class than premium economy on some routes."
Qatar Airways shared their new Qsuites product at the Farnborough International Airshow today. The Qsuite Next Gen will improve upon their current Qsuites offering.
Notable features include:
The Qsuite Nex Gen seats will be installed on Qatar Airways' new Boeing 777-9s. Don't expect to see this product launch until late 2025/early 2026 - possibly later.
Update: It looks like the launch date for the revamped Amex Gold will be July 25, 2024.
A member of the US Card Forum shared some rumored changes to the Amex Gold Card. As you might expect, Amex is expected to increase the annual fee.
Rumored Amex Gold Changes
Welcome Bonus For Relaunch
Points Wire Note:
The annual fee and cap on earning 4x at restaurants are stand out to me. Additionally, the Resy and Dunkin credits tells me that Amex is having success with the coupon book approach that they've taken with the Amex Platinum and Business Platinum.
If you spend more than $50,000 per year at U.S. restaurants and have your own business (or side hustle), you might prefer the Amex Business Gold as you can earn 4x on up to $150,000 per year.
One Mile At A Time: "There are plans for a Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse to open at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The 4,401 square foot lounge will be located in Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT), on level six. Specifically, Virgin Atlantic will take over the space of the former Etihad Lounge, which closed during the pandemic, when Etihad discontinued flights to the airport."
"While the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse LAX will likely be restricted to eligible premium passengers ahead of Virgin Atlantic departures, I would guess that this lounge will be open to Priority Pass members over other hours, as that’s the case with other Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse locations in the United States. So this should add a much needed Priority Pass option in the terminal."
If you're planning to buy something from Apple, today is a good day to do it.
Four airline shopping portals are offering bonus today, July 22, 2024.
Points Wire Note:
Make sure you read the terms and conditions for earning miles via shopping portals. Generally, many Apple purchases aren't eligible to earn miles via shopping portals.
If you find an eligible item, use the portal that will help you with an upcoming redemption. If you don't have a booking in the works, I'd probably choose Alaska miles.
MilesTalk: "With Marriott’s “It’s in the Cards” promotion, you’ll get 200 points just for registering your card and another 10,000 bonus points if you spend $7,000 by September 21, 2024. You only have until August 1st to register, however, and only American Express Bonvoy cards opened before April 1st, 2024 and Chase Bonvoy cards opened before June 20th, 2024."
Upgraded Points: "Cardmembers will get access to the Visa Lounge, located in central Paris. It will be open between 11 a.m. and midnight CEST. The lounge will have gourmet food and excellent views of the River Seine and the Eiffel Tower."
"In addition, the lounge will have fun engagements like a meet and greet with former Olympians."
Athletes you can meet include: Michael Phelps, Tony Parker, Aly Raisman, Allyson Felix, and Sue Bird.
Loyalty Lobby: "SkyTeam member airline ITA (former Alitalia) has launched another status match campaign valid for new applications through August 19th, 2024."
"The ITA Airways – Volare Summer Status Match 2024 promotion is running from July 16 2024 until August 19 2024 and a list of specific competing elite customers can apply for a match with the Italian carrier."
Use this link to see the airline statuses that you can match to ITA Airways.
One Mile At A Time: "Over the past several hours (early Friday morning US time), we’ve seen some major global IT outages. First we saw Microsoft have a major outage impacting Microsoft’s Azure services and Microsoft 365 suite of apps in some regions, and then we’ve seen a CrowdStrike software update that caused additional issues."
"From the perspective of the US airline industry, at least this happened in the very early morning hours, when not many flights are departing. Obviously the impact of this would be much greater if this happened a bit later in the day, when a huge number of flights are departing."
Skift: "Uber users in France and the Netherlands can now earn points for flights with Air France-KLM."
"Residents and visitors in France and the Netherlands can now get one mile with the airline company’s Flying Blue loyalty program for every €1 spent on Uber rides. That becomes two miles for every €1 spent when users take at least four trips per month. Users can link their accounts in the Settings page of the Uber app to begin earning miles."
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