One Mile At A Time: "The FAA will finally be cracking down on the public charter loophole, which has allowed carriers like JSX to operate as Part 135 operators, rather than as Part 121 carriers. It’s not that I have safety concerns with JSX, but rather I just don’t think it makes sense for government regulations to essentially incentivize this kind of behavior. As far as I’m concerned, allow all planes with up to 30 seats to have the option of being Part 135 operators. So it’s not that I’m against the concept, I’m just against the obvious loophole."
You can now link your Marriott Bonvoy and Starbucks Rewards accounts. For those who have already linked their Delta SkyMiles account to Starbucks, this should stack as well.
Marriott X Starbucks Partnership Details
During Marriott stays, you can earn double Starbucks Rewards Stars.
During promotional weeks, earn 100 Marriott Bonvoy points when you make 3 transactions during that week.
In the future, Starbucks will be incorporated into Marriott Bonvoy Moments.
Points Wire Note:
Yawn.
A change in Chase's approval policy was flagged on Reddit the other day.
Previously, if you were over 5/24, you would simply be denied. Now, Chase appears to be moving toward an Amex-like pop-up warning. The pop-up will let you know that you're not eligible for the sign-up bonus but can still apply. At this point, you'll have the option to proceed with the application.
It seems that this change has only been rolled out for Sapphire cards and the Freedom Unlimited for now.
IHG One Rewards has launched a promo to incentivize people to join the program. New members can receive 5,000 IHG points if they complete an eligible stay at an IHG property within 21 days of joining. The registration period ends September 13, 2024. Points can take up to 6 weeks to post.
What is an eligible stay?
"For purposes of this Offer, a “Promotion Eligible Qualifying Stay” is defined as a minimum 1-night stay at a participating hotel that was booked directly with IHG through ihg.com, the IHG One Rewards app, an IHG reservations call center, an authorized travel agent (excluding any online travel agents or other online travel reservation sites, such as Expedia.com and booking.com, and unauthorized agents on online vertical travel portals), or directly with a participating hotel, using a Qualifying Rate and with a total spend exceeding $30 USD (or local equivalent) per night."
Disclosure: I'm on an advisory board for Bilt and earn a commission when people use my link to apply.
View From The Wing: "The Wall Street Journal says that Wells Fargo had to overspend to break into co-brand credit cards, and that as a result they’ve slowed down in the space."
"It’s such a strange piece – it seems framed to make Wells Fargo look bad but just describes how they’ve limited their losses while trying new things, and learned from their experiments. But we do get a lot of fascinating insider details along the way."
If you're thinking about apply for the Bilt Card, you can learn more here.
Citi is offering a 15% transfer bonus to Cathay Pacific if you transfer ThankYou Points by 11:59pm ET on July 20, 2024. Since Cathay has only been releasing premium cabin award space to its own members, this could be a particularly useful transfer bonus. Cathay Pacific also has solid business class award rates on its oneworld partner airlines if you want to visit Europe.
Now Live: The Chase Freedom Flex and Chase Freedom quarterly 5%/5x bonus categories for Q3 2024 will include:
You can register for the promo starting June 15, 2024. You must register by September 14, 2024.
You can earn 5%/5x on up to $1,500 spend in these categories through September 30, 2024.
You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Air Canada Aeroplan with a 20% bonus until 11:59pm ET on July 31, 2024.
If you have the Chase Aeroplan Card, you'll get an additional 10% bonus on the points you transfer if you transfer at least 50,000 points. That means you'll get a 30% bonus. For example, a transfer of 50,000 Ultimate Rewards points will get you 65,000 Aeroplan points if you have the Aeroplan card.
Southwest is out with a promo code that can help you save 25% on award tickets if you book by June 17 and travel by November 20, 2024. The promo code is SAVE25.
Important Terms
One Mile At A Time: "Media in Taiwan is reporting that Starlux Airlines has revealed during a meeting for investors that the airline wants to join the oneworld alliance."
"The oneworld alliance is the natural hit for Starlux, given the competitive landscape in Taiwan — China Airlines belongs to SkyTeam, and EVA Air belongs to Star Alliance. There’s no way either of those alliances would have two airlines from Taiwan, so it makes sense that Taiwan’s third full service airline would join the third alliance."
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