Miles To Memories: "Southwest Airlines has launched a new promotion that can earn you the Companion Pass with just one round-trip flight to Hawaii. While it is quite easy to earn, this is only a Promotional Companion pass which lasts just under a month a half. It can still be quite useful, even if you take advantage of it just a couple of times. Let’s see the details."
You must purchase your flight by May 24 and it must be a cash ticket. Other restrictions apply.
Thrifty Traveler: "Basic economy has spread like the plague among the major U.S. airlines, luring in consumers with the cheapest price … in exchange for a bunch of restrictions. But now, American Airlines is taking things a step further."
"American Airlines has begun hiding these bare-bones fares under the cover of a regular “Main” cabin ticket in its search results online at AA.com and on its smartphone app. So while you'll initially see a $337 price tag on this roundtrip flight from Phoenix (PHX) to Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) explicitly labeled as a main cabin ticket, click through and you'll see that's for an American Airlines basic economy fare – that better main cabin fare actually costs another $60."
Disclosure: I may earn a referral bonus if you use the links below.
Both American Express and Chase issue co-branded Marriott cards. The Marriott Bonvoy Business Card is issued by Amex and the only Marriott business card.
I consider it a niche card as the bonus categories are weak. To me, the real benefit is the 15 elite night credits you get each year as a cardholder. This can make it easier to qualify for the more useful elite status levels with Marriott Bonvoy - Platinum, Titanium, and Ambassador.
You also receive an annual Free Night Award worth up to 35,000 Marriott points on your account anniversary.
New Welcome Offer
However, there's a new welcome bonus offer that makes this a particularly good time to get the card.
You can top off each free night certificate with an additional 15,000 Marriott points.
If you'd like more info on this card, you can check out my quick review.
If you'd like to apply, this is my personal referral (not an affiliate link).
Disclosure: I serve on an advisory board for Bilt and may earn a commission if you use my link below.
View From The Wing: "A year ago Bilt Rewards added a card-linked dining program that let you earn points at participating restaurants whenever paying with a card linked to your Bilt account (it didn’t have to be Bilt’s own co-brand credit card). They were only in larger cities, but the curated lists of restaurants was outstanding."
"Now they’ve done a couple of deals to hugely expand their presence to around 20,000 more restaurants in what they call their Neighborhood Dining program."
Doctor of Credit flagged that Chase Ink Unlimited bonus in-branch is 120,000 Ultimate Rewards points once again. To earn the bonus, you need to spend $6,000 in 3 months.
Keep in mind that the Ink Unlimited is a cash back card unless you have either Chase Sapphire card and/or an Ink Preferred. Without one of those cards, you can't combine the points and your Ink Unlimited bonus is simply worth $1,200.
Perhaps my biggest pet peeve (on the industry side) in the points and miles world is no-notice devaluations.
Well, it looks like Virgin Atlantic Flying Club has done just that. Tim Ritsema flagged that Virgin devalued its award rates for long-haul business class flights on All Nippon Airways (ANA).
Starting May 23, 2024, these are the new award rates:
The previous business class award rates:
Direct link to Virgin's ANA award chart
Points Wire Note:
ANA has been stingy about releasing premium cabin award space, but this is still annoying. Naturally, Virgin Atlantic announced its new co-branded credit card partnership today.
View From The Wing: "British Airways and JetBlue have filed with the Department of Transportation to codeshare."
"They’re requesting “a blanket statement of authorization” to place their flight numbers on each others’ flights, and they’re asking for expedited consideration and waiver of the usual advance notice in order to begin marketing these services “i'n the near future.'"
Industry analyst, Enilria, thinks this could a step toward JetBlue joining oneworld.
Virgin Red is launching a co-branded credit card in the U.S. with Synchrony Bank and Mastercard. The new credit card is expected to launch in the second half of 2024.
Bilt Rewards and Capital One Miles already transfer to Virgin Red directly. However, you can also transfer Amex Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Citi ThankYou Points to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. Points can be moved between Virgin Red and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.
In most cases, your best bet is to use these points for flights.
Thrifty Traveler: "In a first, Southwest fare results began appearing in Google Flights searches on Wednesday morning – on almost any of the Dallas-based airline's routes worldwide. We're not yet seeing Southwest results on other search engines or online travel agencies (OTAs) like Expedia, Travelocity, Priceline, or Skyscanner. But it may only be a matter of time before Southwest fares expand into those platforms, too."
One Mile At A Time: "Air France has introduced a new concierge service at its Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) hub. This is intended to simplify the airport experience for passengers, at a cost. Think of it as being along the lines of American Five Star Service or Delta VIP Select."
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