View From The Wing: "Ultra-low cost carrier Frontier Airlines has been struggling. Their bread and butter leisure routes have seen increased competition from major airlines, who learned to pivot away from relying on business travel. Consumers, flush with a demand for experiences and souped up balance sheets from pandemic payments, traded up for legacy airlines. They don’t have the sort of loyalty revenue that bigger airlines do. And their costs have been rising to attract and retain scarce employees."
"Now the airline says it is eliminating change fees on most fares, and that is… sort of true? They’re introducing more “fare bundles” that consumers can buy. And when consumers spend more than the traditional deep discount Frontier Airlines fare, they get waived change fees bundled in with their fare. In some sense this is not even new."
Thrifty Traveler: "Most business class fares between the U.S. and Europe now clock in at 55,000 miles each way – or more flying to and from the West Coast. But if you add a connection in economy in the States or on the other side of the pond, you can cut the final price as low as 45,000 miles each way."
If you have IHG stays coming up soon, you can forgo earning IHG One Rewards points to earn triple United miles (up to 15,000 miles). You must register and book by June 30, 2024 and complete your stay by August 31, 2024.
If you have a Delta Amex card, check your Amex Offers. Some cardholders have an Amex Offer for $75 back after spending $200+ with Delta. Others have an offer to earn 7,500 bonus SkyMiles after spending $200+ with Delta. As is often the case with airline Amex Offers, flights must originate in the U.S. and be purchased in USD.
The offers expire August 15, 2018.
Kimpton's new secret social password is "Good For The Sol". It's valid May 24 through September 2, 2024.
If you're staying at a Kimpton, give the front desk the password at check-in. Each property handles it differently, but you could a complimentary cocktail, small gift, free breakfast, a dining credit, etc.
Danny the Deal Guru: "Capital One has an option for credit card holders to easy move credit limits between cards online. The feature makes the process quite easy, but currently it doesn’t apply to all cards or cardholders."
"Capital One also makes it easy to close your credit card account. You just log in, click on the “I want to” button and find “Close Account” under the “Control Your Card” section, and then go through the steps."
Doctor of Credit flagged that the welcome bonus for the Morgan Stanley version of the Amex Platinum has been increased from the standard 80,000 Membership Rewards to 125,000 Membership Rewards. The minimum spend requirement is $6,000 in 6 months.
The card mirrors the Amex Platinum except for a couple of benefits.
With the Morgan Stanley version, you can add one authorized user for free. Additionally, Morgan Stanley Members who have a Platinum CashPlus account can receive a $695 annual engagement bonus in their CashPlus account. This bonus is received upon opening the card and upon renewal each year.
Technically, a third difference is that you can cash out Membership Rewards points at one cent per point to your Morgan Stanley brokerage account. Travelers will generally be better off using their Amex points for flights.
It comes with a $695 annual fee.
There are some welcome bonus restrictions.
Monkey Miles: "Hilton just announced that they’re partnering with AutoCamp ( ummmm who? ) with the ability to earn and burn points at AutoCamp sites starting with their property in Cape Cod."
"It looks like, from what I can ascertain, is it focuses on the segment of traveler that love the outdoors, but don’t necessarily want to completely rough it, so they provide campsites with a large, communal clubhouses, where you can individually rent out cabins, tents, and luxury AirStreams that surround it."
Your Mileage May Vary: "One major reason people weren’t using Citi cards to pay for travel is that the bank removed all travel protections in 2019. That means if you booked airfare with your Citi Premier and your flight was delayed overnight, you’d get nothing from the card. I know that this kept me from using the card to pay for flights and hotels."
Notable Citi Strata Premier trip protections include:
Travel on Points: "There is a new Marriott timeshare offer that I was emailed about and wanted to share with you. This one requires you to actually visit a property, versus their online offer that pops up sometimes. It appears this is targeted, since it has a invitation number, but it may be worth calling and trying for it anyway."
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