Frequent Miler: "Finding first class award availability with partner programs like Air Canada Aeroplan and United MileagePlus was always much easier when booking same-day or up to three days out, but that now seems to be the rule rather than the norm."
Points Wire Note:
Traditionally, Lufthansa would start releasing first class award space to partner programs about two weeks from departure. It wasn't guaranteed, of course. In recent years, I'd noticed space wasn't getting released at that two-week mark, but it did happen.
I'll be keeping an eye on this as I'm not sure if this is an actual policy change or if it stems from Lufthansa crew going on strike.
Barclays has launched a new 100,000-point welcome offer for the Wyndham Earner Plus Card. The minimum spend is only $2,000 in 6 months. The card comes with automatic Wyndham Platinum status.
Long-term, the Wyndham Earner Business Card is probably a better bet, but this offer is your easiest path to 100,000 Wyhdnam points. However, I wouldn't prioritize either card over those that earn transferable points.
Barclays has launched a new 100,000-point welcome offer for the Wyndham Earner Business Card. The minimum spend requirement is steep at $15,000, but you have 12 months to meet the spend.
The card comes with automatic Wyndham Diamond status.
Long-term, this is probably the best card if you're a fan of Wyndham. That being said, I still wouldn't prioritize it over cards that earn transferable points.
UPDATE: This offer is scheduled to end on March 11, 2024.
Until recently, the Capital One Venture X Business has a welcome offer of 150,000 Capital One Miles if you spent $30,000 in 3 months. Needless to say, that is a steep minimum spend requirement.
However, Capital One just launched a two-tier welcome offer that's worth a look:
To clarify, to earn the second part of the bonus, you need to spend an additional $80,000 on top of the initial $20,000. So, you can get 150,000 miles for $20,000 spent and 300,000 from $100,000 spent within the appropriate timeframe.
Since the card earns 2x on everyday spend, you'd also earn 2x on that $100,000 for an additional 200,000 miles.
The annual fee is $395, but it comes with an annual $300 credit toward the Capital One travel portal.
As always, we appreciate when you use our links.
Points Wire Note:
Let's be clear, the minimum spend required is still steep. However, it's much better than the previous requirement.
While only select businesses will have the spend necessary to hit the second tier of the welcome bonus, the reduced spend required to earn 150,000 miles will make this card more attractive to many business owners.
If you're trying to stay under 5/24 so you can get another Chase card, please note that this card will not show on your personal credit report. That means it won't impact your 5/24 status.
Etihad Guest might not have great award rates (and awful award cancellation fees), but they're running an impressive transfer bonus promo.
You can receive a bonus of up to 40% when you transfer points from select banks. Of the options, the only US bank option is Capital One. Please note that this transfer bonus is handled on the Etihad side and won't be reflected on Capital One's site.
Transfer Bonus Tiers
Important Terms
Points Wire Note:
I would not recommend transferring Capital One Miles to Etihad Guest speculatively. The program has niche uses, the bonus miles might not post for a while, and the cancellation fees make it to risky.
One scenario in which a transfer could make sense is if you want to book Etihad first class (or The Apartments) or business class more than 30 days from departure. Etihad has restricted partner access to award space to within 30 days so, currently, Etihad Guest is your only option.
Enilria reports that JetBlue is telling employees that they plan to open airport lounges at New York (JFK) and Boston (BOS) and that the lounges are expected to be called Mosaic Clubs. Currently, that's the only info that's been shared, but more details may be shared in May 2024.
Personally, I think this has the potential to help make JetBlue even more competitive on transatlantic and transcontinental routes. They already offer a fantastic business class (Mint) experience and having lounges could take that to another level, especially if they can continue to offer competitive fares.
If they do end up opening lounges, just keep in mind that it could be a while as they'll have to get the requisite approvals first.
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Five years ago, I wrote about how to earn points and miles on Airbnb stays for God Save The Points. However, I still see so many people skip some easy steps that could help them earn tons of points so I thought I'd flag a few.
Which Credit Card Should You Use?
Bonus: The Chase Freedom Flex (and Chase Freedom) quarterly 5x bonus categories generally includes grocery stores once per year. PayPal is another common quarterly bonus category that could help you earn 5x on Airbnb gift cards.
Which Airline Portal Should You Use?
ANA has a promo for first-time Airbnb users: Get a 3,000 JPY (~$20) discount on a stay in Japan and earn 2x per 200 JPY (this is ~1.48x per dollar)
Stack These Options
Regardless of whether you pay for your Airbnb with a credit card, gift cards, or a combo of the two, you should always click through an airline partner. I think British Airways is the best option since you can earn 2x Avios. Plus. BA is a transfer partner of Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, and Citi so it's easy to earn additional Avios.
Bloomberg: "The UK’s airline passenger duty will increase for non-economy passengers, which Hunt said was to account for high inflation in recent years. The increase will amount to an extra £20 ($25.45) for long-haul flights and £22 for ultra-long haul flights. The duty will be frozen for economy passengers on domestic and short-haul flights while long-haul economy fliers will pay £2 more."
Yes, this applies to award tickets as well as cash tickets.
Points Wire Note:
I'm often asked if there's a way to avoid the Air Passenger Duty (APD) fee flying out of the UK.
The short answer is no. The longer answer is that you can start your journey from somewhere else in Europe. The APD fee is only imposed on flights originating in the UK. That means you won't be on the hook for the APD fee if you only connect in London.
Additionally, flights from the Scottish Highlands and Islands region are exempt from paying the APD fee. The most common airport in the Highlands is Inverness.
One Mile At A Time: "Chase has been aggressively expanding its airport lounge portfolio, with the opening of Chase Sapphire Lounges by The Club. Up until now, four Chase Sapphire Lounges have been open, including in Boston (BOS), Hong Kong (HKG), New York (JFK), and New York (LGA). A fifth lounge has just quietly opened as part of the network, which is pretty exciting."
As Chase did at JFK, they've taken over the management of the Etihad lounge at Washington Dulles.
Air France-KLM Flying Blue is a popular transfer partner for people with Amex Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Citi ThankYou Points. However, you can also earn Flying Blue miles directly with the Air France-KLM World Elite Mastercard issued by Bank of America.
Welcome Bonus
Earn 70,000 Flying Blue miles + 40 XP if you spend $2,000 in 90 days. You'll also earn 60 XP upon approval. More on XP below.
Shout out to Doctor of Credit for finding the increased bonus offer.
Bonus Categories
Benefits
Annual Fee
$89
What Are XP?
XP are Experience Points and they're how you earn Flying Blue status. To earn status, you'll need to following number of XP for each tier:
You can earn XP by crediting your SkyTeam flights to Flying Blue.
Points Wire Note:
This isn't a top priority card since you can transfer points from all of the transferable points programs. In almost all cases, I would prioritize earning transferable points instead as they provide flexibility and can help reduce the impact of airline program devaluations.
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