Hyatt's Bonus Journeys promo is now live!
More Points With A Hyatt Credit Card
If you have a World of Hyatt Business Credit Card or a World of Hyatt Credit Card, you earn an additional 1,000 bonus points per three nights you stay. If you were to max out this promo by staying 21 nights, could earn 28,000 bonus points as a cardholder.
According to a FlyerTalker, only Hyatt properties in the following countries will be eligible for the cardholder bonus:
Australia, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mainland China, Macau, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and Vietnam.
Stack With Etihad Guest Promo
If you have stays in March, you'll be able to earn bonus Hyatt points as well as Etihad Guest miles.
Details on Hyatt x Etihad promo
Points Wire Note:
Oddly enough, I have 12 nights coming up in an eligible country. I'll happily take 16,000 bonus points!
This could also pair nicely with a Hyatt Privé booking - extra perks on your stay + extra points.
In general, Amex welcome bonuses offered to new cardholders are often better than via affiliate or direct links. However, this time, we're talking about the referral bonus you'll receive if someone uses your referral link.
You'll still earn a set number of points, but Amex has added an extra part of the bonus to incentivize additional spend:
"Earn +10 Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide for 3 months, on up to $25,000. This is on top of what you already earn on your Card. This offer can only be redeemed once. Offer ends 05/22/2024. Terms apply."
If you refer someone from your Amex Gold or Business Gold, that would mean you could earn 14x Membership Rewards points at restaurants! You could potentially earn 250,000 points from this offer!
Want to earn some referral points? STTP Premium members can submit there referrals to several Amex cards. Please only submit if you have a link to the best offer. The point is to get applicants the best offer. You can log into your STTP account to submit your referral links.
One Mile At A Time: "Amsterdam Schiphol is a logical location for oneworld to open a lounge. Keep in mind that the intent of the oneworld lounge network is to offer lounges at airports where oneworld carriers themselves don’t operate lounges, but where there are a significant number of oneworld carriers with lounge needs."
"I recently had the chance to check out oneworld’s new lounge at Seoul Incheon, and I’ll be reviewing it soon. In terms of soft product, I’d definitely recommend managing your expectations with these lounges, as I didn’t find the lounge to be much better than your typical contract lounge in terms of food and drinks, aside from bartender-made cocktails."
Frequent Miler: "If you earned more Delta MQMs (Medallion Qualifying Miles) in 2023 than were needed for the level of elite status you attained, then the remaining MQMs will have rolled over into 2024. But… Delta no longer measures MQMs at all."
"So, what can you do with those seemingly useless rolled over MQMs? Delta is offering three options: 1) Convert them to redeemable miles; 2) Convert them to MQDs; or 3) Convert each 100K MQMs into an extra year of elite status."
Executive Traveller: "Etihad Airways will roll out significant changes to its Etihad Guest loyalty program this year in a sweeping revamp which the Gulf carrier promises will make the scheme 'simpler, more rewarding and more personalised.'"
The changes are expected to launch in June of this year with most relating to how elite status is earned. While that's important for some road warriors who travel to/from/through the Middle East regularly, the part that matters to most award rates. According to Etihad, the economy and business class award rates to 70-80% of destinations will be reduced.
Points Wire Note:
Broadly speaking, Etihad Guest's award rates are awful whether you're flying economy, business, or first class. For years, they had some niche uses on partner airlines or even their own flights, but that changed last year when they heavily devalued their award charts. Yes, it was only March 2023 when they last changed their award rates - clearly, that didn't go well.
I'll be curious if any US routes see decreased award rates for business class and by how much. I could see them reducing economy rates but not business class and/or reducing business class rates by such a small rate that it doesn't really matter.
Given Etihad Guest's history, I'm not getting my hopes up but would love to be pleasantly surprised.
One Mile At A Time: "Etihad has just announced some substantial improvements to its inflight amenities. Not only is Etihad revamping its amenity kits and skincare products, but the airline is also introducing pajamas in business class on select flights, plus tote bags in economy."
Points Wire Note:
Etihad's recent first class amenity kits were provided by Acqua di Parma. At one point, these were impressive kits complete with travel-sized shampoo, body lotion, etc. However, that changed and the first class amenity kits were similar to the Acqua di Parma kits on Air Canada in business class.
The reintroduction of pajamas in business class reminds me of my Etihad flight from Johannesburg (JNB) to Abu Dhabi (AUH) in November 2017. In the months leading up to my flight, Etihad stopped offering pajamas in business class. The passenger in front of me didn't keep up with aviation news was surprised and furious. He proceeded to yell at the flight attendant who was clearly responsible for this corporate decision.
He continued to be a pain throughout the flight. As we disembarked the plane, I noticed his top-tier elite status bag tags. You would think a person who interacts with flight crews on a regular basis would know better, but you'd be wrong. Anyway, be nice to your crew. Enjoy airline PJs when you can get them.
UPDATE: Emirates will start flying this fifth freedom route on June 3, 2024.
One Mile At A Time: "A couple of years ago, I wrote about how there was talk of Emirates potentially launching a new route between Miami and Bogota. At the time, it seemed like a long shot."
"There’s now an exciting update, as this seems close to becoming a reality. Not only has Emirates requested permission with Colombian authorities to launch this route, but the airline has also updated its schedule in a way that suggests this service is happening."
Points Wire Note:
The flight time between Miami and Bogota is only 3.5 to 4 hours, but this will be one of the best ways to fly business class - possibly first class - to South America.
IHG is running a promo that offers 3x bonus points on stays at EVEN Hotels, Atwell Suites, avid hotels, and Garner between March 1 and May 31, 2024. You must be a resident of the US or Mexico to participate and you need to register for the promo prior to your stay.
Award nights and Points & Cash rates are not eligible. An eligible qualifying stay requires a total spend of at $30 per night.
JetBlue increased the cost of checked bags without an announcement. They simply changed the rates listed on their site. An airline hiding a free increase... just what customers love to see.
Your first checked bag will now cost $35 and a second checked bag will cost $50 if you pay at least 24 hours prior to departure. If you wait until within 24 hours of departure, your first checked bag will cost $5 and your second will cost $60. Third and fourth checked bags will cost $125 and $150, respectively.
Mosaic elite status and Mint (business class) tickets also continue to included two free checked bags. If you have the JetBlue Plus Card, you and three travel companions on your reservation can get a one free checked bag if you pay for the flight with your card.
UPDATE: This offer is scheduled to end on March 11, 2024.
Until recently, the Capital One Spark Cash Plus has a welcome offer of $1,200 cash back 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 $1,500 miles for $20,000 spent and $3,000 from $100,000 spent within the appropriate timeframes.
Since the card earns 2% on everyday spend, you'd also earn 2% back on that $100,000 for an additional $2,000 back.
The Spark Cash Plus has a $150 annual fee. If you spend $150,000 in a year, you'll get a $150 credit.
Turn Capital One Cash Back Into Transferable Points
If you have a Capital One Venture X, Capital One Venture, Capital One Venture X Business, or Capital One Spark Miles, you can move your cash back to any of these cards at a rate of 1 mile per cent. So, $1,500 cash back equals 150,000 Capital One Miles and $3,000 back equals 300,000 miles.
As always, we appreciate when you use our links.
Points Wire Note:
The minimum spend required is still steep, but it's much better than the previous requirement.
While only many businesses will only spend enough to earn the first part of the bonus, it's worth it if you ask me.
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.
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