Dan's Deals flagged that the new Delta-El Al partnership is now live. Unfortunately, this new partnership means El Al is ending partnerships with Alaska Airlines and American Airlines.
With the end of the Alaska Airlines partnership, we lose one of the best ways to book El Al with points and miles. The silver lining is that the partnership doesn't end until June 30, 2024.
Points Wire Note:
Alaska Mileage Plan's new unified award charts take effect in March. At that points, booking El Al will become a particularly useful sweet spot for the few months before the partnership ends. After that, using Qantas points will likely be your best bet to book.
Buy $100 Lyft e-gift cards for $79.99.
Points Wire Note:
Wholesale clubs are one the quarterly 5%/5x categories for the Chase Freedom Flex and Chase Freedom through December 31, 2023. If you've activated the offer, these are the best cards to use.
Award Wallet: "In a bit of good news, you can now earn and redeem on Delta SkyMiles on ITA Airways flights, but there's a catch. You can only book business class seats, and ITA's entire route map hasn't been rolled out across Delta's website yet."
Points Wire Note:
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and Air France-KLM Flying Blue will most likely be a better option for booking with points and miles.
Turkish Miles&Smiles is running a flash sale for flights from Los Angeles and Venice. You can find awards with a 50% discount on dates between January 16 and May 31, 2024. Dates between March 27 and April 15, 2024 are excluded.
In my test searches, only discounted economy awards were available from Los Angeles.
Point.me is an award search aggregator that allows you to see current award availability across multiple airline programs. They've just launched an "Explore" feature which allows you look at award availability from a city to anywhere across the world, a specific region, or a specific country.
Now, the Explore feature doesn't show live availability so keep that it mind. It displays space based on recent searches from other Point.me members.
I'll be hosting an Ask Me Anything session with Tiffany Funk, one of the founders of Point.me, on Instagram at 8:30pm ET on Tuesday, December 19. Follow me on Instagram to join! Hope to see you there!
From January 1 through March 31, 2024, the Chase Freedom Flex will earn 5%/5x (up to $1,500 spend) at grocery stores, fitness clubs and gym memberships, and self-care and spa services. Please note groceries purchases at Target and Walmart are excluded.
You can register through February 15, 2024, but you should do it now.
Disclosure: I may earn a commission if you use the link below.
Bilt continues to expand it's transfer partner list with the addition of Avianca LifeMiles. You can transfer points at a 1:1 ratio with a minimum transfer of 2,000 miles (1,000 miles if you have status).
Why should you care about Avianca LifeMiles?
LifeMiles offers some great business and first class award rates and they don't pass on the carrier-imposed surcharges which keeps the total out of pocket to a minimum. Just know that they don't have the best reputation when it comes to customer service.
Learn more about the Bilt Card
Points Wire Note:
Fun fact: Connecting flights in a class of service lower than the longer segment can reduce the award rate a bit.
American's shopping portal has increased earn rates at a bunch of stores for the holidays. Remember, you will earn Loyalty Points toward elite status in addition to redeemable miles when you use American's shopping portal.
Here are a some options to earn 10x AA miles/Loyalty Points per dollar:
Points Wire Note:
Sometimes, SimplyMiles offers will overlap with the merchants on American's shopping portal. You can link a Mastercard to SimplyMiles and add offers then go through AA's shopping portal and pay with that Mastercard. That way you'll earn bonus miles from SimplyMiles and AA's shopping portal on top of the usual points you earn with your credit card.
My favorite cards to link are the Bilt Mastercard. The Citi Double Cash is another great option if you have the Citi Premier as well.
Disclosure: I may earn a referral bonus if you use the links below.
Let's get this out of the way upfront, you need a high income to participate in this one.
Specifically, you must be able to prove an annual income of $200,000+ for a single household, $300,000+ for a join household, or an individual net worth of at least $1,000,000 excluding the value of a primary residence for two years. See? You really need to have a high income!
If this is you, Rakuten's offer for Yieldstreet is an easy way to earn 40,000 Amex Membership Rewards points if you've linked an Amex account. You could also just earn $400 cash back.
It doesn't appear that a deposit is required so, if you meet the income requirements, it's an easy win.
If you don't have a Rakuten account, this is my referral.
For IHG stays between December 15, 2024 and January 6, 2024, you can save 20% during this flash sale. IHG One Rewards members can save up to 25%. Deal states that 1,600 properties in the U.S. are participating.
Bookings must be made at least 3 days in advance and are prepaid. Must book by January 3, 2024.
Points Wire Note:
I would consider use the Top Cashback shopping portal to earn some cash back on your booking Also, there are Chase Offers for 10% back at multiple IHG brands.
Add those offers and you can do a nice stack: IHG Flash Sale + Top Cashback + Chase Offer.
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In August 2018, I started the Straight To The Points flight alerts newsletter with the goal of making it easier to book business and first class flights with points & miles and fare deals.
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