Qatar Airways has partnered with Cardless to launch two credit cards in the US market. We now have details about both cards.
Qatar Airways Privilege Club Visa Infinite Credit Card
New cardholders also receive Qatar Privilege Club Gold status as well as 150 Qpoints toward earning status again. You need 270 Qpoints to maintain your Gold status). Cardholders will also earn 2 Qpoints for every $1,500 they spend on the card.
Qatar Gold status provides oneworld Sapphire status. This status provides access to oneworld business class lounges including Admirals Clubs, Flagship Lounges, and Alaska Lounges when flying American and/or Alaska domestically.
Qatar Airways Privilege Club Visa Signature Credit Card
New cardholders receive Qatar Privilege Club Silver status Cardholders will also earn 2 Qpoints for every $2,000 they spend on the card.
Bonus Points If You Joined Waitlist
If you joined the waitlist, you'll receive additional points as part of the welcome bonus.
If there's a chance you'll stay at a Fairmont property in the Americas between May 1 and June 30, 2024, you should register to earn 4x Accor points. To take advantage of this promo, you need to book your stay by May 15, 2024.
Many Fairmont properties participate in the Accor STEP program. Benefits can include daily breakfast for 2, up to a $100 property credit, upgrade on arrival (if available), early check-in/late checkout (if available).
Southwest Airlines is running a 25% off award ticket promo. Of course, Southwest devalued by ~4% earlier this year. Still, this is a solid discount if you're looking to burn some Southwest Rapid Rewards points or transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Southwest.
Important Details
Flight Hacks: "Qantas has today officially lifted the lid on its brand-new dynamic flight reward product."
"The new flight reward product is dynamically priced, so the number of points required will vary based on Qantas’ cash fare when you search for flights. Classic Plus is designed to sit between the existing Classic Reward and Points Plus Pay options, improving availability while offering attractive value. But remember, Classic Plus isn’t available on every single flight, that’s where Points Plus Pay comes into the equation for ultimate flexibility."
The IHG Rewards Premier Business Credit Card has an increased welcome offer of up to 200,000 points.
Welcome Bonus
Thew new welcome bonus offer comes in two parts:
Bonus Categories
Benefits
Annual Fee
$99
Points Wire Note:
IHG points are some of the least valuable points. As you can buy them during some promos for 0.5 cents per point, that's about how much you can generally expect to get from them. There are some great exceptions to this and booking a 4th night free award really help you squeeze out more value. Personally, I wouldn't shift much spend to this card as there are other cards that earn more valuable points.
One Mile At A Time: "As the latest step of its transformation, Air India has reimagined its Flying Returns frequent flyer program, which is the first major change we’ve seen to the program in over a decade."
"Air India Flying Returns isn’t just going revenue based when it comes to earning points, but also when it comes to redeeming points. The program now has fully dynamic award pricing. "
Alaska Airlines has launched another round of their quarterly Global Getaways promotion that offers up to 50% off award tickets on partner airlines to select global
Important Terms
Eligible Destinations
NerdWallet: "Less than two months after JetBlue Airways rolled out a baggage fee price increase, the airline has added another wrinkle. JetBlue hiked baggage prices again with dynamic “peak” and “off-peak” pricing — essentially surge pricing for luggage."
"The cost of checking one bag on most JetBlue flights during peak travel dates is now $5 higher, at $40, while the cost of checking a second bag has risen $10, to $60 each way. And those are the prices if you check a bag more than 24 hours before departure. Wait until you get to the airport during peak travel days and you’ll pay a whopping $50 for the first checked bag and $70 for the second checked bag."
One Mile At A Time: "Lufthansa sells Miles & More miles. The airline isn’t flat out selling miles like most programs do, but rather is selling mileage bundles. These bundles are branded as Bundle&Go, and you can purchase a small, medium, large, or special bundle."
"For purchases through Tuesday, April 30, 2024, Lufthansa Miles & More is offering a 50% bonus on its Bundle&Go product."
Points Wire Note:
The medium bundle and large bundle are the ones worth considering with the 50% bonus if you aren't just topping off your account.
The major benefit of Lufthansa miles is the ability to book Lufthansa first class more than ~14 days from departure.
Capital One is running a 30% transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club until 11:49pm ET on April 30, 2024.
Award flights on Virgin Atlantic have steep carrier-imposed surcharges which means brutal high taxes/fees. However, Virgin points can be quite useful for booking partners such as Air France, KLM, and ITA Airways to Europe standout.
Delta is another great option to Europe (not to/from the UK) and All Nippon Airways (ANA) is always great if you want to visit Japan - though, award space can be tough. You can even use Virgin points to fly Air New Zealand.
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