Update: The devaluation will take effect on February 15, 2024.
Last week, I received word that Turkish Airlines was going to devalue their Miles&Smiles award chart any day now. Well, it seems that day is today. Prince of Travel noticed that the new charts are now on the Turkish site.
For context, a one-way business class award ticket on Turkish Airlines between the US and Turkey is increasing from 45,000 to 65,000 Turkish miles. That's a rough 44% award rate increase.
On Star Alliance partners, a one-way business class award ticket between the US and Europe 1 and Europe 2 will be 85,000 and 90,000 miles, respectively. Both are increases from 45,000 miles. Those are 98% and 100% increases!
To make things worse, Turkish will now require additional miles for each segment which will really spike award rates.
You can see the new award charts here.
Points Wire Note:
While Turkish miles aren't as tough to earn as they once were with Bilt, Capital One, and Citi as transfer partners, this is a rough devaluation. For a program that was already niche given that they pass on carrier-imposed surcharges on award bookings, this reduces its usefulness even further.
Disclosure: I may earn a referral bonus if you use the links below.
Booking British Airways flights via AARP has been one of the best ways to save on cash tickets for years. You can save $200 on business and first class or $65 on economy and premium economy. The best part is that anyone can join AARP and it only costs $12 to join for a year.
If have a Capital One card, check your Capital One Offers. I currently have an offer to get $23 back on a purchase with AARP. Not bad for a $12 purchase!
If you don't have a Capital One Card or don't have the offer, you can use the Top Cashback shopping portal to get $12.12 back when you sign up.
Bonus: You can also use the promo code CHASEBA10 to save an additional 10% on British Airways.
If you have stays at select IHG brands in the next month, this Chase Offer could be great for you. You can get 5-10% back when you spend at least $100 at an eligible property - up to $570 spent. The offer expires August 14, 2024 so you need to have paid by then. The offer is only valid on one purchase.
Participating Brands
Please note that Chase Offers are generally targeted.
Danny the Deal Guru: "BWH Hotels has launched a new promotion, offering Best Western Rewards members the chance to earn a free night after two stays. Your stays must be completed by May 5th, and you can then use your free night during the summer."
Points Wire Note:
It's probably not worth going out of your way to stay at a Best Western, but if you need a couple of stays, you might as well earn a free night from them!
Head for Points: "Virgin Atlantic made it difficult to book the Retreat Suite. It’s not clear if this was because of concerns over last minute aircraft swaps (which would require refunds) or because it wanted to create an air of excitement. You could only book the Retreat Suite from 14 days before departure. They opened up at 14 days, to the minute, before take-off."
"Quietly – and this is not currently reflected on the Virgin Atlantic website – the rules have changed. You can now lock in the Retreat Suite at the time of booking or at any point afterwards."
Update: This promo is live!
Marriott Bonvoy is out with a fantastic new promo. Between February 13 and April 29, 2024, every night you stay will earn 1,000 bonus points as well as an extra elite night credit. You have until April 15, 2024 to register. Only eligible cash stays will count for this promo. You must register before your stay for it to count.
This is a global promotion. If you don't see the promo, reach out to Marriott via phone or DM on Twitter/X and ask them to help you register.
Points Wire Note:
This is a fantastic promo if you have some Marriott stays coming up. For those hoping to earn Platinum Elite status (or higher) or even lifetime status, this could help get you there a lot faster and might make prioritizing Marriott worth it.
World of Hyatt and Etihad Guest have teamed for a promo.
You can earn 1,000 bonus Etihad Guest miles on every eligible Hyatt stay you complete by March 30, 2024. Even if you've already booked the stay, it will be eligible as long as you register before the stay. Not to worry, you'll still earn Hyatt points for these stays. The Etihad miles are in addition to the Hyatt points you earn.
Eligible stays include any stay where a member is paying an Eligible Rate or redeems a free night award."
The terms indicate that it could take six to eight weeks for the Etihad miles to post to your account.
Points Wire Note:
Most people aren't going to earn a ton of Etihad miles as this is per stay rather than per night - no, you can't do back-to-back one-night stays. However, why pass up on free airline miles when there's no extra cost?!
Loyalty Lobby: "The ITA Airways Volare Program appears to have quietly extended their member’s tier status through January 2025, evidenced by new status expiration dates on the online cards visible in the account."
"As I have previously reported, many SkyTeam airlines don’t recognize ITA as a status / partner airline and therefore it’s impossible to benefit from the Elite Plus status that is (un)officially conferred with the Volare Premium/Executive level."
Points Wire Note:
It's been an interesting road for ITA Airways since it was formed out of the former carrier Alitalia. Lufthansa is trying to take a minority stake in the company, but the European Union just announced that it's looking into the deal. Whether ITA Airways gets fully integrated into SkyTeam or the Lufthansa deal moves it to Star Alliance is yet to be determined.
Update: The increased sign-up bonus is set to end on April 3, 2024.
Chase has released a limited time offer for the United Business Card.
Welcome Offer
United MileagePlus has devalued significantly over the last few years. A 100,000-mile bonus can help offset that a bit, but it's a good reminder that earning transferable points should be the priority over earning airline miles.
Still, if you already have Chase Ultimate Rewards cards, this could be an easy way to supplement your United mileage balance.
The Chase 5/24 rule applies to this card. If you've opened 5+ personal cards (plus select business cards) from any bank in the last 24 months, you are unlikely to get approved.
United MileagePlus Sweet Spots
The main advantages of United miles are the ability to book award tickets without carrier-imposed surcharges. This can really help keep your out of pocket costs to a minimum.
Additionally, you can use the Excursionist Perk to include a free one-way segment on a round-trip award ticket. Practically speaking, this is Untied's version of a stopover that allows you to visit a second destination for no extra miles.
A few redemptions to consider (one-way award rates):
Learn more about the United Business Card
Disclosure: I may earn a referral bonus or commission if you use the links below.
There's another round of targeted IHG One Rewards promos going around. It's worth checking your account to see if you've been targeted for one of them. Please note that only cash stays are eligible for these promos.
Potential offers you might see:
If you're booking a stay at one of IHG's luxury brands (Intercontinental, Regent, Kimpton, etc.), I would consider booking via IHG's Luxury & Lifestyle program to get additional perks such as daily breakfast for 2, room upgrade, a $100 property credit, and guaranteed 2pm checkout. Benefits vary by property.
If you're booking a stay at a property that doesn't participate in Luxury & Lifestyle, you can use a cashback portal to earn some cash back. I generally find Top Cashback to be a good option, but you can compare options at Cashback Monitor.
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