Reuters: "Lufthansa (LHAG.DE), opens new tab will add an environmental charge of up to 72 euros ($77) to its fares, the airline group said on Tuesday, joining at least one European rival in doing so as the industry battles to cover the cost of new EU rules on reducing emissions."
"Fares will go up between 1 euro and 72 euros, depending on the type of ticket, on all flights departing from European Union countries, Britain, Norway and Switzerland, the German airline group said. Some of the increases are effective from June 26 for departures starting from Jan. 1, 2025 onwards."
Points Wire Note:
The surcharge starts at $1 for short-haul economy flights and reaches $72 for long-haul first class flights. We'll see how this affects award bookings with programs that don't pass on carrier-imposed surcharges. Hopefully, they won't pass on this new cost onto customers.
American Airlines is running a flash sale for economy award tickets on select routes. For short domestic routes, you can find flights for as few as 5,000 American miles. The eligible dates for the sale also depends on the destination. You must book by July 2, 2024.
The eligible dates and routes include:
Blackout dates are as follows:
Prince of Travel: "Aeroplan has now announced that this non-expiry policy will be once again extended, this time through November 30, 2025. Before that date, any Aeroplan points which should have expired will not expire."
Typically, Aeroplan points would expire after 18 months if you don't earn or redeem points.
You can earn double elite night credits and 1,000 bonus points per qualifying night at participating properties in Florida if you stay by September 30, 2024. There is a cap of 20 nights for this promo which means you can earn up to 40 elite night credits and 20,000 bonus points.
One Mile At A Time: "While we’ll have to be patient, American Airlines has officially revealed that it plans to open two new lounges at Philadelphia Airport (PHL) in 2025, including a new Flagship Lounge. Let’s go over the details, though let me say that I’ll believe it when the lounge actually opens, given how delayed this concept has been."
Katie Genter: "Earlier this month, Choice Privileges hiked the award cost of Preferred Hotels & Resorts stays to up to 87,000 points per night. At the time, I celebrated that award nights at Choice Hotels properties still cost between 6,000 and 35,000 points in most parts of the world (except the Asia-Pacific region, where award nights cost up to 75,000 points)."
"However, this morning I noticed the Choice Privileges website no longer mentions that award nights cost between 6,000 and 35,000 points in most parts of the world. Instead, these mentions now note that reward nights at participating Choice Hotels locations start at 8,000 Choice Privileges points."
Loyalty Lobby: "Wyndham is releasing a rather interesting Ultimate Hotel Pass product valid for up to 30 nights within three months."
"There are only 25 Ultimate Hotel Passes available, each priced at $499. You can pre-register your interest to purchase until July 4, and if you are lucky, you will be notified on July 8."
You can now link your Marriott Bonvoy and Starbucks Rewards accounts. For those who have already linked their Delta SkyMiles account to Starbucks, this should stack as well.
Marriott X Starbucks Partnership Details
During Marriott stays, you can earn double Starbucks Rewards Stars.
During promotional weeks, earn 100 Marriott Bonvoy points when you make 3 transactions during that week.
In the future, Starbucks will be incorporated into Marriott Bonvoy Moments.
Points Wire Note:
Yawn.
IHG One Rewards has launched a promo to incentivize people to join the program. New members can receive 5,000 IHG points if they complete an eligible stay at an IHG property within 21 days of joining. The registration period ends September 13, 2024. Points can take up to 6 weeks to post.
What is an eligible stay?
"For purposes of this Offer, a “Promotion Eligible Qualifying Stay” is defined as a minimum 1-night stay at a participating hotel that was booked directly with IHG through ihg.com, the IHG One Rewards app, an IHG reservations call center, an authorized travel agent (excluding any online travel agents or other online travel reservation sites, such as Expedia.com and booking.com, and unauthorized agents on online vertical travel portals), or directly with a participating hotel, using a Qualifying Rate and with a total spend exceeding $30 USD (or local equivalent) per night."
Disclosure: I'm on an advisory board for Bilt and earn a commission when people use my link to apply.
View From The Wing: "The Wall Street Journal says that Wells Fargo had to overspend to break into co-brand credit cards, and that as a result they’ve slowed down in the space."
"It’s such a strange piece – it seems framed to make Wells Fargo look bad but just describes how they’ve limited their losses while trying new things, and learned from their experiments. But we do get a lot of fascinating insider details along the way."
If you're thinking about apply for the Bilt Card, you can learn more here.
Sign up for free flight alerts or upgrade to Straight To The Points Premium.
Premium members even get text alerts when there are great opportunities to book business and first class flights!
To make choosing your next card a bit easier, we've ranked the best credit card offers to help find the best bonuses.
Whether you need help figuring out the best ways to earn or redeem points and miles, I’ll work with you to create a personalized strategy that’s easy to follow.
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.
I started Points Wire to make it easier for you to keep up with the news you need to know without all of the fluff.