One Mile At A Time: "What’s most interesting here is that Air New Zealand doesn’t plan to make any changes to the cabin of these jets, which is fair enough, given that this is a lease. So these planes will maintain Cathay Pacific’s four cabin layout. This is especially good news for business class passengers."
This aircraft will operate three flights per week on the Houston-Auckland route starting November 30, 2023.
Points Wire Note: The reverse herringbone business class cabin layout on this aircraft is far superior to Air New Zealand's traditional herringbone layout.
If you choose to buy up to the first class cabin (still with business class service), it should cost ~$343 one-way. The six first class seats are massive.
You can book with Virgin Atlantic Flying Club or a Star Alliance program such as Air Canada Aeroplan or United MileagePlus.
AP: "JetBlue Airways said Wednesday it has started selling flights scheduled for next spring and summer between the United States and both Dublin and Edinburgh."
Points Wire Note: Redeeming JetBlue TrueBlue points for Mint (business class) is generally a poor value. However, if you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve or Chase Sapphire Preferred, you can book via the Chase travel portal and redeem points for cash tickets at a rate of 1.5 or 1.25 cents per point, respectively.
Similarly, the Amex Business Platinum offers a 35% points rebate when you book via Amex Travel and Pay with Points. The Amex Gold offers a 25% points rebate, but that benefits ends February 1, 2024.
With both Amex and Chase, you'll be using points to cover the cost of a cash ticket so you can earn redeemable miles.
Thrifty Traveler: "We just found some wide-open (and truly unprecedented) award availability to book the Hilton Moorea Lagoon Resort and Spa for 90,000 Hilton points a night from April through October 2024! There are also a smattering of dates available in March 2024, but it's a free-for-all for the rest of spring into the fall."
Points Wire Note: Great use of Hilton points + you get the fifth night free on award stays.
Singapore Airlines: "Treat yourself to a well-deserved retreat with KrisFlyer Spontaneous Escapes! Travel and redeem Saver award tickets at 30% off to selected destinations worldwide in the Singapore Airlines network."
"To enjoy the promotion, simply redeem your flights on SingaporeAir.com or the SingaporeAir mobile app from now till 31 October 2023, for travel from 1 to 30 November 2023, both dates inclusive."
Your Mileage May Vary: "Since both of the flights were going to be on Virgin Atlantic using SkyMiles, I went back in and entered the information on Delta.com so I could have both flights on one booking. When I did, something amazing happened. The number of miles was correct at 110,000 but the taxes on the ticket dropped to $241.83. That’s $155 less than if I booked the flights separately."
One Mile At A Time: "The avianca lifemiles program is known for being useful for Star Alliance redemptions. Not only does lifemiles often sell miles at an attractive cost, but the program also partners with major transferable points currencies. Unfortunately the value of lifemiles has just decreased a bit, as many award costs have quietly been increased."
Points Wire Note:
One-way first class rates between the US and Europe increased from 87,000 lifemiles to 130,000 lifemiles. The business class award rate on many routes between the US and Europe increased from 63,000 miles to 70,000 miles. The first class devaluation is aggressive, while the business class devaluation is more reasonable.
I will note that business some business class rates decreased slightly. So far, these seem to be routes that were already a bit lower than the usual award rate. For example, JFK to Zurich was 56,000 miles one-way, but it's now 55,000 miles.
Sadly, it also looks like the amazing sweet spot of JFK to Lisbon has been devalued. Previously, you could book a one-way business class ticket for 35,000 miles. Now, it's showing you need 65,000 miles.
Another (small) positive is that the award rate from JFK to Geneva decreased from 63,000 to 60,000 miles.
Chase Ultimate Rewards is offering a 70% transfer bonus to Marriott Bonvoy if you transfer points by 1:59pm ET on August 14, 2024. To be blunt, this is almost always a terrible use of Ultimate Rewards points. I'd only consider this if you need to top off your Marriott Bonvoy account with a few points to book an award night. Otherwise, you're better off using Chase points for flights.
Amex Membership Rewards has a lucrative transfer bonus to British Airways Executive Club. You can get a 30% bonus on the points you transfer to British Airways if you transfer by 11:59pm MT on September 30, 2024.
While British Airways has devalued quite a bit recently, you can combine Avios from British Airways with Qatar Airways Privilege Club, Finnair Plus, and Iberia Plus which each have some great sweet spot redemptions.
I do not recommend speculative transfers for most people.
Amex Membership Rewards has launched a transfer bonus to Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles. If you transfers Amex points to Hawaiian by 11:59pm MT on August 31, 2024, you can receive a 20% bonus.
HawaiianMiles are pretty niche but they can be used to book Hawaiian's own flights. Oddly enough, using miles to upgrade to first class (it's really business class), can be a great way to book - especially if there isn't award space.
Of course, if Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines' planned merger is finalized, you may end up with a bunch of Alaska miles. This is not something I would gamble on currently.
I do not recommend speculative transfers for most people.
If you transfer Capital One Miles to Qantas Frequent Flyer by 6:59am ET on September 1, 2024, you can receive a 20% transfer bonus.
In general, Qantas doesn't have great award rates relative to other oneworld carriers, but there are some sweet spots. With this 20% transfer bonus, it might be worth booking with Qantas points on a few more routes.
I do not recommend speculative transfers for most people.
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.