Hyatt Devaluation: Book These Properties Before March 26

Thrifty Traveler: "It’s an annual ritual for Hyatt, but that doesn’t mean it feels good. In all, 183 hotels are changing award categories: 137 properties are moving up to a higher category and therefore will require more World of Hyatt points (or transferrable Chase points) to book a free night while just 46 properties are moving down – requiring fewer points to book a free night stay."

Property Highlights

• All-inclusive resorts
• Park Hyatt properties
• Category 1-4 properties eligible for a free night award that are jumping to Category 5

Chase 25% Transfer Bonus To Flying Blue

You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Air France-KLM Flying Blue and receive a 25% bonus. To transfer bonus runs through April 30, 2024. In most cases, the transfer should process instantly, but it is possible to have Flying Blue put an award ticket on hold while you transfer points.

Generally, I wouldn't recommend transferring points speculatively.

50% Off Virgin Atlantic Award Flights

Virgin Atlantic has launched a 50% off award ticket promo for flight to/from the US. To take advantage of this promo, you must book by March 20, 2024 and travel by June 30, 2024.

Unfortunately, this promo only applies to flights operated by Virgin Atlantic so you can expect some steep carrier-imposed surcharges to result in high taxes/fees. Don't forget, if you start your itinerary from London, you'll also be on the hook for the UK's Air Passenger Duty (APD) fee which is over $200 on a premium cabin ticket.

Direct link to offer

Points Wire Note:

While the promo only applies to flights on Virgin Atlantic, you can actually start your journey to the US from Amsterdam on KLM or Paris on Air France. The KLM or Air France flights won't be discounted, but the Virgin Atlantic flights will be and you can avoid the UK's APD fee.

Avianca LifeMiles: 20% Off Economy Award Rates On Select Routes

Award Wallet: "A new Avianca LifeMiles award sale is now live. The promotion offers a 20% discount on awards on selected routes. The promotion applies to certain routes from Miami and San Francisco to destinations in South America. It applies only to economy flights operated by Avianca and not any other Star Alliance partners, nor does it apply to premium cabins. The promotion is valid for bookings through March 16, 2024."

The Confidante Miami Relaunching As Andaz

The Bulkhead Seat: "The Confidante Miami Beach is part of Hyatt’s Unbound Collection, but it might be most famous for being the setting of Dua Lipa’s “New Rules” video. I stayed at the hotel last year and found the experience a mixed bag. It’s perfectly located for enjoying the beach, but service and elite benefits were spotty at best. I’m happy that it’s getting a huge renovation and reopening as an Andaz at the end of 2024."

Points Wire Note:

I booked several clients at The Confidante via Hyatt Privé a few years ago. Many of my clients had similarly mixed feelings about the property. Hopefully, the rebranding as an Andaz will mean a nicer and more consistent experience when the property reopens later this year.

Alaska Airlines Rolling Out New Award Rates

One Mile At A Time: "In November 2023, it was announced that major changes would be made to Alaska Mileage Plan as of March 2024. At the time, no exact dates beyond that were given. There’s now a major update — the new award pricing is being rolled out between March 11 and March 31, 2024, so we’re going to start seeing this new pricing now."

"New award pricing will roll out today and throughout the week for travel from the United States to Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and for travel within the Middle East and Africa."

"Then remaining regions will be rolled out in subsequent weeks, with all the new pricing being live by the end of March 2024."

Lufthansa Is Restricting First Class Award Space Even More

Frequent Miler: "Finding first class award availability with partner programs like Air Canada Aeroplan and United MileagePlus was always much easier when booking same-day or up to three days out, but that now seems to be the rule rather than the norm."

Points Wire Note:

Traditionally, Lufthansa would start releasing first class award space to partner programs about two weeks from departure. It wasn't guaranteed, of course. In recent years, I'd noticed space wasn't getting released at that two-week mark, but it did happen.

I'll be keeping an eye on this as I'm not sure if this is an actual policy change or if it stems from Lufthansa crew going on strike.

Massive Transfer Bonus To Etihad Guest

Etihad Guest might not have great award rates (and awful award cancellation fees), but they're running an impressive transfer bonus promo.

You can receive a bonus of up to 40% when you transfer points from select banks. Of the options, the only US bank option is Capital One. Please note that this transfer bonus is handled on the Etihad side and won't be reflected on Capital One's site.

Transfer Bonus Tiers

• 20% bonus on transfers of up to 10,000 points
• 30% bonus on transfers from 10,001 to 50,000 points
• 40% bonus on transfers of 50,001+ points

Important Terms

• Miles from transfer bonus will post to your Etihad Guest account within 15 business days of March 31, 2024
• Must transfer by march 31, 2024
• Can't combine with other transfer bonus promos
• All transfers are final

Direct link to offer

Points Wire Note:

I would not recommend transferring Capital One Miles to Etihad Guest speculatively. The program has niche uses, the bonus miles might not post for a while, and the cancellation fees make it to risky.

One scenario in which a transfer could make sense is if you want to book Etihad first class (or The Apartments) or business class more than 30 days from departure. Etihad has restricted partner access to award space to within 30 days so, currently, Etihad Guest is your only option.

UK To Increase Air Passenger Duty Fee On Flights

Bloomberg: "The UK’s airline passenger duty will increase for non-economy passengers, which Hunt said was to account for high inflation in recent years. The increase will amount to an extra £20 ($25.45) for long-haul flights and £22 for ultra-long haul flights. The duty will be frozen for economy passengers on domestic and short-haul flights while long-haul economy fliers will pay £2 more."

Yes, this applies to award tickets as well as cash tickets.

Points Wire Note:

I'm often asked if there's a way to avoid the Air Passenger Duty (APD) fee flying out of the UK.

The short answer is no. The longer answer is that you can start your journey from somewhere else in Europe. The APD fee is only imposed on flights originating in the UK. That means you won't be on the hook for the APD fee if you only connect in London.

Additionally, flights from the Scottish Highlands and Islands region are exempt from paying the APD fee. The most common airport in the Highlands is Inverness.

American Airlines Discounted Award Tickets For 5K Miles

American Airlines has released 500,000 economy seats on select one-way flights for only 5,000 American AAdvantage miles. Eligible flights include select destinations within the contiguous 48 US states and to select destinations in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.

You can even find flights on transcontinental routes.

Must book by March 15, 2024 and travel on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays from April 2 to May 29, 2024. Flights must be marketed and operated by American Airlines or American Eagle.

Fortunately, these are not Basic Economy award tickets so you'll get the benefits of a Main Cabin ticket.

Full terms and conditions

Direct link to offer