Disclosure: I may earn a commission if you use the Amazon link below.
Whether you simply love flying Southwest or you use Southwest for positioning flights, buying discounted gift cards is an easy way to save on your flight costs. I would only buy if you fly Southwest regularly or you have a specific use for them in the near term.
Several merchants regularly offer discounts. You can find the current promos below.
Amazon
You can get $50 off when you buy a $500 Southwest gift card. That's a discount of 10%.
BJ's Wholesale Club
Buy a $500 Southwest gift card for only $429.99. That's a discount of 14% (generally as good as it gets).
Purchase limit: 5 per member
Costco
No current offer
Sam's Club
Buy a $250 Southwest gift card for $229.38. That's a discount of ~8.2%.
Thrifty Traveler: "The U.S. Department of Transportation is launching an investigation into Delta Air Lines, Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced Tuesday, the fifth day of the airline's ongoing meltdown that has canceled more than 5,000 flights and counting since Friday."
"What started with a worldwide software outage late last week that affected many major airlines has snowballed into an operational disaster for Delta – and Delta alone. As other airlines resumed flying smoothly this week, Delta scrapped more than 1,000 flights on Sunday and again Monday. By sunrise, the Atlanta-based airline had already canceled more than 400 flights scheduled for Tuesday."
Qatar Airways shared their new Qsuites product at the Farnborough International Airshow today. The Qsuite Next Gen will improve upon their current Qsuites offering.
Notable features include:
The Qsuite Nex Gen seats will be installed on Qatar Airways' new Boeing 777-9s. Don't expect to see this product launch until late 2025/early 2026 - possibly later.
Skift: "Hyatt Hotels said Tuesday it planned to buy the brands of Standard International, owner of 21 open hotels across five hospitality brands, including the luxury lifestyle brand The Standard."
"Hyatt will pay a base purchase price of $150 million, with up to an additional $185 million over time as additional properties enter the portfolio. Standard International has more than 30 projects with a signed agreement or letter of intent."
"The companies expect the deal to close later this year, subject to approvals."
Loyalty Lobby: "The consolidation of the two Korean carriers, Asiana & Korean Air, is possibly nearing its final stage of completion after it has been underway for the past four years, all while rowing with global regulators."
"Asiana’s unprofitability was always a problem, and the airline was deep in red even before COVID-19, but when the losses ballooned for the company with 10,000 employees on payroll, it became really critical."
Bloomberg: "Gate Gourmet and unions representing some of its workers were released from mandatory labor talks, moving the airline catering company one step closer to a strike that would cause problems for US carriers this summer."
"The National Mediation Board said Monday that a 30-day “cooling off” period had begun for the company and labor groups Unite Here and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters."
One Mile At A Time: "Earlier this year, Cathay Pacific revealed that it planned to introduce free Wi-Fi in business class at some point in 2024. More specifically, the airline has revealed that it plans to trial free Wi-Fi in business class starting in the summer of 2024."
"We haven’t seen many further announcements on that front recently, but it looks like this trial could start shortly. A reliable FlyerTalk member reports that as of June 19, 2024, Cathay Pacific will begin trialing free Wi-Fi on the Airbus A350-900 with the registration code B-LRF."
Points Wire Note:
I've always thought free Wi-Fi in business and first class is a small, but meaningful, perk to offer passengers.
Disclosure: I may earn a commission if you use the links below.
If you buy Iberia gift cards by July 7, 2024, you can get a 10% discount. However, I would only suggest buying if you are about to book.
Terms & Conditions
Capital One is planning to open a new lounge stretching 13,000 square feet in Terminal 4 at New York-JFK. There isn't a timeline for opening but, once it's open, that will mean JFK has an Amex Centurion Lounge, Chase Sapphire Lounge, and a Capital One Lounge. The credit card lounge game is really heating up!
Update: Spirit has changed it's voucher expiration policy. For vouchers issued on/after June 3, 2024, they'll be valid for 12 months instead of 90 days.
One Mile At A Time: "Spirit has just eliminated change and cancelations fees for all customers. I imagine the airline was rushed to make this change following Frontier’s recent announcement, so maybe we’ll see an official press release in the next day or two. Spirit’s homepage has a banner saying that 'change fees are gone for all.'"
"It’s worth emphasizing how Spirit’s new policy isn’t just more generous than Frontier’s, but is actually more generous than what you’ll find at the legacy carriers, and is in line with Southwest’s policies. All Spirit fares appear to offer ticket flexibility. Meanwhile at Alaska, American, Delta, JetBlue, and United, basic economy tickets don’t allow free changes and cancelations."
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