In March 2026, we saw Aer Lingus equip its first aircraft (an Airbus A330) with Starlink Wi-Fi. There’s now an exciting update for the airline, as all long haul planes now feature the service. That’s fantastic news for those traveling transatlantic on the airline.

Aer Lingus installing free Starlink Wi-Fi

Aer Lingus is partnering with SpaceX to introduce Starlink Wi-Fi throughout its fleet, including on long haul and short haul aircraft. Best of all, Aer Lingus is offering Starlink Wi-Fi for free for all passengers. With this system, it’s possible to connect with multiple devices, including laptops, tablets, and smartphones.

Aer Lingus doesn’t even require you to be a member of its loyalty program in order to use the service, which is an area where IAG carriers are (generously) countering the industry trend, as other airlines are using Starlink as a way to drive loyalty program sign-ups.

Starlink is known for its high-speed, low-latency broadband internet, and the service is offered gate to gate. Starlink Wi-Fi allows for live streaming, productivity similar to on the ground (with high upload and download speeds), gaming, e-commerce, and more. Starlink is becoming increasingly popular with airlines, and we’ve seen dozens of airlines sign up for the service. As a passenger who values staying connected, I find Starlink to be a game changer.

Aer Lingus’ Starlink Wi-Fi rollout schedule

Aer Lingus has just revealed that it has now installed Starlink Wi-Fi on all of its long haul aircraft. This includes all 12 Airbus A330s, as well as all 14 Airbus A321s (including both the A321LR and A321XLR variants). That means that all of Aer Lingus’ long haul fleet now features Starlink Wi-Fi.

The airline deserve huge credit for that rollout pace. Initially the carrier was planning on having Starlink on all long haul flights by the first quarter of 2027, then the timeline was moved forward to the end of 2026, and now the project has been wrapped up before the end of October. Kudos!

That’s the beauty of Starlink, because the actual installation process is really quick, once planes are certified to have the service.

With long haul aircraft now reconfigured, the plan is for short haul aircraft operating within Europe to get Starlink next, though the timeline for that remains to be seen. The airline has a total of 27 Airbus A320s and eight Airbus A320neos, so once that project starts, I’d expect it to only take a few months to complete, at most.

Bottom line

Aer Lingus is in the process of rolling out free Starlink Wi-Fi, and has done an impressive job so far. At this point all long haul aircraft, including Airbus A330s, A321LRs, and A321XLRs, feature Starlink. This is well ahead of the planned timeline, which was supposed to see the project complete by the first quarter of 2027.

Next up we can expect to see short haul Aer Lingus planes get Starlink, though the timeline for that remains to be seen. Unlike non-IAG carriers, Aer Lingus isn’t requiring passengers to be a member of the loyalty program to connect to the service.

What do you make of Aer Lingus introducing free Starlink Wi-Fi?

JetBlue creditors hire advisers as stock & bonds sink

The Wall Street Journal reports how a group of senior creditors to JetBlue is working with a financial adviser and law firm, as the airline grapples with cash burn and increased jet fuel prices. JetBlue’s stock is trading at new lows in recent days, and closed Friday at $2.62, well under 50% of where it was trading under three months ago.

Not only that, but bonds are trading down as well. The company’s $2 billion notes due in 2031 fell to 42 cents on the dollar earlier this week, compared to trading near 80 cents on the dollar earlier this month.

In a statement, JetBlue simply shared that the company “remains confident in its JetForward ​strategy and the progress being ​made ⁠toward returning to sustained profitability.” Of course that says nothing about the possibility of filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Quite to the contrary, a Chapter 11 filing is almost certainly a key part of what will allow the airline to have a chance of success in the long run.

JetBlue will be fine, but a restructuring is necessary

As mentioned above, JetBlue hasn’t turned a profit since before the start of the pandemic. The airline has also had a series of setbacks, ranging from its partnership with American being blocked by regulators, and then its merger with Spirit also being blocked by regulators. All the while, executives at the airline did nothing to actually improve the carrier’s independent prospects.

Fortunately that’s starting to change, as leadership increasingly puts effort into its TrueBlue program, introduces first class while reconfiguring planes more efficiently, and opens lounge.

I trust that JetBlue will eventually be fine. The issue is, the airline now has close to $9 billion in debt. So even if the airline could at some point turn an operating profit, servicing that amount of debt while being a relatively small carrier seems like a hurdle that’s not easy to overcome.

Just to put that into context, Delta only has about double as much debt as JetBlue, despite having around seven times as much revenue. Meanwhile Southwest has materially less debt than JetBlue, despite having more than three times as much revenue.

For years we’ve known that United is at least in theory interested in JetBlue in some form… mainly its presence at New York (JFK). While for a while it sure seemed like United wanted a merger with JetBlue, clearly management has decided against that with current debt levels. If JetBlue does enter bankruptcy protection, though, I wouldn’t be surprised if United is part of some long term deal.

Bottom line

A group of JetBlue creditors have hired advisers, as the carrier’s stock and bonds sink. JetBlue hasn’t been in a good spot in a long time, as the company hasn’t turned a profit since before the pandemic. But we’re getting to the point where JetBlue can’t keep reporting operating losses while also having such a big debt burden.

JetBlue’s CEO had promised there wouldn’t be a bankruptcy filing in 2026, but it seems like the goal has almost been to just wait and see if any airline tries for a merger. With the current debt levels, it seems that even United isn’t interested, but I imagine that could change once the carrier is in Chapter 11.

How do you see this JetBlue situation playing out?

As you’d expect, this has impacted operations at the airport, as they remained suspended for some time, and have only resumed in a limited capacity for cargo aircraft. Along those lines, airline startup Riyadh Air is taking an interesting approach to resuming operations, and is setting up a temporarily hub elsewhere.

Riyadh Air moves flights from Riyadh to Al Qassim

Riyadh Air has suspended its operations in recent weeks, as the airline has moved its planes out of Riyadh, following reports of at least one of the carrier’s brand new Dreamliners being damaged. The airline now plans to resume operations, though with a twist.

As of October 25, 2026, Riyadh Air intends to resume flights out of Al Qassim Airport (ELQ), located around 250 miles (400 kilometers) from Riyadh. Specifically, the airline will initially resume flights to Cairo (CAI), Dhaka (DAC), Islamabad (ISB), Jeddah (JED), London Heathrow (LHR), and Lahore (LHE).

The logic for moving service is that Riyadh Airport is only operating with prior permission, and passenger flights at the airport haven’t resumed. So if Riyadh Air does want to resume flights, doing so out of Al Qassim is the next best option, inconvenient as it might be.

Of course one should mention that there’s no reason I can think of that Al Qassim couldn’t be a target by the Houthis, though obviously recent airport attacks have been centered around Riyadh.

Flying Riyadh Air will include a 4.5-hour bus ride

How does Riyadh Air expect passengers to get from Riyadh to Al Qassim? The airline is still letting passengers start their journey in Riyadh. The way it works is that passengers can check in at the InterContinental Hotel Durrat Al Riyadh, and can then take a complimentary coach to Al Qassim Airport.

The logistics here are quite complicated:

• Check-in at the hotel will be open between 15 minutes and two hours of the bus departure
• The bus ride will then take 4.5 hours, so that’s a really long journey
• The bus will then arrive at Al Qassim Airport 30 minutes before the baggage cutoff for flights

Talk about a really long travel day here, potentially!

Bottom line

With the attacks at Riyadh Airport earlier this month, operations at the airport have been suspended for quite some time. Riyadh Air is now resuming operations, but it’s doing so out of Al Qassim Airport, rather than Riyadh Airport.

This is as good as it gets if Riyadh Air wants to resume operations, though of course a 4.5-hour bus ride in order to reach the departure airport isn’t exactly ideal. What is the airline supposed to do, though? Man, Riyadh Air really had very unlucky timing when it comes to its launch and ramp up.

What do you make of Riyadh Air’s Al Qassim Airport setup?

American flight diverts over “deal with him” threat to crew

This incident happened on Thursday, October 22, 2026, and involves American flight AA339, operating from Miami (MIA) to Georgetown, Guyana (GEO). The 1,969-mile flight was operated by a Boeing 737 MAX 8, and took off at 6:40PM, roughly on schedule.

However, the plane didn’t make it far. Just 10 minutes after takeoff, while climbing through 22,000 feet, the decision was made to return to Miami. The plane ended up landing back in Miami at 7:18PM, 38 minutes after it first departed.

What was the reason for the return to the origin? According to a radio transmission from the pilots to air traffic control, the issue was a problem passenger:

“While we were climbing out, he rushed the flight attendants in the back of the aircraft. I guess the exact words were, ‘I will take care of you when we land in Guyana,’ but in a very threatening manner.”

According to passengers onboard, what happened is that a passenger got up while the seatbelt sign was still on during the climb, and attempted to help himself to a bottle of water, for a relative who was having a panic attack.

The passenger was reportedly told to return to his seat by a flight attendant, and the two got into a verbal confrontation, which is when the passenger told the flight attendant that he would “deal with” him when they reach Guyana.

The flight attendant took that statement as a threat, and informed the pilots, who made the decision to return to Miami.

The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office was called to meet the plane, based on an initial report of a flight attendant being assaulted by a passenger. However, according to a statement, “the investigation revealed the passenger and flight attendant were involved in a verbal dispute and no assault was committed.”

The passenger ended up being removed from the plane and the police interviewed passengers. There was then a crew change, and the plane eventually took off at 10:42PM and landed in Guyana at 2:55AM, over four hours behind schedule.

The president of Guyana happened to be on this flight

This is more a funny coincidence than anything else, but the president of Guyana, Irfaan Ali, happened to be on this flight. It looks like he had been in the US to establish an enhanced military partnership with the United States, and had met with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth the day prior.

So he was inconvenienced by this just like everyone else. I don’t imagine that his presence had anything to do with the decision to divert.

I wasn’t there, so I can’t really speak as to how threatening this entire situation was. Based on what we know, it sure sounds like there may have been a lack of deescalation skills, and that this was more about bruised egos than anything.

Of course you shouldn’t get up when a plane is ascending and suggest you’ll “deal with” flight attendant when you land. Flight attendants shouldn’t have to tolerate that. At the same time, I can’t imagine that this passenger actually posed any sort of a threat to the flight, and instead, it was likely just trash talking.

Bottom line

An American flight scheduled to operate from Miami to Guyana returned to its origin after a passenger became threatening with a flight attendant. While the plane was climbing out, a traveler reportedly went to the rear galley to get water, and ended up getting into a confrontation with a flight attendant, claiming he would “deal with” him once he got to Guyana.

The crew asked authorities to meet the plane, and claimed that a flight attendant was assaulted. However, the police reported it was just a verbal confrontation, and no charges were filed. The interesting twist in all of this is that the president of Guyana was also onboard the flight.

What do you make of this American diversion to Miami?

Qatar Airways will take delivery of 10 Airbus A321LRs

Qatar Airways currently has a total of 50 factory fresh Airbus A321-family aircraft on order. This includes 10 A321LRs, and 40 A321neos — both of those are latest generation aircraft, with the A321LR featuring additional range.

The expectation is that the first A321LR will be delivered in the coming weeks, before the end of 2026. The 10 A321LRs should join the fleet pretty quickly, and will then be followed by the A321neos.

The A321LR has a maximum range of 4,000 nautical miles, so it can be used for many destinations in Europe, Africa, and Asia. Below is a map showing the rough range from Doha (though in reality it won’t be quite as far, accounting for winds, fuel reserves, etc.).

Now, for those paying close attention, I should acknowledge that Qatar Airways briefly flew six leased, all-economy A321neos, but those were just intended as a temporary solution, and are now flying for Sun PhuQuoc Airways, which is running an interesting operation.

Qatar Airways’ A321neo-family aircraft order goes back a long time, and involved a lot of drama. The order was first announced in 2011, then the airline reconfirmed and upsized it in 2017. However, then former Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker got into a fight with Airbus over A350 production quality, and refused to take delivery of any Airbus planes.

That turned into a massive court battle, which was eventually resolved. But in the process, Qatar Airways lost all of its Airbus delivery slots, which is why these planes are coming way later than initially expected.

Qatar Airways A321LRs get STELIA Aerospace OPERA seats

Qatar Airways has been promising all along that it would introduce some sort of a next generation flat bed business class product on its Airbus A321LRs. As you’d expect, business class seats on narrow bodies sometimes differ from those on wide bodies, due to differing cabin constraints.

So we now know which business class product Qatar Airways has selected for the A321LR. Executive Traveller quotes Qatar Airways CEO Hamad Ali Al-Khater as saying that the new business class product will be based on the STELIA Aerospace OPERA platform.

The expectation is that these planes will boast 16 business class seats, in a 1-1 configuration. This product offers reverse herringbone seats, and Qatar Airways plans to have doors at each seat as well, of course with its customized finishes.

The launch customer for the STELIA Aerospace OPERA platform was Air France on its A350s. However, that’s the wide body version of the seat, which is modified from the narrow body version.

When it comes to the narrow body version of the STELIA Aerospace OPERA platform, ITA Airways was the launch customer, on its A321neos.

This is also the product that Etihad is installing on its A321LRs. ITA Airways and Etihad don’t have doors in business class, but Qatar Airways does plan to offer it. Etihad also markets the first row of the cabin as first class (and that has doors), but I wouldn’t expect Qatar Airways to do something similar.

This is about as good as narrow body business class seats get, as it’s generally preferred to the herringbone seats you’ll find on other carriers, like JetBlue A321LRs, American A321XLRs, etc.

Bottom line

In the coming weeks, Qatar Airways is expected to take delivery of its first of 10 Airbus A321LRs. This will be the first custom designed next generation narrow body that the airline takes delivery of. We knew the airline would offer flat bed seats on these planes, and now we have the details of that.

The airline has gone with the STELIA Aerospace OPERA platform, the same product you’ll find on similar planes of Etihad and ITA Airways. However, unlike those airlines, Qatar Airways will have doors in business class.

What do you make of Qatar Airways’ upcoming A321LRs, and the planned interiors?

Qatar Airways plans new business class product

Qatar Airways is known for its Qsuites business class. This is one of the world’s best business class experiences, between an excellent soft and hard product. Nearly 10 years after the product was introduced, it’s available on most long haul aircraft, but not all. Even though this continues to be one of the world’s most incredible business class experiences, that’s not stopping the airline from innovating.

Qatar Airways plans to introduce Qsuite Next Gen, its newest long haul business class experience. This product is evolutionary rather than revolutionary, which isn’t surprising, when you consider how good Qatar Airways’ product already is. However, the improvements are substantial, and I have to imagine that this will easily be the world’s overall best business class experience.

The Qsuite Next Gen business class cabin has the same general layout as the current product, which is to say that it’s in a staggered configuration, alternating between being forward and rear facing. However, there are some significant improvements, which will be especially great for those traveling together.

Here are some of the highlights of what’s changing:

• A new movable 4K OLED Panasonic Astrova inflight entertainment screen, which can be repositioned to the side to create the largest social and productivity space in the sky, for up to four passengers in the Quad Suite, and up to two passengers in the Companion Suite
• New customization options, including ambient lighting, privacy controls, and a touchscreen passenger control unit
• A larger lie flat seat, as well as a large double bed
• Added privacy, with taller, digitally controlled dividers
• New storage, including enclosed drawers where you can store your phone, watch, jewelry, etc.
• Significantly improved tech, including new wireless charging

Below you can see a video and some pictures highlighting some of the features of the new Qsuite Next Gen experience.

Qatar Airways Qsuite Next Gen rollout schedule

Initially, Qatar Airways’ plan was to introduce the Qsuite Next Gen business class product on the Boeing 777-9. The airline has at least 60 of these planes on order, and when the product was unveiled mid-2024, the plan was for deliveries to start as of late 2025.

As you’d expect, that timeline has been pushed back considerably, as the 777X still isn’t certified. Currently, Qatar Airways expects to take delivery of its first 777X in late 2027, best case scenario… and that could easily be delayed again! We should also see a new first class product debut on these planes (or at least a subfleet of them).

However, with the continued 777X delays, the airline is developing a new plan. Executive Traveller quotes Qatar Airways CEO Hamad Ali Al-Khater as saying that Qsuite Next Gen will now debut in mid-2027, on the Airbus A350-1000. Specifically, the plan is that the remaining (roughly one dozen) A350 deliveries will feature these new cabins as of then.

This is the first time that we’ve heard of any plane other than the 777-9 getting the Qsuite Next Gen product, so that’s exciting. However, this will only create even more product inconsistency, since there don’t seem to be plans to retrofit existing A350-1000s, at least as of now.

It really is amazing how inconsistent Qatar Airways’ fleet has become, as the airline has just sort of given up on retrofitting any existing aircraft with the current “latest generation” business class.

Qsuite Next Gen looks spectacularly good

When Qsuite Next Gen was unveiled in mid-2024, it was more or less what I was expecting. Qatar Airways already has the world’s best business class, and I expected some incremental improvements that build on what the airline has already created. That’s exactly what the airline did, and I’m impressed.

Of course the improved tech and design updates are awesome. But the area where Qatar Airways really excels is when it comes to being able to enjoy the flight with travel companions. The ability to turn a set of four seats into a “suite” of sorts was always awesome, and now that’s being made even better.

For those of us traveling as pairs who still like window seats, I adore the idea of being able to create a double suite by the windows, with two seats behind one another.

This is such an awesome area to innovate, because so many new business class products don’t seem to consider the varying needs of passengers. We shouldn’t just view seating quality individually, but should consider that some people are traveling as pairs, or even as groups. That’s something that Qatar Airways considers more than any other airline.

Now, purely in terms of space, I think ANA’s “The Room” business class still sets the standard for business class seats. However, the product lacks so many of the things that Qatar Airways does well, and which the airline is improving even more with this new product. Furthermore, when it comes to business class in the Gulf region, Qatar Airways certainly beats Emirates.

Bottom line

Qatar Airways plans to introduce a new flagship business class product, which will be named Qsuite Next Gen. This is an evolution of the existing product, rather than a revolution. However, there are some really positive updates, including improved tech, and the ability to better enjoy your flight with your travel companion, family, etc.

The plan has been for this product to debut on the Boeing 777-9, and that has meant that this new product has been on a seemingly endless delay. There’s now at least some good news, as the airline has decided to also install this on newly delivered Airbus A350-1000s as of mid-2027. Unfortunately there are only about a dozen of those A350 orders remaining, and there are no plans to retrofit existing planes with these seats, at least as of now.

What do you make of Qatar Airways’ Qsuite Next Gen business class plans?

Delta cuts Detroit to Keflavik route, after Icelandair exit

Icelandair operates a unique business model, whereby it uses its hub in Keflavik (KEF) to serve markets on both sides of the Atlantic, so that the airline can tap into the local market, as well as offer one-stop service all over the place.

In 2023, we saw Icelandair launch flights to Detroit (DTW). Detroit is a fortress hub for Delta, so the airline has a lot of pricing power there. Of course Icelandair’s idea was to undercut the major players on pricing, while also giving travelers the opportunity of a stopover in Iceland.

As you’d expect, airlines tend to defend their hubs, so less than two weeks after Icelandair’s announcement, Delta announced it would launch exactly the same route, and would even start the service three days earlier. This was obviously not a coincidence, but a competitive response.

Admittedly I suspect Icelandair had to know that Delta might replicate its route, and that proved to be too much competition. In early 2026, Icelandair fully ended Detroit service, as it couldn’t make the math work. Well, at least consumers would still have one option to Iceland, right? Not so fast, unfortunately.

Delta has now also quietly pulled the Detroit to Keflavik route, instead choosing to launch service to Iceland out of Boston (BOS). So yeah, now Detroit is back to having zero Iceland flights.

I guess that’s just how competition works, right?

Obviously this is a case where consumers initially won by having two players, but then eventually lost, by having no remaining service. This is the downside to competition.

Obviously Delta wasn’t looking out for consumers here, but the company was looking out for its bottom line. Airlines fiercely defend their hubs, so I guess this was the inevitable outcome, when you think about it. Delta wasn’t going to let Icelandair launch this route without matching it. And then when Icelandair left as a competitor, it’s also not surprising Delta cut the route, because if it wanted to operate the service in the first place, it would’ve done so before Icelandair.

I can’t help but wonder if Delta’s Minneapolis (MSP) to Dublin (DUB) route will have a similar fare. Aer Lingus added service in the market in 2024, and Delta immediately matched. Aer Lingus is ending this route with the close of the 2026 season. Will this route survive for Delta beyond 2027? We’ll see, I guess!

Bottom line

Icelandair starting flying from Keflavik to Detroit, and Delta immediately matched. Icelandair then pulled out of the market, and then Delta also immediately matched. Going from zero competitors to two competitors to zero competitors isn’t exactly ideal for consumers, but often it’s how these situations play out, unfortunately.

What do you make of this Detroit to Keflavik competitive situation?

Lufthansa Green Fares become Impact Fares

Lufthansa Group is renaming its Green Fares, and going forward, they’ll be known as Impact Fares. Here’s how Lufthansa describes this change:

The Lufthansa Group is renaming its Green Fare to Impact Fare. The new name places even stronger emphasis on customers’ contribution to greater sustainability in aviation and thus reflects new regulatory requirements for environmental communication: By choosing an Impact Fare, passengers support the additional use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) across the Lufthansa Group’s route network. In addition, they contribute to selected climate protection projects outside the company’s value chain.

Lufthansa explains that for every Impact Fare booked, the company deploys an additional amount of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in its flight operation within six months of departure. For flights within Europe, this volume is based on 20% of the estimated flight related CO2 emissions.

The fare also supports climate protection projects, based on the remaining 80% of the estimated flight related CO2 emissions. On intercontinental routes, the ratio is 10% to 90%. In addition, passengers receive bonus miles for these fares, along with more flexible rebooking options.

Lufthansa lost a court battle over these Green Fares

While Lufthansa acknowledges that the rebranding of these fares is in response to “new regulatory requirements,” the airline also tries to claim that “the new name places even stronger emphasis on customers’ contribution to greater sustainability in aviation.”

So, what’s really going on here? In March 2025, NGO Environmental Action Germany won a greenwashing lawsuit against Lufthansa related to these fares, on grounds of misleading consumers with sustainability claims. The court had ruled that consumers choosing to offset their flights with the “Green Fares” were left in the dark as to the extent of the carrier’s climate compensation in relation to the flight booked. Furthermore, the fares including SAF made it seem like consumers were directly contributing to offsetting their own flights.

As the NGO Environmental Action Germany explained, “the court confirms our criticism and addresses how one of the world’s largest airlines systematically deceives customers and pretends that air travel is climate-neutral in exchange for additional fees.”

Now, at this point that was over 18 months ago, but as you’d expect, it often takes time for cases to go through courts, appeals to happen, etc. So we’re just now seeing the impact of this lawsuit, and Lufthansa finally making the change. There is a certain irony to Lufthansa losing a battle for greenwashing, and then claiming the new name places an even stronger emphasis on how much customers are contributing to sustainability. Hmmm…

This isn’t the first time that Lufthansa has gotten in trouble for greenwashing. In 2022, Lufthansa got in trouble with UK regulators over an ad that showed a plane in the top half of the image, and the earth in the bottom half of the image, with the following caption:

“LUFTHANSA GROUP, CONNECTING THE WORLD. PROTECTING ITS FUTURE. #MakeChangeFly”

Bottom line

Lufthansa is once again in trouble for greenwashing. This time around, the airline has been forced to rebrand its Green Fares, with the claim being that they made consumers believe that by booking these fares, they weren’t harming the environment. These fares are now known as Impact Fares, with all the same perks as the previous Green Fares.

What do you make of Lufthansa being forced to rebrand Green Fares?

Along those lines, American’s current most senior flight attendant is about to retire, and I think that makes for an interesting story.

83-year-old American flight attendant retires after 63+ years

Ted Reed has the story of how American Airlines’ most senior flight attendant, Carol Fair, will be retiring on Monday, October 26, 2026, as she takes her last flight from London (LHR) to Charlotte (CLT). The 83-year-old first started her career in 1963 at Piedmont Airlines, before working at US Airways, and then American (given all the mergers). So she’ll be retiring after a career of over 63 years.

Fair is retiring as the number one active flight attendant on American’s seniority list, which includes around 30,000 people. Technically she’s only the third most senior flight attendant at the airline, but the two most senior no longer fly, but haven’t officially retired. Funny enough, when Fair first started her career, she was rejected at American, as the airline claimed she “wasn’t American material.” However, two mergers later, she landed at the airline she hoped to work for in the first place.

The airline is expected to have a water salute for Fair upon landing in Charlotte on Monday, an honor that’s typically reserved for pilots on their last flight, and not flight attendants. As Fair looks back on her career, she shared the following:

“It’s time. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. I made No. 1 out of 30,000. You can’t go any higher, so I might as well hang it up.”

As you’d expect, Fair primarily flies internationally, given that it’s the easiest way to rack up a lot of hours, and minimize the number of days you have to work. She also explained that she prefers the quality of passengers to those on domestic flights, saying “they are vented better.” Hah.

American’s most senior flight attendant had worked for 67 years

While Fair is American’s most senior active flight attendant, it’s worth noting that she’s not the most senior American flight attendant ever. American’s most senior flight attendant ever — and for that matter, the industry’s most senior flight attendant ever — was Bette Nash.

She started her career in 1957, and she worked at the airlines for 67 years, up until 2024. She then passed away at the age of 88. She was also recognized by Guinness World Records for being the world’s longest serving flight attendant.

Super senior flight attendants can be a mixed bag

There’s definitely a lot of ageism out there when it comes to how people perceive old flight attendants. Former Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker made headlines years back, when he talked about “crap American carriers” and how “you’re being served by grandmothers,” while bragging about how the average age of “his” flight attendants was only 26.

I think there are also a fair number of people who are just genuinely confused. If you’re from somewhere like Singapore or Japan, it’s just shocking to see people working in such a position at such an age.

I find that at airlines, super senior flight attendants are often on both ends of the spectrum in terms of quality. Some are just incredible, have such a good attitude, and really are a throwback to what service used to be like. Others, meanwhile, have an attitude, and clearly don’t want to be there.

As you’d expect, peoples’ motivation for wanting to work that long also varies. For some people, they genuinely enjoy their jobs, and it keeps them active, and they wouldn’t know what to do with themselves in retirement. For others, sadly they have to work to make ends meet, given how expensive life can be, and the lack of proper pensions.

When we’re talking about really senior flight attendants, my only concern is their ability to perform important safety duties. We always hear how flight attendants at US carriers are there primarily for our safety. However, there’s no denying that at a certain point, it becomes challenging to perform these duties.

Yes, senior flight attendants have to go through recurrent training, where they practice emergency evacuations, etc. However, they can take this multiple times if they fail. And there was a story many years ago about United’s most senior flight attendant at the time, and how many times she failed before passing. Obviously that’s a bit concerning.

Bottom line

American Airlines’ most senior flight attendant is retiring at the age of 83, after a career lasting over 63 years. She first started at Piedmont, then US Airways, and then American, thanks to three sets of mergers. On Monday, she’ll operate her last flight from London to Charlotte. Congrats to Fair, and may she have some enjoyable and healthy years in retirement!

United reveals its two newest flight attendant bases

Airlines have flight attendant bases at certain airports. While lots of flight attendants choose to commute, the idea is that flight attendants typically start and their trips at their base. These bases are important, since there will also often be reserve flight attendants there on standby, in case they need to fill in for someone else, to keep the operation moving.

As things currently stand, United has roughly a dozen flight attendant bases. There are bases at all the carrier’s hubs, and also in places like Guam (GUM) and London (LHR), which are more focus cities than hubs. There are also bases in places like Boston (BOS) and Honolulu (HNL), reflecting the amount of service the airline has there.

Anyway, JonNYC reports on how United has just revealed its two newest flight attendant bases, and they’re in Dallas (DFW) and Sacramento (SMF).

Flight attendants can bid on where they want to be based, and then they’re selected based on seniority. So I imagine that some flight attendants who live in those cities may be happy about this. For that matter, many new hire flight attendants may end up at these bases, as they really have no say over where they’re based. It would be rather odd to be hired as a United flight attendant, only to end up working out of Dallas, no?

Does anyone understand the logic for these bases?

It’s not too hard to figure out why airlines have flight attendant bases at their hubs… that’s obvious. My assumption would be that otherwise airlines select these based on the amount of service they have out of there, and also based on geographic diversity, to some extent, in terms of easily being able to get a flight attendant to a nearby airport, in case a reserve is needed.

So I have to say, the Dallas base sure caught me off guard. Dallas is of course a fortress hub for American, and United has a relatively small presence there. Now, United CEO Scott Kirby does live in Dallas, and commutes to Chicago sometimes. However, he reportedly typically does that on American, since the airline has more flights in the market, and he has unlimited first class travel privileges on the carrier.

I don’t want to come up with any conspiracy theories. I don’t think the logic here is that:

• United wants to significantly build its presence in Dallas, since that doesn’t make much sense
• Kirby just wants better reliability at his home airport, since he usually flies American anyway

Still, I’m not sure I actually have a theory here either? It doesn’t seem like Dallas ranks among United’s most served airports without a flight attendant base, so any guesses here?

Bottom line

United Airlines is opening two new flight attendant bases, in Dallas and Sacramento. Ultimately this doesn’t directly impact passengers, though it’s still interesting to see where airlines decide to open these. We had known two new bases were coming, and I wouldn’t have expected these to be the two airports to get them. The Dallas one is particularly interesting to me.

What do you make of United’s newest flight attendant bases?

A few months ago, I took a look at the data of how poorly Delta is performing across the Pacific, following the “big three” carriers reporting their Q2 2026 earnings. With all three of the airlines having now reported their Q3 2026 earnings, I’d like to take a look at the latest. Are things getting better or worse for Delta?

The math on Delta’s expansion isn’t pretty right now

With American, Delta, and United, having all reported their Q3 2026 earnings, I think it’s interesting to look at how all airlines did across the Pacific in the quarter, at least directionally. I’m not doing this to pick on Delta (I swear), and I’ll explain more later. But first let’s look at the actual math, and thanks to JonNYC for bringing this up.

I’d like to compare performance across the Pacific in the last two quarters between American, Delta, and United. Just to define the terms here:

• Yield is the passenger revenue divided by the number of revenue passenger miles flown, so it reflects what people are actually paying to fly, and doesn’t account for empty seats
• PRASM is the passenger revenue per available seat mile, and you calculate that by taking the total passenger revenue and dividing it by the number of seat miles, so it factors in empty seats
• ASMs refers to available seat miles, meaning the total number of miles flown by a plane multiplied by the number of available seats
• Load factor refers to the percentage of seats actually filled on flights

Below is a comparison of Q3 2026 year-over-year Pacific performance for American, Delta, and United.

As you can see, there’s a major outlier here. To put this into basic terms:

• American saw the biggest increase in the average fare paid, with a significant increase in revenue per available seat, despite a decrease in load factor; yield growth more than double outpaced capacity growth, which is excellent
• Delta saw a bigger increase in capacity than in yield and revenue per available seat mile, despite fares being up so much across the board
• United had very balanced growth across the Pacific, adding a modest amount of capacity, while being the only airline to see load factor go up, and also commanding higher fares

As you can see, Delta was the outlier here, and was the only airline where capacity growth exceeded yield growth.

Below is the chart for Q2 2026. As you can see, Delta was also the negative outlier then, but the situation has gotten even worse since then.

What can we make of Delta’s issues across the Pacific?

Please hear me out, because I’m not writing this to rag on Delta. Quite the contrary, I’m happy to see an airline growing across the Pacific and trying to compete with United.

Airline data is fascinating because it’s both endless and insightful, but it doesn’t tell the full story, given the complexity of airline revenue performance. When I look at airline data, what I find most interesting is directional trends among competitors.

Delta is a very well-run airline, all things considered, and has been the most profitable US carrier for many years now. In most areas, Delta outperforms competitors. So it’s really interesting to see one region where Delta has now lagged both United and American in two consecutive quarters.

I have to imagine these two quarters weren’t exceptions, and that Delta’s performance will keep getting worse before it improves, as the airline continues to add new routes. Now, that’s largely fair enough, because it takes time for growth to become profitable. I think I have two takeaways here.

First, I can rationalize why American has sort of given up on Asia, and has such a minimal presence:

• It’s really hard to make money as a US airline flying across the Pacific unless you have the perfect hub and have other advantages, like being the established player
• American actually seems to be doing well in Asia for the limited number of routes that it operates

Second, one wonders if Delta will just struggle as it continues to grow, or if Delta has a major, structural disadvantage to United, which it can’t overcome. Delta’s split hub strategy between Los Angeles (LAX) and Seattle (SEA) is just much more poorly positioned than United’s primary hub in San Francisco (SFO), in terms of pricing power, local loyalty, connectivity, etc.

Delta recently added Hong Kong (HKG) flights, and it’s a market United serves four times daily. So the fact that Delta’s performance has only worsened while United’s performance has continued to remain strong despite the new competition isn’t exactly a great sign. United CEO Scott Kirby probably wasn’t wrong when he mocked Delta’s recent transpacific expansion.

Bottom line

Delta’s numbers across the Pacific aren’t pretty. While both United and American are seeing yield growth significantly outpace capacity growth, the opposite has now been true for Delta for two quarters in a row. I don’t think this should come as much of a surprise, since it takes time to become profitable in new markets.

However, one can’t help but wonder if this is just a temporary issue that will solve itself with time, or if Delta has a structural disadvantage here that it won’t be able to overcome. We’re only at the very early stages of Delta’s transpacific growth, if the airline is actually serious about overtaking United.

What do you make of Delta’s Pacific situation?

JetBlue is also rebranding its Move to Mint certificates as Premium Upgrade Certificates, reflecting the fact that these won’t just be redeemable for Mint business class, but also for BlueFirst first class. While these were first introduced back in 2022, there will be more opportunities to earn and redeem them, so let’s cover those details.

How to earn JetBlue Premium Upgrade Certificates

JetBlue TrueBlue members will soon have more opportunities to earn Premium Upgrade Certificates. As in the past, JetBlue will continue to let members earn the following number of Premium Upgrade Certificates based on the status they qualify for:

• Mosaic 3 status (which requires 150 tiles) will offer four Premium Upgrade Certificates
• Mosaic 4 status (which requires 250 tiles) will offer four Premium Upgrade Certificates
• Mosaic 4 members can earn two additional Premium Upgrade Certificates for every 100 tiles earned beyond 250

For context, you earn one tile for every $100 in qualifying JetBlue spending, and one tile for every $1,000 in qualifying JetBlue credit card spending. That means Mosaic 3 requires $15,000 in JetBlue spending or $150,000 in credit card spending.

On top of that, JetBlue has the Perks You Pick program, whereby you can select additional perks for passing certain thresholds. With these latest updates, when passing the thresholds of Mosaic 2, Mosaic 3, and Mosaic 4, members can select an additional Premium Upgrade Certificate at each tier, for a total of up to three additional upgrades. That also means that Mosaic 2 elite members will be able to earn these for the first time.

However, keep in mind that in each of those situations, it comes at an opportunity cost. Below are the options at each tier.

As you can see, the higher the elite tier, the higher the opportunity cost. While you receive one Premium Upgrade Certificate in each situation, the opportunity cost goes from 10,000 points, to 20,000 points, to 30,000 points.

Just to make the math very easy here, a Mosaic 4 member would automatically receive eight Premium Upgrade Certificates, and would have the ability to earn up to three additional upgrades.

How to redeem JetBlue Premium Upgrade Certificates

With JetBlue introducing first class, Premium Upgrade Certificates will be redeemable for both Mint business class and BlueFirst first class. These upgrade certificates can be used to confirm an upgrade at the time of booking, all the way up until two hours before departure.

Unlike other US carriers, these upgrades don’t have capacity controls. As long as seats are still available for sale, you can redeem Premium Upgrade Certificates to secure a seat. The catch is that the number of Premium Upgrade Certificates is dynamic, obviously reflecting how full a premium cabin is anticipated to be.

Regardless of the cabin, a one segment upgrade requires anywhere from one to four Premium Upgrade Certificates. JetBlue hasn’t provided any commitment or additional details on whether BlueFirst upgrades will be capped at a lower amount than the four max, or if some domestic BlueFirst flights may require as many upgrades as a transatlantic Mint flight.

Going for TrueBlue Mosaic elite status is certainly becoming more lucrative. Between unlimited complimentary upgrades to first class, plus the increasing opportunity to confirm upgrades, there’s real value here. While the total volume of “confirmed” upgrades one may receive might not sound that high, the lack of capacity controls is something that many people will appreciate.

Bottom line

JetBlue is overhauling its upgrade certificates. They used to be known as Move to Mint certificates, but will now be known as Premium Upgrade Certificates, reflecting that they’re redeemable for both Mint business class and BlueFirst first class.

Mosaic 3 and Mosaic 4 members will still earn four upgrade certificates for passing each of those thresholds, but there will now be more opportunities to earn upgrade certificates using the Perks You Pick program. It’s going to be interesting to see just how many Premium Upgrade Certificates are typically required for BlueFirst flights.

What do you make of these updates to JetBlue’s upgrade certificates?

How JetBlue’s first class upgrades for elites will work

JetBlue will introduce unlimited complimentary space available first class upgrades, coinciding with the airline rolling out first class:

• Complimentary upgrades will be available to all TrueBlue Mosaic elite members, as well as those with the JetBlue Premier Card, including authorized users, even if they don’t have elite status (this assumes they pay for the trip with the card)
• Upgrades will also be available for up to one companion traveling on the same reservation (reservations with three or more people on them won’t be eligible for upgrades, even for the member)
• Upgrades will start clearing on a space available basis 60 minutes before departure, in the order that members are listed on the upgrade list
• In order to be upgrade eligible, passengers must book an eligible fare, including Main, Main Flex, EvenMore, or EvenMore Flex, whether booked with cash or points; this means only Main Base and EvenMore Base fares are excluded
• There’s no need to request an upgrade, as eligible members will automatically be added to the upgrade waitlist
• The JetBlue app will have an upgrade waitlist, where travelers can see their position on the list
• United MileagePlus Premier members are not eligible for upgrades on JetBlue, despite the partnership between the two airlines

Below is a chart with the order in which JetBlue upgrades will clear.

Within each group, JetBlue upgrade priority will further be determined with the following order:

1. Using a JetBlue credit card to pay for your trip 
2. Purchase of an EvenMore fare (excluding EvenMore Base) 
3. Tiles earned during the current program year 

This is a huge boost to the value of JetBlue TrueBlue

I think JetBlue’s introduction of first class will materially improve the carrier’s performance over time. Now, I do think a trip into Chapter 11 bankruptcy is almost inevitable, given that the carrier is approaching a staggering $10 billion in debt, and that’s just not going to be serviceable in the long run.

But in terms of operating performance and the overall revenue from JetBlue TrueBlue, I think the full rollout of first class will be the start of a change for JetBlue:

• JetBlue is efficiently reconfiguring its planes to reduce legroom in standard economy while adding a new premium seating option, so this should result in a significant revenue boost per flight
• Introducing first class upgrades will make it more tempting to go for JetBlue TrueBlue status, and it’s also smart how JetBlue is making upgrades a credit card perk
• When you combine this with JetBlue now having lounges in Boston (BOS) and New York (JFK), there’s a lot more potential to actually win premium travel

Now, some might be frustrated that upgrades will clear only at most 60 minutes before departure, while other airlines offer upgrades days in advance. That’s fair, though to be realistic:

• How often do upgrades really clear at the initial upgrade window with American, Delta, and United, if they clear at all?
• JetBlue’s first class cabins will be quite small, and with so much of the carrier’s network being centered up and down the East Coast, I think the airline will have no problem selling most of these seats
• If you’re only going to upgrade one or two people, I actually think it’s sort of fair to wait until 60 minutes before departure, so that you don’t penalize those who book expensive, last minute economy tickets

Bottom line

JetBlue is rolling out unlimited first complimentary first class upgrades for elite members and those with the carrier’s most premium credit card. Upgrades will be available for companions as well, and only basic fares won’t qualify.

Upgrades will clear 60 minutes before departure, and the upgrade priority is roughly what you’d expect, with the Mosaic tier being the top factor determining eligibility, followed by use of a JetBlue credit card, booking an EvenMore fare, and then the number of Tiles earned.

What do you make of JetBlue’s new first class upgrade program?

United CEO has opinions on taxes & national service

Recently, United’s CEO had an interview where he talked about how “wealth inequality has become a danger to our society, and we need to address that,” and he suggested “we should have a national wealth tax,” and “we should have inheritance taxes that get close to 100 percent at some level,” and he “would pay them.” Kirby is of course a very wealthy guy, and he has taken home $84.8 million from his job as United CEO in the past three years alone.

That wasn’t just a one-off statement, but in a Bloomberg TV interview on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, Kirby doubled down on his beliefs, and added more to the mix. He explained that “the basic concept is one of fairness,” and that “if you’re wealthy enough, you can have passive income, you can just make an investment and the laws are set up that you literally never pay taxes on all that growth that can happen.”

He was then asked if he would be willing to redistribute some of his wealth to United employees earning far less than he does, to which he responded “of course not,” and that “even if Elon Musk decided to do it, and he’s a trillionaire, it’s not enough to make a difference.”

Kirby argued that “the more fair system is, some way of taxing that wealth growth, whether it’s a wealth tax or some other way of doing it, and lower income taxes.”

Kirby took his comments to the next level, arguing that there should also be compulsory national service, so that Americans can do more to address the country’s long term challenges. He explained that “we need to stop punting some of our problems to the next generation,” while bringing up that he has seven kids, and he cares “about what the country is going to be like for them.”

Is the timing of this deliberate, or what’s going on?

I really can’t make sense of Scott Kirby as a person. He’s obviously very intelligent, and he’s also very open about sharing hot takes that are going to be quite controversial.

What I can’t figure out is if he’s being really strategic and insincere with what he says, or if he’s just sharing his beliefs, and doesn’t care what people think. Regarding Kirby’s proposals on a wealth tax and compulsory national service, that’s not really something we have to debate here, because obviously people will have conflicting takes.

But what I find interesting is how all over the place Kirby has been politically. When Biden was president, Kirby was known for how “woke” he was, and was often criticized for that by conservatives. Then when Trump became president again, he showered him with endless praise. And keep in mind that Kirby floated the concept of a mega merger with the Trump administration, including the possibility of American combining with either Delta or United.

And now Kirby is sharing beliefs that are getting criticism from many people, and in particular, from conservatives. It just so happens to be that we’re also within two weeks of the midterms.

It’s not like someone can’t evolve on politics, and needs to fully be on one side politically. Actually, I think it’s healthy when we can find common ground. But the timing of everything is just so incredibly strange. Is this a deliberate strategy on Kirby’s part, or how do we begin to make sense of this?

Bottom line

United CEO Scott Kirby is now coming out in support of a national wealth tax, as well as compulsory national service. I’m not sure how an airline executive got to the point where he’s constantly sharing such hot takes. But it’s interesting to see him go from being the “DEI” CEO (as he was called by conservatives), to praising Trump so much, to now sharing beliefs like this. It’s all a lot to process.

Maybe since he thinks his job is to think hard rather than work hard, he has a little too much free time to get in trouble? 😉

What do you make of Kirby’s latest comments?

EL AL will introduce Starlink Wi-Fi as of 2027

Beginning in 2027, EL AL will introduce Starlink Wi-Fi throughout its fleet. The service is expected to be complimentary for passengers. This is of course an absolutely massive boost to the passenger experience, given the incredible speeds offered by Starlink, whether you’re looking for productivity or to be entertained.

The airline hasn’t yet announced how long this installation process will take. Starlink can in theory be installed really quickly, once particular aircraft are certified to have it. EL AL’s fleet consists of just under 50 planes, including Boeing 787s, 777s, and 737s.

In theory the installation on 50 planes could happen over the course of several weeks, though that’s not to say it’ll actually play out that fast. For that matter, the airline hasn’t committed to when in 2027 it’ll be installed. It could very well start in late 2027… we’ll see!

EL AL introducing new amenities, dining, and more

Starlink Wi-Fi is only part of what we’re seeing coming to EL AL, as the airline will also introduce enhancements “designed to deliver a more personalized, comfortable and advanced travel experience, with a focus on passengers’ needs and preferences throughout their journey.”

The new features will be introduced gradually across EL AL Aircraft beginning in November 2026, and will be available based on the flight destination. So, what can we expect?

• EL AL will collaborate with Israeli textile brand TAKEANAP on new pillows and blankets, which will be introduced across cabins, including new memory foam pillows and mattress pads in business class
• EL AL business class passengers on long haul flights will also get pajamas, slippers, and a soothing fragrance
• EL AL will partner with Jo Malone London, with business class passengers getting amenity kits with products from the brand; the kits will be available in approximately 10 colors, and will feature socks, an eye mask, and personal care essentials, accompanied by a velvet pouch containing the brand’s fragrance and body care products
• EL AL will introduce a new generation of inflight entertainment systems, with more personalization; this allows passengers to receive content recommendations based on their viewing preferences, and resume watching content where they left off on a previous flight
• EL AL will introduce a new culinary experience led by Chef Assaf Granit, with business class passengers getting new menus and tableware, with an emphasis on healthy, protein-rich meals, complemented by a dessert cart
• EL AL will introduce a new “Travel Mode” for its app, beginning 48 hours before departure, bringing together essential information passengers may need before their flight

Here’s how Nadav Hanin, EL AL’s VP of Marketing & Digital, describes these changes:

“Two fundamental principles guide us at EL AL: uncompromising safety and security, alongside an ongoing commitment to enhancing the travel experience and tailoring it to our customers’ needs. As Israel’s leading airline, we continue to invest in our aircraft, route network, product and service to provide our passengers with the best possible experience throughout their journey. The expanded premium offering we are introducing today is designed to create additional value for our customers, strengthen their loyalty and maintain EL AL’s standards over time. We believe in our product and work around the clock to continuously enhance the experience, giving passengers more reasons to choose EL AL, flight after flight.”

Bottom line

EL AL has announced plans to invest in its passenger experience. This includes rolling out Starlink Wi-Fi across the fleet, which is probably the biggest announcement. On top of that, we’re going to see new pillows, blankets, amenities, and dining, across cabins. These are all very nice improvements, so I’m sure they’ll be appreciated by EL AL passengers.

What do you make of EL AL’s passenger experience changes?

While higher fuel prices have of course been a challenge for airlines, Delta, Southwest, and United, all still plan to make healthy profits this year. Unfortunately American is now joining the list of money-losing airlines in the United States…

American expects significant full year loss in 2026

The trends we’ve seen broadly in the US airline industry have been pretty consistent. Demand has remained strong, and airlines have been able to raise fares, but not quite enough to offset the massive increases we’ve seen in fuel bills.

For Q3 2026, American lost $269 million. That’s obviously not good, but American has gotten to the point where Q3 is regularly a money loser, as the company lost $114 million during the same period last year.

Of course the airline also highlights the positives — American had record revenue for the quarter of $16.3 billion, up 19.3% year-over-year, above the high end of the previously announced guidance. The airline also highlights how it delivered the best unit cost performance among the network carriers.

The roughest detail in all of this is American’s updated guidance for 2026:

• American’s initial guidance for 2026 was to have earnings per share of $1.70 to $2.70
• After Q1 earnings, the airline updated guidance to have earnings per share of -$0.40 to $1.10
• After Q2 earnings, the airline updated guidance to have earnings per share of -$0.65 to $0.65
• After Q3 earnings, the airline has updated guidance to have earnings per share of -$1.60 to -$1.00

That’s a huge change in guidance. Just for context on American’s results for the first three quarters of 2026, the airline had a net loss of $382 million in the first quarter, a net profit of $71 million in the second quarter, and a net loss of $269 million in the third quarter. That means so far this year, American has lost $581 million, and the expectation is that we’ll see another loss in the fourth quarter.

American CEO Robert Isom of course spins these results as a positive, while talking about the four pillars of the commercial strategy, and the focus on restoring profitability:

“American delivered record third-quarter revenue and the strongest year-over-year revenue growth in my career, with premium performance leading the way. The investments we are making across the four pillars of our commercial strategy are working, and we expect another quarter of record revenue growth to close out the year. While historically high fuel prices significantly impacted our financial results, our focus remains on restoring profitability and building a stronger American for the long term. I’m grateful to the American Airlines team for making this progress possible.”

American’s four pillars are to elevate the customer experience, grow the global network, drive premium revenue, and lead in loyalty.

How much trouble is American in at this point?

I know I’m a broken record, but of course I can’t help but always be reminded of how former American CEO Doug Parker in 2017 claimed that American would never lose money again, and that even in a bad year, the airline would achieve around $3 billion in profits. It’s a wild comment from someone who led an airline through 9/11, and of course American ended up losing money in 2020, 2021, and now will lose money again in 2026.

When it comes to the current state of things, I guess there are two ways to look at it. One way to view things is that if oil prices do come down, airlines might be able to retain some of the increased pricing power they’ve achieved this year, and could report very impressive profits. I mean, American has paid around $4.4 billion extra in fuel in the first nine months of the year.

The other way to look at things is that obviously American has really gotten itself into a pickle. The airline is now trying to make a premium transformation, and that includes billions of dollars in investments. Talk about an absolutely horrible time to be in this position, when your competitors are reporting healthy profits while you’re losing money, especially when it’ll likely take years before these investments result in materially better financial performance.

I don’t understand how American’s board can continue to be so checked out that they let Robert Isom keep his job. At least get rid of him and let Chief Commercial Officer Nat Pieper run the show, because clearly he cares about the future of the airline, and has a vision.

Bottom line

American Airlines has reported its Q3 2026 results, and the airline lost $269 million, while competitors announced very healthy profits. Even worse, American’s full-year forecast is now that there will be a significant loss, so the focus is shifting to restoring profitability.

This all comes at a time when American is trying to positively transform itself, by investing billions in the passenger experience. What an all-around rough situation to be in.

What do you make of American’s Q3 2026 financial results and updated guidance?

From the perspective of guests, one increasingly common issue has been hosts with unrealistic expectations. You pay a cleaning fee for your rental, and then they still give you a laundry list of tasks to complete before you can leave, or else you’ll be charged a fee. Airbnb is finally addressing this frustration with some new rules…

Airbnb’s new rules ask hosts be more reasonable

Airbnb has updated its rules, banning hosts from requiring guests to perform time consuming chores at check-out in most situations. This includes things like washing dishes, stripping beds, doing laundry, and taking trash offsite. The new policy applies for reservations booked on or after November 20, 2026.

As part of this, Airbnb is also more prominently displaying the requests of hosts, with a new “rules and requests” section. This can also have an “includes cleaning requests” warning, if a host leaves chore requests in the listing after the new policy is implemented (as this will be allowed in a limited set of circumstances). So at least there will be clear disclosure there.

Here are the updated rules, per Airbnb’s community policy section:

Be reasonable. For example, hosts are generally not allowed to:

• Ask guests to complete tasks that require significant effort or time, or would typically be performed by a cleaner, including stripping the bed, taking trash offsite, or washing and putting away dishes.
• Restrict access to any feature that’s advertised as part of the listing. Any fees for an advertised part of the listing must be included in the price shown to guests at the time of booking. Hosts may include information about fees for optional add-ons, like breakfast service, in their requests.
• Impose fines or other penalties on guests. AirCover provides protection for hosts in the rare event that their place or belongings are damaged by a guest during an Airbnb stay. If there is a risk a community association (such as an HOA or building security) or local government might impose a fine, hosts can provide notice to guests in the designated section of their listing.

We understand every home is unique. In assessing whether a request is reasonable, we strive to understand the listing’s context, including the type of listing or stay and any relevant local considerations, and may grant exceptions to the general guidelines above based on those factors. For example, it may be reasonable to ask guests to limit shower time due to local drought-related water restrictions, or to dispose of trash in an animal-proof container in bear country.

These are some common sense changes from Airbnb

I don’t envy Airbnb’s role in liaising between guests and hosts (admittedly that’s their whole purpose), but of course you have people with wildly different expectations.

I’m sure there are a lot of really frustrating things that guests do that hosts have to deal with. However, the big issue is that guests typically have to pay a cleaning fee for a stay (and it’s often quite high), and are then still told they need to complete tasks. So it’s good to see some reasonable rules added here.

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Bottom line

Airbnb is demanding that hosts become more reasonable when it comes to their expectations for guests, including banning requirements for guests to perform time consuming chores. This is a positive change, as I see it. There’s a difference between asking guests to not leave a place a mess, and asking guests to essentially perform cleaning services, while also being on the hook for a cleaning fee.

What do you make of this Airbnb policy change?

Some time back, I wrote about how we had reason to believe that this core perk would be devalued. That’s no longer a rumor, as it has now been confirmed directly by Amex. I see why Amex is making this change, and true value maximizers will be unhappy about this.

Amex Platinum $600 hotel credit change as of 2027

Currently, the American Express Platinum Card® (learn more) and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (learn more) offer up to $600 per year in hotel credits.

To take advantage of this, you just have to book a prepaid hotel through Fine Hotels + Resorts® (no minimum stay through 2026) or The Hotel Collection (two-night minimum stay) through American Express Travel®. The credit is semi-annual, so you get one credit in January through June, and one credit in July through December.

However, a major restriction will be added here. As of 2027, you’ll need a two-night minimum stay to use the credit, even at Fine Hotels + Resorts properties:

Effective January 1, 2027, Fine Hotels + Resorts bookings will require a minimum two-night stay to be eligible for the $600 Lodging Credit.

The credit is also being rebranded as the $600 Lodging Credit (rather than the $600 Hotel Credit), and as part of this, it’ll also be possible to redeem this on stays of at least two nights at Airbnb Luxe properties, which are some of Airbnb’s highest end properties.

This Amex Platinum hotel credit change isn’t surprising

It goes without saying that the premium card business model nowadays is largely based around offering credits and benefits that can help offset the annual fee. In almost all cases, the headline value of the credits is way higher than the annual fee, and that’s because there’s intended to be some breakage, plus some additional monetization opportunities:

• A lot of credits are merchant funded, so cost the credit card issuer very little
• Some of the credits are intended to get people using travel portals, which the credit card company earns a commission on, so the hope is that those credits end up being profitable

With premium cards offering hotel credits, it’s incredibly common for those credits to require a minimum stay. The concept there is simple, and it’s that they want you to spend a lot on your hotel stay, so that the commission offsets the credit as much as possible.

If you use your $300 hotel credit for a stay that costs around $300, it’s definitely costing Amex something. Meanwhile if you use your credit for a hotel stay that costs $5,000, Amex can make a ton of money there. So adding limits on the hotel credit is designed to discourage the most unprofitable form of using this credit.

Once this change is made, there will absolutely still be situations where this credit could prove to be valuable. However, it does materially lower the value that savvy cardmembers could get from this benefit. I’ve used this benefit exclusively for one-night stays, since it’s such a disproportionately good value.

Bottom line

The Amex Platinum up to $600 hotel credit will be devalued. Currently the credit is valid even for one-night stays at Fine Hotels + Resorts properties, while as of 2027, a minimum two-night stay will be required at Fine Hotels + Resorts properties. The good news is that there’s a little more flexibility thanks to redemption possibilities at Airbnb Luxe properties, but those properties are also really expensive.

This change is a material devaluation for value maximizers, and frankly, it doesn’t surprise me at all, given the pace with which we see credit card perks evolve over time.

What do you make of this Amex Platinum hotel credit change?

There’s now an update, as we have more of a sense of when this product will launch. For that matter, we’ve learned more about the soft product, and this will be even more basic than we were expecting…

Frontier Airlines first class formally launches March 2027

View from the Wing reports on a memo to Frontier flight attendants, about the carrier’s rollout of first class. For context, Frontier plans to reconfigure its entire fleet to add eight first class seats at the front of the cabin, with two rows of seats in a 2-2 configuration. Specifically, the airline has selected the Geven Comoda seating platform.

Up until now, we haven’t known the timeline for this being introduced, though now we know. The expectation is that Frontier will start reconfiguring planes with first class as of late October 2026, and then seats will be on sale for travel as of March 5, 2027. So while the seats will already be in service, and some customers will luck out, that’s the formal launch plan.

The expectation is that all planes will have first class by then. That’s obviously a fast timeline, but keep in mind most of the cabin will remain unchanged, so it shouldn’t take much time to reconfigure each aircraft.

This is where it gets interesting. Initially Frontier hadn’t revealed any details about its first class soft product, but now it has. Here’s what Frontier’s first class page says:

First Class seats offer our most spacious seating experience, providing exceptional comfort and additional personal space at the front of the aircraft. These seats are pre-reclined and do not convert into lie-flat beds.

Complimentary food and beverages are not included with the First Class experience. However, a variety of food and beverage options are available for purchase by all passengers.

So Frontier’s first class seats will be “pre-reclined” (meaning they won’t recline), and won’t actually offer complimentary snacks and drinks, so it’ll be just like economy in that regard. Interestingly, when Frontier first shared renderings of its new first class seats in 2025, there were buttons that made it look like there would be a recliner function, but clearly they’ve backtracked on that.

On the plus side, the seats are expected to feature in-seat power, which is a pretty novel amenity for Frontier. The carrier is also going from offering no Wi-Fi, to offering Starlink Wi-Fi as of mid-2027, so that’s pretty exciting.

Frontier first class isn’t much of a first class

There’s no single right or wrong way to offer a premium product. However, I feel like Frontier might be taking the wrong strategy here. What Frontier is offering is essentially more along the lines of the initial Spirit “Big Front Seat” — you get more space, and nothing else.

This just strikes me as a missed opportunity, because I feel like psychologically, willingness to pay is going to be substantially higher if you just include free alcoholic drinks and at least some sort of food. It’s not like I was expecting them to install ovens and have hot meals (JetBlue’s new first class will only have cold food).

But I feel like if the airline just invested $10 in drinks & snacks they could charge more, and would also expand the potential customer base. Whether logical or not, there are some number of passengers who would be more likely to even consider a product if it actually had a dedicated soft product, rather than just being a more spacious seat. At least that’s my take.

Bottom line

Frontier Airlines is expected to shortly start reconfiguring planes with first class seats, with the plan being for tickets to be on sale for travel as of March 5, 2027. While Frontier first class will have first class-style seats (minus the recline), it sounds like there won’t be any differentiation in terms of the soft product, as food and drinks will still be available for purchase.

I would’ve liked the airline to actually roll out a differentiated soft product, but it sounds like that’s not happening. I’m curious to see what the soft product will be like. And at least Starlink is also good news.

What do you make of Frontier’s first class concept?

Hilton lets elite members redeem points with app check-out

Hilton Honors has launched Pay with Points. The idea is that elite members — Hilton Honors Silver, Gold, and Diamond members — can apply points toward eligible hotel charges during digital check-out in the Hilton Honors app.

This feature is now available at 150 participating hotels in the United States. This is expected to expand to more than 800 hotels by the end of 2026, with a full rollout to more than 6,000 properties in the US and Canada by early 2027. Availability and eligible redemption options may vary by property.

Hilton claims it’s the first major hotel brand to offer something like this through a fully digital check out experience with no front desk visit required. That’s true, though the point of differentiation here isn’t the ability to redeem points toward on-property spending, but instead, the ability to do this without interacting with someone at the front desk. Accor Live Limitless, Global Hotel Alliance, and World of Hyatt, all let you redeem points toward hotel costs at check-out.

Will this be a good way to redeem Hilton Honors points?

Okay, so let’s actually talk about this for a second. More redemption options are always a good thing, assuming nothing is being taken away, so I don’t want to criticize Hilton for this.

While Hilton isn’t stating how much value you’ll get per point when redeeming this way, I think it’s safe to say the value will be very poor. After all, Hilton will presumably be on the hook for paying cash to properties to compensate them for purchases offset with points.

I value Hilton Honors points at 0.5 cents each, and there’s no denying that outsized redemptions have become harder to come by. I’d expect that you’ll get significantly less value per point with this method. For example, if you want to redeem Hilton points toward Amazon purchases, you get 0.2 cents of value per point. So I’d expect the value to be between the two.

The reason these redemptions are lower value is because you can redeem smaller quantities of points, so that helps consumers avoid breakage. It’s also interesting how this is exclusively available to elite members. What’s the logic for that? Well, the idea is that Hilton doesn’t want non-elite members to be able to easily redeem all their points.

However, I can’t help but laugh a bit at how Hilton is describing the logic for this new feature:

Pay with Points was created in direct response to Hilton Honors member feedback. According to recent Hilton research, 70% of Hilton Honors members surveyed are interested in using Points toward on-property purchases, and approximately half said the capability could make them more likely to stay or book with Hilton. Pay with Points brings flexibility into the digital stay experience, giving Hilton Honors members the ability to put their Points to work even before they leave the hotel.

Was the research really conducted by asking “hey, would you be interested in redeeming points for on-property purchases?” Who would say no to that? Is the 70% number supposed to be impressive? I assume the question wasn’t framed with disclosure of the subpar value this would offer.

Bottom line

Hilton is rolling out a new Pay with Points feature, whereby elite members can redeem points through the Hilton Honors app toward the cost of stays, including on-property spending. The idea is that by checking out through the app, members can choose to partially offset costs.

Hilton isn’t publishing how much value you’ll get per point, but I think it’s safe to say that the redemption value here will be very subpar, given that Hilton will presumably be paying face value for these redemptions.

What do you make of Hilton’s new Pay with Points option? If anyone sees this during a stay, please report back on how much value per point this offers.

New 800-seat United Club Houston Terminal B North opens

The new Terminal B North Concourse at Houston Airport is open as of this week. The new concourse is three levels, 765,000 square feet, and has 22 mainline gates.

But perhaps what’s most exciting is that this concourse is home to a new 54,000 square foot United Club, making it the largest airline lounge in the United States, and for that matter, the largest in all of the Americas.

The new lounge has seating for 800 people, with a 1,350 square foot outdoor terrace, panoramic views of the airfield, two full service bars, two buffet stations, 11 private phone booths, and more. Here’s how the design is described:

Inspired by Houston’s distinctive spirit, the club’s design captures the feeling of traveling from the city to the sky, blending elements of the local cityscape and bayou landscape with nods to Houston’s legacy as a center of aerospace innovation and cultural diversity. The space features a curated collection of artwork from predominantly Texas-based artists, including photography by a San Antonio-based United employee.

Below you can see some pictures of the new lounge, shared by United. I have to admit, I don’t visit United Clubs often (I just don’t travel much domestically, and when I do, it’s typically on American, due to living in Miami), but United really seems to be stepping up its lounge design in recent times.

This actually looks really nice, in my opinion, a huge step up from the old United Club design concept.

United now has seven lounges at Houston Airport

This latest lounge builds on United’s existing lounge portfolio at its Texas hub. United already has four United Clubs at the airport, so this is the fifth.

On top of that, in early 2025 we saw the opening of United Club Fly, on the south side of Terminal B. This offers self-scan entry, with the option to select fresh food, snacks, or beverages, including barista coffee, to take to gates. Then there’s also the United Polaris Lounge, which is of course the most premium lounge at the airport.

Bottom line

United has just opened a new United Club at Houston Airport, in the airport’s new Terminal B North Concourse. The lounge is 54,000 square feet, making it the largest lounge in all of the Americas. It has the capacity to accommodate 800 guests, and even has a terrace. It’s pretty impressive that United now has seven lounge facilities at the airport.

What do you make of the new United Club Houston? Do you like the design as much as I do?

Fortunately the tides at Boeing are slowly turning. Recently, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certified the 737 MAX 7, which is exciting for Southwest (basically the only airline with the plane on order). Now there’s another exciting update, as Boeing has also just received FAA certification for the 737 MAX 10. Last month we learned that this was imminent, but it’s now official.

Boeing 737 MAX 10 certified, will fly in spring 2027

The FAA has announced that following years of extensive review, the agency has issued the certification for the Boeing 737 MAX 10. With production approved, the aircraft can be delivered to domestic and foreign carriers.

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford emphasizes that the agency “will continue to hold Boeing to the highest safety standards as the company begins production of the 737 MAX-10.” In late September 2026, we learned how Alaska Airlines anticipated certification of the aircraft within weeks, so it’s nice to see this become a reality.

It’s worth noting that even with the plane certified, it’ll still take some time for it to actually enter service. For example, Alaska is one of the first airlines that will take delivery of the plane, and even with the plane as such certified, certification work is still needed related to the heads-up display used by pilots, and that process could take a few months. For the Seattle-based oneworld carrier, the current goal is for the first plane to be in service in April or May of 2027.

As a reminder, the 737 MAX 10 is the highest capacity but shortest range version of the 737 family. Obviously there’s a compromise between size and range, given that all variants use the same types of engines. The 737 MAX 10 will have the best per-seat economics of any Boeing narrow body plane in history.

The Boeing 737 MAX 10 has major implications for airlines

The recent Boeing 737 MAX 7 certification has huge implications for Southwest, which has hundreds of these planes on order, while virtually no other airline has placed a meaningful order for the aircraft type. The 737 MAX 10 is a totally different story.

There are nearly 1,500 firm orders for the 737 MAX 10. Here in the United States, Alaska, American, Delta, and United, each have 100 or more of these planes on order. You’ll find similarly large orders at Ryanair, WestJet, Pegasus Airlines, Akasa Air, and more. So this plane has proven super popular with airlines.

What makes the 737 MAX 10 attractive is obvious — the plane has amazing per-seat economics, so if you don’t need the incremental range of the smaller variants (which most airlines don’t, since they’re not looking to cross oceans), then it’s pretty obvious to choose the largest variant, so you get more seats with only very small incremental operating costs.

Now, this is also a bit of a trap. Seats are only worth anything if you can actually fill them. Flying a larger variant with theoretically better per-seat economics doesn’t exactly help you if the plane isn’t close to full:

• This “concern” is the exact reason that Southwest has been very conservative, focusing on the 737 MAX 7 and 737 MAX 8, with no 737 MAX 9 or 737 MAX 10 aircraft on order (I feel like that’s the wrong decision, especially with the airline introducing extra legroom seating and eventually probably first class, but that’s besides the point)
• Arguably switching to larger aircraft has also been a real issue for ultra low cost carriers in the US, as they loved the sound of a low cost per air seat mile, but then struggled to actually fill those seats

For passengers in the United States, the 737 MAX 10 should be a great plane. I suspect airlines won’t be using the extra space to necessarily cram in a ton more seats, but instead, I imagine we’ll see even more premium seating.

We know that American and Delta each plan to install at least 24 first class seats on these planes, more than they’ve otherwise had across any narrow body fleet type (United, meanwhile, still has a problem to solve).

Alaska even has some really special plans for a subfleet of these planes, and intends to install flat beds and premium economy on narrow bodies for the first time.

I’d expect a lot of extra legroom seats across airlines as well. I imagine US airlines will be staying well under the 200-seat number, so that they don’t have to staff these planes with more than four flight attendants.

Bottom line

The Boeing 737 MAX 10 has now been certified, just weeks after the 737 MAX 7 received a similar nod from the FAA. Even with the FAA giving the 737 MAX 10 the green light, expect it’ll be the spring of 2027 before the plane actually enters service.

The 737 MAX 10 has the best per-seat economics of any Boeing narrow body plane, and that’s why there are nearly 1,500 of these on order. We’ll eventually see hundreds of these 737 MAXs flying in the US, including for Alaska, American, Delta, and United. Expect very premium layouts, given the extra space that airlines have to play with.

What do you make of the 737 MAX 10 certification?

One thing that has historically been missing with Singapore Airlines’ first class product offering is making the ground experience seamless and end-to-end. A few months ago we saw the airline introduce a trial to address this, and there’s now an update, as this is “permanent” (well, as permanent as anything in the airline industry is).

Singapore Airlines first class concierge service details

Historically, Singapore Airlines first class passengers traveling through Changi Airport have had to get from the first class check-in facility to the lounge on their own, and then from the lounge to the gate on their own. Keep in mind that at Singapore Changi Terminal 3 and Terminal 2, security is typically at each individual gate, meaning that in the past, actually clearing security as a first class passenger hasn’t been very seamless.

So after a trial lasting several weeks, the airline has now introduced a personal concierge concept.

The service starts the second you arrive at Changi Airport, as the porter service offers help with bags, so that passengers can proceed straight to the first class check-in area, where they’ll be greeted with chilled hand towels, while formalities are taken care of.

After check-in, customers will be escorted to immigration and then to The Private Room. Once there, the personal concierge can help with monitoring your flight, any rebookings in the event of irregular operations, shopping requests, etc.

When it’s time to board, Singapore Airlines will drive passengers to the gate in a golf cart (when possible), help with cutting the line, and then escort the passenger down the jet bridge, to the door of the plane. You can also decide whether you want to board first or last.

This is a minor but positive change for Singapore Airlines

This is a nice improvement on the part of Singapore Airlines. Ultimately Singapore Changi is an efficient airport, so I don’t think anyone can argue that this level of service is “needed.” However, first class is more competitive than ever before, and it’s not just about taking care of all the necessities, but also about making the journey as frictionless as possible, and even adding some frills.

I imagine the timing of this service being introduced is no coincidence. Singapore Airlines will be introducing a new first class product in 2027, and the airline is making several soft product upgrades ahead of that. Singapore Airlines has already announced updates to its inflight dining and amenities across cabins, and that’s all rolling out right now. So it makes sense that we’re seeing this update now as well.

Bottom line

Singapore Airlines has introduced an airport concierge service for its first class passengers at Singapore Changi Airport. The idea is that guests are looked after from the moment they arrive at the airport until they board the plane.

This includes being escorted from check-in to The Private Room, and then having a concierge who will look after passengers during their time in the lounge, and then take them to the gate when it’s time to board, including helping with clearing security.

I’m happy to see all of Singapore Airlines’ service investments, and now I’m curious to see what the new first class hard product will be like.

What do you make of Singapore Airlines‘ personal concierge service? Would you value this as a first class passenger?

Silversea opens hotel in Puerto Williams, Chile

Luxury cruise line Silversea, which belongs to Royal Caribbean Group, has just opened a hotel in Puerto Williams, Chile. The hotel is named The Cormorant at 55 South, and it’s being marketed as the world’s southernmost hotel.

The hotel features 150 rooms, along with several food & beverage outlets. This includes Latitude 55 (the main restaurant, serving a family-style breakfast, lunch, and dinner), Bar Sur (the bar serving drinks, snacks, and afternoon tea), and Fireplace Lounge (the lounge open in the evenings).

The hotel also has a 24/7 gym, as well as exploration opportunities in the area, ranging from sea kayaking, to horseback riding, to birdwatching, and more.

I’ve gotta say, I’m intrigued by this property. I’ve stayed at the world’s northernmost hotel, the Radisson Blu Polar Hotel in Longyearbyen, Svalbard. I’d certainly love to stay at the world’s southernmost hotel as well.

There’s a catch, though, which is that you can’t actually directly book this hotel, unless it’s part of a cruise package.

This is part of the Antarctica Fly Cruise program

Cruising to Antarctica has grown in popularity over the years, and there are all kinds of itineraries. Cruises typically leave from the very south of South America, in which case you have to cruise for two days in each direction, crossing the Drake Passage (often referred to as “the Drake Shake,” due to how rough the seas can be).

Obviously some guests are in more of a time crunch, and that’s where Silversea’s Antarctica Fly Cruise program comes into play. The idea is that you take a chartered flight from Santiago to Puerto Williams, then you spend a night at this hotel, and then you fly to Antarctica, and board your cruise there. This cuts down travel time, and the potential unpleasantness of the Drake Passage, with some cruise itineraries being as short as six days.

The season has just kicked off for Silversea, and the cruise line has three ships operating in Antarctica (the Silver Endeavour, Silver Wind, and Silver Cloud), and they’ll operate a total of 40 voyages, including 29 Antarctica Fly Cruise voyages. The cruises range from six to 21 nights, with some also going to South Georgia and the Falkland Islands.

Building a hotel just for this purpose is of course a huge expense, but it shows Silversea’s commitment to this market. I must say, that sounds like a pretty great setup, even if Silversea isn’t typically the line you think of for expedition cruising.

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Bottom line

The Cormorant at 55 South has just opened in Puerto Williams, Chile, and it claims to be the world’s southernmost hotel. The catch is that you can’t independently book a stay at this 150-room property. Instead, it’s intended exclusively for Silversea guests who book an Antarctica Fly Cruise voyage. Rather than having to cross the Drake Passage by ship, you instead spend a night here, then take a chartered flight to Antarctica, and then board your ship there.

I’m mighty intrigued by this hotel from a geographical perspective, though I’m not sure a Silversea cruise to Antarctica is in the cards for me anytime soon.

What do you make of this new southernmost hotel?

There’s now a positive update, as Delta has shared that the rollout of free Wi-Fi is almost complete, and this latest update is particularly good for long haul travelers.

Delta now has free Wi-Fi on nearly 1,300 aircraft

In February 2023, Delta started slowly rolling out free Wi-Fi for SkyMiles members. This came as part of a project where Delta began installing Viasat Wi-Fi on a vast majority of aircraft, but obviously that doesn’t happen overnight.

So while Delta did a pretty good job of getting free Wi-Fi live on domestic flights, the rollout on long haul flights has been excruciatingly slow. That has left many Delta travelers frustrated, since some long haul flights have had huge coverage gaps.

That brings us to the positive news — Delta has now announced that free Wi-Fi is available on nearly 1,300 aircraft, operating roughly 95% of flights. The latest progress here is that free Wi-Fi is now available on Asia-Pacific routes, possible thanks to Viasat’s new satellites, which should boost coverage and bandwidth.

Delta is now promising full fleet connectivity by early 2027, as coverage extends to remaining Boeing 717s and Delta Connection Embraer regional jets, which are the only fleet types not consistently offering free Wi-Fi.

Delta claims that it now offers free connectivity across its full international network, and calls itself the only global carrier to offer that. I don’t understand how the airline can make those claims, because:

• Carriers like Singapore Airlines offer free Wi-Fi to loyalty programs members on all flights; but I guess to Delta, maybe the “globe” is everything within several thousand miles of Atlanta?
• Delta is imprecisely using the term “international” here, since regional jets also operate some international flights, no? Presumably the airline means long haul…

Here’s how Ranjan Goswami, Delta’s Chief Marketing and Product Officer, described this latest development:

“We know how important connectivity is for travelers who want to stay connected wherever they fly, whether you’re traveling for business, reconnecting with family or setting out on a long-awaited trip. Bringing free global Wi-Fi across our international network is an important milestone in making the Delta experience more consistent and connected, especially on some of our longest journeys.”  

Congrats to Delta, but this “advantage” won’t last long

It’s great to see Delta getting close to wrapping up its free Wi-Fi rollout project. A four year rollout for free Wi-Fi sure is a long timeline. That’s especially true when you consider we were promised free Wi-Fi on all long haul flights by the end of 2024, when the real timeline ended up being nearly two years later. Admittedly these delays have largely been outside of Delta’s control, given that they’re reliant on upgraded technology.

In early 2027, there’s perhaps a brief period where Delta can do a victory lap, and point out how it’s the only one of the “big three” US carriers to offer free Wi-Fi on all flights. However, that will go from a major advantage to a major disadvantage pretty quickly, as Delta and United essentially trade spots on connectivity.

United is in the process of rolling out Starlink Wi-Fi. So far nearly half of planes have Starlink, and the plan is for the project to be completed by the end of 2027. The same is true for Southwest, but I understand Delta wants to compare itself to “global” carriers (just not those outside the US).

Say what you will about Elon Musk (and I have a lot to say, trust me!), but Starlink is in a different league than Viasat when it comes to speeds. While Delta plans to introduce Amazon Leo, which should compete with Starlink, that will only be available in 2028 at the earliest, and Delta has only committed to installing this on 500 aircraft, well under half of its fleet. As many will be aware, this has obviously caused quite the controversy in recent times, especially with comments reportedly made by Delta CEO Ed Bastian.

Here’s what I actually find to be most interesting about Delta’s latest announcement. Historically, we’ve heard airlines offering Viasat Wi-Fi describe it as “fast.” I get how that was maybe accurate back in 2013, when the alternative was systems like OnAir, offering speed that made dial up look lightning fast by comparison.

But nowadays there’s no denying that the average Viasat connection on a plane is anything but high speed. I think it’s noteworthy how Delta’s 2023 announcement about rolling out free Wi-Fi used the word “fast” seven times, while it’s barely mentioned in this announcement. At the very bottom, there is mention of how this “Wi-Fi provides SkyMiles Members with fast, free connectivity,” but that’s it. So I commend Delta for its (increasing?) honesty here.

Bottom line

Delta has announced that its free Wi-Fi rollout is now 95% complete, as the airline has free connectivity on nearly 1,300 aircraft. The expectation is that the remaining planes (Boeing 717s and select Delta Connection Embraer jets) will have free connectivity by early 2027.

The latest update is that Delta now has free Wi-Fi on Asia-Pacific routes, which was without a doubt the biggest gap the carrier had when it came to connectivity. That’s great news, and Delta now claims to have free Wi-Fi on all international flights.

What do you make of Delta’s Wi-Fi rollout progress?

Lufthansa Munich to Phoenix route launches August 2027

Lufthansa has announced that as of August 3, 2027, it’ll launch 3x weekly flights between Munich (MUC) and Phoenix (PHX). The 5,823-mile flight will operate in both directions on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, using an Airbus A350-900. There’s no mention of the plane featuring Allegris cabins, so I’d assume this will be one of the carrier’s older A350s, without first class, and without the new business class (though that could change).

This will be the first time that any Lufthansa Group airline operates nonstop, regularly scheduled flights to Arizona. Lufthansa Group long haul low cost carrier Discover Airlines (at the time branded as Eurowings Discover) was going to launch a route from Frankfurt (FRA) to Phoenix in the spring of 2020, but the pandemic got in the way of that ever launching, and it never ended up happening.

Lufthansa notes how “the state capital of Arizona is one of the fastest-growing regions in the USA.” The timing of this route launching is noteworthy, since it comes after the peak summer travel season. If you’re looking at this from a European point of sale perspective, that makes sense, since people don’t generally want to visit Phoenix in summer. Then again, most transatlantic service in recent years has been motivated by a US point of sale, so…

How Phoenix Airport’s long haul service is evolving

Phoenix is of course a huge hub for American. In terms of long haul service, we’ve seen nonstop flights to London (LHR) on both American and British Airways for years. That’s perfectly logical, when you combine the local demand with the endless connection possibilities on American.

When it comes to service to Europe from Phoenix, in 2024 we saw Air France launch flights to Phoenix out of Paris (CDG), so that’s the only SkyTeam service to Europe out of the airport. Now we’re also seeing a Star Alliance service to Europe out of the airport.

This isn’t the first link between Germany and Phoenix, though. It’s a route that German leisure carrier Condor operated for quite some time, but it was ultimately cut in 2025, and hasn’t returned since.

Perhaps the biggest aviation story out of Phoenix has been the airport’s new Asia route within the past year, served not by one, but by two, Taiwanese carriers. There’s now service between Taipei (TPE) and Phoenix on two airlines — China Airlines launched flights in December 2025, and Starlux Airlines launched flights in January 2026.

Bottom line

As of August 2027, Lufthansa will launch a new 3x weekly flight between Munich and Phoenix. With this, Phoenix will have transatlantic flights from all three of the transatlantic joint ventures. That’s fair enough in terms of the overall competitive position of joint ventures, though obviously the airline is at a significant frequency disadvantage for overall service compared to American and British Airways.

What do you make of Lufthansa adding Munich to Phoenix flights?

Etihad Boeing 787 taxies onto runway without permission

YouTube channel You can see ATC has the air traffic control audio and a visualization of an event that happened at Boston Logan Airport (BOS) on Thursday, October 15, 2026. Etihad flight EY7 was operated by a Boeing 787-9, and had just landed from Abu Dhabi (AUH). The pilots were instructed to taxi via R and N, and to hold short of runway 4L. Those instructions were correctly read back.

However, when the plane actually approached runway 22R/4L (which was the runway being used for landings), it just continued across it, rather than stopping. The air traffic controller immediately caught this, and told the Etihad pilots to stop, while he told the Republic Airways (“Brickyard”) plane to go around.

This didn’t at all escalate, and the Etihad pilots were given instructions to continue their taxi after that. It was only when the plane approached the ramp that the ground controller gave the Etihad pilots a number to call for a possible pilot deviation.

The pilot reactions here are sort of funny

Kudos to the air traffic controller for catching this situation, and taking swift action. Now, I’m not sure why the air traffic controller told the Etihad plane to stop and hold position while on a runway they weren’t supposed to be on, but that’s besides the point (presumably he just saw something wrong, and the instinct was to say “stop”).

Two things stand out to me here. First of all, this Brickyard pilot really likes talking on the radio, doesn’t he? He just probably hasn’t been doing this long enough to be jaded.

Second of all, I’m curious what exactly the Etihad pilots were thinking. I know it had been a long trip for them, but you have four pilots in the cockpit, and no one realized they were taxiing onto an active runway? My only theory is that they were over on the 22R side of the runway (rather than the 4L side), and somehow they didn’t connect the dots that this was the runway they weren’t cleared to cross. That still doesn’t make sense, but then again, what does?

Credit to the air traffic controllers for not making a huge deal of this, and prioritizing essential communication, and then giving the pilots a number to call for a possible pilot deviation. Could you imagine the fit that dude at JFK would’ve had if someone did this? It would’ve been a five minute lecture, with a healthy dose of taunting.

I can’t tell for sure if the Etihad pilots immediately realized their mistake (because the guy working the radio seemed to be on his best behavior going forward), or if they were truly unaware of what happened.

Bottom line

An Etihad Boeing 787 entered a runway it was instructed to hold short of at Boston Logan Airport. There’s no real good explanation for this, because the pilots read back instructions correctly. Well done to the air traffic controller for catching this.

There was likely no imminent danger here (the regional jet hadn’t yet landed, and unless it was going to overrun the runway, odds are it wouldn’t have even made it as far down the runway as where the 787 was crossing). But still, a heavy jet entering a runway without permission is pretty bad…

What do you make of this Etihad Boeing 787 runway incursion in Boston?

Alaska will fly from Seattle to Osaka & Papeete

In the spring of 2027, Alaska plans to launch two new routes from Seattle — the oneworld airline will fly to Osaka, Japan (KIX), and Papeete, French Polynesia (PPT).

As of May 14, 2027, Alaska will begin operating 4x weekly between Seattle and Osaka, with the following schedule:

AS867 Seattle to Osaka departing 12:10PM arriving 4:00PM
AS868 Osaka to Seattle departing 6:00PM arriving 12:20PM

The 5,040-mile flight is blocked at 11hr50min westbound and 10hr20min eastbound. The service will operate westbound on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and eastbound on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

As of June 11, 2027, Alaska will begin operating 3x weekly between Seattle and Papeete, with the following schedule:

AS987 Seattle to Papeete departing 11:55PM arriving 7:20AM (+1 day)
AS988 Papeete to Seattle departing 5:00PM arriving 6:00AM

The 4,782-mile is blocked at 10hr25min southbound and 10hr northbound. The service will operate southbound on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, and northbound on Sundays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

Alaska Airlines will use Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A330s for both of these routes, featuring 278 seats, including 18 business class seats and 260 economy seats. While these planes have Starlink, they otherwise have pretty outdated interiors. The planes are expected to get tip-to-tail overhauls starting in 2028, but that’s still quite a ways out.

This is a cool expansion with strange execution

These both strike me as cool route additions.

In the case of Osaka, it’s a market that’s from the mainland United States only otherwise served by United out of San Francisco (SFO) and Japan Airlines out of Los Angeles (LAX). Alaska seems well positioned here, in terms of having a good West Coast gateway, plus the general demand for travel to the region (it’s the closest long haul airport to Kyoto).

In the case of French Polynesia, it’s a market that’s from the mainland United States otherwise served by French Bee and United out of San Francisco, and by Air France and Air Tahiti Nui out of Los Angeles. Air Tahiti Nui had tried the route between Seattle and Tahiti, but ultimately failed.

I suspect Alaska’s logic is that the carrier has more ability to create demand, thanks to the incredible loyalty it has in Seattle, the Atmos Rewards program, etc. After all, it’s not that people don’t travel to French Polynesia, they just weren’t inclined to travel on Air Tahiti Nui out of Seattle.

Now, there are two additional interesting things here. First, Osaka and Papeete are served by Hawaiian out of Honolulu as well, so I can’t help but be curious if these destinations get pulled out of Hawaii. One of the issues we’ve seen is that much of Alaska’s long haul growth has come by pulling comparable routes out of Hawaii (simply because it wasn’t profitable). As of now the destinations are on sale out of both hubs, so we’ll see.

Second, I can’t help but find this whole Alaska and Hawaiian branding situation to be a bit of a mess. It’s perfectly logical that Alaska would want to fly an A330 from Seattle to Papeete, but keep in mind this plane will have Hawaiian branding. Alaska Air Group’s plan was to have the A330s based in Honolulu with Hawaiian branding, and have the 787s based in Seattle with Alaska branding. Now we’re going to see these A330s once again flying without touching Hawaii.

I imagine Atmos Rewards and Alaska Air Group frequent flyers will get used to these branding quirks, but it’s definitely an unconventional approach…

Bottom line

Alaska Airlines is launching two new routes out of Seattle, as the airline will fly to both Osaka, Japan, and Papeete, French Polynesia, with both services kicking off in the spring of 2027. The catch is that both routes will be operated by Hawaiian Airbus A330s. That’s not illogical in terms of the planes you’d think would be allocated to this service, but it sure creates some branding confusion, since these planes are supposed to operate flights to and from Hawaii.

Either way, it’s cool to see Alaska adding long haul destinations from the mainland that aren’t served by American or Delta!

What do you make of Alaska’s two new long haul routes?

However, virtually all of these route additions are either year-round or summer seasonal, since that’s typically where the demand is. Well, Air Canada deserves credit for adding something that we don’t often see from a legacy carrier based in North America — I’m talking a route to Europe that only operates in winter, and not summer.

Air Canada’s creative new Montreal to Seville route

Air Canada is aggressively taking delivery of Airbus A321XLRs, which the airline is primarily using to add new destinations in Europe. The thing is, we’re largely seeing the airline operate these routes in summer seasonal markets, so where are the planes supposed to fly in winter? The latest idea seems to be Spain!

Air Canada has announced that it will launch winter-only flights between Montreal (YUL) and Seville (SVQ) as of the fall of 2027. Specifically, the route will operate with the following schedule:

AC958 Montreal to Seville departing 8:30PM arriving 9:30AM (+1 day)
AC959 Seville to Montreal departing 12:45PM arriving 2:40PM

Air Canada intends to operate this route up to 4x weekly, with an interesting gap — it’ll operate between September 8, 2027, and January 8, 2028, and again between February 18 and June 3, 2028. In other words, the route is operating except in the dead of winter, and it’s not operating in the peak of summer.

The 3,461-mile route is blocked at 7hr eastbound and 7hr55min westbound. It’ll be operated by one of Air Canada’s new A321XLRs, featuring 182 seats, including 14 business class seats and 168 economy class seats.

This is such a brilliantly thought out route

Air Canada and United without a doubt have the most creative network planners of any airlines in North America. Air Canada Chief Commercial Officer and general network whiz Mark Galardo had the following to say about this new route:

“The addition of Seville further bolsters Air Canada’s growing global network and cements Air Canada as the largest airline by seats offered between Canada and Spain. As the only non-stop service between the city and North America, Air Canada’s new service will unlock more of Andalusia and the world for our customers and Aeroplan Members while delivering a step-change in global connectivity for Seville. Enabled by the next-generation capabilities of our expanding Airbus A321XLR fleet, Seville builds upon recent additions to Palma de Mallorca and Tenerife and marks another unique Air Canada destination in Southern Europe.”

Seville is known for being beautiful, but the reality is that it gets incredibly hot in summer, with highs in the mid-90s.

So while it’s unconventional, it’s very cool to see Air Canada essentially skipping the destination in the peak of summer, and presumably using the A321XLR for a route that has high demand but a short tourist season.

I do find it interesting that the route doesn’t operate for around six weeks between early January and the middle of February. I’m curious if that’s motivated by the rather cold weather in Seville, or just no one traveling that time of year, because everyone is working… or both?

Speaking of weather in Europe in general, I understand many people travel to Europe in summer because that’s when families have time off school. But there is something that cracks me up about the annual exodus to Europe in July, only to then be around endless Americans complaining about how hot it is, and how poorly the air conditioning works. This route shouldn’t have that issue, at least not too much. 😉

Bottom line

In late 2027, Air Canada will launch a new route between Montreal and Seville, which will operate up to 4x weekly, using an Airbus A321XLR. What makes this unique (other than it being the only transatlantic route to Seville) is that it only operates in winter, so it’s essentially a counter-seasonal route.

That’s some very cool creativity to see, given that airlines have all kinds of summer seasonal routes, but then struggle to figure out where to send their planes in winter. I hope this proves to be a success, and that we see more routes like this.

What do you make of Air Canada’s winter service to Seville?

Lufthansa will fly between Frankfurt and Columbus

As of May 5, 2027, Lufthansa intends to commence 3x weekly nonstop flights between Frankfurt (FRA) and Columbus (CMH). The route is expected to be operated on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, in both directions, with the following schedule:

LH406 Frankfurt to Columbus departing 11:15AM arriving 2:00PM
LH407 Columbus to Frankfurt departing 4:20PM arriving 6:15AM (+1 day)

The 4,248-mile route is blocked at 8hr45min westbound and 7hr55min eastbound. It will be operated using a 287-seat Boeing 787-9, featuring new Allegris cabins. This includes 28 business class seats, 28 premium economy seats, and 231 economy seats. Tickets will go on sale as of tomorrow, Tuesday, October 20, 2026.

Suffice it to say that this is a very cool addition to Columbus’ network. The only international service the airport otherwise gets is on Air Canada from Toronto (YYZ) and Montreal (YUL), and on American, Southwest, and Viva from Cancun (CUN), with most of that service being seasonal.

Here’s what Dirk Janzen, VP of Lufthansa Passenger Sales for the Americas, had to say:

“We are very pleased to connect Columbus and the state of Ohio directly with our Frankfurt hub, the first intercontinental flight from this great city. The new service will provide both business and leisure travelers with a convenient nonstop connection to Germany, as well as onward destinations across our Lufthansa Group network. The launch of this route is an important step in our continued expansion in the United States, our most important market outside the Lufthansa Group’s home markets. We look forward to strengthening the connections between Ohio and Europe, and to welcoming travelers from Columbus and the surrounding region.”

Here’s how Daren Griffin, President of the Columbus Regional Airport Authority, describes this:

“Today’s announcement is a tremendous milestone for the Columbus Region and Ohio. Lufthansa’s new nonstop service to Frankfurt provides our passengers with a direct link to one of the world’s strongest global networks, enhancing connectivity, competitiveness and continued growth. At a time of extraordinary transformation for our airports and our region, this new service establishes Ohio’s gateway to continental Europe. It strengthens our state’s connections to the global economy and creates new opportunities for communities across Ohio. We couldn’t be more excited about what it means for our businesses, travelers and the future of Ohio”

This is part of a $46.9 million airline incentive program

So, what’s Lufthansa’s motive for launching service to Columbus, an airport that doesn’t otherwise have any long haul flights?

The argument of course is that hundreds of people travel every day from Ohio to Europe, and this service will help serve that demand. Admittedly unless you’re specifically traveling between Columbus and Frankfurt, there are probably other one stop routings available as well (to a US gateway, and then nonstop to any of dozens of different markets in Europe).

It’s also specifically pointed out how there are 38 German-based companies operating in the Columbus region, and I think that’s a reason it makes sense for Lufthansa to be the European carrier to be first to add service to Columbus.

Now, if we’re being honest, there’s a very simple reason that this service is launching, and it’s not purely about demand. Just read the press release:

The new route builds on the success of JobsOhio’s Air Service Restoration program, which works with airports, regional partners and airlines to establish routes that are important to economic development. JobsOhio created the program after businesses and stakeholders said during a 2019 statewide listening tour that air service at Ohio airports had declined more sharply than in competitor states. Through the program, JobsOhio and regional partners share revenue guarantees that reduce the risk for airlines launching new service.

Since 2020, it has helped bring 32 new routes and 15 route expansions with six airlines to five Ohio airports, adding more than 590,000 new seats and more than 187,000 additional seats each year and generating an estimated $230 million in annual economic impact. JobsOhio has committed $36.8 million in revenue guarantees, alongside $10.1 million from local partners.

As you can see, the community has provided a staggering $46.9 million in revenue guarantees to airlines since 2020, to add service. While it’s normal for airports to provide economic incentives for new service, that is a massive amount of money. This money is indirectly taxpayer funded, in the sense that the JobsOhio money comes from liquor sales.

So while not all of that is going to Lufthansa, the airline is basically launching a route here on which it presumably can’t lose money, and in this environment, that’s a pretty good deal. It’s not entirely clear how much of that $46.9 million has been spent on those incremental 590K seats that have reportedly been added, but if you do simply divide it out, we’re talking about $80 per passenger.

Let me be clear — none of this is intended to rag on Columbus, as it’s totally normal to see airports offer incentives for new service. However, Columbus is spending an especially large sum, and there’s absolutely no way a route like this would launch without incentives (which is fair enough). The real sign of success is if the route continues once the incentives dry up.

Bottom line

As of May 2027, Lufthansa will launch 3x weekly nonstop flights between Frankfurt and Columbus using a Boeing 787. What a cool new route for an airport that doesn’t currently have any long haul service. If an airline were to launch transatlantic flights from Columbus, it makes sense that it would be Lufthansa, given the German connection in the region.

However, this route is really possible thanks to the massive revenue guarantee program that’s in place for airlines, and I imagine this will be the most rewarded new route yet, given its implications. Congrats to the Columbus region, and here’s to hoping the route lasts even after the revenue guarantee runs out.

What do you make of Lufthansa launching Columbus flights?

Air France & Air Côte d’Ivoire strengthen cooperation

Air France and Air Côte d’Ivoire have signed a reciprocal codeshare agreement for the route between Paris (CDG) and Abidjan (ABJ). Starting October 25, 2026, Air France will place its code on flights operated by Air Côte d’Ivoire, and Air Côte d’Ivoire will place its code on flights operated by Air France, giving customers wide choice of departure times between France and the Ivory Coast.

Let me emphasize that a codeshare agreement is not the same as a joint venture. The airlines can’t actually coordinate fares or schedules, so expect to still see different prices for flights on the two airlines. This is simply about each airline being able to market flights of the other airline.

On top of that, Air France and Air Côte d’Ivoire are also aligning their loyalty programs, Flying Blue and sMiles. The launch is planned for the end of 2026. With this, Flying Blue members will be able to earn and redeem miles on Air Côte d’Ivoire operated flights between Paris and Abidjan. Meanwhile sMiles members will be able to earn miles on Air France operated flights between Abidjan and Paris, and redeem miles across the entire Air France network.

Many people don’t realize this, but Air France actually owns a stake in Air Côte d’Ivoire. This is clearly less about Air France thinking it’s a good investment, and more about historical ties between the countries, and government pressure. So I suppose it’s not surprising to see the two airlines partnering.

Here’s how Air France CEO Anne Rigail describes this:

“This codeshare agreement marks a new milestone in our cooperation. By combining our offering on the Paris–Abidjan route, we are giving our French, Ivorian and international customers greater choice and flexibility, while helping to strengthen the economic and cultural ties between France and Côte d’Ivoire.”

Here’s how Air Côte d’Ivoire CEO Laurent Loukou describes this:

“Introducing codesharing with Air France on the Abidjan–Paris route is the first step in a partnership that will be extended to other destinations across the Air France network before the end of the first half of 2027. Implementing all phases of this agreement will enable us to expand the range of services between Abidjan and Paris, and beyond. Most importantly, from the launch of this agreement, our flights will be marketed through Air France’s global network to and from Côte d’Ivoire.”

My take on this expanded France & Ivory Coast partnership

I certainly don’t want to rag on aviation in Africa broadly, as you have some very well run carriers, like Ethiopian Airlines, which actually operate in a way that makes sense, reflecting demand, unserved markets, etc. But then you also have so many national airlines that are simply vanity projects that are about prestige — we’re talking Air Côte d’Ivoire, Air Senegal, Air Tanzania, etc.

Air Senegal has already failed, Air Tanzania is a mess, and not much about Air Côte d’Ivoire makes sense either. I mean, the airline acquired two Airbus A330-900neos, which it exclusively flies between Paris and Abidjan. Based on published data, load factors have been pretty abysmal, and that shouldn’t come as a surprise:

• Air France has been serving this market for decades, and even flies its latest cabin product in the market, featuring the new La Premiere first class
• Air France of course has a huge connecting network, so can fill its Paris to Abidjan route with demand from all over the place
• Air France is still considered by far the most premium airline in the market, even among people from the Ivory Coast, so the only people who would fly with Air Côte d’Ivoire are those who are seeking the lowest fare
• Air Côte d’Ivoire has horrendous aircraft utilization — there are two planes flying a total of eight weekly flights, so we’re talking about the two planes flying an average of around 84 hours per week (out of a maximum of 336 hours)

So we’ll see how this all plays out in the long run, but there’s simply no economic reality where Air Côte d’Ivoire’s service makes sense, Air France partnership or not.

Now, OMAAT readers will know why I’m excited about this partnership, which is that we’re being promised Flying Blue award redemptions on Air Côte d’Ivoire. This is the last airline in the world that I haven’t flown in first class, and I’ve committed to doing so ASAP, just in the interest of my completionist tendencies. The thing is, Air Côte d’Ivoire’s first class fares are high, the product doesn’t look like anything special, and no one actually seems to book it.

So I am crossing my fingers (hi, friends at Flying Blue!) that we see redemptions in first class. After all, Flying Blue has rolled out some other first class redemptions on partners, so I’d sure love to see this. Unfortunately I imagine that’s highly unlikely, though. Using the redemption calculator on Air Côte d’Ivoire’s own website, it indicates that “no matching redemption rule” is found for first class awards through its own program. Bleh! Maybe you need some sort of government status to unlock these awards? 😉

Please don’t make me pay full price for Air Côte d’Ivoire first class, only to be disappointed! Then again, who knows… maybe it’s actually the world’s best kept secret, with a caviar and champagne bar onboard, plus inflight massages. There has to be more to the experience than just being able to carry-on 80 pounds worth of bags… right?

Bottom line

Air France and Air Côte d’Ivoire are strengthening their partnership, with a new codeshare agreement on the route between Paris and Abidjan, along with loyalty reciprocity. Air France actually owns a stake in Air Côte d’Ivoire, but that seems to be more for political reasons rather than in order to turn a profit on that investment.

There’s not much merit to Air Côte d’Ivoire operating two A330neos inefficiently in a market where Air France dominates in every way, but then again, that’s not surprising. I’m just hoping that we get some good award options out of this (Flying Blue, please, please, please, convince them to do first class awards!).

What do you make of this new partnership between Paris and Abidjan?

The 10 most memorable things Kirby said in NYT interview

Yesterday the New York Times published an interview with Kirby, and as usual, it contains quite the claims and takes. I’d like to briefly share the 10 claims he made that I found to be most interesting (and we’ll ignore his schedule, which he claims is the most unusual of any CEO). In no particular order:

• Kirby defended charging more to avoid a middle seat by explaining that “there are some customers who want to sit in a window seat or a better seat, and that costs money to deliver,” and says the way to give everyone what they want is “to charge for the services and products that those customers want”
• Kirby says that while airfare has gone up, “the truth is they’re really bouncing off an artificial low from Covid,” and four out of eight publicly traded US airlines are going to lose money this year, so they “have to charge enough that it covers the cost of flying, and it’s expensive to fly airplanes”
• Kirby says that people confuse management and leadership, and his job is “really to make five decisions a year — the big decisions with no clear right or wrong answer that only the C.E.O. can make”
• When Kirby was fired from American 10 years ago, he said it didn’t sting, but “it felt more like a betrayal,” and he “wanted to go somewhere else and prove something”
• Kirby says he’s “a better C.E.O. of United Airlines because of what happened” at American than he “would have been a C.E.O. of American,” and “it did force introspection”
• Kirby believes that “wealth inequality has become a danger to our society, and we need to address that,” and he suggests “we should have a national wealth tax,” and “we should have inheritance taxes that get close to 100 percent at some level,” and he “would pay them”
• When Kirby boards a plane, the first thing he looks for is “smiling, positive flight attendants”
• One of Kirby’s most contrarian takes is he thinks “A.I. is going to be really powerful, but we are in an investment bubble,” and “there’s just no way it’s going to generate that amount of revenue”
• Kirby thinks “the future of the United States is incredibly bright,” and he is “not down in the dumps like a lot of people,” and he thinks “people on both sides of the aisle want to do the right thing for the country”
• Kirby will only “occasionally fly private,” and when he does, “it has a P.R. risk,” and he also thinks it’s important to fly commercial so he can see both United’s product and the product of competitors

I can’t help but find Kirby’s takes to be interesting

As I’ve often said, I’m conflicted on Kirby. I absolutely think he is doing an amazing job leading United, and he is charting a very clear course for the airline. It’s also amazing to think what he was known for at American up until a decade ago, and the completely different approach he has taken at United.

I do have to say, I can never exactly figure out Kirby’s public persona. On the one hand, I very much respect how honest he is, and how willing he is to talk, even if there’s not necessarily much upside for the airline or him. You don’t hear many airline CEOs publicly expressing support for close to a 100% inheritance tax (however one might feel about that).

But then he’ll also often make claims that are just so outlandish, where I can’t help but wonder if he’s being sincere, or just gaslighting people. Take for example Kirby’s bizarre narrative about creating a mega airline that all Americans are proud of, suggesting that’s good for consumers. I just find that to be such an indefensible claim. Does Kirby really believe that, or…?

Lastly — and this is where I sound like an airline apologist, but really, I just understand basic math — I find it funny how some people are enraged by the headline of this story, which is that “United’s C.E.O. Says It Should Cost More Not to Sit in the Middle Seat.”

Let’s be clear — another way to phrase that is “United’s C.E.O. Says It Should Cost Less to Sit in the Middle Seat.” The public likes to pretend that airlines are these high margin businesses that are just screwing consumers, but that’s not actually the case. A majority of passengers at US airlines are being transported at a direct loss, with the profits being made up for by the high paying passengers, as well as loyalty programs.

Better segmenting customers is actually one of the things that has allowed the legacy carriers to become profitable even while having historically low fares, adjusted for inflation (not at this very moment, but more broadly in recent years). Many people act as if we’re all entitled to $99 transcon fares while also expecting an amazing experience. That’s just not realistic.

Bottom line

United CEO Scott Kirby had a fascinating interview with the New York Times, where he chimed in on a wide range of topics, as usual. A lot of airline CEOs limit their interviews to carefully rehearsed talking points, while Kirby isn’t afraid to speak his mind, for better or worse. From how American “betrayed” him, to his takes on AI and an inheritance tax, Kirby certainly didn’t hold back…

What do you make of this Kirby interview?

Delta pilots report “conflict issue” among flight attendants

AIRLIVE has the story of an incident that happened on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, involving Delta flight DL5090, operated by Delta Connection carrier Endeavor Air. The CRJ-900 was operating from Greenville-Spartanburg Airport (GSP) to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW).

On the surface, the 508-mile flight was routine, in the sense that it departed on-time, and even landed well ahead of schedule. However, that’s not to say the flight was without drama.

During the approach, the pilots contacted ground operations to request that an inflight supervisor meet the aircraft at the gate. The reason?

“We are experiencing conflict issues among the flight attendants and will likely need to separate them to prevent further escalation or an incident.”

Let me emphasize that the CRJ-900s have two flight attendants, so that means the entire crew in the cabin was engaged in some sort of a conflict.

There are no further details about what exactly the conflict between flight attendants was, and the aircraft ultimately landed safely. There didn’t seem to be any operational impacts — I assume the crew was finishing their night in Detroit, and it’s also an airport where Endeavor Air would likely have reserve flight attendants. I’d imagine the flight attendants didn’t work another sector together after that!

Crew disputes happen more often than you’d think

It goes without saying that if you put two strangers in a space together and force them to work together, they’re not all going to get along equally well. After all, we all have different personalities and approaches to doing things.

Whether we’re talking about pilots or flight attendants, there are some flights where people make a new best friend, and other flights where people can’t stand the person they’re working with.

However, as professionals, you’d hope they could put aside their differences, because that’s what they’re paid to do. The whole point of crew resource management is to work together, and to eliminate the impact of different personalities on performing jobs.

While that works a vast majority of the time, sometimes it doesn’t. Heck, it’s not just flight attendants — just recently an Air New Zealand flight was canceled after the pilots reportedly had a fight on a layover, as they just couldn’t get along.

Unless one person was just acting completely erratically and endangering others, it generally takes two people to cause a mess like this. After all, the more reasonable person could just mind their business and give the other person some space, in the name of deescalation, and then file a report later. But if a situation becomes so bad — on an 80-minute flight, no less — that the pilots have to be called, and a supervisor has to literally meet the plane… well, yikes!

Bottom line

While we don’t know the exact details of what went down, a Delta Connection flight approaching Detroit had “conflict issues” among the two flight attendants in the cabin, to the point that they would likely need to be separated “to prevent further escalation or an incident.”

Stuff like this shouldn’t happen, but it does happen with some frequency. Unless one flight attendant was acting completely out of line and endangering others, I’m just amazed by the lack of basic deescalation skills that it must take to get to this point.

What do you make of this Delta Connection flight attendant conflict incident?

Union accuses American of “redefining” jobs with credit card training

The Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA), which represents American’s more than 30,000 flight attendants, has issued an interesting memo, as reported by PYOK. As anyone who has been following the airline industry know, the major US carriers earn a large percentage of their profits (or at least reduce their losses) through their loyalty programs, which are extremely lucrative.

On American, we’ve long seen flight attendants have the opportunity to promote credit cards onboard, and they can earn a commission if their “sales” lead to successful applications. American is trying to improve its financial performance, and as part of that, the airline is trying to encourage flight attendants to be more consistent about onboard credit card pitches.

As part of this, the airline is now making it mandatory for flight attendants to complete an online training module about credit card sales. Failure to complete this module could lead to dismissal. So the issue here is that being trained on credit cards is no longer voluntary, but instead, is required. Still, actually promoting credit cards onboard isn’t required, but is up to the individual flight attendants.

The union is claiming this new training module violates the collective bargaining agreement with management, claiming “our Scope is one of our most important protections,” and “it is what prevents management from redefining what a Flight Attendant is and what they can be required to do on a whim.”

American is also rolling out a new flight attendant scoring system, which will be known as Me@Work. One of the factors intended to be displayed here will be the number of successful credit card applications attributed to each flight attendant.

Is American management right, or does the union have a point?

The union is of course within its rights to try to challenge anything that’s beyond the scope of the collective bargaining agreement. However, does this really fit into that category? Here’s how I see it:

• Management isn’t forcing any flight attendant to try to promote or sell credit cards, as that’s entirely voluntary
• American is just forcing flight attendants to be trained on what they need to do in the event that they do want to try to promote credit cards, and presumably also make them aware of the upside of promoting credit cards
• Historically one of the issues with flight attendant credit card pitches is that they’ve been highly inaccurate, and many flight attendants have taken quite some liberties; the credit card industry has a ton of rules around how products can and can’t be promoted, and that should extend to airline representatives promoting credit cards as well

Based on my understanding of the situation, I think the union is overreacting here. I would understand the frustration if flight attendants were being forced to promote credit cards, but simply requiring training on something that many flight attendants do choose to participate in doesn’t strike me as being unreasonable. But that’s just me.

I get the argument of “if they require this, then what else could they require in the future?” But let’s be honest, this is literally a massive part of the airline business model nowadays, and if it weren’t for AAdvantage, odds are that American would’ve lost money in recent years.

Bottom line

American flight attendants are being required to undergo training for promoting credit cards. This training is mandatory, regardless of whether or not flight attendants intend to actually promote credit cards (which they earn a commission for).

The union argues that this is beyond the scope of the collective bargaining agreement, and that management is crossing a line. Meanwhile I’d imagine the argument from management would be that flight attendants aren’t being forced to promote credit cards, they just have to be trained on it, so that in the event they do choose to promote credit cards, they understand the rules.

What do you make of this complaint from the American flight attendant union?

This post is my updated Chase Sapphire Preferred review, also reflecting the major refresh we saw to the card in June 2026, whereby several perks were changed. The Sapphire Preferred changed the rewards game when it debuted in 2009, and all these years later, it’s still one of the few cards that’s ideal for someone just getting started in miles and points. Many experienced points nerds consider this a wallet fixture as well.

Link: Learn more about the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Chase Sapphire Preferred summary & key details for October 2026

Before diving into my full Chase Sapphire Preferred review, I want to highlight some of the top-level details of the card.

Here are what I consider to be the pros and cons of the Chase Sapphire Preferred:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred Card pros include a great welcome bonus, an amazing rewards structure with great bonus categories, and very strong travel protections including primary rental car insurance
• Chase Sapphire Preferred Card cons include a recently reduced transfer ratio to World of Hyatt and no lounge access (though that’s expected for a card at this annual fee level)

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Learn More about Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card >Terms Apply.

Why we like this card

The Chase Sapphire Preferred has been around for more than a decade, and continues to be one of the most well-rounded credit cards for beginners and those looking for travel rewards. It offers generous rewards on dining and travel, great customer service, and some other useful perks like an annual hotel credit. Chase Sapphire Preferred review →

Earn 75,000 bonus points

Chase Sapphire Preferred changes

Whether you’re a new applicant or an existing cardholder, it’s worth knowing exactly what changed with the Chase Sapphire Preferred with its update in June 2026. First, here are the positive additions:

• New 3x bonus categories on gas stations, EV charging, and vacation home rentals with Airbnb, HomeAway, Homestay.com, Plum Guide, Vrbo, and Vacasa
• $50 Chase Travel hotel credit increased to $100
• A one-year complimentary Apple TV subscription
• Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS credit
• Expanded travel protection, including emergency evacuation coverage

These changes took effect immediately for both new and existing cardholders. On the other hand, these were the negative Chase Sapphire Preferred card updates:

• The Chase Sapphire Preferred now has a reduced transfer ratio for World of Hyatt, dropping from 1:1 to 4:3
• The Chase Sapphire Preferred dropped its 10% anniversary points bonus

Existing cardholders had a grace period before these changes kicked in, but that ended at the beginning of October 2026.

Chase Sapphire Preferred bonus, eligibility, & fees

When applying for a card, people are often motivated by a large welcome bonus, and that has to be balanced with the card’s eligibility requirements and annual fee. So to start my Sapphire Preferred review, we’ll take a look at the Sapphire Preferred welcome bonus, eligibility rules, and annual fee.

Chase Sapphire Preferred welcome bonus

The Chase Sapphire Preferred bonus is currently for 75,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $5,000 within three months.

At a minimum, you can redeem Ultimate Rewards points for one cent each. That would give 75,000 points a minimum value of $750. But transfer points to partners like Air France-KLM Flying Blue or Singapore KrisFlyer, and you can easily get far more than that.

Based on my latest miles & points valuations, I consider Ultimate Rewards points to be worth 1.7 cents each, though that’s a conservative valuation compared to the potential. So to me, the welcome offer is worth $1,275. That’s a huge bonus on a rewarding card.

Chase Sapphire Preferred eligibility rules & application restrictions

Before you apply, there are a few eligibility rules to be aware of with the Chase Sapphire Preferred. Officially, here are the current restrictions when it comes to applying for the Chase Sapphire Preferred:

This credit card is unavailable to you if you currently have one open. The new cardmember bonus may not be available to you if you previously held this card or received a new cardmember bonus for this card. We may also consider the number of cards you have opened and closed in determining your bonus eligibility.

As it currently stands, the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card (learn more), and Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ (learn more) are considered totally independently when it comes to eligibility, including for the bonus.

Note that if you’re the authorized user on someone else’s Sapphire credit card, you’re still eligible to get it for yourself. Eligibility is determined based on whether you’re the primary cardmember.

Beyond these card-specific rules, the other general Chase application restrictions apply to the Chase Sapphire Preferred. This includes the 2/30 rule, whereby you can be approved for at most two Chase cards every 30 days. Beyond that, Chase typically won’t approve a new card if you’ve opened five or more new card accounts in the past 24 months, which is what’s known as the 5/24 rule. Results vary, with lots of reports of Chase approving people who exceed that limit. If you’re under 5/24, you’re in good shape. If you’re over, it might be worth trying anyway.

Chase Sapphire Preferred credit score requirement

There’s not a consistent rule as to what credit score you need to get approved for the Sapphire Preferred, as credit score is one of many considerations. In general, aim for a credit score in the “good” to “excellent” category. I wouldn’t apply with a score under 700, and ideally would hope for 740 or higher. These aren’t hard and fast rules though. Approvals can happen with a lower score, and rejections with a higher one.

Chase Sapphire Preferred annual fee & authorized user fee

The Chase Sapphire Preferred annual fee is $95, which is not waived for the first year. Considering the value you get from the benefits, including monthly $10 DoorDash credits and a complimentary year-long Apple TV subscription, it’s easy to come out ahead on the Chase Sapphire annual fee.

You can also add authorized users at no extra cost, and they’re eligible for the card’s primary rental car coverage benefit as well.

Chase Sapphire Preferred no foreign transaction fee

The Sapphire Preferred has no foreign transaction fees, so this is an excellent card to use for purchases globally.

Chase Sapphire Preferred rewards points

For any travel rewards card, one big question is what the rewards are like, both on the earning and redemption side. So let’s look at those details for the Chase Sapphire Preferred, as it’s an area where the card got both better and worse with its last refresh.

Chase Sapphire Preferred points earning rates

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is an industry-leading card with an amazing rewards structure. You’ll earn:

• 5x points on travel booked through Chase Travel (and Lyft rides through September 30, 2027)
• 5x points on eligible Peloton equipment and accessory purchases through December 31, 2027; this applies to a minimum of a $150 purchase, with a cap of 25,000 bonus points
• 3x points on dining, streaming services, and online grocery store purchases (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs)
• 3x points on gas stations and EV charging
• 3x points on vacation home rentals with Airbnb, HomeAway, Homestay.com, Plum Guide, Vrbo, and Vacasa
• 2x points on all other travel purchases, including everything from flights, to hotels, to rideshares, to parking, to campgrounds
• 1x points on everything else

The gas and EV charging category is worth calling out, since it’s especially nice to have a personal Chase Ultimate Rewards card offering bonus points on gas station purchases.

It always makes sense to get a card that matches up with your spending patterns, and the categories on the Sapphire Preferred will prove useful to a lot of consumers. Note that there are no caps on how many points you can earn in each of these categories (other than with Peloton), and points don’t expire as long as your account remains open and in good standing.

How to redeem Chase Sapphire Preferred points for best value

The Chase Sapphire Preferred earns Ultimate Rewards points. I find Ultimate Rewards to be one of the most valuable flexible points currencies. Personally, my favorite use is transferring them to one of Chase’s 14 airline and hotel partners:

Most of these partners transfer at a 1:1 ratio, with one big exception as of June 2026 (and this is a major downside to the card): the transfer ratio from Chase to World of Hyatt is 4:3 on this card. This applies to all Chase Ultimate Rewards cards except the Chase Sapphire Reserve (learn more) or Sapphire Reserve Business (learn more).

This change took effect for existing cardholders on October 1, 2026, and new applicants got the reduced transfer ratio as soon as the change was announced back in June 2026. As before, points can be pooled between cards, and you can use the highest transfer ratio available.

Still, there are big opportunities to get outsized value. Take the Park Hyatt Maldives, where free nights start at 25,000 World of Hyatt points — about 33,400 Ultimate Rewards points at the 4:3 transfer ratio. That could be a great deal, compared to the cash rates here, which are typically $1,000+ per night.

Or you could transfer 72,500 points to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. Why? A redemption in All Nippon Airways first class between the west coast of the United States and Japan costs that much, assuming you can find availability.

However, that’s not the only way you can redeem Ultimate Rewards points. Chase Travel℠ offers redemptions for everything from gift cards to Apple products, to flight and hotel redemptions. The standard redemption rate through the portal is one cent per point, but values do vary.

Alternatively, you can redeem through Chase Travel using the Points Boost feature. This gives cardmembers better redemptions for some type of travel bookings, and you can get up to 1.75 cents of value per point using this. You’ll find elevated rights for flights with select airlines, as well as for some bookings with The Edit by Chase Travel.

Lastly, here’s an important distinction that other sites sometimes gloss over: your points are worth what you redeem them for. And that varies significantly based on how you use them, so you should decide how much your points are worth.

Chase Sapphire Preferred benefits & credits

Despite the Sapphire Preferred annual fee being so low, the card packs in some serious value. I’ll run through the main Sapphire Preferred benefits below. For a deeper dive, check out the full guide on why the Chase Sapphire Preferred is worth it.

Travel insurance & protection, rental car coverage

The Chase Sapphire Preferred offers quite a bit of valuable travel protection. If you, your flight, or your luggage are lost or delayed, this card has you covered.

As of the June 2026 refresh, the card also added emergency evacuation coverage. This makes the card’s travel coverage more well rounded, and puts it closer to being in line with that of the Chase Sapphire Reserve.

The card also includes primary collision damage waiver coverage on rental cars, both in the United States and abroad. This means you can decline the rental company’s expensive CDW and rely on the card’s coverage instead. To me, this is one of the most important perks a card can offer. The rental car protection literally saved me over $10,000 when I was rear-ended in a rental car once.

Long story short, even though it wasn’t my fault, this would have been a massive pain if it weren’t for having used a card with primary coverage. Perhaps the best endorsement is that I don’t even know what ended up happening between the various insurance companies and the rental agency. I didn’t have to deal with anything other than filing the initial claim.

I’ve saved a ton with this card from not paying CDW premiums over the years, not to mention the thousands of dollars in travel protection reimbursements.

$100 annual hotel credit

The Sapphire Preferred offers a $100 annual Chase Travel℠ hotel credit, doubled from $50 as part of the June 2026 refresh. Just book a hotel through the Chase Travel portal, pay with your card, and automatically receive a statement credit of up to $100.

There’s no minimum stay required, so as long as you book a hotel through Chase Travel that costs at least $100, you should be able to get full value out of that, and basically more than offset the annual fee. That’s great. I appreciate that this is just a single credit, so this isn’t a semi-annual $50 credit, or anything like that.

This benefit is based on your account anniversary year, and includes the first year you have the card.

Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS credit

As of June 2026, the Sapphire Preferred offers an up to $120 statement credit that can be used toward Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS, valid once every four years. This is a pretty common perk on premium cards, so it’s cool to also see this on a card with an annual fee of under $100.

One-year complimentary Apple TV subscription

The Chase Sapphire Preferred now comes with a complimentary Apple TV subscription for one year, with activation required by December 31, 2026. It’s another perk that adds a lot of short term value.

This would ordinarily cost $119 per year, so in the short term, that could even get you more value than the annual fee. That’s tough to beat, if you ask me. Just remember that the subscription could auto-renew, so if you don’t want to keep it, be sure to cancel.

DoorDash credits & DashPass

The Sapphire Preferred also includes a DoorDash DashPass membership, for a minimum of one year, when enrolled by December 31, 2029. With DashPass, you can enjoy $0 delivery fees and reduced service fees on eligible DoorDash orders. You’ll also receive a $10 promo credit each month, which you can use to get a discount on non-restaurant orders.

Is the Chase Sapphire Preferred worth it?

Unequivocally, yes. When the card first launched it was so good it basically became a meme. I’d argue the value prop has only improved over the years. If you don’t have the Chase Sapphire Preferred and are eligible, then yes, the card is a no-brainer. This is one of the best mid-range travel credit cards on the market, period. Let’s talk about this in a bit more detail.

Who the Chase Sapphire Preferred card is good for

The Sapphire Preferred is ideal for people who want to earn transferable points without paying a premium annual fee. It’s perfect for someone just getting started in miles and points, as well as experienced travelers who want a solid “hub” card for Ultimate Rewards.

If Ultimate Rewards points are your rewards currency of choice, the Chase Sapphire Preferred can be the cornerstone of your “Chase Trifecta.” Pairing it with two other no annual fee Chase cards earns you a minimum of 1.5x points on all your spending.

First, there’s the Chase Freedom Flex® (learn more), which earns up to 5x points (or 5% cash back) in rotating quarterly spending categories that often include groceries and Amazon. The second card is the Chase Freedom Unlimited® (learn more), which earns 3% cash back (or 3x points) on dining and 1.5% cash back (or 1.5x points) on everyday spending. Between these two cards and the Chase Sapphire Preferred, the bonus categories — and your points — can add up quickly.

If you spend heavily on dining, streaming, and travel, the bonus categories will serve you well. The same goes for anyone with a regular commute, now that gas and EV charging earn 3x points. And if you occasionally rent cars or experience flight delays, the travel protections are genuinely valuable.

Who shouldn’t consider the Chase Sapphire Preferred

If you want lounge access, you’ll need to look at the Chase Sapphire Reserve (learn more) or other premium cards. If you’re primarily focusing on a single airline or hotel program, a co-branded card might earn you points faster in that specific currency. And if you prefer cash back to travel rewards, you’ll want to stick with a simpler card.

And if World of Hyatt is the main reason you collect Ultimate Rewards, keep in mind that this card now transfers to Hyatt at 4:3, while the Sapphire Reserve keeps the 1:1 ratio.

Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve comparison

Many consumers may be trying to decide between the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserve. While I’ve written a detailed Sapphire Preferred vs. Sapphire Reserve comparison, let me summarize it here. The Sapphire Preferred is the better value for most people. Meanwhile, the Sapphire Reserve makes sense if you’ll use the lounge access and travel credits.

The key advantages of the Sapphire Preferred include:

• The significantly lower annual fee ($95 vs $795)
• The ability to add authorized users at no extra cost
• The 3x points on streaming services and online grocery purchases
• The 3x points on gas stations, EV charging, and select vacation rentals
• The 2x points on all travel purchases (as opposed to just airfare and hotels)
• The $100 annual hotel credit

The Sapphire Reserve’s main advantages include Priority Pass lounge access, Chase Sapphire Lounge access, Air Canada Lounge access, the higher Points Boost redemption rates, and the $300 annual travel credit, along with other credits. The Sapphire Reserve also keeps 1:1 transfers to World of Hyatt, while the Sapphire Preferred now transfers at 4:3, so that becomes a point of differentiation between the cards.

Long term, I think the Sapphire Reserve is worth it if you can maximize all the credits and lounge access. However, outside of those circumstances, the Preferred offers a better value.

Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Citi Strata Premier comparison

At the ~$100 annual fee level, one of the Sapphire Preferred’s main competitors is the Citi Strata Premier® Card (learn more). While I’ve written a detailed Sapphire Preferred vs. Strata Premier comparison, let me summarize it here.

The Strata Premier offers 3x points on dining, gas, groceries, air travel, and hotels, which arguably makes it the other best mid-range card purely in terms of bonus categories. However, the Chase Sapphire Preferred wins by a long shot on travel coverage, particularly primary rental car CDW both in the US and abroad. The Strata Premier’s travel protection pales in comparison.

I’d also recommend considering which points ecosystem you value more, as there are pros & cons to each. Chase has more of an ability to build up a larger card portfolio, but Citi also has a solid card selection at this point.

Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Capital One Venture Rewards comparison

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card (learn more) is the Chase Sapphire Preferred’s other main competitor at this annual fee level. While I’ve written a detailed Sapphire Preferred vs. Venture Rewards comparison, I’ll cover the basics here.

The Venture Rewards offers a competitive welcome bonus and straightforward 2x miles on everyday spending. Both cards offer excellent bonuses, and the Venture may edge out the Sapphire Preferred on welcome bonus depending on current offers. However, the Sapphire Preferred’s transfer partners are generally more valuable, and the travel protections are more robust.

The bottom line is that if travel protection is important to you and you value the flexibility of Ultimate Rewards transfer partners, the Sapphire Preferred is the winner at this price point.

Other Chase Sapphire Preferred alternatives to consider

While I did some head-to-head Chase Sapphire Preferred comparisons above, I’d also like to briefly mention a few other cards that are arguably in the same competitive set, and are at least worth looking into:

• The Bilt Obsidian Card (learn more) is actually a pretty direct competitor to the Sapphire Preferred, and also has a great rewards structure and reasonable fee, and is part of a valuable points eco system (Rates & Fees)
• The American Express® Gold Card (learn more) has a higher annual fee, but is tough to beat for those who spend a lot on dining, and also offers credits that can help offset the fee
• The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (learn more) also has a higher annual fee on the surface, but it’s actually super easy to justify, thanks to the annual $300 Capital One Travel credit, plus the 10,000 anniversary bonus miles, while offering access to Capital One Lounges and Capital One Landings

Chase Sapphire Preferred FAQs

Bottom line

The above is my updated Chase Sapphire Preferred review. This is one of the best value mid-range cards out there, when you factor in points earning, travel protection, perks, and the rewards structure, especially given the reasonable Chase Sapphire annual fee.

The card recently underwent a refresh that was a mixed bag, but the good news is that the earnings rates improved, and we also saw some new perks added. At the same time, the 10% anniversary bonus points perk was eliminated, and the Hyatt transfer ratio was devalued.

In general, if the bonus categories fit your spending profile, and if you can use the $100 annual hotel credit, I’d seriously consider this card. The current welcome bonus is a particularly compelling reason to apply, as there’s only upside to at least giving this card a try for a year.

What’s your take on the Chase Sapphire Preferred?

In this post, I’d like to take a look at the $99 companion fare offered by Atmos Rewards credit cards in more detail, to discuss how it works, and how you can maximize value with it. We’ve seen some rule changes to these over time, so I think it’s worth covering the current state of them.

Link: Learn more about the Atmos™ Rewards Ascent Visa Signature® credit card or Atmos™ Rewards Visa Signature® Business Card

How to earn Alaska & Hawaiian $99 companion fare

There are two credit cards that offer the Alaska and Hawaiian $99 companion fare. Both the Atmos™ Rewards Ascent Visa Signature® credit card (learn more) and Atmos™ Rewards Visa Signature® Business Card (learn more) offer a $99 companion fare (plus taxes and fees starting from $23).

The idea is that you can book the primary traveler at the standard fare, and then the second passenger will cost you $99, plus any government taxes and fees.

The $99 companion fare is offered as part of the welcome bonuses on these cards. For context, here are the current bonuses available on the card:

• The Atmos Rewards Ascent Card is offering a huge welcome bonus of up to 80,000 points plus a $99 companion fare (plus taxes and fees from $23); earn 60,000 points plus the companion fare after spending $3,000 within the first 90 days, and earn an additional 20,000 points after spending a total of $5,000 within the same period
• The Atmos Rewards Business Card is offering 70,000 points plus a $99 companion fare (plus taxes and fees from $23) after spending $4,000 within the first 90 days

On top of that, you can earn a $99 companion fare each anniversary year if you spend $6,000 on the card. Keep in mind that you’re potentially eligible for both of these cards (including the welcome bonuses), so it’s possible to earn multiple certificates.

There’s merit to picking up both the personal card and business card, given their low fees and useful benefits. For that matter, if you’re a household with four or more people, it could also make sense for you and your spouse to each get one of these cards, so that you could use two companion certificates for a total of four passengers.

You’ll find that your $99 companion fare is deposited in your Atmos Rewards account shortly after you reach the minimum spending requirement in the first year, and shortly after your account anniversary in subsequent years (assuming you reach the spending requirement). The terms state that it could take up to two billing cycles, but in my experience, it typically posts much faster than that.

Let me also emphasize that these $99 companion fares are separate from the Global Companion Awards (worth 25,000 points or 100,000 points) that can be earned with the Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite^® Credit Card (learn more), which can be used when redeeming Atmos Rewards points. There’s a huge incentive to spend money on that card, given all the great perks offered.

How to redeem Alaska & Hawaiian $99 companion fare

When it comes to redeeming the Alaska and Hawaiian $99 companion fare, there are some details to be aware of, as you’d expect:

• The $99 companion fare is valid for travel on Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines within the Americas, including for travel in the state of Hawaii; however, it’s not valid for travel to Pacific destinations outside the United States, to Europe, etc.
• The $99 companion fare is only valid for tickets booked in economy, though all economy fare classes are included
• The $99 companion fare can only be used when there are exactly two people on a reservation, so if you have a reservation with more than two people, the option to use it won’t show
• Tickets booked with the $99 companion fare are upgradeable, both for the primary passenger and companion (this includes using complimentary elite upgrades, upgrade certificates, instant upgrade fares, etc.)
• Both passengers booked with the $99 companion fare earn points for their tickets, whether crediting to Atmos Rewards or a partner program
• The $99 companion fare is valid for one year from when it’s issued, until 11:59PM on that date; however, that’s only the book-by date, while you can travel on a subsequent date
• Tickets with the $99 companion fare can be booked directly online, by first starting the flight booking process through your Atmos Rewards account, by getting the discount code
• You’re allowed to use the $99 companion fare code for two other people (in other words, the cardmember doesn’t need to be traveling)
• The $99 companion fare doesn’t need to be used for the person it’s issued to, though the ticket does have to be paid for using the Atmos Rewards credit card of the person that it was issued to
• It’s not possible to use Alaska wallet funds for tickets booked using the $99 companion fare, which is rather frustrating
• Both passengers need to be booked on the same itinerary, travel on the same flights, and be ticketed at the same time
• The $99 companion fare is valid for roundtrip or one-way travel; it’s not valid for open-jaw or multi-city travel, or for tickets with stopovers (it used to be valid for this, but not anymore)
• The $99 companion fare isn’t valid for award travel, or for travel that includes segments on any airlines other than Alaska, Horizon, or Hawaiian

Let’s talk a bit about the actual booking process. To find your $99 companion fare, you’ll want to log into your Atmos Rewards account, and visit the “Wallet” section, where you’ll see any companion fare codes listed.

You can then either manually copy the code, or click “Use to book” to start the booking process.

If you click “Use to book,” you’ll be brought to the booking page, where you’ll see the code copied in the “Discount code” section. You’ll want to enter your origin, destination, dates, and number of travelers (be sure you select two travelers).

Once you get to the search page, you’ll see that any eligible itineraries show the green checkmark next to the itinerary, indicating that it’s eligible. That then shows you the price for the first passenger, plus for the companion.

For example, I pulled up a roundtrip ticket from Fort Lauderdale (FLL) to Honolulu (HNL) via San Diego (SAN) in one direction and Seattle (SEA) in the other direction. As you can see, the fare differs depending on whether you want the Saver or Main fare. Any fare with the green checkmark next to it would include the Alaska companion fare, and the price next to the green checkmark is how much you pay for the companion.

For example, the itinerary I chose shows a total price of $748, and that includes the companion. If you wanted to proceed with booking, you’d click the “Add to cart” button.

For example, the itinerary I chose above costs $570.49 for the first passenger, and then a total of $176.53 for the companion. That means in this example, you’d be saving $393.96 on the companion.

That’s an amazing deal, given the low annual fee on these cards. For that matter, this was just about the cheapest ticket to Hawaii I could find. Plenty of tickets in the market would cost closer to $1,000, so in that situation, the savings would be even bigger. Obviously if you’re a family and you can pick up multiple Alaska cards, the savings here could be huge.

How to upgrade Alaska & Hawaiian $99 companion fare

The Alaska and Hawaiian $99 companion fare is limited to economy tickets, though the good news is that these tickets are upgradeable to first class. There are a few ways to go about this, especially if you have elite status, like Atmos Rewards Silver, Gold, Platinum, or Titanium:

• Atmos Rewards elite members are eligible for complimentary space available upgrades for themselves and a companion, and those upgrades start clearing at 72-120 hours before departure
• With the Atmos Rewards milestone perks program, members can select upgrade certificates as a perk, each of which can be used to confirm a one-way upgrade at the time of booking, subject to upgrade availability (which can be tough to come by); note that tickets booked in Q, O, G, or X fare classes, aren’t eligible
• Elite members receive complimentary upgrades at the time of booking when booking certain fare classes and when there is confirmable upgrade availability; Silver members get complimentary upgrades on Y and B fares, Gold members get complimentary upgrades on Y, B, H, and K fares, and Platinum and Titanium members get complimentary upgrades on Y, B, H, K, and M fares
• Alaska and American offer reciprocal first class upgrades, so AAdvantage elites could also be upgraded on these kinds of fares

One thing worth keeping in mind is that Atmos Rewards offers a status match challenge, so if you’re new to the program, you can always start a status challenge shortly before using your $99 companion fare, to really get as much value as possible. This gives you status for a period of 90 days, with the requirement to fly a certain number of miles within that period. Flying on a ticket using the $99 companion fare would count toward that.

How to maximize Alaska & Hawaiian $99 companion fare

How would I recommend going about approaching the Alaska and Hawaiian $99 companion fare? Personally, I think it’s most worthwhile as part of the welcome bonuses offered on the cards, where you might as well make as much use of it as you can. Whether it’s worth spending $6,000 on the card per year to earn the companion fare depends entirely on how you’d be able to use it, plus how often you fly with Alaska Air Group.

I wouldn’t go too over-the-top when it comes to trying to maximize value, since the goal should be to use the certificate before it expires, and get at least some use out of it. In a vast majority of markets, you’ll come out ahead when using the companion certificate.

Generally speaking, the best uses of the companion fare will be for flights that involve Alaska, Hawaii, or Central America, since those are typically the furthest and (potentially) most expensive markets where this can be redeemed.

Of course you’re going to get the most value if you’re flying at a time where economy fares are the most expensive. So the ideal use would be during a busy holiday travel period, where one ticket might be expensive, but then the discount on the second ticket would make a meaningful difference.

Atmos Rewards $99 Companion Fare FAQs

Bottom line

A lot of airline credit cards offer companion tickets that come with all kinds of restrictions that make them virtually useless. That’s why I find the Alaska and Hawaiian $99 companion fare to be among the most valuable ones out there, given that the companion is basically treated like any other paying passenger.

These $99 companion fares can be a great reason to pick up the Atmos Rewards Ascent Card or Atmos Rewards Business Card, and even to spend $6,000 on it annually.

What has your experience been with the Alaska and Hawaiian $99 companion fare?

On the plus side, I didn’t have to switch terminals this time around, because a terminal change in Manila makes for what’s possibly the world’s worst airport transit experience. However, that’s not to say that the layover was smooth — quite to the contrary, I found the entire ground experience to be pretty bad. Transit security was a mess, and the lounge was overcrowded, with some major shortcomings.

Some may think my review here is overly critical, but let me simply state that somehow the lounge Wi-Fi doesn’t work on “foreign” computers (based on my experience, and confirmed by an airline employee), and that’s just mind-boggling to me. So if you want to use Wi-Fi on your laptop, you actually have to leave the lounge and go into the terminal, and use the airport free Wi-Fi. That’s just beyond embarrassing. Anyway, enough of an intro, let me get into the review.

Manila Airport Terminal 1 transit security

Fortunately my Philippine Airlines flights were both arriving at and departing from Terminal 1 in Manila, so at least I didn’t have to switch terminals. All international connecting passengers have to clear transit security, and I found this to be a mess.

There was a long queue, and the entire space is set up with a single x-ray machine and metal detector. The line shown below also doesn’t account for the endless passengers in wheelchairs cutting the line (nothing against them, of course, but it all slows things down). There was also no sense of urgency among the screeners. It took roughly 40 minutes from the time I deplaned until I was through transit security.

I understand that airlines don’t have full control over airport facilities like this, but it’s really something that airport authorities need to work on. Philippine Airlines is growing, and in particular, is trying to increasingly compete with international connecting traffic. This is just such an avoidable pain point, especially when you consider the short connections the airline sells.

Philippine Airlines Lounge Manila location

Admittedly most hub airports get busy during peak hours, but Manila Airport Terminal 1 is a special kind of mess. The terminal is narrow, and I found the signage confusing. Typically if you’re at a carrier’s hub terminal, it’s not too hard to find lounges. So I followed the signage in the direction of “Airline Lounges,” only to end up on the wrong side of the terminal.

As it turns out, the other direction also has signage for “Airline Lounges,” so you’d think they could have signage indicating which lounges are in which direction.

The Philippine Airlines Mabuhay Lounge is located near gate 15, though it’s honestly easy to miss.

There’s a sign for flights to Australia, and next to that is a sign where the biggest word is “Mabuhay,” and that’s the sign for the lounge. I walked past this area twice before I realized this is where the lounge was located. Again, for a hub lounge, you’d think they could do a bit better on signage.

The lounge is located on level four, which is one floor above the terminal. It can only be accessed via an elevator that’s in absolutely horrible condition (physically, and in terms of the feeling when riding it).

Once on level four, the entrance to the lounge was easy to spot. I have to say, my first impression was very positive, as the entrance is beautiful. For a moment I thought I’d actually have a nice lounge experience!

Philippine Airlines Lounge Manila hours

The Philippine Airlines Mabuhay Lounge Manila is open 24/7, as I understand it. Some reports online suggest it closes for a couple of hours in the middle of the night on Wednesdays for “maintenance.” But big picture, you really don’t have to worry about the hours of this lounge — if you have a flight, it’ll be open!

Philippine Airlines Lounge Manila entry requirements

The Philippine Airlines Mabuhay Lounge Manila has pretty straightforward access requirements. The lounge is open to Philippine Airlines business class passengers (no guests allowed) and Mabuhay Miles Premier Elite and Elite travelers (one guest allowed). On top of that, those without lounge access can purchase access at an additional cost, which varies based on the length of stay, and is subject to capacity limits.

Philippine Airlines Lounge Manila seating & layout

The Philippine Airlines Mabuhay Lounge Manila opened in late 2023, and it’s approximately 1,200 square meters (13,000 square feet), with a capacity for just under 300 guests. As is the case with any lounge, your experience will vary based on when you visit, and I definitely visited during a peak crowding period. The lounge is set along one main corridor, with a few main rooms.

When you enter the lounge, the first main room just has traditional lounge seating intended for relaxing. This consists mostly of chairs in rows, along with some tables.

Then in the back of the lounge is an area with dining tables, and this is also where the buffet is located.

Along the side of the lounge is a small room that’s more intended for resting, as it has some chairs with ottomans.

This area also has a Million Miler Exclusive area, which is kind of laughable. It’s basically a small space behind a glass shield with some high-top seating, so it almost seems more like it should be the work area of the lounge, rather than something reserved for the carrier’s most loyal customers.

As you can tell, the lounge was really busy during my visit, and I initially could barely find an open seat (aside from asking to join someone at a dining table).

Philippine Airlines Lounge Manila Wi-Fi & announcements

Now let me share what I’d consider to be the two worst parts of the lounge — the Wi-Fi situation and the announcements. These two things are my biggest beef with this lounge, and they’re why I actually just ended up sitting in the terminal rather than the lounge.

The first issue involves Wi-Fi. Being able to connect to Wi-Fi is perhaps the single most basic amenity you’d expect in a lounge, but that’s too much to ask for here.

I tried to connect to the Wi-Fi on my laptop, but it simply didn’t work. I spent several minutes troubleshooting things, and then eventually I went to the lounge reception to ask if the Wi-Fi was down, or what was going on.

The answer? “Actually sir, we have a problem where laptops from other countries can’t connect to our Wi-Fi.” At first I figured that couldn’t be true, so I tried connecting on my phone. Sure enough that worked!

I know this lounge agent is just the messenger, but I find this to be completely absurd. First of all, it’s ridiculous that this is the case. Second of all, I just found the way it was communicated to be poor, and showed a lack of understanding. It wasn’t “I’m so sorry, we’re working on fixing this.” She explained it as if this is a normal thing.

The airport offers free Wi-Fi, but it doesn’t extend to the lounge. So I actually had to go into the terminal in order to be able to work on my laptop.

Now let’s move onto the second issue, which is that this lounge has the ambiance of a live auction. Not only is every flight departure announced in the lounge, but it’s announced multiple times, and each announcement has so much unnecessary language and repetition. During the busiest period, the lounge agent barely put down the microphone. Again, the terminal had a nicer ambiance, and that’s saying something!

Philippine Airlines Lounge Manila food & drinks

The Philippine Airlines Mabuhay Lounge Manila has a self-serve buffet located in the back of the lounge. I visited late at night, so it was the dinner selection on offer. The buffet was so busy that it was hard to get good pictures, but options included finger sandwiches, bread, salad, dumplings, noodle soup, and a few other hot dishes.

There were also some sweets, including cookies, cakes, and fruit.

The selection wasn’t awful, but it was also below average for an Asian carrier’s hub lounge, as I see it. When it comes to drinks, there were some self-serve options, including coffee, juice, and soda.

The lounge also has a bar with cocktails, beer, wine, and barista coffee.

Y’all know how much I love good coffee, and while I was happy to see barista coffee, it wasn’t actually good. At least based on my preferred tastes, I found it to be really bitter — bonus points for the presentation, though.

Philippine Airlines Lounge Manila bathrooms & showers

The Philippine Airlines Mabuhay Lounge Manila has bathrooms and shower suites. The bathrooms were okay — they were consistently crowded, but weren’t dirty. Meanwhile there was a wait for the showers, so I didn’t actually get a chance to visit them.

Bottom line

My transit experience at Manila Airport was really underwhelming. First there was the incredibly inefficient transit security, which admittedly isn’t directly the carrier’s fault. But the much bigger issue is the quality of Philippine Airlines’ flagship lounge.

The lounge design was okay, and the lounge was really crowded. I don’t fault the airline too much for that, since that’s the case at most hub lounges. Really what makes this lounge terrible for me is the lack of functioning Wi-Fi for foreign laptops, plus the constant announcements about flight departures.

I give this lounge a really low rating because I genuinely found it more pleasant to sit in the terminal than to sit in the lounge. When you have to leave a lounge to connect to Wi-Fi, something is very wrong. While I was looking forward to flying Philippine Airlines’ A350 business class, the experience up until this lounge was really underwhelming.

What do you make of Philippine Airlines’ Mabuhay Lounge Manila?

This post is my in-depth United Quest Card review, covering everything from its welcome bonus, to its mileage earning rates, to the perks it offers when flying United. Are the United Quest Card benefits worth the fee?

Link: Learn more about the United Quest℠ Card

United Quest Card summary & key details for October 2026

Before diving into the full United Quest Card review, I want to highlight the card’s key details:

• United Quest Card annual fee: $350
• United Quest Card welcome offer: Earn 500 Premier qualifying points after your first purchase and 80,000 bonus miles after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open. Earn another 10,000 bonus miles when you add an authorized user in the first three months your account is open
• United Quest Card miles earning rate: 5x miles on hotel stays when you prepay directly through Renowned Hotels and Resorts, 4x miles on United purchases, 2x miles on all other travel, 2x miles on dining, 2x miles on streaming services, and 1x miles on all other purchases
• United Quest Card foreign transaction fee: None
• United Quest Card benefits with United: Free first and second checked bags for you and one companion, $200 annual United credit, Group 2 Priority boarding, save 10% or more when booking flights with miles, earn a 10,000-mile discount toward a United award flight every year starting with your first anniversary, get another 10,000-mile award flight discount after spending $20,000 on the card in a calendar year, get two Economy Plus seat upgrades after spending $40,000 on the card in a calendar year, 25% back as a statement credit on purchases of food, beverages, and Wi-Fi on board United flights and on Club premium drinks
• United Quest Card credits & perks: Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS fee credit, annual partner credits for rideshare, Instacart, and more, trip cancellation and interruption insurance, baggage delay insurance, primary rental car insurance
• Best for: Frequent United travelers who want to enjoy elite-like perks and save both miles and cash on United flights

Here are the main United Quest Card pros and cons:

Why United flyers should strongly consider a United credit card

There’s one more thing I want to touch on before getting into the details of the United Quest Card, and that’s why having a co-branded United credit card is worth it in the first place. In general, the major US airlines reward loyalists for using their credit cards, but this is especially true with United, since the number of miles you’ll earn on airfare increases dramatically when you add a card to the equation.

The amount of miles you earn on United flights also depends on your MileagePlus elite status, but having a United credit card will boost your earnings whether you’re a general member or a Premier 1K member. With the United Quest Card specifically, you’ll earn 4x miles on United flights. Since I value United miles at 1.3 cents, that’s a 5.2% return on spending before even factoring in the additional miles earned as a MileagePlus member.

Here’s how your United mileage earnings break down across elite status levels both with and without a United credit card:

Another benefit to United credit cards is that they get you access to lower award pricing and expanded seat availability, with no restrictions or blackout dates. So if you fly United with any frequency, picking up a United card can really be worth it.

United Quest Card bonus, eligibility, & fees

The United Quest Card is incredibly well-rounded, and while the card has an annual fee, it should be easy to justify based on the extensive perks. Let’s take a look at the welcome bonus, card eligibility, and annual fee.

United Quest Card welcome bonus of up to 90,000 miles & 500 PQPs

The United Quest Card is offering a limited time welcome bonus where you can earn 500 Premier qualifying points after your first purchase and 80,000 bonus miles after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open. You can also earn a further 10,000 bonus miles when you add an authorized user in the first three months your account is open.

This is a solid welcome bonus. Based on my latest miles & points valuations, I value MileagePlus miles at 1.3 cents each, making the 90,000 bonus miles worth $1,170. That doesn’t factor in the potential value of the PQPs, if you are going for elite status.

United Quest Card bonus eligibility & rules

You’re eligible for the welcome offer on the United Quest Card even if you have other United co-brand credit cards. The only people who aren’t eligible for the United Quest Card are those who currently have the card, or those who have received a new cardmember bonus on the card in the past 24 months.

Beyond that, be aware of the general Chase restrictions on applying for cards. This includes everything from the Chase 5/24 rule (whereby you typically won’t be approved for a Chase card if you’ve opened five or more new card accounts in the past 24 months), to the Chase 2/30 rule, whereby you’re typically limited to being approved for two Chase cards every 30 days.

United Quest Card $350 annual fee

The United Quest Card has a $350 annual fee, and there’s no cost to add additional authorized users. For some context as to how that fits into United’s co-brand personal card portfolio:

• United Gateway℠ Card (learn more) has no annual fee
• United℠ Explorer Card (learn more) has a $150 annual fee, waived the first year
• United Club℠ Card (learn more) has a $695 annual fee

As you can see, the United Quest Card has the second highest annual fee, though I’d argue it also has the annual fee that’s easiest to recuperate consistently, thanks to the perks, which I’ll cover below.

United Quest Card foreign transaction fee

The United Quest Card has no foreign transaction fees, making it a good card for purchases abroad. It also earns bonus miles on dining and travel, and it’s a Visa card, so it should be accepted most places abroad.

United Quest Card rewards structure (miles & PQPs)

Whenever you’re considering applying for a new credit card, evaluating the welcome bonus is an important step. But the ongoing rewards structure matters too, so let’s take a look at how the United Quest Card earns miles on purchases and how you can use the card to earn Premier Qualifying Points (PQPs) toward United MileagePlus elite status.

United Quest Card mileage earning on spending

The United Quest Card offers the following return on spending:

• Earn 5x miles on hotel stays when you prepay directly through Renowned Hotels and Resorts
• Earn 4x miles on eligible United purchases
• Earn 2x miles on all travel, dining, and select streaming purchases
• Earn 1x miles on all other purchases

While other cards are compelling in the travel and dining categories, those are some of the broadest bonus categories I’ve seen on a co-branded airline credit card. Still, there are better cards for everyday spending if you’re looking to maximize the return on every single dollar you spend.

You’ll notice that the United Quest Card markets itself as earning 10x total miles on United flights, but what does that mean exactly? That total reflects the number of miles you’ll earn between the bonus multiplier on the United Quest Card and the bonus miles you get as a United MileagePlus member.

If you’re a general MileagePlus member, you’ll earn 6x miles on United airfare spending, but higher status levels earn more. So in reality, only 4x miles are coming from paying with the United Quest Card. This is still a very good earning rate, but it’s just worth being clear on how it breaks down, and that’s why I don’t use the 10x miles marketing point above.

United Quest Card PQP elite status earning potential

If you want to earn elite status with United MileagePlus, the United Quest Card can help. Premier Qualifying Points (PQPs) are one of the primary metrics for qualifying for MileagePlus status, and the card can earn you PQPs through the welcome bonus as well as ongoing spending.

So, how does spending on the card count toward status? The United Quest Card offers one PQP for every $20 spent on purchases, up to a maximum of 18,000 PQPs per year. That’s pretty good, though if you’re serious about spending on United cards to earn elite status, consider United Club Card (learn more), which offers one PQP per $15 spent, up to 28,000 PQPs per year.

Here are the United MileagePlus elite status requirements for 2027, to put the card’s PQP earning potential into perspective. Note that status earned in 2027 is good through 2028.

United Quest Card benefits & credits

Airline co-branded credit cards are primarily about the perks, and the United Quest Card most definitely doesn’t disappoint. Let’s go over the United Quest Card benefits, starting with the ones that I find to be most compelling, and which will most quickly justify the annual fee.

$200 United TravelBank cash annually

The United Quest Card offers $200 in United TravelBank cash annually, including the year in which you open the account. This should be worth close to face value to anyone who considers this card. Qualifying purchases with TravelBank cash include airline tickets, for travel on United and United Express, so that should be easy to maximize.

Anniversary award discount of 10,000 miles

The United Quest Card offers an anniversary award flight credit of 10,000 MileagePlus miles:

• Starting with your first anniversary and every anniversary thereafter, you’ll get a 10,000-mile discount to use toward an eligible award flight
• The award itinerary must include at least one United-operated flight

If you redeem miles on United with any frequency, that should get you 10,000 miles yearly. Between that and the $200 annual United credit, I’d argue the annual fee is nearly offset.

Note that you can earn a second award flight credit if you spend $20,000 on the card in a calendar year. That can nicely contribute toward the value proposition of spending on the card.

Up to $180 in Instacart credits annually

The United Quest Card offers up to $15 in Instacart credits monthly, up to $180 total each calendar year. This comes in the form of a monthly $10 credit and a monthly $5 credit. This applies for purchases made through Instacart with your United Quest Card, and currently the benefit is valid through December 31, 2027.

Cardholders also get a three-month complimentary Instacart+ membership, which offers $0 delivery fees and reduced service fees. Note that the Instacart+ membership auto-enrolls with a 50% discount on the annual rate.

If you use Instacart anyway, then this could be worth close to face value. For others, the small increments of the credits will make it hard to get much value.

Up to $150 in JSX flight credits annually

The United Quest Card offers up to $150 back on JSX flight purchases per anniversary year. This comes in the form of a statement credit, and you must use your United Quest Card to make the purchase. JSX is a hop-on jet service, which United owns a stake in. If you fly JSX with any frequency, then this is a great perk.

Up to $150 in Renowned Hotels and Resorts credits annually

The United Quest Card offers up to $150 in statement credits each anniversary year for hotel purchases, when you prepay directly through Renowned Hotels and Resorts with your United Quest Card.

This is essentially a Chase Travel℠ booking platform for select luxury hotels, available to United cardmembers. You can receive extra perks for booking this way, though admittedly there’s also sometimes an opportunity cost to booking this way.

Up to $100 in credits on rideshare purchases annually

The United Quest Card offers up to $8 back per month on rideshare purchases ($12 in December), in the form of a statement credit, when paying with your card. This allows you to earn up to $100 in statement credits every calendar year, and an annual opt-in is required.

On the one hand, these statement credits are easy enough to use. The catch is that there are probably better cards for rideshare spending in terms of maximizing rewards.

Up to $80 in United travel credits for Avis and Budget rentals

The United Quest Card offers up to $80 in United travel credits when you book an Avis or Budget rental car directly through United’s MileagePlus travel portal and pay with this card. This breaks down as a $40 credit for your first rental and another $40 credit for your second eligible rental each year.

This perk isn’t the card’s main attraction, but it’s reason enough to at least check rental car prices through United to see if it’s worth booking to get the credits.

TSA PreCheck, Global Entry, or NEXUS fee credit

The United Quest Card offers a Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS credit of up to $120 every four years. Simply charge the enrollment fee to your card, and it will automatically be reimbursed.

Nowadays, quite a few credit cards offer these fee credits, so you can always use this benefit for a friend or family member. They just have to use your credit card to pay, and you’ll automatically receive the statement credit.

Free first & second checked bags on United

If you ever check bags, having the United Quest Card can get you a free first and second checked bag for you and one companion on the same reservation. The primary cardmember just needs to pay for the ticket with their card and be one of the travelers.

Priority boarding on United flights

As the primary cardmember on the United Quest Card, you can receive priority Group 2 boarding for you and your companions on the same reservation for United-operated flights. Many people want to board early to be able to secure overhead bin space, so this is a perk that I know many cardmembers value.

25% savings on United inflight purchases

You can save 25% on inflight purchases on United if you have the United Quest Card. This will come in the form of an account statement credit, and applies for purchases of beverages, food, and Wi-Fi.

Valuable purchase & travel protection

One of the perks many people look for in credit cards is good protection for purchases. The United Quest Card has some great coverage in that regard:

• Trip cancellation & interruption insurance of up to $1,500 per covered traveler and $6,000 per trip
• Trip delay reimbursement of up to $500 per covered traveler for delays of more than 12 hours
• Baggage delay insurance of up to $100 a day for three days when baggage is delayed more than six hours
• Lost luggage reimbursement of up to $3,000 per covered traveler
• Primary auto rental collision damage waiver coverage
• Purchase protection of up to $10,000 per item and $50,000 per year in the event of accidental damage or theft within 120 days of the purchase date
• Extended warranty protection for up to an additional year

How to redeem United miles for the best value

I have a post dedicated to the best way to use United miles, but I’ll touch on it briefly here, since you’ll want to put the welcome bonus to good use if you get the United Quest Card.

In general, you’ll get the best value from United miles when you use them to book award flights on United and its Star Alliance partners. Redeeming miles for United Polaris business class is the best-value option overall, in my opinion, though other Star Alliance programs like Air Canada Aeroplan have more competitive award pricing on some routes.

The United MileagePlus program doesn’t pass on any carrier-imposed surcharges on award flights, which I appreciate. It also doesn’t charge any award change or redeposit fees.

Is the United Quest Card worth it?

I think the United Quest Card is United’s best value credit card for someone who flies United at least a few times per year and redeems miles sometimes as well.

While the $350 annual fee is steep, the United Quest Card benefits are really strong, including the $200 annual United TravelBank cash, which should lower the “real” annual cost to $150. Then if you redeem 10,000 miles for United-operated flights each year, you’re getting 10,000 additional miles in value.

At that point, you’re already close to recouping the card’s annual fee, and that doesn’t account for perks like up to hundreds of dollars in credits (admittedly it takes some effort to maximize them), free checked bags, savings on inflight purchases, and much more. On top of that, there’s the card’s excellent welcome bonus, which gets you a lot of value shortly after getting the card.

So yeah, I think this card is worth it, but how does the value proposition compare to United’s most popular credit card?

United Quest Card vs. United Explorer Card comparison

Many people may be trying to decide between the United Quest Card and the United Explorer Card (learn more). I think the United Quest Card is the better choice, but let me provide a quick comparison.

The advantages of the United Explorer Card are the following:

• The United Explorer Card has a $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150, compared to a $350 annual fee on the United Quest Card
• The United Explorer Card offers two United Club passes annually

However, virtually everything else about the United Quest Card is either equal or significantly better:

• The United Quest Card offers an annual $200 United TravelBank cash benefit, while the United Explorer Card only offers $100 in TravelBank cash after spending $10,000 in a calendar year, and the Quest’s credit should be worth face value to most
• The United Quest Card offers a 10,000-mile discount to use toward an eligible award starting with your first anniversary and every anniversary thereafter, which the United Explorer Card doesn’t offer (at least without a spending requirement)
• The United Quest Card offers two checked bags free, while the United Explorer Card offers only one checked bag free
• The United Quest Card offers larger credits, including with rideshares, JSX, Instacart, hotels, and more

In the long run, the United Quest Card is more compelling because of the additional perks that should help offset the annual fee for a vast majority of savvy consumers.

The only consumer who should consider the United Explorer Card is someone who values the United Club passes but doesn’t redeem miles at least once per year for United-operated flights.

United Quest Card vs. United Club Card comparison

If you want United Club lounge access, the United Club℠ Card (learn more) is worth a look alongside the United Quest Card.

The United Quest Card doesn’t come with lounge access at all, so the United Club Card is the clear winner on that front. The United Club Card has a $695 annual fee, so it’s a significantly more premium card. But United Club access is the main differentiator.

Who shouldn’t get the United Quest Card?

The United Quest Card is a great option for frequent United travelers, but I’d recommend skipping it if:

• You rarely book cash fares on United, since the $200 annual United credit is one of the card’s best ongoing selling points
• You don’t care about United perks like free checked bags and priority boarding
• You’re prioritizing United Club access, since that’s not offered on this card

While I appreciate that the card has several bonus categories, I wouldn’t use it for everyday spending beyond United flights. Even if your priority is earning rewards to redeem on United, you can earn a higher return on your spending with cards like the Chase Freedom Unlimited® (learn more) and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (learn more). These cards earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points, and you can transfer them to United at a 1:1 ratio.

United Quest Card FAQs

Bottom line

The United Quest Card is arguably the most compelling card in the Chase and United lineup. While the $350 annual fee sounds high, the $200 annual United TravelBank cash, plus the 10,000 miles you save when redeeming miles, should help offset the annual fee. And that’s only the start of the United Quest Card benefits, as there really are tons of valuable perks here, including up to hundreds of dollars in credits.

If you’re looking for a United card with strong perks and an annual fee that’s easy to justify, this is the card to consider.

If you want to learn more about the United Quest Card, follow this link.

This is my in-depth United Explorer Card review, where I’ll walk through what you need to know about this card, from the welcome bonus, to the return on spending, to the perks.

Link: Learn more about the United℠ Explorer Card

United Airlines Explorer Card summary & key details for October 2026

Before I get into my United Explorer Card review, here’s a quick overview of key details of the card:

• United Explorer Card annual fee: $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150
• United Explorer Card welcome offer: Earn 70,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open. Earn 10,000 bonus miles after you add an authorized user to your account in the first three months
• United Explorer Card miles earning rate: 3x miles on United purchases, 2x miles on hotel stays booked with the hotel, 2x miles on dining, and 1x miles on all other purchases
• United Explorer Card foreign transaction fee: None
• United Explorer Card travel benefits with United: First free checked bag for you and one companion, Group 2 Priority boarding, two one-time United Club passes per year, save 10% or more when booking flights with miles, earn a 10,000-mile discount toward a United award flight after spending $20,000 on the card in a calendar year, 25% back as a statement credit on purchases of food, beverages, and Wi-Fi on board United flights and on Club premium drinks
• United Explorer Card perks & credits: Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS fee credit, over $500 in annual partner credits for rideshare purchases, Instacart purchases, and more, primary rental car insurance, trip delay and lost luggage protection
• Best for: Occasional United flyers who don’t have MileagePlus status but want perks like a free checked bag

These are the United Explorer Card pros and cons to keep in mind:

Why having a United credit card is essential for United flyers

First, I want to take a minute to talk about why having a co-branded credit card is worth it for frequent United travelers, whether you’re considering the United Explorer Card, a more premium option, or a United business credit card. United offers a pretty strong incentive for loyalists to use one of its cards, since the number of miles you earn increases when you have an eligible United co-branded credit card.

Your United MileagePlus elite status also factors into how many miles you earn per dollar spent, but regardless of your status, having the United Explorer Card or another United credit card will boost your earnings. With the United Explorer Card, you get 3x additional miles on top of whatever MileagePlus bonus you qualify for. I value United miles at 1.3 cents each, so that’s an additional 3.9% return on your spending.

Here’s how your United mileage earnings break down across elite status levels both with and without a United credit card:

Having a United co-branded card also makes a difference when it comes to redeeming your United miles, since the award pricing you see will vary depending on whether you have MileagePlus elite status and/or a co-branded credit card.

Not only can you qualify for lower-priced awards with status and a United credit card, but having status can also help you access more award seat availability. Especially if you’re trying to book a premium award like Polaris business class, this can make a huge difference.

United Explorer Card bonus, eligibility, & fees

Before deciding if the United Explorer Card is the right card for you, you’ll want to know whether its welcome offer is worth your time, and if you even qualify for the bonus in the first place. So let’s start with a look at these key details, plus the eligibility rules and annual fee.

United Explorer Card bonus of up to 80,000 miles

The United Explorer Card is offering a welcome bonus of 70,000 bonus MileagePlus miles after spending $3,000 within the first three months. You can earn a further 10,000 bonus miles when you add an authorized user in the first three months your account is open.

Based on my latest miles & points valuations, I consider United miles to be worth 1.3 cents each, so to me, the bonus miles, including those for adding an authorized user, are worth $1,040. That’s a solid welcome bonus.

United Explorer Card bonus eligibility & rules

The welcome bonus on the United Explorer Card isn’t available to those who currently have the card, or those who have received a new cardmember bonus on the card in the past 24 months. However, you are eligible for this card if you have (or have had) another United Airlines credit card.

Beyond that, be aware of the general Chase restrictions on applying for cards. This includes everything from the Chase 5/24 rule (whereby you typically won’t be approved for a Chase card if you’ve opened five or more new card accounts in the past 24 months), to the Chase 2/30 rule, whereby you’re typically limited to being approved for two Chase cards every 30 days.

United Explorer Card $150 annual fee, waived the first year

The United Explorer Card has a $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150. This is a great way to try the card before paying an annual fee.

You can also add authorized users to the United Explorer Card at no extra cost, and their spending will of course help the primary cardmember accrue miles.

United Explorer Card foreign transaction fee

The United Airlines Explorer Card has no foreign transaction fees, so this is a good card for purchases abroad. Visa has excellent global acceptance, and you may earn bonus miles for purchases abroad, including at restaurants and hotels.

United Explorer Card rewards structure (miles & PQPs)

Beyond the welcome bonus, the everyday rewards structure is an important consideration when applying to any new credit card. Here’s how the mileage earning breaks down on the United Explorer Card, both in terms of what you’ll earn on your everyday spending, and how you can use the card to earn Premier Qualifying Points (PQPs) toward United MileagePlus elite status.

United Explorer Card mileage earning on spending

The United Explorer Card offers bonus categories that some might find useful. Here’s the rewards structure of the card:

• Earn 3x miles on United purchases
• Earn 2x miles on dining spending
• Earn 2x miles at hotels when booked with the hotel
• Earn 1x miles on all other purchases

For an airline credit card, those are some well-rounded bonus categories. However, I’d argue there are still better cards for everyday spending.

I’ll also take a minute to note that while the United Explorer Card markets itself as offering 9x miles on United flights, that actually factors in the 6x miles that MileagePlus members earn for airfare spending. So only 3x miles come from using the United Explorer Card. If you have United elite status, your mileage multiplier will be higher than 6x, so you could earn more than 9x miles total when paying for flights with the Explorer Card.

United Explorer Card PQP earning potential

Spending money on the United Explorer Card can help you earn MileagePlus status, though not in as lucrative a way as the more premium versions of the card. The card offers one Premier Qualifying Point (PQP) for every $20 spent on purchases, up to a maximum of 1,000 PQPs per year. With other United co-branded credit cards, the maximum is much higher.

To put that in perspective, here are the United MileagePlus elite requirements for 2027, for those hoping to qualify for elite status that’s good through 2028.

So the United Explorer Card won’t get you too far toward qualifying for MileagePlus status, though it could be helpful if you’re just aiming for Premier Silver and want to knock off 1,000 PQPs by spending $20,000 on the card.

United Explorer Card award discount opportunities

Beyond earning PQPs toward United MileagePlus Premier status, the United Explorer Card offers another spending incentive. If you spend $10,000 on the card in a calendar year, then you receive a $100 United travel credit. This is basically good as cash for buying flights on United or United Express, so I’d view that as being nearly the equivalent of an incremental 1% return on spending in the right increment, which is pretty good.

In addition to being able to earn $100 in United credits, the card also offers a further incentive for spending. If you spend $20,000 on the card in a calendar year, then you receive a 10,000-mile award discount, valid toward a future itinerary. This only applies to award flights on United and United Express, but that creates an incentive to reach the $20,000 spending threshold.

United Explorer Card benefits & credits

The United Explorer Card offers an excellent welcome bonus and an annual fee that’s waived for the first year, but the card also has all kinds of fantastic perks that can help more than justify the annual fee. That includes up to hundreds of dollars worth of credits, though admittedly it’ll take some work to maximize them. In no particular order, let’s look at what you can expect…

A free first checked bag

The United Explorer Card primary cardmember and one companion traveling on the same reservation receive a standard free first checked bag. You must pay for your ticket with your United Airlines credit card to qualify for this benefit.

Checked bags on United generally cost $45-50 each one-way depending on whether you prepay or not, so using this benefit once in a while could cover the annual fee in and of itself.

Two United Club passes annually

You receive two United Club passes annually for having the United Explorer Card. This includes the year you open your card, and any subsequent years. These will automatically be deposited into your MileagePlus account within four weeks, and guests can only use them when accompanied by you or an authorized user.

A United Club pass ordinarily costs $59, so that’s a value of up to $118. This is an awesome perk for the occasional traveler since it can make your travels on United more pleasant. You can even use the United Club passes when you’re flying a Star Alliance partner like Air Canada.

25% back on United inflight purchases

If you have the United Explorer Card, you’ll receive 25% back on purchases of food, beverages, and Wi-Fi, onboard United and United Express flights. This comes in the form of an account statement credit. You have to pay with your United Explorer Card, and your statement credit should post within 24 hours.

Priority boarding

For having the United Explorer Card, you and your companions receive priority boarding on United and United Express flights. You can board before general boarding, after customers with Premier Access, and those requiring special assistance. This would be in Group 2.

Up to $120 in Instacart credits annually

The United Explorer Card offers a $10 Instacart credit monthly, up to $120 total each calendar year. This applies for purchases made through Instacart with your United Explorer Card while you have an active Instacart+ membership (complimentary for three months, then 25% off), and currently the benefit is valid through December 31, 2027.

If you use Instacart anyway, then this could be worth close to face value. For others, the small increments of the credits will make it hard to get much value.

Up to $100 in United Hotels credits annually

United Hotels is United’s hotel booking platform. The United Explorer Card offers up to $100 back on United Hotels purchases each anniversary year. Specifically, you can get a $50 statement credit on both your first and second prepaid hotel stays purchased through United Hotels with your United Explorer Card.

This could prove valuable for some, though keep in mind there’s typically an opportunity cost to booking through a hotel portal (in terms of earning loyalty points, there being lower rates elsewhere, etc.).

Up to $100 in JSX flight credits annually

The United Explorer Card offers up to $100 back on JSX flight purchases per anniversary year. This comes in the form of a statement credit, and you must use your United Explorer Card to make the purchase. JSX is a hop-on jet service, which United owns a stake in. If you fly JSX with any frequency, then this is a great perk.

Up to $60 in credits on rideshare purchases annually

The United Explorer Card offers up to $5 back per month on rideshare purchases, in the form of a statement credit, when paying with your card. This allows you to earn up to $60 in statement credits every calendar year, and an annual opt-in is required.

On the one hand, these statement credits are easy enough to use. The catch is that there are probably better cards for rideshare spending in terms of maximizing rewards.

Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS Credit

The United Explorer Card offers a Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS credit every four years. Simply charge the enrollment fee to the card and it will automatically be reimbursed.

Nowadays, quite a few credit cards offer these fee credits, so you can always use this benefit for a friend or family member. Simply use your credit card to pay, and you’ll automatically receive the statement credit.

Primary rental car CDW

The United Explorer Card offers a primary collision damage waiver benefit. Just decline the rental company’s collision insurance and charge the entire rental cost to your card. This is a really valuable benefit that comes in handy when renting cars.

Trip delay & lost luggage protection

The United Explorer Card offers a variety of protection benefits when traveling, assuming you pay for purchases with your card. These features include the following:

• Trip cancellation & trip interruption insurance — be reimbursed up to $1,500 per person and $6,000 per trip when your trip is canceled or cut short due to sickness, severe weather, etc.
• Trip delay reimbursement — if your flight is delayed by more than 12 hours or requires an overnight stay, you and your family are covered for unreimbursed expenses, such as meals and lodging, up to $500 per ticket
• Lost luggage reimbursement — be reimbursed up to $3,000 per passenger if you or your immediate family member check or carry on luggage that is damaged or lost by an airline
• Baggage delay insurance — be reimbursed up to $100 per day for three days for essential purchases when your bag is delayed by over six hours

Make sure you check your cardmember agreement for all of the details, since there are terms & conditions.

How to redeem United miles for the best value

If you’re going to earn United miles, you’ll want to make sure you’re getting good value out of them with your redemptions. So let’s spend a minute on the best way to use United miles.

As I mentioned above, I value United miles at 1.3 cents each, and that value reflects the redemptions you can unlock for flights on United and its airline partners. You can get especially good value when redeeming miles for Polaris business class, and having United status and a United credit card can help you access the most award availability at the lowest award rates.

As for particular sweet spots in the MileagePlus program, I’d call out partner redemptions to Africa, which I’ve seen for 88,000 miles one-way from the US to anywhere in Africa. In general, I also love that the MileagePlus program doesn’t pass on carrier-imposed surcharges on award flights, so you can keep your out-of-pocket costs low on flight redemptions. United doesn’t have any fees to change or redeposit award tickets, either, so the program offers some great flexibility.

Is the United Explorer Card worth it?

While I generally wouldn’t recommend using the United Explorer Card for your everyday spending (since there are better cards for earning United miles), this is one of the better airline credit cards when it comes to having great perks and a fair annual fee. On the surface, I consider this to be the mid-tier airline credit card with the strongest perks.

In particular, I think this card is worth considering if you only fly United a few times a year, since the perks are largely geared toward people without elite status. If you usually check a bag, three checked bags a year (at up to $50 each) covers the $150 annual fee, and the two United Club passes add another $118 in value on top of that.

If you’re an elite-level flyer with United, I think one of the more premium cards is probably a better bet, especially since those cards can help you earn elite status at a faster pace.

United Explorer Card Vs. United Quest Card comparison

The United Quest℠ Card (learn more) has a $350 annual fee, so it’s a more premium version of the United Explorer Card. If you ask me, this card is very much the sweet spot for more frequent United flyers, who have elite status.

For one, the annual fee is quite easy to justify, thanks to the card offering a free first and second checked bag for you and one companion, $200 in United travel credits annually, plus a 10,000-mile discount on an award redemption annually, all with no spending requirement. That would recoup most of the card’s annual fee. Beyond that, the card offers some strong incremental perks, including larger credits with rideshares, JSX, and Instacart.

Furthermore, this card is better if you want to earn status through spending, as you earn one PQP for every $20 spent, up to a maximum of 18,000 PQPs per year. If you’re a frequent United flyer but don’t quite want the most premium version of the card, I think this is the product to go for.

United Explorer Card Vs. United Club Card comparison

In addition to the United Explorer Card, there’s also the United Club℠ Card (learn more), which is United Airlines’ most premium personal credit card. The United Club Card has a $695 annual fee.

If you ask me, this is the card for frequent United flyers, and there are two reasons to consider this card. For one, the card offers United Club access, which is valuable if you fly with the airline often. The second reason is that this is the best personal card for earning MileagePlus elite status through spending. The card offers one PQP for every $15 spent, up to a maximum of 28,000 PQPs per year (32,000 PQPs as of 2027). In other words, you could get all the way to Premier 1K status through credit card spending alone.

Who shouldn’t get the United Explorer Card?

While the United Explorer Card has great perks, it doesn’t make sense for everyone. I’d recommend skipping it if:

• You never check a bag, since this is the main recurring fee this card can offset
• You want real lounge access, not just two passes per year
• You’re chasing United MileagePlus elite status, since the 1,000 PQP cap won’t get you far
• You rarely fly United and don’t care about perks like priority boarding

Additionally, I wouldn’t generally use this card for my everyday spending. That’s true whether you want to earn United miles for your spending or not. United MileagePlus is a Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer partner, so you can convert Ultimate Rewards points into United miles at a 1:1 ratio.

There are so many great Ultimate Rewards cards that earn points at a potentially faster rate than you’d earn directly through United, so that’s something worth considering. If you only fly United once or twice a year and you don’t care about qualifying for elite status or perks like a free checked bag, a card that earns Chase points might be a smarter option.

United Explorer Card FAQs

Bottom line

The United Explorer Card is one of the most benefits-rich airline credit cards out there at this annual fee level. For a reasonable $150 annual fee (which is even waived for the first year) you get two United Club passes annually, savings on inflight purchases, a Known Traveler Program credit, a first checked bag free, (potentially) hundreds of dollars worth of credits, and much more.

If you want to learn more about the United Explorer Card, follow this link.

In this post I’d like to go over the details of the Atmos Rewards Ascent Card bonus, for anyone who may be considering applying. There are lots of reasons to get this card, including a welcome offer that should be enough incentive to give the card a try.

Link: Learn about the Atmos Rewards Ascent Card bonus offer

Atmos Rewards Ascent Card limited time welcome bonus

The Atmos Rewards Ascent Card is currently offering a limited time welcome bonus that can earn you up to 80,000 Atmos Rewards points plus a $99 Companion Fare upon completing minimum spending. Specifically:

• Earn 60,000 Atmos Rewards bonus points and a $99 Companion Fare (plus taxes and fees from $23) after spending $3,000 or more on purchases within the first 90 days
• Earn an additional 20,000 Atmos Rewards bonus points after spending a total of $5,000 or more on purchases within the same 90-day period

Based on my latest miles & points valuations, Atmos Rewards points are worth 1.5 cents each. That means the 80,000 bonus points are worth $1,200, and that doesn’t factor in the value of the $99 Companion Fare. Even if you’re not convinced on the long term value proposition of the card, I absolutely think it’s worth giving a try, given all the uses of Atmos Rewards points.

For those curious about the $99 Companion Fare, you just have to additionally pay taxes and fees from $23. The $99 Companion Fare is valid for 12 months from when it’s issued, for travel on Alaska or Hawaiian within the Americas, including for travel in the state of Hawaii. This is valid for tickets in economy, and all revenue economy fare classes qualify.

Atmos Rewards Ascent Card eligibility requirements

If you’re interested in applying for the Atmos Rewards Ascent Card, the good news is that the application restrictions are pretty limited. Specifically, you are eligible for this card if you have any of the other Atmos Rewards cards, whether personal or business.

So you’re eligible for this card even if you have the Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite^® Credit Card (learn more) or Atmos™ Rewards Visa Signature® Business Card (learn more).

Personally, I find Bank of America to be one of the most straightforward and easier card issuers to get approvals from, though that’s anecdotal, and I’ve had good luck with these cards.

Read my guide to getting approved for Atmos Rewards cards.

Why the Atmos Rewards Ascent Card is worth it

Beyond the great bonus, there are multiple reasons to get the $95 annual fee Atmos Rewards Ascent Card. Among other things, the card offers the following:

• A $99 Companion Fare (plus taxes and fees from $23) on your account anniversary every year after spending $6,000 on the card in the prior anniversary year; this is in addition to the $99 Companion Fare offered as part of the bonus
• 3x points on eligible Alaska and Hawaiian purchases, 2x points on eligible gas, EV charging station, cable, streaming services and local transit purchases including ride share, and 1x points on all other purchases, all with no foreign transaction fees
• A 10% rewards bonus on all points earned from purchases if you have an eligible Bank of America account
• A first checked bag free on Alaska and Hawaiian flights for the cardmember and up to six companions on the same reservation when paying with the card; this also applies to authorized users (which you can add at no cost), as long as the card is used to pay for the ticket, even when not traveling with the primary cardmember
• Preferred boarding on Alaska flights for the cardmember and up to six companions on the same reservation when paying with the card; this also applies to authorized users (which you can add at no cost), as long as the card is used to pay for the ticket, even when not traveling with the primary cardmember
• 20% savings on Alaska and Hawaiian inflight purchases of food, drinks, and Wi-Fi, when paying with your card
• $100 off an Alaska Lounge+ membership annually when you purchase the membership with your card
• Spending on the card can count toward elite status, as you earn one status point per $3 spent, with no cap on how many status points you can earn

If you fly Alaska or Hawaiian with any frequency, then having this card should be a no-brainer. The benefits really add up, between the $99 Companion Fare, the first checked bag free, preferred boarding, savings on inflight purchases, and more.

Read my review of the Atmos Rewards Ascent Visa Card.

Atmos Rewards Ascent Card eligibility & bonus FAQs

Bottom line

The Atmos Rewards Ascent Card has brought back an elevated limited time welcome offer. With this, you can earn 80,000 Atmos Rewards points plus a $99 Companion Fare after completing minimum spending.

This card is absolutely worth picking up for the bonus, especially given that eligibility isn’t mutually exclusive with other Atmos Rewards cards. In the long run, the card can be worth it for the perks for travel on Alaska and Hawaiian, including the ability to earn a $99 Companion Fare.

Now, if I were to get only one Atmos Rewards credit card, I’d go for the Atmos Rewards Summit Card, which is my single favorite airline credit card. However, there’s no reason you couldn’t pick up both cards.

Anyone plan to pick up the Atmos Rewards Ascent Card with this great offer?

This is one of the most lucrative airline credit cards on the market — it’s a card that I have, and it’s also one that I spend a lot of money on. If you don’t yet have the card, you really can’t go wrong with this, and this is the time to apply.

Link: Learn about the Atmos Rewards Summit Card bonus offer

Atmos Rewards Summit Card limited time welcome bonus

The Atmos Rewards Summit Card is currently offering a limited time welcome bonus that consists of 100,000 bonus points and a 25,000-point Global Companion Award. To qualify, you need to spend $6,000 or more on purchases within the first 90 days of opening your account.

Based on my latest miles & points valuations, Atmos Rewards points are worth 1.5 cents each. I consider the offer to be worth 125,000 points, putting the value of this at a staggering $1,875. Even if you’re not convinced on the long term value proposition of the card, I absolutely think it’s worth giving a try, given all the uses of Atmos Rewards points.

Atmos Rewards Summit Card eligibility requirements

If you’re interested in applying for the Atmos Rewards Summit Card, the good news is that the application restrictions are pretty limited. Specifically, you are eligible for this card if you have any of the other Atmos Rewards cards, whether personal or business. So you’re eligible for this card even if you have the Atmos™ Rewards Ascent Visa Signature® credit card (learn more) or Atmos™ Rewards Visa Signature® Business Card (learn more).

Personally, I find Bank of America to be one of the most straightforward and easier card issuers to get approvals from, though that’s anecdotal, and I’ve had good luck with these cards.

Read my guide to getting approved for Atmos Rewards cards.

Why the Atmos Rewards Summit Card is worth it

The Atmos Rewards Summit Card has a $395 annual fee, though it has to be one of the most interesting and rewarding airline credit cards we’ve ever seen. As I see it, here are the main reasons to consider getting this card, beyond the welcome bonus:

• A lucrative rewards structure, including 3x points on all foreign purchases, plus 3x points on dining
• The fastest pathway to Atmos Rewards elite status — receive an anniversary boost of 10,000 status points, plus earn one status point for every $2 spent
• The ability to earn Global Companion Awards — an anniversary 25,000-point Global Companion Award just for having the card, plus a 100,000-point Global Companion Award for spending $60,000 on the card per anniversary year
• Up to eight Alaska Lounge passes and up to eight Alaska inflight Wi-Fi passes per year, in the form of two of each pass per quarter
• A first checked bag free and 20% savings on inflight purchases on Alaska & Hawaiian flights
• Preferred boarding on Alaska flights
• Waived fees, including waived $20 partner award booking fees, and waived same day change fees on Alaska flights
• Upgrade priority on Alaska & Hawaiian flights, so that comes in handy for anyone with elite status
• The ability to share points with up to 10 other members at no cost (and vice versa)
• Primary rental car coverage, plus valuable travel protection for delayed flights, lost bags, and more

Read a detailed review of the Atmos Rewards Summit Card.

Atmos Rewards Summit Card eligibility & bonus FAQs

Bottom line

The Atmos Rewards Summit Card has brought back its best-ever publicly available welcome offer that can earn you 100,000 Atmos Rewards bonus points, and a 25,000-point Global Companion Award. It’s great to see a return of the best-ever offer on the card, so I absolutely think this is worth applying for, if eligible.

This card is worth getting for the offer alone, given the huge value for travel on partner airlines, even if it’s “just” for domestic flights on American. But I think the card also offers good long term value, from the annual Global Companion Award, to all the other perks. For that matter, there’s an argument to be made for spending on the card to earn oneworld status.

This is a card that I and everyone else in my family have, so I would seriously recommend considering it, if you haven’t applied already.

Anyone plan to pick up the Atmos Rewards Summit Card with this great offer?

This post is in-depth Chase United Club Card review. So let’s take a look at all the United Club Credit Card benefits, and talk about whether the card is worth it or not.

Link: Learn more about the United Club℠ Card

Chase United Club Card summary & key details for October 2026

Before I get into my United Club Card review, here’s a quick overview of key details of the card:

• United Club Card annual fee: $695
• United Club Card welcome offer: Earn 90,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening., plus 10,000 bonus miles after you add an authorized user to your account in the first three months
• United Club Card miles earning rate: 5x miles on United purchases and on hotel stays when you prepay directly through Renowned Hotels and Resorts, 2x miles on all other travel including airfare, trains, local transit, and more, 2x miles on dining, and 1x miles on all other purchases
• United Club Card foreign transaction fee: None
• United Club Card travel benefits with United: Unlimited United Club access for you and a guest, earn 1,500 Premier Qualifying Points (PQP) as a cardholder each year plus earn an additional PQP for every $15 spent on the card, save 10% or more on United flights booked with miles, free first and second checked bags for you and one companion on the same United reservation, Premier Access travel services, a 10,000-mile discount toward a United award flight for every $20,000 spent on the card each year (up to two per year)
• United Club Card other benefits & credits: Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS fee credit, complimentary IHG One Rewards Platinum Elite status, Avis President’s Club membership, over $875 in annual partner credits for rideshare purchases, Instacart purchases, and more
• Best for: Frequent United flyers who regularly visit airports with United Clubs

These are the main United Club Card pros and cons, in my opinion:

Why having a United credit card has become essential

Before I even talk specifically about the Chase United Club Card, I’d like to briefly discuss why having a co-branded MileagePlus credit card is more important than ever before. As we know, US airlines make a lot of their profits from their loyalty programs, so getting people engaged there has really become a priority.

However, no airline has taken it as far as United when it comes to giving people an incentive to pick up a co-branded credit card, both on the earning and redemption front.

When it comes to earning MileagePlus miles, the number of miles you earn per dollar spent is based on your elite status, and whether or not you have an eligible co-branded MileagePlus credit card. Regardless of your elite tier, you earn an extra 3x miles per dollar spent on United spending. At my valuation of 1.3 cents per MileagePlus mile, that’s an incremental 3.9% return on spending, so that’s worth something.

When it comes to redeeming MileagePlus miles, you’ll nowadays find that award pricing is heavily dependent on whether you have MileagePlus elite status and/or a co-branded credit card, including access to more saver level award availability. United makes a vast majority of its Polaris business class award seats available exclusively to MileagePlus members (rather than members of partner programs), and the pricing is way better if you have a co-branded credit card.

So if you’re at all engaged in MileagePlus, you’ll want to have a premium co-branded credit card, whether it’s the Chase United Club Card, or another product.

United Club Card bonus, eligibility, & fees

When applying for credit cards, obviously the welcome bonus, card eligibility, and fees, are major factors that cardmembers consider. So let’s take a look at those details for the United Club Card. Chase does have some strict eligibility requirements, but if you’re eligible for the card, the bonus is a great incentive to apply.

United Club Card up to 100K miles welcome bonus

The United Club Card is offering a limited time welcome bonus of 90,000 MileagePlus miles after spending $5,000 within the first three months. On top of that, you can earn an additional 10,000 bonus miles when you add an authorized user within the first three months your account is open.

This is a great welcome bonus with a reasonable spending requirement. Based on my latest miles & points valuations, United MileagePlus miles are worth 1.3 cents, so to me, this bonus is worth $1,300, including the authorized user bonus.

United Club Card eligibility & bonus rules

The welcome bonus on the United Club Card isn’t available to those who currently have this exact card, or have received a new cardmember bonus on the card in the past 24 months. However, you are eligible for this card, including the bonus, if you have (or have had) any other United Airlines credit cards.

Beyond that, be aware of the general Chase restrictions on applying for cards. This includes everything from the Chase 5/24 rule (whereby you typically won’t be approved for a Chase card if you’ve opened five or more new card accounts in the past 24 months), to the Chase 2/30 rule, whereby you’re typically limited to being approved for two Chase cards every 30 days.

United Club Card $695 annual fee

The United Club Card has a $695 annual fee. This annual fee is no doubt on the steep side, though it’s in line with the fees you’ll find on many premium credit cards. The card also offers a variety of perks for frequent flyers that could more than justify the fee.

United Club Card $0 authorized user fee

The United Club Card has no fee to add authorized users. That’s great, as spending from authorized users can continue toward the points you earn, as the primary cardmember. However, note that authorized users don’t receive United Club access, or other incremental credits or perks.

United Club Card foreign transaction fee

The United Club Card also has no foreign transaction fees, making it a good option for purchases abroad. That’s especially true when you consider the card’s bonus categories also apply abroad, so you can earn bonus points and not pay additional fees.

United Club Card rewards structure (miles & PQPs)

Obviously the rewards structure is a major consideration that cardmembers have when applying for a credit card. In the case of the United Club Card, the rewards structure comes down to a combination of the miles you earn, plus the potential to earn Premier Qualifying Points (PQPs), the metric by which you can qualify for elite status.

United Club Card mileage earning on spending

The United Club Card offers anywhere from 1-5x MileagePlus miles per dollar spent, as follows:

• 5x MileagePlus miles on United purchases
• 5x MileagePlus miles on hotel stays when you prepay directly through Renowned Hotels and Resorts
• 2x MileagePlus miles for all other travel including airfare, trains, local transit, cruise lines, hotels, car rentals, taxicabs, resorts, ride share services and tolls
• 2x MileagePlus miles on dining including eligible delivery services
• 1x MileagePlus miles on all other purchases

For a co-branded airline credit card, those are some solid bonus categories, and in particular, it’s nice to earn bonus miles on dining purchases.

It’s worth pausing for a minute to note that the United Club Card markets that it offers 11x miles on United flights. That doesn’t quite tell the full story, though, because it factors in the 6x miles that MileagePlus ordinarily earn for airfare spending, assuming they have a co-branded credit card (elite members earn even more miles). So the idea is that the credit card earns an incremental 5x miles, and that stacks with the 6x miles you earn.

United Club Card PQP earning potential

Spending money on the United Club Card can help you earn MileagePlus status, and this card offers among the best opportunities in that regard. The United Club Credit Card offers one Premier Qualifying Point (PQP) for every $15 spent on purchases, up to a maximum of 28,000 PQPs per year (that limit is being increased to 32,000 as of 2027).

For context, below are the MileagePlus elite requirements for 2027 (for the purposes of qualifying for elite status in 2028).

So if you do want to spend your way toward MileagePlus status, having the United Club Card is as good of a return as you’ll get, and you can get all the way to earning Premier 1K status through spending with the card.

United Club Card award discount opportunities

As an additional incentive to spend money on the card, the United Club Card offers the ability to earn award discounts of 10,000 miles. You can earn one of these for spending $20,000 in a calendar year, and a second one for spending a total of $40,000 in a calendar year.

Each award discount can save you up to 10,000 miles on the cost of an award ticket on United or United Express. So if you redeem with any frequency, that’s potentially quite valuable.

United Club Card benefits & credits

The area where the United Club Card really shines is when it comes to perks, including travel benefits on United, as well as all kinds of credits. Let’s take a closer look at what perks are offered by the card.

United Club membership

Arguably the key benefit of the United Club Card is that it comes with a United Club membership for as long as you have the card. There are two kinds of United Club memberships:

• A United Club individual membership offers access exclusively to United Clubs (and not partner lounges), and only for the primary member
• A United Club all access membership offers access to United Clubs and Star Alliance lounges, for the primary member and up to two guests

So, what kind of membership does the United Club Card offer? Well, it’s somewhere in between the two:

• You automatically receive a United Club membership, which is like an individual membership but with improved guest privileges, where you can bring one guest and any children under the age of 18
• If you spend $50,000 on the card annually, or if you have Premier Gold status or above, then your membership is upgraded to an all access one, offering access to more lounges and better guesting privileges

Getting the United Club Card is arguably the best way to get United Club access, especially when you consider that the card’s annual fee is lower than the $750 individual membership fee. Plus, that doesn’t account for all the card’s other perks, like annual partner credits and additional benefits when flying United.

United has more than 45 United Club lounge locations, including at its hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Newark, and San Francisco. If you live near a United hub or pass through one on a regular basis, getting the United Club Card can be a no-brainer for unlocking lounge access.

First & second checked bag free

The United Club Card primary cardmember and one companion traveling on the same reservation receive a free first and second checked bag. In order to be eligible for this, you have to pay for your ticket with your United Club Card and include your MileagePlus number in the reservation. Checked bags ordinarily cost $45-50 each, so that could be a savings of up to $200 roundtrip for a pair traveling.

Premier Access travel services

Just for having the United Club Card, the primary cardmember and companions on the same reservation receive Premier Access travel services when flying with United, including the use of Premier Access check-in lines, priority security lanes, priority boarding, and priority baggage handling.

25% savings on United inflight purchases

If you have the United Club Card, you receive 25% back in the form of an account statement credit on purchases of food, beverages, and Wi-Fi, onboard United. You have to pay with your United Club Card, and your statement credit should post within 24 hours.

Up to $240 in Instacart credits annually

The United Club Card offers up to $20 in Instacart credits monthly, up to $240 total each calendar year. This comes in the form of two monthly $10 credits. This applies for purchases made through Instacart with your United Club Card, and currently the benefit is valid through December 31, 2027.

If you use Instacart anyway, then this could be worth close to face value. For others, the small increments of the credits will make it hard to get much value.

Up to $200 in Renowned Hotels and Resorts credits annually

The United Club Card offers up to $200 in statement credits each anniversary year for hotel purchases, when you prepay directly through Renowned Hotels and Resorts with your United Club Card. This is essentially United’s hotel booking platform for select luxury hotels. You can receive extra perks for booking this way, though admittedly there’s also sometimes an opportunity cost to booking this way.

Up to $200 in JSX flight credits annually

The United Club Card offers up to $200 back on JSX flight purchases per anniversary year. This comes in the form of a statement credit, and you must use your United Club Card to make the purchase. JSX is a hop-on jet service, which United owns a stake in. If you fly JSX with any frequency, then this is a great perk.

Up to $150 in credits on rideshare purchases annually

The United Club Card offers up to $12 back per month on rideshare purchases ($18 in December), in the form of a statement credit, when paying with your card. This allows you to earn up to $150 in statement credits every calendar year, and an annual opt-in is required.

On the one hand, these statement credits are easy enough to use. The catch is that there are probably better cards for rideshare spending in terms of maximizing rewards.

Receive IHG Platinum Elite status

The United Club Card offers Platinum Elite status in the IHG One Rewards program. This IHG status offers perks like upgrades, bonus points, late check-out, and much more. While it’s not my favorite hotel status, it does come in handy when staying at IHG properties. Cardmembers can register for this perk here by providing the last four digits of their credit card number, plus their MileagePlus number.

Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS credit

The United Club Card offers a Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS credit of up to $120 every four years. Simply charge the enrollment fee to your card, and it will automatically be reimbursed.

Nowadays quite a few credit cards offer these fee credits, so you can always use this benefit for a friend or family member. They just have to use your credit card to pay, and you’ll automatically receive the statement credit.

United Club Card travel and purchase protection

The United Club Card also comes with a handful of travel and purchase protection benefits:

• Trip cancellation and interruption insurance of up to $10,000 per traveler and $20,000 per trip
• Baggage delay insurance of up to $100 for up to three days when your baggage is delayed by over six hours
• Lost luggage reimbursement of up to $3,000 per covered traveler
• Trip delay reimbursement of up to $500 per covered traveler for eligible travel delayed more than 12 hours or requiring an overnight stay
• Rental car insurance
• Purchase protection of up to $10,000 per item
• Return protection of up to $500 per item
• Extended warranty protection for up to one additional year

How to redeem United MileagePlus for best value

Obviously a core aspect of collecting a certain points currency is the value that you can actually get with those rewards. So let’s talk briefly about the value of redeeming MileagePlus miles.

As mentioned above, my favorite use of MileagePlus miles is to redeem them for travel on United, given that MileagePlus gets you the best access and pricing for award seats on United, including in Polaris business class. It can’t be overstated how United has by far the most global route network of any US carrier, so being able to access those awards is extremely valuable, especially in an era where reasonably priced premium cabin awards are often hard to come by.

Beyond that, MileagePlus also has some attractively priced partner redemptions, like being able to redeem just 88,000 MileagePlus for a one-way award from the United States to anywhere in Africa. To me, that’s one of the single best award sweet spots out there, and a real highlight of MileagePlus.

There are two more things about redeeming MileagePlus miles that are worth highlighting. First, I love how there are no carrier imposed surcharges on award redemptions, so fees for award tickets will just be the government taxes. Second, I love how MileagePlus doesn’t have any fees to change or redeposit an award ticket, so that gives members lots of flexibility.

Is the United Club Card worth it?

The United Club Card is United MileagePlus’ most lucrative personal credit card if you’re a frequent flyer with the airline:

• United Club access comes in handy, and this card offers the best pathway to receiving lounge access on the airline
• If you want to spend your way to elite status, this card gives you the best opportunity to do so, both in terms of the rate at which you earn PQPs, and how many total PQPs you can earn through spending
• While the card has a high annual fee, the credits and other perks really add up, and should help offset that fee

The math on getting the United Club Card checks out for frequent United Club visitors. Considering the cost for a single United Club day pass is $59, you’d need to visit United Club lounges 12 times per year to break even with the $695 annual fee. But if you bring a guest with you each time, that drops to just six visits per year to break even — and that’s before even factoring in the value you can get through the United Club Card’s rideshare and Instacart credits, among other things.

Also keep in mind that if you want to downgrade the card to a lower annual fee card in the future, that should be possible once you’ve had the card for at least 12 months. You might as well pick up the card with the best welcome bonus and richest perks, and then you can decide in the future which card makes the most sense for you.

United Club Card vs. United Quest Card comparison

The United Quest℠ Card (learn more) is the mid-range United personal card, and I’d say the card is a great option for those who maybe aren’t super frequent flyers on United, but who still value perks.

The card has a $350 annual fee, but I find that to be easy to justify, thanks to the card offering perks like $200 in United TravelBank cash annually, a 10,000 mile discount on awards annually, a variety of credits, and much more.

United Club Card vs. United Explorer Card comparison

The United℠ Explorer Card (learn more) is probably United’s most popular co-branded credit card, given the reasonable annual fee and solid perks. The card has a $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150. I’d consider this to be the best card for the occasional United flyer, as the card gets you basic perks like two United Club passes annually, a first checked bag, priority boarding, savings on inflight purchases, and more.

The deciding factor between the two cards should partly come down to whether you value a United Club membership or not. If it’s something you would otherwise pay for, you should get the United Club Card. If it’s not something you would pay for, I think the United Explorer Card is the better option.

Who shouldn’t get the United Club Card?

If you only fly United occasionally, getting a United co-branded credit card, even one with a lower annual fee, might not be the best move. Keep in mind that Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer to United MileagePlus at a 1:1 ratio, so you could consider a card like the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card (learn more) or Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (learn more) instead. This way, you’d still be able to book United award flights, but you’d also have access to other transfer partners, including Air Canada Aeroplan, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, Marriott Bonvoy, World of Hyatt, and several more.

If airport lounge access is important to you, it’s worth noting that the Chase Sapphire Reserve comes with Chase Sapphire Lounge access. The Sapphire Lounge network still has a small footprint, but the card also includes Priority Pass™ membership, which opens up access to many more airport lounges internationally. And there’s also the American Express Platinum Card® (learn more), which offers Centurion Lounge access and limited Delta Sky Club® access when you fly Delta.

United Club Card FAQs

Bottom line

The Chase United Club Card is United’s most premium personal credit card. While the card has a $695 annual fee, it offers incredible perks, including a United Club membership, a free first and second checked bag, a variety of credits, and more. Furthermore, if you want to earn MileagePlus elite status through credit card spending, this is one of the best cards for accomplishing that, so it’s another reason to consider this card.

If you want to learn more about the United Club Card, follow this link.

On the plus side, the crew was friendly, and the food was quite good. However, this particular version of the Philippine Airlines A330 has what I’d consider to be the world’s worst fully flat business class. The seats are just so poorly designed, that I wished I just had the carrier’s standard regional business class, with non-flat beds.

Of course on a relatively short daytime flight this wasn’t a huge issue, but I still judge airline products competitively, and in that sense, this is a really underwhelming hard product.

How I booked my Philippine Airlines business class ticket

I booked my return itinerary from Osaka to Manila to San Francisco as one ticket, with the first flight on the Airbus A330, and the second flight on the Airbus A350. I booked the following ticket, which cost $1,746.63:

9/19 PR411 Osaka to Manila departing 3:15PM arriving 6:40PM
9/19 PR104 Manila to San Francisco departing 11:15PM arriving 9:10PM

However, I ended up offsetting the cost of this ticket with points, so I really booked it with 116,442 Chase Ultimate Rewards points, because I could redeem for 1.5 cents each toward the cost of the ticket. That’s a reasonable paid fare, and in this case, I preferred redeeming points rather than having to spend the cash out of pocket.

Philippine Airlines business class lounge & boarding

I arrived at Kansai Osaka International Airport Terminal 1 at around 1PM. I had to stop at the Philippine Airlines check-in counter, since online check-in wasn’t possible for my itinerary, for whatever reason. That was painless, except I was informed that my seat was inoperable, so I had to be moved to another seat.

Security and immigration were quick, and I headed to the KIX Lounge Kansai, which I had access to on account of my ticket. I won’t be reviewing the lounge as it was full, but it was decent enough for a contract lounge.

My flight was departing from gate 21, just a short walk from the lounge, with boarding scheduled for 2:30PM, 45 minutes before departure. There I saw the 12-year-old Airbus A330-300 with the registration code RP-C8766, which would be my ride to Manila.

Boarding started right on schedule, with business class passengers being invited to board first.

Philippine Airlines A330 business class cabin & seats

I boarded the Philippine Airlines A330 through the forward left door, where I was greeted by the friendly crew. I headed straight to seat 1C, which I had been assigned (well, reassigned), and that’s the aisle seat on the left side in the first row.

Let me mention that Philippine Airlines has two A330 configurations — the superior version has business class seats in a 1-2-1 configuration, and the inferior one (which I was on) has business class seats in a 2-2-2 configuration. This configuration I was on is used primarily for routes within Asia, as well as for flights to Saudi Arabia.

The business class cabin had 18 seats, spread across three rows, in a 2-2-2 configuration. Look, I don’t want to be a drama queen (okay, too late!) — these seats aren’t the end of the world for a fairly short daytime flight. But still, who on earth designed these?! I’m not exaggerating when I say that I’d prefer a much less spacious recliner seat to this, because this seat’s design is so unusably stupid.

For what it’s worth, this is the same type of business class seats you’ll find on some of Royal Air Maroc’s Boeing 787s. The difference here is that the cabins are even more beat up, there’s no seat back entertainment, and the seats are even narrower (given the reduced width of the A330 cabin).

So where do we begin? First, in terms of padding, these seats are like sitting on an ironing board. These have to be among the thinnest and least padded business class seats out there. Also, as you can see below, there’s just nowhere to place things. There’s a tiny storage compartment behind the seat and to the side, but it’s almost unusably small.

Then the seat controls as well as the charging (AC and USB-A options) are on a panel between seats. There’s also a small cutout where you can place a drink.

In theory you can sort of place things on the back of the seat in front (it’s where the menus and slippers were stored during boarding), but you can’t use that space during takeoff and landing, and you also have to stand up to reach it.

In order to make the layout as tight as possible, these seats have what I like to call the top/bottom layout. The idea is that when seats recline, one seat raises, while the other lowers. The logic is so that one footwell can be on top of the other. It’s just absurdly stupid and unpleasant when one person reclines, and one doesn’t.

The tray table folds out from the side of the seat. As if the design isn’t poorly thought out enough already, the tray table also struggles to “latch on” to the opposite side, so it constantly just “bounces” down. It’s not often everyone has to take out their tray table to even have a pre-departure beverage, but that’s what happened here. And let’s not even talk about how many drink spills I saw on this flight.

With no seat back entertainment, can I also mention how plain low cost and unappealing the cabin looks?

That says nothing of the cabin maintenance issues.

I had initially assigned myself one of the center seats in the third row, and both of those center seats had headrests that said “do not occupy.” Does anyone know the story here? Did they both happen to be broken, are these just permanently blocked for crew rest (even if there’s not an augmented crew), or what?

Unfortunately I can’t even give the airline credit for having individual air nozzles on these A330s, as those weren’t present either.

I’m going to argue that this particular plane has the world’s worst flat bed business class product. At least Royal Air Maroc has seat back entertainment. Let me of course acknowledge that Philippine Airlines is currently trying to improve and become more premium, and this is an older generation aircraft for the airline. But still, that doesn’t mean I’m not going to judge the airline based on the product I actually experience.

Philippine Airlines A330 business class entertainment

Philippine Airlines A330s don’t have Wi-Fi, unfortunately. Furthermore, this version of the A330 didn’t have any seat back entertainment. The streaming entertainment included movies, TV shows, audio, games, and even a flight map. The selection wasn’t bad — for example, there were around 100 movies.

After takeoff, the crew came through business class with tablets that could be used to stream the entertainment. The catch is that there’s not actually anywhere to place these, other than your tray table (which is flimsy, and keeps falling). For that matter, there’s nowhere to put this while eating, since the meal tray takes up the whole table. I also wasn’t very impressed by the low quality earbuds offered with this.

Philippine Airlines business class amenities

When it comes to business class amenities, Philippine Airlines had a pretty nice pillow but a small and scratchy blanket.

Slippers were also placed at each seat during boarding. While they were flimsy, they ultimately served the purpose of putting on when going to the lavatory.

The menu card and drink list was also placed at the seat before boarding.

During boarding, the crew came around to offer pre-departure drinks, with the choice of a kiwi smoothie, orange juice, or the signature “Mabuhay Punch.” I opted for the kiwi smoothie, which was tasty (and quite sweet).

That was it in the way of amenities. As you’d expect, there were no amenity kits on a daytime flight this short.

Philippine Airlines A330 departure from Osaka Kansai

This Philippine Airlines flight was packed, with nearly all seats (including all business class seats — well, except the two blocked ones) occupied. Nonetheless boarding was efficient, and wrapped up by 3PM, 15 minutes ahead of the scheduled departure time. The door closed immediately, though we didn’t move for some time.

At 3:15PM the captain made his welcome aboard announcement, also informing us of a slight delay due to traffic, and he explained we should be pushing back in around five minutes.

We ended up pushing back at 3:25PM, at which point the crew performed the manual safety demonstration. We started our taxi at 3:30PM, and we then had a bit of a queue for takeoff. At 3:50PM we were cleared for takeoff on runway 6L.

The views on departure were great, and I wish I had a window seat so that I could’ve taken pictures. We even had a nice view of Kansai Osaka Airport on departure, which is always fun, given that the airport is on its own island.

Our climb out was smooth, and the seatbelt sign was turned off five minutes after takeoff.

Philippine Airlines business class meal service

Lunch was served on this flight, and meal orders had been taken on the ground. You can find the business class menu and drink list below.

Guys, I know pork is a very commonly eaten dish in the Philippines, but is it really necessary to put pork in both of the western dining options? So you can either have pork or chicken with ham? Philippine Airlines is increasingly trying to pick up connecting traffic between other countries, so you’d think they could just put a morsel of thought into catering to diverse preferences and dietary restrictions.

That being said, it wasn’t a big deal for me, since I was going to have the Japanese meal anyway. Service began with a warm towel, served on a cute little tray.

I then stupidly ordered the sparkling wine, which was Bottega Gold Prosecco — I don’t recommend it. That was served with some tasty seaweed and prawn crackers.

The flight attendant saw me taking pictures of things, so asked if I wanted a picture of the bottle. Sure… Ace of Spades it is not (despite the similar-looking bottle)!

The main course was served around an hour after takeoff. The Japanese dish had mackerel sushi, shrimp, a rolled omelet, a skewered chicken meatball, Japanese spinach salad, matcha soda with dried seaweed, pickled radish, miso soup, teriyaki beef rolls, and more.

This was a solid meal, which isn’t surprising, given that it was catered in Japan.

With the main course, I decided to switch from the sparkling wine to the white wine. Of the two options, I selected the Spanish option. While not memorable, a couple of glasses helped with making the flight pass faster. 😉

After the mains were cleared, the crew came around with ice cream, and the choices were green tea, rum raisin, or vanilla.

At the conclusion of the meal I asked for a water, and that was served in a bottle. That’s probably smart, because actually keeping a glass of water anywhere without spilling it takes effort.

I sort of just raw-dogged the flight for an hour, and then a little before landing I ordered a coffee, which was served on a nice tray with some chocolates. I appreciate how they even have little milk pitchers.

Philippine Airlines A330 business class lavatory

Before landing I checked out the Philippine Airlines A330 business class lavatory, located at the very front of the cabin. This was a pretty typical A330 lavatory, and it did have a few Philippine Airlines branded products (hand wash, lotion, and “cologne”).

Philippine Airlines business class service

The highlight of this flight was definitely the crew — they were extremely friendly. The purser came around during boarding to personally greet each passenger, and the flight attendant working my aisle was kind as well. I was addressed by name the entire flight (“Mr. Benjamin”), as was virtually everyone in the cabin.

They also constantly checked on passengers. Admittedly the Philippines has a pretty hospitable culture, but this wasn’t just culture — this crew was much better than on my long haul flight, where it just felt like they were going through the motions with less genuine warmth.

Philippine Airlines A330 arrival in Manila

Before I knew it, we were already approaching Manila. At 5:35PM Manila time, the captain was on the PA to say that we’d be landing in around 40 minutes, and a moment later we started our descent. The seatbelt sign was turned on at 5:50PM.

We had a pretty smooth descent, though it was rainy in Manila. We touched down at 6:05PM on runway 24, and then arrived at our gate at 6:10PM, 30 minutes ahead of schedule. While taxiing to the gate, the carrier’s landing song blasted throughout the cabin, which is… an acquired taste. I thought I was in a church service, or something. Seriously, give it a listen. I respect the dedication, at least!

Another thing I found funny is that we deplaned through the second set of doors. There are actually four rows of economy behind business class and in front of the second set of doors. Somehow the crew ensured that business class passengers deplaned first. I appreciate the effort, though I feel like that was more trouble than it was worth, since it required quite some gymnastics.

Once off the plane, it was time to the Philippine Airlines Mabuhay Lounge Manila…

Bottom line

My Philippine Airlines A330 business class flight was a mixed bag. On the plus side, the crew was friendly and my Japanese meal was decent. On the other hand, the seats are extremely uncompetitive, there’s no Wi-Fi, and there’s no seat back entertainment. It’s rare that you’re in a flat bed seat and wish you just had a less spacious, standard recliner seat, but this was one of those situations.

So while this ultimately did the trick for a relatively short daytime flight, that won’t stop me from giving the airline a somewhat harsh rating for having what I consider to be the world’s most poorly designed flat bed business class seat.

What’s your take on Philippine Airlines’ A330 business class?

The United Gateway Card also gets you perks when you fly with United, but some of them require meeting an annual spending threshold on the card. This is my in-depth United Gateway Card review, so let’s dive into the card details, and whether I think the benefits are worth it below.

Link: Learn more about the United Gateway℠ Card

United Airlines Gateway Card summary & key details for October 2026

Before I share my full thoughts on the United Gateway Card, let me take a moment to go over the top-level details, including the card’s welcome bonus, perks, and rewards structure.

• United Gateway Card annual fee: $0
• United Gateway Card welcome offer: Earn 40,000 bonus miles after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open. Plus, 0% intro APR for 12 months from account opening on purchases. Learn more.
• United Gateway Card miles earning rate: 2x miles on eligible United purchases and on other travel purchases including gas stations and local transit and commuting, 1x miles on all other purchases
• United Gateway Card foreign transaction fee: None
• United Gateway Card travel benefits with United: 25% back as a statement credit on purchases of food, beverages, and Wi-Fi onboard United-operated flights and on United Club premium drinks, plus after spending $10,000 on the card in a calendar year, save 10% or more on flights booked with miles, earn an additional 3x miles per dollar spent on United, and earn two first standard checked bags on United or United Express flights
• United Gateway Card other perks: 0% intro APR for 12 months from account opening on purchases, and then 19.99% - 28.49%, based on your creditworthiness, auto rental coverage, trip cancellation and interruption insurance, purchase protection, and extended warranty protection

Here’s what comes to mind for me as far as the main United Gateway Card pros and cons go:

United Gateway bonus, eligibility, & fees

The United Gateway Card is one of the better no annual fee airline credit cards out there, especially factoring in the welcome bonus. Let’s look at the card in more detail, including the welcome bonus, eligibility, fees, and more.

United Gateway Card welcome bonus up to 50K miles

The United Gateway Card has a limited time welcome bonus of 40,000 MileagePlus miles after spending $1,000 within the first three months. You can earn an additional 10,000 bonus miles when you add an authorized user within the first three months your account is open.

Based on my latest miles & points valuations, MileagePlus miles are worth 1.3 cents each. That means to me, 40,000 miles are worth $520, while 50,000 bonus miles are worth $650. That’s an excellent welcome offer for a no annual fee card.

United Gateway Card bonus eligibility rules

Eligibility for the United Gateway Card welcome bonus is unrelated to any other Chase or United credit card bonuses, so you are eligible even if you have other co-branded United cards. The standard Chase application rules apply, including the Chase 5/24 rule (though there are increasingly reports of this no longer being consistently enforced).

United Gateway Card no annual fee

As I’ve already mentioned, the United Gateway Card has no annual fee. This applies both to the primary cardmember and any additional cardmembers. Back in the day, there weren’t many airline credit cards without annual fees, so it’s nice to see airlines increasingly offering this kind of product.

United Gateway Card no foreign transaction fee

The United Gateway Card has no foreign transaction fees, which means you can take it on all your travels without a second thought. Not every no annual fee airline credit card waives foreign transaction fees, so I appreciate this.

United Gateway Card miles earning structure

The United Gateway Card has a pretty simple rewards structure. You’ll earn 2x United miles on a handful of bonus categories, including United purchases, and then 1x miles on everything else.

United Gateway Card 2x miles bonus categories

The United Gateway Card has a solid rewards structure for a no annual fee card, as it offers:

• 2x MileagePlus miles on United purchases
• 2x MileagePlus miles on gas station purchases
• 2x MileagePlus miles on local transit and commuting, including rideshare services, taxis, train tickets, tolls, and mass transit

You’ll see the United Gateway Card marketed as offering a total of 5x miles on eligible United flights. However, that factors in the minimum of 3x miles (or more, if you have higher MileagePlus Premier status) that you ordinarily earn for being a MileagePlus member, so you should do the math incrementally. You’re earning an additional 2x miles for paying with the Gateway Card, and that’s what matters.

United Gateway Card 1x miles on all other purchases

For all spending outside of the 2x miles bonus categories, the United Gateway Card earns 1x miles per dollar spent.

As mentioned above, the United Gateway Card has no foreign transaction fees, so this can be a great card to use abroad. There aren’t all that many no annual fee cards with decent rewards structures that also have no foreign transaction fees, so the card is pretty awesome in that sense.

United Gateway Card benefits & perks

The United Gateway Card offers several United-specific benefits, along with some more general perks like travel and purchase protection. I’ll start by looking at the airline-specific features.

United Gateway Card free checked bags with spending

As an incentive for spending, the United Gateway Card offers two standard checked bag certificates after spending $10,000 on the card in a calendar year. United ordinarily charges $45-50 for a first checked bag, so that’s a value of $90-100 right there.

Let me emphasize that this is a total of two free checked bag certificates, so you’re not getting two free checked bags on every itinerary.

It’s nice to have some incentive for spending, though it’s probably not worth spending $10,000 on the card annually just to receive that perk. Note that United’s more premium cards offer free checked bags as part of the standard card perks, with no spending required.

United Gateway Card other United perks

Generally speaking, one of the main reasons to consider picking up an airline credit card is for the perks that it offers. As you’d expect, United Airlines’ no annual fee credit card has the fewest perks of any card in the portfolio. That being said, the United Gateway Card does offer some benefits, as follows:

• 25% savings on United inflight purchases, including purchases of food, beverages, and Wi-Fi
• A discount of 10% or more on flights booked with miles after you spend $10,000 on the card in a calendar year (MileagePlus Premier members save even more)
• 8x total miles on eligible United flights, meaning 6x miles as a MileagePlus member on top of the standard 2x miles you’ll earn with the United Gateway Card after spending $10,000 on purchases on the card in a calendar year

While the award flight discount and 8x total miles are useful, you’ll need to spend a minimum of $10,000 on the United Gateway Card in a calendar year to unlock those. Unless United miles are the most valuable rewards currency to you, you’re probably better off putting that spending on another card with better bonuses on everyday spending — possibly a card that earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points, since you can transfer those to United.

United Gateway Card travel and purchase protection

I also appreciate that the United Gateway Card comes with a handful of travel and purchase coverage benefits. You’ll need to pay with the card to get coverage, and there are some exceptions to note in the card’s benefits guide, but here’s a brief overview:

• Auto collision damage waiver (rental car coverage)
• Trip cancellation and interruption insurance of up to $1,500 per covered traveler and up to $6,000 per trip
• Purchase protection of up to $500 per item for damage and theft up to 120 days from the date of purchase
• Extended warranty protection of up to one additional year

United Gateway Card intro APR offer

The United Gateway Card also comes with an introductory APR offer: 0% intro APR for 12 months from account opening on purchases, and then 19.99% - 28.49%, based on your creditworthiness

It’s specifically for purchases, not balance transfers. Some cards offer longer intro APR periods, so if this is an important benefit for you, be sure to compare some other options.

Is the United Gateway Card worth it?

For a no annual fee airline card, it doesn’t get much better than the United Gateway Card. The card offers an impressive welcome bonus, 2x miles on select purchases with no foreign transaction fees, savings on inflight purchases, and more. If you absolutely want a no annual fee United card, then this is obviously the card to go with.

The one thing I’d like to emphasize is that United has in recent times transformed its MileagePlus program to create very strong incentives to pick up a co-branded credit card. This is true on both the MileagePlus earning and redemption front.

When it comes to earning miles, you earn an additional 3x miles per dollar spent if you have select co-branded credit cards. With the United Gateway Card, you only unlock that better return on airfare spending if you spend at least $10,000 per year. So that’s one major opportunity cost to having this card in comparison to other United cards.

Then when it comes to redeeming miles, those with elite status and/or a co-branded credit card unlock better award pricing. Once again, those with the United Gateway Card only start to unlock better award pricing after spending $10,000 in a year.

So there’s a real opportunity cost to going this route, rather than going for a United card with an annual fee. So I’d like to talk a bit more about why it could make sense to pick up another United credit card, and also compare it to the no annual fee cards offered by other airlines.

Why you should get the United Explorer Card instead

If you’re considering picking up a United Airlines credit card, I’d apply for the United℠ Explorer Card (learn more) over the United Gateway Card. Why?

• The United Explorer Card offers a much bigger welcome bonus, which gets you significantly more value upfront
• The United Explorer Card has a $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150
• If you decide after a year that you don’t want the United Explorer Card, you should be able to downgrade it to the no annual fee United Gateway Card
• The United Explorer Card offers all kinds of valuable incremental perks, like two United Club passes annually, a free first checked bag, priority boarding, rideshare credits, improved mileage earning, and much more

There’s simply no reason not to give the United Explorer Card at least a try.

All of the “big three” carriers in the United States have no annual fee cards, so how does the United Gateway Card compare to the credit cards issued by American AAdvantage and Delta SkyMiles?

United Gateway vs. American AAdvantage MileUp card comparison

The American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® (learn more) offers:

• 15,000 American AAdvantage miles plus a $100 statement credit after spending $500 within the first three months
• 2x AAdvantage miles for American Airlines and grocery store purchases
• 1x Loyalty Points per dollar spent, so spending counts toward status
• 25% savings on inflight American Airlines purchases
• The card does have foreign transaction fees

The United Gateway Card comes out ahead for having a higher welcome bonus (though the minimum spending requirement is higher too) and for waiving foreign transaction fees. But if you’re a loyal American Airlines flyer, you may appreciate how spending on the American MileUp Card counts toward status, while spending on the United Gateway Card doesn’t.

United Gateway vs. Delta SkyMiles Blue Amex Card comparison

The Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card (learn more) (Rates & Fees) offers:

• 10,000 Delta SkyMiles after spending $1,000 within the first six months
• 2x SkyMiles for Delta and restaurant purchases
• 20% savings on inflight Delta Air Lines purchases in the form of a statement credit
• The card doesn’t have foreign transaction fees (Rates & Fees)

As you can see, there are pros and cons to each product, though I’d say that the United Gateway Card might just be the most lucrative of the bunch. The card offers the best welcome bonus, the best spending bonuses (all with no foreign transaction fees), 25% savings on inflight purchases, and good purchase and travel protection. So for a no annual fee airline card, it doesn’t get much better than that, if you ask me.

United Gateway Card FAQs

Bottom line

The United Gateway Card is United Airlines’ no annual fee personal credit card. The card has no foreign transaction fees and offers 2x miles in select bonus categories. On top of that, the card offers 25% savings on inflight purchases, as well as useful purchase and travel protection. If you want a no annual fee airline credit card, this is as good as it gets.

I think the better strategy is to pick up the United Explorer Card. If you decide after a year that you don’t want the card, you can always downgrade it.

What do you make of the United Gateway Card?

The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card (Rates & Fees).

Osaka Station Hotel is utterly fascinating. The hotel is owned by the rail company West Japan Railway Company (JR West), so it has a bit of a train theme, and for that matter, it’s located on top of Osaka Station (as you might expect based on the name).

Osaka Station Hotel is huge, given its room count, and it was also the cheapest of the hotels I visited in Osaka. While I found aspects of the public facilities of the property to be a bit uninspiring, there are things I really loved — the breakfast buffet is easily one of the best I’ve seen anywhere in the world, the Specialty Salon (which I had access to on account of my Bonvoy status) is one of the best club lounges I’ve seen anywhere, and this hotel has a proper bathhouse (for better or worse), which is always quite the experience.

Here’s the kicker — you’d expect that a Marriott Autograph Collection property would likely be the least “authentic” Japanese of the hotels I stayed at on this trip, but the opposite was the case. I’d estimate the guests here were 90%+ domestic, and every single staff member was Japanese (to the point that communicating was sometimes a challenge). I absolutely loved my stay here, though I’d say that the breakfast and the Specialty Salon are really what set this place apart, and without either of those, I’d feel a bit different.

Booking the Osaka Station Hotel

The Osaka Station Hotel belongs to Autograph Collection, and therefore is also part of Marriott Bonvoy.

If paying cash, rates here tend to start at around $300-400 per night, including taxes & fees, and they do vary a bit seasonally. The hotel belongs to the Marriott Luminous program, so for booking through that, you receive complimentary breakfast, a room upgrade subject to availability, a $100 property credit, a welcome amenity, and more. That’s how I booked, and I paid around $350 for my one-night stay.

When it comes to redeeming Bonvoy points, pricing is dynamic, and currently rates start at 55,000 Bonvoy points per night. Based on my latest miles & points valuations, those points are worth 0.7 cents each, so paying cash was the better value. That’s especially true when you consider the outsized value of a Luminous booking on a one-night stay.

Osaka Station Hotel location

Osaka Station Hotel is located in the JP Tower Osaka, and takes up floors 29 through 38, which are the top floors of the building. JP Tower Osaka offers a direct connection to the West Gate of the JR Osaka Station, so you have easy access to public transit.

Let me emphasize that Osaka Station is different than Shin-Osaka Station, as the latter is where the bullet train service is from (though there are frequent rail connections between the two stations).

Osaka Station Hotel has a ground floor entrance (which looks rather cool), and then there’s a long hallway leading to the elevators, which will take you to the lobby, located on the 29th floor.

Once on the 29th floor, I found the spacious lobby. Given the huge size of this hotel plus the (presumably) fairly short average length of stay, the lobby can get really busy with check-ins and check-outs.

The good news is that the reception area is very well staffed, so there’s rarely a wait. Due to my Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador status, I was immediately escorted up to the Specialty Salon, where my check-in would take place.

The lobby also has plenty of seating. On the one hand, the whole area feels a bit generic. On the other hand, there are some cute touches, like the use of brick, plus the cool lighting.

I also love the digital clock, where the time changes based on people sweeping up trash on the dial. How fun!

A central part of the lobby is the water station, which is more than just your typical water fountain, as it’s inspired by the station’s former public water fountain.

Guests can not only refill water here, but it also features capsule toy machines that can be purchased.

Osaka Station Hotel guest room

As mentioned above, check-in took place in the Specialty Salon (which I’ll talk more about in a bit), but first I’ll cover the details of the room. Guest rooms at the hotel are located on levels 30 through 38. I had used a Marriott Bonvoy Nightly Upgrade Award to confirm an upgrade to a scenic corner king room, and specifically, I was assigned room 3349.

Given that the hotel’s 400+ guest rooms are spread across just nine floors, each floor is rather big, so I got a good number of steps just getting to and from my room.

The scenic corner king rooms at Osaka Station Hotel are 613 square feet (57 square meters), so they’re a good size, most comparable to a junior suite. I found the room’s interior to be modern, inviting, upscale, and well-maintained, but I can’t say that it felt particularly luxurious or unique.

The room had the living area right by the entrance, and then the bedroom area at the back of the room, with no real separation between the two areas.

The living area was spacious, with a table with one chair, and a sitting area with a chair and a daybed, along with a wall-mounted TV. Given the amount of space, I found it odd that there wasn’t a table with at least two chairs, and/or a proper couch. Of course traveling alone that didn’t bother me, but I’m talking more big picture…

The bed was back in the corner of the room, and there was another TV there. The bed was definitely on the firmer side (not surprising, given that this hotel primarily targets Japanese guests), but not uncomfortably so.

Perhaps the coolest aspect of the design was the wood paneling on the ceiling.

There was a counter with the minibar setup in the main part of the room, which had a coffee machine, a kettle, and a variety of drinks and snacks. Osaka Station Hotel offers a complimentary minibar, though it’s only filled once per stay (perfect for a one-night stay, hah). It had water, juice, beer, and sake, along with some candy.

I also had a lovely welcome amenity, including some delicious grapes and sweets, along with a personalized message and gift from “my” Ambassador on the bed. He’s one-of-a-kind!

The bathroom spanned the entire length of the room, and could be accessed either from between the living room area and bed, or from the hallway right by the entrance. The bathroom had double sinks, a tub, a walk-in shower with excellent water pressure, and a bidet-style toilet in a separate room.

Toiletries were in reusable containers from Hahonico, and there was also a nice selection of dry amenities.

There was also a decently sized closet space next to the bathroom.

When it comes to views, the room looked out over surrounding buildings, with the river in the distance. If you’re a train enthusiast, you may also appreciate the views of the rail. Personally I preferred the view from the Waldorf Astoria Osaka, though I greatly preferred this to the view from Patina Osaka.

For what it’s worth, I’ve seen some people complain of noise issues here from the train, but that’s not something I experienced.

Osaka Station Hotel gym

Osaka Station Hotel has a gym on the 30th floor, which can be accessed by guests 24/7. The gym is fairly large, with a good selection of Life Fitness equipment. The gym was solid, and I appreciated the views. Despite the hotel’s 400+ rooms, the gym didn’t actually ever seem to have more than a few people in it.

Osaka Station Hotel Ofuro bathhouse

Osaka Station Hotel has the Ofuro bathhouse, located on the 30th floor, right next to the gym. This is open daily from 7AM until 10PM, and complimentary access is only permitted for those staying in Specialty Salon rooms, those staying in suites on any floor, as well as Bonvoy Ambassador and Titanium members.

As I understand it, there’s not even a way to purchase access to this if you’re not eligible otherwise, so it’s really intended to be a perk for those who are eligible. Just to be thorough, let me mention that the hotel doesn’t otherwise have any sort of spa or pool facilities.

This place is as authentic as bathhouses get. It’s a situation where you’re welcomed at reception, immediately have to put on slippers, then have to take those slippers off and put on different slippers when you get to the actual bathhouse area, etc. And of course nudity is required, so it’s always fun to have someone standing there, saying “please take your clothes off now.” Alrighty then…

Anyway, I know it’s a huge faux pas, but I try to give OMAAT readers a sense of every aspect of a hotel experience, so I did manage to get some pictures (after ensuring there was no one else in the facility, so I wasn’t violating anyone’s privacy, since that’s something that’s of course of utmost importance to me).

The bathhouse has the typical changing areas, as well as shower facilities, which you need to use before getting into the baths.

Then there’s the actual area with baths, along with a cold plunge, sauna, steam room, etc.

Then there’s a relaxation area within the bathhouse, and then a larger relaxation room for hanging out, which even has complimentary drinks.

Osaka Station Hotel Specialty Salon

Without a doubt, one of the highlights of the Osaka Station Hotel is the Specialty Salon, which is located on the 38th floor. Honestly, this Specialty Salon is the reason I specifically sought out this hotel, as I had heard amazing things about it.

There are two ways to get access to the Specialty Salon, as this isn’t a standard club lounge that all Marriott Bonvoy Platinum members and above get access to. The first method is to outright pay for a Specialty Salon room (any room in the “Specialty” category). At current rates, these seem to go for around $250 per night more than a standard room. The other method is to have Bonvoy Ambassador status — let me emphasize that Platinum and Titanium members don’t get access.

This is honestly one of the best club lounges I’ve ever seen to — we’re talking Laurent-Perrier champagne throughout the day, and caviar and cooked to order beef tenderloin in the evening. Incredible. The Specialty Salon is huge, and wasn’t at all crowded during my stay. Even during the happy hour, at most half of the tables were ever occupied.

The lounge has several seating options, most of which include dining tables, and the entire space has views looking out over the city.

In terms of the hours, the Specialty Salon is open daily from 7AM until 10PM, with the following services:

• Breakfast is served from 7AM until 10:30AM
• Snacks are served from 10:30AM until 3PM
• Afternoon tea is served from 3PM until 5PM
• Evening cocktails are served from 5PM until 7PM
• Night caps are served from 7PM until 9PM

The first thing worth noting is that the lounge has alcohol all day, and a very impressive selection no less. We’re talking everything from Laurent-Perrier champagne, to cocktails prepared by a bartender. There’s also a decent coffee machine, though no barista prepared coffee.

Let’s start with breakfast, which was excellent, but paled in comparison to what was available in the restaurant (which I could also enjoy, thanks to my Marriott Luminous booking). The breakfast selection was extensive and high quality, with really good pastries and croissants (like, really, really good), cold cuts, cheese, fruit, yogurt, cereal, along with several hot dishes.

There was also a small breakfast menu you could order off of, so I had the Japanese breakfast, of course.

The afternoon tea then consisted of finger sandwiches, along with all kinds of sweets, ranging from chocolates, to tarts, to croissants and pastries (the daytime snacks were essentially a subset of this).

My favorite thing was the fruit parfaits. The idea is that they had little glasses with fruit, and then they have a frozen yogurt machine to fill up the rest of the glass. Honestly, I shouldn’t be allowed near this, because it was just too tasty.

The evening selection was very high quality, and had cold cuts, cheese, and all kinds of individually portioned items… including caviar!

Beyond the buffet, there’s also a menu off of which you can order one item. I opted for the roast beef with onion sauce.

Suffice it to say that this is not your typical Marriott club lounge spread!

Then the night caps consisted of a nice dessert selection.

All-in-all, this was easily one of the best club lounges I’ve ever visited, perhaps along with the Rosewood Hong Kong. As a Bonvoy Ambassador member, it’s of course incredible to get free access to this.

However, I have to note the obvious dilemma that such a lounge presents. Osaka is an incredible food city, and in order to justify the cost of paying for access to this lounge, you also have to actually enjoy some of the services. You could easily just eat here and never leave, so that makes it tough to justify…

Osaka Station Hotel restaurants & bars

When it comes to restaurants & bars at Osaka Station Hotel, there are several options:

• The Moment Grill & Dining is the hotel’s all-day dining restaurant, and it has buffets for breakfast, lunch, and dinner
• Teppanyaki Mizuki is the hotel’s teppanyaki restaurant
• The Lobby Lounge is the hotel’s lobby lounge (as you’d expect!), serving drinks, light bites, afternoon tea, etc.
• Main Bar is the hotel’s speakeasy, located behind a hidden door

Let’s start with The Moment Grill & Dining, the hotel’s main restaurant. There’s a breakfast buffet from 6:30AM until 10:30AM, a lunch buffet from 11:30AM until 3PM, and a dinner buffet from 5:30PM until 10PM. The restaurant is large, and has a pretty cool design.

This is where I had breakfast, and to my surprise, it was truly one of the highest quality breakfast buffets I’ve ever seen. It’s funny, because the restaurant was super crowded (even though I got there the second it opened), and there was no a la carte selection to go along with the buffet, or even servers to bring you coffee. But my goodness, the quality was truly next level.

There was everything from a beef carving station, to an on-demand sushi station, to the same delicious fruit parfaits as in the Specialty Salon, to the freshest melon imaginable. I’ll let the pictures speak mostly for themselves. Without the Specialty Salon and/or the breakfast, I think this is a totally okay hotel, but these two things make the property memorable.

Next, there’s Teppanyaki Mizuki, open nightly from 5PM until 10PM. After my previous three hotels in Japan all had their Japanese restaurants closed the night I was staying, I figured I had to eat here, even though I wasn’t exactly hungry due to the club lounge. For that matter, I had a credit to spend, so…!

The restaurant was beautifully appointed, and had both a lounge area, and then the main dining area.

Given the exchange rate between the USD and JPY, most Japanese dining experiences are a bargain nowadays, compared to what we’re used to paying in the US. However, my gosh, this place was expensive. I ended up ordering the 140g (around five ounces) beef from the Mie Prefecture, and that cost 29,500 JPY (186 USD). Fortunately I had a credit, but yikes!

In fairness, the beef was exceptional, among the best I’ve had in my life, so it was certainly high quality.

When it comes to additional outlets, there’s The Lobby Lounge, open daily from 11AM until 7PM. I didn’t have anything here, but it has a typical menu of drinks, light bites, afternoon tea, etc.

Lastly, there’s the generically named Main Bar, which is anything but generic, and it’s open nightly from 5PM until 12AM. This is actually a hidden speakeasy — it’s located down a hallway from the lobby, with a door simply labeled “Station Master’s Office” (in Japanese… or so they claim).

This is such a fun space with all kinds of train themed art, and there’s also an original cocktail list. However, I couldn’t possibly consume more this stay, so I just had a look.

Osaka Station Hotel service

Osaka Station Hotel is a huge hotel, and it’s heavily targeted at domestic guests. So service is very authentic, which I love. This was definitely the hotel this trip where staff spoke the least English, which is fair enough, given the target demographic.

As you’d expect for a hotel of this size, service wasn’t terribly personalized, except in the Specialty Salon, where service was very attentive.

Bottom line

Osaka Station Hotel, part of Marriott Autograph Collection, has been on my list to stay at since it first opened, and I’m so happy I had the chance to check it out. This is a large, (mildly) train themed hotel on top of Osaka Station.

I have mixed feelings about this property. If I were just booking a standard room, I probably wouldn’t select this hotel, since the property isn’t that charming, there’s no pool, etc. As I see it, this hotel is all about the Specialty Salon and the amazing breakfast. If you get access to either of those, then that certainly moves the needle in favor of staying here.

I’m absolutely delighted I stayed here, but I probably wouldn’t return for the simple reason that if I had access to the Specialty Salon again, I would have a hard time leaving the hotel to eat, and that’s kind of sad in Japan! Hah, but consider that an endorsement of the property…

What’s your take on Osaka Station Hotel?

For those not familiar with Patina, it’s the sister brand of Capella Hotels & Resorts, which is among my favorite hotel brands in the world. Patina so far has two hotels, in the Maldives and Osaka. The idea is that Patina has the same general DNA as Capella properties in terms of amazing design, an emphasis on food & beverage, and a focus on culture, but the properties have a higher room count, and lack some of the exclusive amenities of Capella, like a lounge all guests can visit.

It’s worth noting that Patina Osaka was also rated the best hotel in the world, according to the recent Travel + Leisure 2026 rankings (these kinds of rankings create their own issues).

Anyway, how was my stay at Patina Osaka? All-in-all, it was very good. The hotel’s design is beautiful, the staff were friendly, and the food & beverage outlets were excellent. However, I had one major issue with this hotel, which is that it’s basically located on top of a highway, and if you’re staying on one side of the hotel, expect a lot of noise.

Furthermore, since Patina Osaka is a standalone building, you don’t quite get the same views as at some of the other hotels that are located at the top of skyscrapers. These are minor points in the scheme of things, but worth mentioning. Anyway, that’s enough of an intro, let’s get into the review…

Booking the Patina Osaka

Relatively speaking, Osaka is a good value luxury hotel market, given the quality of properties. Rates at Patina Osaka vary throughout the year, but typically start at around $550 per night, including taxes and service charges.

That’s exactly how much my stay cost, which I booked through Virtuoso. For booking through Virtuoso, I received a complimentary upgrade subject to availability, free breakfast, and a $100 property credit.

I should also mention that Patina participates in GHA Discovery, a loyalty program that often flies under the radar. I had recently taken advantage of a GHA Titanium status match, so I was curious to see what the experience would be like.

Patina Osaka location

Patina Osaka is located in a standalone 20-story building, which in and of itself is unique, since so many hotels in Japan take up a small number of floors at the top of a skyscraper.

In terms of the hotel’s location, it’s next to Osaka Castle and Osaka Castle Park. On the surface that’s appealing, since that’s a popular attraction, and it makes for nice views. However, it is a bit removed from much of the action, so you’re not really otherwise in the heart of things. Furthermore, as I’ll discuss in more detail in the rooms section, the hotel is located off a major highway. So either you’re looking at Osaka Castle (beautiful) or you’re looking at the highway (bleh!).

Anyway, as you arrive at Patina Osaka, you definitely get an urban resort vibe, which I quite like. There’s lots of greenery, and the hotel’s driveway and entrance area is quite large.

Patina Osaka lobby & check-in

My arrival experience at Patina Osaka was smooth. I was welcomed by the bellmen, my bag was taken, and I was escorted to the elevators, to take me up to the lobby. While the hotel is in a standalone building, the lobby is still on 20th floor, presumably since that makes for the best views.

There’s still a nice ground floor area, and it’s also where one of the restaurants is located. I like the way that wood is used, as it has a very Japanese feel to it.

The 20th floor lobby setup at Patina Osaka is interesting. The space is gorgeous and has a great sense of place, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Osaka Castle, and I love the slanted ceiling. One quirky thing is that the reception desk is basically one side of the bar.

I don’t have an issue with that, but when I see that kind of a setup, I immediately think of limited service hotels in the US. Of course the service standard here was completely different. On the surface, a 221 room property having just two check-in “stations” isn’t sufficient, though they also invite you to have a seat during check-in formalities, so they do a good job with that.

Anyway, I received a very warm welcome, and was given a welcome drink and cold towel.

My room was soon ready, and the front desk associate offered to escort me to the room, but that wasn’t necessary, so I politely declined.

I also quickly had a look at the rest of the lobby. There’s a ton of seating in the lobby area, which guests are free to just lounge around in, but food and drinks are also available, if you’d like. This area also has the best views of Osaka Castle.

Also on the lobby level is The Listening Room by OJAS, advertised as offering the ability to “meditate in the elegant envelopment of sound.” There are complimentary “morning soundscapes,” or guests can make private bookings for one-hour slots. I love this concept, I think, though I’m still not sure I actually understand it? You’re just supposed to sit here and listen to nice music, or…?

Patina Osaka guest room

With keys in hand, I headed to my room at Patina Osaka. One quirk with the hotel is that there are two sets of elevators — one to guest rooms, and one to public spaces — and I kind of found it confusing to remember which elevator bank served which purpose.

I was assigned room 1412, located on the 14th floor. Guest rooms are located on floors six through 17. I loved the design of the elevator areas and hallways, as they all have a great sense of place.

I was in a premier city view room, which is marketed as being 678 square feet (63 square meters). So that’s an absolutely massive size for a non-suite, and it represented an upgrade of a couple of levels, presumably based on a combination of my Virtuoso booking plus GHA Discovery Titanium status.

The room featured a long entryway with a closet space right by the door, the bathroom off to the side, and the rest of the room down the hallway.

In the center of the room was a comfortable king size bed, with a chair and ottoman next to it. The bed was comfortable (though not as comfortable as at the Waldorf Astoria, based on my preferences). I liked the design behind the bed, but otherwise, that side of the room had pretty minimalist decor.

I also appreciated the very simple lighting controls next to the bed, along with USB-A and USB-C outlets.

The other side of the room had a much more interesting design, with a unique dining table that had two chairs (one “standard,” one more traditionally Japanese, in the sense that it was on the “floor,” but the floor was actually an elevated, hard, day bed, of sorts).

Waiting on that table was a welcome amenity, with some tea, grapes, matcha, and sweets.

The minibar was beautifully designed, and had a complimentary Nespresso machine and tea kettle, along with a variety of drinks and snacks for purchase.

The bathroom was then back toward the entrance, and I loved the design of this space, including double sinks, a huge shower “complex” with a walk-in shower and bathtub, and a bidet-style toilet. The shower pressure was phenomenal, as was the case at all hotels I stayed at in Japan.

Toiletries were from Bamford, as is standard across Capella and Patina, and I absolutely love that.

Now let me get to the part of the room that should’ve been a very nice amenity, but wasn’t. My room at Patina Osaka had a balcony, which is a rare amenity at a city hotel in Japan, so I thought that was cool. However, you may see the issue based on the below picture.

The issue is that Patina Osaka is basically located on top of a major highway. Obviously it’s incredibly noisy when you’re on your balcony, but you even hear a little bit of this when you’re in your room, with the door shut. And keep in mind that I was located on one of the higher floors, so I imagine the noise is even worse on lower floors.

For that matter, the view from these city-facing rooms just isn’t particularly inspiring. It’s not bad, it’s just not anything that has a “wow” factor.

This to me was a real detractor from the experience. I don’t want to be overly dramatic here, because I actually use a white noise machine, so noise doesn’t bother me. But a majority of the top city hotels in Japan are located at the top of skyscrapers, so they generally have amazing views, even if you get a non-premium room view.

The fact that roughly half of the rooms at the hotel not only face a loud highway, but don’t have terribly inspiring views in the distance, is something that I don’t love. So if I were to stay here again, I’d make sure that I’m in a room with a view of Osaka Castle instead.

Also, maybe this is a hot take, but I don’t actually love the Osaka Castle view that much. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a nice view, but it’s pretty static, and it’s just not something I’d specifically seek out, compared to views from other hotels. In Japan I love being on very high floors, and seeing life happening down below.

Patina Osaka spa & pool

Patina Osaka has an impressive spa complex that takes up the entire fourth floor, and it measures around 15,000 square feet (1,400 square meters). The spa has six treatment rooms, and while I didn’t get any services, there were some interesting options — find the spa treatment menu here.

All the spa facilities are also accessible by guests daily from 7AM until 10PM, and there’s a very nice selection of options. For one, the hotel has a gorgeous 66-foot (20-meter) indoor lap pool. Seating around the pool is pretty limited, but it wasn’t at all busy when I visited.

The pool area also has a very nice whirlpool.

Additional spa facilities are located within the gender segregated locker and changing rooms.

There’s also a cold plunge and a whirlpool, along with a sauna and steam room.

However, there’s no onsen, if that’s something that’s important to you.

Patina Osaka gym

Patina Osaka has a gym on the fourth floor, located within the wellness complex. This is accessible by guests 24/7. The gym is a good size, and has modern equipment, for both strength training and cardio. There’s even a yoga and pilates area.

Patina Osaka restaurants & bars

Capella and Patina properties are all about design, and all about having great food & beverage outlets, and Patina Osaka is no exception. To cover the basics:

• Inaki is the hotel’s all-day dining restaurant, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and it’s described as a Basque grill & rotisserie
• P72 is open for lunch and dinner, with a focus on produce grown within the hotel, and dishes that are farm-to-table
• Barin is open for lunch and dinner, and is the hotel’s Japanese teppanyaki restaurant
• Nijiri is open in the afternoons, and it’s a tea lounge, primarily serving afternoon tea
• Sonata Bar & Lounge is open most of the day, and is the lobby bar, serving drinks and light meals in the afternoons and evenings

Let’s start with Inaki, which is located on the 19th floor, and serves breakfast from 7AM until 10:30AM, lunch from 11:30AM until 3PM, and dinner from 5:30PM until 10PM. The restaurant can seat up to 120 people, and it’s where I had breakfast. While I didn’t have lunch or dinner here, the menu has a focus on basque cuisine, and you can find all the details here.

Before I even talk about the breakfast selection, let me say that I think the restaurant should open at 6:30AM rather than 7AM. I got there right at 7AM and was the first person in line, but before they opened, there were close to two dozen people waiting. To me that’s a sign that breakfast should open earlier.

Breakfast consisted of a combination of a buffet, plus an unlimited a la carte concept, so you could order as many dishes as you’d like. The buffet was high quality and a good size, but not massive.

The buffet had fresh juices, all kinds of pastries and sweets, cereal, fresh fruit, yogurt, cold cuts, cheese, salad, rice, soup, and other Asian specialties (both from Japan and other countries).

That could then be supplemented with items from the below menu.

I was super boring here, since I had noodles for breakfast the previous morning, so I had the avocado toast with a poached egg — go ahead and rib me, I deserve it!

Drinks at breakfast were excellent, and I had both a cappuccino and a matcha latte.

Next, let’s talk about P72, which is located on the ground floor, and it’s open for lunch and dinner, from 11:30AM until 10PM. The restaurant can seat up to 84 people (38 on the terrace, so that’s highly weather dependent), and I had lunch here — you can find all the details here.

This is a fun concept on a couple of levels. For one, the restaurant has a unique design — you wouldn’t think you’re at a restaurant on the ground floor of a city hotel, but instead, you’d think you’re out in nature, at some secluded resort. Very cool.

This restaurant’s concept is that it has mindful dishes made with produce that’s grown in-hotel, and served farm-to-table. For example, there’s a selection of lunch set menus, and I chose the below one.

This meal was exceptional, and such a great concept. The meal started with some delicious freshly baked bread.

The first course was a vegetable terrine with pickles, ricotta cheese, and fresh herbs.

The second course was a chilled pumpkin soup with saffron soy milk cream and pumpkin seed oil.

The main course was a grilled dry-aged beef rump with organic vegetables and onion jus.

Then the dessert was a hojicha blancmange, and I had a coffee to go along with that (which was included).

It was an incredible meal!

Next, Patina Osaka has Barin, which is located on the 19th floor, and it’s open for lunch 11:30AM until 3PM, and for dinner from 5:30PM until 10PM. It has the capacity for 32 guests, with 10 counter seats, 16 table seats, and a private dining room with six seats.

The cuisine here is a combination of teppanyaki, as well kaiseki, and you can find all the details here. Let me just apologize, I got absolutely screwed on this trip when it comes to the days of the weeks that the Japanese restaurants at the hotel were closed. At all three hotels up until this point, I stayed on exactly the nights where the venues were closed, so I wasn’t able to eat here. I mean, I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen a restaurant closed on a Thursday, but it is what it is…

Next, there’s Nijiri, also located on the 19th floor, and it’s open daily from 11:30AM until 6:30PM. This can seat up to 26 guests, and it’s a tea lounge serving afternoon tea. I didn’t dine here, because I can only consume so much food, but you can find all the details here.

Lastly, there’s Sonata Bar & Lounge, located on the 20th floor, as it’s essentially the lobby lounge and bar. This is open daily from 2PM until 11PM (it opens at 12PM on weekends), and can seat up to 126 people (90 indoors and 36 outdoors). You can find all the details here.

For a lobby bar, this is definitely a nicely elevated space, with plenty of fun seating options.

In particular, it transforms into something much more charming in the evenings, when lights are dimmed, there are candles, etc. The terrace is also a lovely space, weather permitting.

I stopped here in the evening for a drink, and had an excellent negroni, with some bar snacks.

I had intended to go out for dinner, but then I had some work to do, so I decided to just stay in, and ordered a club sandwich. I’ve gotta say, it was one of the best (and most unconventional) club sandwiches I’ve ever had.

Patina Osaka service

For the most part, service at Patina Osaka was excellent. Staff were all friendly, though given the room count at the hotel, service wasn’t necessarily overly personalized, which isn’t surprising. I got the sense that this hotel had higher occupancy than the Waldorf Astoria.

One thing I want to mention is that the staff at the hotel were a combination of Japanese and foreign. In particular, a lot of the front office staff were from the Philippines. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course — Filipinos are known for their kindness and excellent service — but it definitely doesn’t give you that “authentic” Japanese service experience. I wasn’t expecting that Waldorf Astoria would have a higher percentage Japanese staff than Patina, for example.

Bottom line

I’m happy I had the chance to check out Patina Osaka, both based on what I heard about this hotel specifically, and also based on its affiliation with the Capella brand, which I love. All-in-all, Patina Osaka is a great hotel, with beautiful design, excellent dining, an expansive wellness complex, and friendly service.

My one real complaint about this hotel is that the city view rooms basically face a highway, and also have quite a bit of noise. Because this hotel is a standalone building, rather than being at the top of a skyscraper, it also doesn’t have quite the views you’ll find at other properties. Given the very high quality of hotels in Osaka, that’s a noticeable downside, at least based on my preferences.

Patina is also interesting in comparison to Capella — Patina properties are essentially more reasonably priced and larger, while maintaining the same general focus on design, as well as quality food & beverage outlets. However, it’s definitely not as special as Capella in terms of the level of attentiveness, as well as some of the exclusive features, like a lounge for all guests.

All-in-all, I’d recommend Patina Osaka, though I’d also say it didn’t blow me away. If you are going to stay here, make sure you get a room with a view of Osaka Castle. Personally, I’d be more likely to return to the Waldorf Astoria, or to check out the Four Seasons.

What’s your take on Patina Osaka?

It’s a fascinating loyalty program for some really stellar brands, like Capella Hotels & Resorts. There’s also often a status match promotion, which is an easy way to elevate your stays with eligible brands. If you want to get as much value from your stays as possible, GHA has just rolled out an interesting promotion… is it worth it, though?

Get a deal on GHA stays by buying D$ at a discount

Between October 22 and November 19, 2026, GHA Discovery is offering 15% off the purchase of Discovery Dollars (D$), the program’s rewards currency. The idea is that you can buy each D$ for 0.85 USD, and you can purchase up to 5,000 D$ with this offer.

D$ expire 24 months after they’re issued, and can’t be extended, even with activity. They can be redeemed toward most charges at most hotels, at the rate of one D$ per USD. The only things that generally aren’t eligible for redemption are taxes, tips, fees, etc. Also keep in mind that you don’t earn D$ on any portion of your stay for which you redeem D$.

So essentially think of this as an opportunity to save 15% on a GHA stay, which seems pretty compelling, assuming you have firm plans to make a stay in the near future. However, is it really worth it?

The catch with the GHA Discovery D$ promotion

GHA Discovery is a revenue based loyalty program, so there aren’t any arbitrage opportunities that will get you more value. Still, 15% off a hotel stay sounds good… right?

Yes, I would say it’s mostly a good deal, but the catch is that when you redeem D$, you don’t earn rewards for that portion of the stay. Ordinarily, GHA Discovery members earn anywhere from 4-7% back on their stays (in the form of D$), so you’re forgoing a 4-7% return in order to save 15%. That still leaves you with an 8-11% spread. However:

• GHA Discovery sometimes has promotions offering bonus D$ for stays, so you’re also forgoing that
• Purchasing D$ doesn’t code as hotel spending on credit cards, but instead, codes as “other services,” and that means you’re potentially forgoing quite some points there; for example, I earn 4x points on hotel spending with my credit cards, while I “only” earn 2x points on everyday spending

So I think for some people, the math could work out nicely. Like, if you have an upcoming $5,000 Capella stay, then saving $750 on that sounds great. However, it’s not necessarily as much of a slam dunk as you might assume at first glance, when you consider the things you’re forgoing.

Bottom line

GHA is selling Discovery Dollars (D$) for 15% off, which is an opportunity to get a discount on a stay with dozens of different hotel brands, including ones like Anantara, Capella, Kempinski, Pan Pacific, Patina, and more.

Being able to essentially buy a discount on a hotel stay could be a good value, but the catch is that you don’t earn rewards on the portion of the stay you redeem for, and buying Discovery Dollars also doesn’t code as hotel spending for credit cards.

Given that you usually earn a 4-7% return on GHA spending, that lowers the real value here to 8-11%, before any additional promotions, and that doesn’t factor in the possible difference in credit card rewards. So I think this could make sense with an upcoming stay, but it’s not any sort of slam dunk.

Does anyone plan on buying D$ at a discount?

Spend $375+ with Marriott, get $150 back

The Amex Offers program has just rolled out a new targeted promotion that can save cardmembers money on the cost of Marriott stays. Specifically, I see an opportunity to receive a $150 statement credit after spending $375+ with Marriott (though it’s possible other accounts see different versions of this offer).

As you’d expect, there are some terms to be aware of:

• This offer is valid if you pay for your stay between October 23 and November 23, 2026
• This offer is valid for stays at properties in the United States, the Caribbean, Canada, and Mexico
• This offer excludes stays at select brands, including Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, EDITION, The Luxury Collection, W Hotels, JW Marriott, Marriott Vacation Club, Design Hotels, Protea Hotels by Marriott, Marriott Executive Apartments, Homes & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy, and Vistana
• This offer excludes gift card purchases, online retail purchases, and purchases of Bonvoy points
• The terms state that you need to book directly with Marriott to take advantage of this
• This can be combined with any promotion being offered directly by Marriott
• Registration is required

Make sure to maximize points while you’re at it

When it comes to Amex Offers deals, I always recommend trying to add them on cards that also offer you the best rewards on those particular purchases. For example, ideally you’ll see these offers on a co-branded Marriott card, so that you can earn 6x points on your stay, while also earning cash back. Or otherwise, at least use a card that offers bonus points on travel purchases, which include hotels.

Also keep in mind that it’s possible to split card payments at check-out. So if you have a certain spending threshold you still need to reach on a specific card, you can always ask them to charge one amount to one card, and another amount to another card.

Bottom line

There’s a new Amex Offers deal for Marriott, which can save you $150 on the cost of upcoming hotel stays. This offer seems to exclude Marriott’s higher end brands, so it should be useful across a wide variety of properties. If you’re eligible for this offer, I’d definitely recommend registering ASAP.

Was your account targeted for this Amex Offers deal, and do you plan on taking advantage of it?

Spend $2,500+ with Virgin Atlantic, save $200

With a new targeted Amex Offers deal, you can earn a $200 statement credit when you spend $2,500 or more with Virgin Atlantic by December 13, 2026.

There are some terms to be aware of:

• The flight needs to be booked directly through the Virgin Atlantic website
• The flight needs to originate in the United States and be charged in USD
• While you need to book by December 13, 2026, it’s okay if you travel on subsequent dates
• The offer is not valid for purchases by phone, at terminals, lounges, or onboard flights

It’s possible that there’s also a version of the offer for 25,000 bonus Membership Rewards points if spending $2,500+. If so, I’d definitely prefer that offer, since I value Amex points at 1.7 cents each, so those points would be worth $340 to me.

While I can’t guarantee it, I suspect that carrier imposed surcharges on award tickets will likely trigger this offer, given that they should be processed the same as any other airfare purchase.

Ideally you’ll see this offer on the Amex Platinum

This Amex Offers deal is targeted, though it’s possible you’ll see it on multiple of your cards. If so, I’d highly recommend registering your Amex Platinum Card for this offer. That’s because the Amex Platinum offers up to 5x points on airfare purchased directly with airlines.

I value Membership Rewards points at 1.7 cents each, so to me those points alone are worth an incremental 8.5% return. On top of that, the Amex Platinum offers valuable travel protection, should you experience irregular operations.

In other words, if you took advantage of this offer with the Amex Platinum for $2,500 in spending, you’d receive a total of 12,500 points, plus you’d get a $200 statement credit. By my valuation, that’s a return of $413 on $2,500 of spending with Virgin Atlantic, which is very good.

Bottom line

There’s currently a targeted Amex Offers deal that can save you money on a Virgin Atlantic trip. Specifically, you can save $200 when spending $2,500+ directly with Virgin Atlantic. If you’re planning travel on Virgin Atlantic in the near future, this has the potential to be a great deal.

Were you targeted for this Amex Offers deal, and if so, do you plan on taking advantage of it?

While there has long been value in strategically buying points, the concept of a revenue based frequent flyer program selling points can be tougher to rationalize. So that I don’t bury the lede, let me say that I’d only buy points in a very narrow set of circumstances, like if trying to top off a points balance for a specific redemption.

Link: Buy Southwest Rapid Rewards points with this promotion for 50% off

Buy Southwest Rapid Rewards points with promotion

Through 11:59PM CT on Thursday, October 29, 2026, Southwest Rapid Rewards is offering a discount on purchased points. With Southwest, it’s common for different members to be eligible for different offers, so you’ll have to log into your Rapid Rewards account to see what you’re eligible for.

However, the best version of the offer to buy Southwest points seems to be a tiered discount of up to 50%, structured as follows:

• Buy 2,000-6,000 points, receive no discount
• Buy 7,000-11,000 points, receive a 40% discount
• Buy 12,000-60,000 points, receive a 50% discount

Note that buying Southwest points doesn’t count toward Rapid Rewards elite status.

How much does it cost to buy Southwest points?

Ordinarily you can buy Southwest points for 3.0 cents each, and that price is inclusive of the 7.5% federal excise tax. Given the limit of being able to purchase up to 60,000 Rapid Rewards points per day, that means if you maxed out this promotion, you could buy 60,000 points for $900, which is a cost of 1.5 cents per point.

Southwest sells points in increments of 1,000 points, with 2,000 points being the minimum, and 60,000 points being the daily maximum.

Just in the interest of being thorough, some Rapid Rewards members may be eligible for smaller percentage discounts, so let me crunch the numbers on those potential offers:

• If you were eligible for a 45% discount, you’d be looking at a cost of 1.65 cents per point
• If you were eligible for a 40% discount, you’d be looking at a cost of 1.8 cents per point
• If you were eligible for a 35% discount, you’d be looking at a cost of 1.95 cents per point

How many Southwest points can you buy?

Southwest has no annual limit on how many Rapid Rewards points you can buy. The only restriction is that you can buy at most 60,000 points per calendar day.

How does this compare to other Southwest buy points promotions?

Southwest Rapid Rewards frequently offers promotions on purchasing points. When the program does have a buy points promotion, the 50% discount offer is pretty standard. So I’d recommend buying points based on when you have a relatively immediate use for redeeming them, rather than anything else.

Below is a chart with some of the recent Southwest buy points promotions that we’ve seen, before this one.

Which credit card should you buy Southwest points with?

If you’d like to buy Southwest Airlines points, note that purchases are processed by points.com, meaning they don’t count as an airfare purchase for the purposes of credit card spending. Therefore this wouldn’t be treated as a Southwest purchase if you’re using a Rapid Rewards credit card.

I’d recommend using a card on which you’re trying to reach a minimum spending requirement, or otherwise, a credit card that maximizes your return on everyday spending. See this post for more on which credit cards are best for buying points.

Best cards for non-bonused spending:

• Citi Double Cash® Card
• Chase Freedom Unlimited®
• Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
• The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express

Citi Double Cash® Card

Apply Now Terms Apply. | See Rates & Fees

• Earn 1% cash back when you make a purchase, earn 1% cash back when you pay for that purchase
• $0

Chase Freedom Unlimited®

Learn More about Chase Freedom Unlimited® >Terms Apply.

• Earn 3% Cash Back on Dining
• Earn 3% Cash Back at Drugstores
• Earn 1.5% Cash Back On All Other Purchases
• $0

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

Learn More about Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

• Earn 2x miles per dollar on every purchase
• No Foreign Transaction Fees
• 10,000 bonus miles every account anniversary
• $395

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Learn More about Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

• Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day
• No Foreign Transaction Fees
• Global Entry/TSA Pre-Check Credit
• $95

The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express

Learn More about The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express Terms Apply. | See Rates & Fees

• 2x points on purchases up to $50k then 1x
• Access to Amex Offers
• No annual fee

How much are Southwest points worth?

Southwest Rapid Rewards is a revenue based frequent flyer program, and the number of points required for a flight is roughly correlated to the revenue cost of a flight. However, there is a dynamic element to the pricing, whereby the value you get per point varies significantly, based on the flight and fare class you redeem for. With this, we’re seeing redemption values as low as 1.1 cents per point, and as high as 1.5 cents per point, give or take.

As you can tell, there are probably few situations where it makes sense to buy points for 1.5 cents (or more) each, when they can’t be redeemed for that, best case scenario.

Is buying Southwest Rapid Rewards points worth it?

Let me cut to the chase — there are few situations where it makes sense to purchase Rapid Rewards points. Even at the discounted cost, there’s not usually value in buying points for 1.5 cents each when you can typically only redeem them for less than that.

There are three potential scenarios I’d like to address, including the main scenario where I think it could make sense (but not really), which is to build up a balance of Southwest points, given the flexibility this provides.

Buying Southwest points to top off for an award

Some might buy Rapid Rewards points in order to top off their account so they have enough points for a Rapid Rewards award ticket. I guess this might be worth it to some if you need a small number of points, though personally I’d just keep collecting points and then redeem with your next ticket.

Buying Southwest points with Companion Pass

The Southwest Airlines Companion Pass is one of the best values in domestic travel. If you qualify for this, you can always have a companion travel with you for just the standard taxes, regardless of whether you’re booking a cash ticket or redeeming points.

For those with a Companion Pass, buying Southwest points could get you outsized value:

• You could buy points for 1.5 cents each
• You could then redeem them for 1.1-1.5 cents each toward travel and have a companion fly with you, meaning you’d get 2.2-3.0 cents of value

However, there’s still absolutely zero reason to do that. You’d be better off just booking a paid ticket and then having a companion fly with you.

There is value in having a stash of Southwest points

There is one major benefit in general to paying for a ticket with Southwest Rapid Rewards points rather than cash. While Southwest Airlines has no change fees on both revenue and award tickets on most kinds of fares:

• If you cancel a revenue ticket then you’ll be issued a travel credit that has to be used for a future flight, while Rapid Rewards points can be redeposited in your account and used for anyone; some Southwest fares do allow you to transfer your ticket to someone else
• If you cancel an award ticket then the Rapid Rewards points go back into your account and can be used for anyone at any future point in time

I do think there’s big value in having a stash of Rapid Rewards points. I use this when I speculatively want to book travel (including for friends and family), since there’s no downside.

What other ways can you earn Southwest points?

If you’re looking to earn Southwest points, there are plenty of ways to rack up this currency with credit card rewards:

• Chase Ultimate Rewards points can be moved to Southwest Rapid Rewards at a 1:1 ratio, so you can move over points earned on cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card (learn more), Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ (learn more), Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (learn more), and Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (learn more)
• Bilt Rewards points can be moved to Southwest Rapid Rewards at a 1:1 ratio, including points earned on cards like the Bilt Palladium Card (learn more), Bilt Obsidian Card (learn more), and Bilt Blue Card (learn more) (Rates & Fees)

On top of that, Rapid Rewards has a variety of co-branded Chase credit cards, which can be a great way to rack up rewards. This includes cards like the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card (learn more), Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card (learn more), etc.

Bottom line

Southwest is selling Rapid Rewards points with a discount of up to 50%, which brings the cost down to as little as 1.5 cents per point. I still don’t think there are many circumstances under which it makes sense to buy points, given that Rapid Rewards is a revenue based frequent flyer program, and points can typically only be redeemed for 1.1-1.5 cents each toward the cost of a ticket.

Under what circumstances do you think it’s worth buying Southwest Airlines points?

While I wouldn’t recommend buying miles without a specific use in mind, there are absolutely ways to get outsized value, especially for long haul business class travel on United or its Star Alliance partners. Let’s go over all the details of this offer.

Link: Buy United MileagePlus miles with this promotion with up to a 100% bonus

Buy United MileagePlus miles with a promotion

Through 11:59PM CT on Saturday, October 31, 2026, United MileagePlus is offering a bonus on purchased miles. Different members are eligible for different offers, though the best version of the promotion is for a 100% bonus, structured as follows:

• Buy 2,000-4,000 miles, receive no bonus
• Buy 5,000-19,000 miles, receive a 75% bonus
• Buy 20,000-25,000 miles, receive a 100% bonus

You can typically buy a minimum of 2,000 MileagePlus miles, and from there, you can buy miles in increments of 1,000 miles. However, let me emphasize that not everyone is eligible for this 100% bonus, and other members are eligible for a 95% bonus, or even 80% bonus. So you’ll want to log into your account and see what you’re eligible for.

How much does it cost to purchase United MileagePlus miles?

United MileagePlus ordinarily charges 3.5 cents per purchased mile, plus a 7.5% federal excise tax, for an all-in cost of 3.76 cents per mile. If you were eligible for the 100% bonus and purchased 50,000 miles (including the 100% bonus), you’d end up paying a total of $940.63 including all taxes, which comes out to a rate of 1.88 cents per mile.

Just in the interest of being thorough, let me recap the cost per purchased mile depending on the type of offer you’re eligible for, factoring in the 7.5% federal excise tax:

• With a 100% bonus (or 50% discount), you can buy miles for 1.88 cents each
• With a 95% bonus (or 42.5% discount), you can buy miles for 1.93 cents each
• With a 90% bonus (or 45% discount), you can buy miles for 1.98 cents each
• With an 80% bonus (or 40% discount), you can buy miles for 2.09 cents each

How many United MileagePlus miles can you purchase?

United MileagePlus limits members to purchasing 200,000 MileagePlus miles per account per calendar year. However, more specifically, the program limits members to purchasing up to 50,000 MileagePlus miles per any rolling 90-day period.

Note that these limits apply after factoring in any bonuses, so even when United offers a bonus on purchased miles, you can still only purchase a maximum of 50,000 miles over the course of 90 days, or 200,000 miles per calendar year.

One potential workaround worth highlighting is that MileagePlus also lets members pool miles with certain conditions, so you could potentially buy miles in multiple accounts, and then combine your balances.

If you do buy United miles, it can take up to 72 hours for them to post to your account. Note that any purchased miles only qualify as redeemable miles, and don’t count toward MileagePlus elite status.

How does this compare to other United buy miles promotions?

When United MileagePlus offers a promotion on purchased miles, it’s common for a 100% bonus or 50% discount to be the highest version of the offer. That ultimately gets you the same price per mile, so they’re the same offers, for all practical purposes.

The one thing to understand is that United generally has targeted promotions, meaning not all members will be eligible for the same offers. That being said, below is a chart with some of the recent promotions we saw from the program, before this one, with the highest bonus amounts offered.

Which credit card should you buy United MileagePlus miles with?

United MileagePlus mileage purchases are processed by points.com, meaning they don’t count as an airfare purchase for the purposes of credit card spending. That means if you pay with a United credit card, you wouldn’t earn any bonus rewards, so it’s not treated as if it’s United spending.

Therefore I’d recommend using a card on which you’re trying to reach a minimum spending requirement, or otherwise, a credit card that maximizes your return on everyday spending.

Best cards for non-bonused spending:

• Citi Double Cash® Card
• Chase Freedom Unlimited®
• Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
• The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express

Citi Double Cash® Card

Apply Now Terms Apply. | See Rates & Fees

• Earn 1% cash back when you make a purchase, earn 1% cash back when you pay for that purchase
• $0

Chase Freedom Unlimited®

Learn More about Chase Freedom Unlimited® >Terms Apply.

• Earn 3% Cash Back on Dining
• Earn 3% Cash Back at Drugstores
• Earn 1.5% Cash Back On All Other Purchases
• $0

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

Learn More about Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

• Earn 2x miles per dollar on every purchase
• No Foreign Transaction Fees
• 10,000 bonus miles every account anniversary
• $395

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Learn More about Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

• Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day
• No Foreign Transaction Fees
• Global Entry/TSA Pre-Check Credit
• $95

The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express

Learn More about The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express Terms Apply. | See Rates & Fees

• 2x points on purchases up to $50k then 1x
• Access to Amex Offers
• No annual fee

Is buying United MileagePlus miles worth it?

How much value can you really get when redeeming redeeming United MileagePlus miles? In general, I’d say the single best use of United miles is to redeem for Polaris business class on long haul flights. This is for a few reasons:

• United makes a vast majority of Polaris business class award seats available exclusively to MileagePlus members, and not to members of partner frequent flyer programs
• United has a massive global route network, so being able to redeem on United is useful, especially if you want to fly direct to international destinations
• Nowadays MileagePlus members who have Premier elite status and/or a co-branded MileagePlus credit card get significantly better award pricing, so there’s lots of value to that

Beyond that, United potentially has attractive award pricing on some partner airlines, though the value does vary considerably. For example, I’d consider it a real sweet spot how you can redeem 88,000 MileagePlus miles for business class to Africa, given the amount of travel that entails.

Admittedly limits come into play here, but at an acquisition cost as low as 1.88 cents per mile, you could potentially get way outsized value here. Being able to book a one-way United business class ticket from San Francisco to Singapore for around $1,880 is a great deal compared to the retail cost, as is spending $1,654 on a one-way Star Alliance business class ticket from the United States to South Africa.

Of course I should also point out that there are endless situations where this wouldn’t represent a great deal. Just to give one example, say you wanted to book a one-way United first class ticket from Boston to San Francisco, where the cash fare is $764, and the redemption rate is 77,300 miles. There would be no reason to buy miles for close to two cents each, when the redemption only gets you around one cent per mile of value.

On what airlines can you redeem United MileagePlus miles?

United Airlines belongs to the Star Alliance, so you can redeem MileagePlus miles on all Star Alliance airlines.

On top of that, you can redeem miles on some of United’s other partner airlines, including Aer Lingus, Azul, Discover Airlines, and more.

How much are United MileagePlus miles worth?

Everyone will value mileage currencies differently. Based on my latest miles & points valuations, I consider MileagePlus miles to be worth 1.3 cents each. I tend to value points pretty conservatively, and there are many ways to get more value from MileagePlus miles than that.

Do United MileagePlus miles expire?

United MileagePlus miles don’t expire. There’s no activity required to keep your account mileage balance alive, but rather you can keep your miles no matter what.

What other ways can you earn United MileagePlus miles?

If you’re looking to earn United MileagePlus miles, there are plenty of ways to rack up this currency with credit card rewards:

• Chase Ultimate Rewards points can be moved to United MileagePlus at a 1:1 ratio, so you can move over points earned on cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card (learn more), Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ (learn more), Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (learn more), and Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (learn more)
• Bilt Rewards points can be moved to United MileagePlus at a 1:1 ratio, including points earned on cards like the Bilt Palladium Card (learn more), Bilt Obsidian Card (learn more), and Bilt Blue Card (learn more) (Rates & Fees)

On top of that, MileagePlus has a variety of co-branded Chase credit cards, which can be a great way to rack up rewards. This includes cards like the United Club℠ Card (learn more), United Quest℠ Card (learn more), United℠ Explorer Card (learn more), United Gateway℠ Card (learn more), etc.

Bottom line

United MileagePlus is offering a promotion on purchased miles, and different members may be targeted for different offers. In this case, it appears that the best offer is for up to a 100% bonus (or 50% discount), which is an opportunity to buy miles for 1.88 cents each. However, not everyone is targeted for such an offer, so some people are only eligible for a smaller discount or bonus.

This could be a chance to acquire MileagePlus miles at a reasonable cost. However, I’d only buy miles with a specific and immediate redemption in mind.

Do you plan on buying United miles with this offer?

While I wouldn’t recommend buying points without a specific use in mind, there are absolutely ways to get outsized value, and this is in line with the best offers that we see from the program. With the right strategy, this could be an opportunity to get a significant discount on an IHG hotel stay, and I’ll show exactly how.

Link: Buy IHG One Rewards points with this promotion with a 100% bonus

Buy IHG One Rewards points with promotion

Through 11:59PM ET on Thursday, November 5, 2026, IHG One Rewards is offering a bonus on purchased points. Points can be purchased in increments of 1,000 points, and the bonus is tiered, as follows:

• Buy 1,000-4,000 points, receive no bonus
• Buy 5,000-10,000 points, receive an 80% bonus
• Buy 11,000-39,000 points, receive a 90% bonus
• Buy 40,000-200,000 points, receive a 100% bonus

Note that the purchase of IHG points doesn’t count toward elite status.

How much does it cost to buy IHG points?

Ordinarily you can buy IHG One Rewards points for as little as one cent each (the pricing isn’t linear), before any discounts or bonuses. With that in mind, if you were eligible for a 100% bonus and purchased 200,000 IHG One Rewards points pre-bonus, you’d receive a total of 400,000 points at a cost of $2,000, which is a rate of 0.5 cents per IHG point.

While The Brand New IHG One Rewards Premier Select Credit Card (learn more), The New IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card (learn more), The New IHG One Rewards Credit Card (learn more), and The New IHG One Rewards Business Credit Card (learn more), offer a 30% discount on purchased points, that benefit only applies when buying points at the normal cost, and wouldn’t be applicable here.

How many IHG points can you purchase?

IHG One Rewards ordinarily lets members purchase up to 150,000 points per calendar year, before any bonuses. However, during this promotion that cap has been increased to 200,000 points, pre-bonus.

How does this compare to other IHG buy points promotions?

When IHG One Rewards does offer a promotion on purchased points, the 100% bonus or 50% discount is the most common offer. A 100% bonus and 50% discount give you the same price per point, so you’ll typically pay 0.5 cents per point during a promotion.

Below is a chart with some of the recent promotions we saw from the program, before this one.

Which credit card should you buy IHG points with?

IHG One Rewards points purchases are processed by points.com, meaning they don’t count as a hotel purchase for the purposes of credit card spending. That means if you pay with an IHG credit card, you wouldn’t earn any bonus rewards, so it’s not treated as if it’s IHG spending.

Therefore I’d recommend using a card on which you’re trying to reach a minimum spending requirement, or otherwise, a credit card that maximizes your return on everyday spending. See this post for more on which credit cards are best for buying points.

Best cards for non-bonused spending:

• Citi Double Cash® Card
• Chase Freedom Unlimited®
• Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
• The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express

Citi Double Cash® Card

Apply Now Terms Apply. | See Rates & Fees

• Earn 1% cash back when you make a purchase, earn 1% cash back when you pay for that purchase
• $0

Chase Freedom Unlimited®

Learn More about Chase Freedom Unlimited® >Terms Apply.

• Earn 3% Cash Back on Dining
• Earn 3% Cash Back at Drugstores
• Earn 1.5% Cash Back On All Other Purchases
• $0

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

Learn More about Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

• Earn 2x miles per dollar on every purchase
• No Foreign Transaction Fees
• 10,000 bonus miles every account anniversary
• $395

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Learn More about Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

• Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day
• No Foreign Transaction Fees
• Global Entry/TSA Pre-Check Credit
• $95

The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express

Learn More about The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express Terms Apply. | See Rates & Fees

• 2x points on purchases up to $50k then 1x
• Access to Amex Offers
• No annual fee

Is buying IHG One Rewards points worth it?

IHG One Rewards has dynamic award pricing, which means there’s no minimum or maximum number of points a hotel stay can cost. Rather, the cost of an award stay generally correlates somewhat to the cost of a revenue stay.

However, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get the same value with all hotel stays. There are many situations where you can get outsized value by buying points and then redeeming them. Let me just give a few examples, using stays I pulled up for random dates (again, pricing is dynamic, so this won’t reflect what you see every day).

For example, the Six Senses Kyoto is bookable for 165,000 points per night, and you could purchase those points for $825.

That represents massive savings over the cash cost, which is $1,493.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Tampa is bookable for 33,000 points per night, and you could purchase those points for $165.

That represents massive savings over the cash cost, which is $230.

However, this won’t always be a good deal. For example, take the Kimpton Tres Rios in Playa del Carmen is bookable for 104,000 points per night, and you could purchase those points for $520.

That’s not a good deal compared to the cash cost, which is $429, so there you’d be better off just paying cash directly.

Another thing to keep in mind is that select IHG co-branded credit cards offer free night awards, and those are worth up to a certain number of points. What’s great is that these free night awards can typically be topped off with points, so there could be merit to buying IHG points so that you have points with which to top off these certificates.

Tip: Get a fourth night free with an IHG credit card

You’ll get the most value from your IHG points if you have The Brand New IHG One Rewards Premier Select Credit Card (learn more), The New IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card (learn more), and The New IHG One Rewards Business Credit Card (learn more).

That’s because the cards offer a fourth night free benefit, meaning that you can book a four night award stay for the cost of three nights. This is essentially the equivalent of 25% off in increments of four nights, since you can use this benefit an unlimited number of times.

Just to use the Six Senses Kyoto example above, if you earned 495,000 points (worth $2,475 at 0.5 cents per point), that would be enough for four nights with the fourth night free. That represents an absolutely massive discount.

At what hotels can you redeem IHG points?

IHG has over 15 hotel brands, so there are lots of options for redeeming your IHG One Rewards points. IHG points can be redeemed at the following properties, among others:

• For luxury & premium hotels, there’s Six Senses, Regent, InterContinental, Kimpton and Hotel Indigo
• For mid-range and limited service hotels, there’s Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Candlewood Suites, Staybridge Suites, voco, and EVEN

How much are IHG points worth?

Everyone will value points differently. Based on my latest miles & points valuations, I consider IHG points to be worth 0.5 cents each, and I tend to value points pretty conservatively. So the purchase price is around what I value these points.

Do IHG points expire?

For non-elite members, IHG One Rewards points expire after 12 months of inactivity. However, any sort of points earning or redemption activity would reset the expiration of your points. Furthermore, IHG One Rewards points don’t expire for elite members in the program.

Keep in mind that IHG elite status is quite easy to earn. Just for having The Brand New IHG One Rewards Premier Select Credit Card (learn more) or The New IHG One Rewards Business Credit Card (learn more), you receive Platinum status, without any sort of a spending requirement.

Does IHG have blackout dates?

IHG One Rewards doesn’t have blackout dates on award nights, but the program does have capacity controls. What this means is that some number of standard rooms will be made available for award redemptions every night, but that doesn’t mean that all standard rooms are available for award redemptions.

Bottom line

IHG One Rewards is offering a sale on purchased points. Through November 5, 2026, IHG One Rewards is offering a promotion, and members seem to be eligible for a 100% bonus, which is an opportunity to buy points for 0.5 cents each.

There are instances where buying points can save you over 50% on the cost of a luxury hotel stay. I also think there’s value in having a “reserve” of IHG points, given the brand’s global footprint. You can get even more value out of buying IHG points in conjunction with a premium IHG credit card, so you can get a fourth night free on award redemptions.

Do you plan on buying IHG points with a bonus?

This limited time welcome bonus comes just shortly after the AAdvantage Executive Card has undergone a refresh — while the card’s fee has gone up (from $595 to $695 per year), the value has potentially increased as well. Regardless of the welcome offer, this is a genuinely rewarding card, which offers lounge access, bonus Loyalty Points, and much more.

The Citi Executive Card is a product that I’ve personally had for years. In this post, I’d like to recap the details of this bonus, as this is the ideal time to apply.

Link: Learn more about the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Legend Mastercard®

Citi AAdvantage Executive Card 125K miles welcome offer

The Citi AAdvantage Executive Card is offering a limited time welcome bonus of 125,000 AAdvantage bonus miles after making $15,000 in purchases within the first five months of account opening, and this offer ends soon. This is the highest-ever offer that we’ve seen on the card.

Based on my latest miles & points valuations, AAdvantage miles are worth 1.5 cents each, so to me that bonus is worth $1,875. There are some incredible uses of American AAdvantage miles, so you can redeem this for experiences like Etihad’s A350 business class or Qatar Airways’ A350 business class.

Also keep in mind that any spending on the card will qualify for Loyalty Points (helping you earn elite status, including Gold, Platinum, Platinum Pro, or Executive Platinum), though the welcome bonus as such won’t.

Citi AAdvantage Executive Card eligibility requirements

If you’re interested in applying for the Citi AAdvantage Executive Card, the typical Citi credit card application restrictions apply, including that you can be approved for at most one Citi card every eight days, and at most two Citi cards every 65 days.

On top of that, the bonus isn’t available to those who have received a new account bonus on this exact card in the past 48 months. Eligibility is unrelated to having any other American Airlines credit card, so you’re eligible for this card even if you have other products, like the Citi® / AAdvantage® Globe™ Mastercard® (learn more).

Read my guide to Citi AAdvantage Executive Card approval.

Why the Citi AAdvantage Executive Card is worth it

The Citi AAdvantage Executive Card has a $695 annual fee (you can receive a $145 discount if you’re a Citigold client), though it offers a bunch of perks that can help offset that. For one, the AAdvantage Executive Card is the best card for accessing American Admirals Clubs:

• The Citi AAdvantage Executive Card offers an Admirals Club membership for the primary cardmember
• The Citi AAdvantage Executive Card offers Admirals Club access for authorized users; you can add up to three authorized users for a total of $175 (so potentially under $60 each), and then beyond that it’s $175 per authorized user

What’s the difference between the Admirals Club membership for the primary cardmember and Admirals Club access for authorized users? Well, the member can access some partner lounges, like Alaska Lounges, while the authorized users can’t.

Regardless, the primary cardmember and authorized users are each able to bring two guests or their immediate family into Admirals Clubs when flying American or an eligible partner airline on the same day.

On top of that, the AAdvantage Executive Card offers a variety of other perks, including:

• A first checked bag free on domestic American Airlines itineraries for the primary cardmember and up to eight companions on the same reservation
• Priority check-in, priority security, and early boarding, when flying American Airlines
• Up to 40,000 bonus Loyalty Points per year, unrelated to spending on the card; you’ll earn 10,000 bonus Loyalty Points when you pass each of the following Loyalty Points thresholds over the course of a membership year — 50,000 Loyalty Points, 90,000 Loyalty Points, 165,000 Loyalty Points, and 240,000 Loyalty Points
• Up to $500 back in statement credits per calendar year on eligible American Airlines Vacations purchases; this is a semi-annual credit of $250, which applies for a booking of two or more travel components, like a flight, car reservation, or hotel booking
• Up to $180 annually in Lyft credits every year, in the form of up to a $15 credit each month after making three eligible rides
• Up to $120 back annually on eligible prepaid Avis or Budget rentals every calendar year, which can even be used toward a single rental
• Up to $100 back annually on eligible American Airlines inflight and Admirals Club purchases when using the card, so this can be used for snacks and drinks onboard, premium drinks in the Admirals Club, etc.
• A Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit of up to $120 every four years, as reimbursement for the application fee
• Travel protection, including for trip cancellation and interruption, trip delay, lost baggage, and worldwide rental cars
• 12x AAdvantage miles on eligible rental cars booked through aa.com/cars, and eligible hotels booked through aa.com/hotels; beyond that, earn 4x AAdvantage miles on eligible American Airlines purchases, and 1x AAdvantage miles on other purchases, all with no foreign transaction fees
• Omni Hotels & Resorts perks, including automatic Champion status, plus an Omni free night reward once per calendar year after completing an eligible stay of two or more consecutive nights
• Avis President’s Club status, with enrollment available through August 31, 2028; this offers perks like car upgrades, expedited services, complimentary additional drivers, and more
• Receive access to World Legend Mastercard benefits, including The Mastercard Collection and Mastercard Priceless experiences

The only thing I should otherwise mention is that with the recent refresh of the card, new cardmembers no longer receive a 25% savings on American inflight purchases, and also no longer receive up to $120 in annual Grubhub credits.

Read a detailed review of the Citi AAdvantage Executive Card.

Citi AAdvantage Executive Card welcome bonus FAQs

Bottom line

The Citi AAdvantage Executive Card has a huge limited time welcome bonus of 125,000 AAdvantage bonus miles after $15,000 in purchases within the first five months, and this offer ends soon. While the bonus is great (and I value it at $1,875), there are lots of reasons beyond the miles that you might want to keep the card.

The card’s $695 annual fee is less than you’d otherwise pay for an Admirals Club membership. You can then add up to three authorized users at a reasonable cost, and take advantage of all kinds of other perks, ranging from hundreds of dollars worth of credits, to 40,000 bonus Loyalty Points per year.

This card has been in my wallet for years, and it’s one that I think any American frequent flyer, or anyone pursuing AAdvantage elite status, should consider. If you’re at all interested in the card, now is the time to apply.

Does anyone plan to pick up the Citi AAdvantage Executive Card with the limited time 125K miles bonus?

However, let me of course remind everyone that Hyatt recently introduced more dynamic award pricing, and in many cases it’s really bad for redemption values. Still, there are definitely ways to come out ahead while taking advantage of this offer, though everyone should crunch the numbers for themselves.

Link: Buy World of Hyatt points with this promotion for 20% off

Promotion on purchased World of Hyatt points

Through 11:59PM ET on Monday, December 21, 2026, World of Hyatt is offering a 20% discount on purchased points. You can unlock this offer as long as you purchase at least 3,000 points in one transaction. If you purchase 1,000 or 2,000 points, you don’t receive any bonus.

How much does it cost to buy Hyatt points?

Under normal circumstances, World of Hyatt charges 2.6 cents per purchased World of Hyatt point, inclusive of all taxes and fees. If you maxed out the promotion, you could purchase 110,000 World of Hyatt points for $2,288, which is a rate of 2.08 cents per World of Hyatt point.

Ordinarily, when Hyatt has a promotion on purchased points, the program offers either a 20-30% bonus or a 20-30% discount. So this is not at the top end of that range, though some bonus is better than no bonus!

How many Hyatt points can you buy?

World of Hyatt ordinarily lets members buy up to 55,000 points per account per calendar year, before any bonuses, in increments of 1,000 points. However, during this promotion, that cap has been doubled, to 110,000 points. Note that in order to purchase points, you must have been enrolled in World of Hyatt for at least 60 days.

While World of Hyatt limits how many points you can buy per year, the program also lets you transfer points to other members for free online, with the ability to transfer up to 525,000 points per year. So that could be a way to circumvent this limit while trying to buy points.

How does this compare to other Hyatt buy points promotions?

When World of Hyatt does offer a promotion on purchased points, it’s most common to see either a 20% bonus or a 20% discount. Personally I’d buy points based on when you’re ready to redeem them, rather than the exact cost. After all, the cost to buy points with a 20% bonus vs. 20% discount is fairly similar.

Below is a chart with some of the recent promotions we saw from the program, before this one.

Which credit card should you buy Hyatt points with?

World of Hyatt points purchases are processed by points.com, meaning they don’t count as a hotel purchase for the purposes of credit card spending. That means if you pay with a Hyatt credit card, you wouldn’t earn any bonus rewards, so it’s not treated as if it’s Hyatt spending.

I’d recommend using a card with which you’re trying to reach a minimum spending requirement, or a credit card that maximizes your return on everyday spending. When in doubt, review which credit cards are best for buying points and miles.

Best cards for non-bonused spending:

• Citi Double Cash® Card
• Chase Freedom Unlimited®
• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
• Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
• The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express

Citi Double Cash® Card

Apply Now Terms Apply. | See Rates & Fees

• Earn 1% cash back when you make a purchase, earn 1% cash back when you pay for that purchase
• $0

Chase Freedom Unlimited®

Learn More about Chase Freedom Unlimited® >Terms Apply.

• Earn 3% Cash Back on Dining
• Earn 3% Cash Back at Drugstores
• Earn 1.5% Cash Back On All Other Purchases
• $0

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Learn More about Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

• Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day
• No Foreign Transaction Fees
• Global Entry/TSA Pre-Check Credit
• $95

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

Learn More about Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

• Earn 2x miles per dollar on every purchase
• No Foreign Transaction Fees
• 10,000 bonus miles every account anniversary
• $395

The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express

Learn More about The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express Terms Apply. | See Rates & Fees

• 2x points on purchases up to $50k then 1x
• Access to Amex Offers
• No annual fee

Is buying World of Hyatt points worth it?

While I wouldn’t buy World of Hyatt points without a specific use in mind, there’s tons of value to be had if buying points strategically.

I’m a huge fan of the World of Hyatt program, thanks to the excellent hotel brands Hyatt has, and the general value of World of Hyatt Globalist status, including the ability to use suite upgrade awards when redeeming points.

I’ve had so many amazing award stays with Hyatt over the years, and you could instantly buy points and redeem them at a property and save over 50% in the process. I’ll get into that in a bit more detail below.

How many points do you need for a free night at a Hyatt?

Nowadays World of Hyatt has five tiers of award pricing, spread across eight categories of hotels. Below you can find the redemption chart, with standard room pricing per night.

What are good uses of Hyatt points?

There are truly endless amazing redemptions, so let me just give a couple of examples of how this promotion could pay off, on both ends of the spectrum.

For example, take the Category 1 Hyatt Place Los Cabos. With the lowest award pricing, it costs 3,000 Hyatt points per night. At 2.08 cents per point, you could buy those points for $62.40.

Meanwhile the cash rate for that same night would be $146.60 inclusive of taxes and fees, so that’s a massive discount right there.

For a luxury example, take the Category 8 Park Hyatt Tokyo. With the medium tier award pricing, it costs 45,000 Hyatt points per night. At 2.08 cents per point, you could buy those points for $936.

Meanwhile if paying cash for that stay, you’d pay $1,398.50, so that represents a significant savings.

Of course let me emphasize that there are also all kinds of situations where you won’t come out ahead buying points. If the points rate multiplied by the cost of the purchase is less than the cash rate, then there’s no reason to buy points.

Do Hyatt points expire?

World of Hyatt points can expire if your account doesn’t have any activity for 24 consecutive months. However, any points earning or redemption activity would reset the expiration of your points.

How much are Hyatt points worth?

Everyone will value points differently. Based on my latest miles & points valuations, I consider World of Hyatt points to be worth ~1.4 cents each, and I tend to value points pretty conservatively. So the purchase price is a bit higher than what I value the points, though like I said, there are ways to get much more value.

Does World of Hyatt have blackout dates?

World of Hyatt doesn’t have blackout dates on award nights, and all standard rooms are supposed to be available for points redemptions at the published costs.

How else can you earn Hyatt points?

There are lots of circumstances under which it could make sense to buy World of Hyatt points. However, if you want to acquire World of Hyatt points at a lower out of pocket cost, there are some other options involving credit cards.

In addition to being able to earn World of Hyatt points with Hyatt’s co-branded credit cards, you can also transfer points from both Bilt Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards:

• With Chase Ultimate Rewards, you get a 1:1 transfer ratio if you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card (learn more) or Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ (learn more), while you get a 4:3 transfer ratio if you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (learn more) or Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (learn more)
• With Bilt Rewards, you get a 1:1 transfer ratio for all cards as of now, including the Bilt Palladium Card (learn more), Bilt Obsidian Card (learn more), and Bilt Blue Card (learn more) (Rates & Fees); however, as of January 1, 2027, the transfer ratio is being devalued to 4:3 for all cards

Then you can also earn points with Hyatt’s co-branded credit cards, which include the World of Hyatt Business Card (learn more) and World of Hyatt Credit Card (learn more).

Bottom line

Through December 21, 2026, World of Hyatt is offering a 20% discount on the purchase of points, which is an opportunity to acquire points for 2.08 cents each. I know many people find it worthwhile to buy World of Hyatt points, especially those outside the United States, who don’t have access to lucrative credit cards.

So while I absolutely wouldn’t proactively pick up points at this cost, there could still potentially be value. As always, you’ll want to crunch the numbers for yourself, based on the potential stays you’d make.

Do you plan on buying Hyatt points with this promotion?

Emirates’ creative “mile-a-minute” promotion details

Thanks to a limited time promotion, Emirates is offering Skywards members one mile for every minute they spend in Dubai:

• This is valid for tickets booked between October 21 and November 5, 2026
• This is valid for travel between October 21 and December 13, 2026
• All Skywards members are eligible, but registration is required
• The ticket must originate outside the UAE, with the Dubai stay lasting between 24 hours and 30 days
• The ticket must book a ticket directly through Emirates or flydubai, and must be for roundtrip travel
• The ticket must be eligible to earn Skywards miles, meaning that award tickets don’t qualify
• The calculated length of stay is based on the ticketed itinerary — you can either have an extended stopover in Dubai (like flying New York to Dubai to Delhi), or you can make Dubai your destination (like flying New York to Dubai to New York)

While Emirates is an independently profitable airline, there’s no denying that a major incentive for the carrier is also to build up the economy of Dubai, and that largely comes in the form of encouraging people to visit. Keep in mind that the carrier also has the “My Emirates Pass” concept, where your Emirates boarding pass can unlock savings at retailers throughout the UAE.

Of course let me caution that I’m just sharing the promo here, and not making a call as to whether anyone should visit the UAE. As a reminder, the US Department of State just issued a Level 3 travel advisory for the UAE, encouraging people to reconsider travel there.

The major limitation with this Emirates promotion

There’s one major catch with this offer (well, aside from general willingness of people to travel to the UAE). Earning one Skywards mile per minute is quite a generous mileage earning rate. That’s 1,440 miles per day, 10,080 miles per week, or 43,200 miles per month.

So that brings us to the catch — each Skywards member is capped at earning 7,200 bonus miles with this promotion. You’d earn that after spending exactly five days in Dubai. So this promotion creates a nice incentive to plan a stopover there, though a long visit won’t earn you much incrementally.

Bottom line

Emirates Skywards has launched a pretty creative promotion for visiting Dubai. You can earn one bonus Skywards mile for every minute you spend in Dubai. The major catch is that you have to stay for at least 24 hours, and you’re capped at earning 7,200 bonus miles, which you’d reach after five days.

Also, the timing of this offer comes just shortly after the US has issued an elevated travel warning for the UAE, so everyone can make of this what they’d like. I’m certainly not going to the UAE anytime soon!

What do you make of Emirates’ “mile-a-minute” promotion?

Capital One to Virgin Atlantic 30% transfer bonus details

Between October 21 and November 20, 2026, it’s possible to get a 30% bonus when you transfer miles from Capital One to the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club program. This promotion is being offered on Capital One’s end, so you should see the bonus at the time that you make the transfer.

The transfer ratio is usually 1:1, so through this promotion you can transfer miles at a 1,000:1,300 ratio. The 30% bonus should post at the same time as the standard rewards. There’s no registration required, and no limit to how many bonus points you can earn. Transfers from Capital One to Virgin Atlantic are generally instant.

We see bonuses from various transferable points currencies to Virgin Atlantic every so often, in the range of 20-40%. So if you’re in the market for earning some Virgin Atlantic points, this is a good opportunity. We last saw a transfer bonus from Capital One to Virgin Atlantic roughly a year ago, and it was also for 30%.

Is earning Virgin Atlantic points worth it?

Virgin Atlantic is definitely a frequent flyer program with more niche redemption opportunities. In addition to being able to redeem Flying Club points for travel on Virgin Atlantic, there’s also good value to be had for redemptions on Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways, and Delta.

In late 2024 we saw Flying Club introduce dynamic award pricing for travel on Virgin Atlantic. While the changes are a mixed bag, what’s exciting is that on the low end, redemptions are cheaper than ever before. It’s now possible to fly one-way Virgin Atlantic Upper Class between the United States and the UK for under 30,000 points, and that’s before a transfer bonus.

Beyond that, Virgin Atlantic has several airline partners, some of which are more lucrative than others. Probably the best use of Flying Club points is for travel in ANA first & business class. You can find the redemption rates below.

Paying 45,000-47,500 Flying Club points for a one-way business class ticket between the United States and Japan is a phenomenal value to start with. Then when you consider the 30% transfer bonus, that means you could be paying significantly fewer Capital One miles. First class can also be a good deal.

All Nippon Airways’ new first & business class are amazing products as well. The major catch is that availability can be really tough to come by.

Bottom line

Between October 21 and November 20, 2026, you can receive a 30% bonus when you transfer miles from Capital One to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. This bonus is being offered on Capital One’s end, so you should see the bonus right away, and can take advantage of this as often as you’d like.

This has the potential to be a good deal for redemptions on Virgin Atlantic, SkyTeam partners, and the program’s non-alliance partners.

Do you plan on converting Capital One miles into Virgin Atlantic points with this bonus?

Amex offering 35% bonus on Marriott points transfers

Between October 20 and December 10, 2026, the Amex Membership Rewards program in the United States is offering a 35% bonus on Marriott Bonvoy® Points transfers.

The transfer ratio is usually 1:1, so through this promotion you can transfer points at a 1,000:1,350 ratio. This bonus is hardcoded into the transfer ratio, so you can take advantage of the bonus as often as you’d like. Transfers from Amex to Marriott Bonvoy are generally instant.

For what it’s worth, we typically see transfer bonuses between the programs an average of around twice per year, and they’re usually in the range of 20-35%. So this bonus is on the higher end of that scale, much better than the 20% bonus we saw earlier this year.

Should you transfer Amex points to Marriott with a 35% bonus?

While a 35% bonus might sound exciting, not all points currencies are created equal. Personally, I value Bonvoy points at ~0.7 cents each, give or take. There are certainly ways to get outsized value from the points, but that’s my valuation.

By my valuation, you’re still getting under one cent of value per Membership Rewards point, even with this transfer bonus. That’s quite a ways from my valuation of Membership Rewards points, which is 1.7 cents per point.

Other people will likely have wildly different valuations of Marriott points than I do, and if that’s the case, this bonus could be worth it. That’s especially true when you consider there’s no great way to earn Marriott points through everyday credit card spending anymore. I tend to value points conservatively, and of course there are always ways to get outsized value with the right redemption in mind.

Bottom line

Amex Membership Rewards is offering a 35% bonus when you transfer points to Marriott Bonvoy. In general, I think transfer bonuses are the way to maximize the value you can get from transferable points. However, that’s usually only true for currencies where even transferring points at a 1:1 ratio could make sense.

In the case of Amex Membership Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy, I find that you lose more than half of the value of your points by making a transfer under normal circumstances. Even with a 35% bonus, I wouldn’t consider this to be much of a deal at all.

Of course, some people may have specific situations where this could make sense, and in that case, it could be worth at least topping off an account.

Does anyone plan on taking advantage of this Amex transfer bonus to Marriott Bonvoy?

If the high annual fee or spending requirement turns you off, the lower annual fee version, the Capital One Venture Business, also offers a compelling bonus. In this post, I’d like to go over all the details of both offers.

Earn 300K miles + $1,300 credit with the Capital One Venture X Business

The Capital One Venture X Business is currently offering a limited time welcome offer, to celebrate the card’s third anniversary. This limited time welcome offer is structured as follows:

• Earn up to 300,000 bonus miles — 150,000 bonus miles after spending $40,000, plus another 150,000 bonus miles after spending a total of $120,000, all within the first four months
• Earn up to $1,300 in Capital One Business Travel credits — get a $300 annual travel credit, plus earn a limited time $1,000 travel credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel (to be used within the first 12 months) when you spend $120,000 in the first four months

To state the obvious, the spending requirement here is massive. Based on my latest miles & points valuation, Capital One miles are worth 1.7 cents each, so that means I’d value the 300,000 miles at $5,100. If you add in the incremental $1,000 travel credit, I’d say that’s a value of $6,100.

But of course the math is more nuanced than that. The Capital One Venture X Business ordinarily offers 2x miles per dollar spent, so if you spend $120,000 within four months, you’d actually earn a minimum of 540,000 miles, which comes out to an average of 4.5x miles per dollar spent. That doesn’t factor in the value of the travel credit either.

There are lots of great uses for Capital One miles, as they can be transferred to all kinds of useful airline and hotel partners, or they can be redeemed toward a travel purchase.

Link: Learn more about the Capital One Venture X Business

Who is eligible for the Capital One Venture X Business bonus?

All card issuers have some general application restrictions. However, Capital One probably has among the fewest consistent restrictions. Specific to the Capital One Venture X Business, the welcome offer on the card isn’t available to those who already have the card, or those who had the Spark Travel Elite Card (which is what this card was briefly branded as) or who have the Capital One Spark Cash Plus (learn more).

Beyond that, eligibility should be unrelated to having any other Capital One card. You are eligible for the bonus on this card if you have the personal version of the card. Note that while there are similarities between the two cards, there are also some differences.

Read my guide to getting approved for the Venture X Business.

Why the Capital One Venture X Business is worth it

The Capital One Venture X Business has a $395 annual fee, so it’s among the higher annual fee business cards out there. However, the card offers a variety of rewards, benefits, and perks, that should offer outsized value:

• The Venture X Business offers a minimum of 2x miles on all purchases, making it one of the best cards for everyday spending; on top of that, the card has no foreign transaction fees and no preset spending limit
• The Venture X Business offers a $300 annual Capital One Business Travel credit, which can be used toward a flight, hotel, or rental car; if you travel with any frequency, this should be worth close to face value
• The Venture X Business offers 10,000 Venture bonus miles on your account anniversary every year; this is worth a minimum of $100, but potentially way more than that
• The Venture X Business offers the primary card member access to participating Priority Pass™ lounges, plus access to Capital One Lounges and Capital One Landings
• The Venture X Business offers a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit once every four years

The way I do the math on the card is that I consider the $300 annual travel credit and 10,000 anniversary bonus miles to (more than) cover the annual fee on an ongoing basis, and then everything else is the real value offered by the card. You’re earning a great return on spending, plus airport lounge access.

Read a full review of the Capital One Venture X Business here.

The cheaper Capital One Venture Business also has a great bonus

It’s worth mentioning that the Capital One Venture Business is another option to consider. The card has a reasonable $95 annual fee and offers a bonus of 100,000 Capital One miles after spending $10,000 within the first three months. That’s obviously still a substantial spending requirement, but a fraction of the Venture X Business spending requirement.

Link: Learn more about the Capital One Venture Business

You can earn both Capital One Venture Business bonuses

Above, I covered the eligibility requirements for the Capital One Venture X Business. So it’s also worth noting that when it comes to eligibility for the Capital One Venture Business (including for the bonus), this product is considered separately.

So you could earn the bonus on both cards, and that could potentially get you 400,000 bonus miles, plus the travel credits. The rewards opportunities there are massive.

Who should consider the Capital One Venture Business instead

While I think there’s merit to picking up both cards, given the incredible bonuses, how should you decide between the two cards in the long run? The Capital One Venture Business has some advantages as well:

• The Venture Business has an annual fee of $95, so it’s $300 lower than on the Venture X Business
• The Venture Business offers a minimum of 2x miles on all purchases, making it one of the best cards for everyday spending, with no foreign transaction fees; so in terms of rewards, it’s very similar to the Venture X Business
• The Venture Business offers a $50 annual Capital One Business Travel credit, a $50 annual credit for qualifying advertising or software purchases, and a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit once every four years, so that’s pretty great given the low annual fee

Personally, I think the annual fee on the Capital One Venture X Business is well worth it. However, understandably many people would rather not pay such a high annual fee upfront, and for those people, the Capital One Venture Business is a compelling option.

Read a full review of the Capital One Venture Business here.

Capital One Venture Business bonus FAQs

Bottom line

The Capital One Venture X Business is offering a massive new limited time welcome bonus, whereby you can earn 300,000 bonus miles plus up to $1,300 in Capital One Business Travel credits upon spending $120,000 in the first four months (admittedly the spending requirement is massive). You should be eligible for this card as long as you don’t currently have this exact card, haven’t had the Spark Travel Elite, and don’t currently have the Spark Cash Plus.

There’s lots of value to having this card in the long-run, including being able to earn 2x miles with no preset spending limit, plus all kinds of valuable travel perks, including airport lounge access. If you’ve been considering this card, now is the ideal time to apply… assuming you can reach that spending requirement!

If the annual fee on the card is too high for your liking, you can also consider the Capital One Venture Business as it also has a nice offer for 100,000 bonus miles, and a much more reasonable annual fee, while still offering 2x miles on spending.

Do you plan on picking up the Capital One Venture X Business or Capital One Venture Business with these great welcome offers?

Let’s take a look at the details — so that I don’t bury the lede, let me say that I’d only recommend taking advantage of this JetBlue buy points offer with a specific use in mind, and primarily if you intend to redeem on partner airlines.

Link: Buy JetBlue TrueBlue points with this promotion with a 120% bonus

JetBlue TrueBlue buy points promotion details

Through 11:59PM EST on Thursday, November 5, 2026, JetBlue TrueBlue is offering a bonus on purchased points, which is close to being in line with the best offers from the program.

How big of a bonus is JetBlue offering on buying points?

JetBlue TrueBlue is offering up to a 120% bonus on purchasing points. The offer is structured as follows, with three tiers of bonuses:

• Buy 1,000-4,000 JetBlue points, get no bonus
• Buy 5,000-9,000 JetBlue points, get a 100% bonus
• Buy 10,000-19,000 JetBlue points, get a 110% bonus
• Buy 20,000-300,000 JetBlue points, get a 120% bonus

Let me emphasize that this appears to be the standard offer, though sometimes different members are targeted for different offers. You’ll want to log into your TrueBlue account to see what you’re eligible for.

How many JetBlue points can you buy with a promotion?

JetBlue ordinarily allows TrueBlue members to purchase up to 200,000 points per calendar year. However, during this promotion, that cap has been increased to 300,000 points.

How much does it cost to buy JetBlue points?

JetBlue ordinarily charges 3.0 cents per purchased point, before the 7.5% federal excise tax. After factoring in the federal excise tax, the standard cost is 3.225 cents per purchased point.

With this JetBlue points sale, you’d pay the following amounts per purchased point, factoring in the bonus:

• With a 100% bonus, purchase points for 1.5 cents each (1.61 cents including taxes)
• With a 110% bonus, purchase points for 1.43 cents each (1.54 cents including taxes)
• With a 120% bonus, purchase points for 1.36 cents each (1.47 cents including taxes)

If you wanted to purchase the fewest possible points at the best possible price, you’d want to purchase a total of 44,000 points (20,000 points plus 24,000 bonus points) at a cost of $645, which gets you the cost of 1.47 cents per point, including all taxes.

Meanwhile if you wanted to purchase the most possible points, you’d want to purchase a total of 660,000 points (300,000 points plus 360,000 bonus points) at a cost of $9,675, which gets you the same cost per point.

How fast do purchased JetBlue points post?

Officially, JetBlue states that it can take up to 72 hours for purchased points to post. However, in practice (based on my test experience of buying points), they’ll typically post almost instantly. There’s no guarantee of that, though.

Note that the purchase of JetBlue points is non-refundable, so only make a purchase if you have a specific use in mind. Furthermore, the purchase of JetBlue points doesn’t count toward Mosaic elite status, in case that’s a consideration.

How does this compare to other JetBlue buy points promotions?

When JetBlue does offer a promotion on purchased points, it’s typically in the range of 120-130%. So this is within that range. Personally I’d buy points based on when you’re ready to redeem them, rather than the exact cost. After all, the cost to buy points with a 120% bonus vs. 130% bonus doesn’t differ that much.

Below is a chart with some of the recent promotions we saw from the program, before this one.

What credit card should you use to buy JetBlue points?

JetBlue TrueBlue points purchases are processed by points.com, meaning they don’t count as an airfare purchase for the purposes of credit card spending.

Therefore I’d recommend using a card on which you’re trying to reach a minimum spending requirement, or otherwise, a credit card that maximizes your return on everyday spending. See my guide to the best credit cards for buying points.

Is buying JetBlue TrueBlue points worth it?

JetBlue TrueBlue has become more interesting on the redemption front in recent years, and there are definitely some ways to get outsized value. Let’s look at the opportunities to redeem TrueBlue points, first for travel on JetBlue, and then for travel on partner airlines. For what it’s worth, based on my latest miles & points valuations, I consider TrueBlue points to be worth 1.3 cents each.

Redeem JetBlue points for travel on JetBlue

When it comes to redeeming on JetBlue, TrueBlue is a revenue based frequent flyer program. That means the cost of an award redemption is correlated to how much a ticket would cost in cash, though it’s not always a consistent cent per point value.

In my experience, you’ll typically get around 1.3-1.5 cents per TrueBlue point toward the cost of a ticket on JetBlue in economy.

Just as an example, take a JetBlue flight from Boston to Fort Lauderdale, which costs $334 if paying cash. If redeeming TrueBlue points, you’d pay 22,500 points plus $5.60 in taxes & fees, meaning you’re getting around 1.46 cents of value per point.

As another example, take a JetBlue flight from Boston to San Francisco, which has both economy and Mint business class. If paying cash, you’d pay $198 or $676. If redeeming points, you’d pay 14,200 points or 47,300 points, plus $5.60 in taxes & fees, meaning you’re getting around 1.35-1.42 cents of value per point.

As you can see, these are situations where you probably shouldn’t buy TrueBlue points. For example, there’s no reason to acquire 14,200 points for 1.47 cents each, for a total cost of $209 (plus the $5.60 in taxes & fees), when you could instead just outright buy the ticket for $198.

One thing to keep in mind is that if you have JetBlue’s most premium card, you can get a 15% award rebate, so maybe there is a little upside there.

Redeem JetBlue points for travel on partner airlines

JetBlue TrueBlue has gotten better about adding redemptions on partner airlines in recent times, including on Qatar Airways, Condor, and United Airlines. We’re also now seeing redemptions added on China Airlines. There’s definitely some value to be had here.

For example, you could redeem just 47,400 points for Condor business class one-way from Frankfurt to Toronto. That’s an amazing opportunity to buy points and immediately get outsized value.

As another example, you could redeem 29,600 points for Qatar Airways business class one-way from Munich to Doha. Given the points acquisition costs we’re talking about, that’s an amazing value.

One caveat I’d just like to add is that partner award availability can be really tough to come by, so only buy points if you have an understanding of what that availability is like.

What other ways can you acquire JetBlue points?

As I see it, the decision of whether to buy points from a particular loyalty program comes down both to how valuable that currency is, and it also comes down to how many ways there are to acquire the currency. So that’s why it’s worth mentioning that JetBlue TrueBlue points are really easy to acquire.

At this point, JetBlue partners with virtually all transferable points currencies, so you can earn TrueBlue points through Amex Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou, etc. Bilt, Chase, and Citi, have 1:1 transfer ratios, while Amex and Capital One have less than 1:1 transfer ratios.

Another option is to apply for JetBlue’s co-branded credit cards, which often have large welcome bonuses. Those points of course won’t post anywhere close to instantly, but it’s a good strategy for building up your TrueBlue points balance over time.

So there’s no shortage of opportunities to earn these points — it’s just a function of whether you’d rather part with cash or a points currency.

Bottom line

Through November 5, 2026, JetBlue is selling TrueBlue points with up to a 120% bonus, an opportunity to buy points for as little as 1.47 cents each. I’d only buy JetBlue points with a specific use in mind. There’s value to be had in some situations, such as if you have a particular Qatar Airways or Condor award you want to book, and there’s availability.

Anyone plan on buying JetBlue TrueBlue points with a bonus?

These are all compelling cards, and in particular, the Citi Strata Elite Card and/or Citi Strata Premier Card are cards that those who are into miles & points will want to consider. In this post, I’d like to go over the details of the welcome offers on these three cards, for anyone who may be considering applying.

Link: Learn more about the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card, Citi Strata Premier® Card, or Citi Strata℠ Card

Citi Strata bonus offer details (Elite, Premier, Strata)

The trio of Citi Strata Card products are the key to earning Citi ThankYou points for credit card spending. While the Citi Strata Card is a great $0 annual fee card, the $95 annual fee Citi Strata Premier Card and $595 annual fee Citi Strata Elite Card are key to fully unlocking the value of these points, in terms of being able to transfer them to airline and hotel partners at the best rate possible.

No matter which card you decide on, there’s value to complementing it with the no annual fee Citi Double Cash® Card (learn more), which is one of the best cards for everyday, non-bonused spending. This card earns 2x ThankYou points per dollar spent on everyday purchases (1x points when you make a purchase, and 1x points when you pay for a purchase), so it’s an excellent option for maximizing everyday spending.

With that in mind, let me go over the current welcome bonuses available on the three Citi Strata Card products, plus the basics of the card value proposition. Based on my current valuations of miles & points, I consider ThankYou points to be worth 1.7 cents each.

$0 annual fee Citi Strata Card 20K points bonus

The $0 annual fee Citi Strata Card has a welcome bonus of 20,000 ThankYou points after spending $1,000 within three months.

The primary reason you’ll want to consider this card is because of the rate at which it racks up ThankYou points. The card offers 5x points on select Citi Travel purchases, 3x points at supermarkets, on select transit, on gas & EV charging, and on self-select categories, and 2x points at restaurants.

There are a couple of catches. First, the card does have foreign transaction fees, so I wouldn’t recommend using it for foreign currency purchases. Second of all, to unlock the full value of these points, you’ll want to have this card in conjunction with one of the two more premium cards, since that allows you to maximize the value of points when making transfers.

Read a full review of the Citi Strata Card.

$95 annual fee Citi Strata Premier Card 60K points bonus

The $95 annual fee Citi Strata Premier Card has a welcome bonus of 60,000 ThankYou points after spending $4,000 within three months.

I’d argue that this is the best value card in the Citi ThankYou portfolio. For one, the card has an excellent rewards structure, with no foreign transaction fees, and offers 10x points on select Citi Travel purchases, 3x points on air travel & hotels, on gas & EV charging, on dining, and on supermarkets, which is an incredibly well rounded rewards structure.

The card also offers a $100 annual hotel credit benefit, which can help offset the annual fee. Having this card also lets you unlock the full value of ThankYou points, in terms of being able to move points to travel partners at the best ratio possible.

Read a full review of the Citi Strata Premier Card.

$595 annual fee Citi Strata Elite Card 75K points bonus

The $595 annual fee Citi Strata Elite Card has a welcome bonus of 75,000 ThankYou points after spending $6,000 within three months.

This is Citi’s newest premium credit card, with a good ThankYou points rewards structure, and it’s one I applied for at the time of launch. The card earns 6-12x points on select Citi Travel purchases, 3-6x points on dining (6x points on Citi Nights is cool), and 1.5x points on everyday spending.

If you’re looking to offset the annual fee, the card offers credits, including an up to $300 annual hotel credit, an up to $200 annual Splurge credit, and an up to $200 annual Blacklane credit. The card also offers lounge access, in the form of a Priority Pass membership, plus four annual Admirals Club 24-hour passes.

It’s particularly worth calling out the excellent first year value on the card, since some of the credits and benefits are tied to the calendar year, rather than being tied to the cardmember year. This means you can get a disproportionate amount of value with your first annual fee.

Read a full review of the Citi Strata Elite Card.

Who is eligible for Citi Strata Card welcome bonus offers?

The good news is that eligibility for the Citi Strata Elite Card, Citi Strata Premier Card, and Citi Strata Card, is super straightforward. Eligibility for all three cards is considered independently, meaning that you’re eligible to be approved for each of the cards over time. Furthermore, you’re eligible for any or all of these cards if you have the Citi Prestige Card (which is no longer open to new applicants).

The major restriction to be aware of is that each individual card has a “once in a lifetime” rule. That means you’re only eligible for the welcome offer on each of the cards once. The cards also used to have a 48-month rule on bonus eligibility, but nowadays the rule is once per lifetime.

Let me emphasize that those requirements are considered independently. That’s to say that if you already have the Citi Strata Premier Card, you’d be eligible for the Citi Strata Elite Card (including the welcome bonus), and vice versa.

Read more about Citi Strata Card portfolio eligibility.

Citi Strata Card welcome bonus FAQs

Bottom line

The Citi Strata Elite Card, Citi Strata Premier Card, and Citi Strata Card, are all excellent cards, which now make up Citi’s primary portfolio of personal cards earning ThankYou points. The good news is that consumers are eligible for all three of these cards, including the welcome bonuses.

You can’t go wrong with any of these cards. Personally, I think the Citi Strata Premier Card is the easiest to justify card in the collection, since it has a reasonable annual fee, great bonus categories, and unlocks the full value of ThankYou points. However, I think the Citi Strata Elite Card can make a lot of sense, assuming you can take advantage of the credits and benefits, plus value lounge access. The card’s welcome bonus is also the most compelling.

What’s your take on the value proposition of the three Citi Strata Card products?

What is InterContinental Ambassador status?

The InterContinental Ambassador program is a paid guest recognition program intended specifically for frequent guests of InterContinental hotels. InterContinental is one of IHG’s premium hotel brands, and if you stay at InterContinentals with any frequency, then a membership should pay for itself.

This status is separate from IHG One Rewards Platinum and IHG One Rewards Diamond status, so it could make sense to buy into this program even if you have those status levels. Similarly, qualifying for IHG One Rewards Milestone Rewards is independent of the perks offered to Ambassador members.

So the idea is that Ambassador offers perks at InterContinental properties (as well as select Six Senses properties), while it doesn’t offer direct perks at other brands (well, other than that it offers IHG Platinum status, which does offer perks). If you don’t specifically stay at InterContinental or Six Senses properties with any frequency, then this isn’t going to be worth considering.

How much does InterContinental Ambassador cost?

InterContinental Ambassador is purely a paid program. Any IHG One Rewards member can buy a 12-month Ambassador membership for either $225 or 45,000 IHG One Rewards points. Based on my latest miles & points valuations, IHG points are worth 0.5 cents each, so to me it’s breakeven whether it makes sense to pay with points or cash (in which case I’d pay with points).

The 12-month membership year doesn’t have to coincide with the calendar year, so I’d only recommend signing up shortly before your first planned stay. Note that sometimes there are also promotions for new InterContinental Ambassador members, in which case it could make sense to sign up then.

You can register for the InterContinental Ambassador program online, by phone via the Ambassador service center, or at an IHG hotel.

What benefits does InterContinental Ambassador offer?

What are the benefits of InterContinental Ambassador status? When staying at InterContinental hotels, you receive the following perks:

• Complimentary weekend night reward; I’ll share more details on that below
• A guaranteed one category upgrade; this excludes club access and certain suite types, and isn’t guaranteed on award stays
• A $20 credit with each stay to use toward the hotel’s restaurant, bar, or minibar
• Guaranteed 4PM late check-out; this applies at both city hotels and resorts
• A dedicated check-in area
• Complimentary internet and mineral water
• Single room rate for double occupancy
• IHG One Rewards Platinum status, which offers 60% bonus points, upgrades subject to availability, rollover elite nights, and more; you also receive this status just for having The Brand New IHG One Rewards Premier Select Credit Card (learn more), The New IHG One Rewards Business Credit Card (learn more), Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card (learn more), Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ (learn more), or United Club℠ Card (learn more)
• Exclusively in Mainland China, complimentary full breakfast each night valid only for the member (so one person per room)

I think most of these benefits are pretty straightforward. I’d say the complimentary weekend night reward is potentially the highest value perk here. For those curious about how that works:

• It’s valid for 12 months from the date of issue, and it’s issued as soon as you sign up for the program (or renew); if you sign up for the program at check-in of a stay, you could then use it for that stay
• It’s valid for a minimum of a two night paid weekend stay, using the Ambassador Complimentary Weekend Night Rate at any InterContinental property (this will show as “AMB Certificate” when booking); so it’s not valid when redeeming points, or booking other rates
• Weekend nights are defined as Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, except in the Middle East, where hotels may define the weekend as Thursday, Friday, and Saturday
• The weekend night certificate can be used for most room types, including many suites and club rooms
• The weekend night certificate isn’t transferable, so it has to be used by the member
• The cost of the second night is manually credited at check-out when using the certificate
• If you’re curious to see what rates are like using this benefit but don’t yet have a certificate, you can search the rates at this link; as you’ll see, this rate is sometimes a bit higher than the regular best available rate, but not by much

Note that InterContinental Ambassador members also receive select perks at other premium brands. The best InterContinental Ambassador recognition is otherwise at Six Senses properties, where Ambassador members receive the following perks:

• Complimentary daily breakfast for two in the restaurant
• A complimentary one category room upgrade, subject to availability
• Early check-in and 4PM late check-out, subject to availability
• A wellness platter welcome amenity
• Complimentary internet access

InterContinental Ambassador members don’t receive perks at Kimpton properties, but rather Kimpton has its own Inner Circle program. Ambassadors also don’t receive perks at Regent properties, which is one of IHG’s other luxury hotel brands.

Is InterContinental Ambassador worth the cost?

If you stay at InterContinentals with any frequency, then buying Ambassador status is almost certainly worth it. The free night certificate alone should more than justify the annual fee for most. On top of that, you can easily recoup your membership fee with a stay or two, thanks to the guaranteed upgrade, late check-out, $20 food & beverage credit, and more.

If you like InterContinentals, this program is absolutely for you. Personally I haven’t been a member in many years, simply because InterContinentals don’t appeal to me much. To me the brand has no personality, and seems like it’s stuck in the early 2000s. What exactly is the selling point of InterContinental as a brand?

That’s not to say there aren’t nice individual properties, but it just seems like the brand lacks a vision. Or I suppose to look at it another way, most brands lack a vision nowadays, so perhaps that’s not unique to InterContinental. Personally I’m much more excited about IHG’s other upscale and luxury brands, like Kimpton and Six Senses.

What is InterContinental Royal Ambassador status?

In addition to the paid InterContinental Ambassador program, there’s also the InterContinental Royal Ambassador program, which is invitation-only. As it’s described, this is extended “only to a small percentage” of guests based on their spending and stay activities at InterContinental and Kimpton.

This is invitation only, but you can generally expect that you won’t get an invitation if you don’t spend at least $12,000 or so per year with these brands (and even that isn’t a guarantee). Unlike Ambassador, Royal Ambassador is based on the calendar year, so you qualify based on your stay patterns over the previous year.

What are the benefits of InterContinental Royal Ambassador?

• A guaranteed two category upgrade
• Guaranteed 10AM early check-in and 4PM late check-out
• Club InterContinental lounge access where available, and complimentary daily breakfast for two at properties without a lounge
• A free night certificate at an IHG property worth up to 70,000 points
• An InterContinental weekend night reward, similar to the one offered to Ambassador members
• IHG One Rewards Diamond status
• 25 IHG food & beverage rewards annually, each worth up to $20
• A complimentary minibar credit of up to $50 per day
• A choice of a savory or sweet snack, or fruit
• Waived destination or resort fees, for properties that charge them
• Guaranteed room availability up to 24 hours before arrival
• Kimpton Inner Circle status, offering perks at Kimpton properties

My take on IHG’s messy loyalty recognition

Let’s start on a positive note. I’m impressed by the relaunch we saw of IHG’s loyalty program back in 2022. IHG One Rewards is finally competitive with other hotel groups, and we’ve seen the introduction of free breakfast for elite members, confirmed suite upgrades, club access memberships, and more. All of that is fantastic.

However, in my opinion it’s now time for IHG to harmonize the IHG One Rewards program and the Ambassador program. How is the average member supposed to make sense of the difference between the two? The learning curve is too great for this to make any sense to consumers.

Bigger picture, I’d like to see IHG make three changes to truly make IHG One Rewards even more competitive:

• It’s time that all brands owned by IHG fully join IHG’s loyalty program; for example, many Six Senses properties still don’t belong to IHG One Rewards
• It’s time that all elite perks apply on both cash and award stays; IHG has the only major loyalty program that doesn’t honor all elite perks when redeeming points
• It’s time that IHG create a single loyalty program that properly rewards stays at all brands; there shouldn’t be separate programs for select luxury brands, as that takes away from the incentive to be loyal to IHG overall

For example, personally I’d probably be invested in IHG’s loyalty program if my stays at Kimptons, Six Senses, Regent, etc., were all fully rewarded in the same way, rather than all these separate programs, many properties not participating, etc. I just have a hard time getting excited about any individual IHG brand, based on how benefits are currently executed.

Bottom line

InterContinental Ambassador is a paid program that offers extra benefits for stays at InterContinental properties. You can sign-up for just $225 or 45,000 IHG points per year. I’d say this could represent a fantastic deal, between the complimentary weekend night reward, guaranteed upgrades, late check-out, food & beverage credit, and more.

I’m curious to hear from OMAAT readers — what do you make of the InterContinental Ambassador program?

So that I don’t bury the lede, generally the best use of Bilt Points is to move them to the program’s airline and hotel partners, as this can offer the most outsized value. Bilt has some valuable and unique partners, and that’s what makes the ecosystem so lucrative.

Link: Apply for a Bilt credit card (Rates & Fees), with three options to choose from

The basic value proposition of Bilt’s credit card ecosystem

The easiest way to rack up Bilt Points is with the three co-branded credit cards, issued by Column N.A. and serviced by Cardless, including the no annual fee Bilt Blue Card (learn more), $95 annual fee Bilt Obsidian Card (learn more), and $495 Bilt Palladium Card (learn more) — read my Bilt credit card review and comparison (Rates & Fees). Not only do these cards earn points, but they also earn you Bilt Cash, which can be redeemed to earn even more points (up to $100 of Bilt Cash earned rolls over to the next year).

I think the Bilt Palladium Card is the most lucrative card in the portfolio, despite its high annual fee. The card earns 2x points on all spending, plus the option to earn 4% back in the form of Bilt Cash. Bilt Cash can be used to earn points on your housing payments (rent, mortgage, and/or HOA), and as a general rule of thumb, you need to spend about 75% as much as your housing payment on the card to earn 1x points per dollar spent on housing (there’s a bit more nuance to that).

Bilt Cash can also be redeemed for spending accelerators, so that you earn an additional 1x points per dollar spent on everyday purchases, up to a certain limit.

Long story short, the card nets me well over 3x points per dollar spent on everyday purchases, which is pretty unrivaled (assuming you have enough spending that doesn’t qualify for good bonus categories on other cards, and can make the annual fee work — admittedly those are two major caveats).

The ways to redeem Bilt Points, from best to worst

Earning lots of points is one thing, but how can you actually redeem points earned in the Bilt ecosystem? Bilt Points are quite competitive with the other major transferable points currencies out there, so there are lots of great uses of them.

Let me go over the different ways to redeem Bilt Points, ranked from most valuable to least valuable (in my opinion).

Transfer Bilt Points to 26 travel partners (airlines, hotels, rail)

For those of us into miles and points, the good news is that Bilt has 26 travel transfer partners, as the program partners with 18 airline loyalty programs, seven hotel loyalty programs, and one rail loyalty program. Points transfer to most currencies instantly.

Bilt partners with the following 18 airline loyalty programs:

• Aer Lingus AerClub
• Air Canada Aeroplan
• Air France-KLM Flying Blue
• Alaska Atmos Rewards
• Avianca Lifemiles
• British Airways Club
• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
• Emirates Skywards
• Etihad Guest
• Iberia Plus
• Japan Airlines Mileage Bank
• JetBlue TrueBlue
• Qatar Airways Privilege Club
• Southwest Rapid Rewards
• TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go
• Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
• United MileagePlus
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Bilt partners with the following seven hotel loyalty programs:

• Accor Live Limitless (ALL)
• Hilton Honors
• IHG One Rewards
• Marriott Bonvoy
• Preferred Hotels I Prefer Hotel Rewards
• World of Hyatt
• Wyndham Rewards

Bilt partners with the following one rail loyalty program:

• Amtrak Guest Rewards

The transfer ratios for these programs are 1:1, with four exceptions:

• With Accor Live Limitless, the transfer ratio is 3:2, so that’s not quite as good as a 1:1 ratio
• With Amtrak Guest Rewards, the transfer ratio is 2:1, so that’s half of the typical ratio
• With Marriott Bonvoy, members can receive a bonus of 5,000 Bonvoy points for every 20,000 Bilt Points transferred; so in the right increments, the transfer ratio is 1:1.25
• With Preferred Hotels I Prefer Hotel Rewards, the transfer ratio is 1:2, so that’s better than a 1:1 ratio

There’s quite a bit of overlap here with other transferable points currencies, though I should call out three things:

• Accor Live Limitless is interesting, since it’s a revenue-based program, and 2,000 Accor points gets you €40 of spending with the brand; this means you can redeem 3,000 Bilt Points for €40 off an Accor stay, which is an easy way to cash out points at a not-bad value
• Alaska Atmos Rewards is a useful program for redemptions on both oneworld partner airlines, as well as on non-oneworld partners, like Condor, Starlux, and more
• World of Hyatt is otherwise only a transfer partner with Chase Ultimate Rewards, and there are lots of great uses of World of Hyatt points

Redeem Bilt Points toward a home downpayment

Since Bilt is designed largely for people who rent, here’s a cool way you can redeem your Bilt Points. If you buy a home, you can redeem your Bilt Points toward a down payment at the rate of 1.5 cents each, which is quite good. In other words, 10,000 points would get you $150 toward a downpayment.

To use this option, you just email Bilt with proof of a home purchase, and include how many points you’d like to redeem. That’s pretty straightforward, and a good value!

Redeem Bilt Points with the Bilt Travel Portal

Bilt has a travel portal, and you can choose to either earn or redeem points when booking travel through the portal. If you’d like to redeem points, Bilt Points are worth 1.25 cents each toward a travel purchase. In other words, 10,000 points would get you $125 toward a travel purchase.

The Bilt Travel Portal allows you to book flights, hotels, rental cars, and activities, so you have quite a bit of flexibility.

The one exception to the redemption rate of 1.25 cents per point is that you can book BLADE flights through Bilt’s travel portal, though when you redeem that way, you only get 0.7 cents of value per point, so that’s a horrible redemption. The much better value for BLADE is to redeem Bilt Cash, and if you have Bilt Platinum elite status, you may also be entitled to some free BLADE flights.

Redeem Bilt Points for shopping, fitness, and lifestyle

There are a variety of other ways you can redeem Bilt Points, though personally I wouldn’t recommend these:

• You can redeem Bilt Points through Amazon, at the rate of 0.7 cents per point
• You can redeem Bilt Points toward select fitness classes, typically at the rate of somewhere around 1.0 cents per point
• You can redeem Bilt Points toward the Bilt Collection (which includes apparel, art, home decor, and more), but the value is generally around 1.0 cents per point

Redeem Bilt Points to pay your rent

Bilt lets you redeem your points to pay rent. However, each point only gets you 0.55 cents toward a rent payment. In other words, 10,000 points would get you $55 toward rent. This is a very poor use of points, so it’s not how I’d recommend redeeming Bilt Points.

My strategy with redeeming Bilt Points for best value

If you’re looking to maximize value (hopefully you are!), you shouldn’t redeem your Bilt Points for any of the options that get you one cent of value per point or less. In other words, avoid paying rent with your Bilt Points, and don’t use them for Amazon purchases, or for any of the fitness classes or lifestyle options.

Then there are two options that aren’t necessarily the best way to redeem your points, but which could still prove to be worthwhile:

• Redeeming Bilt Points for 1.5 cents each toward a home downpayment could be a good deal, though admittedly, this is pretty niche
• Redeeming Bilt Points for 1.25 cents each toward a travel purchase could be a decent option, assuming you’re struggling to otherwise get more value with your points

My preference is to transfer Bilt Points to the program’s airline and hotel partners. After all, you can get such outsized value, especially for premium travel (first and business class flights, and five star hotels).

There are potentially deals to be had with most of Bilt’s transfer partners, though personally here’s my strategy with these points:

• On the hotel front, I think World of Hyatt is the most exciting transfer partner for Bilt, given all the amazing uses of these points, and also given that the only other partner for World of Hyatt is Chase Ultimate Rewards; I think Accor Live Limitless is also interesting, in terms of a decent “cash out” value of points toward a hotel stay (based on current exchange rates, you’re getting over 1.5 cents of value per point that way)
• On the airline front, Alaska Atmos Rewards is the program that excites me the most, given that no other major transferable points currency partners with the program, and I use the points all the time, particularly for redemptions on American; I also see value with Emirates Skywards and Japan Airlines Mileage Bank, as no other major transferable points currencies have 1:1 transfers to those programs
• We see a monthly Bilt Rent Day promotion, and we’ve seen some amazing transfer bonuses, especially for those who have Bilt elite status; members should keep an eye on these offers, as they could be worth a speculative transfer, and I think that’s the other best way to maximize Bilt Points

Up until now, I’ve exclusively used my Bilt Points for situations where there are transfer bonuses. I hope these offers continue, as that’s how I’ll continue to use my points.

Bottom line

In recent years, Bilt has created a really competitive transferable points currency, and there are lots of ways to get value with the points. In particular, Bilt has 26 airline, hotel, and rail transfer partners, and I’d say it’s about the best portfolio of partners that you’ll find. In particular, I appreciate Alaska Atmos Rewards and World of Hyatt, and I also often take advantage of Rent Day offers.

You can also redeem your Bilt Points for 1.5 cents each toward a downpayment for a home, or for 1.25 cents each through the Bilt Travel Portal. While there are further lower value redemptions, I wouldn’t recommend redeeming your points that way.

If you do want to rack up Bilt Points, I’d recommend the Bilt Palladium Card, given the 2x points on all eligible spending, plus the 4% back in Bilt Cash, which can be used to earn even more points.

What’s your favorite use of Bilt Points?

Typically recommending which credit card is best for a particular bonus category (like dining, grocery stores, gas stations, everyday spending, etc.) is easy. That’s not really the case when recommending which credit card to use at hotels, since you don’t just have to consider which credit cards broadly offer the best bonus categories for travel, but you also have to consider whether the hotel brand you’re staying at has a co-branded credit card that offers bonus points for stays at that specific brand. Then there’s the whole topic of booking through credit card hotel portals.

So let’s take a look at the most rewarding credit cards for hotel spending in general (regardless of the brand you’re staying at), and then compare that to the bonuses offered by specific co-branded hotel credit cards.

The best transferable points credit cards for hotel spending

Broadly speaking, what are the most rewarding credit cards for hotel spending? For this section, I’m excluding co-branded hotel credit cards. That’s because I’m looking at the cards that offer the best bonuses on hotel spending in general, rather than the best bonuses for a particular brand of hotel.

The below rewards for spending are based on my latest miles & points valuations of transferable points currencies, and I’m only including cards that are still open to new applicants. Below is a chart summarizing this, and then I’ll have a more detailed explanation.

1. Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Reward for hotel spending: 6.8% (4x points, which I value at 1.7 cents each)
Card annual fee: $795
Things to be aware of: This is a personal card, there are no foreign transaction fees, and there’s no cap on this bonus

Read my Chase Sapphire Reserve review, learn more about the Chase Sapphire Reserve.

2. Sapphire Reserve for Business℠

Reward for hotel spending: 6.8% (4x points, which I value at 1.7 cents each)
Card annual fee: $795
Things to be aware of: This is a business card, there are no foreign transaction fees, and there’s no cap on this bonus

Read my Sapphire Reserve for Business review, learn more about the Sapphire Reserve Business.

3. Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card

Reward for hotel spending: 6.5% (5x points, which I value at 1.3 cents each)
Card annual fee: $95
Things to be aware of: This is a personal card, there are no foreign transaction fees, and there’s no cap on this bonus

Read my Wells Fargo Autograph Journey review, learn more about the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey.

4. Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

Reward for hotel spending: 5.1% (3x points, which I value at 1.7 cents each)
Card annual fee: $95
Things to be aware of: This is a business card, there are no foreign transaction fees, and the 3x points is limited to the first $150,000 in combined purchases in bonus categories each account anniversary year (then 1x points)

Read my Ink Business Preferred review, learn more about the Ink Business Preferred.

5. Citi Strata Premier® Card

Reward for hotel spending: 5.1% (3x points, which I value at 1.7 cents each)
Card annual fee: $95
Things to be aware of: This is a personal card, there are no foreign transaction fees, and there’s no cap on this bonus

Read my Citi Strata Premier review, learn more about the Citi Strata Premier.

6. Bilt Palladium Card

Reward for hotel spending: 3.4%+ (2x points, which I value at 1.7 cents each, but that doesn’t factor in the value of 4% back in Bilt Cash, which is also worth something)
Card annual fee: $495 (Rates & Fees)
Things to be aware of: This is a personal card, there are no foreign transaction fees, and this is just the standard return on everyday spending, so it’s not even a bonus category

Read my Bilt Palladium review, learn more about the Bilt Palladium.

7. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Reward for hotel spending: 3.4% (2x points, which I value at 1.7 cents each)
Card annual fee: $95
Things to be aware of: This is a personal card, there are no foreign transaction fees, and there’s no cap on this bonus

Read my Chase Sapphire Preferred review, learn more about the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

The best hotel credit cards for hotel spending

As you can see above, there are cards that offer anywhere from 2-5x points per dollar spent on hotels, with a return that I value at anywhere from 3.4% to 6.8%.

Can you get a better or worse return when using a co-branded hotel credit card? To be comprehensive, let’s look at the co-branded credit cards issued by Choice Privileges, Hilton Honors, IHG One Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy, World of Hyatt, and Wyndham Rewards. First let me share how much I value a point in each of these currencies (and of course let me emphasize that everyone should use their own valuation of points):

• Choice Privileges — 0.6 cents each
• Hilton Honors — 0.5 cents each
• IHG One Rewards — 0.5 cents each
• Marriott Bonvoy — 0.7 cents each
• World of Hyatt — 1.4 cents each
• Wyndham Rewards — 0.6 cents each

To keep things fairly simple, let’s look at the co-branded credit card(s) from each of the hotel groups that offers the highest return on hotel spending (keep in mind the main reason to get hotel credit cards could be for the elite status and free night certificates that they offer). Below is a chart summarizing this, and then I’ll have a more detailed explanation.

Choice Privileges

The Choice Privileges Select Mastercard offers 10x points on Choice spending, which I value at a return of 6%. This is quite good — it’s not quite as good as the rewards offered on the Chase Sapphire Reserve (personal or business), by my valuation, but is otherwise very competitive.

Hilton Honors

The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card (learn more) offers 14x points on eligible purchases made directly with hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio, which I value at a return of 7%. This is excellent, and beats the return on spending offered by all transferable points cards, though only by a narrow margin.

IHG One Rewards

The Brand New IHG One Rewards Premier Select Credit Card (learn more) offers 12x points on IHG hotel spending, which I value at a return of 6%. This isn’t quite as good as the return on spending offered by some transferable points cards, though others may feel differently based on their valuation of points.

Marriott Bonvoy

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card (learn more), Marriott Bonvoy Bevy® American Express® Card (learn more), and Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card (learn more), offer 6x points on Marriott hotel spending, which I value at a return of 4.2%. This isn’t as good as the return on spending offered by some transferable points cards.

That being said, some may wish to still use a Marriott co-branded credit card, since there aren’t many other ways to efficiently earn Bonvoy points. Furthermore, keep in mind that the Bonvoy Bevy Card offers 1,000 bonus points per eligible Marriott stay for cardmembers, beyond the 6x points.

World of Hyatt

The World of Hyatt Credit Card (learn more) and World of Hyatt Business Credit Card (learn more) offer 4x points on Hyatt hotel spending, which I value at a return of 5.6%. While not quite as good as the return on spending offered by the Chase Sapphire Reserve, some may still wish to use one of these cards, due to the additional rewards and sweet spots on spending.

Wyndham Rewards

The Wyndham Earner Business Card (learn more) offers 8x points on Wyndham hotel spending, which I value at a return of 4.8%. This is decent, but not quite as good as the return offered by some other cards.

Crunching the numbers on hotel spending

Everyone will value points differently, and those with different points valuations may also come up with different conclusions. As you can see, based on my valuation:

• The Chase Sapphire Reserve and Sapphire Reserve Business offer up to a 6.8% return
• The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey offers up to a 6.5% return
• The Ink Business Preferred and Citi Strata Premier offer up to a 5.1% return
• The Bilt Palladium and Chase Sapphire Preferred offer up to a 3.4% return

What’s surprising is that co-branded hotel credit cards largely don’t offer a better return for stays at their “own” hotels than some of these cards do.

Based on my valuation of hotel points, I’d argue that Hilton Honors is the only program where it generally makes sense to use a co-branded credit card rather than a transferable points card. I can also see merit to doing this with World of Hyatt, given the additional perks for spending, but it’s not some slam dunk.

Credit card hotel portals can also offer bonus points

While I wouldn’t consider it to be a core part of the analysis, one other thing that has to be mentioned is that some credit card portals nowadays offer bonus points when you book hotels through them. Here are the most popular ones, ranked by their return on spending: :

• The Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (learn more) offers 12x points on hotels booked through Citi Travel
• The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (learn more) and Capital One Venture X Business (learn more) offer 10x miles on hotels booked Capital One Business Travel
• The Chase Sapphire Reserve and Sapphire Reserve Business offer 8x points on hotels booked through Chase Travel℠
• The American Express Platinum Card® (learn more) and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (learn more) offer 5x points on prepaid hotel bookings through Amex Travel

I value all of those points at 1.7 cents each, so to me that’s like a return of 8.5% to 20.4%, depending on the card. That of course sounds amazing, but just keep in mind there’s often an opportunity cost to booking through these portals.

You’ll often find better prices or a better overall value elsewhere. Furthermore, unless you’re booking specifically through the luxury hotel programs, you typically won’t earn points or receive elite credits on these stays, so there’s a tradeoff. Lastly, hotels often prioritize third party guests last for things like room assignments, upgrades, etc., so don’t be surprised if you don’t get treatment that’s quite as good as booking direct.

Bottom line

It’s always worth trying to maximize your return on hotel spending. It’s interesting how the return on spending at hotels varies, and often you’ll find the best return on transferable points credit cards, rather than the credit cards actually associated with the hotel group.

In general, the Chase Sapphire Reserve and Sapphire Reserve Business are going to offer the best return on hotel spending, as you earn 4x points, which I value at a 6.8% return. However, some people may still prefer to use a co-branded hotel credit card, especially if those points are otherwise hard to earn, or if there are some threshold spending bonuses that make it worthwhile.

What’s your go-to credit card for hotel spending?

Let’s discuss that in a bit more detail, as the Chase Sapphire Reserve offers a lot of valuable perks, plus a generous welcome bonus, so for many people it’s worthwhile.

Let me emphasize that the below analysis applies specifically to the personal version of the Sapphire Reserve, and not the Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ (learn more). On the business version of the card, there’s no cost to add authorized users, but they also don’t receive extra perks, like lounge access, so it’s a more straightforward question that comes down to spending.

Link: Learn more about the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card

Chase Sapphire Reserve authorized user fee of $195

You can add authorized users to the Chase Sapphire Reserve for an annual fee of $195 per person. This is in addition to the annual fee for the primary cardmember. There’s no hard limit on how many authorized users you can add, so you can potentially add quite a few people.

How to add Chase Sapphire Reserve authorized users

Adding an authorized user to the Chase Sapphire Reserve is easy. Just log into your Chase account, and then click on your Sapphire Reserve. Once on that page, click on the “More” tab, then go to the “Account services” section, and click on “Authorized users.”

There you’ll just have to enter the name, date of birth, and address of the person you want to add to your card. Once requested, the card will be mailed to the primary cardmember, and it will be up to them to get the card to the authorized user. It typically takes five to seven business days for the card to be shipped.

Chase Sapphire Reserve authorized user implications

There are a few implications of being added on someone else’s Chase Sapphire Reserve, which are worth discussing.

First, if you’re an authorized user on the Chase Sapphire Reserve, the good news is that you’d still be eligible to apply for the card yourself, including earning the bonus. So you don’t have to be worried about that. Furthermore, there’s no credit pull (hard or soft) for the authorized user to get added.

However, the bad news is that being added as an authorized user on someone else’s personal card would count as another card toward the Chase 5/24 rule, in case that’s a concern for you.

It’s also important for the primary cardmember to understand that they’re liable for any purchases that authorized users make, so be sure you trust the people you’re adding as authorized users. I imagine most people are just adding family members in order to consolidate spending and track expenses (and maybe even get some help on completing spending for a welcome bonus), in which case that’s hopefully not a big deal.

The good news for authorized users is that being attached to someone else’s personal card can help you build your credit history, and can potentially help your credit score. That’s because the card typically reports to your personal credit report.

Chase Sapphire Reserve authorized user benefits

Before I share what card benefits Chase Sapphire Reserve cardmembers do and don’t receive, below is a brief chart with a summary.

Chase Sapphire Reserve authorized users do receive the following:

• The Chase Sapphire Reserve has awesome bonus categories, and the spending of authorized users racks up points at the higher rate, including earning 8x points on Chase Travel℠ bookings, 5x points on Lyft spending (through September 30, 2027), 4x points on direct airline and hotel bookings, 3x points on dining, and 1x points on all other purchases, all with no foreign transaction fees; that being said, the points are accrued by the primary cardmember, who is also responsible for paying the bill
• Authorized users get a Priority Pass™ membership, allowing them to access 1,300+ lounges around the world with two guests; this is the same Priority Pass benefit offered to the primary cardmember
• Authorized users also get unlimited access to Chase Sapphire Lounges, and they also get access to select Air Canada Lounges, the same as the primary cardmember
• Authorized users get the same rental car coverage and travel protection that the primary cardmember receives, when using their card for eligible purchases; this includes everything from trip cancellation and interruption coverage, trip delay coverage, baggage delay and loss coverage, emergency medical evacuation, and travel accident coverage
• Authorized users also receive purchase protection, extended warranty protection, premium roadside assistance
• Authorized users receive a DoorDash DashPass based on the current Chase partnership, along with monthly DoorDash credits (activation required by December 31, 2029)
• Authorized users receive Visa Infinite perks, which include Visa Infinite Concierge Service, access to the Visa Infinite Luxury Collection, and more
• Authorized users get access to The Edit by Chase, for luxury hotel bookings, plus Points Boost Chase Travel bookings at preferential redemption rates
• You can transfer your Chase Ultimate Rewards points to partner loyalty accounts in the name of authorized users, or even combine points with authorized users if they have their own Chase cards, as long as they live at the same address (this needs to be done by phone)

Chase Sapphire Reserve authorized users don’t receive the following:

• Authorized users don’t receive any welcome bonuses, though their spending does count toward any spending requirement for the welcome offer
• Authorized users don’t receive any incremental credits (other than with DoorDash), beyond what the primary cardmember receives; this means that they don’t receive an additional up to $300 annual travel credit, up to $300 annual dining credit, up to $500 annual hotel credit, up to $120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS credit, etc. (however, the spending of authorized users can count toward using those credits)

As I see it, one of the primary reasons to add an authorized user is for the lounge access. Whether you value the Priority Pass™ membership, or Chase Sapphire Lounge or Air Canada Lounge access, paying $195 per year for that could be a good deal, especially if you would frequently visit these lounges.

Comparing Chase Sapphire Preferred authorized users

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (learn more) has an annual fee of just $95 for the primary cardmember, and there’s no cost to add authorized users. Since many people try to decide between the Sapphire Preferred and Sapphire Reserve, this is something worth considering.

Being able to add authorized users on the Chase Sapphire Preferred at no extra cost is potentially a valuable advantage. The way I view it:

• If the people you’re adding as authorized users greatly value lounge access, then having a Sapphire Reserve and adding them as authorized users is your best bet, because paying $195 for such a membership could be a good deal
• If the people you’re adding as authorized users are using the card primarily for spending (the Chase Sapphire Preferred has awesome bonus categories as well), and if they value great rental car and travel protection, then the Sapphire Preferred does the trick

Chase Sapphire Reserve authorized user FAQs

Bottom line

The Chase Sapphire Reserve is a well rounded premium travel rewards card that has a great bonus. Cardmembers can add authorized users to the card for $195 each, and that comes with perks like a Priority Pass™ membership, Chase Sapphire Lounge access, and Air Canada Lounge access. On top of that, there’s the same points earning structure, travel protection, and rental car coverage, as the primary cardmember.

Essentially the math should come down to whether you value the lounge access at $195 per year. For many, the Chase Sapphire Preferred may be a better fit — there’s no cost to add authorized users, and they rack up points at an accelerated rate, and also get useful travel and car rental coverage.

What do you make of the value proposition of adding Chase Sapphire Reserve authorized users?

As is the case with any credit card lineup, it’s important to understand the approval and bonus eligibility rules, so that you can know how many cards you can apply for, how many welcome offers you can earn, etc. In this post, I’d like to take a look at the approval and bonus rules for the Citi Strata lineup, especially factoring in the recent changes that we saw.

Link: Learn more about the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card, Citi Strata Premier® Card, or Citi Strata℠ Card

Details of the three Citi Strata Card options

Citi ThankYou has three “flagship” cards in its product lineup, at very different price points. Here are the basics of the welcome offers of these cards:

• The $595 annual fee Citi Strata Elite Card has a welcome bonus of 75,000 ThankYou points after spending $6,000 within three months
• The $95 annual fee Citi Strata Premier Card has a welcome bonus of 60,000 ThankYou points after spending $4,000 within three months
• The no annual fee Citi Strata Card has a welcome bonus of 20,000 ThankYou points after spending $1,000 within three months

There are pros and cons to each of these cards, and for many people, there could be value in creating a portfolio of these cards. Broadly speaking:

• The Citi Strata Elite Card is a premium card that offers lots of great perks (especially the first year), including a Priority Pass membership, American Admirals Club passes, an up to $300 annual hotel credit, an up to $200 annual “Splurge Credit,” an up to $200 annual Blacklane credit, and more.
• The Citi Strata Premier Card is the mid-range card that’s quite easy to justify thanks to the excellent rewards structure, plus perks like an up to $100 annual hotel credit
• The Citi Strata Card is a great no annual fee complement, offering useful bonus categories that can help you maximize your points

At a minimum, you’re definitely going to want to have either the Citi Strata Elite Card or Citi Strata Premier Card, as these cards let you unleash the full potential of the ThankYou ecosystem, and transfer points to airline and hotel partners (including American AAdvantage) at the best ratio!

Citi Strata Card eligibility restrictions & rules

What does it take to get approved for the Citi Strata Elite Card, Citi Strata Premier Card, or Citi Strata Card? The good news is that eligibility for these three cards is considered independently, so in theory, you’re eligible for all three cards (including the welcome offers).

So let’s go over the things you should consider if applying for one of these cards, given that credit card issuers have all kinds of rules that we should be aware of.

Are you under Citi’s 8/65 limit?

Citi will generally approve cardmembers for at most one Citi card every eight days, and at most two Citi cards every 65 days. This is a rolling limit, so just make sure you observe that. This is specific to Citi cards — applying for cards with other issuers won’t count toward that limit.

Are you eligible for the welcome bonus (once in a lifetime)?

The welcome bonuses on the Citi Strata Elite Card, Citi Strata Premier Card, and Citi Strata Card, aren’t available to those who have received a new cardmember bonus on those exact cards in the past. The cards each used to have a 48-month rule, meaning that you couldn’t earn the bonus on a particular card if you had received a new cardmember bonus on that particular card in the past 48 months. That has been changed, though, and now it’s a “once in a lifetime” rule.

Let me emphasize that those requirements are considered independently. That’s to say that if you already have the Citi Strata Premier Card, you’d be eligible for the Citi Strata Elite Card (including the welcome bonus), and vice versa.

One other thing worth noting is that for Citi Strata Card eligibility, that also factors in whether you’ve earned a bonus on the Citi Rewards+ Card in the past. That’s because the Citi Strata Card was formerly known as the Citi Rewards+ Card, before it was rebranded.

In the interest of being thorough, I should also mention that if you have the Citi Prestige Card (which is no longer open to new applicants), you’re still eligible for the welcome offers on any of these cards, as that’s considered a separate product.

Do you have a good or excellent credit score?

There’s not a consistent rule as to what credit score you need in order to be approved for the Citi Strata Elite Card, Citi Strata Premier Card, or Citi Strata Card. Credit score is one of only many considerations when being approved for a card. In general, I’d recommend having a credit score in the “good” to “excellent” range if you’re going to apply for this card.

Personally, I probably wouldn’t apply if my credit score were under 700, and ideally, I’d hope to have a credit score of 740 or higher. That being said, people with scores lower than that have been approved, and conversely, people with scores higher than that have been rejected. There are lots of factors that go into approval — your income, your credit history, how much credit Citi has already extended you, etc.

Citi Strata Card application strategy & approval FAQs

To answer a few more of the frequently asked questions when it comes to Citi Strata Elite Card, Citi Strata Premier Card, or Citi Strata Card approval…

Is it hard to get approved for a Citi Strata Card?

No card issuer is terribly consistent when it comes to approving people for cards, as there are so many factors that go into this decision. Personally, I find Citi cards to be reasonably easy to get approved for, assuming you have good credit, including a substantial amount of credit history, and meet the eligibility requirements.

Can you get multiple Citi Strata Card products?

Eligibility for each of the Citi Strata products is considered independently, so over time you absolutely could pick up the Citi Strata Elite Card, Citi Strata Premier Card, and Citi Strata Card. Just make sure you follow the Citi 8/65 rule, and that you haven’t received a new cardmember bonus on that exact card (or its predecessor) in the past.

Is there merit to getting multiple Citi Strata products?

I think it absolutely could make sense to create a portfolio of Citi ThankYou cards, in order to maximize your points. Broadly speaking:

• I think there’s merit to picking up either the Citi Strata Elite Card or Citi Strata Premier Card; the best card for you depends on how much value you can get from the lounge access and credits offered by the Strata Elite, vs. the bonus categories of the Strata Premier
• Then it could make sense to complement that with the no annual fee Citi Strata Card and/or Citi Double Cash® Card (learn more), which offer additional bonus categories that could maximize rewards
• As long as you have either the Citi Strata Elite Card or Citi Strata Premier Card, you could then maximize all your ThankYou points in terms of having access to the best redemption values

How long does it take to get approved for a Citi Strata Card?

Approvals on Citi credit cards can be instant, and you’ll often find that to be the case. However, in some situations a manual review may be needed, so don’t worry if you get a message stating that your application requires further processing time — it doesn’t mean you’ll be rejected. You can generally expect that you’ll get a final decision within a week or so of applying.

Which credit bureau does Citi pull from?

If you apply for one of the Citi Strata Card products, there’s not a single credit bureau that Citi always pulls from. It could be Equifax, Experian, or Transunion, depending on a variety of factors.

Is it bad for your credit score if you get denied for a Citi Strata Card?

What are the negative impacts of applying for a credit card and getting denied? The only downside is that there’s a new inquiry on your credit file, which could temporarily ding your score by a few points. While everyone’s situation is different, personally, I wouldn’t consider that to be a big issue, as losing a few points temporarily shouldn’t have major implications.

Meanwhile getting approved for the card and using it responsibly could have a very positive impact on your credit score, by improving your total available credit, history of on-time payments, credit utilization, etc.

If you get denied for a Citi Strata Card, can you apply again?

Yes, you can. If you’ve been denied for one of the versions of the Citi Strata Card, you could apply again. Just because you get denied once doesn’t mean you’ll be denied again, especially if aspects of your credit worthiness have improved (for example, if your credit score went up, the number of cards you opened in the past two years went down, etc.).

However, I’d wait six months (or so) between applications, and make sure that something has changed (for the better) about your credit situation.

Can you get a welcome bonus if product changing a card?

You’re only eligible for the welcome bonus on a Citi card if you apply for it outright, and not if you product change to it. So while product changing or downgrading cards can often make sense, the lack of bonus eligibility is one major downside to not applying directly.

Are Citi authorized users eligible for welcome bonuses?

If you’re the authorized user on someone else’s Citi card, are you eligible for the welcome bonus on that card as well, if you apply outright? The answer is absolutely — being an authorized user on someone’s card never precludes you from being able to apply directly, and earn the bonus.

Bottom line

Citi has a robust portfolio of personal cards earning ThankYou points, particularly with the Citi Strata Elite Card, Citi Strata Premier Card, and Citi Strata Card. These cards all offer excellent welcome bonuses, and can be extremely rewarding, especially for those looking to earn American AAdvantage miles.

The good news is that these cards shouldn’t be too difficult to get approved for, and on top of that, you should be able to apply for all of these cards over time, including earning the welcome bonuses. Just make sure you have a good credit score and are familiar with Citi’s eligibility requirements.

If you’ve applied for the Citi Strata Elite Card, Citi Strata Premier Card, or Citi Strata Card, what was your experience like?

In this post, I’d like to take a close look at everything you need to know about Chase’s airport lounge network, which is operated in collaboration with Airport Dimensions. Chase Sapphire Lounges really offer an incredible experience, among the best you’ll find at any airports in the US, with both buffet and a la carte dining, excellent cocktails, and some special amenities at some locations.

In this post, I want to cover everything you need to know about the Chase Sapphire Lounge network, from the entry requirements, to locations and hours, to amenities.

Link: Learn more about the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card or Sapphire Reserve for Business℠

Chase Sapphire Lounge access & entry rules

The Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club portfolio has unique entry requirements. These lounges are intended primarily as a perk for those with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card (learn more) and Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ (learn more).

All Chase Sapphire Lounges have the same entry requirements, as follows:

• Those with the Chase Sapphire Reserve or Sapphire Reserve Business can access the lounge an unlimited number of times, with up to two complimentary guests; this same policy applies for those with the J.P. Morgan Reserve Card and the Ritz Carlton Credit Card, which is no longer open to new cardmembers (the Ritz-Carlton Credit Card used to allow unlimited guests, but that’s no longer the case)
• Eligible cardmembers can bring in additional guests beyond the two complimentary ones for $27 per guest
• Lounges can be accessed either with your physical eligible credit card, or with the Priority Pass membership that’s associated with that card
• Those with a Priority Pass™ membership issued through any other means, including through cards like the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (learn more) and American Express Platinum Card® (learn more) (Enrollment required), no longer receive any access to Chase Sapphire Lounge locations; these memberships used to offer one lounge visit per year, but that has been cut as of August 15, 2026, so is no longer a perk
• If you don’t have access to Chase Sapphire Lounge locations, you can outright buy it for $100 per person per visit, subject to availability
• Chase Sapphire Lounges are generally only accessible within three hours of departure, and can’t be used as arrivals lounges; the exception is that you can access lounges up to five hours in advance if you are on a connecting itinerary (meaning you are between an arriving and departing flight)
• Regardless of how you access Chase Sapphire Lounges, children under two years old enter free, while all other children would need to either count as a guest or pay an entry fee

This is an excellent network of lounges, and it could be a good value to add authorized users to the Chase Sapphire Reserve, as they get the same lounge access privileges as the primary cardmember. Meanwhile authorized users on the Sapphire Reserve Business don’t receive any sort of lounge access (but they can also be added to the card with no additional annual fee).

Lastly, I should mention that while the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (learn more) is a great product, it doesn’t offer any sort of lounge access.

If you’d like all of the above about Chase Sapphire Lounge access requirements in an easier to read chart, see below. 😉

Chase Sapphire Lounge locations & amenities

There are currently nine Chase Sapphire Lounge locations, and they’re all in the United States. On top of that, there are at least two more in the pipeline. I should also mention that there used to be a Chase Sapphire Lounge Hong Kong (HKG), but that closed in January 2026, as it was rebranded. Furthermore, there used to be a Chase Sapphire Terrace Austin (AUS), and that closed in March 2025, as the airport has other plans for the space.

I’ve been lucky enough to visit five of these lounges, so let’s go over the details of each location below, and I’ll post them in alphabetical order based on airport name. Before I do, below is a chart with the basics of the lounge network, including the airports, locations, hours, and approximate size.

Chase Sapphire Lounge Boston Logan Airport (BOS)

Here are the basics of the Chase Sapphire Lounge Boston Logan (BOS):

• The lounge opened as of May 2023
• The lounge is roughly 11,500 square feet
• The lounge is open daily from 5AM until 11PM
• The lounge is located between Terminal B and Terminal C

The BOS Chase Sapphire Lounge is gorgeous, easily the nicest lounge at the airport. In terms of food & drinks, the lounge has seasonal menus featuring dishes from Sarma, local roasts from Atomic Coffee Roasters, a curated wine list from Parcelle, and craft cocktails, with both a buffet and QR code ordering for food.

The Chase Sapphire Lounge BOS amenities include a taproom with local beers on tap, shower suites, a relaxation area, massage chairs, a family and kids room, and a nursing room.

Read my review of the Chase Sapphire Lounge Boston Logan.

Chase Sapphire Lounge Dallas Fort Worth Airport (DFW)

Here are the basics of the Chase Sapphire Lounge Dallas Fort Worth (DFW):

• The lounge opened as of July 2026
• The lounge is roughly 18,000 square feet
• The lounge is open daily from 5AM until 10PM
• The lounge is located in Terminal D, near gate D25

The DFW Chase Sapphire Lounge is the latest addition to the network, and it appears to be among the best. In terms of food & drinks, the lounge has seasonal menus featuring dishes from Encina, local roasts from Cherry Coffee, a curated wine list from Parcelle, and craft cocktails, with both a buffet and QR code ordering for food. This is also the first and only Chase Sapphire Lounge location to have a grab & go food selection, so that’s really fun.

The Chase Sapphire Lounge DFW amenities include a dedicated whiskey lounge with guided pairings and a custom barrel selection. There’s also a dedicated wellness zone with Face Haus facials, shower rooms, and resting pods. The lounge also has a family and kids room, a nursing room, and areas for working.

Chase Sapphire Lounge New York Kennedy Airport (JFK)

Here are the basics of the Chase Sapphire Lounge New York Kennedy (JFK):

• The lounge opened as of January 2024
• The lounge is roughly 7,600 square feet
• The lounge is open daily from 5AM until 11PM
• The lounge is located in Terminal 4, just past security, above gate A2

The JFK Chase Sapphire Lounge is actually operated in partnership with Etihad Airways, as the former Etihad Airways Lounge has been taken over and renovated. Because the lounge is operated in partnership with Etihad, first and business class passengers, as well as Etihad Guest Platinum and Gold members, also get access to the lounge.

The Chase Sapphire Lounge JFK is a bit smaller than most of the others, but still has beautiful decor and an excellent selection of food, with ready to eat and a la carte options (including halal options). There’s also a bar with cocktails, as well as cold brew on tap, with Joe Coffee partnership for coffee.

The lounge doesn’t have much in the way of other amenities, though. The only other major features would be the shower rooms and prayer rooms.

Read my review of the Chase Sapphire Lounge New York Kennedy.

Chase Sapphire Lounge Las Vegas Airport (LAS)

Here are the basics of the Chase Sapphire Lounge Las Vegas (LAS):

• The lounge opened as of December 2025
• The lounge is roughly 4,600 square feet
• The lounge is open daily from 4:30AM until 11PM
• The lounge is located in Terminal 1, Concourse C, between gates 23 and 24

The LAS Chase Sapphire Lounge is the second smallest in the network, and it has 87 seats, spread across two floors. In terms of food & drinks, the lounge has seasonal menus featuring dishes from Momofuku, local roasts from Dark Moon Coffee Roasters, a curated wine list from Parcelle, and craft cocktails, with both a buffet and QR code ordering for food.

The Chase Sapphire Lounge LAS amenities are fairly limited due to the lounge’s small size. The lounge does have a champagne parlor, where travelers can enjoy sparkling drink selections by bar cart service, including glasses of champagne, mimosas, and seasonal spritz cocktails, as well as passed bites, to their seat.

Chase Sapphire Lounge New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA)

Here are the basics of the Chase Sapphire Lounge New York LaGuardia (LGA):

• The lounge opened as of January 2024
• The lounge is roughly 21,800 square feet
• The lounge is open daily from 4:30AM until 9:30PM
• The lounge is located in Terminal B, near the Eastern Concourse (leading to gates 40-59)

The LGA Chase Sapphire Lounge is a two-story stunner that will make you feel like you’re not at an airport. The lounge features seasonal menus featuring dishes from Sailor, craft cocktails by Apotheke, curated wines by Parcelle, Joe Coffee self-serve and barista made options, and a tea selection.

The Chase Sapphire Lounge LGA amenities include a play room for kids, a nursing room, an arcade, two relaxation chairs, and a Face Haus spa, offering complimentary 30-minute treatments on a first come, first served basis.

This lounge also has the Reserve Suites by Chase, consisting of three private rooms that can be reserved in blocks of three hours. If you book this, you’ll receive a dedicated suite attendant, a special menu from Jeffrey’s Grocery, a personal bathroom with a shower, a signature caviar service upon arrival, a special wine list curated by Parcelle, a fully-stocked snack and refreshments center, and a gift prior to departing. The cost? $2,200-3,000, depending on which room you select.

Read my review of the Chase Sapphire Lounge New York LaGuardia.

Chase Sapphire Lounge Philadelphia Airport (PHL)

Here are the basics of the Chase Sapphire Lounge Philadelphia (PHL):

• The lounge opened as of February 2025
• The lounge is roughly 20,000 square feet
• The lounge is open daily from 5AM until 10PM
• The lounge is located in the connector between Terminal D and Terminal E