Trump’s new Boeing 747-8 has now been delivered!

On Friday, June 19, 2026, Trump showed off his new “toy” at Joint Base Andrews, which has just been delivered. This is a Boeing 747-8 that was previously owned by the Qatari royal family. The plane will now undergo some commissioning flying, before it’s able to carry the president. However, the Air Force notes that the plane is already “safe, secure and equipped with the most advanced technologies necessary to meet the requirements of the presidential mission.”

The Air Force claims that it prioritized operational readiness over aesthetics, leaving the “interior layout minimally changed.” That’s funny, because the interior is way nicer than in the old Air Force One, and for that matter, I think a Middle Eastern royal and Trump have similar interior design preferences. During the unveiling, Trump even bragged about how “this plane was transformed into a flying White House at a level of luxury that nobody’s ever seen before.”

The plane has also received Trump’s preferred red, white, and blue livery, a huge departure from the historic white and baby blue livery that was on Air Force One. Trump also talked about how “a normal president wouldn’t do this, a normal president wants to stay away from aircraft, but our country has to be represented properly.”

The timing of this delivery is no coincidence, as it comes just ahead of the 250th birthday of the United States, and the plan is for the plane to do a flyover of Washington DC on July 4.

Of course it’s not the plane as such that’s the story here

What makes this most interesting isn’t that there’s a new plane that’s going to act as Air Force One, but instead, how it was acquired, and what happens with it after (if?) Trump leaves office.

Trump promotes how he got the best deal imaginable for our country, as the $400 million jet was a gift from Qatar, which had some spare “royal” planes sitting around. As he wrote on social media at the time:

“why should our military, and therefore our taxpayers, be forced to pay hundreds of millions of Dollars when they can get it for FREE from a country that wants to reward us for a job well done. Only a FOOL would not accept this gift on behalf of our Country.”

Now, let’s ignore the conflict of interest of having a foreign (let alone non-democratically elected) government making a gift like this to the “country,” and the potential conflict of interest that creates.

Was this really a “deal” for taxpayers? Well, let’s look at the facts. First of all, hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent updating the plane, so that it has the equipment required to carry the president. As you’d expect, Air Force One isn’t just a typical plane in terms of the safety equipment onboard.

Okay, but that’s a long term investment in our country, right? Not so much, due to what happens after he leaves office, which should be in early 2029. This isn’t a gift to the United States, but instead, it’s a gift to Trump. So the idea is that he’ll get to keep the plane, and it will go into his presidential library. Now, I’m not sure what exactly a new plane is going to do there, and I can’t help but wonder if he really won’t devise a way to fly on this plane after he leaves office. But maybe that’s just a conspiracy theory.

Either way, if we actually care about America and its taxpayers, you’d think the plane would stay around with the Air Force, so that it could be used by future presidents, right? If nothing else, there’s huge value to the engines and other spare parts, which taxpayers will otherwise be on the hook for. After all, we also recently saw the Air Force purchase two former Lufthansa Boeing 747-8s, which will be used for presidential fleet support. Those are costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, when this plane could otherwise serve that function in the future as well.

For what it’s worth, the long term plan is for there to be two purpose-built planes that can act as Air Force One. However, those are years behind schedule, and billions over budget. While the current timeline is that they should enter service in 2028, that’s far from a sure bet. One certainly wonders what will happen if they’re delayed beyond early 2029, and Trump takes his plane with him…

Bottom line

President Trump is clearly overjoyed to be getting “his” new Air Force One, a $400 million gift from Qatar, with hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars also being spent on the retrofit to get it ready for flying the president.

It goes without saying this is controversial — not only is this a gift from a foreign government, but it’s also going to Trump’s presidential library when he leaves office, rather than staying with the Air Force. Americans might be struggling to make ends meet, but at least we can be happy knowing that the plane has a “level of luxury that nobody’s ever seen before,” and that therefore our country will be “represented properly.”

To my fellow Americans, how are you feeling about this — proud, or really super duper proud?

United’s new Boeing 787-9 just can’t operate reliably

This spring, United Airlines began service with its newest batch of Boeing 787-9s. While the airline already has a large Dreamliner fleet, what’s special is that newly delivered plans feature the all-new “United Elevate” interiors, including new Polaris business class suites.

N61101 is the registration code for United’s first Boeing 787-9 with these interiors, which also has the United 100th anniversary decal on it. The plane’s first international route was between San Francisco (SFO) and Singapore (SIN), with service commencing on April 22, 2026.

At the time, I covered how the airline faced massive maintenance issues with this plane, including the return flight of the inaugural diverting, causing it to be ferried back to San Francisco empty. Then within a day of the plane reentering international service, it had even more maintenance issues, causing it to be taken out of service again.

While things seemed to be going smoothly for some amount of time, that’s no longer the case, as reported by JonNYC. As a matter of fact, over the past two weeks, the plane has operated a single flight with passengers:

• On June 4, the plane flew from San Francisco to Singapore, landing on June 6
• The return flight was canceled, and on June 7, the plane was ferried back to San Francisco empty
• After being in maintenance for six days, the plane then flew to London (LHR) on June 13, landing on June 14
• The return flight was canceled, and on June 15 the plane was ferried back to San Francisco empty
• The plane has now been grounded there for days, and the plan is that on Saturday, June 20, 2026, it will fly to Moses Lake (MWH), which is a Boeing maintenance base

JonNYC notes that the issue is “not minor,” but “should be a straightforward repair it seems like.”

The strange curse of the hyped Dreamliners

It remains to be seen what exactly the issue is, and also, to what extent the new problems are related to the ones that we saw when the plane first entered service.

United already had dozens of Dreamliners, so it’s really bad timing that the first new 787 with new interiors that was so heavily hyped has had such major issues. My default assumption would be that this is just really bad luck in terms of timing, and that there’s probably not more to this.

That being said, one further thought comes to mind. Remember last year, when American inducted its brand new Boeing 787-9s, with new interiors? Well, one of those Dreamliners had an absolutely brutal maintenance record for the first several weeks in which it was in service.

So is Boeing just having a really rough time with quality on new 787s, is this all bad luck, or what? One would almost wonder if this has something to do with the new interiors and wiring, but I don’t believe any of these issues are related to that, at least based on what we know.

Bottom line

United Airlines’ first Boeing 787-9 with the United Elevate interiors is once again having major maintenance issues. This plane had a lot of problems when it first entered service in April, to the point that we saw the plane on the ground more than in the air.

Things seemed to be going smoothly for some amount of time, only for issues to once again arise. In the past two weeks, the plane has flown a single flight with passengers. It has also now been ferried on two international flights, and aside from that, it has been on the ground.

With the plane now having been grounded for nearly five days, the plan is to send the Dreamliner to Moses Lake, which is a Boeing maintenance facility. It must be a pretty serious or mysterious issue if even United’s experienced maintenance team can’t get to the bottom of this…

What do you make of the issues with this United Dreamliner?

United flight attendant calls “lesbian as sh*t” shirt offensive

A woman shared the following story on X:

my flight attendant just made sure to let me know that my “lesbian as sh*t” shirt was “deeply offensive” and when I laughed nervously she went “seriously.” happy pride from @united i guess

As of the time of writing, the post has been viewed nearly two million times, and has received nearly 75,000 likes. Not surprisingly, opinions are mixed, with some people supporting the airline, and others supporting the traveler.

Officially, United’s contract of carriage states that the airline has “the right to refuse transport on a permanent or temporary basis or shall have the right to remove from the aircraft at any point, any passengers who are barefoot, not properly clothed, or whose clothing is lewd, obscene or offensive”

The flight attendant should’ve asked this woman to change

If the flight attendant actually said the shirt was “deeply offensive,” I think that’s way too extreme. However, the flight attendant absolutely should’ve asked this woman to change shirts, and I’m shocked that she didn’t.

The issue with the shirt isn’t the word “lesbian,” but instead, the word “sh*t.” As I see it, there are two ways that a ban on “offensive” clothing can be interpreted:

• Clothing can be interpreted as offensive on account of what’s written or pictured on it
• Clothing can be interpreted as offensive based on how revealing it is

My inclination would be to say that if you wouldn’t feel comfortable explaining to your child what’s on a shirt, it could probably be considered “offensive.” I tend to think that cuss words fit in that category, in general. Several weeks ago, I wrote about how I was at an airport and saw a group of four people all traveling in what I’d consider to be offensive shirts, with two being as follows:

• One man was wearing a shirt with a picture of a confused-looking Joe Biden, which read “WHO SH*T MY PANTS?” (it was this shirt)
• The other man was wearing a shirt that said “NEVER KILLED A MOUNTAIN LION BUT I’VE CHOKED A COUGAR” (it was this shirt)

As I said at the time, I didn’t find it “offensive” because of my own political beliefs, as I’d feel the same way if someone wore one of those “F*CK TRUMP” shirts, a shirt joking about Charlie Kirk being killed, etc. I think those people should be asked to change as well. Similarly, here, the word “sh*t” just isn’t necessary in a family environment.

In reality, all too often airline dress codes are just used to force women with large breasts to cover up, which I find to be completely ridiculous. I’m not trying to be crass, but a vast majority of the time when there are stories of people being asked to change, that seems to be the reason.

There’s nothing that should be offensive about that — if you’re at the beach and a woman has large breasts, I don’t think you’re going to tell your kid “oh, look away.”

And of course some people may point out that people should dress differently on planes than at the beach, but that’s not actually what the airline contracts of carriage say.

Bottom line

A post is going viral on X about how a United flight attendant told a passenger that her “lesbian as sh*t” shirt was “deeply offensive.” While I think that’s extreme (assuming that’s actually what was said), I don’t think the flight attendant took it far enough — she should’ve asked the woman to change her shirt.

Airlines ban “offensive” clothing, so whether that says “F*CK TRUMP” or “lesbian as sh*t,” it has no place on a plane, in my opinion.

What’s your take on this United lesbian shirt situation?

Fortunately the airline has been promising especially generous seat pitch in economy, though guess what? Well, the airline has now backtracked, and if you want more legroom, you’ll probably have to pay for it. Qantas management’s ability to overpromise and underdeliver never ceases to amaze me, and I don’t think the airline gets enough criticism for it.

Qantas Airbus A350ULRs will have less seat pitch than promised

Since 2022, Qantas has been hyping the passenger experience on its new Airbus A350-1000ULRs, promising how all passengers will “experience a new standard of comfort” on these planes. As part of that, the company has explicitly been promising 33″ of pitch in economy, with no strings attached. For example, here’s a direct quote from former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce:

“Economy travellers will have an OLED 13-inch TV screen, foot net and convenient storage space within arms’ reach to store glasses and personal items. The team has spent extensive time testing ergonomics, lumbar support and breathability of the seat fabrics in the new Economy seat which will have 33 inches of legroom.”

Typically on wide body aircraft, 31″ of pitch is the standard, so a couple of extra inches can make a difference. But really, it makes sense to offer a little more space, given the absolutely wild lengths of these flights, plus that they’ll come at a premium in terms of pricing. As it turns out, the airline now has a new strategy, and is now just promising that more than 70% of economy seats will have 33″ or more of pitch.

As reported by Executive Traveller, what’s going on here is that rather than offering everyone in economy 33″ of pitch, the airline will instead have sections with 32″ of pitch, 33″ of pitch, and 34″ of pitch. Qantas will offer an “economy plus” cabin, with 34″ of pitch, but that’s only made possible by reducing seat pitch by one inch in the back of the cabin, so that will have 32″ of pitch. Meanwhile the center of the economy cabin will have 33″ of pitch.

Qantas is great at hyping, bad at delivering

Qantas is a funny airline, because I know a lot of Australians have fond feelings about the company, given that it’s the national carrier (though there’s no denying the carrier’s image has taken a toll in recent years).

I know some people think I dislike Qantas, or something, but that’s not at all the case. I find most Qantas employees to be absolutely lovely, and I think the airline has great lounges. My issues with the airline is that I think the onboard product is just whatever (aside from the friendly crews), and I don’t love all the ways the airline has tried to screw its workforce over the years.

But as someone who has been covering the industry for close to two decades, what stands out to me most about Qantas is the never ending hype. I get it, it’s smart for airlines to try to generate good publicity from what they have planned, because good marketing can shift loyalty and passenger perception.

But I just can’t think of another airline that so consistently overhypes what it’s going to do. We’re talking announcing things so many years in advance, and also, often not actually following through on promises.

This is of course the perfect example of that. The airline promised 33″ of pitch for everyone in economy, but has now backtracked on that. Similarly, earlier I wrote about how the airline promised a Qantas First Lounge Heathrow, claiming it would have amazing apron views, and direct boarding from the lounge. As it turns out, the airline had never actually secured a space, so that was all just fantasy.

My goal isn’t to be overly critical here, but instead, to be balanced. All too often, media gives an airline credit for the announcements they make, but then don’t call them out when they don’t deliver on those promises. So they get the good publicity from taking some “liberties,” but not the bad publicity associated with making baseless announcements. So I at least try to be balanced here, and call things as I see them.

Bottom line

Qantas is getting closer to launching its Project Sunrise flights, between Sydney and London, using Airbus A350-1000ULRs. The airline has been promising a new level of comfort, including 33″ of pitch in economy.

Unfortunately the airline has now backtracked on those plans. It wants to introduce an extra legroom economy section, but rather than taking out a row of seats, the airline is instead simply reducing seat pitch in the back of economy, which will now see 32″ of pitch.

While that’s still a respectable amount of pitch compared to other planes, I wouldn’t want to be stuck in one of those seats for 20+ hours straight. And it’s also sad how the airline spent years hyping all of this extra space, only to then go back on that promise.

What do you make of Qantas’ changes to its A350 seat pitch?

Qatar Airways returns headphones one World Cup cycle later

OMAAT reader Eric was kind enough to share an amusing story about how a pair of Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones that he owned went on a four-year journey from Doha back to his hands. I appreciate all the details, so let me just share his story:

​Back on November 24, 2022, I flew from Dallas-Fort Worth to Doha on Flight QR732 to attend the FIFA World Cup. I was flying in Qatar Airways’ Qsuite business class—which is an incredible product, except for the fact that I managed to leave my trusty Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones tucked away inside the suite when I deplaned. I submitted a lost and found report online, heard nothing but silence, and eventually had to fly back home to the US empty-handed.

​A few weeks later, on December 12, 2022, the Qatar Airways Found Property Central Office in Doha finally emailed me. Success! They found them.

​Because I was a frequent international traveler and happened to be moving through Taiwan and transiting Japan at the time, I asked if they could forward the headphones to Tokyo-Narita or LAX. We traded a few emails—they told me they could only forward to airports they actively flew to and that I could have a relative pick them up with an authorization letter. I replied on December 15, 2022, asking about the specific airside vs. landside pick-up mechanics at NRT or LAX.

​I followed up again on January 7, 2023… and then the trail went completely cold. No reply. I gave up, assumed they were lost to the warehouse ether, bought a brand new pair, and moved on.

​Fast forward nearly four years. I had completely forgotten about the headphones and had since permanently relocated to Los Angeles.

​Then came March 2026. Following the outbreak of war, Qatar’s airspace was completely closed, and the airline’s flights were entirely grounded. With no planes flying and presumably a lot of operational downtime, it seems the airline staff decided to tackle the ultimate boss: auditing the years-old lost and found warehouse backlog.

​Out of nowhere on March 23, 2026, I received a brand new email from Doha. They confirmed my Sony headphones were still sitting safely in their storage facility after 3.5 years. I gave them my new LA address, but they informed me that because the DOH-LAX route was temporarily suspended due to the airspace closure, they would have to hold them until flights resumed. They promised to put them on the earliest flight possible.

​Fast forward three months to right now—June 2026—right in the middle of the current World Cup.

​Out of the blue, I received a phone call and an email from the Qatar Airways baggage team live at LAX. The airspace had opened up, flights had resumed, and my headphones had officially crossed the ocean and landed in the United States.

​A few days later, I walked right up to the Qatar Airways check-in counter at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. The agent smiled and handed me my exact same Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones.

​The battery was entirely drained after a 4-year slumber in a Middle Eastern warehouse, but after a deep overcharge back at my house, they powered right up and work flawlessly.

​Apparently, the golden rule of premium cabin travel is simple: if you lose an item at a World Cup, you just have to wait until the next World Cup cycle to get it back!

Should we be impressed or disappointed by this service?

I think there’s a certain point at which you don’t expect an airline will return belongings to you, since the incentive just typically isn’t there for the airline. To Qatar Airways’ credit, it sounds like they initially recovered the headphones, but then the communication stopped.

I guess it literally took the airline largely being grounded and employees having a lot of time on their hands to actually go through the lost & found backlog, and reunite items with their owners. I’m inclined to give the company credit here, because several years in, it seems like the airline doesn’t have much of an incentive to put in effort like this, when passengers may have completely forgotten about the item that was lost.

The timing here is just hilarious, how this literally happened one World Cup cycle apart…

Bottom line

A passenger left a pair of headphones behind on a Qatar Airways flight while enroute to Doha in 2022, for the World Cup. While the airline initially found the headphones, communication ultimately ended, and the traveler wrote off the idea of getting them back.

However, with the airline largely being grounded due to the Iran war, it seems they once again worked on the lost & found backlog, and ultimately reunited the item with the traveler. The timing is just downright funny, as we’re in the midst of another World Cup.

What do you make of this Qatar Airways lost & found story?

Qantas First Lounge Heathrow no longer happening

In early 2023, plans were announced for a new Qantas First Lounge to open in late 2025 at London Heathrow Airport (LHR). This was part of a larger announcement by Qantas about investing in its lounge network, though this was no doubt the most exciting aspect of that.

Qantas already has an excellent lounge in London, though it’s shared among all premium passengers, including those in first and business class, as well as oneworld Emerald and Sapphire members. The new Qantas First Lounge was supposed to give oneworld first class passengers and oneworld Emerald members a more exclusive lounge option.

The new Qantas First Lounge was supposed to be a completely separate space from the current lounge, so would add significant capacity to the oneworld carrier’s lounge footprint at the airport.

London would’ve been the fifth dedicated location with a Qantas First Lounge, after Sydney (SYD), Melbourne (MEL), Los Angeles (LAX), and Singapore (SIN). Qantas does a stellar job with its lounges, and they’re among my favorite oneworld Emerald lounges anywhere.

This lounge investment was supposed to coincide with the launch of “Project Sunrise” flights, whereby the airline will fly nonstop between Sydney and London, as the airline will even have an all-new first class suite on the plane.

Qantas currently flies from Perth to London with a Boeing 787, as well as from Singapore to London with an Airbus A380. It’s expected that those routes will continue to operate even when the new record-breaking flights launch.

Anyway, that brings us to the latest update, reported by Executive Traveller — Qantas has scrapped plans to open this new lounge at Heathrow, because the airline couldn’t find sufficient space in the terminal to open it. Management at the airline claims they’ve spent years trying to find a suitable space, but have been unsuccessful.

Okay, that’s fair enough, but I also think it has to be pointed out what a complete hype machine Qantas can be. In early 2023, the airline claimed that the first lounge is “expected to feature direct access to boarding gates, sweeping views of the airfield, a focus on wellbeing features and an unrivalled dining experience.”

Maybe it’s just me, but that made me believe the airline actually had a lounge space secured already. I mean, there’s only a single lounge in the terminal that offers direct access to a boarding gate from the lounge (the Emirates Lounge), and that has been the case for many years, and required a lot of coordination, and it’s not something any airline has been able to replicate. So I’d think that’s not a claim you’d just casually make, unless you actually had a plan.

I know there are a lot of really loyal Qantas flyers, so forgive me, but as I see it, this is so on brand for Qantas. The company love to hype things for years, regardless of how much of a delay there will be, and regardless of whether it’ll actually happen or not. I mean, how do you know Qantas is planning on maybe doing something? They’ll start telling you about a decade in advance.

The existing Qantas Heathrow Lounge undergoing changes

There is a bit of a silver lining, though, with the Qantas First Lounge no longer being in the works. Instead, Qantas plans to make changes to its existing lounge at Heathrow. The space won’t physically be expanded, but instead, will undergo changes to increase capacity, and improve the experience, at least for some.

The lounge is expected to get an additional 40 to 60 seats. This will partly be done by making the bar downstairs smaller (it takes up a lot of space), and making the staircase smaller as well, among other initiatives.

Not only will more seats be added, but the lounge will also add a special dining section that has the same entry requirements as a Qantas First Lounge, so it’ll be open to all oneworld first class passengers, as well as oneworld Emerald members. This is modeled after the concept we’ve seen at the recently reopened Qantas Lounge Auckland (AKL).

Now, the lounge already has a dining area on the lower floor that’s available to everyone, with a limited menu. It remains to be seen if the airline will maintain two distinct a la carte experiences, or if that’s being cut… I imagine that’s being cut, but we’ll see.

Work on this project is expected to start within the next six months, and be complete by late 2027, coinciding with the launch of Project Sunrise flights.

Terminal 3 at Heathrow is an absolute delight for premium oneworld passengers. While the Qantas Lounge is great, I also love the Cathay Pacific Business Lounge and Cathay Pacific First Lounge, which are among my favorite outstation lounges anywhere.

Bottom line

In 2022, plans were announced for a Qantas First Lounge to open at London Heathrow Terminal 3. As it turns out, that’s no longer happening, because the airline was never actually able to secure any lounge space, despite promising a lounge that would feature sweeping views and direct boarding. I find it kind of wild how the airline hyped a lounge with those specific amenities, without having actually secured a space.

On the plus side (at least for some), changes are coming to Qantas’ standard lounge at Heathrow, and they’ll include a new a la carte dining area with a menu similar to what you’d find in a dedicated first class lounge, open to oneworld first class passengers and oneworld Emerald members.

What do you make of this Qantas First Lounge Heathrow development?

Miami Airport’s new private terminal for commercial flights

PS has just opened a new private airport facility for commercial flights at Miami International Airport (MIA), with the ribbon cutting having taken place yesterday (Wednesday, June 17, 2026).

For us aviation geeks, the facility has an absolutely epic home. PS MIA is located in the historic former Pan American Airways (Pan Am) headquarters, which initially opened back in 1963, and was dubbed the “Taj Mahal.” Pan Am went out of business in 1991, so this space has been empty for quite some time.

As it’s described, PS MIA is “dedicated to preserving the building’s iconic mid-century brutalist architecture, while seamlessly integrating finishes and furniture that reference important aspects of the period, Miami’s lively culture and Palm Beach glamour.”

PS offers a unique pre-flight and post-flight experience, serving as an alternative from the main terminal for passengers traveling on commercial flights. The facility takes up 34,000 square feet, and features nine Private Suites (offering a private space for each traveling party) and The Salon (a shared lounge).

PS travelers have access to private TSA and immigration screenings on-site, as well as a BMW chauffeured escort to and from the jet bridge stairs of their commercial flights. While at the facility, you can arrange everything from chef prepared meals, to spa treatments.

For context, the first PS location opened in 2017 in Los Angeles (LAX), the second location opened in 2023 in Atlanta (ATL), and the third location opened in 2026 in Dallas (DFW). So with both the DFW and MIA locations opening just weeks apart, we’ve seen the company’s portfolio double in a very short period of time.

The PS MIA experience starts at $1,295-4,950 per visit

So, how much will a visit to PS MIA cost you? Just for some context, you can find the pricing for PS here:

• Without a membership, you’ll pay $1,295 per person for access to The Salon (a shared space), or $4,950 for up to four travelers to access a Private Suite (a private space)
• With the $1,250 The Salon annual membership, you’ll pay $995 per person for access to The Salon, or $4,950 for up to four travelers to access a Private Suite
• With the $4,850 All Access annual membership, you’ll pay $895 per person for access to The Salon, or $3,650 for up to four travelers to access a Private Suite

I totally get how there’s value for something like PS at LAX, given the number of celebrities and other very wealthy people passing through the airport, and what a mess the airport can be. Arguably the biggest challenge PS faces is that it’s going after a market of wealthy people who don’t fly private.

Of course that market exists, and it’s significant. But PS is also expensive, so even someone who is well off might think twice about it. That’s especially true when you consider that travel doesn’t have to be a hassle nowadays, with programs like TSA PreCheck, CLEAR, Global Entry, etc.

Maybe I’m biased, but living in Miami, I absolutely see this succeeding, given how people like to live it up in flashy ways. It blows my mind how many people here spend more on their car lease than their rent. Having a Lamborghini and living in a small studio is par for the course in Miami.

I imagine this is also a splurge that many would consider. In Miami, people drop this kind of money without thinking twice about it all the time, and I imagine using this facility will quickly become a flex. How will you know if someone used PS MIA? Oh, trust me, they’ll tell you about it!

Bottom line

The PS concept has now expanded to Miami, with a new facility having opened as of June 2026. PS MIA is located in the former Pan Am headquarters, and looks gorgeous. The idea is that you can skip the terminal, and instead hang out in the lounge, clear security at a private TSA checkpoint, and then be driven to your plane.

As you’d expect, all of this doesn’t come cheap, and without a membership, you’re looking at paying a minimum of $1,295 per person per visit for the experience. Miami seems like the perfect kind of place for a facility like this, and I’m sure this will succeed. As an aviation geek, I also appreciate the building that’s housing this concept.

What do you make of the PS concept expanding to Miami?

However, it appears that Qantas has quietly shifted its strategy, and now cares a lot more about Sydney than Melbourne, with plans to use A350-1000ULRs on routes that don’t really need the extra range.

Qantas to use half of A350-1000ULRs on routes that don’t need them

As I recently covered, Qantas just finally announced it plans to launch nonstop flights between Sydney and London as of October 2027, as the airline starts taking delivery of its custom built Airbus A350-1000ULRs.

These will be the longest range planes in the world, thanks to a combination of additional fuel tanks, a higher maximum takeoff weight, and a premium configuration, which limits the weight of the aircraft (and in turn, improves range). The initial intent was that those dozen planes would be used for the world’s four longest routes. Then Qantas ordered an additional dozen A350-1000s to use for general growth on existing routes, including eventually replacing Airbus A380s.

However, that strategy seems to have shifted. When you look at the investment case presentation that Qantas just put out about its A350-1000ULR, it tells a different story. Now Qantas plans to use only six aircraft for point-to-point ultra long haul flying. In other words, that just covers flights from Sydney to London and New York, with a couple of spares.

Then the remaining six A350-1000ULRs will be used for “network diversification.” The idea is that those planes will be used to replace Boeing 787-9s on existing routes, so they can be put on other routes. There has been some mention of the A350-1000ULRs potentially taking over the routes from Sydney to London and New York that operate via Perth (PER) and Auckland (AKL), respectively, as those are currently operated by the Dreamliners. While those are also ultra long haul routes, they don’t need the incremental range.

Based on the presentation, it would appear that the Dreamliners could then be redeployed to South Africa, South America, and a new destination in Europe.

Is Qantas actually backtracking, or am I hallucinating?

Obviously I follow the industry pretty closely, so when I saw this presentation slide, I was genuinely confused. For nearly a decade, I’ve been saying that Qantas intended to operate from Sydney and Melbourne to London and New York, so did I just completely make that up, or what?

Well, I did some digging, and it’s interesting to see how the carrier’s communications changed over time. Best I can tell, historically Qantas has talked about Project Sunrise in the form of connecting the East Coast of Australia directly with London and New York, and Qantas also often emphasized how Sydney flights would be first.

Interestingly, at least in writing, Qantas rarely officially committed to flying the A350-1000ULRs out of Melbourne. However, if you look at the Airbus announcement for the plane order, you’ll see this explicitly mentioned, and I don’t think Airbus is making things up, or prescribing to airlines what routes they should fly:

The A350-1000 was selected by Qantas following an evaluation known as Project Sunrise and will enable the carrier to operate the world’s longest commercial flights. These will include linking Sydney and Melbourne with destinations such as London and New York non-stop for the first time ever. 

In 2019, the airline had a press release about its Project Sunrise “research flights,” where it wrote the following:

The flights form part of planning for Project Sunrise – Qantas’ goal to operate regular, non-stop commercial flights from the east coast of Australia (Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne) to London and New York.

So best I can tell, the airline didn’t shift strategy overnight. However, since 2022, the airline quietly stopped dropping any hints about Melbourne flights with Project Sunrise aircraft, so I guess this has been a long time coming. Given how local governments covet routes like this, I’m not surprised that Qantas didn’t want to explicitly share the change in plans.

Ultimately I’m not surprised to see this development. The economics of ultra long haul flying are extremely challenging, and it’s not surprising that Sydney works better as a market than Melbourne does, even though Melbourne can be quite lucrative as well.

Qantas doesn’t need the extra range on the other routes on which it plans to operate the A350-1000ULRs. These planes are ultimately a bit more expensive than the standard ones, though I guess the upside is that this increased maximum takeoff weight can also be used to increase cargo capacity, so there’s some upside there.

Bottom line

Qantas is getting closer to taking delivery of its first Airbus A350-1000ULR, as this will be the world’s longest range plane. While the airline still plans to fly the aircraft from Sydney to both London and New York, it looks like ultra long haul flights out of Melbourne are no longer in the cards.

Instead, it seems Qantas now plans to use six A350-1000ULRs for the Sydney to London and New York routes, and six of the planes to replace Boeing 787-9s on existing routes, with the Sydney to London and New York via Perth and Auckland flights (respectively) being the front runners.

What do you make of Qantas’ updated Airbus A350-1000ULR strategy?

American starts using new flight deck barrier feature

It’s common for pilots to use the bathroom during a flight. When they do, it’s standard for flight attendants on airlines in the United States to block the aisle with a galley cart, to prevent any passenger from accessing the flight deck while the door is open.

In 2025, we saw the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) introduce a new rule, requiring a secondary barrier on the flight deck of commercial airplanes in the United States, to ensure the safety of the aircraft, crew, and passengers. As the FAA described this, the intent is to slow any attack on the flight deck long enough so that the flight deck can be closed and locked before an attacker could reach it.

With this, aircraft manufacturers have had to install these barriers on all newly delivered planes as of August 2025. Initially the requirement to actually use these was supposed to be implemented as of then, but that timeline ended up being pushed back to July 2026, to allow sufficient time for training. Interestingly, there are no firm plans to require existing aircraft to be retrofitted with this.

As flagged by PYOK, American is starting to use these cockpit barricades across the fleet as of today, Thursday, June 18, 2026. These are officially known as the “Installed Physical Secondary Barrier,” or IPSB. While these have been installed on new planes for nearly a year now, they haven’t actually been used. In recent months, flight attendants have received training on how to operate them.

American is only the second major US airline to actually start using these, after Southwest, which started deploying them almost immediately after they were installed.

However, as of now, only a small percentage of planes actually have these barriers, so don’t expect to consistently see them. So I guess if you don’t otherwise want to look up the age of your plane, one easy way to tell if it has been delivered within the past year(ish) is based on whether or not it has this barrier.

Is a second flight deck barrier necessary?

It goes without saying that aviation has become so safe over the years thanks to all the incremental improvements that have been made. As a matter of fact, the introduction of this second cockpit barrier is the last 9/11 Commission recommendation to be implemented.

That being said, this seems like a solution that doesn’t actually solve a whole lot. How many people have successfully broken into a flight deck of a commercial airplane in the 20+ years since 9/11? I think zero globally, but someone correct me if I’m wrong.

That comes down to multiple factors:

• It comes down to reinforced flight deck doors, which mean that you can’t break into flight decks
• It comes down to the mentality around hijackings having changed; previously if someone threatened an airline employee with a weapon, they’d typically let them into the flight deck, while that wouldn’t happen in a post-9/11 world
• Passengers wouldn’t allow a hijacking to happen; in the past they would have probably cooperated with hijackers, thinking that would be the solution that leads to the least damage, while I think that mindset has changed post-9/11

Let’s talk about another aspect of the reinforced flight deck door. How many planes have crashed in the past 13 or so years due to one pilot being locked out of the flight deck and not being able to get back in?

• In November 2013, LAM Mozambique flight 470 crashed while the captain was in the flight deck and the first officer was locked out of the flight deck
• In March 2014, Malaysia Airlines flight 370 went missing, and the leading theory is that the captain hijacked the plane while the first officer was locked out of the flight deck
• In March 2015, Germanwings flight 9525 crashed while the first officer was in the flight deck and the captain was locked out of the flight deck
• In March 2022, China Eastern flight 5735 crashed in an accident that’s believed to be pilot suicide, though China refuses to acknowledge it

While I’m not suggesting we should get rid of reinforced flight deck doors, one has to wonder how many lives have really been saved by them.

To me, pilot mental health and one person in a flight deck presents a much bigger risk to aviation than the number of flight deck barriers there are. Admittedly this is more of a global problem than a US problem — at least US airlines are required to always have two people in the flight deck, which is why a flight attendant always has to enter the flight deck when a pilot leaves. This doesn’t apply to foreign airlines flying to the US, though.

Anyway, I suppose this is “nice to have,” but I’m not sure this will meaningfully contribute to safety in any way.

Bottom line

As of today, American Airlines is starting to use the new secondary barriers when pilots need to leave the cockpit to go to to the bathroom. Up until now, they’ve typically used galley carts to block the aisle, while they’ll start using the specially barriers that have been installed on newly delivered planes since August 2025.

There’s no plan to retrofit existing planes with this, so only a small percentage of planes will have this for the time being. American is the second major airline to start actually using these barriers, after Southwest, though other airlines should soon follow as well.

What do you make of these secondary cockpit barriers?

Admiralty Arch becomes the Waldorf Astoria London

The Waldorf Astoria London Admiralty Arch has just opened for reservations — while the claim is that the hotel will open in the fall of 2026, it’s currently accepting reservations for stays as of March 1, 2027. I appreciate that level of conservatism, given how much hotels struggle with sticking to their schedules.

The hotel spans around 200,000 square feet, with a total of 114 rooms, suites, and residences. As it’s described, each space is designed to respect the building’s historic architecture while introducing the understated elegance that Waldorf Astoria is known for.

The hotel will debut two destination restaurants. There will be Coreus by Clare Smyth, set within the former home of the First Sea Lord, and it’ll be a fine dining concept celebrating the UK’s coastal heritage, with menus centered around sustainably sourced seafood, British produce, and seasonal ingredients. Then there will be Café Boulud by Daniel Boulud, located on the rooftop, with an all-day dining format.

The hotel will also have a spa, with treatment rooms for individuals and couples, a sauna, a steam room, and a hydrotherapy pool, complemented by a private relaxation area. Then of course there will also be a fitness center.

This is truly going to be a new “flagship” property. For context, Admiralty Arch is one of London’s most iconic landmarks — it was initially commissioned by King Edward VII in memory of Queen Victoria, and it’s located at the end of The Mall, opposite Buckingham Palace, offering views of Buckingham Palace, Nelson’s Column, and Trafalgar Square.

Admiralty Arch has been home to people ranging from Sir Winston Churchill (whose office was within the arch), to the author of the James Bond novels, Ian Fleming. Even today, it plays an integral role in many ceremonial occasions.

In 2012 plans were revealed for this landmark to be converted into a luxury hotel, thanks to a 250-year lease. This entire project moved at a snail’s pace, and in 2017 it was announced that this would become a Waldorf Astoria. However, in 2022 there was an ownership change, as Investors Capital Limited sold the property to Reuben Brothers. Fortunately they maintained the same vision for the property.

It’s fantastic to see the number of new luxury points hotels coming to London. We’ve recently seen the Park Hyatt London River Thames open, and the St. Regis London is also expected to open in the coming months. The Waldorf Astoria seems like the most spectacular, though, purely based on the history of the building it’s located in.

Waldorf Astoria London Admiralty Arch rates & points requirements

With the Waldorf Astoria London Admiralty Arch now bookable, what are rates like? For those looking to pay cash, I currently see rates starting at around £660 per night ($872). Obviously that’s not cheap, but quite honestly, I was expecting it to be more expensive, given the building it’s in, combined with the brand.

If you’re booking a cash rate, I’d recommend doing so through the Hilton for Luxury program, which offers extra perks when booking through select travel advisors, including breakfast, a hotel credit, an upgrade subject to availability, and more.

For those looking to redeem Hilton Honors points, the hotel seems to be charging a minimum of 160,000 points per night, assuming there’s standard room availability. Hilton Honors elite members can stretch their points and get a fifth night free, which would bring down the average nightly cost to 128,000 points. Still, that’s not exactly much outsized value, based on my valuation of 0.5 cents per Hilton Honors point.

I’m impressed by Waldorf Astoria’s new hotel pipeline

Waldorf Astoria has long been regarded as a great brand, but as time goes on, I think it’s increasingly differentiating itself. As we know, the major hotel groups want to grow at any cost, since they get a cut of revenue, and that makes investors happy.

Their priority isn’t maintaining quality, but rather, it’s convincing hotel owners to pick their brand over a competitor. All too often, that involves making compromises when it comes to the quality of new properties.

When you think of the “big three” hotel loyalty programs (at least in the points world), Park Hyatt, St. Regis, and Waldorf Astoria, are generally considered among the top brands. Of those, I think Waldorf Astoria has the most interesting new property pipeline, by far, and it’s really hitting most of the global hotspots.

I think many of the new Waldorf Astoria properties are more in line with Four Seasons than your typical St. Regis. I also love all the places we’re seeing new openings. Recently we’ve seen openings in Costa Rica, New York, and Osaka, and there are upcoming properties in Sydney, Tokyo, and more.

Conversely, I think St. Regis is probably one of the brands that has seen the biggest variability in terms of the quality of new properties, where some are great, and some aren’t. I find St. Regis used to be a really consistent brand, but that’s no longer the case.

Bottom line

The Waldorf Astoria London is expected to open as of the fall of 2026, and is now accepting reservations for stays as of March 1, 2027. This property is a transformation of the Admiralty Arch landmark, so it has an incredible amount of history, and based on the renderings so far, it looks like this should be a great hotel. Honestly, I’m surprised it’s not more expensive, given how much hotel rates have gone up over the years.

What do you make of the Waldorf Astoria London Admiralty Arch?

United flight diverts, then cancels at 3AM after pilot times out

ESPN sports commentator Ian Darke and former soccer player Landon Donovan recently took to X to share their frustration over what happened on a recent United Airlines flight, in posts that have now collectively been viewed many millions of times. Specifically, this involves flight UA404, which was scheduled to operate from Houston (IAH) to Newark (EWR).

Darke took to social media to write the following:

Every passenger on @united 404 from Houston to Newark will think twice about using that airline again. Delayed , diverted , reboarded, then pilot says shift ‘ timed out’ as about to take off from Dulles. Still there 5 hours later. No hotel offer.

Meanwhile Donovan wrote the following:

I’ve been traveling 100k miles/year since I was 16 and this was easily the worst travel experience of my life. No transparency, no clarity and no respect for the passengers who were treated horribly all evening/morning. Absolutely shameful from @united

When someone else pointed out how the United States has rules limiting pilot duty hours, he responded as follows:

We were on the runway about to takeoff and the pilot was literally ONE minute past his time and decided to take us back to the gate at 3am

For some context, the 1,400-mile flight was blocked at 3hr42min, and was scheduled to depart at 6:17PM and arrive at 10:59PM, being operated by a Boeing 737 MAX 9 with the registration code N17589. The plane only ended up taking off from Houston at 8:17PM, and then made its way toward Newark.

However, due to bad weather at Newark, the plane ended up having to divert to Washington Dulles (IAD), where it landed at 1:04AM.

At that point the plane refueled, only for them to attempt to depart again. Based on what I can see, the plane left the gate at 2:48AM, only to then be back at the gate 28 minutes later, at 3:16AM. The plane indeed make it out as far as the runway (though I’m not sure it actually entered the runway), before turning around, with the claim being that the pilot was at that point one minute over the maximum duty period. The one minute claim is according to the passenger, but hasn’t been verified by the airline. I would guess this didn’t actually come down to one minute.

At that point the flight was canceled for the night, and then United operated a flight to Newark in the morning, departing at 9:23AM and arriving at 10:05AM. So for the passengers who ended up taking the replacement flight, they were over 11 hours late, and had a sleepless (or at least very short) night.

It’s hard to be too mad at the airline here… right?

Of course as a passenger, it’s incredibly frustrating to be on a flight that diverts, is seriously delayed, and then even gets canceled because the pilot times out. But at the same time, safety is paramount in aviation, and there’s a certain point at which crews will time out.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has strict rules around maximum duty days, which are covered in 14 CFR Part 117.

Here’s the part of the story that I find the most interesting, though. In my experience, if a flight cancels due to pilots exceeding their maximum duty period, it typically happens before the aircraft door closes. Over the years I’ve been on many flights where they rush to close the door, because there’s a certain cutoff after which the crew will time out, and closing the door typically solves that.

So what’s going on here? Let me start by stating that I absolutely support pilots only flying if they feel they’re capable of doing so safely, and have sufficient rest. Even if it’s inconvenient, I respect their rights to make operational decisions, including timing out.

That being said (not that it’s of any consequence), I think the interesting question is whether the pilot had no choice in the matter, or whether he opted not to continue. After all, the X post frames this as the pilot “deciding” to return to the gate.

One wonders, what happened between the time that the plane left the gate, and the time that it got to the runway, that caused something to be missed by one minute? The taxi didn’t take particularly long.

Ultimately there are many factors that determine maximum duty days for pilots — we don’t know where the pilot had come from that day, what his flying looked like in previous days, what his report time was, etc., as that all impacts maximum duty times.

It’s the timing I find curious here, so I looked at 14 CFR Part 117. As I understand it, risk of going over duty time is typically measured based on the time the door closes, plus the anticipated flight time. But what happens once the plane leaves the gate? Well, here’s the section that covers flight duty period extensions before takeoff:

For augmented and unaugmented operations, if unforeseen operational circumstances arise prior to takeoff:

(1) The pilot in command and the certificate holder may extend the maximum flight duty period permitted in Tables B or C of this part up to 2 hours. The pilot in command and the certificate holder may also extend the maximum combined flight duty period and reserve availability period limits specified in § 117.21(c)(3) and (4) of this part up to 2 hours.

(2) An extension in the flight duty period under paragraph (a)(1) of this section of more than 30 minutes may occur only once prior to receiving a rest period described in § 117.25(b).

(3) A flight duty period cannot be extended under paragraph (a)(1) of this section if it causes a flightcrew member to exceed the cumulative flight duty period limits specified in 117.23(c).

(4) Each certificate holder must report to the Administrator within 10 days any flight duty period that exceeded the maximum flight duty period permitted in Tables B or C of this part by more than 30 minutes.

As you can see, after the door closed, pilots can extend their duty period by up to two hours, with some limitations. Presumably if the door had been closed, that extension would’ve kicked in, if the pilots wanted it to.

It does seem like the pilots may not have been “feeling it” at that point, and just wanted to go back to the gate, unless I’m reading that wrong. Now, let me emphasize:

• I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that, and you want pilots who are ultimately well rested, and if they’re not comfortable flying, they’re making the right decision by taking everyone back to the gate
• The above is in reference to FAA regulations, though it’s possible that United’s pilot contract contains extra provisions

So anyway, at a minimum, I find this to be an unusual case of exceeding maximum duty limits.

Bottom line

Passengers on a United Airlines flight from Houston to Newark had quite the journey, when the plane diverted to Washington Dulles due to bad weather at the destination. The plane then refueled, and ended up taxiing out to the runway at 3AM… only for the plane to then return to the gate, as the pilot was reportedly one minute over the maximum duty period.

Pilot fatigue is a real issue, and pilots should absolutely prioritize safety over all else. I suspect the plane wasn’t actually on the runway, and I also suspect this didn’t just come down to one minute. Still, it’s definitely unusual to see a crew time out after leaving the gate, especially without a substantial initial delay. If anyone has any more insights into the technicalities of this, I’d love to hear them (just due to my own curiosity, and not because it’s actually consequential).

What do you make of this story of a United pilot timing out?

Chase Sapphire Lounge Miami now in the pipeline!

Miami International Airport (MIA) is my home airport, and it’s not exactly a great facility. Sure, the airport is undergoing a modernization, but even that isn’t poised to turn this into some world class facility. In particular, the lounge situation at the airport just isn’t great.

In mid-2025, I was excited when I saw that Miami-Dade County had submitted a request for proposal (RFP) for the opening of a new passenger lounge at the airport. The new lounge will span 13,793 square feet, and will be located in Concourse E, near gate E7, on the third floor.

The requirement was specifically for this to be a common use and/or membership lounge, which will be available to passengers via a membership or day pass, so it wouldn’t be exclusive to a specific airline. As you’d expect, the requirements are pretty standard — the request was that the lounge offer complimentary food and beverages, a full-service bar, a business center, and optional features like a spa, salon services, or shower facilities.

Nothing moves quickly when it comes to airport project bidding or construction, and after quite a drawn out process, we now know that this space is expected to be used for a Chase Sapphire Lounge (thanks to Mark for flagging this). Chase Sapphire Lounges are known for being among the best credit card lounges out there, and feature nice decor, excellent food and drinks, and some other amenities.

While they’re primarily intended for those who have a Priority Pass membership through the Chase Sapphire Reserve, there are other ways to access these lounges as well.

Over the course of the 15 year lease, this is expected to net the airport nearly $94 million in revenue. Texas-based AD Partnership is behind this concept, and won preliminary approval from the airport this month. This still needs final approval, but there’s no reason that wouldn’t come through, given the stage we’re at.

There’s no timeline yet for when the lounge will open, though I wouldn’t expect to see it welcoming its first guests before some point in 2028, best case scenario.

For those not familiar with Miami Airport, Concourse D and Concourse E are connected airside, and that’s the space used primarily by American Airlines.

Miami Airport’s lounge situation is slowly improving

For an airport of its size, I’ve long found Miami to have a lackluster lounge setup, more in terms of the quality of lounges than in terms of the quantity.

To recap the existing state of things, Concourse D and Concourse E currently have two American Admirals Clubs, an American Flagship Lounge, an Amex Centurion Lounge, a British Airways Lounge, and a Turkish Airlines Lounge.

So it’s great to see another non-oneworld specific lounge open in this part of the airport, especially given the varying access requirements. This isn’t the only exciting lounge development, as American has also announced plans to massively expand its lounge footprint in Miami.

The existing Flagship Lounge by gate D30 will become part of the attached Admirals Club, and an all-new Flagship Lounge will be built, nearly doubling the carrier’s lounge capacity at the airport. However, that project also seems to be moving at a snail’s pace, and I don’t believe any sort of construction has started there.

While not specific to Concourse D or E, I should also mention that an Air France Lounge is coming to Concourse H, and it will feature a terrace. Air France does a great job with its lounges, so I look forward to this opening as well!

Bottom line

A Chase Sapphire Lounge is expected to open at Miami Airport. The lounge will be nearly 14,000 square feet, and will be located in Concourse E, which is connected airside to Concourse D, so expect this to be for American (and other oneworld) flyers.

I’m super excited to see these concourses get a new lounge. Between this, the recent opening of the British Airways Lounge, and the future opening of the American Flagship Lounge, there’s a lot to look forward to in South Florida on the lounge front.

What do you make of plans for the Chase Sapphire Lounge Miami?

Traveler furious over cost to use amenities at hotel in Morocco

The “Consumer Champions” section of The Guardian has a story that piqued my interest:

My partner and I paid £2,150 for a week’s all-inclusive break in Marrakech with easyJet Holidays.

We chose the Jaal Riad Resort Hotel because of its pool and spa. When we arrived, we were told that use of the heated pool cost £24 a person an hour, the Jacuzzi £24 for 20 minutes, and the hammam was £16 for 20 minutes.

Nowhere were these extra fees listed when booking. EasyJet Holidays rejected my complaint and referred me to a line buried at the bottom of the list of facilities that said charges may apply. We were planning on using the pool regularly but could not afford it. If we had known, we would have booked elsewhere.

The Guardian concludes that this is potentially unlawful, given that these amenities were prominently marketed as part of the holiday experience, and extra charges were not clearly disclosed.

In a statement, EasyJet shared that “we always strive to make it clear that use of hotel facilities may incur additional charges.” The company claimed it was reviewing the description to “further highlight that the use of the spa facilities is chargeable,” and it also offered a £500 goodwill payment, but presumably only because of the publicity this got through The Guardian.

Is this story really as ridiculous as it sounds?

When I first read this story, my jaw was on the floor. For one, charging to use the pool? That seems ridiculous. Furthermore, the prices are next level — $32 for using the pool for an hour, $32 for 20 minutes in the jacuzzi, and $22 for 20 minutes in the hammam?!

However, I think there’s a little more to this story. The story specifically mentions how there’s a fee to use the heated pool, without mentioning that there’s also a non-heated pool.

Based on my research — and honestly, this isn’t easy, because the hotel’s website has very little information — it seems that what’s going on here is that there’s an unheated outdoor pool, and a heated indoor pool. The indoor pool seems to be part of the spa facilities, as are the hammam and jacuzzi.

While I wish it weren’t the case, it’s not at all uncommon for hotels to charge for use of the spa facilities, even for hotel guests. Perhaps what I find most offensive here is the pricing — I don’t know where on earth they’re coming up with these amounts, because they’re ridiculous.

Based on the hotel’s website having such little information, it sure seems to me like this is a hotel that’s primarily looking to fill rooms through online travel agencies and vacation packages. And that also certainly creates a system whereby they’re maybe more incentivized to see how much revenue they can get out of each guest, rather than offering the best experience possible, in hopes of getting return guests.

The truth is that in general, hotels don’t do a great job disclosing which experiences cost extra, and which are included. I’ve certainly stayed at some hotels costing $1,000+ per night, where I’m then asked to pay extra to use the spa pool, for example, even though that’s not explicitly stated on the hotel website.

Am I a fan of that practice? Of course not. However, I also don’t find this to be that out of the ordinary. Of course no one wants to swim in an unheated pool in Marrakech in winter. But I also think that travelers should do their research when it comes to what they can actually expect from a hotel, before booking. One should never assume that spa facility access is included with bookings.

Bottom line

A traveler booked an EasyJet Holidays vacation package to Morocco, only to be frustrated after finding out the cost to use various amenities — we’re talking $32 for using the pool for an hour, $32 for 20 minutes in the jacuzzi, and $22 for 20 minutes in the hammam. Those prices are wild… but they seem to be part of the spa facilities, and it’s common for those things to cost extra.

I absolutely do think this hotel is intentionally ripping guests off by charging insanely high fees for these things, as it doesn’t seem like they get many direct bookings. So while I’m not at all a fan of that practice, and while I wouldn’t want to stay here, I think this is also a good reminder that one should never assume that all hotel amenities — and especially spa facilities — are included with stays.

Of course I can totally see how this could ruin a vacation, if you’re going to Morocco in winter with the intent of using a pool, only to end up in this situation.

What do you make of this EasyJet Holidays hotel situation?

Prior to this, Air France had already been flying Airbus A350s, while KLM’s wide body fleet renewal was focused on Boeing 787s. We’ve known that KLM would soon start taking delivery of the A350, and there’s now an interesting update, as we won’t have to wait much longer for this plane to fly. However, we may have to wait quite some time to fly in certain seats.

KLM plans long haul fleet renewal with Airbus A350s

KLM will soon start taking delivery of its first of at least 22 Airbus A350-900s. The first plane is expected to be delivered in August 2026, with all planes joining the fleet by 2030. KLM expects to have its first commercial flight with the aircraft in September, with Amsterdam (AMS) to Toronto (YYZ) being the inaugural long haul route.

The intent is to use these planes for long haul fleet renewal, largely replacing Airbus A330s, and in the long run, some of the Boeing 777s (with the 777-200ERs leaving the fleet before the 777-300ERs, though the airline has invested nicely in the interiors of those planes). The A350 is an incredible aircraft in terms of range, fuel efficiency, and passenger experience.

KLM always has fun with naming its planes, and has announced that the first plane will be named “The Night Watch,” after the renowned painting by Rembrandt. With this aircraft, KLM is introducing a new naming theme for the A350 fleet, inspired by famous Dutch works of art.

KLM Airbus A350s will have 331 seats in three cabins

What can passengers expect onboard KLM’s new Airbus A350-900s? The planes will feature 331 seats, including 34 business class seats, 26 premium economy seats, 33 extra legroom economy seats, and 238 standard economy seats. aeroLOPA has the seat map for the plane, so it’s worth a look.

Airbus A350s will represent a significant capacity increase over the planes that they’re primarily replacing, as currently A330-200s can accommodate 243 passengers, A330-300s can accommodate 292 passengers, and 777-200ERs can accommodate 316 passengers. Given the slot controls at Schiphol, it makes sense for the airline to increasingly operate higher capacity aircraft.

I don’t think this is surprising, but KLM isn’t going for a particularly premium layout here in terms of the distribution of business class seats vs. economy seats. For example, Air France’s newer A350-900s have 48 business class seats, so that’s a much bigger premium cabin. Obviously that reflects that Paris has a lot more premium demand than Amsterdam.

KLM has a problem with its new business class seats

In what can only be described as an incredibly common issue nowadays, the airline notes how “due to a revised interpretation of regulatory requirements by the aviation authorities, certification of the World Business Class seats has not yet been completed.” As a result, these seats will unfortunately not be available when the first two aircraft enter service.

The seat manufacturer is working hard to complete the certification process as quickly as possible and make this cabin available to passengers ASAP. Meanwhile all other seats and cabins will be available from day one.

Here’s what I find most noteworthy — KLM’s A350s are expected to feature the STELIA Aerospace OPERA seating platform in business class, the same product you’ll find on Air France’s newest A350s. Air France and KLM have the same regulator in the European Union, so you’d think that if one product is certified, the other one would be as well.

But I appreciate KLM’s transparency here, noting that this issue is due to “revised interpretation of regulatory requirements.” So I guess Air France can keep taking delivery of the planes with the seat that’s already certified, while it’s proving an issue for a new airline? Man, the airline business isn’t easy, eh?

Bottom line

KLM is expected to take delivery of its first Airbus A350-900 in August 2026, so that’s just weeks away. The first long haul destination will be Toronto, and the planes will be configured with 331 seats. This should be a great new plane, and represents a nice modernization for the airline.

KLM will have similar business class seats on the A350 to what you’ll find on Air France’s A350 fleet. The only catch is that the seats aren’t actually certified yet, due to “revised interpretation of regulatory requirements.” As airplane seats have evolved over the years, it’s amazing how much of an issue certification has become.

I look forward to flying this plane… once all seats are certified!

What do you make of KLM’s Airbus A350 plans?

Alaska expands Stumptown partnership with cold brew

In 2023, we saw Alaska Airlines and Portland-based Stumptown Coffee launch a partnership for inflight coffee, which included a custom blend of filter coffee that’s served on all Alaska flights worldwide. That partnership is now being expanded, with the introduction of cold brew coffee.

Specifically, they are debuting the Stumptown Copilot Cold Brew, now offered exclusively on select domestic Alaska routes (though it’s not clear which routes), and on flights to and from Reykjavik (KEF). That seems like a rather random route selection, and I hope it’s expanded to all domestic and international flights over time.

The airline notes how the cold brew is “crafted in small batches using ethically sourced beans,” and how “the bright, full-bodied cold brew features a smooth, chocolatey finish and just two ingredients.” The cold brew will be complimentary for first class and extra legroom economy (Premium Class) passengers, and available for purchase in economy.

Why cold brew on airplanes is awesome

Coffee is something I’m passionate about, especially in the context of travel. For many of us, coffee powers us through jetlag and early mornings and late nights. In my opinion it’s such an easy area where airlines and hotels can differentiate themselves with minimal effort.

Admittedly this just reflects my preferences, but I’ll always remember an airline or hotel that has especially good and readily available coffee.

Alaska is following United’s lead with introducing cold brew, as United rolled out illy cold brew systemwide back in 2024. That just happens to coincide with United’s improved financial performance… coincidence? 😉

I’m happy to see Alaska joining the club as well, though I hope it’s expanded to more than just “select” routes in the near future. Personally, I think this is something we should see across the board, and it’s only a matter of time until that happens:

• Americans love cold brew, so if you’re going to listen to customer feedback, that’s one easy area in which to do so
• Airplane coffee usually isn’t great, given the water tanks that are used; cold brew is a good alternative, since you can enjoy a caffeinated drink without having to consume water from the plane’s tanks
• Personally I prefer not to drink alcohol when traveling domestically, but I feel like major airlines really have quite limited decent non-alcoholic drink selections; sometimes I get bored of drinking just water or Diet Coke, and no US airline has decent juice, so cold brew is an awesome alternative

Anyway, I’ve been writing about how I wish airlines would introduce cold brew as far back as 2017 (and probably earlier than that), so I’m happy to see this finally becoming increasingly common.

I should also mention that we’ve seen Delta and Southwest both try to serve cold brew or iced coffee in the past, but that didn’t last. However, I’d argue that didn’t prove successful for different reasons:

• Delta briefly served Explorer Cold Brew, which is great, but only on select transcontinental routes; I think the issue was that it wasn’t available on enough routes, so people didn’t really know about it
• Southwest briefly served Community Coffee’s Espresso + Cream Iced Coffee, but that was a sugary iced coffee drink, so it was targeting a different audience

Bottom line

Alaska Airlines will begin serving Stumptown Copilot Cold Brew on select flights. I think Alaska’s partnership with Stumptown is awesome in general, especially with the custom filter coffee blend, and it’s cool to see this expanded with cold brew.

The only thing is that I wish this were available on all routes, rather than just on select routes. This is an area where United still leads the way, with cold brew being available systemwide.

What do you make of Alaska Airlines adding cold brew to the drink lineup?

Qantas has been teasing this for nearly a decade, and the airline has now announced the first long haul route to get this service, along with the approximate launch date. However, more patience will be required, as this will only take flight 16 months from now, best case scenario.

Qantas’ record breaking Sydney to London flights unveiled

Qantas has announced that it plans to launch nonstop flights between Sydney and London as of October 2027, with flights going on sale as of February 2027. This will represent the first-ever regularly scheduled nonstop flights between Australia’s East Coast and the UK.

Qantas notes how this announcement coincides with the first A350-1000ULR in Qantas livery being unveiled at Airbus’ facility in Toulouse. Qantas has been flying between Sydney and London since 1947, when the original “Kangaroo Route” (as it’s called) took four days, with seven stops, in Darwin, Singapore, Calcutta, Karachi, Cairo, Castel Benito, and Rome, on its way to the UK.

The new nonstop flights will cut up to four hours off the travel time compared to existing one-stop services. Even when the nonstop Sydney to London flight is launched, the airline still plans to maintain its one-stop services from Sydney to London via Perth (PER) and Singapore (SIN).

Qantas will launch this nonstop service once it has three A350-1000ULRs — two planes are needed to operate the route, and then they also need a spare. So you can expect the plane will enter service a bit earlier, operating regional flights, particularly for crew familiarization.

It’s not surprising to see Qantas launch Project Sunrise out of Sydney, though it’s interesting to see London chosen over New York (it has been confirmed that Sydney to New York will be the second route). Personally, I was thinking we’d see New York ahead of London, though I didn’t necessarily have a good reason for assuming that. I’m curious where Qantas is getting the Heathrow slots for this service from.

Here’s what Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson had to say about this:

“Qantas was built on the belief that Australia’s distance from the rest of the world should never stand in the way. The pioneering spirit of generations of our people has forged that path ever since, and today is the most significant step in that mission in our 105-year history.”

“Since we first flew the Kangaroo Route in 1947, where we stopped seven times on the way to London, every generation of aircraft has taken a stop out of the journey. Today, we’re taking out the last one.”

“We made a commitment in 2017 that Qantas would conquer the final frontier of long-haul aviation and connect Australia’s east coast directly to London, something that has never before been possible. From October 2027, that promise becomes reality.”

Qantas A350-1000ULRs will have 238 seats in four cabins

Qantas has a total of 12 Airbus A350-1000ULRs on order, which feature extra fuel tanks, as well as a higher maximum takeoff weight than the standard A350-1000, which the airline also has on order.

Qantas’ A350-1000ULRs will be specially configured for long haul flying, and will be in a very spacious configuration:

• Qantas’ A350-1000ULRs will carry just 238 passengers, which is way fewer seats than you’ll find on most carriers’ A350s
• The planes will feature four classes of service, including six first class seats, 52 business class seats, 40 premium economy seats, and 140 economy seats
• Economy will feature 32-34″ of pitch, which is more spacious than what you’d typically find in economy (where 31″ is the standard for long haul flights)
• Qantas will be introducing a new first class suite and business class seat with a door on A350-1000s
• Qantas A350-1000ULRs will feature a dedicated wellness zone
• All Qantas A350-1000s will feature fast and free Wi-Fi, in partnership with Viasat

I’ve talked more about the cabin interiors in a separate post, because there’s lots to cover. AeroLOPA also has a seat map of the new cabins, which is interesting to look at.

I have to say, as much as I enjoy flying, these flights are really getting to a length where I wonder if I might just prefer a connection, so I can stretch my legs. I guess if you’re in first or business class it’s hard to complain, though in premium economy or economy, this seems like quite the undertaking. But I guess that’s the beauty of choice, as there are also plenty of one-stop options.

Bottom line

Qantas has finally announced its first Project Sunrise route, as the airline will start flying between Sydney and London as of October 2027, with flights going on sale as of next February. The airline will operate this route with Airbus A350-1000ULRs, which is a unique aircraft type the airline has on order.

At around 10,0000 miles and with a flight time of around 20 hours, these will be the longest flights in the world.

What’s your take on Qantas’ plans to fly from Sydney to London? Would you like to take this flight, or would you rather connect?

Delta SkyMiles awarding MQDs for lodging & rental cars

Just about all major airlines have portals through which you can earn bonus miles for booking hotels, rental cars, etc. After all, there are commissions to be made on this, and those who fly a lot are also likely to stay at hotels and rent cars a lot.

Historically Delta SkyMiles has only awarded redeemable miles for these kinds of activities, but that’s changing for a limited time. At the moment, Delta SkyMiles is offering one Medallion Qualifying Dollar (MQD) for every dollar spent when booking a hotel, vacation rental, or rental car, at this link, in addition to earning two redeemable miles. As you’d expect, there are some terms to be aware of:

• You must book hotel, vacation rental, and rental car reservations between June 15 and July 20, 2026
• You must travel by December 15, 2026
• You earn one MQD per dollar spent on base rates for hotels, vacation rentals, and rental cars, before taxes, fees, etc.
• The SkyMiles account must belong to the same person the booking is being made for
• It can take up to eight weeks after a completed activity for MQDs to post to accounts

It’s important to mention that while earning miles and even elite status for a hotel, vacation rental, or rental car, booking might sound appealing, keep in mind that there’s typically an opportunity cost to doing so. For example, with hotels you can’t earn hotel points if you book this way, and you typically don’t get elite perks. Furthermore, you’ll often find better rates elsewhere.

This is an interesting promotion from Delta SkyMiles

Nowadays Delta SkyMiles elite status is based exclusively on how many Medallion Qualifying Dollars (MQDs) you rack up, and status requires anywhere from 5,000 MQDs to 28,000 MQDs in a calendar year.

There are three ways you can earn MQDs:

• You earn one MQD per dollar spent on Delta flights
• You earn one MQD per dollar spent on vacations booked through Delta Vacations
• You earn one MQD per every $10-20 spent on an eligible Delta Amex card, depending on which product it is

When Delta first announced changes to SkyMiles for the 2024 program year, the plan was for hotel and rental car bookings to count toward elite status as well. However, after a lot of backlash over the new program, the elite requirements were lowered, and hotel and rental cars were also eliminated as a way to earn status.

So it’s interesting to see Delta now offering MQDs on a limited time basis for hotel and rental car bookings, and this being a recurring promotion.

It’s smart for Delta to incentive this kind of business, since this is pure profit for the carrier. The company is getting a commission on these bookings, and is just giving a small kickback to people who book this way.

I’m just confused by the concept of now offering a limited time promotion for the ninth time, rather than making it a permanent feature. Is Delta not seeing as many people qualifying for status as the airline was hoping, or is the airline keeping it limited time to avoid backlash over the elite status changes?

Bottom line

Delta SkyMiles has brought back a promotion whereby you can earn MQDs for hotels, vacation rentals, and rental cars, booked through the carrier’s portal. For a limited time, you can earn one MQD per dollar spent, in addition to the standard two redeemable miles you earn per dollar spent.

Delta transformed its SkyMiles program in 2024, and initially the plan was that these kinds of travel arrangements would permanently count toward status. However, the carrier backtracked, and is now just offering this on a limited time basis (though on nine separate occasions since 2024).

What do you make of this Delta SkyMiles promotion?

That’s not all that’s changing, though. We knew that regulators in the European Union were considering introducing common dimensions for hand luggage, essentially banning airlines from charging fees for carry-on bags. There’s now an update there as well, as rules will change, but not quite as drastically as had been proposed in the past.

European Union will force airlines to market fares with bags

In 2025, we saw members of the European Parliament push legislation to introduce common dimensions for hand luggage. The idea was that passengers should have the right to carry one personal item, such as a handbag, backpack, or laptop (maximum dimensions of 40x30x15 centimeters), plus one carry-on item weighing up to seven kilograms (maximum dimensions 100 centimeters), onboard flights.

In June 2025, the European Parliament’s transport committee even voted in favor of this proposal. However, that didn’t mean that this would actually become law, as negotiations still needed to take place with the European Commission and the Council of the EU.

As it turns out, though, quite a bit has changed over the past year, and European Parliament has just reached a deal involving carry-on bags, but it’s not what was initially proposed. With the new policy, the idea is that airlines will have to display ticket prices inclusive of a full size carry-on bag, along with a personal item:

To create price transparency, air fares including allowance for a piece of hand baggage shall be displayed by default before the start of any booking process to facilitate fare comparisons between airlines.

However, they’re not actually banning charging for carry-on bags. Instead, during the booking process, passengers can still opt not to have a carry-on bag, in exchange for a discount. So this is all about how airlines market flights, and the idea is that a fare comparison between airlines will be more apples-to-apples.

While this legislation has now been passed, it’s not expected to be implemented until some point in 2027, so it remains to be seen exactly how flights can and can’t be marketed, and when the discount can be provided.

Ryanair criticizes this “gobbledygook” legislation

Suffice it to say that this legislation will have absolutely massive implications for how Ryanair markets flights, since the airline is known for selling flights that cost very little, often less than a ride to the airport. Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary has a lot to say about this, unsurprisingly:

“These latest EU261 regs are more bureaucratic bunkum from the EU Parliament and Council. Instead of encouraging EU airlines to advertise our lowest fares (which exclude 2^nd cabin bags), which is what over 50% of our customers choose, these new rubbish regulations require airlines to falsely advertise higher air fares, making EU airlines even less competitive.”

“As usual, neither the EU Parliament, nor the Council, have done anything to improve the competitiveness of EU airlines by abolishing Europe’s failed harmful ETS taxation or reforming the EU’s broken ATC system. Europe’s ATC system accounts for over 90% of airline delays, yet the airlines are not allowed to recover our EU261 costs from these failing Govt monopolies.”

“At a time when Putin invaded Ukraine, and there is a war in the Middle East, Europe needs to be more competitive if it is to deliver growth. At this time of international crisis, all the EU Parliament and Council can do is invent new regulations,  which will now force airlines to advertise higher air fares (which include 2^nd cabin bag fees) instead of advertising our lowest air fares (which exclude 2^nd cabin bag fees) which is what more than 50% of Ryanair passengers choose on a daily basis. When Europe needs economic growth to improve its defence spending, the best our leaders can manage is new regulations about airline cabin bags, which deny airlines the right to advertise our lowest available air fares.”

“Ryanair again calls on Ursula von der Leyen, and the EU Parliament, to stop making rubbish regulations which makes EU air travel less competitive, and instead do something competitive for European consumers by abolishing Europe’s discriminatory ETS tax (which only applies to intra-EU flights) and finally deliver effective ATC reform by requiring that ATC’s are fully staffed for first wave of morning flights, and protecting EU over flights during national ATC strikes.”

Is this consumer protection or government overreach?

I’ve gotta be honest… I didn’t support the concept of forcing airlines to include a carry-on bag with their fares, and I also don’t support forcing airlines to only market fares that include a carry-on (though I at least find this a little less offensive).

I’m not some uber-libertarian person who thinks governments shouldn’t get involved in anything, but I just don’t see an issue with airlines marketing fares without carry-ons and charging for them, as long as they’re transparent about it.

Why should the government dictate what should and shouldn’t be included with an airline ticket, in terms of how they market it? For example, have you tried booking a ticket on Ryanair’s website? I can promise you, they don’t hide the fact that their basic fares don’t include a carry-on bag. Frankly, they couldn’t be much more transparent about it.

I could understand this concept a couple of decades ago, when the idea of a fare without a full size carry-on was basically unheard of. But nowadays there are plenty of these fares, including from legacy carriers.

Now, some people may argue “well everyone needs a carry-on bag, so it’s ridiculous to market a fare without one in the first place.” I’d disagree with that. For example, many ultra low cost carriers charge less for checked bags than carry-on bags. Maybe someone wants to only bring a personal item, and then pay for a checked bag.

In 2026, people should know that regardless of the airline, simply comparing fares isn’t an apples-to-apples exercise.

Bottom line

The European Union is implementing new rules, regarding how airlines can market tickets. When this concept was first proposed last year, the idea was that all fares would have to include a full size carry-on.

Ultimately they’ve backtracked a bit on this concept, and the new idea is that all fares have to be marketed with a carry-on bag included, and then airlines can subsequently offer discounts if you only want to travel with a personal item.

It remains to be seen exactly how the implementation will work, but presumably this will hugely change the way that carriers like Ryanair market their flights.

I understand the concept behind this, but personally I find this to be unnecessary, and think it just creates confusion. It’s 2026, and passengers shouldn’t expect that all fares have the same inclusions. These new rules will make it harder for someone to comparison shop if they maybe like traveling with a personal item, and then paying for a checked bag, rather than paying for a carry-on bag.

What do you make of the European Union’s updated carry-on bag marketing rules?

Since 2014, we’ve seen no changes to these regulations, which has been great for consumers. However, since last year, government leaders in Europe have been debating making some major changes. Initially, all signs pointed toward these changes being overwhelmingly negative, much to the delight of airlines.

However, in recent times, things started to look better for consumers. Rather than making regulations less consumer friendly, the opposite was in the process of being finalized, and they’ll become even more consumer friendly… wow!

I’d like to now provide an update, as an agreement has been reached, so we now know all the details of what will be changing. Separately, I’ve covered how we’re going to see new carry-on bag rules, which also has major implications for airlines.

EC261 compensation policies remain largely unchanged

In 2025, we saw transport ministers of various European Union member states discuss reforming EC261. As you’d expect, actually creating consensus among member states is no easy task, and these processes tend to be pretty drawn out, and often nothing comes of them.

Initially, the idea was that these changes would be overwhelmingly negative, including reducing the compensation amounts, increasing the length of delay required to trigger compensation, and even limiting whether missing a connecting flight would trigger compensation payments.

Well… as it turns out… never mind! Not only are the compensation amounts remaining in place, but there are some positive changes, and they’ve been agreed upon as of June 15, 2026, and are expected to be implemented as of some point in 2027. Here’s how Alexis Vafeades, Minister of Transport, Communications and Works of the Republic of Cyprus, describes this:

“I’m proud that, after 13 years of negotiations, we reached a landmark agreement to strengthen EU air passenger rights. This modernized framework will deliver certainty, fairness and stronger protection for millions of European air passengers. The agreement strikes a fair balance for our airlines, helping preserve connectivity that is vital to the EU’s internal market and its citizens.”

With these updates, the cash compensation structure is remaining unchanged, as follows:

• If your flight covers a distance of under 1,500km (930 miles), you’re entitled to €250 compensation if you’re delayed by at least two hours
• If your flight covers a distance of 1,500-3,500km (930-2,200 miles), you’re entitled to €400 compensation if you’re delayed by at least three hours
• If your flight covers a distance of over 3,500km (2,200 miles), you’re entitled to €300 compensation if you’re delayed by three to four hours, and €600 compensation if you’re delayed by at least four hours

However, beyond that, there are some really positive changes. Rather than seeing consumer rights stripped away, we’re actually seeing them strengthened, for the most part. Here are some of the additional updates:

• In the event a passenger is eligible for compensation, airlines will need to send that person a link to the compensation claim form within 96 hours of the scheduled arrival time of the flight, to make it easier to file a claim
• Airlines will be required to provide the reason for the disruption, including specifying any extraordinary circumstances, assuming they don’t want to provide compensation payments
• Once a passenger submits a compensation request, the airline has 30 days to pay or justify a refusal
• If passengers need to be rerouted due to a delay or cancelation, they must be offered an alternative route within three hours, though if passengers rebook on their own and claim reimbursement, that is capped at 400% of the original ticket price (which is obviously more limiting for a short haul flight on an ultra low cost carrier than a long haul flight in a premium cabin)

Consumers should be happy, while airlines are unhappy

It goes without saying that most passengers will probably be happy about these changes, while airlines are decidedly unhappy.

Back before they were even finalized, the European Regions Airline Association published a paper about these changes, arguing that these updates will increase the cost of EC261 from €8.1 billion to over €15 billion annually. The paper argues that consumers will ultimately pay higher fares because of this, and some small communities will lose service:

The proposed Parliament revisions to EU261 risk imposing substantial additional costs on airlines—costs that would ultimately be borne by passengers and, in many cases, by regional communities that could lose the air services on which they depend. The existing regime already costs the sector an estimated €8.1 billion annually, and the Parliament’s proposals are estimated to nearly double that burden—pushing total annual costs to over €15 billion.

Now, why would they suggest that these reforms will essentially double the cost of paying out compensation? Well, perhaps the biggest change here is the extent to which airlines have to inform passengers that they’re eligible for compensation, which requires a higher standard than before. I would assume a majority of passengers have no clue about these regulations, and don’t even know to request compensation.

As a consumer, I of course love the European Union’s generous compensation scheme. It’s the only part of the world where I almost hope for a flight delay, since it pays big time.

On the other hand, some people would argue that in reality, airlines aren’t completely off base when they say that consumers pay indirectly for this generous compensation. I think that’s sort of true, but also not. I mean, airlines like EasyJet and Ryanair manage to operate and offer very low fares, despite having to abide by these policies (which isn’t to say that they don’t try to deny compensation whenever possible, but…). My point is simply that it’s not like reducing compensation will lead to lower fares in any sort of a noticeable way.

Bottom line

The European Union has just approved updates to the EC261 flight delay and cancelation scheme. Initially, the plan was to majorly reform this in a way that would be bad for consumers. But as it turns out, that’s not what happened.

Under the agreed upon updates, the compensation amounts will remain the same. Not only that, but airlines will actually be forced to more directly inform customers they’re entitled to compensation.

As you’d expect, consumers should be delighted by this, while airlines aren’t, with one paper suggesting that this will roughly double the cost of the EC261 scheme for airlines.

What do you make of these EC261 flight compensation changes?

Last week, I covered how it looked like we had a rough opening timeline for Marriott’s most anticipated property in London, which is now running a few years behind schedule. I’d now like to provide an additional update, as the hotel is now bookable.

Westbury Mayfair Hotel becomes St. Regis London

The St. Regis London is now accepting bookings for stays as of December 1, 2026, so hopefully that timeline sticks! The hotel will have 193 keys, and 66 of those will be suites, so that’s a good suite to room ratio (in terms of upgrades, at least in theory).

The hotel’s signature restaurant will be Le Perroquet, a French brasserie concept by Chef Daniel Rose, and there will also be a lobby bar. When it comes to other amenities, expect a full service spa and fitness center. Entry level rooms will start at 37 square meters, or 398 square feet.

For context, in February 2022, it was announced that Marriott signed a management agreement with Cola Holdings and the Westbury Hotel Limited to bring the St. Regis brand to London. Specifically, the former Westbury Mayfair Hotel (which was a Marriott Luxury Collection property) is being rebranded as a St. Regis after an extensive $122 million redevelopment (I’m sure the price tag has gone up significantly in the meantime).

That’s a huge amount to spend, so this is more than just a renovation — the hotel is getting an eighth floor, plus the rear of the hotel is being extended, creating enhanced public areas, along with renovations to the facade of the building and the drop-off area outside the main entrance.

When plans for the St. Regis London were announced, we were told to expect an opening in 2023. Unfortunately that timeline didn’t stick, and the timeline then became 2024… then 2025… then 2026.

This is a property I’m rather excited about. Personally St. Regis is probably my favorite Marriott Bonvoy brand, given that St. Regis honors elite perks better than Ritz-Carlton properties. Marriott Bonvoy Platinum members and above can receive free breakfast at St. Regis properties, and can also use nightly upgrade awards.

This actually won’t be the first time that there’s a St. Regis property in London. In the early 2000s, The Lanesborough was branded as a St. Regis. However, in 2014 it rebranded, and joined Oetker Hotels.

St. Regis London rates & points requirements

With the St. Regis London now being bookable, what are rates like? Entry level rates currently start at just £755 (~$1,013) per night, and go up from there. That’s obviously quite pricey… it’s not quite to the level of London’s top hotels, but still very expensive for entry rates.

If you’re going to book a cash stay here, I’d recommend doing so through the Marriott STARS program, to receive perks like free breakfast, a $100 resort credit, a room upgrade, and more.

For those looking to redeem Marriott points, it looks like the hotel isn’t yet bookable with points, but that should be changing soon.

London’s luxury points hotel scene is improving

Fortunately it’s not just Marriott bringing one of its flagship luxury brands to London, as Hyatt has recently opened a new property, and Hilton will do so soon as well.

In late 2024, we saw the opening of the Park Hyatt London River Thames. Physically, the 203-room hotel is beautiful, though the location leaves a bit to be desired, especially for a flagship property of the Park Hyatt brand. It’s located in the One Nine Elms development, a mixed-use skyscraper, which doesn’t exactly have a central location.

Perhaps the most exciting points hotel coming to the city is the Waldorf Astoria London Admiralty Arch. This 100-room property is expected to open this year, and will be located near Buckingham Palace, in a landmark that’s going to become a hotel for the first time. However, there also seem to be delays there, so let’s see when it actually opens.

Between Park Hyatt, St. Regis, and Waldorf Astoria, those of us who like redeeming points at luxury hotels in London should be happy campers in the not-too-distant future (though with how expensive points redemptions across brands are getting, it’s hard to get too excited).

Bottom line

The St. Regis London is now accepting reservations as of December 1, 2026, with stays currently starting at just over £750 per night. It’s great to see the hotel finally bookable, as this represents a delay of around three years compared to the initial timeline, which called for a 2023 opening. The former Westbury Mayfair Hotel has undergone a significant redevelopment, including an expansion, and will reopen as a 193-room St. Regis.

What do you make of the upcoming St. Regis London?

Aer Lingus may cut routes & staff to boost margins

IAG is the parent company of British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, and Vueling, and while it’s not exactly known for its focus on passenger experience, it is known for being profitable.

The airline group has set a medium-term operating margin target of 12-15% for all of its subsidiary airlines. Achieving that benchmark is considered mandatory for the parent company to continue fleet investment and network support. I think it’s important to emphasize just how good those margins are. Delta is known for being extremely profitable, but the airline had a margin of under 10% last year.

In 2025, Aer Lingus reported a profit of €282 million on €2.5 billion of revenue, so that’s a margin of 11.1%. Globally that would be considered exceptional, but it’s not enough for the parent company. As a result, IAG is expected to soon announce significant cuts to Aer Lingus’ network and workforce.

Willie Walsh, the former CEO of Aer Lingus, British Airways, and IAG (in that order), has even suggested that the airline might not have a future unless it reinvents itself. Current IAG CEO Luis Gallego, has even reportedly said the following:

“It is clear that existing transformation efforts are not enough. The airline will need to take decisive actions to restore financial performance and ensure it is positioned to deliver in line with the group’s 12 per cent to 15 per cent operating margin.”

Is IAG greedy, or simply logically disciplined?

On the one hand, I can understand where IAG is coming from. I mean, the company is publicly traded, sets a certain profit target, and if that’s not achieved, it wants to make changes until that margin is achieved.

Admittedly I think Aer Lingus faces some unique challenges. Dublin isn’t exactly a high yield market, and on short haul flights, the airline faces a massive amount of competition from Ryanair.

At the same time, this just strikes me as being absurdly greedy, and reflects what a cutthroat airline group IAG is, even for a company performing well. Let’s just put this into perspective. Aer Lingus had a margin of 11.1% in 2025. As a point of comparison, Lufthansa Group’s carriers had margins ranging from 0.9% to 9.3%. So Lufthansa Group’s highest margin subsidiary had lower margins than IAG’s lowest margin subsidiary.

IAG is just known for being a cutthroat company, including with labor. The airline is ruthless in a way I don’t really respect, where it’ll cut anything to improve margins, even if it’s terrible for customers or employees.

I also think there’s a bit of a “chicken or egg” situation here. Of the subsidiaries, Aer Lingus gets by far the least investment from IAG in terms of new planes, new products, passenger experience, etc. The airline blames that lack of investment on lackluster margins, but also, maybe the margins not being a bit higher are due to those lack of investments?

Also, I think IAG is kind of overlooking the strategic importance of having major hubs, and a multi-carrier strategy, even if it’s just to keep competitors out. I certainly don’t think that shrinking massively will help Aer Lingus’ margins, so if that’s the case, does the airline group just want to shut down Aer Lingus? Does that make sense, for an airline that has great margins, at least competitively? I’m sure Air France-KLM or Lufthansa Group would be delighted to take over Aer Lingus.

Anyway, I don’t know what to think, other than that it’s kind of wild that an airline with industry leading margins is potentially going to be forced to downsize because the margins aren’t good enough.

Bottom line

IAG is preparing to downsize Aer Lingus, because the airline is just shy of the airline group’s 12-15% profit margin goal. The argument is that IAG can’t afford to continue to invest in airlines unless they reach those profit goals, and the 11%+ return at Aer Lingus just doesn’t cut it.

I get the idea of investing in the most profitable parts of a business, but this just strikes me as either misguided or greedy.

What do you make of the situation at Aer Lingus?

Hotel owners are really frustrated with Marriott Bonvoy

The Wall Street Journal has a story about how hotel owners are rebelling against Marriott’s loyalty program. Owners representing nearly 1,000 Marriott affiliated hotels are demanding that Marriott revise the rules of its popular Bonvoy program, to give them a bigger slice of the revenue.

The concept here is pretty simple — most Marriott hotels are independently owned, and operate either under a management or franchise agreement with Marriott. One of the things that Marriott brings to the table is its Bonvoy loyalty program, which has a very loyal customer base.

The concept of the loyalty program was supposed to be that hotels pay into the loyalty “fund” so that points can be awarded, and then when points are redeemed for hotel stays, the individual properties are reimbursed at a reduced rate.

I’ve written in the past about the economics of hotel loyalty programs. The idea is generally that Marriott reimburses hotels at a really low rate if the hotel isn’t otherwise full, just above the marginal cost of servicing the room. Meanwhile if a hotel is full, the reimbursement rate is much higher.

The issue hotel owners have is that Marriott has increasingly turned Bonvoy into a for-profit business, rather than a reward for loyalty that contributes to the core business. As a result, points are now often issued through non-hotel stays, and then in turn, are used for hotel stays where reimbursement rates are really low.

In other words, Marriott gets all the profits, while the individual hotels don’t. Marriott is basically acting as a consolidator for its own hotels, given that it has limited direct incentives for hotels to be profitable (rather than to just rack up as much in fees as possible, which are typically based on revenue rather than profit).

Per the story, here’s what hotel owners are looking for:

Hotel owners say they want more financial information and reforms to the program’s reimbursement structure. At a minimum, they say, they want compensation for loyalty-program stays to be on par with what they receive from third-party online travel agencies such as Expedia.

“Hotel owners are absorbing an increasing share of the program’s costs while Marriott captures an increasing share of its revenue,” the group wrote in the letter sent to Chief Executive Anthony Capuano and Chairman David Marriott.

In the past, hotel guests earned loyalty points primarily from staying at hotels. Owners paid into a fund, managed by Marriott, which was used to compensate them when guests paid for their rooms using loyalty points. 

Hotel owners never got market-rate compensation for loyalty stays, but the program was seen as worthwhile because it drove loyalty and attracted new customers, hotel owners say. 

This is going to be bad news all-around, but is fair

It goes without saying that the major hotel groups have really been cashing in on their loyalty programs as of late. That’s also why we’ve seen so many hotels do such a poor job with honoring elite perks, due to the amount of inflation of elite ranks.

The issue is that Marriott increasingly sells points and status and keeps all the proceeds, while the individual hotels are basically asked to fund that.

It’s not surprising to see Marriott do that. After all, the company is publicly traded, and investors always want better returns. There’s only so much appetite for new hotel development nowadays with interest rates not very low, which is why Marriott is looking to its loyalty program to increase profits.

The irony is that while hotels are mostly getting terrible reimbursement for award stays, we’ve seen massive inflation to award rates, so one assumes that Marriott has just really been cashing in.

So I really see where hotel owners are coming from here. Unfortunately it’s going to be bad news across the board. In the event that reimbursement rates do increase, you can bet that we’ll see Marriott proportionately increase award costs. Bleh.

I really do think we are in “late stage” miles & points, when it comes to value. These publicly traded companies are trying to milk the programs for everything they’re worth, and on some level, that growth just isn’t sustainable, if you want all parties to remain engaged.

Bottom line

Individual Marriott hotel owners are coming together to demand more money from Marriott for award stays. The frustration is that Marriott has increasingly been monetizing and profiting off of its loyalty program, not just making it about rewarding loyal guests, but increasingly making it about generating profits at the expense of hotel owners.

When hotels aren’t full, reimbursement rates for award stays are really low, which made sense at some point in the past. However, at this point, hotel owners are just frustrated, because they don’t feel like they’re getting an ROI on these stays.

What do you make of the frustration of Marriott hotel owners?

Japan Airlines executives punished over crew actions

Senior executives at Japan Airlines are going to have their pay docked in the short term, following yet another incident of employees drinking too much prior to operating a flight. Specifically, CEO Mitsuko Tottori will have her pay cut by 30% for a period of two months. Furthermore, the company’s safety manager, Yukio Nakagawa, and the company’s cabin services manager, Junko Nakano, will receive a 20% pay cut for one month. All other directors will receive a 10% pay cut for one month.

This latest pay cut is being driven by a recent incident that happened on a domestic Japan Airlines flight. Long story short, two flight attendants were catching up with one another on a layover, and failed to adhere to the carrier’s policy of no drinking within 12 hours of flying, and of not having any alcohol in their system when arriving at the airport.

Japan Airlines requires all crews to do constant alcohol testing, given the carrier’s historical issues with this. While one of the flight attendants called in sick, the other flight attendant still tried to show up at the airport, and ultimately failed the test. That caused a flight delay, as a replacement crew had to be called in.

This has also caused regulators to once again increase scrutiny of the airline. Following this incident, all Japan Airlines flight attendants have been banned from drinking alcohol on layovers, regardless of how long the layover is.

This level of accountability is admirable… sort of

On the surface, this level of accountability all very much reflects Japanese business culture, and of senior leaders taking responsibility when things go wrong. Optics also matter. It reminds me of how in 2009, when Japan Airlines was losing money, the CEO would take the bus to work, and would have lunch in the employee cafeteria with everyone else.

But here’s the thing — this is now the third time in roughly a year that we’ve seen Japan Airlines’ CEO take a 30% pay cut, all over drinking employees. In the two previous instances, it was due to issues with drinking pilots.

I tend to think that the point of accountability is to cause behavior to change in the long run, so if you keep accepting the same punishment and the same thing keeps happening, then maybe that’s not actually working. Of course this is largely about optics, and ultimately something is better than nothing.

It’s hard to know what exactly is going on with Japan Airlines, and why its employees have such an issue with following alcohol policies. Admittedly I realize that in Japan many people like to “let loose,” despite how rigid and rule-oriented the country can appear, on the surface.

Admittedly Japan’s aviation alcohol rules are also incredibly strict, and with the amount of testing that happens, it’s not surprising that rules are sometimes broken. I imagine it would be similar at most other airlines, if testing were that frequent. However, what I can’t make sense of is why this is such an issue at Japan Airlines, but not at All Nippon Airways, for example. What is driving that, exactly?

Bottom line

Japan Airlines’ CEO is taking a 30% pay cut for a period of two months, following yet another incident where an employee violated the company’s alcohol policy. On top of that, other executives had their pay docked as well.

This is now the third time in roughly a year that executives are facing this punishment, so I’m not sure this is really working. Then again, given the really strict alcohol limits, there are always going to be some “bad apples,” and I’m not sure this can be blamed squarely on management. When you have a workforce of thousands, can you really control for the actions of every single person? However, why is this more of an issue at Japan Airlines than All Nippon Airways?

What do you make of Japan Airlines’ senior managers taking pay cuts over this drinking situation?

Fortunately in recent years, things have been improving. The airline has been in rehabilitation as part of a turnaround plan, and that seems to be working. We’re now seeing the airline invest in a more consistent fleet going forward, and hopefully this strategy continues.

Along those lines, we’ve known that Thai Airways plans to introduce a new, consistent business class product across most of its wide body fleet, and we now officially know what that product is, as flagged by Executive Traveller.

Thai Airways plans to completely change up long haul cabins

Historically, Thai Airways’ fleet has been all over the place, both in terms of the aircraft the airline flies, and also in terms of the actual onboard product. When you fly with the airline, you really don’t know what you’re going to get.

At this point, Thai Airways offers first class exclusively on three Boeing 777-300ERs. On most other planes, the airline has business class and economy, but no premium economy (except for some planes taken over by other airlines, where no changes were made to the interiors).

The thing is, Thai Airways is planning to greatly streamline its fleet, made possible by three things:

• Starting around mid-2027, Thai Airways plans to retrofit its fleet of Boeing 777-300ERs, so the planes will get new interiors
• Thai Airways has dozens of Boeing 787-9s and 787-10s on order, which will also be delivered as of some point in 2027, and those will also feature a more consistent passenger experience
• Then starting at some point in 2028, Thai Airways plans to retrofit its fleet of Airbus A350-900s, and those will likely also get the same interiors

The plan going forward is to eliminate first class completely, and replace that with a “business class plus” concept. Then all these planes will be getting the same new business class product, as well as a premium economy product, along with new economy seats (going from nine to 10 abreast on the 777).

VantageNOVA seat coming to Thai Airways business class

We had known that Thai Airways’ new business class product would consist of reverse herringbone seats with doors, and that there would be a front row “business class plus” product. So that had narrowed down the possible products the airline would introduce. We now have some certainty as to what we’ll see.

Thai Airways has opted for the Thompson Aero VantageNOVA platform for its new business class. While this product isn’t yet in service for any airline, it’s the same new business class product Delta will introduce on its Airbus A350-1000s, and those will also be delivered as of 2027. So it remains to be seen if Delta or Thai introduce this product first.

This looks like a pretty standard “modern” business class product, not remarkable in any positive or negative way. And it’s a huge upgrade across the board, as I imagine we’ll also see greatly updated tech. Thai Airways is known for its unique cabin finishes, so I can’t wait to see what Thai Airways’ version of this product looks like.

Bottom line

Thai Airways has exciting plans for the premium cabins on its aircraft, and we’ll finally start to see more consistency. For most existing 777s and A350s, plus future 787 deliveries, Thai Airways plans to offer reverse herringbone seats with doors, plus a front row business class suite, with rollout starting in 2027.

Thai Airways has opted for the Thompson Aero VantageNOVA platform, the same product Delta is introducing on its new A350s. I look forward to learning more details as we get closer to the introduction of this product.

What do you make of Thai Airways’ new business class plans?

Amex Resy credit updates coming August 1, 2026

Both the Amex Platinum Card and Amex Gold Card offer Resy credits as one of their perks. The idea is that enrolled members can get a credit of a certain amount for spending at virtually all eligible Resy restaurants in the United States.

To me, this is good as cash, and I basically deduct the value of that straight from the annual fee, when doing the math on whether a card is worth it. However, recently Doctor Of Credit flagged how the latest statements of eligible Amex cards have the following note:

Update to the Resy Credit Benefit

Effective August 1, 2026, U.S. restaurants and other food and beverage establishments (e.g., wineries, cafes) must be indicated as eligible for the Resy Credit on the Resy website or the Resy app at the time of purchase to qualify for the benefit. Qualifying restaurants and other food and beverage establishments will be indicated as eligible on their booking page on the Resy website or the Resy app and are subject to change at any time.

So starting in several weeks, U.S. restaurants must specifically be marked as being eligible for the Resy credit in order for it to apply, rather than all Resy restaurants qualifying.

Similarly, when you go to the Resy website while logged into your Amex account, you’ll already see a note about how “this venue currently qualifies for the Resy Credit.” The key word there is “currently,” suggesting that in the future, some restaurants may no longer be marked in that way.

Is this a huge devaluation, or much ado about nothing?

Here’s the official statement from Amex as to what’s going on:

We have added a Resy Credit eligible badge to Resy venues pages to provide additional clarity to diners at the time of booking. We have not removed Resy venues that are eligible today and will be adding more eligible venues later this year when Tock venues become bookable on Resy.

As you can tell, this is great news. Amex owns both Resy and Tock, and is planning on integrating Tock into Resy. The idea is that former Tock restaurants will progressively be made eligible for the credit, but that won’t all happen overnight, hence the new disclaimer about which restaurants are eligible.

Honestly, this Resy credit on the Amex Platinum is so generous (at least compared to so many other card perks) that many of us were worried that Amex was trying to improve the economics of the perk, and only include a subset of Resy restaurants for the credit going forward:

• With the Amex Platinum refresh we saw some time back, I’d actually argue that the card is easier to justify than ever before, thanks in large part to the up to $400 in Resy credits (along with the up to $600 in hotel credits)
• Nowadays a large percentage of premium card perks are merchant funded, and it doesn’t appear that’s what directly has been going on here; instead, Amex owns Resy, and it seems this perk has been driven by getting people onto the Resy platform
• So many wondered if Amex was now essentially trying to get restaurants to help fund this benefit, whereby if they wanted to be included on the list and have business driven their way, they’d need to pay some amount for that

However, all of this doesn’t appear to be the case, and that’s something to be happy about. The 2025 Amex Platinum refresh really was a net positive, as I see it, and it’s nice to see that value continue.

Bottom line

Amex has updated its terms to note that as of August 1, 2026, we’ll see some changes to the Resy credits on premium cards, like the Amex Gold and Amex Platinum. The idea is that the credits can only be used at restaurants specifically marked as being eligible for that benefit.

The good news is that this isn’t some massive devaluation intended to greatly limit the number of eligible restaurants. Instead, this change is due to Tock being integrated into Resy, and those new restaurants only progressively being made eligible for the dining credits.

So not only will current Resy restaurants remain eligible for the credit, but we’ll even see the selection expanded over time. This is great news, and should make this benefit even more valuable in the long run.

What do you make of these Amex Resy credit benefit updates?

They’re a mixed bag, with some good news, and some bad news. Before even getting into the long term card changes, let me mention that there’s a huge incentive to actually apply for this card right now, as it’s offering a best-ever bonus of 100K points.

Details of the Chase Sapphire Preferred changes

The Chase Sapphire Preferred has just undergone some major updates. All of the changes apply for new cardmembers as of today, June 15, 2026. For existing cardmembers, the positive changes also apply as of today, while the negative changes will apply as of October 1, 2026.

On the plus side, the Chase Sapphire Preferred annual fee remains the same, at just $95. We’ve seen so much annual fee inflation over the years, so it’s great to see that annual fee remain the same. Let’s go over the details of what has changed, in no particular order…

New 3x points categories added, 10% bonus taken away

The Chase Sapphire Preferred has just added new bonus categories. With these updates, the card now earns 3x points on gas stations and EV charging, as well as 3x points on vacation home rentals with Airbnb, HomeAway, Homestay.com, Plum Guide, Vrbo, and Vacasa.

This complements the previous bonus categories, which include 3x points on dining, select streaming services, and online grocery store purchases (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), along with 2x points on travel. Then there are additional bonus categories for Chase Travel bookings and Lyft spending.

Unfortunately there is some bad news when it comes to earning points, and this is something we knew was coming. The Sapphire Preferred has lost its 10% anniversary points bonus, whereby the base points that cardmembers earned from spending have received a 10% annual bonus. In other words, under the old system, $100K in spending would earn you 10K bonus points.

Chase to Hyatt points transfer ratio devalued

Previously, Chase Ultimate Rewards points could consistently be moved to World of Hyatt at a 1:1 ratio. With these updates, the ratio has been devalued, to 4:3. Note that this change applies to the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (learn more).

Meanwhile it doesn’t apply to the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card (learn more) and Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ (learn more), which continue to have a 1:1 transfer ratio. As before, points can be pooled between cards, and you can use the highest transfer ratio available. This is the first non-1:1 transfer ratio we’re seeing from Chase Ultimate Rewards.

$50 Chase Travel hotel credit increased to $100

The Chase Sapphire Preferred offers a Chase Travel hotel credit, and that has been increased in value, from $50 to $100.

As before, 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 more or less 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.

New travel protection improvements

The Chase Sapphire Preferred now features enhanced travel protection, including 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.

One-year complimentary Apple TV subscription

The Chase Sapphire Preferred has a new complimentary Apple TV subscription for one year, with activation required by December 31, 2026. This is awesome to see, as it’s another perk that adds a lot of short term value.

New Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS credit

The Chase Sapphire Preferred now features 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.

My take on the Chase Sapphire Preferred changes

As you can tell, there are both positive and negative changes here, and Chase Sapphire Preferred cardmembers will probably have varying takes, depending on their behavior and spending patterns. What’s my opinion?

Personally I think the improved bonus categories are positive, and it’s especially nice to have a personal Chase Ultimate Rewards card offering bonus points on gas station purchases. Admittedly the 10% anniversary bonus points being cut is less than ideal — some people will come out ahead, while others won’t.

Meanwhile the bigger hotel credit, the Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit, the better travel protection, and the Apple TV subscription, are all awesome, and make this a card that potentially offers outsized value compared to the annual fee.

Now let’s get to what symbolically I find to be the most painful. We’ve seen the transfer ratio from Chase to Hyatt devalued. This doesn’t impact those with the Chase Sapphire Reserve, so it starts to become a point of differentiation between the cards.

As I see it, there are two major issues here. First, as I’ve covered in the past, I think transferable points are reaching a negative inflection point, as we’re increasingly seeing non-1:1 transfers. I feel like five years down the road, programs will have 12 partners with 12 different transfer ratios. It’s not great.

Second, it’s incredibly disappointing to see this just shortly after World of Hyatt massively devalued its points. But I guess we also shouldn’t be surprised. When Hyatt and Chase promoted their renewed co-brand deal, they announced that Hyatt’s profits from the partnership are expected to double over the next couple of years.

Well, it’s pretty clear how that’s being done, at least in part — points will just be worth a lot less. I can’t blame Hyatt for trying to maximize profits, but as consumers, this is very bad for us, and I do think this poses a risk to Hyatt in terms of people even being interested in the ecosystem anymore.

Bottom line

The Chase Sapphire Preferred has undergoing some major changes. All the changes apply effective immediately for new cardmembers. For existing cardmembers, the positive changes apply effective immediately, while the negative changes apply as of October 1, 2026.

The card’s $95 annual fee is staying the same, but a lot else has changed. The card now has new 3x points categories for gas stations, EV charging, and vacation rentals, but it has also lost its 10% anniversary points. Meanwhile the card’s $50 hotel credit has been doubled, and a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit has been added as well. Then the card also received new travel coverage. On top of that, the Hyatt transfer ratio has been devalued, from 1:1 to 4:3.

What do you make of these Chase Sapphire Preferred changes?

Beond Airlines can’t afford to pay staff salaries

Beond Airlines launched operations in 2023, and it brands itself as the world’s first premium leisure airline. The company is headquartered in Dubai, but primarily operates flights to and from the Maldives. The airline currently has a fleet of two aircraft, including one A319 and one A321.

I reviewed the airline in 2024, and the onboard product was super pleasant, so I was a fan of the passenger experience. However, since the beginning, I’ve been saying that the business model makes no sense. This spring, we saw the airline “suspend” regularly scheduled commercial operations through the fall, coinciding with the low season in the Maldives.

We’ve also seen the airline promise massive growth, setting up subsidiaries in everywhere from Bahrain, to Saudi Arabia, to the United States. Respectfully, if your core business isn’t working, it seems like greatly scaling it and setting up new subsidiaries probably isn’t the solution either.

Anyway, when the airline suspended operations, I posed the question of whether this might signal the end of the airline. While that still remains to be seen, there’s one sign that’s not at all encouraging.

A Fly Guy’s Cabin Crew Lounge reports on a company memo sent by CEO Tero Taskila, which reveals that the company is two months behind on paying salaries, as it awaits additional funding. I have to give Taskila credit for at least not gaslighting employees, and being honest about the current reality.

He wrote that “we are two months in arrears, and I know what that means for you and your families. I will not dress that up.” I guess to get additional funding, the airline is relying on approval from Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), to launch a venture there, though that deadline has now slipped.

He goes on to write that “as soon as funds come through, payments will be released. I will not give you a payment date I am not certain I can meet.”

What’s perhaps most controversial is that the CEO is asking staff to continue working without pay, as the airline operates a limited number of charter flights. “We have a charter flight tomorrow and quite a busy schedule in the coming week. Those flights matter. Not because they fix the salary issue, but because every operated flight protects the company’s ability to make good on what we owe you.”

This is a combination of bad luck and a bad business model

Credit where credit’s due, I actually think Beond’s CEO is trying to build a “real” airline, genuinely believes in the concept, and wants to succeed. That’s more than we can say about some other “airline startups.” Every interaction I’ve had with him has been pleasant and respectful, and he actually has quite a bit of industry experience.

It goes without saying that several factors here have posed a major challenge for Beond Airlines. The most significant is that a huge increase in jet fuel prices hits any airline that’s not very profitable in the first place the hardest, especially if they don’t have the liquidity to weather a rough period.

Furthermore, essentially operating all flights with a refueling stop in the Middle East isn’t ideal, in terms of passenger flow between Europe and the Maldives, since many people want to avoid the region. The airline shifted its stopover point to other cities, but that also adds complexity, given that most Beond crews are based in Dubai.

But none of this changes the fact that the business model just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense in the first place, in my opinion. The Maldives has highly seasonal demand, especially among more premium travelers, and on top of that, essentially requiring a refueling stop in the Middle East makes it hard to get any real sleep when flying on Beond. Add in the lack of Wi-Fi, and it’s not really that compelling of a passenger experience, especially with the lack of frequencies, lack of operational reliability, etc.

Quite honestly, what I’ve found most concerning, though, is Beond’s constant overpromising and underdelivering on growth, and this goes back to before the airline even launched. If you’re publicly traded and your forecasts never match the actual results, you’re dinged massively, and investors have no confidence. That’s kind of the vibe here, except the company isn’t publicly traded.

In April 2025, the airline announced it would expand to 18 new destinations in 2026. That just didn’t happen. Period. And it made no sense, because what was the plan to acquire planes? Then in November 2025, the airline announced it would set up subsidiaries all over the place. In the United States, that was supposed to be in partnership with New Pacific Airlines… which liquidated two weeks after the announcement.

This is just not how you create trust, and it felt like every announcement from this airline was intended to try to get new investors by promising the sky, rather than an actual reflection of reality.

Bottom line

All-business class airline Beond hasn’t paid its staff in two months, and doesn’t know when it’ll be able to do so. Meanwhile the airline is continuing to ask staff to work charter flights without pay. It seems that paying staff is contingent upon approval of a new subsidiary in Saudi Arabia, and that keeps getting delayed.

I feel horribly for the staff involved, since promises of money at some point in the future don’t pay bills. With the airline having suspended regularly scheduled operations in the spring, one wonders if we may ever see another regularly scheduled flight from the airline…

What do you make of this Beond Airlines situation?

Volotea staff abandon desk after traveler refuses to stop recording

PYOK flags how a vlogger with the username Escape with Emily has posted a video on YouTube about her experience traveling to Spain. This woman seems to have a lot of drama when she travels.

Don’t waste 30+ minutes of your time, but the relevant part is the last eight minutes of the below video. On June 4, 2026, she was supposed to fly on ultra low cost carrier Volotea, from Oviedo, Spain (OVD), to Paris, France (ORY).

As is common with ultra low cost carriers, there are some punitive policies in place. For example, you need to print your boarding pass online, and if you need to have your boarding pass printed by an employee at the airport, you have to pay a fee of €30.

Long story short, this traveler claims that she tried to check in online, and didn’t receive her boarding pass. I can’t speak to that, but I tend to think that when an airline carries 10+ million passengers per year, issues with boarding passes typically come down to user error. It later comes out that the boarding pass may have gone to a different email. Her retort is that this means she’s still checked in. To be clear, the fee isn’t for checking in, it’s for the boarding pass, which she didn’t have.

That brings us to the issue at hand — while at the Volotea ticketing office, she was wearing Meta AI glasses, which record everything, and you can tell based on the flashing light. The Volotea employees notice this, and ask her to stop recording. The station manager even gets involved.

I have to say, they remain calm and respectful, and repeatedly say that they’ll only help her if she stops recording. They even threaten to call the police if she posts this on social media. She keeps ignoring that request, and just keeps standing there. They inform her the only way to get a boarding pass is to pay.

When she just keeps standing there, the agents eventually get up and leave the office. She then follows them to the check-in counter and keeps recording them.

She finishes the video by saying the following:

“This is something that happens in a third world country, you guys, I would honestly never expect this to happen in a European country, but like, you know, here we are. So two thumbs down for Spain, you did not restore my hope unfortunately, you just confirmed what I thought about Spain before I came here, and I will try to never go again.”

As a follow-up to this, she took to X to inform her 21 followers of the fact that when she complained to Volotea, they focused on how she was recording employees against their consent, rather than addressing her complaint. They offered her the opportunity to share her side of the story.

This traveler was completely out of line, shame on her

I always try to see both sides of the story, but here I side with the airline 100%. Look, Volotea’s fee for printing a boarding pass is no doubt frustrating, I get that. And if there was some glitch that caused her to not get her boarding pass, she can take that up after the fact with the airline, file a credit card dispute, etc.

But the way she treated employees here was unacceptable:

• Virtually everywhere in the world, it’s against airline rules to record staff without their permission; furthermore, legally many European countries have much stricter privacy laws, when it comes to recording others without their consent, and Spain has especially tight laws in that regard, so staff were within their rights to refuse to help
• The station manager was actually polite with her, and I’d say they did a great job deescalating, simply ignoring her rather than actually calling the police; heck, I couldn’t believe that at the end of that, they were still willing to give her the opportunity to pay the fee
• It’s pathetic that she has decided that she’s not going to return to Spain because she booked a flight on an airline that has a boarding pass fee; honey, don’t go anywhere close to Europe again then, because this policy is virtually identical to what you’ll find on Ryanair
• These employees did nothing wrong — if she had an issue with the company’s policy, she should take it up that way, rather than harassing these poor people; that’s also why it’s unacceptable to record these people, since it’s not like she was documenting some terrible behavior, as they were just enforcing company policy

Honestly, this person’s behavior is what I’d expect from someone who has never left the United States, and not someone has reportedly been to all but 10 countries in the world.

Also, not to be too woke, but I love how after complaining about Volotea, she’s now taking to X to complain about TSA at JFK, using an AI picture of monkeys working at security. Classy.

Bottom line

A very experienced American traveler booked a ticket on ultra low cost carrier Volotea, which requires passengers to get their boarding pass online, or else pay a fee at the airport. While she claims she checked in, she didn’t have the boarding pass, so the Volotea ground staff in Spain enforced the rules, and asked her to pay.

She recorded the whole interaction with her Meta AI glasses, and they asked her to stop, but she refused. So they then stepped away from the counter, since she wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. Her conclusion was that this is “third world” behavior, and that she’s never traveling to Spain again. What a way to live…

What do you make of this Volotea incident?

Passenger records rat in JetBlue A321 overhead lighting

A JetBlue passenger has taken to Instagram to share something she witnessed on a recent JetBlue flight. Specifically, she recorded a video of what appears to be a rat crawling through the overhead lighting area of the aircraft, underneath the overhead bins.

She was traveling in Mint, JetBlue’s version of business class, and it appears to be on either an Airbus A321neo or A321LR, based on the plane having the newest version of JetBlue Mint seats. In the two days since it has been posted, the video has been viewed over 650K times, and has received nearly 11,000 likes, and around 800 comments.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Brittney Nicole (@brittneynicole291)

This happens, but what an unpleasant discovery!

It goes without saying that seeing a rat (or any other unwanted animal) in an aircraft isn’t a pleasant discovery. As much as I love animals, there are certain kinds of creatures I’d rather not get into close contact with, especially in an enclosed space, and rats are certainly among them.

I guess personally I find this to be a less pleasant discovery than something like a snake in the overhead lighting, as we’ve seen that before as well. On the plus side, actually getting into or out of the overhead lighting area isn’t that easy, so it does give you some separation from the animals, at least (though if they found a way to get in there, they can probably also find a way to get out of there).

While airlines will of course apologize for incidents like this, the carriers can’t actually typically be blamed for this, and instead, it comes down to bad luck. As you’d expect, these creatures get on the plane while it’s on the ground (last I checked, rats and snakes don’t fly), so it could get on the aircraft via the jet bridge (like from the terminal), via a galley catering cart, in a bag, or through some other opening. So it’s typically more a function of the airport one is flying out of, rather than the airline.

When airlines make a discovery like this, they’ll of course take immediate action to remove the “stowaway” from the aircraft, before the plane flies again, and will also perform a safety inspection. There is some risk associated with this, like a rat potentially chewing through wiring.

Bottom line

A traveler on JetBlue recorded a rat crawling through the overhead lighting console of an aircraft. Stuff like this does happen every so often, as creatures do sometimes make it onto aircraft via galley carts, jet bridges, etc. As someone with an irrational fear of some creatures, this would definitely make me a bit uneasy, but I wouldn’t be blaming this too much on JetBlue.

What do you make of this JetBlue rat situation?

How the United MileagePlus mileage pooling feature works

United Airlines is the only one of the “big three” US carriers to allow loyalty program members of all ages to pool their miles with friends and family. With this mileage pooling feature, any MileagePlus member over 18 years old can become the pool leader, and create a pool for free when logged into their MileagePlus account.

Up until recently, the biggest restriction was that miles earned in a pool could only be redeemed for award travel on United. However, as first flagged by Travel on Points, that restriction is no longer in place — pooled miles can now be redeemed for travel on United, or any of its airline partners. Per a United spokesperson:

“We’re always looking for new ways to evolve MileagePlus and bring our members more rewards, value and flexibility. We recently expanded Miles Pooling to be available across more than 40 airline partners – making it even easier for families and friends to combine their miles for upcoming trips. MileagePlus members have been able to redeem miles on partner airlines for a long time, and now with expanded Miles Pooling, they’ll be able to pool miles with family and friends to also redeem on other airlines.”

As a reminder, here are the general restrictions that now apply on this mileage pooling feature:

• Pool leaders can invite up to four of their family or friends of any age to join the pool if they have an active MileagePlus account
• Pooled miles can be used when booking a ticket on united.com or in the United mobile app
• Pooled miles can be used for award travel on United, or for award travel on any of the carrier’s partners, including all Star Alliance airlines
• There are no limits to the number of miles that may be contributed to an active miles pool
• Members can leave a miles pool at any time; however, any miles contributed by the person who leaves the pool will be forfeited by that member, and will stay in the pool to be shared among the remaining members
• If a member leaves a miles pool, they can’t join another pool for the next 90 days, and that pool also can’t have a new member join for 90 days
• Contributing miles to a MileagePlus pool won’t affect an individual’s elite status; only members who travel on a ticket using pooled miles will earn any eligible Premier Qualifying Points (PQPs), not the member who contributed them

Practically speaking, you might be best off just using a miles pool shortly before you’re ready to book a ticket. Then you can decide how many miles each person will contribute toward that ticket, since not everyone has to contribute the same.

This is a smart play on United MileagePlus’ part

While United is far from the first airline in the world to introduce a mileage pooling feature, it did beat American and Delta to this, so deserves credit for that. It’s also noteworthy how in the over two years since this feature was introduced, those airlines haven’t matched.

United’s motive here is clear. Loyalty programs can generate a lot of revenue for airlines, and airlines want as many people as possible to join loyalty programs. This has been a big focus for all major airlines.

Perhaps in the past, an entire family that travels once or twice a year may not have signed up for a loyalty program, since they figure they won’t earn enough miles to actually redeem for awards. This mileage pooling feature is a great incentive to join, since you can pool the miles you earn, so that you have enough for a valuable reward. That’s smart.

Now, from the perspective of airlines, the big concern with these concepts is fraud, given the world of mileage brokers. In the past, we’ve seen some loyalty programs suspend the mileage pooling concept due to too many issues with fraud.

So I think United learned some lessons there from other airlines, and has limited risk. For one, there’s a 90-day “cooling off” period with pools, which not only applies to the person leaving the pool, but to the pool altogether, which makes this harder to game.

I suspect the initial limitation on only being able to redeem for flights on United was intended to serve a similar purpose, to prevent barterers from getting access to United miles, and then immediately redeeming for travel on a partner airline.

Between this and MileagePlus miles not expiring, the value proposition of the program is great for the occasional traveler.

Bottom line

In early 2024, United MileagePlus launched a mileage pooling feature, whereby up to five people can combine their miles for a single award ticket. This has just been greatly improved — previously you could only redeem miles from a pool for travel on United, while now those miles can be redeemed on all partner airlines as well.

It’s always nice to see miles become more flexible, especially for those who accrue them in small quantities. This is a big value-add for the average member, and should increase engagement in the program, especially combined with a no mileage expiration policy.

What do you make of United’s mileage pooling feature?

This card changed the rewards game when it debuted over a decade ago, and 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.

Chase Sapphire Preferred at a glance

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

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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 100,000 bonus points

Chase Sapphire Preferred benefits

The Sapphire Preferred packs serious value into a $95 annual fee. I’ll run through the main perks below. For a deeper dive, check out the full guide on why the Chase Sapphire Preferred is worth it.

Travel insurance

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 $99 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.

Other benefits

The Sapphire Preferred has no foreign transaction fees, so this is an excellent card to use for purchases globally. You can also add authorized users at no extra cost, and they’re eligible for the primary rental car coverage benefit as well.

Additionally, the card includes a DoorDash DashPass membership, for a minimum of one year, when enrolled by December 31, 2027. Plus you get access to Chase Offers, which provides discounts with all kinds of retailers. Both of these benefits have saved me a significant amount of money on purchases I’d be making anyway.

Chase Sapphire Preferred bonus

The Chase Sapphire Preferred bonus is currently for 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $5,000 within three months. As a point of comparison, the previous bonus was 75,000 points, so this offer is 33% better.

At a minimum, you can redeem Ultimate Rewards points for one cent each. That would give 100,000 points a minimum value of $1,000. But transfer points to partners like Singapore KrisFlyer and you can easily get far more than that. I personally value Ultimate Rewards points at 1.7 cents each, though that’s a conservative valuation compared to the potential.So to me, the welcome offer is worth $1,700. That’s a huge bonus on a rewarding card.

Chase Sapphire Preferred rewards

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 bonus, as it’s an area where the card got both better and worse with the June 2026 refresh.

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)
• 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
• 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.

People ask me all the time what credit card to choose. I always recommend getting one that has bonus categories that match up with your spending patterns. The categories on the Sapphire Preferred will prove useful to a lot of consumers.

Redemption options

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 (both personal and business). 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. The Ultimate Rewards portal 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. Points Boost gives 1.25-2.0 cents of value per point depending on the booking. Sapphire Preferred cardholders can get 1.5 cents per point for bookings with The Edit by Chase Travel, for example. Or 1.25-1.75 cents of value toward select flights based on airline and class of service.

This is an important distinction that sites like NerdWallet and TPG 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 fees

The Sapphire Preferred has an annual fee of $95, which is not waived for the first year. Given the $100 hotel credit, that benefit alone can more than offset the annual fee if you use it. There are no foreign transaction fees, making this an excellent card for purchases abroad. Authorized users can be added at no extra cost.

Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Reserve

This is one of the most common questions I get. The short answer: the Sapphire Preferred is the better value for most people. Meanwhile, the Reserve makes sense if you’ll use the lounge access and travel credits. For a complete breakdown, check out our Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Reserve comparison.

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 vacation rentals, added in June 2026
• the 2x points on all travel purchases (as opposed to just airfare and hotels)
• the $100 annual hotel credit

The Reserve’s main advantages? Priority Pass lounge access, Chase Sapphire Lounges, the higher Points Boost redemption rates, and the $300 annual travel credit. The Reserve also keeps 1:1 transfers to World of Hyatt, while the 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.

Is the Chase Sapphire Preferred good?

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.

Who the Sapphire Preferred is good for

The card 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 you spend heavily on dining, streaming, and travel, the bonus categories will serve you well. 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 should consider other options

If you want lounge access, you’ll need to look at the Sapphire Reserve 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 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.

Sapphire Preferred vs. competitors at this price point

At the ~$100 annual fee level, the Sapphire Preferred’s main competitors are the Citi Strata Premier® Card and Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. 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. For more details, see our Citi Strata Premier vs Chase Sapphire Preferred comparison.

The Capital One Venture offers a competitive welcome bonus and straightforward 2x miles on everything. 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. See our full Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Capital One Venture breakdown.

Bottom line: 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. If you want simpler earning categories and don’t care as much about insurance benefits, then the Strata Premier or Venture are solid alternatives.

Chase Sapphire Preferred application requirements

Before you apply, there are a few eligibility rules to be aware of with the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

The 5/24 rule

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. However, anecdotally it would appear that Chase is no longer consistently enforcing the 5/24 rule since around April 2023. 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’s worth trying anyway.

Sapphire Card eligibility

These rules have changed recently! Historically, Chase would only allow you to have one card in the Sapphire “family.” So if you had a Sapphire Reserve, Chase wouldn’t approve you for the Sapphire Preferred, and vice-versa. Similarly, there was previously a 48-month restriction for cards in the family. With this policy, cardholders could cycle between Sapphire products every four years to earn new bonuses. Nowadays, each card essentially has “once in a lifetime” bonus language.

As it currently stands, the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve, and Sapphire Reserve Business are considered totally independently when it comes to eligibility, including for the bonus:

• Each card has a “once in a lifetime” rule, so you’re only eligible for the welcome bonus on the card if you haven’t had that exact card in the past
• That being said, each card is considered independently, so you could potentially pick all three cards, including the bonuses

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.

So as you can see: you’re not eligible to be approved for the card if you currently have it open. And you may not be eligible for the welcome bonus if you previously had this exact card — but it’s fine if you had a different Sapphire card, like if you previously had the Sapphire Reserve and are applying for the Sapphire Preferred.

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.

This can be confusing, but Chase now uses a pop-up feature during the application process. This check should let you know if you’re not eligible for the bonus on a card, and the notice is provided without the need for a hard or soft credit pull. It’s worth emphasizing the use of the word “may” in the application terms. For example, you may not be eligible for the welcome offer if you’ve received a bonus on this exact card in the past. But that’s not a consistent policy. There are many data points of people qualifying in spite of having received a bonus in the past.

One other general Chase rule to keep in mind: you can be approved for at most two Chase cards every 30 days, so I’d limit your overall Chase applications before trying to pick up a Sapphire card.

Credit score

There’s not a consistent rule as to what credit score you need, 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 FAQs

Bottom line

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is one of the best value mid-range cards out there, when you factor in points earning, travel protection, perks, and the rewards structure. 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, since you don’t often see bonuses this good. Also, with the new eligibility requirements, many people who may not have been eligible for the card in the past may now be eligible.

What’s your take on the Chase Sapphire Preferred?

While I took the Thailand portion of this trip with Ford, the Germany portion of the trip was with my dad, who I flew over to meet me. He’s originally from Germany, so always enjoys returning.

I was really excited to stay at Kennedy 89 Frankfurt, as the hotel just opened in early 2026. I pass through Frankfurt all the time since my family is from the area, and the hotel scene has long been pretty uninspiring. So I was overjoyed when Hyatt opened a full service hotel in the city.

Kennedy 89 Frankfurt is quirky, since the hotel was initially supposed to be a residential development, but plans were changed last minute, for this to become a hotel. However, that sort of works to our advantage, since nearly 40% of accommodations are suites (great for upgrades!), some have washing machines and kitchens, etc.

Beyond that, there’s a lot to love about this hotel. The staff were all super friendly and enthusiastic (particularly the awesome general manager), the hotel has a phenomenal restaurant with levantine cuisine, and there’s even a happy hour for Globalist members. I’d highly recommend this property.

Booking Hyatt Kennedy 89 Frankfurt

I booked my stay at Kennedy 89 Frankfurt using World of Hyatt points. Specifically, this is a Category 4 property, and with Hyatt’s award chart changes, a stay will cost you anywhere from 12,000 to 25,000 points per night. For the nights I was staying, the cost was 15,000 points, and I even added a Category 1-4 free night award to the mix.

Then I ended up booking a second room for my dad with cash, and the rate was around €210 per night. I booked my dad through the Hyatt Prive program, which offers extra perks, like complimentary breakfast, a property credit, a room upgrade, etc.

Frankfurt is such a challenging hotel market, because outside of periods where there are big conventions in town, rates tend to be quite low (which is great for consumers, and less great for hoteliers, and explains the general lack of inspiring hotel development in the city).

Hyatt Kennedy 89 Frankfurt location

Kennedy 89 Frankfurt is in the Sachsenhausen district, near the banks of the River Main. It’s located at Stresemannallee 28, where it intersects with Kennedyallee, combining the plots of Kennedyallee 87 and 89, which is where the Kennedy 89 name comes from.

The hotel is located right across the street from The Florentin Hotel, formerly known as Villa Kennedy, one of the city’s most known luxury hotels. If you’re curious about the Kennedy name more generally, the street was named that way in 1963, after President John F. Kennedy visited Germany (where he gave his historic “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech), as he drove down this exact street while traveling to the airport.

In terms of the hotel’s location more generally, I’d say it’s within walking distance of many nice areas, but not necessarily in the heart of the action. It’s sort of located on the way to Frankfurt when coming from Frankfurt Airport (FRA), so it’s a short 10-minute drive from the airport, which is super convenient.

It’s then roughly one kilometer to cross the river and get into the center of the city, or the center of Sachsenhausen is even closer. So while I wouldn’t say the location is ideal, in terms of being right at a very busy intersection, it’s also not a reason I’d avoid this property.

The hotel does have a super cool exterior, which definitely stands out in the area. Very cool!

The hotel’s entrance is located on the Stresemannallee side of the building, and looks sharp.

Hyatt Kennedy 89 Frankfurt lobby & check-in

Kennedy 89 Frankfurt has an intimate lobby, again, presumably since this was initially supposed to be a building with residences. There are a couple of small seating areas, the reception desk, and then a hall that leads to the elevators and stairs.

I must say, the check-in experience was super friendly. I immediately got the sense that service at this hotel was different than your typical German hotel (in a good way), and I’ll talk more about that in a bit.

Hyatt Kennedy 89 Frankfurt suite

My dad and I were both assigned suites on the ninth floor. Thanks to the huge number of suites in this hotel, they seem to be quite generous with upgrades. As you can tell from the outside, the hotel has a unique, triangular shape, so each floor has two hallways that connect at the end (though it’s not like there are rooms without windows).

I stayed in room 905, which I believe is some sort of an executive suite (there are several unique layouts within each category). While this suite wasn’t huge, the view was amazing, as it basically had a 270-degree panoramic view of Frankfurt.

The main room had a living room with a seating area that had a sofa and chair, a dining table with two chairs, and a kitchen.

The kitchen had a fridge (with a few complimentary soft drinks), washing machine (a super handy amenity when traveling!), dishwasher, Nespresso coffee machine, etc.

There was also a lovely welcome amenity waiting in the kitchen, consisting of a bottle of prosecco, a fruit plate and some Middle Eastern sweet and savory treats (matching the theme of the hotel’s restaurant).

The room then had a cozy bedroom, with a firm king size bed, a wall-mounted TV, and a stool.

The bathroom setup was a bit odd — it couldn’t be accessed directly from the bedroom, but instead, required going back to the living room. For a suite it was a rather simple bathroom, with one sink, a toilet, and a walk-in shower with a half glass shield.

Toiletries were in reusable, wall-mounted containers and were hotel branded.

The highlight of this suite was the wraparound balcony, which was a great size, though not necessarily that heavily furnished.

This suite really must have Frankfurt’s best views.

In particular, the views were gorgeous at sunrise and sunset.

My dad also got a suite on the ninth floor, so I also took some pictures of his. While I believe my suite was technically more premium, I think I actually preferred his. Admittedly it didn’t have the same amazing views and balcony, but it was larger, and also had a more functional and traditional layout.

His living room was large, with a big couch, two chairs with a dining table, and a chair with an ottoman in the corner. I also thought the room design was a bit more elegant.

The suite also had a much larger bedroom.

The bathroom was also more spacious, as it also had a tub, unlike the other suite.

All-in-all, I thought the rooms were great, especially with the high percentage of suites, which Globalist members will certainly appreciate.

Hyatt Kennedy 89 Frankfurt gym

In terms of amenities, Kennedy 89 Frankfurt doesn’t have a spa or pool, though it does have a 24/7 gym, located on the first floor. The gym isn’t huge, but I was the only guest both times I used it, and it had a pretty good selection of both cardio and weight equipment.

Hyatt Kennedy 89 Frankfurt restaurant & bar

Kennedy 89 Frankfurt currently has two food & beverage outlets:

• There’s Eighty Nine Restaurant, which is where breakfast is served, and it’s also open for dinner, serving levantine cuisine
• There’s KaSa Lounge & Bar, which is the hotel’s lounge and bar area, open from late morning until late at night
• I should also mention that Jack’s Rooftop Bar is reportedly under development, and will be (as the name suggests) a rooftop bar with panoramic views of the city; however, it remains to be seen when exactly that opens

Eighty Nine Restaurant is open for breakfast from 6:30AM until 10AM on weekdays, and from 7:30AM until 11AM on weekends. It’s a pretty restaurant with lots of natural light, and it’s a good size.

Germany isn’t exactly known for amazing breakfasts (unless you enjoy Nutella on a fresh bread roll… I mean, who doesn’t?), so Kennedy 89 has one of the better selections I’ve seen. In particular, I appreciate how there’s a buffet, and that can be supplemented by an a la carte selection.

The buffet had roughly what you’d expect — a good selection of yogurt and cereal, fruit, freshly baked bread and pastries, cheese, and cold cuts. Then there were several hot dishes, including scrambled eggs, sausage, potatoes, veggies, and more.

There was a selection of juice and water at the buffet, and other drinks were offered by the staff. The cappuccino I ordered was quite good!

In addition to the buffet, there was also an a la carte menu, included with breakfast. This was really the highlight, as the dishes were excellent.

Over the course of our stay we tried the greek yogurt with granola and strawberries, the scrambled harissa tofu on sourdough toast, and the shakshuka, and they were all excellent.

The restaurant also serves dinner nightly from 6PM until 9:30PM, and as stated above, levantine cuisine is on offer, and you can find the menu here. I must say, this restaurant was phenomenal, though admittedly this is among my favorite kind of cuisine.

We ordered the hummus, the falafel with rhubarb sauce and tahini yogurt, the eggplant with tomato pepper sauce, and the catch of the day. Then we were sent a delicious dessert on the house. What an incredible meal.

As mentioned above, the hotel’s other venue is KaSa Lounge & Bar, which is open daily from 10AM until 10PM (and until 11PM on weekends). This is located on the first floor, and has expansive floor to ceiling windows, though the view is mainly just of the busy intersection below.

KaSa Lounge & Bar has a selection of drinks and food available all day, and food ranges from light snacks to full meals, so there are lots of options. You can find the full menu here.

Here’s another awesome thing — the hotel offers a complimentary happy hour for World of Hyatt Globalist members nightly from 5PM until 7PM in this area, referred to as the “Globalist Corner.” There’s not actually a physical corner — instead, you just let the staff know you’re a Globalist, and they’ll bring you the menu.

While the Globalist happy hour menu includes a limited number of options, I was invited to order basically anything I wanted, so I had an excellent glass of white wine. You can have multiple drinks during the happy hour, and on top of that, you’re brought out a tray with four different mini snacks, which rotate on different days… one even had a little bit of caviar!

One evening, I also had a tomato soup, which I enjoyed.

Hyatt Kennedy 89 Frankfurt service

I think one thing that really sets Kennedy 89 Frankfurt apart is the staff. What stayed with me is how friendly and personal all the employees were. This isn’t your typical business hotel in Germany, where service feels stand off-ish. Instead, I truly found everyone to be so passionate about their jobs, with many staff also being quite young.

That was a very pleasant surprise, but I think I know why that is — the general manager, Jan-Hendrik, is an absolute rockstar among general managers. He’s German, but prior to this hotel had been working abroad for many years (including being the general manager of the Park Hyatt Saigon), but this marks his return to Germany.

I had the chance to speak with him a bit during the Globalist happy hour, and he’s really a class act, and clearly cares about the guest experience, is eager for feedback, etc.

Bottom line

I’m so delighted to finally have a full service Hyatt option in Frankfurt, and Kennedy 89 didn’t disappoint. The hotel has functional and nicely appointed rooms (with a high number of suites featuring washing machines and kitchens), an excellent breakfast, a fabulous levantine restaurant in the evenings, and excellent elite recognition, with a happy hour for Globalist members. The staff and general manager here are all top notch as well, and that differentiates this property.

Admittedly the hotel is also a bit untraditional in some ways, since it was initially designed as a residential building. So this isn’t a hotel with endless amenities, and some of the room layouts even feel a bit awkward. Furthermore, the location isn’t necessarily in the heart of the action.

All-in-all, I was delighted by my experience, and would absolutely stay here again. This will definitely be my new “home base” in Frankfurt.

What’s your take on Kennedy 89 Frankfurt?

Of Chase’s excellent collection of Ink business cards — including the Cash, Preferred, and Unlimited — the Ink Cash is the card with the biggest bonus categories, and which can potentially earn you huge amounts of Ultimate Rewards points.

Much like with the Chase Ink Unlimited, there’s a trick to maximizing the rewards you earn on this card, though. The “Cash” part of the card’s name can be deceiving, since you’ll get the most value out of the card by not choosing to earn cash as your reward.

Link: Learn more about the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card with 100,000 points ($1,000 cash back)

Chase Ink Business Cash Card basics

There are so many great reasons to get the Chase Ink Business Cash, from the fact it has no annual fee, to its excellent welcome bonus, to the valuable purchase protection it offers. While some credit cards are straightforward, the Chase Ink Cash requires you to know what you’re doing. But if you do know what you’re doing, this card will prove hugely useful.

Chase Ink Cash welcome bonus: $1,000 or 100,000 points

At the moment, the Chase Ink Business Cash is offering a limited time welcome bonus of 100,000 bonus points (or $1,000 cash back) when you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first four months after account opening. This is the best welcome bonus we’ve ever seen on this card, and I also consider this to be the best welcome bonus offered by any no annual fee card out there.

On the surface this is a cash back card, meaning that the 100,000 points are worth $1,000 cash back. However, you can potentially convert these rewards into “full” Ultimate Rewards points, which I value at 1.7 cents each, so to me that bonus is worth $1,700. Yes, on a no annual fee card. That’s incredible.

Chase Ink Cash no annual fee

The Ink Business Cash has no annual fee. Getting a no annual fee card that’s super rewarding is rare, especially when you consider the value of the welcome bonus. This is a card that you can keep long term, and it won’t cost you anything.

I’d argue that this is one of the two most compelling no annual fee business cards, along with The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express ((Rates & Fees)), which offers 2x Membership Rewards points on the first $50,000 spent each calendar year (and 1x points after that).

Chase Ink Cash rewards: Up to 5% cash back or 5x points

What really sets the Chase Ink Business Cash apart is the incredible points earning rates that the card offers. The Chase Ink Cash offers 2-5% cash back (or 2-5x points) in select bonus categories:

• The Ink Business Cash Card offers 5% cash back (or 5x points) on the first $25,000 of combined purchases per cardmember year on office supply stores, internet, cable TV, mobile phones, and landlines
• The Ink Business Cash Card offers 2% cash back (or 2x points) on the first $25,000 of combined purchases per cardmember year on restaurants and gas stations
• The Ink Business Cash Card offers 1% cash back (or 1x points) on all other purchases

Those are potentially some really awesome bonus categories — there are plenty of businesses that spend a lot on things like internet, cable TV, mobile phones, office supplies, etc. Below I’ll get into more details on how you can earn either cash back or points with the Chase Ink Cash.

If nothing else, earning 5x points on your cell phone and cable bill is huge, in my opinion. However, I should note that some may prefer the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (review), which offers 3x points on your cell phone bill, but also offers a great cell phone protection plan.

Chase Ink Cash cardmember year definition

There’s an annual cap on Chase Ink Cash bonus categories, of $25,000 of combined purchases in the 5% and 2% categories.

For those of you not familiar with the cardmember year term, this is different than a calendar year. That means the Chase Ink Cash bonus cap resets on your account anniversary, which is 12 months from when you opened your card.

Chase Ink Cash 3% foreign transaction fees

While the Chase Ink Cash Card is a top notch card for purchases within the United States, the card does have 3% foreign transaction fees, so I don’t recommend using this card for purchases abroad. If you’re looking for a similar card with no foreign transaction fees, consider the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.

How to maximize the value of Chase Ink Cash rewards

The Chase Ink Business Cash is marketed as offering cash back. As you can see, the card offers anywhere from 1-5% cash back, depending on the category that you’re spending money in. Earning 5% cash back on purchases is excellent, while earning 1% cash back isn’t nearly as exciting.

That’s potentially valuable in the categories in which the card offers bonus points, since 2-5% cash back on a no annual fee card is solid. However, for base spending you’re only earning a return of 1%, which isn’t terribly competitive.

But if you value points similarly to how I do, there’s a way to increase the value of all of your rewards by 25-70%. This makes the bonus categories offered by the Chase Ink Cash particularly exceptional.

How to convert cash into Ultimate Rewards points

The Chase Ink Business Cash is marketed as being a cash back card, though in reality, the card earns points. As mentioned above, you can earn 1-5x points per dollar spent, and then you can ordinarily redeem each point for one cent cash back. That’s how Chase arrived at the valuation of 1-5% cash back with this card.

Fortunately there’s a trick to greatly increasing the value of your Chase Ink Cash rewards. If you have the Ink Business Cash in conjunction with another card that earns “premium” Ultimate Rewards points, then you can do significantly better. These cards include the following:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (review)
• Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card (review)
• Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (review)
• Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ (review)

If you have the Chase Ink Cash in conjunction with one of those cards, suddenly your points are much more valuable, and can be redeemed as follows through Chase Travel℠:

• If you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Ink Business Preferred, points can be redeemed for up to 1.75 cents each toward a travel purchase with Points Boost
• If you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve, points can be redeemed for up to 2.5 cents each toward a travel purchase with Points Boost

That increases the value of your rewards significantly, and you can potentially get even more value out of your points by transferring them to one of the Ultimate Rewards airline or hotel partners, which include the below.

I value Ultimate Rewards points at 1.7 cents each, so that, to me, increases the value of the points earned on this card by 70%. Transferring points between Chase cards is easy and can be done online.

Chase Ink Business Cash card benefits

The Chase Ink Business Cash offers an incredible welcome bonus and generous rewards structure, especially for a no annual fee card. On top of that, there are some other perks that are potentially quite valuable.

Chase Ink Cash rental car coverage

The Ink Cash offers primary collision damage waiver coverage for rentals of most types of vehicles in most countries, except where it is prohibited by law, by individual merchants, or is in violation of the territory terms of the rental agreement. There aren’t many no annual fee cards offering rental car coverage, so I think that’s pretty remarkable.

This is valid when renting globally for business purposes, and you just have to decline the rental company’s collision insurance and charge the entire rental cost to your card.

Prior to renting, you should check with the benefits administrator (call the number on the back of your card) to verify your coverage. Keep in mind, you’re only eligible for coverage when renting for business purposes. For personal rentals, look to the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (review) or Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card (review).

Chase Ink Cash travel & purchase protection benefits

In addition to rental car coverage, the Ink Cash offers other benefits, including (but not limited to) the following:

• Purchase protection for up to 120 days against damage or theft
• Extended warranty protection, for up to a year on eligible purchases

You’ll want to read the cardmember agreement for exact terms, but this has the potential to be extremely valuable for purchases as well. Tiffany wrote about her experience with this benefit on a Chase card.

The Ink Business Cash offers an extended warranty protection program, where you can extend the time period of the United States manufacturer’s warranty by an additional year, on eligible warranties of three years or less.

Chase Ink Cash card eligibility & how to get approved

Every credit card comes with its own eligibility terms, and if you look at the offer terms for the Ink Business Cash, you’ll see the following rules:

The new cardmember bonus may not be available to you if you have ever had this card or any other Chase for Business card without an annual fee. We may also consider factors pertinent to your business in determining your bonus eligibility.

If you want to be approved for a Chase Ink card, there are some general restrictions to be aware of:

• The Ink Cash is subjected to Chase’s “5/24 rule,” meaning you typically won’t be approved for the card if you’ve opened five or more new card accounts in the past 24 months (many business card applications don’t count toward that limit); that being said, there are increasingly data points that this is no longer enforced
• You may not be eligible for the Ink Cash bonus if you have another no annual fee Chase business card, like the Ink Unlimited; however, you are eligible if you have any other Chase business card, including the Ink Preferred
• You can apply for this card if you have a corporation or a sole proprietorship; many people don’t realize that a sole proprietorship makes you eligible for a business card
• While there’s no hard limit to how many Chase credit cards you can have, there is often a limit to how much total credit Chase will extend you
• Generally, I recommend only applying for one Chase business card every 30 days at most

Is the Chase Ink Business Cash right for you?

The Chase Ink Business Cash is one of the most rewarding business credit cards out there. The key is that I wouldn’t recommend using this as your primary business credit card for everyday spending. Rather use this as a complement to your overall card portfolio.

The 5x points categories on the Chase Ink Cash are really spectacular, so use those as much as possible. In conjunction with Ultimate Rewards, I value the 5x points at a return of 8.5%.

The other thing that’s amazing about the Chase Ink Business Cash is the welcome bonus — earning $1,000 cash back or 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points for a no annual fee card is simply incredible.

Complement the Ink Cash with other Chase cards

In many ways the best complements to the Ink Business Cash are two other Chase business cards that can earn points — the Ink Business Preferred and Sapphire Reserve Business, and you can also earn the welcome bonuses on all of those cards:

• The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (review) has a $95 annual fee, and offers 3x points on the first $150,000 spent each cardmember year on travel, shipping purchases, internet, cable, phone services, and advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines
• The Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ (review) has a $795 annual fee, and offers 4x points on direct airfare and hotel purchases, 3x points on select advertising purchases, and up to thousands of dollars in credits annually, plus lounge access

Bottom line

The Chase Ink Business Cash is an incredible business credit card. It has no annual fee, some phenomenal bonus categories, valuable perks like rental car protection, and a fantastic limited time welcome bonus of 100,000 points. If you’re eligible for the card then I’d highly recommend applying, especially if you spend a lot in the bonus categories that the card offers.

On top of that, being able to earn 2-5x points on a card that complements other Ultimate Rewards cards is an excellent opportunity. Add in the fact that the card offers great benefits, and this is a no annual fee card you’ll want to keep long term.

If you’re looking for a card that’s really well-rounded for your everyday business spending, consider the Chase Ink Business Unlimited, which offers 1.5x points on all purchases. Lastly, the Chase Ink Business Preferred is one of the most well-rounded business credit cards out there, in my opinion.

If you have the Chase Ink Business Cash, what has your experience been with the card?

The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (Rates & Fees).

The card has no annual fee, an excellent limited time welcome bonus, and a great rewards structure. In conjunction with other cards earning Ultimate Rewards points, this can be one of the most useful cards for a small business.

Link: Learn more about the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card with 100K bonus points

Chase Ink Business Unlimited Card basics

The Chase Ink Business Unlimited Card is one of the excellent cards in Chase’s Ink Business card lineup. There are so many things that make this card great, from the huge welcome bonus, to the rewards structure, to the lack of an annual fee, to the perks. Unlike with some other cards, you’ll need to know what you’re doing to get the most value out of the card, though.

Chase Ink Unlimited welcome offer: $1,000 or 100,000 points

The Ink Business Unlimited currently has a limited time welcome bonus of 100,000 points after spending $8,000 within four months of account opening. This is an exceptional welcome offer, especially for a no annual fee card, and it’s the best offer we’ve ever seen on the card.

On the surface this is a cash back card, meaning that the 100,000 points are worth $1,000 cash back. However, you can potentially convert these rewards into “full” Ultimate Rewards points, which I value at 1.7 cents each, so to me, that bonus is worth up to $1,700. This is the best welcome bonus you’ll find on any no annual fee card.

Chase Ink Unlimited no annual fee

The Ink Business Unlimited has no annual fee. Getting a no annual fee card that’s super rewarding is rare, especially when you consider the value of the welcome bonus. Not only does the card not have an annual fee for the primary cardmember, but you can also add authorized users at no extra cost.

This is a card that you can keep long term, and it won’t cost you anything.

Chase Ink Unlimited rewards structure

The Ink Business Unlimited offers 1.5x points on all business purchases, with no limits. This is a straightforward rewards structure, so there’s no need to focus on bonus categories. If you use this card correctly, it’s the single best Chase business card for earning Ultimate Rewards points on everyday spending.

The Chase Ink Business Unlimited is marketed as offering unlimited 1.5% cash back. The catch is that this isn’t actually that good, since there are other cards that earn 2% cash back. But there’s a trick that allows you to convert the 1.5% cash back into 1.5x Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent. I value Ultimate Rewards points at 1.7 cents each, so suddenly, you’re going from a return of 1.5% to a return of 2.55%, by my valuation.

If you’re earning 1.5x Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent, I consider this to be the best Chase business card for everyday spending.

3% foreign transaction fees

While the Chase Ink Unlimited is a fantastic card for purchases within the United States, the card does have 3% foreign transaction fees, so I don’t recommend using this card abroad. If you’re looking for a similar card with no foreign transaction fees, consider the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.

How to maximize the value of Chase Ink Unlimited rewards

On the surface, the Ink Business Unlimited is a cash back card, as the name suggests. When I talk about “points” above, each point gets you one cent cash back. So when the card offers 1.5x points on all business purchases, that means it ordinarily earns the equivalent of 1.5% cash back.

However, you can do much better than that if you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve, and/or Ink Business Preferred.

Turn cash back into Ultimate Rewards points

While the Chase Ink Business Unlimited is a cash back card, in reality the card earns points. You earn 1.5x points per dollar spent, and then ordinarily each point can be redeemed for one cent cash back. That’s how Chase arrives at the valuation of the card offering 1.5% cash back.

This is where there’s a trick that can hugely increase the value of your Chase Ink Unlimited points. If you have the Chase Ink Business Unlimited in conjunction with another card that earns “premium” Ultimate Rewards points, then you can do significantly better. These cards include the following:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (review)
• Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card (review)
• Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (review)

If you have the Ink Unlimited in conjunction with one of those cards, suddenly your points will get you the following when redeeming through Chase Travel℠:

• If you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Ink Business Preferred, points can be redeemed for up to 1.75 cents each toward a travel purchase with Points Boost
• If you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve, points can be redeemed for up to 2.5 cents each toward a travel purchase with Points Boost

That potentially increases the value of your points significantly, and you can often get even more value out of your points by transferring them to one of the Ultimate Rewards airline or hotel partners.

I value Ultimate Rewards points at 1.7 cents each, so to me that increases the value of the points earned on this card by 70%. Transferring points between cards is easy and can be done online. You can learn more about that process in this post.

Chase Ink Business Unlimited card benefits

For a no annual fee card, the Chase Ink Business Unlimited offers a great welcome bonus and generous rewards structure, though there are also some perks that are potentially quite valuable.

Chase Ink Unlimited rental car coverage

The Ink Business Unlimited offers primary collision damage waiver coverage for rentals of most types of vehicles in most countries, except where it is prohibited by law, by individual merchants, or is in violation of the territory terms of the rental agreement. There aren’t many no annual fee cards offering rental car coverage, so I think that’s pretty remarkable.

• This is valid when renting globally for business reasons, and is valid outside the United States when renting for personal reasons
• To take advantage of this, decline the rental company’s collision insurance and charge the entire rental cost to your card

Prior to renting, you should check with the benefits administrator (call the number on the back of your card) to verify your coverage. Keep in mind, you’re only eligible for coverage when renting for business purposes. For personal rentals, look to the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (review) or Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card (review).

Chase Ink Unlimited travel & purchase protection benefits

In addition to rental car coverage, the Ink Business Unlimited offers other purchase and travel benefits, including (but not limited to) the following:

• Purchase protection for up to 120 days against damage or theft
• Extended warranty protection, for up to a year on eligible purchases

You’ll want to read the cardmember agreement for exact terms, but this has the potential to be extremely valuable for purchases as well. Tiffany wrote about her experience with this benefit on a Chase card.

With the Chase Ink Business Unlimited, you can extend the time period of your United States manufacturer’s warranty by an additional year, on eligible warranties of three years or less.

Chase Ink Business Unlimited eligibility requirements & application process

Every credit card comes with its own eligibility terms, though fortunately the Chase Ink Business Unlimited Card has among the less restrictive terms. As you’ll see when you look at the offer terms for the card, here are the rules:

The new cardmember bonus may not be available to you if you have ever had this card or any other Chase for Business card without an annual fee. We may also consider factors pertinent to your business in determining your bonus eligibility.

If you want to be approved for a Chase Ink card, there are some general restrictions to be aware of:

• The Ink Unlimited is subjected to Chase’s “5/24 rule,” meaning you typically won’t be approved for the card if you’ve opened five or more new card accounts in the past 24 months (many business card applications don’t count toward that limit); that being said, there are increasingly data points that this is no longer enforced
• You may not be eligible for the Ink Unlimited bonus if you have another no annual fee Chase business card, like the Ink Cash; however, you are eligible if you have any other Chase business card, including the Ink Preferred
• You can apply for this card if you have a corporation or a sole proprietorship; many people don’t realize that a sole proprietorship makes you eligible for a business card
• While there’s no hard limit to how many Chase credit cards you can have, there is often a limit to how much total credit Chase will extend you
• Generally, I recommend only applying for one Chase business card every 30 days at most

My experience applying for the Chase Ink Unlimited Card

I applied for the Chase Ink Business Unlimited Card a couple of years back, for a sole proprietorship, and I’d like to share my experience with that.

Chase’s business card applications are pretty straightforward. The first section just requires completing personal information, which is pretty standard for any credit card application.

The next section asked for business information. You should always answer credit card applications truthfully. If you decide to apply for the card as a sole proprietorship, here are some tips:

• For legal business structure, you can select “sole proprietorship”
• For the legal business name, you can just use your name
• For the tax ID type, you can select social security number, and enter that
• You can then enter the information about the number of employees (there’s no shame in having just one), business phone number (it can be the same as your personal number), business establishment date, and business revenue
• For the business category, you can select whatever best describes your sole proprietorship

I submitted my application, and found that I was instantly approved. I can’t help but think that many Chase business cards are easier to get instant approvals for nowadays. Shortly before that I had applied for the Ink Business Preferred, and received an instant approval, which I’ve previously almost never gotten on a Chase business card.

Is Chase Ink Business Unlimited right for you?

If you have a small business, the Chase Ink Business Unlimited is absolutely worth applying for, given the bonus, and it’s worth keeping for everyday spending, assuming you use it in conjunction with Ultimate Rewards.

I’d like to look a bit more closely at the best overall strategy to take with the Chase Ink Business Unlimited — what are the best complements, what are the best substitutes, etc.

Complement Ink Business Unlimited with other cards

In many ways the best complements to the Ink Business Unlimited are two of Chase’s premium business cards in the Ultimate Rewards ecosystem, so you can maximize rewards, thanks to the various bonus categories:

• The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (review) has a $95 annual fee, and offers 3x points on the first $150,000 spent each cardmember year on travel, shipping purchases, internet, cable, phone services, and advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines
• The Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ (review) has a $795 annual fee, and offers 4x points on direct airfare and hotel purchases, 3x points on select advertising purchases, and up to thousands of dollars in credits annually, plus lounge access

Amex Blue Business Plus vs. Ink Business Unlimited

Perhaps the best alternative to the Chase Ink Unlimited is The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (review), which has no annual fee ((Rates & Fees)), and offers 2x Membership Rewards points on the first $50,000 spent annually (after that you earn 1x points).

I’d say that’s an unbeatable card for everyday, non-bonused business spending, though the catch is that you’re capped at earning 2x points on the first $50,000 spent every calendar year. That’s very restrictive for many companies. Personally I have both cards, and have gotten good value from both of them.

Best cash back card alternative to Chase Ink Unlimited

If you’re looking to earn cash back for your business spending, it’s tough to go wrong with The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card (review), which has no annual fee ((Rates & Fees)). The card offers 2% cash back on all eligible purchases on the first $50,000 of purchases each calendar year, 1% thereafter, which is a solid cash back return.

Bottom line

The Ink Business Unlimited is a phenomenal no annual fee business credit card, and on top of that it’s offering a best-ever welcome bonus. Getting $1,000 cash back (or 100,000 points) as a bonus on a no annual fee card is impressive.

The primary reason to keep this card in the long run is that if you’re looking to earn Ultimate Rewards points, this is the best business card for everyday spending. The card offers 1.5x points on all business purchases, and in conjunction with some other Chase cards, those rewards can be converted to Ultimate Rewards airline and hotel partners. Add in the fact that the card offers great benefits, and this is a no annual fee card you’ll want to keep long term.

If you have the Chase Ink Business Unlimited, what has your experience been with the card?

The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (Rates & Fees), and The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card (Rates & Fees).

I don’t want to be a jerk, but this product really isn’t very good. The soft product was actually fine — the food was decent and the service was indifferent. My real issue is the hard product, as Royal Jordanian’s Embraer E2 jets have the strangest business class hard product I’ve ever seen, and I don’t know what they were thinking when they selected this.

Here’s the thing — it’s one thing if this plane were just flown on short flights within the region, but when you fly regional jets on flights of around five hours, this starts to get really underwhelming. These new business class seats represent a huge step back compared to the Airbus A320-family aircraft the airline used to fly in many of these markets.

Personally, I’d try to avoid this product in the future, at least on a flight of this length. Though to the balanced, let me point out that Amman is a quirky destination, as most European airlines fly there with intra-Europe configured planes, which are less than ideal.

How I booked my Royal Jordanian business class ticket

I redeemed American AAdvantage miles to fly Royal Jordanian business class from Bangkok (BKK) to Amman (AMM) to Frankfurt (FRA). I had booked this just a couple of days before departure, and award availability was good. Specifically I booked the following for 75,000 AAdvantage miles plus $80.40 in taxes & fees:

4/26 RJ183 Bangkok to Amman departing 11:00PM arriving 4:40AM (+1 day)
4/27 RJ125 Amman to Frankfurt departing 10:25AM arriving 2:45PM

That’s a solid value, if you ask me. For what it’s worth, the first flight was operated by the Boeing 787-8 (which I already reviewed), while the second flight was operated by the Embraer E190-E2.

Royal Jordanian business class lounge & boarding

In the previous installment, I reviewed the Royal Jordanian Crown Lounge Amman, which is the carrier’s flagship lounge. While the food and drinks are pretty good, the design and service leave a lot to be desired. To be a bit more positive, I’ll say that Amman Queen Alia International Airport has beautiful architecture.

Also, can I give Royal Jordanian some credit for its gorgeous and distinctive livery?

My flight was departing from gate 226, and my flight was operated by JY-RED, a two-year-old Embraer E190-E2. It’s a pretty plane, at least from the outside, eh?

According to my boarding pass, boarding was scheduled for 9:40AM, 45 minutes ahead of the scheduled departure time. However, the crew only showed up at 10AM, and then boarding finally started at 10:15AM, with business class passengers being invited to board first. I get that airlines don’t want people to miss flights and therefore try to get them to show up early, but I wish airlines would be a bit more realistic about their boarding times, so that passengers don’t have to waste their time.

There was a bit of drama during boarding, since the glass door leading to the jet bridge literally broke off when they were about to start boarding, and they had to figure out what to do with that.

Royal Jordanian Embraer E190-E2 business class cabin & seats

I boarded through the forward door of the Royal Jordanian Embraer E190-E2, and turned right into the cabin. Royal Jordanian’s E190-E2s feature 94 seats, including 12 business class seats and 82 economy seats. For what it’s worth, E195-E2s have an identical number of business class seats, and just have an extra 28 economy seats.

I was very excited to fly on Royal Jordanian’s new Embraer E2 jets, because they feature a business class configuration I’ve never experienced before. While Royal Jordanian’s previous generation Embraer jets had the business class cabin in a 1-2 layout, these have it in a 2-2 layout, matching the layout in economy.

However, what’s different is that these seats are staggered, with the window seats essentially being spaced about halfway between the aisle seats. In theory, I suppose the intent is that these seats are supposed to offer a little extra privacy (or something), and seats can also be a little wider, since they’re not directly next to one another.

Every time I had seen pictures of this layout, I just thought it looked so awkward and uncomfortable, and I figured I must be missing something. Well, I’m not missing anything… this is the most bizarre layout I’ve ever seen, and I strongly dislike it.

Where do we even begin?! For one, while I’m usually a window seat kind of guy, I highly recommend an aisle seat here, because the window seats couldn’t be more awkward. It’s basically like having someone looking directly over your shoulder the whole flight. Specifically, I recommend 3H, the aisle seat on the right side in the last row, so you have no one behind you (3C is also good, but is typically occupied by the air marshal).

Also, actually getting into the window seats is a total pain. If you’re on the larger side, good luck. And even if you’re not, you’ll probably bump yourself a bit. I just can’t make sense of this. I’m all for innovation, but this isn’t it…

I assigned myself seat 3K, the window seat on the right side in the last row. I guess my seat wasn’t in the upright position when I boarded, because look at that lack of an opening for getting to the seat (since the seat slides forward when it reclines).

But even when I put it upright, the seat opening wasn’t exactly large either…

Anyway, seat pitch is actually decent, so legroom isn’t bad, though you don’t necessarily have much width. Seats don’t have seat back entertainment, but instead, there’s just a storage pocket on the back of the seat.

The tray table extends from the side of the seat, and can be flipped over to be made full size.

Oddly, there’s no personal device holder on the seat back, but instead, there’s a little personal device holder on the tray table, which I don’t find to be as practical, especially for a tablet, given how small it is.

The plane has AC power outlets between the seats, though that’s the extent of the charging — there are no USB-A or USB-C charging options.

Lastly, for a modern plane, I always find the Embraer E2 jets to have some quirky and outdated-looking overhead consoles. At least this one had an individual air nozzle.

All-in-all, I can’t say I was delighted by this seat, to put it politely. It’s one thing to get this on a short flight within the region, but to see Royal Jordanian operating this on flights where you’re in your seat for over five hours really isn’t a very premium experience.

Again, I acknowledge European airlines often fly intra-Europe business class products to Amman, but Royal Jordanian is also often selling connecting itineraries through Amman, where the competition includes carriers like Emirates, Qatar Airways, etc.

Royal Jordanian Embraer E190-E2 business class entertainment & Wi-Fi

Royal Jordanian Embraer E190-E2s feature Viasat Wi-Fi, which offers good speeds. Wi-Fi is complimentary for business class passengers, and can be accessed by entering your last name and seat number. Otherwise, you can get a free 15-minute plan, or pay JOD 14 (20 USD) for a full flight plan.

I appreciated the complimentary Wi-Fi as a business class passenger, and found the speeds to be good. It’s also nice how business class passengers can connect multiple devices at the same time, rather than having to switch between them.

Royal Jordanian also offers free streaming entertainment, with a variety of movies, TV shows, and audio. The selection was reasonably decent, so it shouldn’t be too hard to stay entertained.

Business class passengers are given tablets and headphones after takeoff, though the tablets simply connect to Wi-Fi, and then stream that same entertainment. The issue is that due to the lack of seat back personal device holders, you really can’t easily watch anything while the meal is being served, as there’s nowhere to place the tablet.

Ultimately I appreciated the Viasat Wi-Fi, and that allowed me to stay productive throughout the flight. However, not having seat back entertainment is less than ideal.

Royal Jordanian business class amenities

Waiting at each seat upon boarding in Royal Jordanian business class was a pillow and blanket, which were on the (very) basic side, but what more would you really expect in these kinds of seats?

During boarding, the flight attendant first came around with Arabic coffee, a nice service touch.

Then pre-departure drinks were served, with the choice of orange juice or apple juice.

Later during boarding, the menu and drink list were distributed. I was happy to see a drink list, since on my long haul Royal Jordanian 787 flight, there was no such list… why?!

Royal Jordanian Embraer E190-E2 departure from Amman

At 10:35AM, the main cabin door closed, 10 minutes behind our scheduled departure time. The flight was basically completely full, except one business class seat was empty. There was a Royal Jordanian first officer in uniform seated next to me (do they have an augmented crew with a same day Frankfurt turn, or…?), and an air marshal seated across the aisle. Around that time the head flight attendant made her welcome aboard announcement, and then moments later, a manual safety demonstration was performed, with an audio track playing.

At 10:40AM we began our pushback, and then at 10:45AM we began our taxi.

It didn’t take us very long to make it out to runway 26R, as we rocketed off at 10:55AM, and we had some lovely views on the climb out.

The Embraer E2 jets have some pretty nice looking wings and engines, eh? Just from looking at the wing and engine, you’d almost think it’s a 777. The seatbelt sign was turned off 20 minutes after takeoff, at 11:15AM.

Royal Jordanian business class meal service

On this flight, lunch was served after takeoff, and you can find the menu below. It’s interesting how calories are listed for each dish, since you don’t often see that on airlines, except when required by local laws. I can’t help but be curious about some of the numbers, though — the spinach and feta cannelloni with cheese sauce really has only 265 calories?!

Then you can find the business class drink list below — that’s actually a pretty decent selection, and I don’t get why they couldn’t have a printed drink list on my previous flight.

Service was really slow to get started after takeoff, with the initial round of drinks being served one hour after takeoff. I decided to order the signature cocktail, the Sky Mule, consisting of vodka, ginger ale, and lemon, which was good, but nothing special. That was served with some mixed nuts, which had a kick to them.

Then around 75 minutes after takeoff warm towels were distributed.

The pictures I’ve seen online of flights between Amman and Europe largely show an elaborate meal with multiple courses, though that wasn’t the case here, at least in terms of presentation. Everything was served on a single tray:

• There was the choice of two starters, and I opted for the three seafood tartlets, which included poached shrimp and avocado, smoked salmon and cream cheese, and carrot and lobster
• Of the four main course options, I selected the beef brisket with brown sauce and potato gratin, served with steamed broccoli and baby corn
• Then for dessert, I chose the baklava; while it was described as coming with ice cream, that wasn’t actually the case
• Then there was a stale piece of bread, and I had a glass of champagne — it’s nice that Royal Jordanian serves Laurent Perrier Brut

At the conclusion of the meal, I ordered a cup of coffee, which was served on a nice silver tray, but was otherwise unremarkable.

The food was perfectly fine, but nothing special. I found the service to be really slow, and on top of that, I felt like it could’ve been coursed out more. I’m not sure if this is the standard service, or if the flight attendant was just lazy. Like, you’re really going to serve baklava with ice cream with the main course, and just let it melt? There’s a disconnect there, obviously, because the ice cream didn’t end up being offered.

Royal Jordanian Embraer E190-E2 business class lavatory

One downside to the Embraer E190-E2 is just how small the lavatory is. There was one at the front of the cabin, and it was tiny, but that’s standard for the plane, and not something that Royal Jordanian is really at fault for. It’s fine for a short flight, but for a flight of this length, you’d hope for a larger lavatory in business class. At least it wasn’t quite as dirty as on the previous flight.

Royal Jordanian business class service

The flight attendant working Royal Jordanian business class on this flight was… whatever. The service was slow and she went through the motions, but she showed no personality, warmth, or pride in her job. After the meal service, she was never in the cabin again, but when I pushed the call button, she did show up relatively promptly. She did have a very pretty uniform, though (it’s nice how at least one flight attendant on each flight wears a more traditional Jordanian dress during the service).

With this plane having just 94 seats, Royal Jordanian could in theory staff the plane with just two flight attendants, in terms of meeting regulatory minimums. Instead, the airline has four flight attendants, though only one works in business class. If you want to offer a nice experience, you’d think a second flight attendant would at least assist in business class during the meal service.

Royal Jordanian Embraer E190-E2 arrival in Frankfurt

At 1:45PM Frankfurt time we began our descent, at which point the seatbelt sign was immediately turned on. We had a pretty gradual descent, and it was smooth the entire way down.

We approached Frankfurt from the east, and then flew out past the airport (with great views), prior to turning north and then east for our landing.

At 2:25PM we landed on runway 7R, and then had a short taxi to our arrival gate, where we pulled in at 2:30PM, 15 minutes ahead of schedule.

While we arrived at Terminal 2, Royal Jordanian has since moved to Frankfurt’s new Terminal 3.

I quickly cleared passport control and customs, and then headed to Kennedy 89 Frankfurt, Hyatt Unbound Collection, where I’d be spending a few nights.

Bottom line

My journey on Royal Jordanian really wasn’t very impressive, from start to finish. Royal Jordanian’s Embraer E190-E2s have the strangest business class seats I’ve ever seen, and they’re a massive step backwards compared to the carrier’s old Embraer business class. Not only that, but the airline is flying Embraer jets on flights that are longer than ever before, given the extra range.

While I’d pick this over intra-Europe business class (which some airlines do operate to Amman), other than that, this is a product I’d absolutely avoid in the future.

On the plus side, the food and drinks were decent enough, I appreciated the free Viasat Wi-Fi, and the streaming entertainment was fine. However, the seats are really rather unpleasant, while the service was once again completely indifferent.

I’d only recommend Royal Jordanian if they have by far the best price or schedule. But hey, that’s just me…

What’s your take on Royal Jordanian’s Embraer E190-E2 business class?

I’ve already reviewed the Royal Jordanian Crown Lounge Amman, which is the largest lounge at the airport, and also the flagship lounge of the oneworld carrier. In this post, I’d like to review the Plaza Premium Lounge Amman, which opened in 2023 (at least in its current form).

While this lounge is on the small side, I found the design to be reasonably nice, the food and drink selection to be solid, and the staff to be quite friendly. However, the lounge also isn’t much to get excited about, and the food selection definitely isn’t as good as at the Royal Jordanian Lounge, in terms of variety.

Plaza Premium Lounge Amman location

The Plaza Premium Lounge Amman is located in the same general area of the terminal as the Royal Jordanian Lounge. If you’re originating in Amman, you’ll find yourself in the center part of the terminal with duty free shopping. There you’ll see signage for the Plaza Premium Lounge, so you can’t miss it. It’s essentially on the opposite side of the duty free area of the Royal Jordanian Lounge (since the lounges take up different parts of the mezzanine level).

The lounge is actually located one level above the concourse, and can be reached by elevator. In theory there’s a check-in desk on the terminal level, though during my visit, it wasn’t actually in use.

Plaza Premium Lounge Amman hours

The Plaza Premium Lounge Amman is open 24/7, so it never closes. Amman Airport has operations all hours of the day and night, though like many hubs in the region, the most popular banks are very late at night, as well as around the middle of the morning, so expect the lounge to also be busiest around those times.

Plaza Premium Lounge Amman entry requirements

When it comes to accessing the Plaza Premium Lounge Amman:

• The lounge can be accessed with a Priority Pass membership, and select credit cards also offer direct access to the lounge; for Priority Pass, visits are officially limited to two hours, but that doesn’t mean you have to be departing within two hours, so I’m not sure how consistently that’s enforced
• You can purchase access to the lounge, either on the Plaza Premium website, or directly at the entrance, with pricing shown below (it’s interesting how there’s an airport staff price, hah)
• This is a contract lounge, so some airlines send their premium passengers here; this includes Emirates, FlyDubai, and Saudia, among others

At least during my time at the airport, the Plaza Premium First Lounge was significantly more crowded than the Plaza Premium Lounge, which was a bit surprising.

Plaza Premium Lounge Amman seating & layout

The Plaza Premium Lounge Amman is approximately 475 square meters, or around 5,100 square feet, with a seating capacity for 130 guests. So the lounge isn’t huge, but then again, it was also relatively quiet during most of my visit.

Much like the Royal Jordanian Lounge, this one is located one level above the concourse, so it opens up into the terminal. That means the lounge isn’t exactly quiet, it has some birds flying around, etc.

As you enter the lounge, there’s first an area with rows of chairs facing one another, along with a sofa area.

You’ll then find yourself at the bar area, which features high-top seating. The bar is also the point where the lounge basically breaks into two — you can turn left or right, and then the center of the lounge is where the kitchen and bathrooms are. In other words, all the seating is along the perimeter of the lounge.

In one direction, you’ll once again just find rows of seats facing one another, arranged in clusters of four.

There’s a similar amount of seating on the other side of the lounge.

Then in the very back of the lounge is the dining area, which has some cafe-style tables, along with a long table that has seats overlooking the terminal.

The lounge also has a small smoking room.

A few more notes about the design and experience. First, there’s a lack of well placed power outlets, though it’s not quite as bad as at the Royal Jordanian Lounge, because at least some number of seats do offer access to them.

On top of that, unlike the Royal Jordanian Lounge, I appreciate that there’s at least some design aesthetic here. It’s cute how they use sandstone, have palm trees, etc. Maybe it’s a little kitschy, but at least it’s something.

Lastly, I’m totally used to this living in Miami, but the lack of basic manners of other guests always blows my mind — feet all over the furniture, watching videos without headphones, etc. I get that norms just seemingly differ around the globe, but it sure makes me miss Japan!

Plaza Premium Lounge Amman food & drinks

The Plaza Premium Lounge Amman has a self-serve buffet in the back of the lounge.

I visited over breakfast hours, and cold options included yogurt, fruit, a variety of dips, salads, veggies, bread, pastries, and cereal.

Then hot options included scrambled eggs, veggies, potato wedges, bread pudding, zatar manakish, and more.

There was also a selection of self-serve drinks, including an espresso machine, a Coke soda fountain, juice, and tea.

Then alcohol and barista coffee was available at the bar.

There was a basic selection of house beer, wine, and spirits, and more premium options available for purchase.

I ordered a cappuccino, and while it didn’t have any “art” on it, it tasted great.

Plaza Premium Lounge Amman bathrooms & showers

The Plaza Premium Lounge Amman has bathrooms located in the center of the lounge.

On the plus side, the bathrooms are each private. The catch is that there’s only one bathroom for men and one for women, so that’s less than ideal in terms of total capacity.

The lounge also has a single shower suite, though I was told it wasn’t available during my visit, so I can’t speak to how nice it is.

Bottom line

The Plaza Premium Lounge Amman is a perfectly okay lounge, and there are pros and cons to this in relation to the Royal Jordanian Lounge. The Royal Jordanian Lounge most definitely has a more impressive food selection, while the Plaza Premium Lounge has a nicer design and friendlier staff. I wouldn’t arrive early to use this lounge, but I think there are pros and cons to each, and I rate them similarly, but for different reasons.

For example, I ate at the Royal Jordanian Lounge, while I preferred hanging out and sitting at the Plaza Premium Lounge.

What’s your take on the Plaza Premium Lounge Amman?

This gave me the chance to spend some time in Royal Jordanian’s Crown Lounge, which is the carrier’s flagship lounge at its hub airport. There were aspects of the experience I enjoyed, like a varied food selection and barista coffee, so there are clearly some areas the carrier is trying.

However, there are also several downsides to the lounge — I found the staff to be rather inhospitable, and more focused on chit-chatting than keeping the lounge clean. I also don’t love how the lounge fully opens up into the terminal, and as a result, has quite the bird infestation. It’s also disappointing how they charge for shower use, even if you’re in business class, which is a very unusual policy. Anyway, let’s get into the review… separately, I’ve reviewed the Plaza Premium Lounge Amman.

Royal Jordanian Lounge Amman location

The Royal Jordanian Lounge Amman is easy to find. If you’re originating in Amman, you’ll find yourself in the center part of the terminal with duty free shopping.

The entrance to the lounge is hidden in a corner of that space, next to the Starbucks and the the Donuts Factory (which, if you ask me, looks mighty similar to Dunkin’). Meanwhile if you’re connecting, just follow the signage for lounges, and you’ll find yourself in the same area.

I must say, for a flagship lounge for a long haul airline, the entrance is sort of hidden and uninspiring, not that this is a big deal. It’s just the entrance on the terminal level, while the actual lounge is located one level up.

My welcome experience in the lounge didn’t exactly exude hospitality. When I first entered, the lounge attendant seemed to be having (based on the tone) what I assume was a personal phone call on speakerphone, and didn’t so much as say a word to me.

I later left the lounge for a bit and returned, and that agent said nothing to me when I entered, despite me saying “good morning” and “thank you”).

What is wrong with Royal Jordanian’s culture? As I mentioned in my Royal Jordanian 787 review, there are signs around the terminal calling Jordan “the land of hospitality,” but you really don’t feel that when flying with Royal Jordanian.

Royal Jordanian Lounge Amman hours & crowding

The Royal Jordanian Lounge Amman is open 24/7, so it never closes.

Royal Jordanian isn’t a huge airline, but generally it has a mid-morning bank of flights, around 9AM until 11AM, and then a late night bank of flights, around 11PM until 1AM, so you can expect the lounge to be most crowded in the hours leading up to those flights. Outside of those times, the lounge is generally very calm, especially given how big it is.

Royal Jordanian Lounge Amman entry requirements

Royal Jordanian is in the oneworld alliance, so the lounge follows oneworld lounge access rules. While the lounge is primarily intended for Royal Jordanian business class passengers and elite members, it’s also open to all oneworld first and business class passengers, in addition to oneworld Emerald members and oneworld Sapphire members.

Those with oneworld elite status are allowed to bring one guest with them, while business class passengers generally can’t bring guests.

This also acts as a contract lounge for a variety of other airlines, ranging from EgyptAir, to Emirates, to Gulf Air, to Oman Air, to Qatar Airways, to Saudia, and more.

Interestingly — and rarely for the hub lounge of an alliance airline — the Crown Lounge is also open to Priority Pass members. Access is permitted up to three hours before scheduled departure, and up to two guests can be brought in, assuming your membership allows that.

Royal Jordanian Lounge Amman seating & layout

The Royal Jordanian Lounge Amman is located one level above the terminal, and as a result, it’s “open air” in the terminal. As you’d expect, this has many implications — you’ll hear a lot of noise from one level down, the temperate can sometimes be less than ideal, and there are also a good number of birds flying around.

The lounge is quite large — it’s around 2,500 square meters (27,000 square feet), and can accommodate around 340 guests. There’s a center area that connects the two sides of the lounge, and then you can walk in either direction, as the lounge is basically located on two different sides of the duty free area.

There’s also signage there, telling you in which direction the various amenities are.

If you enter and go right, you’ll first walk across a little “bridge” of sorts, and then you’ll find a cute little coffee setup, with some traditional design, along with a big screen with Royal Jordanian branding.

You’ll then first find the main buffet area (more on the food selection later), along with a bunch of cafe-style seating.

You’ll then find the bar area, which also contains a bunch of high-top seating,

There’s then a bit more random lounge-style seating, with a bunch of seats sloppily set up in clusters.

While that side of the lounge is primarily about the buffet and bar, the other side of the lounge has a lot more seating, along with some more specific food and beverage stations. You’ll find several different seating setups.

On this side of the lounge, you’ll also find the smoking room.

There are three more things I’d like to point out about the lounge design, which stood out to me.

First, there’s a major shortage of outlets — very few seats offer easy access to power ports, which is frustrating. Basically if you want to charge, you have to find outlets at random walls, and you might end up tripping someone in the process.

Second, the design just seems completely scattered. There’s no cohesive vision to the furnishings, and it almost felt like they just got a bunch of random furniture to fill the lounge, with no thought into how it actually looks.

Third, once again, there just seemed to be a lack of care. When I first arrived at the lounge, it was nearly empty, but was staffed with dozens of people. They were all just standing around chatting, while the lounge was dirty, with a high percentage of empty seats containing endless empty plates, cups, bottles, and napkins. In fairness, after about an hour they started tidying the lounge, and that’s when I took the above pictures.

But I think this also really sums up my overall impression of Royal Jordanian — on balance, employees don’t care much about the guest experience.

Royal Jordanian Lounge Amman food & drinks

The Royal Jordanian Lounge Amman has a solid selection of food and drinks, so I give the airline high marks for that. I was impressed by the number of different food and beverage stations, as this is an area where the airline is clearly trying.

The main food selection is located at the buffet, and of course that’s self serve.

During my morning visit, cold options included all kinds of spreads, veggies, cheese, salad, and a variety of bread.

Hot options included foul, boiled eggs, baked beans, a stewed tomato stew, shakshouka, beef bacon, scrambled eggs, beef and chicken sausage, hash browns, and more.

It’s cute how the lounge has a couple of other food stations, which vary throughout the day. There’s an all-day pizza bar… well, the Jordanian version, so more like manakish station.

There’s also a live cooking station, which was an omelet bar during my morning visit, and I believe it becomes a pasta bar later in the day. I decided to have a veggie omelet, and it was quite good.

There’s even a self-serve ice cream machine, which is mighty cool!

When it comes to drinks, they’re self-serve from fridges near the dining area, with options like water, soda, and juice.

There’s a full bar, though I didn’t partake in any alcohol.

I did appreciate the proper barista coffee available in the lounge, and had an excellent cappuccino. Again, though, the service was a bit off. When I showed up to ask for a coffee, there were two employees just standing there chatting. Even when they saw me standing there, they continued chatting for another 20 seconds or so before acknowledging me and helping me. You really feel like you’re inconvenicning them by being there.

All-in-all, this exceeded my expectations, with the food and drinks being the high point of the lounge.

Royal Jordanian Lounge Amman bathrooms & showers

The Royal Jordanian Lounge Amman doesn’t have a very impressive bathroom setup. The main bathrooms are just by the entrance.

The men’s room had three sinks, two stalls, and two urinals, which doesn’t exactly strike me as a lot of capacity for the number of guests you’ll find in the lounge. The bathroom also wasn’t very luxurious.

The lounge does have two showers, but they’re not complimentary to use, even if you’re flying in business class. Instead, they cost 11 JOD, or around 15 USD, to use. I suppose that’s one way to avoid queues with the limited capacity, but still, what global airline charges to use showers at its flagship lounge?!

I could see making it free for Royal Jordanian passengers and charging for Priority Pass members (there’s precedent for that), but this just strikes me as being super cheap.

Bottom line

The Royal Jordanian Lounge Amman has its pros and cons. I appreciated the solid selection of food and drinks, including bartender cocktails, barista coffee, a live cooking station, and an ice cream machine.

Beyond that, though, I found this lounge to be quite underwhelming. It doesn’t exactly have a beautiful design, it opens up into the terminal, it lacks charging options, and showers come at an extra cost. But what disappointed me most was the service — there wasn’t even a “hello” upon entering the lounge, and staff just stood around rather than cleaning tables littered with plates and cups.

What’s your take on the Royal Jordanian Lounge Amman?

Several weeks ago, we saw a big limited time welcome offer of up to 185K bonus points rolled out on the card. If you’ve been considering picking up this card, now would be the ideal time to apply, as this is your last chance, before the offer gets pulled.

IHG Premier Card now offers 185K points, up from 140K points

For applications through 9AM EST on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, the IHG Premier Card is offering a two part limited time welcome bonus of up to 185,000 IHG One Rewards bonus points, structured as follows:

• Earn 150,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 within the first three months
• Earn an additional 35,000 bonus points after spending a total of $6,000 within the first six months

For what it’s worth, I value IHG One Rewards points at 0.5 cents each, so I consider this bonus to be worth $925. That’s an excellent bonus, among the best we’ve seen on the card. Previously, the card offered a welcome bonus of up to 140,000 points, so this is quite a bit better.

Admittedly there are bigger bonuses on other cards (in absolute terms), but this is a reasonably priced card that you’ll want to hold onto in the long run.

Link: Learn more about the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card

Who is eligible for the IHG Premier Card bonus?

When it comes to eligibility for the IHG Premier Card, you can get approved and receive the bonus on the card if you don’t currently have an IHG personal credit card, and/or haven’t received a new cardmember bonus on an IHG personal credit card in the past 24 months.

So eligibility does factor in whether you have or have had the IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card (review), but it’s unrelated to whether you have or have had the IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card (review).

Note that this is based on whether you’re the primary cardmember on such a card, as it’s okay to be an authorized user on someone else’s card. That never precludes you from earning the bonus on a card.

Also keep in mind the general rules of applying for Chase cards, including the 5/24 rule (though there are increasingly reports of people being approved in spite of being over the 5/24 limit).

Should you apply for the IHG Premier Card?

With my hotel strategy, IHG isn’t my primary hotel group, but I still strategically find lots of value with the program, given IHG’s huge global footprint. There are many reasons to have the IHG Premier Card, including:

• IHG One Rewards Platinum status just for having the card; IHG elite status can be valuable for room upgrades and other perks, and you can unlock even more value with the Milestone Rewards program
• The ability to earn IHG One Rewards Diamond status when you spend $40,000 on the card in a calendar year; this won’t be worth it for everyone, but does offer some valuable perks
• An anniversary free night certificate every year, valid at a property costing up to 40,000 points; you can top that off with points to redeem at more expensive properties
• Up to $50 in United TravelBank credit annually, in the form of up to a $25 credit every six months
• A fourth night free on award redemptions
• A Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS credit once every four years

Read a full review of the IHG Premier Card, and learn more about how the benefits of the IHG Premier Card work.

Bottom line

For applications through June 24, 2026, the IHG Premier Card has a limited time welcome bonus where you can earn up to 185,000 IHG One Rewards bonus points upon completing minimum spending. This is your last chance to apply, given that the offer will be ending soon.

This card has an excellent value proposition and should be worth holding onto in the long run, given the anniversary free night award, fourth night free on award redemptions, IHG Platinum status, United TravelBank credit, and more.

Anyone plan on picking up the IHG Premier Card with this bonus?

Flying Blue lets members earn bonus miles on Apple purchases

Air France-KLM Flying Blue members can now earn bonus miles on eligible Apple purchases made through dedicated platforms in four countries:

• France: http://fr.apple.flyingblue.com
• Netherlands: http://nl.apple.flyingblue.com
• United Kingdom: http://uk.apple.flyingblue.com
• United States: http://us.apple.flyingblue.com

When you go to these portals, you’ll see a shopping experience that looks very similar to what you’ll find directly on Apple’s website. With each product, you’ll see exactly how many miles you can earn for your purchase, and I’m finding that most purchases earn anywhere from 1-4x miles per dollar spent, but it does vary.

Why this is more interesting than I initially assumed

As much as I’m generally a fan of Flying Blue (hi, Tiffany!), when I initially saw the announcement, I didn’t think it was that interesting. Why? Well, there are several airline shopping portals that offer bonus miles on Apple purchases — they typically offer 1x miles per dollar spent, and once a month there’s a promotion to earn up to 4x miles per dollar spent.

What sets Flying Blue apart is that at least as of now, the purchase of virtually all Apple products can earn bonus miles, while the other airline shopping portals typically exclude a massive number of Apple products, including the ones that are most popular and newest.

For example, if you go to the Apple page for American AAdvantage eShopping, you’ll see it’s not possible to earn any bonus miles on the iPhone 17e, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPhone 17, iPhone Air, and MacBook Neo, among other things. However, each of those products does offer bonus miles through the Flying Blue portal.

On top of that, I find that the base level earnings rates with Flying Blue are much better than with other portals. So at least for me, the Flying Blue Apple portal will be my new go-to way to buy Apple products and earn bonus miles. Admittedly you’re not likely to get “rich” off the number of bonus miles you’re earning, but something is better than nothing.

Bottom line

It’s now possible to earn Air France-KLM Flying Blue miles for Apple purchases. While Flying Blue is hardly the first frequent flyer program to have a shopping portal awarding miles for Apple purchases, this one is unique. Not only are the earnings rates quite good, but there are no Apple product exclusions as of now, unlike all the other shopping portals.

While it’s always worth comparison shopping, this seems to now be the most well-rounded way to earn miles for Apple purchases.

Also keep in mind that thanks to some updates to welcome bonus eligibility requirements, some people may not even realize that they’re now eligible for the bonus, even though they weren’t in the past.

Link: Learn more about the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

What is the current Chase Sapphire Preferred bonus?

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is currently offering a welcome bonus of 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $5,000 within the first three months. The annual fee is $95, which isn’t waived for the first year.

This is a very strong offer, in line with the best offers we’ve ever seen on the card. As a point of comparison, previously the card had a welcome offer of 75,000 points upon completing minimum spending, so this is much better.

Personally, I value Ultimate Rewards points at 1.7 cents each, so to me, the 100,000 bonus points are worth $1,700. If eligible, there’s absolutely no reason not to apply.

When it comes to earning the bonus, the clock starts from your account opening date, not when you receive the card, so plan accordingly. Once you hit the spending requirement, the bonus points typically post within a statement cycle, if not before.

The $5,000 threshold isn’t too high for most, in my experience, especially compared to what we’re seeing on other cards these days. If you’re planning any large purchases, timing your application around those expenses makes earning the bonus straightforward. Furthermore, try to take advantage of the card bonus categories when reaching your minimum spending, so you can truly earn as many points as possible.

Who is eligible for the Chase Sapphire Preferred bonus?

When it comes to eligibility for the Chase Sapphire Preferred, here’s the official language in the application:

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 you can tell, the terms here aren’t that explicit. However, you’re definitely not eligible for the bonus if you currently have this exact card, and you also may not be eligible for the bonus if you previously held this card, regardless of whether or not you received the bonus. Then there’s also the vague language about how other factors may be used in determining your eligibility for the card.

Furthermore, eligibility for the card (including the bonus) is unrelated to whether or not you have or have had the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card (learn more). Note that these restrictions are based on whether you’re the primary cardmember on one of these cards — if you’re currently an authorized user (or have been one in the past), you’d be eligible.

Also keep in mind the general rules of applying for Chase cards, including the 5/24 rule (though there are increasingly reports of people being approved in spite of being over the 5/24 limit).

Nowadays Chase will typically let you know during the application process if you’re eligible for the bonus on a card, before there’s a hard pull, so that’s good news if you want to try to apply and see if you qualify.

In terms of credit score, aim for 700 or higher, though 740+ is ideal. There’s no hard cutoff, but this is considered a premium product and Chase tends to be selective.

Is the Chase Sapphire Preferred worth it?

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a great card at its price point. As I see it, here are the main selling points:

• The Sapphire Preferred has an annual fee of under $100; given the amount of credit card fee inflation we’ve seen over the years, that’s very compelling
• The Sapphire Preferred has an impressive number of bonus categories — earn 5x points on Chase Travel^SM purchases, 3x points on dining (including eligible delivery services), 3x points on online grocery stores, 3x points on vacation homes (at brands like Airbnb, VRBO, and more), 3x points on gas stations and EV charging, 3x points on select streaming services, 2x points on other travel purchases, and more
• The Sapphire Preferred offers a $100 hotel credit every anniversary year, valid for a hotel booking made through Chase Travel (there’s no minimum stay required, and no minimum spending, so you could save $100 on a hotel stay costing the same amount)
• The Sapphire Preferred lets you transfer points to the Ultimate Rewards airline and hotel partners, though the catch is that transfers to World of Hyatt are at a 4:3 ratio rather than a 1:1 ratio, unlike on the more premium Chase Sapphire cards
• The Sapphire Preferred offers excellent travel coverage, including for flight cancelations, delays, rental cars, and more

As I see it, the Chase Sapphire Preferred is a phenomenal card for beginners. It has a low annual fee, huge upfront bonus, great bonus categories, and also offers excellent travel protection, which every traveler should have. But even for those who aren’t beginners, this could be an excellent alternative to all the more premium cards out there with very high annual fees.

Chase Sapphire Preferred bonus FAQs

Bottom line

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is offering a welcome bonus of 100,000 points upon completing minimum spending, which is in line with the best offers that we’ve seen on the card. The card has just undergone a refresh, which people will have mixed feelings about, no doubt.

It’s hard to argue with the card’s reasonable $95 annual fee, especially with the $100 annual hotel credit. On top of that, the bonus categories are now really well rounded, so many people will want to actually spend money on this card.

The only catch is that this card has a devalued transfer ratio to World of Hyatt, and points now move at a 4:3 ratio. However, in conjunction with either the personal or business version of the Sapphire Reserve, you can still get a 1:1 transfer ratio on all of your points.

Do you plan on taking advantage of the Chase Sapphire Preferred 100K bonus points offer?

Promotion on purchased Finnair Plus Avios

Finnair Plus is offering a limited time bonus on purchased Avios, and you’ll have to act fast. If you purchase Finnair Plus Avios between June 15 and June 18, 2026, you can receive the following deal:

• Buy 5,000-19,000 Avios, receive a 25% discount
• Buy 20,000-49,000 Avios, receive a 30% discount
• Buy 50,000-84,000 Avios, receive a 35% discount
• Buy 85,000-200,000 Avios, receive a 40% discount

Now, here’s where it gets interesting — Finnair lets you select the currency in which you want to buy Avios (you can find the option to switch currencies at the top of the screen), and the price differs:

• If paying in USD, Finnair ordinarily charges 2.17 cents per Avios
• If paying in EUR, Finnair ordinarily charges 2.1 cents per Avios (2.44 cents in USD)

So based on current exchange rates, you’re better off buying in USD rather than EUR. If you maxed out the promotion with 40% off, the best deal you could get would be to pay $2,604 for 200,000 Avios, which comes out to 1.3 cents per Avios (in USD).

Note that this offer is only available to Finnair Plus members who have a minimum balance of 100 Avios in their account (though those Avios can be transferred from another “flavor” of the currency).

Which credit card should you buy Finnair Plus Avios with?

Finnair Plus Avios 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 minimum spending, or otherwise, a credit card that maximizes your return on everyday spending.

Is buying Finnair Plus Avios worth it?

What should you expect from Finnair Plus award pricing, and the best ways to redeem to Finnair Plus Avios?

Below you can find the one-way Finnair Plus award redemptions rates for travel on Finnair.

Awards also have surcharges, though they’re at least mild. If you have a connecting itinerary, you’ll only be charged the surcharge correlated to the most expensive segment flown.

When your award booking includes a connecting flight, Avios are charged separately for each flight, except for flights within Finland and Northern Europe. For example, a Frankfurt to Helsinki to New York business class award would cost you 82,500 Avios (20,000 Avios plus 62,500 Avios). One awesome thing is that Finnair Plus has an award seat guarantee, meaning there’s pretty consistently award availability when booking far in advance.

Finnair Plus also allows redemptions on partner airlines, though the pricing isn’t particularly attractive, for the most part. The more important thing to keep in mind is that it’s possible to transfer Avios between the various “flavors” of the currency.

Therefore this promotion is also an opportunity to earn Avios that you can transfer 1:1 to programs like Aer Lingus AerClub, British Airways Club, Iberia Club, Qatar Airways Privilege Club, etc. That opens up more redemption opportunities.

Bottom line

Finnair Plus has launched a promotion on purchased Avios. With this, you can receive up to a 40% discount when purchasing Avios, which is an opportunity to buy them for 1.3 cents each (in USD).

This isn’t some amazing deal that everyone should take advantage of, but with a short term use in mind, I think many people could find this to be valuable. In particular, keep in mind that this is an opportunity to earn rewards with other “flavors” of Avios, thanks to the 1:1 transfer options.

Does anyone plan on taking advantage of this promo on Finnair Plus Avios?

Transfer Amex points to Lifemiles with 15% bonus

Between June 15 and July 15, 2026, it’s possible to receive a 15% bonus when moving points from Amex Membership Rewards to Avianca Lifemiles. Note that this isn’t being offered on Amex’s end, but instead, is being offered directly by Lifemiles.

Ordinarily points transfer at a 1:1 ratio (in increments of 1,000 points), while through this promotion you’d get 1,150 Lifemiles for every 1,000 Amex Membership Rewards points transferred. The bonus miles may post in a separate transaction, but within 24 hours of the initial transfer (though usually faster than that).

We see transferable points currencies frequently offer bonuses on transfers to Lifemiles, and we’ve seen such promotions from most major transferable points currencies in the past year.

Should you transfer Amex points to Lifemiles?

Avianca is in the Star Alliance, which means you can redeem Lifemiles on all Star Alliance airlines without any fuel surcharges. Really this is the core value proposition of the program, since this is a great way to book Star Alliance premium cabin seats at a huge discount. Check out my guide on how to redeem Lifemiles for ideas on how to use these miles.

With a specific use in mind, this could represent a great value, whether you’re looking at traveling first class on All Nippon Airways, or are looking at traveling in business class on a countless number of airlines. Everyone has to crunch the numbers for themselves and decide whether this makes sense or not.

Let me emphasize that in some cases, Lifemiles doesn’t have access to the same award availability as Star Alliance partners, for better or worse. Sometimes Lifemiles doesn’t have access to partner awards that other programs do have access to, and other times the inverse is true.

That’s why I always recommend doing some “dummy” award searches before buying miles, so you can get a sense of how award availability lines up with your needs.

Bottom line

Through July 15, 2026, the Amex Membership Rewards program is offering a 15% bonus on points transfers to Avianca Lifemiles. If you’re looking to redeem on Star Alliance partners, there’s definitely some value to be had here.

With the 15% bonus, you can potentially get a very reasonably priced award on Avianca or one of its Star Alliance partners. As always, the challenge is actually finding award availability.

Do you plan on taking advantage of this Amex transfer bonus to Avianca Lifemiles?

There are several opportunities to save miles on tickets in economy, premium economy, and business class. Unfortunately this list is rather unexciting in terms of eligible destinations, which isn’t too surprising, since July is the peak summer travel month, so there are fewer deals to be had. Let’s go over the details.

Book discounted Singapore Airlines awards

Singapore Airlines’ KrisFlyer program offers monthly “Spontaneous Escapes” deals, where there’s a list of flights that can be booked at a 30% discount when redeeming miles.

Presumably Singapore Airlines is primarily discounting flights that aren’t anticipated to be full, and where there’s a lot of award availability. This can be a really useful promotion. One major restriction to note is that Spontaneous Escapes awards can’t be changed or canceled once booked (they don’t follow standard KrisFlyer policies), so you’ll only want to ticket these if you’re positive you’re traveling.

KrisFlyer has just published its latest Spontaneous Escapes list, which has a fair number of destinations on it, all for travel on Singapore Airlines. This is valid for bookings through June 30, 2026, and for travel between July 1 and July 31, 2026.

I’d recommend checking out the full list, but just to give you a sense of some of the discounted awards that are available (pricing is one-way, and in some cases the sale only works in one direction of travel):

• Singapore to Bali, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Medan, and Surabaya, is available for 15,400 miles in business class
• Singapore to Bangkok, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Manila, and Phuket, is available for 17,500 miles in business class
• Singapore to Chongqing, Chengdu, and Hangzhou, is available for 24,850 miles in business class
• Singapore to Ahmedabad, Beijing, Colombo, Dhaka, and Hyderabad, is available for 31,500 miles in business class
• Singapore to Cairns is available for 50,400 miles in business class

The restrictions for taking advantage of the offers vary by destination. Some destinations are restricted to specific flight numbers, and others are restricted to specific dates, but there’s great value to be had across the board.

Unfortunately this time around, there are no awards to or from the United States. Again, that’s not too surprising, since summer is a peak travel period, so there aren’t many award seats that can even be discounted.

How to earn Singapore KrisFlyer miles

If you’re interested in booking one of these flights but don’t have KrisFlyer miles, the good news is that Singapore KrisFlyer is transfer partners with Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Citi ThankYou, so there are lots of easy ways to earn points that can be redeemed for these flights.

Singapore Airlines makes most premium cabin award space available exclusively to members of its own KrisFlyer program, so many of these are flights that you couldn’t book with partner airline miles. However, some partners, including Air Canada Aeroplan, do have access to some long haul Singapore Airlines premium award space.

Bottom line

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer has published its latest Spontaneous Escapes promotion. With this new list, you can save on business class, premium economy, and economy award redemptions. There are some good deals to be had, though unfortunately this time around there are no markets in the United States that are available at a discount.

Are there any KrisFlyer Spontaneous Escapes awards that you plan to take advantage of?

Transfer Citi ThankYou points to Accor ALL with a 50% bonus

Between June 14 and July 18, 2026, you can receive a 50% bonus when you transfer points from the Citi ThankYou program (in the United States) to Accor Live Limitless (ALL). Ordinarily points transfer at a 1,000:500 ratio, while through this promotion you’d get 750 Accor points for every 1,000 Citi ThankYou points transferred.

There’s no limit to how often you can take advantage of this promotion, and there’s no registration required. This is being offered on Citi’s end, so make sure you see the bonus reflected before you transfer points.

There are several great cards earning Citi ThankYou points, including the Citi Strata Premier® Card (review) and Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (review), and it’s easy to combine points between the cards.

Should you transfer Citi points to Accor?

Accor Live Limitless is probably the most straightforward hotel program out there on the redemption side. The program is fully revenue based, and you can swap every 2,000 Accor points for €40 off your hotel bill. Put differently, every 1,000 Citi points converts into 750 Accor points, and those points are enough for €15 (~$17) off a hotel stay. You can redeem as many points as you’d like toward a hotel stay.

So this is an opportunity to redeem your Citi ThankYou points as cash toward any Accor hotel stay at the rate of 1.7 cents (USD) each. That’s not a half bad rate at which to cash out transferable points, and is way better than the 1.0 cents of value you can get per point toward the cost of a flight or hotel stay under normal circumstances with Citi ThankYou.

Accor has quite the diverse hotel portfolio, including everything from Raffles, Banyan Tree, Fairmont, and Sofitel, in the premium sector, to Mercure, Novotel, ibis, and 25h, in the upscale and economy sector.

One thing to keep in mind is that Accor Live Limitless points expire after 12 months of inactivity. You can reset that expiration date with any activity, so just don’t forget to do so.

Bottom line

Through July 18, 2026, you can receive a 50% bonus when you transfer Citi ThankYou points to Accor Live Limitless. With the bonus, you’ll receive 750 Accor points for every 1,000 Citi points. This is essentially a way to cash out your Citi ThankYou points for Accor hotel vouchers at the rate of €15 per 1,000 Citi points.

While you can get more value with your points with aspirational flight redemptions, this is one of the highest value offers we’ve ever seen for transferable points when redeeming them for a cash-like rewards currency.

Do you plan on taking advantage of this 50% bonus on Citi to Accor transfers?

Air France’s “old” first class product was already excellent, and you can read my full review here. Meanwhile the new first class product is even more impressive, and you can read my full review here.

Air France is continuing to introduce its new first class product to more flights, and this product is now available on 14 aircraft, and an expanding number of routes. In this post, I’d like to recap which routes feature La Premiere, and which routes have the new product.

Even if Air France first class is out of your budget, it’s worth understanding which planes have the new first class, as they also have the new business class, which is excellent, and worth seeking out (and it can be easily booked with Air France-KLM Flying Blue miles). Furthermore, these planes are also guaranteed to have Starlink Wi-Fi, which benefits everyone on the plane.

Which planes have Air France first class?

Air France’s first class is only available on a subfleet of Boeing 777-300ERs, which feature four classes of service (first class, business class, premium economy, and economy). Specifically, it’s currently installed on just over two dozen Boeing 777-300ERs, which makes up roughly half of the 777-300ER fleet.

Just in the interest of being very thorough, let me emphasize that you won’t find first class on any other Air France jets, including the A330s, A350s, 787s, etc. Air France is increasing the number of 777-300ERs with first class cabins, though it’s not yet known how many total 777s will have first class, when all is said and done.

Which routes have Air France first class?

Which routes feature Air France first class? Air France operates Boeing 777-300ERs with first class on select frequencies between Paris (CDG) and the following destinations:

• Abidjan (ABJ)
• Atlanta (ATL)
• Dubai (DXB) — temporarily suspended
• Los Angeles (LAX)
• Miami (MIA)
• New York (JFK)
• San Francisco (SFO)
• Sao Paulo (GRU)
• Singapore (SIN)
• Tel Aviv (TLV) — temporarily suspended
• Tokyo (HND)
• Washington (IAD)

Beyond the current network, Air France has announced that it’s expanding the La Premiere network, thanks to more planes getting the cabin installed. Specifically, we’ll soon find La Premiere on the Houston (IAH) route as of July 5, 2026. Furthermore, the airline had announced that the Boston (BOS) route would get it as of July 20, 2026, but oddly, all that inventory has now been pulled, so we’ll have to mark that as developing.

For what it’s worth, in the past we’ve seen Air France also offer first class to Beirut (BEY), Hong Kong (HKG), Johannesburg (JNB), and Mexico City (MEX), among other airports. We’ll see if any of those airports also see a return of first class.

Which flights have Air France’s new first class?

Air France’s plans are to retrofit the entire fleet of four cabin Boeing 777-300ERs with the new first class cabins by the end of 2026. We’ll see how that timeline works out, but Air France is making good progress, and that seems pretty realistic.

So far, you’ll find the new cabins on the 777-300ERs with the registration codes F-GSQC, F-GSQE, F-GSQF, F-GSQK, F-GSQL, F-GSQY, F-GZNA, F-GZND, F-GZNE, F-GZNH, F-GZNK, F-GZNP, F-GZNQ, and F-GZNR. That’s a total of 14 planes so far, and for those tracking things, it looks like F-GZNB is the next plane to get new cabins.

It’s interesting to note that several of the 777-300ERs that have been reconfigured so far were previously in a three cabin configuration without first class, so that explains the increase in La Premiere capacity, which is allowing the number of destinations to grow as well.

So, which flights feature Air France’s new La Premiere first class product?

• Air France’s route between Paris (CDG) and Abidjan (ABJ) have the new cabins, for flights AF702/703
• Air France’s route between Paris (CDG) and Los Angeles (LAX) have the new cabins, for flights AF20/21, AF22/23, and AF24/25
• Air France’s route between Paris (CDG) and Miami (MIA) have the new cabins, for flights AF90/91
• Air France’s route between Paris (CDG) and New York (JFK) have the new cabins, most commonly for flights AF4/3 and AF6/5
• Air France’s route between Paris (CDG) and Singapore (SIN) have the new cabins, for flights AF256/257
• Air France’s route between Paris (CDG) and Tokyo (HND) have the new cabins, for flights AF274/275

Keep in mind that routes operated by the new aircraft type are always subject to change. When searching online, how can you tell if your flight will feature the new first class? For one, if you go to Air France’s website and do a search, you’ll see a message indicating “Aircraft equipped with the new La Premiere suite.”

Furthermore, when you go to the seat map, you’ll see a different layout, with both a seat and chaise longue. The seat numbers are also different — for the new configuration, first class consists of 1A, 1D, 1H, and 1L, while for the old configuration, first class consists of 1A, 1E, 1F, and 1L.

Note that these reconfigured jets aren’t just great news for first class passengers. As Air France installs its new first class, the airline is entirely overhauling its four cabin Boeing 777-300ERs. Most exciting is that these planes are also getting Air France’s new business class with doors, so arguably that’s an equally positive aspect of these updates. Also, as mentioned above, all of the reconfigured planes also have Starlink Wi-Fi, which offers unbeatable — and free — connectivity on long haul flights.

Bottom line

Air France exclusively has its La Premiere first class cabin on just over two dozen Boeing 777-300ERs, operating select long haul flights out of Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG). These planes are in the process of being reconfigured, and Air France has so far updated the interiors of 14 jets.

You’ll now find these updated 777-300ERs flying from Paris (CDG) to Abidjan (ABJ), Los Angeles (LAX), Miami (MIA), New York (JFK), Singapore (SIN), and Tokyo (HND), on select frequencies. Obviously this is exciting for those in first class, but it’s also positive for others, between the new business class cabins, plus the consistent availability of Starlink Wi-Fi.

What do you make of Air France’s plans for its refreshed four cabin Boeing 777-300ERs?

If you ask me, a hotel can technically have five stars, but still not be a luxury hotel (in the sense that it’s actually a luxury factory with 300+ rooms and very little personalization).

That’s why I thought it would be interesting to take a look at France “Palace” distinction for hotels, which is one of the few government-awarded hotel rating systems out there. While I’ve covered this in the past, we recently saw the list updated for the first time in years, and I’d like to reflect all of those details in this post.

What is France’s “Palace” hotel rating system?

France is known for luxury and amazing food, and by connection, some amazing hotels. This is where France’s “Palace” distinction for hotels kicks in.

Since 2010, Atout France (France’s official tourism development agency) has been awarding certain hotels “Palace” distinction. This is a much higher honor than being a five-star hotel, as there are currently only 33 hotels in France with this distinction.

Note that a French hotel having “Palace” distinction doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s in a former palace (though several properties are). Rather it’s intended to describe just how grand these properties are.

This concept is intended to encourage hotels to be their best, all while increasing the profile of these properties on the international scene. I know many Francophiles go out of their way to stay at “Palace” properties, and for good reason.

You’ll find that hotels with “Palace” distinction heavily promote that honor, and typically put it right next to their name online.

How do hotels in France get “Palace” distinction?

How does a hotel in France earn “Palace” distinction? While the exact criteria aren’t published, here’s what we know:

• “Palace” hotels must contribute to enhancing the image of France throughout the world, and must have qualities that embody French standards of excellence; they must have good locations, architectural heritage, great design, and bespoke service
• Hotels earn “palace” distinction in two phases — first there’s an initial investigation phase, based on objective criteria, including having certain facilities, and then there’s an evaluation phase, conducted by a panel, intended to judge things like the character of a property, the service levels, the quality of the restaurants, etc.
• When a hotel receives the “Palace” distinction, it’s valid for five years, and can then be renewed

For more context on some of the recent updates:

• In 2019 we saw the list updated, with six new hotels getting the honor, and none having it taken away
• In 2026 we saw the list updated again, with six new hotels getting the honor, and four having it taken away
• Usually this list would be updated every few years, but there was a gap following the start of the pandemic, given how hotel service procedures and operations were modified for some amount of time

Which hotels in France have “Palace” status?

As mentioned above, currently 33 hotels in France have “Palace” distinction. I think it’s important to emphasize that if a hotel has “Palace” status, it’s probably pretty awesome. However, it’s possible for a hotel to be great without having “Palace” status.

It’s possible that a hotel is new and just hasn’t been judged yet, or it’s possible a hotel just didn’t meet one of the criteria, but is excellent nonetheless. While I’ll share some more thoughts below, let’s start by looking at the hotels in France with Palace status.

As you’d expect, Paris is the biggest market for “Palace” hotels, as there are currently 13 properties with this distinction:

• Bulgari Paris
• Cheval Blanc Paris
• Fouquet’s Paris
• Four Seasons George V Paris
• Hôtel Lutetia Paris
• Hôtel Plaza Athénée Paris, Dorchester Collection
• La Réserve Paris
• Le Bristol Paris, Oetker Collection
• Le Meurice Paris, Dorchester Collection
• Peninsula Paris
• Raffles Le Royal Monceau Paris
• Rosewood Hôtel de Crillon Paris
• Shangri-La Paris

The next biggest market for “Palace” hotels is the South of France, and in particular the Côte d’Azur, as there are currently 11 properties with this distinction, though they’re more spread out than in Paris:

• Airelles Gordes, La Bastide
• Airelles Saint-Tropez, Château de La Messardière
• Château Saint-Martin & Spa Vence, Oetker Collection
• Cheval Blanc Saint-Tropez
• Four Seasons Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat
• Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Rock Antibes, Oetker Collection
• Hotel Martinez Cannes, Hyatt Unbound Collection
• La Réserve Ramatuelle
• Les Prés d’Eugénie Maison Guérard Eugénie-les-Bains, Relais & Chateaux
• Les Sources de Caudalie Bordeaux
• Villa La Coste Aix-en-Provence

The next biggest market for “Palace” hotels is in ski destinations, as there are currently seven properties with this distinction, five of which are in Courchevel:

• Cheval Blanc Courchevel
• Four Seasons Megeve
• Hôtel Barrière Les Neiges Courchevel
• Hôtel Royal Evian Evian-les-Bains
• L’Apogée Courchevel, Oetker Collection
• Les Airelles Courchevel
• Le K2 Palace Courchevel

The last two hotels with “Palace” distinction have some geographic diversity, with one being the only one that isn’t in Metropolitan France, and the other being in what’s perhaps France’s most famous wine region:

• Cheval Blanc St-Barth Isle de France
• Royal Champagne Hotel & Spa

In the interest of being thorough, let me mention the only four hotels that have had their “Palace” distinction taken away, and that happened as of June 2026, to the following properties:

• Hôtel Byblos Saint-Tropez
• Hôtel du Palais Biarritz, Hyatt Unbound Collection
• Mandarin Oriental Paris
• Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme

As you’ll notice, at this point there are two points hotels with “Palace” distinction — Hotel Martinez Cannes belongs to World of Hyatt, while Raffles Le Royal Monceau Paris belongs to Accor Live Limitless (but Accor doesn’t have a traditional loyalty program, as points can just be redeemed for vouchers toward hotel stays).

In general, I think this list is pretty spot on, though there are some quirks, and properties worth calling out:

• Ritz-Paris is one of the city’s most famous hotels, but doesn’t have “Palace” distinction, which seems odd; some suggest it’s because the hotel doesn’t want it (eh?), but who knows
• With the latest updates to the list, I was expecting that Airelles Château de Versailles and Airelles Val d’Isère would be added, as they both opened since the 2019 rankings; however, neither were added, which I can’t wrap my head around
• The only hotel on the list I can’t make any sense of is Hotel Martinez Cannes, as I don’t see how on earth that 400+ room hotel represents the best that France has to offer

Bottom line

France is one of the only countries to have an official distinction for the country’s top hotels, in the form of “Palace” status. There are currently 33 of these properties, and they’re most heavily concentrated in Paris, Courchevel, and Saint-Tropez. Furthermore, French hotel brands like Airelles and Cheval Blanc are also heavily featured.

You can expect that “Palace” properties have a great sense of place, amazing dining, and good French service. For those into miles & points, Hotel Martinez Cannes and Raffles Le Royal Monceau Paris are two of these properties that you can book with points.

If you’ve stayed at a French “Palace” property, what was your experience like?

I personally have both cards, and in my wallet they aren’t competitors so much as two halves of the same strategy. Still, if I were starting from scratch and could only pick one, the decision would come down to a few specific questions about where my spending actually goes. Deciding between the two is also more relevant than in the past, given that nowadays you can typically only earn the welcome bonus on one card or the other, and that’s definitely a major motivator in applying for cards.

The Ink Cash wins if your business spends meaningfully on internet, phone services, cable, or office supplies, since 5x points earning on a no annual fee card is unmatched. The Ink Unlimited wins if your spending is spread across lots of categories, since 1.5x points on everything beats the Ink Cash’s 1x points base rate. Personally, the Ink Cash gets my monthly phone bill and office supply spending, while I don’t spend much on the Ink Unlimited, but that’s not to say it doesn’t make sense for others.

In this post, I’d like to walk through the math behind that, plus talk about an eligibility wrinkle you should understand before applying for either card.

Links: Learn more about the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card and Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card, each with a $1,000 welcome bonus

What the Ink Cash and Ink Unlimited have in common

Before getting to the differences, it’s worth being clear about how much the Ink Business Cash and Ink Business Unlimited share in common, because it’s most of the value proposition.

The same $1,000 welcome bonus (100,000 points)

Both cards currently offer an identical welcome bonus, whereby you can earn $1,000 bonus cash back after spending $8,000 on purchases in the first four months from account opening. These are best-ever offers on the card — I’m not just saying that they match the best offers we’ve seen in the past, but they actually exceed them.

Getting a bonus this huge on a no annual fee card is quite literally unheard of. While the welcome bonuses are marketed as offering cash back, in conjunction with the right cards, these can be turned into full Ultimate Rewards points, and I value those at 1.7 cents each. So I’d consider each of these cards to have a bonus worth a staggering $1,700. That’s unbelievable for a no annual fee card.

No annual fee on either card

Getting a no annual fee card that’s super rewarding is rare, especially when you consider the value of the welcome bonus. That applies equally to both cards here. The Ink Business Cash and Ink Business Unlimited are cards that you can keep long term, and they won’t cost you anything.

The same cash back to points trick

Both the Ink Business Cash and Ink Business Unlimited are marketed as cash back cards, and the “cash” framing doesn’t tell the full story. In reality, the cards earn points, and each point can ordinarily be redeemed for one cent cash back. That’s how Chase arrives at the cash back valuations for both cards.

Fortunately there’s a trick to greatly increasing the value of those rewards. If you have either card in conjunction with another card that earns “premium” Ultimate Rewards points, then you can do significantly better. These cards include the following:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (learn more)
• Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card (learn more)
• Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (learn more)
• Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ (learn more)

If you have one of those cards, suddenly your points are much more valuable. Not only can they potentially be redeemed at an advantageous rate through Chase Travel℠ using the Points Boost feature, but they can also be transfefred to one of the Ultimate Rewards airline or hotel partners, which include the below.

I value Ultimate Rewards points at 1.7 cents each, so to me that increases the value of the points earned on these cards by 70%. Transferring points between Chase cards is easy and can be done online.

3% foreign transaction fees on both cards

Both the Ink Business Cash and Ink Business Unlimited are useful for purchases within the United States, but have 3% foreign transaction fees, so I don’t recommend using either card for purchases abroad. If you’re looking for a similar card with no foreign transaction fees, consider the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.

How the Ink Cash earns: capped 5x and 2x points categories

What really sets the Ink Business Cash apart is the incredible points earning rates that the card offers:

• The Ink Business Cash Card offers 5% cash back (or 5x points) on the first $25,000 of combined purchases per cardmember year on office supply stores, internet, cable TV, mobile phones, and landlines
• The Ink Business Cash Card offers 2% cash back (or 2x points) on the first $25,000 of combined purchases per cardmember year on restaurants and gas stations
• The Ink Business Cash Card offers 1% cash back (or 1x points) on all other purchases

Note that the caps are per cardmember year, which is different than a calendar year. The bonus cap resets on your account anniversary, which is 12 months from when you opened your card.

In conjunction with a card that unlocks the full value of Ultimate Rewards points, I value the 5x points categories at a return of 8.5%. To put the cap in dollar terms, if you max out $25,000 of spending at 5x points, that’s 125,000 points, worth $2,125 at my 1.7 cent valuation. Every year. On a card with no annual fee. There’s no other no fee business card that comes close in these categories.

The trade-off is the base rate: outside the bonus categories, you’re earning 1x points, which isn’t competitive. For more details on the card, see my full review of the Ink Business Cash.

How the Ink Unlimited earns: 1.5x points on everything

The Ink Business Unlimited offers 1.5x points on all business purchases, with no limits. This is a straightforward rewards structure, so there’s no need to focus on bonus categories.

On the surface, unlimited 1.5% cash back isn’t actually that good, since there are other cards that earn 2% cash back. The trick is converting that into 1.5x Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent. I value Ultimate Rewards points at 1.7 cents each, so suddenly you’re going from a return of 1.5% to a return of 2.55%, by my valuation. If you’re earning 1.5x Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent, I consider this to be the best Chase business card for everyday spending.

In dollar terms, $50,000 of unbonused spending at 1.5x earns 75,000 points, worth $1,275 at my valuation. The same spending on the Ink Cash at 1x earns 50,000 points, worth $850. That gap is the whole argument for the Ink Unlimited. For more details, see my full review of the Ink Business Unlimited.

Ink Cash vs. Ink Unlimited: Where each card wins

Since the bonuses, fees, and points ecosystem are identical, the comparison really comes down to running your own spending through each card’s earning structure:

• Internet, cable, phone services, and office supplies (up to $25,000 per cardmember year): the Ink Cash earns 5x points and the Ink Unlimited earns 1.5x points. If you max that out (not that most people will), that’s 125,000 points versus 37,500 points, or $2,125 versus $637.50 at my valuation. This isn’t close.
• Restaurants and gas stations (up to $25,000 per cardmember year): the Ink Cash earns 2x points and the Ink Unlimited earns 1.5x points. The Ink Cash wins, though by a smaller margin.
• Everything else: the Ink Unlimited earns 1.5x points and the Ink Cash earns 1x points. For a business with spending that doesn’t fit neatly into bonus categories, this is where the Unlimited comes out way ahead.
• Purchases abroad: neither card is good, given the 3% foreign transaction fees on both cards.

The welcome bonus eligibility wrinkle

Here’s the part that might impact your strategy if you’re thinking about eventually getting both the Ink Business Cash and Ink Business Unlimited. If you look at the offer terms for either card, you’ll see the following rules:

The new cardmember bonus may not be available to you if you have ever had this card or any other Chase for Business card without an annual fee. We may also consider factors pertinent to your business in determining your bonus eligibility.

As you can see, officially this means that you may not be eligible for the Ink Cash bonus if you have another no annual fee Chase business card, like the Ink Unlimited, and vice versa. However, you are eligible if you have any other Chase business card, including the Ink Preferred or Sapphire Reserve Business.

Now, it’s worth noting the word “may” in the terms, which is to say that you could be eligible if you’ve had the other card in the past, but it’s no guarantee. Generally if you’re not eligible for a bonus, you’ll receive a warning during the application process.

So my assumption would generally be that you have to choose between the Ink Business Cash and Ink Business Unlimited when it comes to earning the bonuses (though you can always apply for one of the cards and just forgo the bonus).

If you want to be approved for a Chase Ink card, there are some general restrictions to be aware of:

• These cards are subjected to Chase’s “5/24 rule,” meaning you typically won’t be approved if you’ve opened five or more new card accounts in the past 24 months (many business card applications don’t count toward that limit); that being said, there are increasingly data points that this is no longer enforced, so it seems to be a case of “your mileage may vary”
• You can apply for either card if you have a corporation or a sole proprietorship; many people don’t realize that a sole proprietorship makes you eligible for a business card
• While there’s no hard limit to how many Chase credit cards you can have, there is often a limit to how much total credit Chase will extend you
• Generally, I recommend only applying for one Chase business card every 30 days at most

Benefits: nearly identical protections

If you’re hoping the perks will break the tie between the Ink Business Cash and Ink Business Unlimited, they won’t. The two cards carry essentially the same protections, which are unusually good for no annual fee cards.

Rental car coverage

Both cards offer an auto rental collision damage waiver. Per the current guide to benefits, here’s how the coverage works:

• In the United States, coverage is primary when the vehicle is rented for business purposes; for personal rentals, coverage is secondary to your other insurance (and acts as primary if you have no personal auto insurance or other coverage)
• Outside the United States, where the benefit is available, coverage is primary

To take advantage of this, decline the rental company’s collision insurance and charge the entire rental cost to your card. Prior to renting, you should check with the benefits administrator (call the number on the back of your card) to verify your coverage. There aren’t many no annual fee cards offering rental car coverage, so I think that’s pretty remarkable.

Purchase and travel protections

Beyond rental coverage, both cards offer the following protections:

• Purchase protection for up to 120 days against damage or theft
• Extended warranty protection, extending eligible United States manufacturer’s warranties of three years or less by an additional year
• Baggage delay insurance, reimbursing emergency purchases of essential personal items (think toiletries, a change of clothes, chargers) when checked baggage is delayed more than six hours, at up to $100 per day for up to three days

Note that neither card offers trip cancellation or interruption coverage, so don’t count on these cards for that. You’ll want to read the cardmember agreement for exact terms, but these benefits have the potential to be extremely valuable.

How I’d choose: one card, both, or neither

With all of that on the table, let me share the framework I’d actually use for deciding between the Ink Business Cash and Ink Business Unlimited.

Get the Ink Cash if…

• Your business has real spending on internet, phone services, cable, or office supplies; even a modest monthly phone and internet bill at 5x points adds up fast
• You already have a card for everyday spending and want a card with strong bonus categories to add to the mix

Get the Ink Unlimited if…

• Your spending is spread out, without a dominant category, and you want one card that earns respectably on everything
• You want the simplest possible setup: one card, 1.5x points, no caps to track

Get both if…

If your spending covers both profiles, the cards complement each other perfectly. Use the bonus categories on the Ink Cash, and put everything else on the Ink Unlimited, while building up your points balance. That’s exactly how I’d use them.

The one caveat is the bonus eligibility language above, which may limit you to earning one of the two welcome bonuses, so choose your first card based on which earning structure matters more to you.

Skip both if…

If most of your business spending happens abroad, the 3% foreign transaction fees rule both cards out. Instead, consider the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.

If you’d rather earn transferable points without buying into the Chase ecosystem, The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (learn more) has no annual fee (Rates & Fees) and offers 2x Membership Rewards points on the first $50,000 spent each calendar year (and 1x points after that). Personally I have that card as well.

For pure cash back, it’s tough to go wrong with The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card (learn more), which has no annual fee (Rates & Fees) and offers 2% cash back on the first $50,000 of purchases each calendar year, 1% thereafter.

Bottom line

The Ink Business Cash and Ink Business Unlimited are two of the most rewarding no annual fee business cards out there, and the choice between them is really a question about your spending. The Ink Cash is all about the bonus categories, with 5x points categories that I value at an 8.5% return. The Ink Unlimited is more about everyday spending, earning what I value as a 2.55% return on everything.

Both currently offer massive, best-ever $1,000 welcome bonuses, both convert into full Ultimate Rewards points alongside a premium Chase card, and both are cards you can keep forever at no cost.

I have both cards, though admittedly I picked them up at a time when you could earn the bonus on both. While you can still apply for both cards nowadays, you can generally only earn the bonus on one card. If you’re picking just one card, look at your spending patterns, and decide which card will be more rewarding for your profile.

Do you have the Ink Business Cash, the Ink Business Unlimited, or both? What has your experience been?

The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (Rates & Fees), and The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card (Rates & Fees).

For Q3, you can earn 5x points on the first $1,500 spent on gas stations, public transit, EV charging, select live entertainment, and donations to United Way. Register here between June 15 and September 14, 2026.

Note that these same bonus categories are also valid for the Chase Freedom Card, which is no longer open to new applicants.

Why I love the Chase Freedom Flex Card

The Chase Freedom Flex Card is easily one of the best no annual fee cards out there, as it offers 5x points in rotating quarterly categories, for up to $1,500 of spending per quarter. Most people use this as a cashback card, meaning the 5x points really translates into 5% cashback in these categories.

The card has other bonus categories as well, as it offers 3x points (or 3% cash back) at drugstores and on dining.

The best part is that in conjunction with cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (review), Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card (review), or Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ (review), rewards earned on this card can be converted into premium Ultimate Rewards points, and be transferred to the Ultimate Rewards airline and hotel partners.

Since I value one Ultimate Rewards point at significantly more than one cent, that’s my preferred use of those points.

Chase Freedom Flex Q3 2026 bonus categories

For the third quarter of 2026, the Freedom Flex Card is offering 5x points on the first $1,500 spent on gas stations, public transit, EV charging, select live entertainment, and donations to United Way. As far as key dates go:

• You need to register between June 15 and September 14, 2026
• If you register, you can earn 5x points between July 1 and September 30, 2026

How to register your Chase Freedom Flex for 5x points

Registration is easy — just go to the registration page and enter your last name, billing zip code, and the last four digits on your card, and you’ll be registered.

What’s included for Q3 2026 bonus categories

It’s always worth understanding how the 5x points bonus categories on the Chase Freedom Flex are defined, since there are terms and exclusions, so let’s cover those details.

Gas purchases includes the following:

Merchants in this category sell automotive gasoline that can be paid for either at the pump or inside the station and may or may not sell other goods or services at their location. Merchants that do not specialize in selling automotive gasoline are not included in this category; for example, truck stops, boat marinas, oil and propane distributors, and home heating companies.

EV charging includes the following:

Merchants in this category sell electric vehicle charging services that can be paid at the charging station, via mobile app, account/subscription or an attendant, and the merchants may or may not sell other goods or services at their location. Merchants must use the electric vehicle charging MCC for transaction to be rewarded against. If electric vehicle charging services are offered for free by a merchant or are included in their services, but other services/goods require payment, the transactions will not be rewarded against. In the event, parking facility merchants, such as valet parking, airport parking, and parking garages, charge to the MCC that results in the highest sales volume, the transaction will not be rewarded against. Residential electric vehicle charging is not included in this category. Electric vehicle charging equipment purchases and servicing for any use, including residential or commercial, are not included in this category.

Public transit includes the following:

Merchants in this category include operators of passenger trains, buses, ferries, toll bridges and highways, and parking lots and garages. Merchants that provide transportation and related services are not included in this category, for example, airlines, hotels, car rental agencies, cruise lines, travel agencies, discount travel sites, vacation clubs, tour operators, bike or scooter rentals and car sharing. Taxis, Limousines, and rideshares such as Lyft or Uber are not included in this category.

Select live entertainment includes the following:

Merchants in this category sell tickets for live in-person entertainment such as major sporting events, zoos and aquariums, concerts, theatrical productions, museums, tourist attractions and exhibits, amusement parks, circuses, carnivals, bands, and entertainers. Ticket agencies selling on behalf of the entertainment venue are included. Some merchants that sell tickets for in-person entertainment are not included in this category; for example, movie theaters, bowling alleys, horse racing tracks, casinos, and dance hall/clubs. Purchasing from a hotel/concierge is not included nor excursions or purchases as part of a travel package.

United Way donations include the following:

To ensure your charitable donation is eligible for the 5% Cash Back reward, be sure to donate directly through United Way’s official channels. Find your local United Way using the link provided here: www.Unitedway.org. Certain local United Ways may not be eligible due to transaction processing procedures.

My take on Q3 2026 5x points categories

Everyone has different spending patterns, so will have different takes on the quarterly bonus categories. For my own purposes, I’d consider these to be moderately useful bonus categories, but not the most useful. In other words, I’ll get some value out of this, but I don’t think I’ll be maxing out points in Q3.

For me, gas stations and public transit are the two bonus categories that will be useful there. However, those are both things I don’t spend that much on, and for that matter, a majority of my public transit spending is abroad, where the card has foreign transaction fees. So I suspect I’ll get some value out of this, but won’t reach the $1,500 cap.

Lastly, while making a donation to United Way sounds nice, I don’t typically choose where to make a donation based on the number of points I can earn.

Bottom line

The Chase Freedom Flex is one of the best no annual fee cards out there, thanks largely to the ability to earn 5x points in rotating quarterly categories. With a new quarter being around the corner, Chase has just opened registration for its Q3 2026 bonus categories, so be sure to register.

Between July 1 and September 30, it’s possible to earn 5x points on gas stations, public transit, EV charging, select live entertainment, and donations to United Way. These are some pretty well rounded bonus categories, and it should be possible to get some value here. However, personally those aren’t categories I spend $1,500+ in per quarter, so they’re not the most useful for me, personally.

What do you make of the Q3 2026 Chase Freedom Flex bonus categories?

For what it’s worth, I had the Chase Sapphire Preferred back in the day, around 15 years ago, and it was my introduction into the Chase ecosystem. I held onto it all the way until 2016, when the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card (learn more) was introduced, and then switched over to that card.

I first applied and appreciated it for its reasonable annual fee, bonus categories, and travel protection, and loved using it for my dining and travel spending, and even took advantage of the rental car coverage once when I had an accident. So the card proved to be a great companion in my travel wallet, and it’s one that I continue to recommend.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Learn More

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 100,000 bonus points

Chase Sapphire Preferred value, up front math

Before getting into the individual benefits, here’s the short version, because the math on the Chase Sapphire Preferred card is unusually easy:

• The annual fee is $95
• The $100 annual Chase Travel hotel credit is easy to use, as you can book one hotel a year through the travel portal, even if it’s just one night, and that credit can potentially more than offset the annual fee in and of itself
• There’s an up to $120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS credit once every four years, plus a complimentary year of Apple TV
• The monthly DoorDash promo credits add up to $120 per year if you use them, though note that this only works for non-restaurants, so for things like grocery deliveries
• And the travel and rental car protections are essential for any frequent traveler; they might be worth nothing in a smooth year, and worth thousands when things go wrong

On top of that, the current limited time welcome offer is 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $5,000 within three months. I value Ultimate Rewards points at 1.7 cents each, so that’s roughly $1,700 of travel from the bonus alone. So the question isn’t really whether the card covers its fee. It’s whether the benefits fit how you actually travel and spend, so let’s go through them.

Where the Sapphire Preferred earns the most

The Chase Sapphire Preferred earns points at rates that compete with cards costing much more. And in categories that I personally find really valuable:

• 5x Ultimate Rewards points on travel booked through Chase Travel℠
• 3x Ultimate Rewards points on dining
• 3x Ultimate Rewards points on online grocery stores (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs)
• 3x Ultimate Rewards points on select streaming services
• 3x Ultimate Rewards points on gas stations and EV charging
• 3x Ultimate Rewards points on vacation home rentals with Airbnb, HomeAway, Homestay.com, Plum Guide, Vrbo, and Vacasa
• 2x Ultimate Rewards points on all other travel purchases
• 1x Ultimate Rewards points on all other purchases

Those streaming services include Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+, Netflix, Sling, Vudu, Fubo TV, Apple Music, Pandora, Spotify, and YouTube TV. If you’re paying for any of these, you’re earning 3x points just by using your Sapphire Preferred. Same goes for grocery delivery from services like Instacart (just not the big box retailers).

The gas station and EV charging category was added in June 2026, and it’s especially nice to have a personal Chase Ultimate Rewards card offering bonus points on gas station purchases. Same with vacation rentals — if your trips lean Airbnb or Vrbo rather than hotels, that spending now earns 3x too. If you ask me, this is actually a major advantage over the Chase Sapphire Reserve, as there’s no bonus on gas purchases on that card.

If you maximize these bonus categories correctly, points will rack up quickly.

How I redeem Ultimate Rewards points

The Chase Sapphire Preferred offers flexible rewards points. The card earns Ultimate Rewards points, which are valuable because you have options.

While you could use these points toward the cost of a travel purchase through the Chase Travel portal, getting a baseline of one cent per point, you can do even better. My favorite way to redeem these points is to transfer them to Chase’s excellent collection of airline and hotel partners. Most partners transfer at a 1:1 ratio. The one big exception as of June 2026 is World of Hyatt, where the transfer ratio is 4:3 on this card. This applies to all Chase Ultimate Rewards cards except the Chase Sapphire Reserve (both personal and business).

I won’t sugarcoat the Hyatt change. As I’ve covered in the past, I think transferable points are reaching a negative inflection point, as we’re increasingly seeing non-1:1 transfers. Still, even at 4:3, Hyatt transfers can make sense, and every other partner is unaffected. Also keep in mind that you can always rack up points on the Chase Sapphire Preferred, and as long as you have one version of the Sapphire Reserve, whether it’s personal or business, you can still transfer at a better ratio.

This is a way to get outsized value, whether you’re transferring points to World of Hyatt for a redemption at a five star Park Hyatt, or are transferring points to Air Canada Aeroplan for a first or business class award on a partner airline.

When you use your rewards this way, you can get way more than one cent of value per point. For example, you could redeem 35,000 to 75,000 World of Hyatt points per night for a stay at the Alila Ventana Big Sur, which includes all meals, when a paid night would ordinarily cost well over $2,000. Even at the 4:3 ratio, without access to 1:1 transfers, the math on that works out way better than one cent per point.

Prefer simplicity? You can use Points Boost to redeem through Chase Travel at 1.25-1.75 cents per point on select flights. Or if you need a hotel, get 1.5 cents per point for bookings with The Edit by Chase Travel℠.

Ultimately, you’ll never do worse than one cent per point. Strategically using transfer partners often gets you exponentially more value, though. Again, with the Sapphire Preferred, you have options.

The credits, ranked by how easily you’ll use them

Here’s how I’d rank the Chase Sapphire Preferred‘s credits and freebies by how easily you’ll actually capture the value — from the one that’s basically cash to the one you’ll only think about every few years.

$100 annual hotel credit (basically cash)

Each cardmember year, you get a $100 statement credit for hotel stays booked through Chase Travel, doubled from $50 as part of the June 2026 refresh. There’s no minimum spending required, so if you booked a $100 hotel you could get $100 back. This benefit kicks in during your first year with the card and resets each anniversary.

To use it, just log into Chase Travel, search for hotels, and pay with your card (use cash, not points, to get the credit). The statement credit posts automatically. Used even once a year, that single credit more than offsets the annual fee. I also appreciate that this is one annual credit rather than a semi-annual $50 credit, or anything like that.

My recommendation? Use the credit for an independent hotel where you’re not giving up loyalty points or elite benefits anyway, or that airport hotel stay where you wouldn’t value any extra perks. Or just use it any hotel that costs as close to $100 as possible.

DoorDash DashPass membership

The Sapphire Preferred includes complimentary DoorDash DashPass through December 31, 2027. With DashPass, you pay $0 delivery fees on eligible orders of at least $12 from restaurants or $25 from grocery stores. You also get one $10 monthly promo credit for non-restaurant orders (grocery, convenience stores), which adds up to $120 per year.

Personally, I value a DashPass, and I have a similar perk currently on the Chase Sapphire Reserve, and get a lot of value out of that. Being able to order grocery and convenient store purchases while getting a $10 credit helps with the math on those purchases as well.

One-year Apple TV subscription

New as of June 2026, the Sapphire Preferred 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, and since the card already earns 3x on select streaming services, the streaming story here is pretty strong overall.

This would ordinarily cost $99 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.

$120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS credit

New 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.

If you don’t already have one of these trusted traveler memberships, Global Entry or NEXUS is the membership to ideally get, since it includes TSA PreCheck. And if you already have a membership, you can put the credit toward someone else’s application fee when the renewal cycle allows.

I have a Global Entry membership, and I consistently renew that using the credit card perks, so I’ve never actually paid for it out of pocket. That allows me to breeze through Global Entry and TSA PreCheck.

The protections that pay off when things go wrong

This is the part of the Chase Sapphire Preferred you hope you never use. It’s also where the Preferred quietly earns its fee back many times over the one time something goes sideways.

Primary rental car insurance

This is one of the most valuable benefits on the Sapphire Preferred, and I mean that literally. The Sapphire Preferred offers primary collision damage waiver (CDW) coverage both in the US and abroad. Primary means you can use this coverage without filing a claim with your personal auto insurance first. Just decline the rental company’s expensive CDW and pay with your Sapphire Preferred.

What does this mean in practice? Coverage extends to most private passenger automobiles, minivans, SUVs, and even most luxury vehicles (though “expensive and exotic” cars are excluded). Authorized users are eligible for this benefit too, and as long as you’re paying for the rental. In fact, anyone authorized under the rental agreement is covered while driving.

The rental car protection has literally saved me over $10,000. I was rear-ended in a rental car once, and while thankfully no one was injured, the damage was significant. The claim was covered in full.

This benefit alone can justify the annual fee many times over if you ever need it.

Trip cancellation and interruption insurance

Along the same lines, life happens! If you need to cancel or cut short a trip due to a covered reason (illness, injury, severe weather, and more), the Sapphire Preferred covers up to $10,000 per person for prepaid, non-refundable travel expenses. This includes things like hotel bookings, tours, and flights you can’t get refunded otherwise.

Here’s a real-life example. A reader shared they used this benefit after their cardiologist diagnosed a serious heart condition and ordered them not to travel. They had booked a cruise costing over $17,000 and thought they’d be out the money. After filing a claim with Card Benefit Services, they received the maximum $10,000 payout.

These are things we often don’t think about. And of course we hope that our travels will go smoothly, but that doesn’t always happen.

The June 2026 refresh also added emergency evacuation coverage to the card. 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.

Trip delay reimbursement

When your flight is delayed 12 hours or requires an overnight stay, you can get up to $500 per traveler reimbursed for reasonable expenses like hotels, meals, and toiletries. You’ll need to request a “Common Carrier Statement” from your airline (most provide this via their website), then submit your claim through the Chase Benefit Administrator.

I’ve used this multiple times. Most recently, a flight from Boston back to Miami was cancelled due to weather, so we spent the night at the airport Hyatt Regency. I submitted my claim, including the airline statement (which came via email within hours of requesting it), and got reimbursed. I’ve also received reimbursement for lodging, subway tickets, taxi costs, and meals after a flight was cancelled.

The process can take a few weeks to a few months, but it works.

Lost luggage reimbursement

Before I had kids I rarely checked bags. Suffice it to say I think of luggage (and packing generally) very differently nowadays.

If your checked or carry-on bags are lost or damaged by the carrier, you’re covered for up to $3,000 per covered traveler. This is on top of whatever the airline pays, and covers the actual value of your belongings. So if you have to replace a high-end stroller at the start of your vacation, the Sapphire Preferred has you covered. Knowing we have up to $12K in replacement-value coverage when we travel as a family of four gives incredible peace of mind.

For baggage delay, Chase covers essential items, though the coverage is more limited than for lost bags. The full details will be in your cardholder agreement.

Other everyday perks

I’m cheating a bit here, because these Chase Sapphire Preferred benefits are all great individually as well.

Extended warranty protection

When you buy something with your Sapphire Preferred, the manufacturer’s US warranty is extended by one additional year on eligible warranties of up to three years. I use this rather than purchasing AppleCare for devices nowadays, because it’s so easy to use.

Coverage is up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per year. My experience filing claims has always been seamless and straightforward, with no lengthy negotiations about what was covered.

Purchase protection

I’ve never needed this myself, but it’s nice to know it’s there, when paying with the Sapphire Preferred. Eligible items are protected for up to 120 days against damage or theft. If something breaks or gets stolen shortly after you buy it, you can file a claim through the Chase Benefit Administrator for reimbursement. That’s the same group that handles the other benefit claims, and they’ve consistently been easy to work with.

No foreign transaction fees

You can use the Sapphire Preferred abroad without worrying about the 3% foreign transaction fees that many cards charge. Combined with the primary rental car coverage and 3x points on dining, this makes the Sapphire Preferred an excellent travel companion.

Free authorized users

The Sapphire Preferred lets you add authorized users at no extra cost. The biggest reason to do this in my opinion is for the primary rental car coverage benefit.

Generally I recommend each adult in a household apply for cards separately to best take advantage of welcome bonuses. But being an authorized user now won’t prevent you from earning a welcome bonus on a card later on. And sometimes it’s convenient to share an account with a family member.

Where the math breaks down

None of this is a dealbreaker, but a few of the perks of the Chase Sapphire Preferred look better on paper than they play out day to day. Before you apply, it’s worth noting that:

• The DoorDash credits are real, but they come $10 at a time, once a month, and only apply for non-restaurant orders; you can only pocket the full $120 if you’re ordering most months, and from non-restaurants
• The Global Entry credit is up to $120, but only once every four years, and many of us have several cards offering this perk
• There’s no lounge access here, so don’t apply for the card expecting it
• Redemptions are getting a touch trickier too; Hyatt now transfers at 4:3 on this card, and as I noted above, I think transferable points are at a negative inflection point more broadly, though the points are still flexible, though they’re just not as effortlessly rich as they were a couple of years ago.

So, should you get the Sapphire Preferred?

Yes, you should get the Chase Sapphire Preferred if:

• You travel at all and want real travel and rental car protections without paying a premium annual fee
• Your spending hits the bonus categories like dining, streaming, online groceries, and now gas, EV charging, and vacation rentals
• You want transferable points and a card you can keep for years as your Ultimate Rewards hub

Think twice about getting the Chase Sapphire Preferred if:

• Lounge access matters to you; you’ll then want the Sapphire Reserve or another premium card
• World of Hyatt is the centerpiece of your points strategy, as this card now transfers to Hyatt at a 4:3 ratio, while the Sapphire Reserve keeps the 1:1 ratio
• You’re loyal to a single airline or hotel program, where a co-branded card might earn that currency faster

Chase Sapphire Preferred FAQs

Bottom line: is the Sapphire Preferred worth it?

Here’s how I look at the math on the Chase Sapphire Preferred:

• The annual fee is $95.
• The hotel credit gives you $100 back immediately if you use it, and that’s more than the fee itself
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If you travel at all, use food delivery, or want flexible points that transfer to great partners, the Sapphire Preferred more than pays for itself. It’s a phenomenal card. There’s not a single better travel starter card out there. For that matter, it’s a card that even many who are experienced in miles & points love, given that the card’s value is hard to beat.

Fortunately our Air France flights to Paris (CDG) and Vienna (VIE) were excellent. We then spent a night at the Moxy Vienna Airport, and the next morning, boarded our Austrian Airlines flight to Skiathos. What was supposed to be a routine 90-minute flight ended up being anything but…

Our (great) flight attendant fell in the galley…

After a rather exhausting journey up until that point, we woke up early on Saturday morning, and figured we had it made, and would be in paradise within a couple of hours. Our 707-mile flight was scheduled to depart at 6:10AM and arrive at 9:05AM, so with a one hour time change, it was blocked at 2hr5min, with a flight time of 1hr30min.

We were seated in the first row of the plane, and the purser on this flight was an older gentlemen who was absolutely lovely. He had a great sense of humor, and I don’t think he had a single announcement where he didn’t make a joke (and let me clarify that the jokes “landed,” as he got constant laughs). Before departure, he joked that our flight time to Skiathos would be 3hr20min… and then corrected himself, saying he was just seeing if passengers were paying attention.

The captain was also awesome — Miles saw him when he took a bathroom break, and he said “look papa, it’s the pilot!” The captain heard it, and invited him to visit the cockpit on landing, which Miles was very excited about.

The flight was great, we started our descent, the cabin was prepared for landing, and we were going to be on the ground in Greece within 10 minutes. It was pretty bumpy on the approach, and the purser was just making final cabin preparations.

From one second to the next, the turbulence went from bad to worse. The one flight attendant walking down the aisle quickly sat down in a business class seat and buckled up, and at basically the same time, the purser fell to the ground. We heard him let out a loud grunt, heard a loud thud, and he crashed into the bulkhead, laying on his back. He was literally a foot from my… well, feet.

The other flight attendant audibly shrieked, and everyone in the cabin wanted to help, but it obviously wasn’t safe to get up. To be clear, he didn’t just fall slightly, but he was literally lying on his back in the galley. I was worried he had hit his head on the bulkhead, though he got up within seconds, and acted completely normal. I still worried if maybe he had a concussion and didn’t realize it, but that was the end of that drama.

We then had a go around… and another go around…

With the flight attendants safely strapped into their jump seats, I figured that would be the end of the drama, and we’d be on the ground shortly. One thing worth pointing out is that Skiathos Airport is a bit of an avgeek haven, given the very low approaches you often see, due to the short runway.

We approached runway 1, and as we descended through around 1,500 feet, we performed a go around. That’s obviously still a pretty high altitude, but we ascended quickly, and it was extremely bumpy.

We climbed up, and then entered a holding pattern, at which point the captain was on the PA to let us know what was going on. He explained that the weather in Skiathos wasn’t great, and visibility at the airport was below minimums right as we initiated our final approach, so we’d have to hold and wait for a bit.

At this point we entered a holding pattern for around 30 minutes, before trying another approach. I should point out that we were holding at around 4,000 feet, right in the thick of the clouds, so we were being thrown around quite a bit, and there was virtually no visibility (one passenger seated a few rows back even threw up).

At this point I’m thinking in my head “okay, typically you have 30+ minutes worth of extra fuel plus enough to get to your diversion point, so if we don’t make it this time, we might be diverting.”

This time around we approached in the opposite direction, landing on runway 19 rather than runway 1, because somehow visibility was less of an issue in the other direction. This time around we made it down to 100 feet… only to pull up again at the last minute.

We then diverted to Thessaloniki…

At this point I could tell we were flying in a straight line to another destination. A few minutes later the captain was back on the PA to explain the situation. He said that while the landing was looking better this time around, the tailwinds combined with the wet runway also put that approach below minimums.

He explained we’d be diverting to Thessaloniki (SKG), so that we could refuel, and then we’d regroup, and figure out our plan from there. The flight took around 20 minutes, and the views enroute were beautiful — you’d think there wasn’t any weather issue anywhere nearby!

We touched down in Thessaloniki at 9:56AM local time, 2hr27min after departing Vienna, so I imagine we didn’t have much fuel remaining at that point.

A refueling, and then another long(ish) flight to Skiathos…

On the ground in Thessaloniki, we had around six tons of fuel loaded onto the aircraft. The captain and purser did an incredible job looking after passengers — the captain provided constant updates while standing in front of the cabin facing passengers, while the purser also made frequent announcements.

In these kinds of situations, it’s all about communication. Obviously nobody thought the crew was at fault here, but people can get cranky in these kinds of situations, and their calm and constant communication made all the difference in keeping the mood onboard positive. Passengers felt grateful rather than frustrated. I also think for uneasy flyers, there’s something really reassuring about a calm pilot who constantly updates passengers on what’s going on.

We ended up being on the ground for around 80 minutes, and at 11:19AM we once again took off for Skiathos. The captain told us the flight time would be just 20 minutes, and that conditions had improved. We started our journey toward Skiathos, but then stopped our descent at 4,000 feet, and once again entered a holding pattern.

We were back in those same thick clouds we were in earlier, and got thrown around quite a bit. We first did one pattern east of the airport, and then held south of the airport. In the end, we spent 50 minutes in the air, before finally approaching runway 1.

To say that everyone onboard was holding their breath for a successful landing this time around would be an understatement. Sure enough, we touched down at 12:07PM, a little over three hours behind schedule, and the cabin erupted in cheers and clapping.

Despite all the drama, the captain kept true to his promise, and invited Miles up to the flight deck upon landing. Miles is a pretty huge avgeek for a three year old (I have no clue why!). 😉 When he walked into the cockpit he said “wow, the power” (referring to the throttles), and the captain even let him move the throttles forward. That was definitely the highlight of this trip for him so far.

I’ve gotta say, I know this whole outbound journey sounds kind of crazy to some people, and I would definitely do things differently in retrospect. That being said, I was initially dreading it because I was worried the kids were going to be screaming, I wondered how Jet would do with his first long haul flight, etc.

To my surprise, that ended up being a complete non-issue. I know parents tend to view their kids through rose colored lenses, but I’m not exaggerating when I say they barely made a peep on any of the flights. So at least that all worked in our favor. The kids felt no stress, and had a great time… heck, Jet slept through most of this flight.

Bottom line

Our Austrian Airlines flight from Vienna to Skiathos ended up being a bit more eventful than we were expecting. First the flight attendant fell on approach due to turbulence, something I’ve never seen before, in my millions of miles of flying.

I was expecting that would be the extent of the drama… until we had two go arounds, and then a diversion. Honestly, our younger son was resting most of the time, our older son found it kind of an amusing, and an avgeek, I’ll gladly take an extra complimentary approach or three. 😉 So I’ll put this more in the camp of being an adventure, rather than anything else.

By the way, it seems this Thessaloniki diversion isn’t even an isolated incident, as the same type of diversion happened just three weeks prior, on the same flight.

Ford and I are currently in Europe for an extended period of time, traveling with both of our sons, Miles and Jet, and other family. While we’ve traveled extensively with our older son, Miles, this is our first “real” major trip with our younger son, Jet, who is about to turn one year old (to me, there are just more downsides than upsides to traveling with super young kids, especially when they’re really easy kids at home, and you have loving family that’s also happy to stay with them).

I’d like to officially declare the outbound journey of our trip as the most stressful travel I’ve ever encountered. Of course this largely comes down to the pressure of wanting to do everything right for your family, plus the added complications of taking care of kids, traveling with five checked bags, etc. Everything is more high stakes when you travel as a family. If I had been traveling alone, I would’ve just said “screw it, we’ll try again tomorrow,” or something like that.

Anyway, in this post I’d like to talk about the first portion of the outbound journey. Sadly this isn’t even the only drama, as I’ll save the go arounds, diversion, and flight attendant falling to the ground for a separate post, as there’s a lot to cover. This is definitely one of those “when it rains, it pours” situations.

Before I even start, let me add one caveat — this is no way a complaint, as I accept full responsibility for what I booked, and the risks that entailed. If anything, this post is about giving credit to the amazing people along the way who helped us, and talking about the overall strategy of how to handle irregular operations.

A less than ideal routing from Miami to Skiathos

We’re kicking off our summer in Skiathos, Greece (JSI). That’s super easy to get to if you’re flying from Leeds (LBA) on Jet2 (and you can save up to £50 per person!), but a lot less easy to get to if you’re coming from Miami (MIA).

In the miles & points world, there are many of us who will book some itinerary in advance, and then try to optimize as the departure date approaches.

Basically, I had booked this ticket backwards — I booked a paid ticket for all of us to fly from Vienna (VIE) to Skiathos on Austrian, so I knew how we’d make the last segment of the trip work. The plan was to spend one night in Vienna, at the Moxy Vienna Airport, to leave a bit of a buffer.

A while back I locked in an itinerary from Miami to New York (JFK) in American first class, with a 4.5-hour layover, followed by an itinerary from New York to Paris (CDG) to Vienna in Air France business class. That was all booked on points, so was refundable up until departure.

My hope was to turn the Miami to New York to Paris to Vienna itinerary into a one-stop routing, ideally in a single ticket. In the past that would’ve been easy enough, but with how miles & points have evolved, unfortunately nothing better opened up… not even in economy! Obviously this itinerary entailed some risk, because if the Miami to New York flight had a serious delay or cancelation, I’d have to regroup, and find a better way to get to Vienna.

Again, I fully acknowledge we were taking some risk here, but my general thought was that we could have a delay of well over two hours on the first flight, and still make the connection, despite having to recheck bags.

Some might say “well you should’ve built in an extra buffer.” Yes, if the goal was to be as certain as possible that nothing goes wrong, that would’ve made sense. But when you’re traveling with five pieces of luggage and two little kids, the goal is also to have as few overnights along the way as possible. So it was a calculated risk, which I accept full responsibility for…

Things were looking good… until they weren’t

On the day of travel, everything was looking good initially for our Miami to New York flight. The inbound flight showed as arriving on-time, we went to check-in, we checked our bags, and we headed to the Admirals Club by gate D15. For that matter, just about all flights from Miami to New York had been operating on-time that day.

Within five minutes of arriving at the Admirals Club, I received a push notification through the American app that our flight was delayed by 30 minutes. Okay, no biggie, I thought. I appreciate American now shows the reason for delays… that’s progress!

I wasn’t too worried, initially. I checked inbound flights into JFK, and I saw there was some flow control, but it showed the situation as improving rather than getting worse, and on top of that, Flightradar24 showed few cancelations into New York. I figured if anything, it would just make our connection more pleasant, since we wouldn’t have to wait so long.

Minutes later, the flight was delayed by another 24 minutes. I tried to remain optimistic, but was now starting to get a little nervous.

Nothing calms my nerves quite like some Admirals Club vegetable minestrone (I kid!), so I helped myself to a bowl of that. As I started walking back to my seat, I got a push notification — the flight showed as canceled, and my heart started to sink.

Now, I won’t get into conspiracy theories as the reason for canceling a not full flight when other flights were operating on schedule (rather than just delaying it, if needed), but let’s just take that at face value.

UGH, talk about bad luck! What concerned me most about the cancelation wasn’t finding another way to get to Vienna, but instead, the fact that we had five checked bags on a flight that was now canceled, and American isn’t exactly known for great baggage handling!

Honestly, I should’ve known something like this would happen. Two years ago when we took Miles on his first long haul trip, we also faced major operational issues, which created a completely chaotic trip. I think we just have a curse when it comes to first kids trips, because everything has otherwise been smooth since then.

Karol in the Admirals Club was delightfully helpful

On the plus side, I was about two feet from the customer service counter in the D15 Admirals Club when the push notification came in, so stopped by with soup in hand, to try to get rebooked. That timing ended up being critical, since there was quickly a queue of a dozen people behind me, and the inventory on the next flight disappeared within minutes.

I was helped by Karol, and my gosh, she couldn’t have been lovelier. I often give American a hard time for its service culture because I know how good it can be, and how good it consistently used to be. Back in the day, Admirals Club agents were often referred to as “AAngels,” because they just offered such a high level of service. Karol is an absolute AAngel, and represents the best of American.

Within minutes, Karol rebooked our whole family on the next flight to New York (we were downgraded and spread out across the plane, but who cares?!). I explained to Karol the checked bag situation, plus the overall pickle I got myself into. While we of course had all the essentials in our carry-ons, we had checked car seats, and most of the clothes and other things our kids would need during the trip.

Karol was incredible. She said the bags should be rechecked automatically on the next flight. She explained that she didn’t want to manually retag them in a way that would increase the odds of them being lost, but she said she’d keep checking on them (the app wasn’t showing their status at this point). She encouraged me to check back with her frequently, which I did.

Long story short, one by one, the bags were automatically updated to correctly show as being tagged on the right flight. However, one bag didn’t seem to want to retag correctly.

It’s just so nice when you have Admirals Club agents who don’t make you feel like an inconvenience when you ask them for help. Like, it’s sad that this is remarkable, but it is. She was so lovely that she even told me when she was about to have a 15-minute break, and told me to check back with her afterwards. Heck, when I told her I’d go to the gate, she jotted down my phone number and told me she’d call me to let me know if the bags made it or not (and I feel like if they hadn’t, she would’ve helped me with making something work).

Eventually we boarded our flight to New York, which was at least on-time. This left us with a 1hr58min layover in New York, where we’d need to claim our bags, and then check them in again.

Once at my seat, the American app finally showed proper baggage tracking, suggesting all bags had been loaded onto the plane.

As promised, Karol even called me, and left me a voicemail, to let me know all our bags had made it onto the flight (we were taxiing at this point, so I couldn’t answer).

The kindness and professionalism Karol showed really stuck with me, and now I know where I’m going for customer service in the future when at MIA.

Things were looking absolutely amazing… until…

I knew things would be a little tight, but I figured if everything went as planned, we’d be fine. Sure enough, our flight left on-time. We were scattered all over the plane and downgraded, with the kids split up, but at least we were on our way.

We departed on-time, and landed more or less on-time. Hey, this is probably really going to work out, I can’t believe it! We arrived a little after 9:30PM, and headed down to baggage claim. While the bags took a little longer than I would’ve liked, one by one, they made it. Well, at least the first four did. The last bag showed as being “unloaded from plane in JFK,” but not as having “arrived at baggage claim in JFK.”

The bag had allegedly been unloaded at 9:47PM, the same time the other bags were unloaded. However, over 10 minutes after the other bags arrived, the baggage belt stopped, and there was no sign of the last bag. WHAT ON EARTH?!?! Go figure this was also the bag that had most of Miles’ clothes in it, which is probably also the most important bag for the purposes of this trip.

This is where the most stress of the journey started

At this point, the situation almost started to feel comical. Should we all just run to make our Air France flight, and abandon our last bag? I knew if we did, there’s no way we’d actually see it in Europe this trip, especially since this ticket was just from Miami to New York. Or should we just not take the Air France flight and regroup? Then we’d almost certainly forfeit our paid flight from Vienna to Skiathos two days later, which would also kind of suck.

I had to make a quick decision. I have to be honest — at this point I had lost hope in my head, and just had such a depressed feeling about the whole situation. Still, I knew the clock was ticking, and I had to put in my best effort. So I sent the whole family to Air France’s Terminal 1, and told them to hurry to check-in.

The missing bag was carry-on sized (though had liquids), and I figured worst case scenario, I could just board directly with that.

American has a baggage office at JFK, and it had a queue that was probably a dozen people long, with one person working. I would never cut a line, so I figured I’d have to try something else. There’s also a little podium by baggage claim, with a couple of employees. To put it politely, I haven’t generally found the American baggage agents at JFK to be folks who go above and beyond.

Out of breath and with my heart beating fast, I explained the situation to one of the employees. He looked it up, and he could of figure out what happened. Basically, while the bag had been placed on the rebooked flight, the tag wasn’t updated correctly, so it probably never made it to the carousel. He explained it was probably in the back room, and just needed to be scanned correctly, so it could be released.

“Thank you so much! Is there any chance you could help me with that?”
“You have to go to the baggage office.”

I kept asking politely, but he said nothing else could be done, and that he couldn’t do anything. I started running over to the baggage office, and along the way, I ran into an American employee with a walkie-talkie. Probably talking at about 500 words per minute, I explained to him what happened. I think he could sense my desperation.

“Please, please, please, is there any chance you could just radio to someone in the back room about this bag tag number, and see if they can bring it out? I know this isn’t your fault or your job, but you’d literally save our vacation, and you don’t know how much of an impact it would have.”

“I can try,” he said. He radioed his supervisor with the bag tag number. “Thank you so much, you don’t know how much I appreciate you.” He was then getting ready to walk off, and I said “please, could you just stay with me for one more minute? I’m so sorry, I owe you more than I can put into words.”

Well, two minutes later, guess what was brought out of the back room? THE BAG!!! Honestly, I couldn’t believe I had pulled that off. I quickly asked if I could take a picture of his name tag so I could write a note of gratitude for what he did, and while I’ll include his full name in an email to American, I want to express my appreciation to T. MERXXXX (he only had his first initial, and those are the first three letters of his last name). I sprinted over to Terminal 1, and I couldn’t believe we’d have a happy ending!

Air France was flawless as usual, but that wasn’t the end of the drama on the outbound portion of this trip.

Bottom line

Suffice it to say that our first long haul trip as a family of four didn’t exactly go smoothly. We had a flight delay, then a flight cancelation, and then one of our bags randomly ended up in some back room at JFK, with little time to spare.

This was honestly the most stressful flying experience I’ve had, primarily because of how high stakes it was due to the family aspect. But really my takeaway is the people along the way who saved the day, and went above and beyond. Karol in the Miami Admirals Club, and T.M. in the JFK American baggage claim area, you two saved the day.

Like I said, I feel like there’s some sort of a curse here, because this was only the start of the drama on the outbound portion of our trip.