Here’s the latest miles, points, travel, and deals news:
New Chase Transfer Bonuses
Chase just launched transfer bonuses to four partners through late October, including 30% to all three Avios programs (British Airways, Iberia, and Aer Lingus) and 80% to IHG One Rewards, though you’ll want to skip IHG entirely since buying points directly is cheaper than transferring even with the bonus.
The Avios bonus shines for UK to US flights, where you can book off-peak economy from London to New York for 25,000 points plus taxes with BA — that’s significantly lower in fees compared to Virgin Atlantic, Alaska, or American, making it solid for families or anyone needing a convenient nonstop.
Amex Flying Blue Transfer Bonus
American Express is offering a 20% bonus when you transfer Membership Rewards points to Air France/KLM Flying Blue through October 31, 2025, which means you’d only need 50,000 points for a business class award between the US and Europe (normally 60,000 miles).
The bonus stacks with Flying Blue’s monthly Promo Rewards for even better value—this month’s discounted economy awards from cities like New York, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, Portland, Phoenix, and San Francisco drop to just 18,750 miles (25% off the standard 25,000), requiring only 15,000 Membership Rewards points with the transfer bonus.
Barclays Pulls AAdvantage and Hawaiian Cards
Barclays has pulled its American Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines credit cards from its website as of October 1, 2025 — the same day HawaiianMiles officially merged into Alaska Airlines’ Atmos Rewards program.
The discontinued cards include the AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard, Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard, and Hawaiian Airlines Business Mastercard, with application links now returning 404 errors or redirecting to the Atmos Rewards page.
Current cardholders can continue using their Barclays cards with existing benefits, though American Airlines cardholders should expect their accounts to transfer to Citi by 2026 as part of Citi’s expanded exclusive issuer arrangement with the airline.
75K AAdvantage Business Bonus
The Citi AAdvantage Business World Elite Mastercard is offering 75,000 American Airlines miles after you spend $5,000 in the first five months, with the $99 annual fee waived for the first year.
This matches the card’s best-ever bonus, though the spending requirement is a bit higher than past iterations — but you get five months to complete it and can’t qualify if you’ve received a bonus on this card in the past 48 months.
Chase IHG 80% Bonus
Chase is offering an 80% transfer bonus to IHG One Rewards through October 22, which boosts the ratio from 1:1 to 1:1.8.
You’re better off skipping this entirely since IHG points are currently selling for 0.5 cents each, meaning you can buy them for half a cent per point while transferring with this bonus still values your Ultimate Rewards at less than one cent per point.
British Airways Adds St. Louis Route
British Airways will launch four-times-weekly summer seasonal service between London Heathrow and St. Louis starting April 19, 2026, using a Boeing 787-8.
The route makes British Airways the only airline flying directly between the UK and St. Louis, although the city is investing at least $4.5 million in subsidies over three years to make it happen.
This gives St. Louis its second transatlantic route after Lufthansa’s Frankfurt service, with the British Airways-American Airlines joint venture expected to fill planes through connecting passengers from across the region.
Frontier Platinum Status Challenge
Frontier launched a Platinum Status Challenge, which requires a $99 fee and 12,500 Elite Status Points earned within 90 days (versus the normal 50,000-point requirement). Enrollment is available through December 31, and the status is valid through December 31, 2026.
Platinum members get unlimited companion travel with the ability to change companions per flight, free checked bags and carry-ons for everyone on the booking, complimentary premium seat selection, UpFront Plus upgrades beginning 12 hours before departure, First Class upgrade eligibility starting early 2026, Group 1 boarding, and no change or cancel fees.
Porter Boosts Winter Flights
Porter Airlines is launching four new winter routes starting in late January and early February 2026: Ottawa to Miami (3x weekly from January 24), Vancouver to Phoenix (daily from February 2), Montreal to Nassau (3x weekly from February 5), and Ottawa to Phoenix (3x weekly from February 7).
The airline is increasing capacity by up to 25% during peak winter travel periods on existing sun routes, including Hamilton-Fort Lauderdale, Ottawa-Grand Cayman, Ottawa-Liberia, Ottawa-Puerto Vallarta, Toronto Pearson-Cancun, Toronto Pearson-Fort Lauderdale, and Toronto Pearson-Liberia.
The Vancouver to Phoenix route marks Porter’s first transborder service from the West Coast, while the Ottawa routes to Miami and Phoenix connect to American Airlines hubs as part of their new codeshare partnership, and the Montreal to Nassau service represents Porter’s first Caribbean flight from Montreal.
American Eagle Gets Interior Upgrade
American Airlines is retrofitting all two-class American Eagle aircraft with new interiors that include high-speed WiFi, power ports throughout the cabin, and refreshed seat covers matching what you’ll find on the airline’s new 787-9P and A321XLR jets, with the upgrades rolling out on newly delivered E175 and CRJ900 aircraft this fall before being installed on existing CRJ700, CRJ900, E170, and E175 planes.
The visual refresh brings dark blue leather first class seats with vertical stitching, two-tone blue economy seats, and brown headrests in premium cabins, with the first upgraded aircraft (CRJ900 N639NN) already flying across American’s five regional partners—wholly-owned Envoy Air, PSA Airlines, and Piedmont Airlines, plus SkyWest and Republic Airways—though Piedmont’s 50-seat E145s won’t get the new interiors.
