Here’s the latest miles, points, travel, and points news:
Bilt Mortgages Launch 2026
Bilt will start awarding points on mortgage payments in early 2026 through a partnership with United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), which happens to be the nation’s largest mortgage lender.
UWM is putting $100 million into Bilt as part of this deal, and the company now sits at a $10.75 billion valuation.
Here’s the catch: Bilt hasn’t revealed how many points you’ll actually earn per dollar of mortgage payment, and those details won’t come until early next year when the program officially launches.
Unlike rent payments where you can use your Bilt Mastercard regardless of your landlord, this mortgage rewards setup only works if you have a loan through UWM — not with other lenders.
Bilt says it plans to expand beyond UWM to partner with additional mortgage servicers down the road, but for now, this is exclusive to UWM borrowers.
Marriott’s New Stay Bonus
Marriott Bonvoy just launched its “Celebrate 2025” promotion where you can earn 2,025 bonus points per paid stay between October 28, 2025, and January 10, 2026, with a cap of three stays (that means 6,075 total bonus points if you max it out).
If you’re staying at Marriott Bonvoy Outdoors properties, you can snag an additional 2,000 bonus points per stay for a total of 4,025 points per stay, though you’ll need to register before your first eligible stay and remember that award stays and Cash + Points bookings don’t count.
Chase Ends Emirates Partnership
Chase will stop allowing Ultimate Rewards transfers to Emirates Skywards on October 16, 2025, marking the latest blow to a program that’s already devalued its Citi and Amex transfer ratios to 1000:800, slashed first-class award availability, and hiked surcharges on fifth freedom routes.
Capital One and Bilt remain the only 1:1 transfer partners with Emirates, though that likely won’t last long given the airline’s apparent strategy of squeezing transfer partners for higher rates.
Air France-KLM Cuts ITA Ties
Air France-KLM and ITA Airways are ending their frequent flier partnership on November 15, 2025, cutting off Flying Blue and Volare members from earning miles, redeeming awards, and using elite benefits across both airlines starting November 16.
The only exception is if you’re flying an ITA-operated flight with an Air France or KLM flight number—you’ll still earn Flying Blue miles in those cases (and vice versa for Volare members on codeshare flights going the other way).
ITA Airways left SkyTeam on April 30, 2025, and is now moving to Star Alliance where it’ll join the Lufthansa Group network that includes Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, and Brussels Airlines.
Qatar Airways Amex Offer
You can score a $200 statement credit when you book Qatar Airways flights through Amex Travel by spending at least $850, with the offer expiring December 31, 2025.
The deal is available on various American Express consumer and business cards, but you’ll need to book directly through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel app — flights booked directly with Qatar Airways or flight + hotel packages don’t qualify.
Finnair Grounds Aircraft Over Cleaning
Finnair grounded eight Airbus A321 aircraft—more than a quarter of its short and medium-haul fleet—after discovering that cleaners used water to wash seat covers, potentially destroying the fire-retardant coating required by aviation safety regulations.
The grounding is impacting at least 20 flights daily and stranding thousands of passengers, as the seat manufacturer revealed it hasn’t properly assessed whether water cleaning affects the fire protection, leaving Finnair with no choice but to keep the planes out of service until the situation is resolved.
Strata Elite Gets Private Dinners
The Citi Strata Elite just added complimentary access to The Supper Club’s dining series — bypassing the usual $7,500 to $10,000 annual membership fee — with events launching October 15 at Craig’s in Los Angeles (featuring Nancy Silverton), November 12 at The Corner Store in New York City, and expanding to additional cities in January 2026.
You’ll want to jump on the RSVP fast since these intimate chef-driven dinners have extremely limited availability and fill up on a first-come, first-served basis.
Avelo Axes Three Routes
Avelo Airlines is pulling back its East Coast footprint by axing three routes and removing one aircraft from Raleigh-Durham International Airport after abandoning the West Coast entirely in July.
The cuts include Raleigh-Durham to Southwest Florida International Airport (ending January 6th), Raleigh-Durham to Wilmington Airport (ending December 1st), and Long Island MacArthur Airport to Lakeland Linder International Airport (ending November 29th).
