Here’s the latest miles, points, travel, and deals news:
JetBlue United Partnership Launches
JetBlue TrueBlue and United MileagePlus have rolled out reciprocal earning and redemption across both airlines’ networks starting October 23, 2025.
TrueBlue members earn 5x points per dollar spent on United flights (plus an additional 3x for Mosaic members), calculated from base fare and carrier-imposed surcharges excluding taxes, though this is slightly less than the minimum 6x points you’d earn on direct JetBlue bookings.
You can now redeem TrueBlue points for United flights through JetBlue’s website, but award availability appears limited—particularly for Polaris business class seats, following United’s recent pattern of restricting partner award space.
United MileagePlus members can also earn and redeem miles on JetBlue flights, though specific earning rates haven’t been detailed yet.
Additional features launching in early 2026 include revenue booking across both airlines with cash or miles, reciprocal perks like priority boarding and preferred seating, and United’s MileagePlus Travel transitioning to JetBlue’s Paisly platform.
JetBlue will also provide United with access to slots for up to seven daily roundtrips from the new Terminal 6 at JFK starting in 2027.
New Chase Southwest Transfer Bonus
Chase is offering a 25% transfer bonus to Southwest Rapid Rewards through November 6, 2025, meaning 1,000 Chase points become 1,250 Southwest points instead of the usual 1:1 ratio.
Even with the bonus, the math doesn’t quite work out—Chase points are generally more valuable than Southwest points, so you’re still losing value in the transfer even with the 25% boost, which only makes sense if you need to top off your account for a specific redemption.
Air France Adds Las Vegas
Air France will launch seasonal nonstop service between Paris Charles de Gaulle and Las Vegas starting April 15, 2026, with flights operating three times weekly on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Sundays using Airbus A350-900 aircraft.
Las Vegas becomes Air France’s 19th U.S. destination, with the route joining recent expansions that include a new lounge at Chicago O’Hare, La Première first class service to Los Angeles, and a planned Miami lounge opening in 2028.
American’s First A321XLR Arrives
American Airlines just took delivery of its first Airbus A321XLR—aircraft N303NY—which touched down at Dallas/Fort Worth after an 11-hour flight from Hamburg, making it the first XLR delivered to a U.S. carrier.
The aircraft can fly up to 4,700 nautical miles and will feature 20 Flagship Suites with privacy doors, 12 premium economy seats, and 123 economy seats, all equipped with Bluetooth-enabled 4K entertainment—matching the Boeing 787-9’s premium product.
American ordered 50 of these jets and plans to deploy them from New York JFK for transatlantic routes to secondary European cities, from Philadelphia for North Atlantic service, and from Miami into deep South America, replacing the A321T on transcontinental routes like JFK-LAX while opening markets that can’t support widebody aircraft.
Delta Invests in WestJet
Delta, Korean Air, and Air France-KLM have finalized their purchase of a combined 25% stake in WestJet, with Delta acquiring 15% for $330 million, Korean Air taking 10% for $220 million, and Air France-KLM purchasing 2.3% from Delta for $50 million.
The investment follows Delta’s pattern of buying equity in key partners like Air France-KLM, Virgin Atlantic, and LATAM, and comes after a proposed transborder joint venture between Delta and WestJet fell through due to regulatory concessions.
Bilt Partners With Metropolis
Bilt Rewards members can now earn at least 1 point per dollar spent on parking at over 4,200 Metropolis locations nationwide by linking their accounts through the Bilt app, with the AI-driven system automatically recognizing vehicles so you can skip tickets and payment terminals entirely.
Bilt plans to eventually allow point redemptions for parking (though the rate hasn’t been announced), and while the partnership expands Bilt’s neighborhood ecosystem beyond rent and dining.
Spirit Explores Merger Options
Bankrupt Spirit Airlines confirmed it’s in active talks with multiple companies about a potential merger or takeover, with analysts suggesting Frontier and JetBlue would benefit most from Spirit’s exit — though Spirit has already failed merger attempts with both since 2022.
If emerging from its second Chapter 11 bankruptcy independently, Spirit plans to shrink 20% by 2026, dump all Pratt & Whitney-plagued neo aircraft for older reliable models, and rebrand from bare-bones budget carrier to “value-seeking” option despite consumers now favoring full-service airlines.
