Here’s the latest miles, points, travel, and deals news:
Bilt Adds Etihad Guest
Bilt Rewards just added Etihad Guest as a transfer partner at a 1:1 ratio in increments of 1,000 points, marking the fourth new partner in the past six months following Southwest, Japan Airlines, and Qatar Airways.
You can redeem Etihad Guest miles on partner airlines including American, Air Canada, Air France, KLM, and Scandinavian Airlines using distance-based award charts — think 67,000 miles plus $61 for American first class from New York to Los Angeles, or 45,000 miles plus $29 for SAS economy from New York to Copenhagen.
Before you transfer, know that Etihad Guest has brutal cancellation penalties: you’ll lose 25% of your miles if you cancel more than 21 days out, 50-75% closer to departure, and everything if you cancel within 24 hours — and transfers are irreversible.
Citi Strata Elite 100K Online Bonus
The Citi Strata Elite card is now offering 100,000 points publicly online after $6,000 spend in 3 months, making it much easier to snag this welcome bonus since you previously had to visit a branch or request an application from a Citi banker.
The catch is that you’ll need to spend $2,000 more than the previous in-branch offer, which only required $4,000 in spending over the same 3-month period.
Controller Staffing Issues Spread Nationwide
Air traffic controller staffing shortages tied to the government shutdown spread Tuesday to Nashville (126-minute delays), Chicago O’Hare, Dallas Fort Worth, Newark, and Teterboro after leaving Hollywood Burbank with zero controllers Monday, as the Transportation Department reports increased sick calls among controllers approaching a week without pay.
Monday’s Burbank incident saw flights delayed up to four hours past the airport’s 10:00 PM voluntary curfew, with San Diego’s SOCAL TRACON remotely handling traffic for 12 airlines including Southwest, Alaska, JetBlue, American, United, and Delta.
Hilton Points 100% Bonus
Hilton Honors is running a 100% bonus promotion on purchased points through November 21, 2025, which brings the cost down to 0.5 cents per point when you buy at least 5,000 points in a single transaction—and you can purchase up to 160,000 base points per account per calendar year, netting you 320,000 total points for $1,600 if you max it out.
Wyndham United Transfer Doubled
Wyndham Rewards is doubling its transfer rate to United MileagePlus through November 2, 2025, meaning you’ll get 2,400 United miles for every 6,000 Wyndham points instead of the usual 1,200 miles—essentially cutting the ratio from 5:1 down to 2.5:1.
You can only transfer in specific increments of 6,000, 16,000, or 30,000 points (getting you 2,400, 6,400, or 12,000 miles), and while the value math usually doesn’t work out since Wyndham points are worth about 0.9 cents compared to 1.2 cents for United miles, this could be useful if you’re sitting on extra hotel points and just need to top off your account for a specific award booking.
United Teams With Instacart
United MileagePlus members can now score $0 delivery fees on Instacart orders placed right before, during, or shortly after domestic flights — and once you activate the offer, you’ll get seven days of free delivery to stock up your vacation rental, grab forgotten items, or have groceries waiting when you touch down at home.
New Instacart users can bank 5,000 bonus miles by completing four orders of $35 or more within eight weeks, while existing users get 500 miles just for linking accounts and placing one $35+ order — plus another 5,000 miles if you sign up for an annual Instacart+ membership and keep it for at least 30 days.
American’s Fall Lounge Menus
American Airlines launched new fall menus across its Flagship and Admirals Club lounges. The chef-driven dishes come from James Beard Foundation-affiliated chefs including Tiffany Derry at DFW, Brandon Kida at LAX, Timon Balloo at MIA, and Randy Rucker at PHL. You’ll find items like puffed millet granola, chicken pineapple yakitori, jerk-roasted chicken thighs, and heirloom corn grits.
Flagship lounges added seasonal dishes across the network. These include cider mustard chicken in Dallas, braised beef tips in Chicago, seared salmon in Los Angeles, pumpkin spice banana cafecito cake in Miami, and pumpkin bread French toast in Philadelphia.
Admirals Clubs introduced globally inspired comfort food like Argentinian BBQ beef (LAX, Orange County, San Francisco), Korean BBQ pork (Dallas, Austin), Cantonese sweet and sour chicken meatballs (Chicago, St. Louis, Toronto), and butter curry chicken (New York, Newark). Select lounges also have Magnolia Bakery cupcakes through November.
Allegiant’s Million-Dollar Surprise
Allegiant is handing out nearly $1 million in travel vouchers this week as part of Customer Appreciation Week, with pilots personally delivering $250 vouchers at select gates and flight attendants surprising passengers mid-flight with the giveaway announcement.
You can use the $250 toward any Allegiant flight, seat selection, baggage, priority boarding, rental cars, hotels, or even upgrade to Allegiant Extra premium seating with extra legroom and dedicated overhead bin space.
KLM Flight Diverts After Death
KLM Flight 601 from Amsterdam to Los Angeles diverted to Yellowknife Airport on October 5, 2025, after a 34-year-old female passenger died during the 13-hour flight covering 6,300 kilometers.
Cabin crew and medical professionals onboard attempted life-saving measures, and first responders continued resuscitation efforts after landing, but the passenger was pronounced dead at the hospital despite these combined attempts.
