Happy Tuesday. Here’s the latest miles, points, travel, and deals news:
Hilton Elite Status Gets Revamped
Hilton Honors is overhauling its elite status program for 2026, and you’ll see some significant shifts — both good and bad depending on where you stand.
You’ll have an easier time reaching Gold and Diamond status starting January 1, 2026, with Gold now requiring just 25 nights, 15 stays, or $6,000 in spending (down from 40 nights, 20 stays, or 75,000 points), while Diamond drops to 50 nights, 25 stays, or $11,500 in spending (down from 60 nights, 30 stays, or 120,000 points).
A brand-new Diamond Reserve tier is launching that requires 80 nights or 40 stays plus $18,000 in spending, and you’ll get guaranteed 4PM late checkout at all properties, priority upgrades over regular Diamond members, 120% points bonus, access to premium clubs, and one confirmable upgrade reward per year (with a second one at 120 nights or 30,000 bonus points instead).
Rollover nights are being eliminated after 2025, so any excess nights you earn beyond your current tier in 2025 will count toward 2026 status, but that’s the end of the road for this benefit.
Lifetime Diamond members will keep their status but won’t be bumped up to Diamond Reserve, meaning they’ll now have a tier above them for the first time — a downgrade in upgrade priority even though they maintain their current perks.
Homewood Suites and Spark by Hilton properties will start earning just 5x points per dollar spent instead of 10x, cutting your earning rate in half at these limited-service brands.
Singapore Spontaneous Escapes
Singapore Airlines just dropped its monthly KrisFlyer Spontaneous Escapes sale, offering 30% off award tickets across economy, premium economy, and business class for bookings made through November 30, 2025, and travel between December 1-31, 2025.
You can snag some serious deals, including Singapore to Bali, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, or Surabaya for just 15,400 miles in business class, Singapore to Ho Chi Minh City, Manila, Phnom Penh, or Phuket for 17,500 miles in business class, and Singapore to Perth or various Indian cities (Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad), Dhaka, and Kathmandu for 31,500 miles in business class.
There’s also a transatlantic option with Frankfurt to New York available for 62,300 miles in business class or 39,900 miles in premium economy, plus Los Angeles to Tokyo Narita for 56,350 miles in premium economy.
Keep in mind these awards are completely non-changeable and non-refundable once booked, but you can transfer points to KrisFlyer from Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One, Chase Ultimate Rewards, or Citi ThankYou if you need to top up your account.
Emirates Orders Starlink, More Planes
Emirates will install Starlink WiFi across all 232 Boeing 777 and A380 aircraft by mid-2027, starting with the first commercial flight on November 23, 2025, and ramping up at a pace of roughly 14 aircraft per month (with A380s getting the treatment starting February 2026).
The service will be completely free across all cabins with one-click access, delivering ground-speed internet that lets you stream, game, and make video calls throughout your flight — though Boeing 777s get two antennae while A380s will be the first in the industry to sport three.
Separately, Emirates just ordered 65 additional Boeing 777-9s, bringing its total 777X order to a staggering 270 aircraft worth $38 billion at list prices, with deliveries scheduled through 2038 and options to convert to the 777-8 or the not-yet-existent 777-10.
The 777X remains seven years behind schedule with certification now expected in 2027, but Emirates clearly isn’t sweating the delays given its current order book of 367 new aircraft including 52 A350-900s, 35 Boeing 787s, and 10 freighters.
Allegiant’s New Routes
Allegiant is launching 30 new routes between February and June 2026, including service to three brand-new cities: La Crosse, Wisconsin (with flights to Mesa Gateway and Orlando Sanford); Columbia, Missouri (connecting to Orlando Sanford and Destin-Fort Walton Beach); and Philadelphia (serving Des Moines, Knoxville, and Grand Rapids), plus the airline’s return to Trenton, New Jersey with routes to Fort Lauderdale, Punta Gorda, and St. Pete-Clearwater.
Gulf Shores International gains five new connections to Omaha, Huntsville, Oklahoma City, Louisville, and Springfield-Branson, while John Wayne Airport adds five routes to Mesa Gateway, Pasco (Tri-Cities), Appleton, Grand Rapids, and Cincinnati.
Fort Lauderdale picks up four new routes from Trenton, Chicago Rockford, Rochester, and Albany, while Hollywood Burbank adds service to Des Moines and Indianapolis.
Rounding out the expansion: Myrtle Beach gains routes to Dayton and Elmira; Central Illinois connects to Mesa Gateway; Key West links to Columbus (Rickenbacker); and Denver adds service to Destin-Fort Walton Beach.
Pilot Avoids Additional Prison Time
Joseph Emerson, a former Alaska Airlines captain who attempted to shut off both engines on Horizon Air Flight 2059 in October 2023 by pulling fire-suppression handles at 31,000 feet while deadheading in the cockpit jump seat, served 10 months in prison but will serve no additional time behind bars.
The federal judge in Portland sentenced him to time served, three years of supervised release, 600 hours of community service, and $60,000 in restitution after accepting a plea deal that reduced the original 83 counts of attempted murder to a single felony count of interfering with flight crew members—state prosecutors had already dropped attempted murder charges in favor of reckless endangerment and probation.
Emerson admitted he’d taken psychedelic mushrooms days before the incident and was experiencing a mental health crisis with insomnia and hallucinations, leading the judge to conclude his actions stemmed from an acute, drug-triggered mental health episode rather than deliberate intent to harm others, and he’s since launched a mental health non-profit to support pilots struggling with similar issues.
