Here’s the latest miles, points, travel, and deals news:
FAA Orders Flight Cuts Friday
The FAA will slash flight capacity by 10% at 40 major U.S. airports starting Friday, November 7, citing air traffic control safety concerns as the government shutdown hits its 36th day.
You’ll see cuts start at 4% Friday, then ramp up to 5% Saturday, 6% Sunday, and finally hit 10% next week at these airports: Anchorage (ANC), Atlanta (ATL), Boston (BOS), Baltimore/Washington (BWI), Charlotte (CLT), Chicago Midway (MDW), Chicago O’Hare (ORD), Cincinnati (CVG), Dallas Love Field (DAL), Denver (DEN), Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), Detroit (DTW), Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Honolulu (HNL), Houston Bush (IAH), Houston Hobby (HOU), Indianapolis (IND), Louisville (SDF), New York JFK (JFK), Newark (EWR), Las Vegas (LAS), Los Angeles (LAX), Memphis (MEM), Miami (MIA), Minneapolis (MSP), New York LaGuardia (LGA), Oakland (OAK), Ontario (ONT), Orlando (MCO), Philadelphia (PHL), Phoenix (PHX), Portland (PDX), Salt Lake City (SLC), San Diego (SAN), San Francisco (SFO), Seattle (SEA), Teterboro (TEB), Tampa (TPA), Washington Dulles (IAD), and Washington National (DCA).
The cuts could eliminate up to 1,800 flights and over 268,000 airline seats, with United confirming it will target regional flying and non-hub domestic routes while keeping long-haul international and hub-to-hub operations unchanged.
International flights are completely exempt from the capacity reductions, so you won’t see any cuts to overseas routes.
The shutdown has forced 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 TSA agents to work without pay, with the FAA already 3,500 controllers short of targeted staffing levels even before this mess started.
Airlines are offering flexible refund policies for anyone traveling during this period, even if your specific flight isn’t affected by the cuts.
Chase Hyatt Partnership Gets Upgrade
Chase and Hyatt just announced they’re expanding their credit card partnership in 2026, which includes launching at least one new co-branded credit card (details are still under wraps, but you can expect it to be a premium offering based on past surveys).
Starting mid-2026, “top spending” Chase Sapphire Reserve and Sapphire Reserve for Business cardmembers will automatically receive World of Hyatt Explorist status — the mid-tier elite status that gets you room upgrades, late checkout, bonus points on stays, and other perks.
More luxury Hyatt brands like Park Hyatt and Alila will join The Edit by Chase Travel portal, giving you access to additional high-end properties through that platform.
Bilt Joins Rakuten Shopping Portal
Those rumors I shared earlier are now official: Rakuten has added Bilt points as a new earning option starting November 6, 2025.
For the first six months, you’ll earn one Bilt point for every cent of cash back you would’ve received — so if a purchase earns $10 cash back, that’s 1,000 Bilt points instead. After that intro period, only Bilt Silver, Gold, and Platinum members keep that 1:1 rate, while regular members drop to earning 50 Bilt points per dollar of cash back.
You’ll need to link your Rakuten account through the Bilt app, select Bilt points as your payout method, and then shop normally to receive your points with each quarterly Rakuten payout.
British Airways and IAG Airlines Add Starlink
You’ll be able to stream, video call, and browse for free on British Airways, Iberia, and LEVEL starting in 2026 thanks to new Starlink Wi-Fi agreements across all three carriers — with BA and Iberia promising gate-to-gate service and speeds up to 450 Mbps download and 70 Mbps upload (LEVEL expects 150-450 Mbps download).
The satellite internet will work over oceans and polar regions using Starlink’s low-Earth-orbit constellation, meaning you can actually stay connected on transatlantic flights instead of dealing with the usual mid-ocean dead zones.
Don’t expect it on every plane immediately though — the rollout will take multiple years as aircraft get retrofitted, and two other IAG airlines (Aer Lingus and Vueling) haven’t announced any Starlink plans yet.
United Partners with Lyft
You can now earn United MileagePlus miles on your Lyft rides after linking your accounts in the app, with rates ranging from 1x miles on standard rides up to 4x miles on pre-scheduled airport trips, 3x miles on Extra Comfort and premium rides (plus non-scheduled airport runs), and 2x miles when using your company business profile for standard ride types.
New Lyft riders can score 1,000 bonus miles by signing up, connecting their MileagePlus account, selecting United as their rewards partner, and completing 2 rides within 30 days—and starting in early 2026, you’ll be able to redeem your miles directly for Lyft rides through the app and get automated flight alerts with ride reminders.
While this adds United to Lyft’s growing partner list alongside Alaska Atmos, Bilt Rewards, and Hilton Honors, Bilt might still be your best bet since those points transfer 1:1 to United anyway (plus Alaska and Hilton), giving you more flexibility—but you can always switch your Lyft rewards partner anytime in the app.
Spirit Cuts Five More Cities
Spirit Airlines is pulling out of Milwaukee, Phoenix, Rochester, St. Louis, and Bucaramanga (Colombia) this January, with the four U.S. cities getting axed on January 8 and Colombia service ending January 13.
The cuts eliminate nine routes total — including BGA-FLL, MKE-DTW, MKE-LAS, MKE-MCO, PHX-DTW, PHX-FLL, ROC-MCO, ROC-FLL, and STL-FLL — representing about 1% of Spirit’s seats while leaving most routes with alternative carrier options (though BGA-FLL and ROC-FLL lose all air service).
This brings Spirit’s bankruptcy exits to 18 destinations since filing for Chapter 11 in August, with the carrier planning a 20% schedule reduction in 2026 as it returns over half its Airbus fleet to lessors and shifts focus to core hubs like Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, and Orlando while pursuing merger talks.
