Here’s your miles, points, travel, and deals news for November 7, 2023:
Book JetBlue Mint with Qatar Avios
You can now book JetBlue’s Mint business class for reasonable rates with Qatar Avios.
Qatar uses a distance-based chart for its partners, which is below.
The best deal is from Boston to Dublin for only 38,750 Avios since it is right below the 3,000-mile distance threshold.
It’s also really easy to book online via Qatar Airways website and you can easily find award space by searching fare code “I” via ITA’s Matrix’s Monthly View (enter routing code “C:B6” and extension code “F bc=i”).
I booked my wife on a round-trip Mint flight for only 77,500 Avios + $51.10 in taxes and fees. I also took advantage of a 30% transfer bonus from Citi ThankYou to Qatar Airways. The bonus Avios is awarded by Qatar, not Citi, so you have to transfer the full amount needed unless you want to wait a few days for the bonus Avios to appear in your account.
Partner Award Chart
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miles | Economy | Premium | Business | First |
| 0 to 650 | 6,000 | 9,000 | 12,500 | 24,000 |
| 651 to 1,151 | 9,000 | 12,500 | 16,500 | 33,000 |
| 1,152 to 2,000 | 11,000 | 16,500 | 22,000 | 44,000 |
| 2,001 to 3,000 | 13,000 | 25,250 | 38,750 | 51,500 |
| 3,001 to 4,000 | 20,750 | 41,250 | 62,000 | 82,500 |
| 4,001 to 5500 | 25,750 | 51,500 | 77,250 | 103,000 |
| 5501 to 6500 | 31,000 | 62,000 | 92,750 | 123,750 |
| 6501 to 7,000 | 36,250 | 72,250 | 108,250 | 144,250 |
| 7,001+ | 51,500 | 103,000 | 154,500 | 206,000 |
For specific routes, here’s how many Qatar Airways it takes to fly in JetBlue’s Mint:
38,750 Qatar Avios:
- Boston (BOS) to Dublin (DUB), Los Angeles (LAX), Las Vegas (LAS), San Diego (SAN), San Francisco (SFO), and Seattle (SEA).
- New York (JFK) to Los Angeles (LAX), Las Vegas (LAS), San Diego (SAN), San Francisco (SFO), and Seattle (SEA).
62,000 Qatar Avios:
- Boston (BOS) to London (LHR and LGW), Paris (CDG), and Amsterdam (AMS).
- New York (JFK) to London (LHR and LGW), Paris (CDG), and Amsterdam (AMS).
Deals and Points News
- 50% transfer bonus from Citi ThankYou to Accor Live Limitless. The normal ratio is 2 ThankYou points to 1 Accor point, but with the bonus, it’s 2 ThankYou points to 1.5 Accor points.
- Turkish Airlines’ Miles&Smiles released their weekly award promotion for 50% off economy awards for Chicago and Luxembourg for travel booked on November 7 and 8th, for travel between now and March 31, 2024 (excluding 12/11/2023 to 1/15/2024), which means you can book Chicago to Istanbul for only 15,000 miles.
- LifeMiles has a 160% bonus (1.27 cents per mile) on purchased miles when you purchase at least 21,000 miles between now and November 14th. This allows you to book a one-way business class flight to Europe for about $800 + taxes and fees.
New Amex Offers:
- Uber for 50% back on purchases for up to $25 back until 12/31/2023.
- Apple Pay for $5 back on a $40+ transaction up to 3 times for a total of $15 back until 1/1/2024.
Travel News
- American Airlines massively reduced its route network from Austin (AUS) by reducing their direct destinations from 46 to 21.
- Southwest is exploring the option of adding redeye flights, which would be a nice option when flying from the West Coast back to the Midwest and East Coast.
- Hilton Grand Vacations announced an acquisition of Bluegreen Vacations Corporation for $1.5 billion deal, which will add 48 resorts to its current portfolio of 150 locations worldwide.
- Hyatt announced the construction of new hotels in Mexico to open in 2025 and 2026: Park Hyatt Cancun, Grand Hyatt Mexico Santa Fe in Mexico City, Grand Hyatt Los Cabos, and Hyatt Place Cancun Airport.
- Korean Airlines will add premium economy starting 2024.
- EVA Airlines placed an order for 18 A350-1000s and 15 A321neos to modernize its fleet.
