Happy Thursday. Here’s your miles, points, travel, and deals news for November 7, 2024:
Deals and Points News
New Virgin Awards Tool: Virgin Atlantic has replaced its previous calendar search with the Reward Seat Checker tool, which now displays dynamic award pricing starting at 6,000 points plus $73 for economy and 29,000 points plus $255 for business class between East Coast cities and London-Heathrow. The updated system marks the lowest-priced “saver” awards with red labels and offers month-long calendar views, though the tool only works for Virgin-operated flights and no longer supports partner airline searches like Delta or Air France.
Alaska-Lyft Miles Bonus: Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan members can earn 1,000 bonus miles by linking their account to Lyft and completing one qualifying ride costing at least $15 by December 3, 2024
Finnair Avios 50% Off: Through November 20, 2024, Finnair Plus is offering its largest-ever discount on purchased Avios with tiered savings ranging from 35% off for 5,000-19,000 Avios purchases up to 50% off when buying 75,000-200,000 Avios. At the maximum discount tier, members can purchase up to 200,000 Avios for €2,100 (~$2,286), resulting in a cost of 1.14 cents per Avios—down from the standard rate of 2.1 cents per Avios.
Marriott Points Sale 45%: Marriott is offering a targeted bonus of up to 45% on points purchases through December 23, bringing the cost to as low as 0.86 cents per point with an increased annual purchase limit of 150,000 points. Members buying 20,000+ points get an extra 1,000 bonus points, though login is required to see individual bonus targeting.
Marriott Last Minute Deals: Marriott Bonvoy members can save 20% off standard rates worldwide for stays from November 16 to December 1, 2024, when booked by Sunday and at least 5 days in advance at select hotels.
Lidl Amex Offer Returns: A new targeted Amex Offer is available through December 31, 2024, providing 20% back on in-store Lidl purchases (up to $10 back) for both consumer and business American Express cards, valid only at participating U.S. locations excluding mobile app purchases.
Best Western Amex Offer: New Amex Offer gives $100 statement credit after $500 spend at Best Western/SureStay Hotels in U.S./Canada through December 31, 2024, with direct booking required. The offer applies across Best Western’s 4,500 global properties.
United Miles Sale 100%: Through November 21, 2024, United MileagePlus is offering targeted bonuses up to 100% on purchased miles, with the best rate being 1.88 cents per mile when buying at least 40,000 pre-bonus miles up to 250,000 total miles per calendar year (including bonuses) at a maximum cost of $4,703.13.
Travel and Other News
BA Cuts Dallas Service: British Airways will end London Heathrow (LHR) to Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) flights from March 30, 2025, and reduce London-Miami service from twice-daily to once-daily, due to ongoing issues with Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines affecting their Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet. The route changes will be covered by American Airlines, which will add a fifth daily DFW flight in BA’s former time slot and pick up the dropped Miami frequency.
Spirit Cuts 24 Routes: Spirit Airlines will eliminate 24 routes between November 2024 and March 2025, with major impacts at Charlotte, Dallas-Fort Worth, Fort Lauderdale and Los Angeles airports each losing at least three routes. The airline will simultaneously add seven new routes, including four seasonal Mardi Gras routes from New Orleans starting February 20, 2025 (to Columbus, Indianapolis, Memphis, and San Antonio) and three year-round routes from Atlanta starting in April/May 2025 (to Columbus, San Antonio, and Indianapolis).
Air Canada’s Summer Expansion: Air Canada will significantly boost its Summer 2025 operations with over 100,000 weekly seats to Europe and 160,000 to the US, including new routes from Vancouver to Nashville (May 1-Oct 23), Montreal to Cincinnati (May 22-Oct 14), and Toronto to Jacksonville (starting May 22, 2025). The carrier will launch new European services including Montreal to Naples and Porto, resume Ottawa-London Heathrow flights (March 31-Oct 23), restart Prague service, add Toronto-Stockholm frequencies, and increase capacity on existing routes with up to 75,000 daily domestic seats across 50 Canadian airports.
Avelo Expands Two Hubs: From Wilmington (ILM), Avelo launches nonstop flights to Fort Myers (RSW) and Hartford (BDL), operating Thursdays and Sundays, while simultaneously establishing a new base at Hartford’s Bradley International Airport with four immediate routes to Charlotte/Concord (USA), Wilmington (ILM), Daytona Beach (DAB), and Orlando/Lakeland (LAL), plus upcoming service to Houston (HOU), Cancun (CUN), and Montego Bay (MBJ).
Airline Legend Baldanza Dies: Former Spirit Airlines CEO Ben Baldanza, who pioneered ultra-low-cost air travel in the US, has passed away at 62 after battling ALS. As Spirit’s CEO from 2005-2016, he transformed the airline through unbundled fares and continued influencing the industry through teaching, board positions, and podcasting using AI voice technology until his final days.
AA-Finnair Codeshare: American Airlines and Finnair will add codeshare connections to 13 Mexican destinations from American’s Dallas hub, including Cancun, Mexico City, and Los Cabos, while Finnair simultaneously expands its U.S. presence with increased frequencies to Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Seattle in 2025.
Hilton Expands In Italy: Hilton will open two new hotels in Spring 2025 – the 122-room DoubleTree Naples Oriente near Royal Palace and the 124-room Hampton Rome St Peter’s near Vatican City, both featuring gyms and strategic tourist-friendly locations.
