Here’s the latest miles, points, travel, and deals news:
Chase Q1 2026 Categories
Chase Freedom Flex and legacy Chase Freedom cardholders can earn 5% cash back on dining, Norwegian Cruise Line bookings, and American Heart Association donations from January 1 through March 31, 2026.
You’ll earn the elevated rate on up to $1,500 in combined purchases across all three categories, and you must activate by March 14, 2026, to get rewards retroactively.
Freedom Flex cardholders will actually earn up to 7% back on dining since the card already offers 3% on restaurants year-round, plus the 4% quarterly bonus.
The American Heart Association category marks the first time Chase has featured a specific charity in its rotating categories, though purchases must be made directly through the organization’s official channels rather than local chapters.
Singapore Spontaneous Escapes
Singapore Airlines just dropped its monthly Spontaneous Escapes promotion with 30% off award flights for January 2025 travel if you book by December 31.
The discount applies automatically when you search on singaporeair.com or the mobile app, dropping awards like New York to Frankfurt in business class from 89,000 to 62,300 miles one-way.
You’ll find deals on routes between the U.S. and Asia or Europe, including Los Angeles to Singapore for 30,800 economy miles, Seattle to Singapore for the same price, Los Angeles to Tokyo-Narita for 29,750 economy miles, and Newark to Singapore for 59,150 premium economy miles.
The catch is you can’t cancel or change these bookings, and availability disappears fast since awards are first-come, first-served
Hawaiian Joins Oneworld April 2026
Hawaiian Airlines will officially become a oneworld alliance member on April 22, 2026, the same day it transitions to Alaska’s “AS” flight code and moves onto a unified passenger service system with its parent company.
The move means travelers with elite status in other oneworld programs—like American AAdvantage, British Airways Executive Club, or Qantas Frequent Flyer—will be able to earn and redeem miles on Hawaiian-branded flights and access lounges when flying the carrier.
Hawaiian flyers already have oneworld benefits through the new Atmos Rewards program that launched after Alaska’s acquisition, so the April 2026 integration primarily expands reciprocal benefits for members of other alliance airlines who book Hawaiian’s Hawaii routes.
Alaska Launches Free Starlink Wi-Fi
Alaska Airlines has begun rolling out complimentary Starlink Wi-Fi across its fleet, starting with four Horizon Air Embraer E175s already flying, with Boeing 737s getting the upgrade in early 2026 and Boeing 787s later that year for a complete fleetwide installation by early 2027.
The service is free for all Atmos Rewards members (Alaska’s rebranded loyalty program that’s free to join) through a T-Mobile partnership, allowing you to connect multiple devices simultaneously with gate-to-gate coverage that supports streaming, gaming, and high-speed uploads and downloads—a significant improvement over the airline’s current Intelsat 2Ku system.
JetBlue’s First Class Arrives
JetBlue will start installing its new “Mini Mint” first class cabin in June 2026, with the rollout ramping up to 20 aircraft per month starting in August 2026, and the project should be complete by the end of 2027 across the airline’s non-Mint fleet.
The new premium cabin will use Collins Aerospace MiQ seats (the same seats American Airlines uses in domestic first class) with configurations ranging from eight seats on A220s to 12 seats on A320s and A321s, featuring 36-37 inches of pitch compared to the reduced 30 inches in standard economy.
To squeeze in first class without removing seats, JetBlue is cutting economy legroom from its current industry-leading 32 inches down to 30 inches, which allows the airline to maintain similar total seat counts while adding a premium product that passengers will actually pay extra for.
JetBlue Drops JFK-Amsterdam Flights
JetBlue has pulled the plug on its New York JFK to Amsterdam route after launching the service in August 2023, though Boston to Amsterdam flights will continue operating.
The route struggled with lower load factors compared to competitors Delta and KLM, with particularly weak performance during the winter and spring months.
Boston now dominates JetBlue’s European network with nine routes planned for summer 2026 (Amsterdam, Barcelona, Dublin, Edinburgh, London Gatwick, London Heathrow, Madrid, Milan Malpensa, and Paris) compared to just four from JFK (Dublin, Edinburgh, London Heathrow, and Paris).
Spirit Gets $100M Lifeline
Spirit Airlines secured a $100 million agreement with its creditors on December 15, with $50 million available immediately and the rest tied to reorganization conditions or a potential strategic transaction.
The airline will continue selling tickets and operating flights normally despite being in its second Chapter 11 bankruptcy since August, following an earlier emergence from bankruptcy protection in March.
Recent months have been brutal for Spirit, which furloughed nearly 1,800 flight attendants, refocused its network on core markets, and just reached tentative labor agreements with pilot and flight attendant unions.
Frontier Expands Atlanta Service
Frontier is launching six new routes from Atlanta starting this month, with five heading to international destinations like St. Martin, Nassau, Puerto Vallarta, San José del Cabo, and Providenciales, plus one domestic route to Milwaukee.
Flights to St. Martin and Nassau already started on December 6 and December 13, while the remaining four routes kick off between December 19-20 with service ranging from weekly to twice weekly.
Frontier CEO Steps Down
Frontier Airlines president James Dempsey has been named interim CEO, immediately replacing Barry Biffle, who served in the role since March 2016 and will stay on for two weeks in an advisory capacity.
The airline declined to provide details about Biffle’s departure, which wasn’t previously announced, though he’s credited with leading Frontier through the pandemic and expanding operations despite intense competition in the ultra-low-cost carrier segment.
