Happy Wednesday. Here’s the latest miles, points, travel, and deals news:
American Axes Basic Economy Earnings
Starting December 17, American Airlines will no longer award miles or Loyalty Points to AAdvantage members flying basic economy — a sharp departure from the previous policy that earned 2 miles and Loyalty Points per dollar spent.
The change applies to all new bookings made from today forward, meaning you’ll need to shell out for main cabin fares if you want to earn anything toward your status or mile balance.
American’s basic economy previously offered one of the most generous policies among U.S. carriers, but now it mirrors Delta’s restrictive Main Basic with a full earnings blackout — while United at least still awards Premier Qualifying Points (though not Premier Qualifying Flights) on basic tickets.
Southwest Partners With Turkish Airlines
Southwest Airlines announced a partnership with Turkish Airlines starting next month, marking its sixth international airline tie-up alongside Condor, Icelandair, China Airlines, EVA Air, and Philippine Airlines.
You’ll be able to book connecting itineraries through Turkish Airlines’ website and third-party sites like Expedia that combine Southwest flights to major U.S. hubs with Turkish’s long-haul service to Istanbul and beyond, with your bags transferring seamlessly between carriers.
The partnership will initially focus on 10 U.S. gateways among Turkish’s 14 U.S. destinations (Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington D.C.), with Southwest planning to eventually enable Rapid Rewards earning and redemptions on partner flights through its own booking channels.
Chase Cuts Edit Hotel Value
Chase quietly removed its guaranteed 2-cents-per-point redemption rate for The Edit hotels when booking with Points Boost through the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, replacing it with “up to 2 cents per point” language.
The change means Sapphire Reserve cardholders can no longer count on a fixed redemption value when using points for The Edit hotel bookings, potentially getting less value than previously expected.
Chase implemented this update without advance notice to cardholders, though transferring Ultimate Rewards points to partners like World of Hyatt still often delivers better value than booking through the Chase portal.
Rove Miles Math Your Mesa
Rove Miles launched a “Match Your Mesa” campaign that matches former Mesa Homeowners Card members’ stranded rewards 1:1 up to 5,000 miles per person after Mesa unexpectedly shut down without warning and limited redemptions to statement credits only.
You’ll need to submit a form with screenshots of your Mesa rewards balance and most recent statement, and Rove will post the matched miles to your account within two weeks of verification.
The promotion caps at two million total miles across all participants, so you’ll want to move quickly since this will likely be popular among affected cardholders.
DCA Admirals Club Gets Facelift
American Airlines is renovating its Concourse D Admirals Club at Reagan National Airport in early 2026, expanding the space to 10,000 square feet with 50% more capacity.
The upgraded lounge will feature the airline’s newer design aesthetic with tan wood, brown leather, and a fireplace, plus views of the U.S. Capitol and Washington Monument.
The current Concourse D club will temporarily close during construction, pushing members to the airline’s Concourses C and E lounges or nearby credit card lounges like the Amex Centurion Lounge and Capital One Landing.
Spirit-Frontier Merger Talks Return
Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines are back in merger discussions for the third time in recent years, with Bloomberg reporting a deal could be announced this month as Spirit burns through roughly $3 million daily and fights to survive its second bankruptcy filing in a year.
The talks come just days after Spirit secured $100 million in emergency financing—half available immediately and half tied to submitting a reorganization or sale plan—and after Frontier abruptly fired CEO Barry Biffle, who had previously expressed skepticism about absorbing Spirit’s financial struggles.
A combined Spirit-Frontier would create the fifth-largest U.S. airline using nearly identical ultra-low-cost models, potentially facing less regulatory scrutiny under the current administration than the DOJ’s successful 2023 blocking of Spirit’s proposed JetBlue merger.
United App Gets Real-Time Updates
United Airlines rolled out new app features including a “virtual gate” that shows which boarding groups are being called and displays a progress bar tracking how many passengers have already boarded.
The app now recommends nearby United Club lounges based on your gate location and current crowding levels, starting at Chicago O’Hare with expansion to other airports planned for 2026.
Additional updates include enhanced bag tracking with real-time location updates at each checkpoint, personalized travel reminders for documentation and accessibility services, and detailed arrival information like local weather and ride-hailing pickup instructions.
Spirit Joins Bilt’s Lineup
Bilt Rewards has added Spirit Airlines as its newest 1:1 transfer partner, marking the first time Spirit has partnered with any points program.
The program now features 18 airline and 5 hotel transfer partners, plus you can redeem points at 1.25 cents each through Bilt’s travel portal—the highest fixed-value redemption rate among programs that don’t require a credit card.
New Bilt 2.0 credit cards are coming in January that will let you earn points on both rent and mortgage payments.
