Happy Monday. Here’s your miles, points, deals, and other news for July 28, 2025:
Citi Brings Back American Airlines
Citi has permanently reinstated American Airlines AAdvantage as a transfer partner for ThankYou Points, marking the issuer’s return to the premium travel credit card space with the launch of the new Citi Strata Elite card.
This partnership makes Citi the only credit card issuer to offer points transfers to American Airlines, available exclusively on premium cards including the Citi Strata Elite ($595 annual fee), Citi Strata Premier ($95 annual fee), and legacy Citi Prestige ($495 annual fee).
The transfer ratio is 1:1 with no maximum limit, though no-annual-fee cardholders like those with the Citi Double Cash or Citi Strata can only access AAdvantage transfers by combining rewards with an eligible premium card.
Meanwhile, Citi has also expanded transfer partner access to nearly all airline and hotel partners for no-annual-fee ThankYou Points cards, previously limited to just Choice Privileges, JetBlue TrueBlue, and Wyndham Rewards.
However, no-annual-fee cardholders face reduced transfer ratios of 1:0.7 for most airline partners and diminished hotel transfer rates, with Choice Privileges dropping from 1:2 to 1:1.4 and Wyndham Rewards falling from 1:1 to 1:0.7.
This exclusive American Airlines partnership gives Citi a competitive advantage against major issuers like American Express and Chase, while the expanded transfer options provide more flexibility for budget cardholders despite the reduced conversion rates.
Citi Launches Premium Travel Card
The new Citi Strata Elite card finally arrives with a $595 annual fee, marking Citi’s long-awaited entry into the premium travel credit card space as the successor to the discontinued Citi Prestige card.
You can earn 80,000 ThankYou points after spending $4,000 in the first three months when applying online, or 100,000 points with the same spending requirement when applying in-branch at Citi locations.
The card offers over $800 in annual statement credits including $300 for hotel stays through Citi Travel, $200 in “Splurge” credits for brands like American Airlines and Best Buy, $200 for Blacklane chauffeur service, and $120 for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck applications.
Unique among premium cards, the Strata Elite provides four annual Admirals Club passes for American Airlines lounges, plus Priority Pass Select membership with guest privileges for both primary cardholders and authorized users who pay a $75 annual fee.
Earning rates heavily favor Citi’s travel portal with 12 points per dollar on hotels, car rentals and attractions, 6 points per dollar on airfare, and an innovative 6 points per dollar at restaurants during “CitiNights” (Friday and Saturday evenings from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.), dropping to 3 points per dollar for other restaurant purchases and 1.5 points per dollar on everything else.
The card includes access to The Reserve by Citi Travel collection of luxury hotels with perks like complimentary breakfast, $100 experience credits, and room upgrades, plus it’s issued as a Mastercard World Legend with exclusive dining and event access globally.
Current Prestige cardholders can keep their existing cards and still apply for the Strata Elite welcome bonus, while the heavy emphasis on Citi’s travel portal for maximum rewards may limit appeal for travelers who prefer booking directly with airlines and hotels.
Citi Launches Premium Hotel Program
Citi has introduced The Reserve by Citi Travel, a luxury hotel collection exclusively for Citi Strata Elite℠ Card holders through Citi Travel with Booking.com, competing with American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts and Chase’s The Edit.
The program offers daily complimentary breakfast for two, free Wi-Fi, a $100 experience credit, early check-in, late checkout, and room upgrades when available at 4.5- and 5-star hotels worldwide.
This launch accompanies Citi’s travel card refresh featuring three new Strata cards: the entry-level Citi Strata℠ Card, mid-tier Citi Strata Premier℠ Card, and premium Citi Strata Elite card competing with Platinum and Sapphire Reserve.
Unlike Amex FHR and Capital One’s Premier Collection using proprietary platforms with hand-selected properties, The Reserve operates through Booking.com, offering potentially more hotels but less curated exclusivity.
Altitude Reserve Gets Massive Overhaul
U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve cardholders are receiving letters about major changes taking effect December 15, 2025, including a $5,000 monthly cap on mobile wallet purchases earning 3x (then dropping to 1x), down from the current unlimited earning structure.
The card’s redemption value will drop from 1.5 cents per point to just 1 cent per point for travel bookings through the US Bank Travel Center or deposits to checking accounts, representing a devastating 33% devaluation that could be a deal-breaker for many cardholders.
You’ll now need to book travel through the US Bank Travel Center to use the annual $325 credit, rather than automatically earning it on any travel and dining purchases as you do currently.
The changes include new transfer partners for airline and hotel loyalty programs (though no details on which partners or transfer ratios yet), plus enhanced earning rates of 10x on hotels and car rentals and 5x on flights when booking through the US Bank Travel Center.
The $5,000 monthly mobile wallet cap will still allow most cardholders to earn 180,000 points annually if maxed out, and you can still earn uncapped 3x on travel by inserting your card instead of tapping.
JetBlue’s TrueBlue Partner Passport Challenge
JetBlue launched the TrueBlue Partner Passport Challenge, offering up to 7,500 bonus points through October 28 when you complete activities with five different partners including Dunkin’, Avis/Budget, TrueBlue Dining, TrueBlue Shopping, and Airport Rewards.
You’ll earn 500 bonus points for each completed challenge, which range from simply opting into Dunkin’ partnership emails to making a $25 dining purchase or $50 shopping purchase through their respective portals.
Complete all five challenges and you’ll score an additional 5,000 bonus points on top of the individual 500-point rewards, making this a straightforward way to rack up points without leaving your usual spending routine.
Spirit Furloughs 270 Pilots
Spirit Airlines will furlough approximately 270 pilots beginning November 1st and downgrade 140 pilot positions starting October 1st as part of efforts to improve financial stability following its March bankruptcy emergence.
The budget carrier cites the need to operate more efficiently and better align flight staffing schedules as it works to return to profitability after its $3.8 billion JetBlue merger fell through in early 2024.
Hawaiian A330s Getting Premium Economy
Hawaiian Airlines will add premium economy cabins to its Airbus A330 fleet as part of comprehensive retrofits planned over the next few years, Alaska Air Group executives confirmed during last week’s earnings call.
The upgrades will include more lie-flat business class seats, refreshed interiors, enhanced amenities, and the new premium economy section on the 24 A330s that serve as the backbone for flights between the U.S. mainland and Hawaii, plus international routes from Honolulu to Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific.
Allegiant Adds Seven Florida Routes
Allegiant Air is launching seven new routes in November, with six heading to Florida destinations and marking the airline’s first-ever service to Fort Myers.
All routes operate twice weekly, giving you more options to reach Florida’s west coast and panhandle regions beyond Miami and Orlando.
You’ll have new affordable connections from smaller Midwest and Northeast markets to Florida beach destinations.
Complete Route List:
- Lehigh Valley (ABE) ↔ Fort Myers (RSW)
- Appleton (ATW) ↔ Fort Myers (RSW)
- Fort Wayne (FWA) ↔ Fort Lauderdale (FLL)
- Des Moines (DSM) ↔ Fort Myers (RSW)
- Nashville (BNA) ↔ Gulf Shores (GUF)
- New Orleans (MSY) ↔ Punta Gorda (PGD)
- Toledo (TOL) ↔ Sarasota-Bradenton (SRQ)
JetBlue Ends TAP Partnership
JetBlue abruptly terminated its TrueBlue loyalty partnership with TAP Air Portugal on Friday night, giving members just 65 days notice that earning and redeeming points will end September 30th – less than seven months after the partnership launched in February 2025.
The airline already secured landing slots at Lisbon Airport in June 2024 for two daily departures (likely from Boston and JFK) and expects delivery of A321XLR aircraft this fall, which can comfortably handle the 3,215 nautical mile route to Portugal.
The unusually short notice period combined with incoming aircraft deliveries suggests JetBlue may finally launch its own Lisbon service
