Here’s your miles, points, travel, and deals news for today:
Alaska Airlines Premium Card Leaked
Bank of America will reportedly launch a new Alaska Airlines premium credit card in August with a $395 annual fee and potentially massive welcome bonus.
An employee-targeted leak shows a 100,000-point bonus plus 5,000 points for opening the account, earned after spending $6,000 within 90 days, though the public offer may differ.
The card delivers substantial Alaska-specific perks including annual Global 25K and 100K Companion Awards (the latter requires $60,000+ annual spending), 8 lounge passes and 8 Wi-Fi passes quarterly, plus free checked bags for up to 6 guests.
You’ll earn 3x points on Alaska/Hawaiian Airlines, dining, and foreign purchases, plus 1x on everything else, with a 10% bonus if you have a Bank of America account, while also receiving 10,000 status points annually and 1 status point per $2 spent.
Travel benefits include up to $120 TSA PreCheck/Global Entry credit every four years, $50 flight delay/cancellation vouchers for delays over 2 hours, waived same-day change fees (saving up to $50), and complete flexibility with no blackout dates or redemption fees on award bookings.
The card appears designed to compete directly with premium offerings from other airlines by bundling elite-like benefits with substantial earning rates across multiple spending categories.
Amex Platinum FHR Credit Tripled
American Express accidentally leaked details showing both Platinum and Business Platinum cards will get a massive $600 annual Fine Hotels + Resorts credit starting September 18, 2025, when the annual fee jumps to $895.
The new benefit splits into two $300 semi-annual periods (January-June and July-December) and represents a triple increase from the current $200 annual credit on personal Platinum cards.
Business Platinum cardholders will gain this hotel credit for the first time, as they currently only receive $200 annually in Hilton statement credits split into $50 quarterly chunks.
The leaked terms were quickly removed from Amex’s website, but September 18 also marks when the Business Platinum’s 35% rebate on business and first-class flights gets restricted to just one airline from Amex’s approved list.
Chase Sapphire Reserve Bonus Ends
The current Chase Sapphire Reserve offer of 100,000 bonus points plus $500 travel portal credit after $5,000 spend expires at 9 a.m. Eastern on August 21, 2025.
This represents the largest Chase Sapphire Reserve bonus since the card’s 2016 launch, potentially worth $2,300 when valuing Chase points at 1.8 cents each.
The card carries a $795 annual fee but includes $2,700 in annual statement credits across travel, dining, entertainment, and transportation categories.
United Mile Play Returns
United has relaunched its Mile Play promotion, offering personalized bonus mile tasks based on your recent flying history with the airline.
The targeted offers vary significantly between accounts, with examples including 3,000 bonus miles for one $100+ trip, 4,800 miles for a single $275+ trip, or 12,000 miles for three trips costing $225+ each.
You must register by October 7, 2025, complete all activities by the same date, and only flights operated by United count toward the requirements, with base fare plus carrier surcharges determining minimum spend thresholds.
Not all MileagePlus members will receive offers, and bonus miles take six to eight weeks to post after the promotion ends, though you can book trips as separate one-ways to maximize qualifying trip counts.
Southwest Schedule Extended Through April
Southwest Airlines has extended its flight schedule through April 6, 2026, allowing you to book winter getaways and Spring Break trips well in advance.
You can save money by booking flights as soon as they’re released since Southwest doesn’t charge change or cancellation fees, and if you book with Rapid Rewards points and the price drops, you can change your flight to get a points refund.
Southwest’s 14-Route March Expansion
Southwest Airlines announced a 14-route expansion launching March 2026, including service to its second new destination in two months: Knoxville, Tennessee’s McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS).
The expansion includes four routes from Knoxville, seven new routes from San Diego that directly compete with Alaska Airlines’ recent growth there, and three new connector routes to boost hub connectivity.
All new routes go on sale now for travel beginning March 5, 2026, with Southwest moving to San Diego’s new Terminal 1 when it opens September 23.
New Routes Starting March 2026:
- Knoxville (TYS) to Baltimore-Washington (BWI), daily.
- Knoxville (TYS) to Nashville (BNA), twice daily.
- Knoxville (TYS) to Dallas Love Field (DAL), daily.
- Knoxville (TYS) to Orlando (MCO), daily.
- San Diego (SAN) to Seattle-Tacoma (SEA), daily.
- San Diego (SAN) to Eugene (EUG), daily.
- San Diego (SAN) to Portland (PDX), daily.
- San Diego (SAN) to Kahului (OGG), daily.
- San Diego (SAN) to Puerto Vallarta (PVR), daily.
- San Diego (SAN) to Bozeman (BZN), Saturday-only seasonal starting March 7.
- San Diego (SAN) to Spokane (GEG), Saturday-only seasonal starting March 7.
- Nashville (BNA) to Little Rock (LIT), twice daily.
- Chicago Midway (MDW) to Milwaukee (MKE), twice daily.
- Phoenix (PHX) to Tucson (TUS), twice daily.
JetBlue’s New Routes
JetBlue is launching a massive winter expansion with 14 new and resumed routes targeting Florida, the Caribbean, and Central America destinations starting in December.
The airline will begin its first-ever service to Vero Beach Regional Airport from Boston and JFK, while also resuming flights to Daytona Beach from the same airports after a six-year hiatus.
JetBlue is expanding at Long Island MacArthur Airport with new seasonal routes to Fort Myers and Tampa, joining existing Florida service from this convenient New York-area outstation.
The carrier is also boosting its Boston-Caribbean presence with new daily flights to Costa Rica, St. Maarten, St. Thomas, and Nassau, plus adding weekend frequencies to Grand Cayman and Barbados.
Here’s the complete breakdown of JetBlue’s new routes:
New Florida Routes:
- Boston to Daytona Beach (daily, year-round, starts Dec. 4)
- JFK to Daytona Beach (daily, year-round, starts Dec. 4)
- Boston to Vero Beach (daily, year-round, starts Dec. 11)
- JFK to Vero Beach (daily, year-round, starts Dec. 11)
- Tampa to Islip (4x weekly, seasonal through April 29, starts Dec. 19)
- Fort Myers to Islip (3x weekly, seasonal through April 28, starts Dec. 18)
New Caribbean/Latin America Routes:
- Tampa to Punta Cana (daily, year-round, starts Dec. 18)
- Fort Lauderdale to Santiago, Dominican Republic (daily, seasonal through Jan. 19, starts Dec. 13)
- Boston to St. Thomas (daily, starts Dec. 18)
- Boston to Liberia, Costa Rica (daily, starts Dec. 18)
- Boston to St. Maarten (daily, starts Dec. 18)
- Boston to Nassau (daily, starts Dec. 18)
Frequency Increases:
- Boston to Grand Cayman (adding Saturday service, starts Dec. 20)
- Boston to Barbados (adding Saturday service, starts Jan. 10)
Avelo Expands East Coast Network
Avelo Airlines is launching 6 new routes this fall after shutting down its West Coast operations and freeing up aircraft capacity.
The carrier will offer unique city pair connections that no other airline currently serves, with introductory one-way fares starting at $57.
New Routes:
- Concord (USA) to Albany (ALB)
- Concord (USA) to San Juan (SJU)
- Concord (USA) to West Palm Beach (PBI)
- Key West (EYW) to New Haven (HVN)
- Wilmington (ILM) to Punta Cana (PUJ)
- Wilmington (ILM) to West Palm Beach (PBI)
Turkish Miles&Smiles Economy Sale
Turkish Airlines is offering 20% to 30% discounts on Miles&Smiles economy awards for travel between October 1 and December 5, 2025, but you need to book by August 24.
US routes getting discounts include Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Montreal, Panama City, Seattle, and Vancouver, with most receiving the full 30% reduction except for Boston, Denver, Montreal, Panama City, and Vancouver which get 20% off.
The catch is that Turkish Airlines prices awards per segment rather than round-trip, making these deals less attractive for travelers not based in Istanbul who would need to book separate one-way awards for each direction of their journey.
Google Launches AI Flight Deals
Google rolled out its new AI-powered Flight Deals feature within Google Flights, designed for flexible travelers who prioritize saving money over specific destinations or dates.
You can now search using natural language like “week-long trip this summer to a city with great food, nonstop only” and the AI will find matching deals from hundreds of airlines and booking sites.
The feature is launching in beta across the US and Canada over the next week, while Google also added a new filter to exclude basic economy fares for domestic North American flights.
