Here’s your miles, points, travel and deals news for August 8, 2023:
Rumored Amex Access Rules for Delta Sky Club
There are rumored to be major changes coming to Delta Sky Club access for American Express cards via Reddit. These are no confirmed changes, but the Redditor has a history of unannounced pending changes.
Under the rumored changes:
- Starting in 2025, Delta Reserve cardholders will be limited to 10 visits per year at the Delta Sky Club unless they spend at least $75,000 on the card.
- Starting in 2025, the Amex Platinum will be limited to 6 visits per year at the Delta Sky Club unless they spend at least $75,000 on the card.
- Starting in early 2024, Delta Platinum cardholders would lose paid access to Delta Sky Club.
New Cathay Pacific Aria Suites
Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific announced a new business class seat, the “Aria Suite,” on its Boeing 777-300ERs that are scheduled to be in the sky in the second quarter of 2024.
The video detailing the new seat is below, which shows privacy doors, wireless charging, nice storage compartments, and a 1-2-1 recevese herringbone configuration.
Azores Airlines Launches 3 New Routes
Azores Airlines launched three new routes between Porto and Boston, New York (JFK), and Toronto using its A321neo.
The routes are flown only once per week, which is an interesting strategy.
Porto to Toronto starts on June 1, 2024:
- Departs Porto (OPO) at 6:00 a.m. and arrives in Toronto (YYZ) at 9:35 a.m.
- Departs Toronto (YYZ) at 11:05 a.m. and arrives in Porto (OPO) at 11:50 p.m.
Porto to Boston starts on June 4, 2024:
- Departs Porto (OPO) at 6:25 a.m. and arrives in Boston (BOS) at 9:35 a.m.
- Departs Boston (BOS) at 11:05 a.m. and arrives in Porto (OPO) at 11:00 p.m.
Port to New York starts on June 6, 2024:
- Departs Porto (OPO) at 6:00 a.m., and arrives in New York (JFK) at 9:35 a.m.
- Depart New York (JFK) at 11:05 a.m. and arrives in Porto (OPO) at 11:35 p.m.
Travel News
JetBlue and Peacock partnered up to offer passengers free access to the streaming service on flights. Plus, Mosaic members now get 12 months of Peacock included at no additional cost, and TrueBlue members get 1,000 points for subscribing to Peacock.
American Restarts Boston to LaGuardia flights starting October 29, 2023, with four daily roundtrip flights. The route was stopped in 2022 under the JetBlue-American Northeast Alliance, which recently fell apart.
American Switches Doha Flight to Philadelphia from New York (JFK) beginning on October 29, 2023. The New York to Doha route was originally started in June 2022, but Qatar Airways will still operate two daily flights to New York (JFK).
Delta and Kenya Airways launched a codeshare agreement allowing travelers to book 31 additional African destinations via Delta.com and 57 destinations across the U.S. and Canada for Kenya Airways.
Deals
Free Ski Day courtesy of Alaska Airlines and Mountain Collective. They are teaming up to give skiers a free third day on their ski passes and 5,000 bonus miles at 24 resorts. The deal is only valid for passes purchased between August 3, 2023, and September 25, 2023. Plus, Alaska Airlines elite members get an extra 5,000 miles during the promotion.
Free Year of Grubhub+ if you have a Bank of America credit card under a new partnership.
Avis Amex Offer for a $100 statement credit for spending $500+ in one or more purchases. Enrollment is required.
Up to a 100% Bonus on United Points during their mystery sale through August 25, 2023. I was only targeted with a 90% bonus, so for me, it would cost, for example, $1,881.25 for 95,000 United miles or 1.98 cents per mile. If you’re targeted for the 100% bonus, the cost is only 1.88 cents per mile. I am passing on this deal because Avianca LifeMiles, which is a better deal for Star Alliance flights, are only about 1.3 cents per mile during sales.
