Here’s your miles, points, travel, and deals news for September 12, 2023:
Newark Centurion Lounge Delayed to 2026
The American Express Centurion Lounge at Newark (EWR) Airport is expected to open in 2026 in a new three-story building near the new Terminal A, initially housing United flights.
Previously, it was rumored that the Newark Centurion lounge would open in late 2023, so this is somewhat of a disappointment.
The Newark lounge, spanning 17,000-square-feet, will be the largest among all Centurion Lounges.
The lounge is expected to offer a 1,400-square-foot indoor terrace with views of the airport, Port of Newark, New York and Newark harbors, and the Manhattan skyline.
Inside, amenities include eateries, a piano lounge, a jazz-themed bar, a cocktail lounge, shower suites, kids room, premium restrooms, and areas for work and relaxation.
Deals and Points News
- New 70,000 Alaska Airlines Visa bonus for spending $3,000. [HT: DOC]
- There are new 90,000-point offers for the Chase Ink Cash and Chase Ink Unlimited cards, which is better than the public 75,000-point offer. [HT: DOC]
- The Barclays Aviator Business’ welcome bonus is back up to 75,000 points from the previous 60,000 points.
- The Bilt Rewards card doesn’t earn points on charges via the Curve Card, which is how I used my Bilt card. I went back and checked my Bilt account and found the rewards points only posted about 25% of the time for purchases via Curve for Bilt Rewards. [HT: Frequent Miler]
- Earn up to 5,000 AAdvantage miles with an Avis or Budget rental through October 31, 2023. Rentals of 3 or 4 deals will earn 2,500 miles, and rentals of 5+ days will earn 5,000 bonus miles. For Avis, use code K817127. For Budget, use code U072437.
- Earn Hilton Gold status in only six nights with a new promotion from now until December 31st to earn Gold status for next year.
- Marriott is offering soft landing for elite members who don’t meet the nightly requirements. Elite members will only drop back one level in 2024. For example, if you were Titanium Elite and failed to meet the requirements this year, you will fall back one level to Platinum Elite.
- LifeMiles is having a miles sale through September 27, 2023 for up to a 140% bonus when you buy at least 21,000 LifeMiles. This is equivalent to purchasing miles at 1.38 cents per mile.
- Barclays and Xbox are launching a new credit card.
- Kroger is selling 400 stores to Piggly Wiggly’s parent company to try to win antitrust approval for the Kroger-Albertson’s mega-merger, including brands QFC, Mariano’s, and Carrs. (For me, this means no more Fuel Points at my preferred grocery store Marianos.)
- You can earn 200,000 AAdvantage miles and Executive Platinum status (via Loyalty Points) with a 21-night Antarctica cruise for $10,886.
Travel News
- JetBlue and Allegiant entered an agreement where JetBlue will divest all of Spirit’s holdings in Boston (BOS) and Newark (EWR), plus give gates and ground facilities in Fort Lauderdale (FLL). Ultimately, this will help JetBlue try to complete its planned merger with Spirit Airlines.
- Vietnam Airlines ordered 50 Boeing 737 MAX planes worth approximately $7.8 billion.
