Here’s your miles, points, travel, and deals news:
Chase Freedom Q4 Categories
Chase Freedom just dropped their fourth quarter 5% cash back categories, running from October 1 through December 31, 2025, with the usual $1,500 spending cap across all bonus categories.
You’ll earn 5% back at Chase Travel (which becomes 9% total for Freedom Flex cardholders), department stores, Old Navy, and PayPal purchases during December only.
You can activate these categories right now, and don’t forget to max out your current quarter’s 5% earnings at Instacart, select live entertainment venues, and gas stations before September ends.
Amex Platinum Details Leak
American Express will launch the updated Platinum Card and Business Platinum Card on September 18, 2025, with the annual fee jumping to $895 for primary cardholders.
The leaked details confirm you’ll get a $600 annual hotel credit (split into $300 semi-annual credits for Fine Hotels & Resorts/The Hotel Collection) and a $400 Resy credit paid out at $100 per quarter.
Additional new benefits include a $120 Uber One credit ($10 monthly) on top of the existing $200 in annual Uber savings ($15 monthly plus $20 bonus in December).
The card will maintain its 5x earning rate on flights and prepaid hotels booked through AmexTravel.com, plus 1x on all other purchases, while keeping Global Lounge Access as a core benefit.
You can expect most existing credits to continue, including the $200 airline incidental fee credit, $240 digital entertainment credit, $209 CLEAR credit, and hotel elite status benefits, with potential additions like a $300 Lululemon credit that was previously leaked.
40% Qatar Transfer Bonus
Qatar Airways Privilege Club is running a transfer bonus promotion through October 15, 2025, offering up to 40% bonus Avios when you transfer points from select partner programs, with Citi ThankYou Rewards being the only major US-based bank program that qualifies.
The bonus is tiered based on your transfer amount: you’ll get a 20% bonus for transfers up to 9,999 Avios, a 30% bonus for transfers between 10,000-49,999 Avios, and the full 40% bonus when you transfer 50,000 or more Avios in a single transaction.
Keep in mind that Qatar is offering this bonus (not Citi), so you won’t see it reflected in your Citi account immediately—the bonus Avios will be credited to your Qatar Privilege Club account by November 30, 2025, and since Avios can be moved between Qatar, British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, Finnair, and Loganair, you’re not locked into using them solely with Qatar.
Alaska Points 110% Bonus
Alaska Airlines is running a targeted flash sale through October 10, 2025, offering up to 110% bonus points when you buy them, with the best tier kicking in when you purchase 20,000 or more points for a total cost of about 1.80 cents per point.
You’ll only want to bite on this deal if you have a specific redemption in mind that delivers more value than what you’re paying, since Alaska points normally trade at around 1.6 cents each — meaning you need to squeeze at least 1.80 cents of value per point to break even.
KrisFlyer October Escape Deals
Singapore Airlines just dropped its KrisFlyer Spontaneous Escapes promotion offering 30% off award flights worldwide, but you’ll need to book by September 30 for travel between October 1-31, 2025.
While the headline discount remains at 30%, don’t get too excited—last month’s devaluation means you’re still paying more miles than you would have earlier this year for the same routes.
The standout deals include Singapore to Bali for just 5,950 miles in economy, Singapore to Frankfurt for 49,700 miles in premium economy, and Brisbane to Singapore for 47,950 miles in business class (though that one has a blackout period from October 1-12).
You can easily transfer miles from Chase Ultimate Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou, or Capital One at a 1:1 ratio, or convert Marriott Bonvoy points at 60,000 points for 25,000 KrisFlyer miles.
Amex Debuts Travel App
American Express launches its first-ever Amex Travel app this Thursday, September 18 on iOS devices, with Android following in the coming weeks.
You can now join digital waitlists for all Centurion Lounges globally and see estimated wait times directly from your phone, eliminating the need to stand in line at the door.
The app also includes trip planning tools, seamless booking for flights and hotels through Amex Travel, and a new “Amex Passport” feature that turns your past trips into a digital logbook you can share and use for future travel inspiration.
Marriott Lufthansa Partnership Launches
Marriott Bonvoy just dropped a new preferred partnership with Lufthansa Miles & More that lets HON Circle and Senator members instantly match to Marriott Gold status (normally requires 25 elite nights) with validity through February 2027, though you can’t score higher Marriott elite tiers through this deal.
You can also earn 40 Miles & More status points per qualifying Marriott stay (minimum two consecutive nights, paid rates only) up to 120 status points annually across three stays, which stacks on top of your regular Bonvoy points or Miles & More miles.
This bonus gives you 18% progress toward Frequent Traveler status (650 points needed) or 6% toward Senator status (2,000 points needed), but these status points won’t count toward HON Circle since they’re not the special qualifying points required for that top tier.
Delta-Aeromexico Partnership Gets Axed
The Trump administration just delivered a major blow to Delta Air Lines, ordering the carrier to terminate its joint venture with Aeromexico by January 1, 2026, after a 20-month battle between the airlines and both U.S. and Mexican governments.
You can blame Mexico’s government for this mess — the Department of Transportation claims Mexican officials have been playing favorites at Mexico City’s airport, blocking other airlines from getting slots while giving Aeromexico preferential treatment.
This decision puts dozens of routes between the U.S. and Mexico City at risk, potentially undoing nearly a decade of partnership that helped Aeromexico boost its U.S. capacity by 33% compared to 2019 levels while Delta expanded its Mexico flying by 17%.
