Here’s your miles, points, travel, and deals news for September 6, 2023:
Washington D.C. (IAD) Capital One Lounge Opening
Capital One’s Washington Dulles will open tomorrow (September 7).
The lounge will be 8,500 square feet and feature:
- A parent’s room featuring comfortable seating for caregivers who are feeding or nursing their children, as well as a changing table stocked with wipes, disposable diapers, and a bottle warmer.
- Secure lockers with plenty of room for carry-on luggage and personal items
- Two semi-private, open-air rooms featuring ample quiet working space
- Individual power outlets at every seat, along with complimentary high-speed WiFi.
- Kid-sized tables and chairs for families.
- Four private, fully-stocked restrooms.
Rumored Delta Changes Coming September 14th
A Reddit thread indicates that there are upcoming SkyMiles and Medallion program changes coming on September 14, 2023.
Additional details are not available, but it will be interesting if Delta changes their elite scheme to something similar to American’s Loyalty Points, which rewards spending on credit cards, shopping portals, dining, etc.
Southwest Companion Promotion
Southwest has a promotion to help people achieve a Companion Pass faster through November 30th:
- 2x qualifying points for paid flights.
- 3x qualifying points for paid flights booked through a business travel portal.
- 2x qualifying points for credit card spending.
- 1x qualifying flight for award tickets.
Finnair Buying Points Promotion
Finnair is having a nice promotion to buy points for up to a 100% bonus.
For example, you could buy 200,000 Finnair points for $1,382 USD (1,287 Euros).
This offer gets more enticing if you hold the points until 2024, when your Finnair points covert to Avios at a 3 to 2 ratio. This means 200,000 Finnair points would convert to 133,333 Avios, which is equivalent to buying Avios at 1.03 per point.
I’m considering the deal because it equals about 2 roundtrip business class flights on Iberia (64,000 Avios roundtrip per person in business class from ORD/IAD/JFK/BOS to Madrid), so it would cost only about $691 in points + around $200-300 in taxes and fees for a roundtrip business class flight.
Deals
- Target is offering a $40 coupon when you get approved for a debit, credit, or reloadable Redcard between 9/3/2023 and 10/14/2023.
- US Bank has a new $800 Business Banking bonus through 1/8/2024 when you deposit $25,000. (HT: Doctor of Credit)
- Breeze is having a sale for 50% off the base fare with promo code “IMGAME50” until September 7th.
- Allegiant is having a 25% sale through today (9/6) for travel until May 14, 2024.
- The Hilton Multiple Your Points promotion starts today through December 31.
- Kroger is offering 4x fuel points on gift cards between 9/6 and 9/19.
- Hertz is having an up to 30% off Flash Sale through September 7, 2023.
- New Amex Offer for $200 off $500+ at Marriott’s Luxury Brands (Ritz Carlton, St. Regis, EDITION, The Luxury Collection, W Hotels, and JW Marriott between 9/5/2023 and 12/15/2023.
- Wyndham is having a points sale for up to 30% when you buy at least 15,000 points. This equals 0.91 cents per point.
Travel News
- Starlux is launching flights from Taipei (TPE) to San Francisco (SFO) starting December 16, 2023 using an Airbus A350-900XWB. The route will be flown 3 weekly until March 31, 2024, when it will switch to one daily flight.
- Qantas’ CEO Alan Joyce resigned two months early and replaced by new CEO Vanessa Hudson.
- American Airlines is starting a new route from Orange County starting January 8, 2024 using a Boeing 737.
- Avelo canceled three routes: Orlando to Charlottesville; Orlando to Dayon; Raleigh-Durham to Fort Lauderdale.
- JetBlue suspended service between Boston and Kansas City for September 2023 and March 2024.
- Iberia increased the frequency of the Los Angeles (LAX) to Madrid Route from 5 to 7 weekly starting June 1, 2024.
- Aer Lingus is reducing the flights to the US in 2024: Orlando to Dublin will reduce from 6 to 4 weekly starting May 1, 2024, and Seattle to Dublin will reduce from 7 to 4 weekly starting March 31, 2024.
