Here’s your miles, points, deals, and travel news for September 8, 2023:
New 75,000 Welcome Bonus on Hyatt Business
The World of Hyatt Business Credit Card has a new welcome bonus of up to 75,000 points broken down as:
- 60,000 Bonus Points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. Earn an additional 15,000 Bonus Points after you spend $12,000 within the first 6 months of account opening.
Chase also extended for an additional year until December 31, 2024, the ability to earn 2 points per dollar in your top three spending categories each quarter.
Overall, it’s a pretty good offer if you can meet the minimum spending requirements and stay at Hyatt at least a few times per year.
The card has a $199 annual fee, which you can partially offset with up to $100 statement credit for spending at least $50 twice on the card at Hyatt Hotels each year. However, I wish the card offered a free night certificate like most hotel cards.
New 125,000 Marriott Business Welcome Bonus
The Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card has a new welcome bonus of 125,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points after making $8,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership. The offer is scheduled to end on November 1, 2023.
This new bonus replaced the previous three free night certificates of up to 50,000 points per night, so whether this is a net positive depends on whether you like the flexibility of points or if you could maximize the free night certificates before they expired.
The all-time high bonus on this card was 125,000 + two free night certificates for spending $5,000 in three months, but it’s been over two years since that bonus came back.
Disney Bundle Price Increase
Disney is increasing the cost of Disney+ starting October 12th.
Disney Bundle Trio Basic: Goes from $12.99 to $14.99 for Disney+ (With Ads), Hulu (With Ads), and ESPN+ (With Ads).
Disney Bundle Trio Premium: Goes from $19.99 to $24.99 for Disney+ (No Ads), Hulu (No Ads), and ESPN+ (With Ads).
Legacy Disney Bundle: Goes from $14.99 to $18.99 for Disney+ (No Ads), Hulu (With Ads), and ESPN+ (With Ads).
I have the Disney Bundle Trio, which previously was fully covered by the credit on The Platinum Card® from American Express, so it will be interesting to see if Amex increases the credit.
Deals and Points News
- Starbucks is offering every Thursday in September a buy-one-get-one handcrafted fall beverage for orders after 12:00 PM.
- Hyatt launched a promotion for 15% off with promo code GOJALIN15 or TOUCHDOWN for qualifying stays booked until February 28, 2024 and stays completed by December 31, 2024.
- You can now transfer Virgin Points to another person’s account for a flat fee of $15, replacing a higher fee of $22 + $13.50 per 1,000 miles.
- Staples has a sale for fee-free $200 Mastercards starting on September 10 to September 16th.
Travel News
- United will be launching updates to its United Polaris (business class) at an event on October 3, 2023, which should include new bedding, amenity kits, pajamas, and more.
- American Airlines opened a $100 million 214,000 square foot catering facility at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW),
- Frontier Airlines suspended or canceled a lot of routes, including Atlanta to Ontario, Denver to Buffalo, Denver to Myrtle Beach, Miami to Las Vegas, Miami to Punta Cana, Orlando to Nassau, Philadelphia to Las Vegas, and Philadelphia to Montego Bay.
