Hello and welcome to the Miles & Points Daily Podcast! I'm Lucas, your host, and if you love earning points while daydreaming about first class lounges, you've found your people. We've got quite the lineup today from American's partnership drama to Hilton's lackluster promotions. But first, let me tell you about hotelredemptions.com, a tool that monitors your hotel bookings and alerts you when you can rebook for less points. It's like having a personal assistant watching your reservations twenty-four-seven, except this one actually works!

Let's kick off with some exciting partnership news. American Airlines has officially launched a codeshare partnership with Canada's Porter Airlines. This is huge for AAdvantage members who've been looking for better access to Canada since WestJet jumped ship to Delta. The partnership starts with Porter flights to Edmonton, Halifax, Ottawa, Victoria, and Winnipeg, with more Canadian destinations rolling out soon including Calgary, Vancouver, and St. John's.

What makes this particularly interesting is that Porter has been rapidly expanding with their new Embraer E195-E2s, offering a premium experience on regional jets. For now, you can earn AAdvantage miles and Loyalty Points when booking Porter flights through American, but they've hinted at full loyalty reciprocity coming soon. My tip? If you've been eyeing a Canadian getaway, this could be your chance to earn American miles while exploring destinations that were previously harder to reach with oneworld partners.

Now for some less exciting news from Hilton Honors. They've launched their Q4 2025 promotion called Stay More, Earn More, offering a whopping fifteen hundred bonus points per stay through December thirty-first. I say whopping sarcastically because this is pretty underwhelming. You get fifteen hundred points whether you're staying one night at a Hampton Inn or five nights at a Conrad. At my valuation of half a cent per point, that's seven dollars and fifty cents in value per stay.

This promotion highlights what's becoming a troubling trend at Hilton. They've become stingy with promotions while simultaneously devaluing their points. Case in point: the beautiful Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal just reopened after a major renovation, and it looks stunning. But here's the kicker - it now costs up to two hundred and fifty thousand points per night! That's the equivalent of paying twelve hundred and fifty dollars using points. The property looks fantastic with its refreshed rooms and enhanced dining, but at these redemption rates, you're better off paying cash in most cases.

Speaking of credit cards that can help offset these inflated point costs, let's talk about the American Express Business Platinum. This card is really delivering value with its eight hundred and ninety-five dollar annual fee. You get stacked lounge access including Centurion Lounges and Delta Sky Clubs, plus valuable rebates and elite status benefits. For frequent business travelers, the perks easily justify the fee, especially if you can maximize the various credits.

Over in Europe, Lufthansa has some major fleet news. They're planning to retire six aircraft types by twenty twenty-eight, including the iconic A340-600 in twenty twenty-six and the classic 747-400 in twenty twenty-seven. As an aviation geek, this makes me sad, but it's operationally smart. They're also finally committing to retrofit their existing A350s with the new Allegris cabins starting in twenty twenty-seven. If you want to experience those gorgeous four-engine Lufthansa planes, book soon because they won't be around much longer.

Lufthansa's also cutting four thousand jobs by twenty thirty to improve efficiency. The company admits they're flying fewer routes than in twenty nineteen but employing seven percent more people. Sometimes tough decisions are necessary, though I always feel for the employees affected.

In more sobering news, Iceland's PLAY Airlines has abruptly ceased operations, canceling all flights immediately. This isn't surprising given their business model essentially copied the failed WOW Air strategy. Ultra-low-cost transatlantic via Iceland just doesn't work in today's market where major carriers offer competitive basic economy fares with better networks. If you had PLAY tickets, contact your credit card company for potential refunds.

For some positive airport news, United is trialing a new baggage transfer program for passengers flying from Sydney to San Francisco who are making US connections. Instead of collecting and rechecking bags, they'll transfer directly to your connecting flight, potentially saving forty-five minutes. It's currently limited to that one route but could expand if successful.

Finally, there's some concerning general travel news worth mentioning. The US has finalized exit controls at over fifty airports, meaning facial recognition scans before you can board international flights. Also, hotels are getting serious about towel theft, with fines reaching seventeen thousand six hundred dollars and even jail time in some cases. Those RFID chips in towels aren't just for inventory anymore!

One last card mention - the Citi Strata Elite Card offers six times points on dining during Citi Nights, which are Friday and Saturday evenings between six PM and six AM Eastern Time. It's a generous rate but requires you to remember to switch cards for weekend dining. If you're someone who frequently dines out on weekends, it could be worth the mental energy.

That's all for today's Miles & Points Daily Podcast. Before we go, let me tell you about Award Travel Finder. Looking for the best award flights? Use AwardTravelFinder.com to search availability across Qatar Airways, British Airways, Japan Airlines, Cathay Pacific and more. Try it for free with our link in the show notes.

Thanks for listening! Don't forget to subscribe on your favorite podcast platform or visit us at milesandpointsdaily.com for more miles and points news. Until tomorrow, keep earning and keep exploring!