Hello and welcome to the Miles & Points Daily Podcast! I'm Lucas, your host, and I'm absolutely thrilled you've joined me today. You know, in the world of miles and points, every day brings something new - whether it's exciting new lounges, credit card updates, or sometimes just plain bizarre airline stories that make you wonder if we're living in some sort of travel simulation. Today, we've got a fantastic mix of all of that, so grab your favorite travel mug and let's dive right in! But first, let me tell you about a fantastic tool that every points enthusiast should know about. Introducing HotelRedemptions.com, a tool that monitors your hotel bookings and alerts you when you can rebook for fewer points. It's like having a personal assistant watching your reservations twenty-four seven, making sure you're always getting the best deal. Now, let's get into today's news, and boy, do we have some big updates for you! The biggest story today has to be the announcement that American Express is planning what they're calling the largest overhaul ever of their Platinum cards. Both the personal Platinum Card from American Express and the Business Platinum Card from American Express are getting major changes later this year. Now, if you know anything about Amex's history with card refreshes, you'll know this usually means one thing - higher annual fees. The current personal Platinum has a six hundred and ninety-five dollar annual fee, and industry experts are speculating we could see it jump to one thousand dollars or even higher. That would make it one of the most expensive credit cards on the market. My tip here? If you've been thinking about getting the Platinum card, now might be the time to do it before the changes hit. Lock in the current annual fee structure and benefits before they potentially get more expensive. The Platinum card currently offers incredible perks like airport lounge access, hotel elite status, and various travel credits. You can get the card by clicking the link in our show notes. Speaking of lounges, we've got some exciting news from the lounge world! Capital One's new flagship lounge at JFK Airport is set to open soon, and this isn't your typical airport lounge. This twenty-four seven operation is bringing some serious New York flair with fresh Ess-a-Bagels baked on premises, complete with lox, pastrami, and smoked whitefish. They're also featuring a cheese monger offering forty-five minute cheese tastings with paired wines, and hot meals available on demand rather than just buffet style. This represents a major step up in the airport lounge game. My recommendation? If you have access to Capital One lounges through cards like the Venture X, this JFK location should definitely be on your must-visit list. Over in Philadelphia, the Chase Sapphire lounge is making waves with its twenty thousand square foot space that reportedly crushes the American Express Centurion lounge. We're talking about a beer garden, arcade, and spa pods - it's like they've created an airport entertainment complex. If you're a Chase Sapphire Reserve or Sapphire Preferred cardholder, you'll want to plan some extra time at Philadelphia International Airport to check this out. Now, here's an interesting development for Chase Ultimate Rewards members. There's currently a sixty-five percent bonus when transferring Chase points to Marriott Bonvoy. Now, I'll be honest - this isn't the most exciting transfer bonus we've ever seen, but for specific redemptions, it might make sense. The standard transfer rate is one Chase point to one Marriott point, so with this bonus, you'd get one hundred and sixty-five Marriott points for every hundred Chase points transferred. My advice? Only use this if you have a specific Marriott redemption in mind and you've done the math to ensure it's better value than other Chase transfer partners like United, Southwest, or Hyatt. Moving on to some concerning news from American Airlines. The airline sent a Boeing seven seventy-seven to Hong Kong for retrofitting with their gorgeous new fully enclosed business class suites, but after a month, the aircraft came back completely untouched. This is apparently due to severe supply chain issues that are indefinitely postponing the rollout of these highly anticipated upgrades. For travelers hoping to experience these new suites, this is disappointing news. My recommendation is to manage expectations - if you're booking American Airlines business class hoping for the new suites, you're likely to get the older, less impressive product for the foreseeable future. Let's shift to some positive news from Qatar Airways. They're opening a Pavyllon restaurant in their Doha lounge, which is exciting because Qatar Airways is already known for excellent food both in the air and in their lounges. This collaboration with celebrity chef Yannick Alléno could elevate the already impressive Qatar Airways lounge experience even further. If you're transiting through Doha, this gives you yet another reason to build in some extra time to enjoy the lounge. And finally, here's a heartwarming story that shows the positive impact our miles can have beyond just personal travel. Give A Mile is a nonprofit that converts donated frequent flyer miles into flights of compassion, reuniting families when every hour matters during end-of-life situations. Their mission statement is beautifully simple: the cost of a plane ticket should never be the reason someone dies alone. United Airlines passengers have until June twenty-second to participate in this program. If you have unused United miles sitting in your account, this is an incredible way to put them to meaningful use. Sometimes the best redemption isn't a first-class flight to Tokyo - it's helping someone say goodbye to a loved one. That wraps up today's miles and points news. Before we go, let me tell you about our sponsor, 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 so much for listening to the Miles & Points Daily Podcast. If you found today's episode helpful, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform or visit us at milesandpointsdaily.com. Until tomorrow, keep earning those points and miles, and remember - the journey is just as important as the destination. Safe travels!