✈️ Chase Offers 100K Sapphire Bonus, IHG Points Devaluation, and Spirit Airlines Leadership Crisis

Hello and welcome back to another episode of Miles & Points Daily Podcast! I'm your host Lucas, and I'm thrilled to be with you for our daily dose of travel hacking goodness. Today, we've got a jam-packed episode with some exciting news from the miles and points world that you definitely won't want to miss.

First up, Chase has launched an incredible offer for the Sapphire Preferred Card with a whopping one hundred thousand point bonus after spending five thousand dollars in the first three months. According to View from the Wing, this is one of the best card bonuses we've seen for the Sapphire Preferred. If you're thinking about applying, there are a few things you should know. Remember that Chase's infamous five-twenty-four rule still applies, meaning if you've opened five or more credit cards in the past twenty-four months, you likely won't be approved. Additionally, you're not eligible for this bonus if you've received a Sapphire bonus in the past forty-eight months or currently hold any Sapphire card. This bonus is worth at least one thousand two hundred fifty dollars in travel through the Chase portal, but potentially much more when transferring to partners like Hyatt or United Airlines.

Speaking of Chase, there's an interesting targeted promotion floating around for some Sapphire cardholders. Frequent Miler reports that selected Chase Sapphire Preferred and Reserve cardholders can redeem points for premium cabin flights on Qatar Airways, United Airlines, or Delta with up to a fifty percent bonus when using Chase Travel. With this bonus, Sapphire Reserve cardholders would receive two point two five cents per point value instead of the standard one point five cents. Definitely check your email or Chase account to see if you're targeted.

In hotel news, IHG has quietly increased the maximum points required for award stays at their top properties. Previously, the maximum a property would cost was one hundred twenty thousand points per night, but that cap has been removed. Some Intercontinental properties are now showing rates of two hundred thousand points or even more for peak dates. This is quite a significant devaluation, especially if you've been saving up IHG points for a luxury stay. As always with dynamic pricing, you'll need to be flexible with your dates to find the best value.

Hilton Honors, on the other hand, is offering a promotion that might help offset that IHG news. According to One Mile at a Time, they've launched a new bonus on purchased points, offering a one hundred percent bonus which effectively lets you buy Hilton points for half a cent each. This could represent good value for hotel redemptions, especially at properties where cash rates are high but point rates remain reasonable.

In airline news, Spirit Airlines has announced a major leadership change. CEO Ted Christie is stepping down from his position, and instead of naming a successor, the airline will be led by an "Office of the President" consisting of their CFO, COO, and General Counsel. As View from the Wing puts it, "no one person is in charge of this sinking ship." Spirit has been facing significant financial challenges, reportedly losing millions every day, so this is certainly a concerning development for the budget carrier.

In more positive airline developments, United Airlines is enhancing its food and beverage offerings in Polaris business class. They're introducing Heitz Cellar wine, which typically retails for sixty-nine dollars per bottle, a new blend of Illy coffee, and a new Bloody Mary mix. They're also improving meal service in economy with an additional entree choice on transatlantic flights. It's nice to see an airline investing in the passenger experience rather than cutting back.

There's also news about American Express Business Platinum card benefits. Doctor of Credit reports that the Dell credit is changing significantly, dropping from four hundred dollars per year to just one hundred fifty dollars per year starting July first, two thousand and twenty-five. The credits are also becoming monthly instead of semi-annual, which means you'll need to find ways to use smaller amounts more frequently. Additionally, the Adobe credit is increasing from one hundred fifty dollars to two hundred fifty dollars annually. If you have this card, you might want to utilize your Dell credits fully before the change kicks in.

For Marriott loyalists, there's a quick and easy way to earn some bonus points. Marriott and Uber have a partnership that allows Bonvoy members to earn points when spending with Uber and Uber Eats. Currently, they're offering an incentive of fifteen hundred bonus points just for linking your accounts. This is essentially free points with no purchase necessary, so it's definitely worth taking advantage of if you haven't linked your accounts yet.

Delta Air Lines has opened its newest Sky Club in Atlanta's Concourse D. According to The Points Guy, this is the eighth Sky Club at Atlanta airport, and it's reportedly the nicest one yet. The space has been under construction for the past three years and is the first new Sky Club to open at ATL since two thousand and sixteen. If you're passing through Atlanta and have Sky Club access, this new lounge might be worth seeking out.

Moving on to regional airline news, Republic Airways and Mesa Airlines have announced plans to merge. Together, they'll operate a combined three hundred ten Embraer E-one seventy five aircraft, representing one point nine billion dollars in annual revenue. Republic currently operates regional flights for American Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta, while Mesa is down to a contract only with United. Under the deal, Republic shareholders will have eighty-eight percent of the carrier while Mesa shareholders get six to twelve percent. While this might not impact most travelers directly, it's a significant consolidation in the regional airline space.

And finally, a bit of hotel oddity news that might make you think twice about your next Marriott stay. A Courtyard by Marriott near the Venice airport is reportedly charging guests five euros (that's about five dollars and forty-seven cents) for a second room key. It's supposedly a deposit that they promise to refund at checkout, but it's still an unusual policy. Even more strangely, this same hotel apparently blocks guests from turning the air conditioning below seventy-three point four degrees Fahrenheit. So if you're someone who likes to sleep in a cool room, you might want to look elsewhere!

Before we wrap up today's episode, I want to 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, Cathay Pacific and more. Try it for free with our link in the shownotes.

That's all for today's episode of Miles & Points Daily Podcast. Thanks so much for listening! If you found this information helpful, please subscribe to the podcast on your favorite platform or visit us at milesandpointsdaily.com for more great content. Until tomorrow, happy travels and even happier point collecting!