Hello and welcome to the Miles and Points Daily Podcast! I'm Lucas, your host, coming to you with all the latest news from the world of miles and points. Grab your coffee, settle in, and let's dive into what's happening in the loyalty world today. Before we get started, I want to tell you about an amazing tool that every points enthusiast should know about. Hotel Redemptions dot com is a game-changing service 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. Trust me, this tool pays for itself. Now, let's get into today's news, and unfortunately, we need to start with some pretty disappointing developments. Hilton Honors has devalued their program yet again, and this time it's particularly egregious. Standard free night awards at top properties can now reach two hundred and fifty thousand points per night. That's right, a quarter of a million points for a single night! This is the third significant increase since December, and what makes this even worse is that Hilton did this quietly, with no advance notice to members and no published award chart to give us transparency. Many of these same properties were devalued just months ago in May. It's becoming increasingly difficult to justify earning Hilton points when the value keeps getting eroded like this. My recommendation? If you have a stash of Hilton points, seriously consider using them sooner rather than later, because at this rate, we might see even higher redemption levels in the future. Moving on to some better news, British Airways has quietly restored the ability to transfer Avios to Iberia after a sudden suspension due to fraud concerns. This is actually a big deal because transferring Avios between British Airways and Iberia can unlock some fantastic redemption opportunities. Iberia often has better availability for certain routes, and their off-peak pricing can offer incredible value. If you've been sitting on British Airways Avios, now's a good time to check if transferring some to Iberia might unlock better redemptions for your travel plans. Here's an interesting opportunity for status seekers: Kenya Airways is offering incredibly generous status matching to SkyTeam Elite Plus. They'll basically status match anyone with a heartbeat and a credit card, and they have a separate promotion offering triple status miles to help you keep that matched status. While Kenya Airways might not be your go-to airline, remember that SkyTeam Elite Plus gives you benefits across all SkyTeam partners, including Delta, Air France, KLM, and others. If you're struggling to maintain or achieve elite status elsewhere, this could be worth exploring. In some operational news, JetBlue has officially retired its Embraer E-one-ninety fleet, transitioning to an all-Airbus operation. While this might not directly impact your points earning, it does signal JetBlue's commitment to fleet standardization, which often leads to more consistent service experiences. The E-one-ninety was JetBlue's smallest aircraft, so this retirement might affect service to some smaller markets. Also making news is Delta's major expansion plans for Austin. According to leaked internal communications, Delta is planning one hundred and fifty daily flights from Austin, with fifteen preferred-use gates and two lounges. They're also planning to increase their Austin staff by ten times. This massive expansion could create new redemption opportunities and potentially more award availability on routes to and from Austin. If Austin is in your travel plans, keep an eye on Delta's growing presence there. Let me briefly mention a couple of credit card updates. The Points Guy has published a comprehensive review of the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business card from American Express. If you're a business owner who flies Delta regularly, this card offers solid earning rates and Delta-specific benefits. Check the show notes for the link to apply and current sign-up bonus details. There's also great analysis on maximizing the Chase Sapphire Reserve, which remains one of the most valuable travel cards available with its strong earning rates and transfer partners. And speaking of deals, there's a fantastic redemption opportunity available right now: nonstop lie-flat seats to Paris or Amsterdam for just thirty-eight thousand Capital One miles. This combines great partner redemption rates with transfer bonuses, making it an excellent time to book premium cabin flights to Europe. If you have Capital One miles or transferable points that can move to Capital One, this could be an incredible value. Finally, United Airlines and Italy's ITA Airways are starting a loyalty partnership ahead of ITA's eventual move to Star Alliance. This means you'll soon be able to earn and redeem United miles on ITA Airways flights, which could open up some interesting redemption opportunities to and within Italy. That wraps up today's Miles and Points news. Before I let you go, I want to tell you about Award Travel Finder dot com. If you're looking for the best award flights, this tool searches availability across Qatar Airways, British Airways, Japan Airlines, Cathay Pacific, and more airlines. It's incredibly powerful for finding those hard-to-locate award seats. Try it for free using our link in the show notes. Thanks for tuning in to Miles and Points Daily! Don't forget to subscribe on your favorite podcast platform or visit us at milesandpointsdaily dot com for more content. Until tomorrow, happy travels and happy earning!