Hello and welcome to the Miles & Points Daily Podcast! I'm Lucas, your host, and I'm here to keep you in the loop with all the latest happenings in the world of miles and points. Whether you're sipping your morning coffee or stuck in traffic, I've got your daily dose of travel rewards news that'll help you maximize your earning and burning potential. Before we dive in today, let me tell you about hotelredemptions.com, a fantastic 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. Now, let's get into today's news! Our biggest story today comes from One Mile at a Time, and it's about Virgin Atlantic Flying Club offering a seventy percent bonus when you buy points. This is a pretty compelling deal, bringing the cost down to about one point twenty to one point forty eight cents each. Virgin Atlantic doesn't sell points often, so when they do, it's worth paying attention. If you're planning any premium cabin travel on Virgin Atlantic or their partners like Delta, All Nippon Airways, or Singapore Airlines, this could be a great opportunity to top off your account. The key is to have a specific redemption in mind before buying points. Virgin Atlantic's sweet spots include their own Upper Class to destinations like London, or using points for partner awards that can offer excellent value for business and first class travel. Speaking of credit cards, let's talk about a couple of reviews from The Points Guy. First up is the IHG One Rewards Premier Business card. This card is getting some positive coverage, with reviewers noting that the annual fee is actually justified by the perks it offers. While I don't have the specific bonus amount from this source, IHG business cards typically offer generous sign-up bonuses and valuable benefits like free night awards and elite status. If you're interested in this card, make sure to check the link in our show notes for the current offer. The Points Guy also reviewed the Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express card, calling it perfect for casual Delta travelers. This card is particularly appealing because it offers elite-like perks including a free first checked bag, which can easily offset the annual fee if you fly Delta even just a couple times per year. Again, check our show notes for the current sign-up bonus details. Now, let's pivot to some travel strategy content. One Mile at a Time published a comprehensive guide about stopover rules on airline award tickets. This is incredibly valuable information because stopovers used to be widely available across most programs, but nowadays they're becoming increasingly rare. The programs that still allow free stopovers can help you stretch your miles much further by essentially getting two trips for the price of one. It's worth understanding which programs still offer this benefit and planning your award bookings accordingly. For those planning winter getaways, The Points Guy has an interesting piece about skiing in Europe being cheaper than in the United States, and how to use points and miles to make it even more affordable. This is timely advice as we head into booking season for winter travel. European ski destinations often offer better value than their American counterparts, and using points for flights and hotels can make the savings even more dramatic. From the hotel world, we have news about a new flexible loyalty program called Rove Miles that's launching with twelve transfer partners. They're offering bonus miles for hotel bookings with codes like STAYCATION for twenty-five hundred bonus miles or BACKTOSCHOOL for five thousand bonus miles on your first booking. New loyalty programs can be worth watching, especially in their early days when they're trying to attract members with generous offers. Let me also mention some quick operational news. Air Canada flight attendants have rejected their contract offer by ninety-nine percent, which means mediation is next. This follows the recent strike and government intervention. While this is more operational than rewards-focused, it's worth keeping an eye on if you have upcoming Air Canada travel plans. And here's something interesting from American Airlines: they're adding what will be their shortest international flight at just sixty-four miles. This is notable because it shows how airlines are constantly looking for new route opportunities, even very short international hops that might offer unique redemption possibilities. Before we wrap up today's show, let me tell you about Award Travel Finder. If you're looking for the best award flights, use AwardTravelFinder.com to search availability across Qatar Airways, British Airways, Japan Airlines, Cathay Pacific and many more airlines all in one place. It's a huge time saver when you're hunting for award space, and you can try it for free using our link in the show notes. That's all for today's Miles & Points Daily Podcast! Thanks for listening, and remember to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, or visit us at milesandpointsdaily.com. Until tomorrow, keep earning and burning those points wisely!