Miles and Points Recap: Silver Lining to United Devaluation, Total Rewards/Atlantis, 60K Links on Southwest Cards and More

This is a brief news recap from last week. For faster updates, follow Miles For Family on Twitter or check the feed on the right side of the blog.

1) I’m sure by now you’ve heard about United award chart devaluation that will take effect on 11/1.  Economy “saver” awards are not affected, though “standard” awards will fluctuate and will be higher on some routes. Details here

There is one significant sweet spot highlighted by DansDeals blog. Effective 11/1, you will be able to use 8K United miles to fly on a nonstop flight within any single region outside of the US/Canada on a partner airline as long as the flight is less than 800 miles in distance

Few examples: Zurich-Venice flight on United partner Swiss, and Panama to Liberia (Costa Rica) on COPA will drop from 12.5K to 8K miles.

2) Everything you wanted to know about Total Rewards free Atlantis stayby DoC. This is an interesting find, for sure. I’ve heard about a possibility of getting a free two-night stay with Founders card (huge annual fee), but not via match from Wyndham Platinum status that comes with Signature version of the credit card. As I’ve mentioned last week, the bonus has been recently increased to 45K points, so this perk may sweeten the deal.

I’m not sure I would apply purely for Atlantis stay because there are fees galore. It appears that 2 nights will run at around $150 in resort charges and various taxes (and NOT in the main fancy wing). Still a good deal, but not spectacular. Many readers report that hot dogs at the resort cost $22 (ouch!) Add resort fees, taxes and so on, and this may not be much of a deal. Still, if you’ve always wanted to stay in Atlantis, this could be worth considering, especially if you plan on applying for Wyndham card anyway.

Since I live in Florida, going on Bahamas cruise from Miami is a better deal. Of course, I’m comparing apples to oranges here, but airfare taxes to Bahamas are so high, the juice isn’t worth the squeeze.

3) Direct links for 60K points’ offer on all three Southwest cards seem to work for now, but I’m not sure for how long. Check my Hot Deals page for details. Like I said before, good deals in this hobby tend to come and go.

4) Flexperks will be worth 1.5 cents in 2018 and beyond by DoC. I actually think this is a positive change for most normal people. Emphasis on the word “normal.” Read my post with a real life example on using Flexperks points for a flight from India to US.

5) There is a new link for 80K points offer on Chase IHG card. It’s not subject to 5/24 restriction. Find more info on it  here   It does pay us commission. This is a very good deal, though there have been targeted offers of 100K points in the past. Still, if you’ve been thinking about applying, I would go for it. Reportedly, you can ask to match to 100K offer, though there are no guarantees.

That being said, I would probably wait another couple of months before applying. The reason? Your renewal certificate will hit in early fall of each year, and you will be able to use it for the following summer. Of course, it does depend on your travel patterns. (Hat tip DDG)

6) Grand Teton and Yellowstone trip report by PFDigest. So cool! Love the photos of the kids. This is what miles and points hobby is all about.

 

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