From bonus points on your next hotel stay to generous sales of airline miles, we’re always looking for travel deals that help you earn more points and miles and redeem them for maximum value. In other words, we want to help you book the vacation of your dreams.

Recently, JetBlue started allowing members to redeem TrueBlue points for basic economy tickets, starting as low as 700 points. If Delta Air Lines elite status is in your 2025 resolutions, you can earn Medallion Qualification Dollars on hotel stays and rental cars for a limited time. And, if you need to boost your points or miles balance for an upcoming redemption, our roundup of the latest buying points and miles promos can save you some money. But that’s not all.

We help our readers each week by rounding up ongoing promotions so they don’t have to scour the internet for the best reward redemptions and offers. This includes everything from frequent flyer programs and hotel rewards programs to credit card offers and rental car deals. Here’s our latest list of noteworthy new points and miles promotions for February.

Airline loyalty program promotions (February 2025)

Airline loyalty programs can offer trip discounts on certain dates, the chance to earn more miles for future travel and deals to rack up points toward elite status. Below are some of the best offers we found for February.

Earn bonus Lufthansa miles on car rentals

Planning a road trip? For a limited time, you can earn bonus Lufthansa Miles & More miles when you rent a car with Avis.

• Earn 4,000 bonus miles for rentals of three to five days, 6,500 bonus miles for rentals of six to 10 days, 7,000 bonus miles for rentals of 11 to 14 days and 8,000 bonus miles for rentals of 15 to 28 days. This is in addition to the standard miles you would earn for your rental based on your status tier.
• This offer is valid at all participating Avis locations worldwide for rentals from the category “medium size — car category C” for the respective Avis rental country.
• You must book your Avis rental through this page by March 31 and complete your rental by June 30.

Related: Best airline credit cards

Hotel loyalty program promotions (February 2025)

Hotel loyalty programs occasionally offer discounted stays, ways to earn extra points and deals at various properties. Here are some February deals to consider when booking your next stay.

Earn double Choice points on stays this spring

Choice Privileges points can be useful for booking free hotel nights — especially now that the program plans to make some exciting award-booking changes in 2025. With this promotion, you can earn double points on up to four stays this spring.

• Earn double the base points you’d normally earn on qualifying stays at participating properties. WoodSpring Suites, Mainstay Suites, Everhome Suites, Suburban Studios and all-inclusive Ascend Hotel Collection properties, among others, are not participating in this offer.
• To qualify, stays must be booked via choicehotels.com or the Choice app or by calling 800.4CHOICE. Stays booked through Book by Google are also eligible if you add your Choice Privileges number to the reservation prior to check-in.
• You can take advantage of this offer a maximum of four times during the promotion period.
• Register for this promotion here, then book and stay by April 7.

Earn unlimited bonus Marriott points and elite night credits

This offer from Marriott Bonvoy not only lets you earn extra points that you can redeem for free nights; it also lets you fast-track your way to Marriott elite status. And since there’s no limit to how many bonus points and elite nights you can earn during this promotion, you could potentially rack up some serious rewards if you book a long stay or multiple stays.

• Earn 1,000 bonus points and one bonus elite night credit for each eligible paid night you stay at a participating Marriott Bonvoy property. Bulgari, The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, Marriott Executive Apartments and owner-occupied weeks at Marriott Vacation Club, Grand Residences by Marriott, Marriott Grand Residence Club, Sheraton Vacation Club, Westin Vacation Club, The Ritz-Carlton Club, The St. Regis Residence Club, and the Luxury Collection Residence Club are not eligible for this promotion.
• Valid for stays booked through qualifying channels, which include but are not limited to: Marriott websites, Marriott mobile apps, participating properties and customer engagement centers.
• Register through April 14 for stays through April 28.

Related: Best hotel credit cards

Credit card promotions (February 2025)

Card issuers sometimes offer deals and discounts for certain cardholders on everything from airfare to dining. Here are some of the offers we’ve rounded up this week. Remember that you must activate these offers on your card and use your enrolled card to make the purchase to earn bonus rewards.

Targeted Chase Offer at Southwest Airlines

This offer that we spotted on the Chase Freedom Unlimited® could save you up to 10% on your next Southwest Airlines flight.

• Earn 5% or 10% cash back (up to $40 maximum) when you spend $50 or more directly at Southwest. You’ll get 10% cash back on flights flown in March or 5% cash back on other qualifying purchases.
• This offer ends March 1.

Targeted Chase Offers at IHG brands

We’ve also seen a handful of offers to get money back on your next stay at select IHG brand hotels. These popped up on the Chase Freedom Unlimited and the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.

• Earn 10% cash back on your Hotel Indigo stay (up to $62 maximum) when you spend $100 or more in a single purchase.
• Earn 10% cash back at Staybridge Suites (up to $62 maximum) when you spend $100 or more in a single purchase.
• Earn 10% cash back on your Holiday Inn stay (up to $62 maximum) when you spend $100 or more in a single purchase.
• Payment must be made directly with the merchant.
• These offers end April 1.

Targeted Amex Offers at Hilton

We’ve seen multiple offers on the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card that could save you money on your next stay. Plus, this card earns 14 Hilton Honors points per dollar spent at hotels in the Hilton portfolio.

• Earn $60 as a statement credit when you spend at least $300 on one or more room rate and room charge purchases at participating Hilton properties in the U.S. and U.S. territories.
• Earn $50 as a statement credit when you spend at least $250 on one or more room rate and room charge purchases at participating Hilton properties.
• These offers expire April 30.

The information for the Hilton Aspire Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Related: The ultimate guide to saving money with Amex Offers

Ongoing travel deals

In addition to these new offers, many others from previous weeks are still available:

• Earn 25 Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles per dollar spent at 1-800-Flowers and Harry & David when you use promo code “AKA4.” There is no published end date for this offer.
• Earn 2,000 bonus SkyMiles after you link your Turo and SkyMiles accounts here and take your first trip with Turo. Then, you’ll earn 500 SkyMiles for every Turo rental thereafter. This offer has no published end date.
• Get 50% of your miles back on award flights across all of Turkish Airlines’ network when you purchase two tickets, including one for yourself, with Turkish Miles&Smiles‘ Valentine’s Day sale. Book by Feb. 16 for travel between now and Feb. 23.
• Earn 20 Avios per pound (or equivalent) spent on hotels and 15 Avios per pound (or equivalent) spent on car rentals booked through the British Airways platform. Book by Feb. 24, then complete your car rental by May 20 or your hotel stay by Dec. 31.
• Earn one free Avis Preferred rental day for every two two-day rentals you complete in an intermediate-class car or above. You can use this promotion multiple times, up to a maximum of five free days earned each month. Register here, and complete your rentals by Feb. 28.
• Save 30% on flights operated by Aegean Airlines and Olympic Air to any destination in Aegean’s network. Book through aegeanair.com, olympicair.com or the Aegean app using offer code “THANKYOU30” by Feb. 28 for travel between now and Dec. 31.
• Earn double Accor Live Limitless points when staying in North and Central America (including Rio de Janeiro) at Fairmont, Sofitel, Swissotel, Novotel, Raffles and more. Register by Feb. 28, and complete your stay by March 31.
• Get 20% bonus points back when you redeem World of Hyatt points for free nights at participating Homes & Hideaways by World of Hyatt properties and complete your stay by March 9. See the full terms and conditions here.
• Earn triple base points for qualifying stays at Hyatt House and Hyatt Place hotels or double base points at most other Hyatt brands. Register by March 10, and complete your qualifying stay(s) by March 28.
• Targeted ANA Mileage Club members can earn double base miles on select routes to or from North America. Check your email to see if you’re targeted, then register, book and fly by March 12.
• Earn 3,000 bonus World of Hyatt points per night (up to 30,000 bonus points total) at participating Hyatt Vacation Club properties. Register here by March 24; complete your stay by March 30.
• Enjoy up to 25% off and complimentary breakfast at participating Fairmont properties around the world. Book by March 30 for stays through May 31.
• Earn double IHG One Rewards base points starting on your second paid stay, then keep earning double on unlimited stays through March 31. Register here before booking.
• Earn 2,000 bonus miles (valid for one year) when you join Emirates Skywards. Register at this link using code “CONDOR” by March 31.
• Earn 5,000 bonus IHG One Rewards points for joining the program and completing your first stay. You must register for your account through this page and complete your first stay within 21 days of joining. You have until April 30 to register and stay.
• Receive a $50 Best Western gift card when you stay two nights between now and May 11 at any Best Western hotel in the U.S., Canada or the Caribbean. You can use this promotion up to two times, for a maximum of two $50 gift cards per member. Gift cards will expire Aug. 3.
• Earn 20% bonus ALL points on qualifying bookings you make through the app by June 30. Download the app here.

Additionally, there are many stand-alone Amex Offers and Chase Offers still available across a variety of credit cards. Keep in mind that these offers are targeted. You need to activate them prior to making an eligible purchase to receive cash back, bonus points or miles.

Targeted Amex Offers

• Get $150 back as a statement credit when you spend at least $750 on one or more room rate and room charge purchases at participating Omni Hotels & Resorts in the U.S. and Canada. Enroll by Feb. 20, and complete your stay by March 20.
• Earn a one-time $100 statement credit after spending $500 or more on room rate and room charge purchases at the Hard Rock Hotel New York in New York City. This offer is valid until Feb. 28.
• Earn $200 back as a statement credit when you spend $1,200 or more on Virgin Atlantic-marketed flights booked through Amex Travel by Feb. 28. Flight and hotel packages are not eligible.
• Earn $60 back as a statement credit when you spend at least $300 on one or more room rate and room charge purchases at select Sonesta brands and destinations in the U.S. You must add this offer to your eligible card by Feb. 28 and redeem by March 31.
• Get $100 back as a statement credit when you spend at least $500 on one or more room rate and room charge purchases at participating Hilton properties in Nevada. This offer expires March 17.
• Earn $150 back as a statement credit when you spend $750 or more at participating Hilton properties in Mexico, the Caribbean and Latin America by March 31.
• Earn an additional 5 Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on qualifying Regent Seven Seas Cruises bookings, up to a maximum of 50,000 bonus points. Book through rssc.com, by calling 1-844-473-4368, through a Regent Seven Seas travel adviser or through Amex Travel by March 31.
• Earn 10% back (up to $125 back) on prepaid hotel purchases at Expedia by using this link. This offer expires April 6.
• Earn a $250 statement credit after spending $1,000 or more on room rate and room charge purchases incurred at the time of reservation for Homes & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy properties. This offer expires April 13.
• Earn a one-time $60 statement credit when you spend a minimum of $300 on one or more room rate and room charge purchases at participating Viceroy Hotels and Resorts in U.S. cities. Book at viceroyhotelsandresorts.com by May 5.
• Earn a one-time $300 statement credit when you spend a minimum of $1,500 on one or more room rate and room charge purchases at participating Viceroy Hotels and Resorts in the U.S. and Mexico. Book at viceroyhotelsandresorts.com by May 5.
• Earn an extra 5 Membership Rewards points per eligible dollar spent (up to 50,000 bonus points) on your AmaWaterways purchase. This offer ends May 6.
• Earn a $200 statement credit after spending a minimum of $900 on one or more room rate and room charge purchases at Four Seasons properties in the U.S. and select international destinations. This offer expires May 29.
• Earn an additional 5 Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on qualifying Oceania Cruises bookings, up to a maximum of 50,000 bonus points. Book through oceaniacruises.com, by calling 1-855-623-2642 or through an Oceania Cruise travel adviser by June 1.

Targeted Chase Offers

• Earn 5% or 10% cash back (up to $40 cash back) on your Southwest Airlines purchase when you spend $50 or more directly with the merchant by Feb. 15. Earn 10% cash back on purchases of flights that occur in February or 5% cash back for other qualifying purchases.
• Earn 10% cash back (up to $32 cash back) on your Best Western stay when you spend $100 or more directly with the merchant by Feb. 15. This offer is valid at domestic Best Western, Best Western Plus, Best Western Premier, Vib, GLo, Aiden and Executive Residency properties; SureStay Hotels and WorldHotels are excluded.
• Earn 10% cash back (up to $80 cash back) on your Marriott Bonvoy stay when you spend $100 or more by Feb. 15.
• Earn 10% cash back (up to $62 cash back) on your Autograph Collection stay when you spend $100 or more directly with the merchant by Feb. 15.
• Earn 10% cash back (up to $75 cash back) on your Renaissance Hotels stay when you spend $100 or more directly with the merchant by Feb. 15.
• Earn 10% cash back (up to $68 cash back) on your Westin Hotels & Resorts stay when you spend $100 or more directly with the merchant by Feb. 15.
• Earn 10% cash back (up to $43 cash back) on your SpringHill Suites stay when you spend $100 or more directly with the merchant by Feb. 15.
• Earn 10% cash back (up to $57 cash back) on your Sheraton stay when you spend $100 or more directly with the merchant by Feb. 15.
• Earn $75 cash back on your Homes & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy stay when you spend $250 or more in a single purchase by Feb. 15.

Targeted Wells Fargo Offer

• Earn 10% cash back (up to $32 cash back) on your stay at participating Best Western brands when you spend $100 or more directly with the merchant. This offer ends Feb. 15.

Related reading:

• 10 big changes coming to travel for 2025
• 11 surprising winter vacation ideas for a warm-weather getaway
• Best travel credit cards
• The best credit cards to reach elite status

Singapore Airlines has a reputation for offering an exceptional product, but booking long-haul, premium-cabin awards with the airline can be tricky. You can sometimes find award availability using Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan or Air Canada Aeroplan, but you’ll usually find more availability through Singapore KrisFlyer.

KrisFlyer generally charges more miles than other loyalty programs, even on dates when saver awards are available. However, the program offers discounts on select award flights each month through its KrisFlyer Spontaneous Escapes promotion.

Right now, you can book select promo award flights with a 30% discount if you reserve by Feb. 28 and travel between March 1 and 31. You’ll find discounted award tickets to select destinations in the Singapore Airlines network.

Here’s how you can maximize this iteration of Singapore KrisFlyer Spontaneous Escapes.

Deal basics

Airline: Singapore Airlines

Routes: Between John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Frankfurt Airport (FRA), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Singapore Changi Airport (SIN), San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and SIN, Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and SIN, and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) and SIN.

Cost: Starts at 17,500 miles in economy, 36,400 miles in premium economy and 56,700 miles in business class

Travel dates: Between March 1 and 31 (with some blackout dates)

Book by: Feb. 28

Related: Is Singapore Airlines premium economy worth it on the Airbus A350?

Sample KrisFlyer Spontaneous Escapes itineraries

Singapore KrisFlyer Spontaneous Escapes offers discounted award flights on select routes Singapore Airlines operates. However, only select flight numbers are discounted each month.

Here’s a look at the Spontaneous Escapes pricing this month on U.S. routes:

Remember, you must find award availability on the KrisFlyer website. Promo awards may not be available on select dates — even ones not listed as blackout dates. When you search, you’ll see the discounted awards listed as “promo” if available.

Additionally, all the flights on your itinerary must qualify for the promotion to access the discounted pricing. So, if there’s a promo reward available for just one direction of your flight, it might be best to book two one-way flights.

Be aware that flights departing Europe are subject to higher taxes and fees than flights leaving the U.S. Plan to spend approximately 125 euros (about $131) per person in one-way taxes and fees on westbound transatlantic flights.

Check the Spontaneous Escapes homepage for more details.

Earning miles to book this award

Earning Singapore KrisFlyer miles is easy. The program is a 1:1 transfer partner with American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One, Citi ThankYou Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards. KrisFlyer is also a 3:1 transfer partner with Marriott Bonvoy, with 5,000 bonus miles offered for every 60,000 points you transfer.

Note that the transferred rewards may take up to 24 hours (or longer for Marriott transfers) to hit your KrisFlyer account. If they don’t immediately appear, consider calling KrisFlyer to hold award seats until the miles post. Doing so will lock in your award seats, so you won’t have to worry about the availability disappearing. KrisFlyer generally charges a service fee of $25 or 2,500 miles to hold award seats.

Related: How to book Singapore Airlines first-class Suites with points and miles

How to pay taxes and fees

Use The Platinum Card® from American Express to earn 5 points per dollar spent on airfare booked directly with the airline or through American Express Travel (on up to $500,000 spent per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar), the Chase Sapphire Reserve® to earn 3 points per dollar spent on travel (after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually), the American Express® Gold Card to earn 3 points per dollar spent on airfare booked directly with the airline or on the American Express travel portal, or the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card to earn 2 points per dollar spent on travel.

Bottom line

Singapore Airlines is offering flights to Europe starting at just 17,500 miles in economy, 36,400 miles in premium economy and 56,700 miles in business class. Discounts are also available in economy and premium economy on various nonstop routes from the U.S. to Singapore.

These flights can be a great use of transferable credit card points.

Uber is rolling out Preferred Currency Pricing in select locations, including the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom and the European Union, news that came to our attention after one member of the TPG team received an account update email from Uber.

Beginning Feb. 27, Uber will charge residents in these areas a 1.5% currency conversion fee if they choose to pay in their preferred currency instead of the local currency when they request a ride abroad.

The preferred currency setting is intended to help riders know how much they pay when they travel internationally by displaying prices in their home currency, rather than the local currency. This can also help alleviate conversion fees charged by some banks and credit card issuers, which can exceed the 1.5% rate charged by Uber.

Related: Tips to save on overseas ATM withdrawals

Of course, if you pay with a card that doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees, you’re essentially giving Uber an extra 1.5% when you request a ride outside of your home country.

When the feature rolls out, Uber will automatically assign your home currency as your preferred currency — but you can opt out to avoid this surcharge.

To opt out, open your Uber app and click “Account.” From there, go to your “Wallet” and click on “Preferred Currency.” It should default to your home currency — but you can change the setting to “No preferred currency” if you prefer to pay in the local currency when you travel. By making “No preferred currency” your default, you can avoid the 1.5% surcharge.

Even if you don’t change this setting before you travel, you will also see the option to opt out of paying in your preferred currency at checkout when you book a ride abroad. It’s best to change this setting before your next international trip, though, so you don’t forget.

While you are at it, make sure the card(s) in your Uber wallet are ones that don’t charge currency conversion fees and that you keep up to date on ways to maximize perks when riding with Uber.

• Get $75 in Uber credits when you sign up for Clear
• Amex Platinum and Gold cardmembers: Changes coming to your Uber Cash benefit
• Frequent Uber or Lyft user? These are the best credit cards for you
• Quick Points: Earn more points and miles with Uber, Lyft and Starbucks apps
• Marriott announces Uber partnership changes: The good, the bad and the totally worthless

If you qualified for United Premier status last year, this one is for you.

When United Airlines announced it would be harder to qualify for Premier status in 2023, it softened the blow by promising its Premier members a one-time deposit of Premier qualifying points for those who qualified in 2022. The offer then returned in February 2024 for status earned in 2023. Now, the offer is back for another year.

United has begun depositing these one-time PQPs for 2024 Premier members in their MileagePlus accounts for 2025.

How do the United PQP deposits work?

United is making one-time PQP deposits. Here’s what you can expect, based on the status you qualified for in 2024:

• Premier Silver: 300 PQPs
• Premier Gold: 600 PQPs
• Premier Platinum: 900 PQPs
• Premier 1K: 1,400 PQPs

If you held full Premier status as of Feb. 1, 2025, you’re eligible for a PQP deposit according to your status level.

It’s worth noting that these PQP deposits are slightly higher in 2025 than they were in 2024 across all four status levels — but the requirements to earn Premier status have also changed this year.

The above status qualifications also require flying a minimum of four segments during the calendar year.

Earn PQPs through eligible credit cards

You can also earn PQPs on spending with an eligible cobranded United credit card. United has changed the earning frequency, with 1 PQP earned per $20 spent on all eligible cards (this was previously $25) except the United Club℠ Infinite Card and United Club℠ Business Card (those two earn 1 PQP per $15 spent).

The information for the United Club Business Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Related: United’s best-kept elite status secret: How to earn PQPs faster with partner flights

What if I buy up for United elite status?

While we generally don’t recommend buying up to the next United status tier, how many PQPs will United deposit in your account if you do?

According to United’s website, you’ll earn the PQP deposit based on your Feb. 1, 2025, status. So, if you purchased the status buy-up before then, you’ll receive the PQP deposit from your new status. Otherwise, expect a PQP deposit from the status you qualified for in 2024.

If you participated in a status match or challenge, you should receive a PQP deposit if you successfully qualified for Premier status before Feb. 1, 2025, per United’s website. However, members who hold a trial status or those who have a challenge in progress are not eligible.

Related: The ultimate guide to earning elite status with United cards

What does this mean for Million Milers?

If you’re a United lifetime Premier member, you’ll receive a PQP deposit based on your corresponding status, even if you didn’t fly in 2024.

Related: Is it worth pursuing lifetime elite status?

Bottom line

If you qualified for any level of United status last year, the airline has given you a “boost” toward status this year with some bonus Premier qualifying points. To find out what you’ve earned, check your United MileagePlus account for an entry labeled “Starter PQP.”

Related reading:

• The best credit cards for United Airlines flyers
• Maximize your airfare: The best credit cards for booking flights
• The best credit cards to reach elite status

Hilton Honors has brought back its status match, and it’s one of the most generous of any hotel loyalty program.

If you hold elite status in a major hotel program, you may wonder how other loyalty programs reward their elite members. There’s also a chance you might be unhappy with your current program. Or, maybe a change of circumstances means you’re now traveling to different destinations than usual and want to seek out alternative ways to be rewarded for your stay.

Enter the world of status matches, where competing programs offer a “try before you buy” initiative to entice your business.

Here’s what you need to know about Hilton’s current status match offer.

Hilton Honors status match program

Like many hotel brands, Hilton offers status match opportunities for elite members in other hotel loyalty programs. If you have elite status with another program, you can receive complimentary Hilton Honors elite status.

Anyone eligible for a status match will be matched to Hilton Honors Gold status for 90 days. While you can’t get an instant match to top-tier Diamond, you can still fast-track it.

Here are the challenges you can complete during your 90-day trial period to either extend your Gold status or upgrade to Diamond:

• Gold: Stay eight (paid) nights to keep Gold through March 31, 2027
• Diamond: Stay 14 (paid) nights to be upgraded to Diamond through March 31, 2027

You can submit a status match through this link. You’ll need to provide the following information:

• Name
• Email
• Hilton Honors account number (you can join for free online if you are not already a member)
• Hotel loyalty program status you want Hilton Honors to match
• Current status level with the hotel loyalty program you want to match
• Proof of status with the hotel loyalty program you want to match (meaning a screenshot of your current account status or your current and active membership card)
• Proof of stay in the last 12 months with the hotel loyalty program you want to match (meaning a screenshot of your previous reservations or hotel receipt, redacting any personal information other than your name and membership number)

You can match elite status from the following programs:

• Marriott Bonvoy (Gold Elite and above)
• IHG One Rewards (Gold Elite and above)
• World of Hyatt (Explorist and above)
• Best Western Rewards (Diamond and above)
• Choice Privileges (Diamond)

There is also an option to select “Other” as the status you are matching from. If you have elite status in another program, you can always try your luck submitting it this way; note that the terms and conditions technically say only the listed programs are eligible to be matched with.

If you’re looking to status match and begin a challenge shortly before a trip or set of stays, don’t wait until the last minute. Hilton’s website allows seven to 12 business days for a response.

Some TPG readers have noted that previous versions of this status match and challenge required multiple submissions of additional information or different file formats before their new status took effect.

Remember that you can only apply for one Hilton status match per lifetime, so ensure you choose the most advantageous time to apply.

Related: No suite upgrade but charm aplenty: What it’s like staying at one of Hilton’s SLH London properties as a top-tier elite

You can usually earn Hilton Honors status through the following activity within a calendar year:

• Silver: 10 nights, four separate stays or 25,000 base points
• Gold: 40 nights, 20 separate stays or 75,000 base points
• Diamond: 60 nights, 30 separate stays or 120,000 base points

Gold status includes perks like bonus points, room upgrades and complimentary breakfast outside the U.S. or a food-and-beverage credit within the U.S.

Meanwhile, Diamond includes more perks like complimentary upgrades to suites and guaranteed executive lounge access.

If you don’t have an existing elite status to match (or you can’t meet the 90-day stay requirements to extend the status), Hilton Honors status is easy to earn with the following credit cards (enrollment required):

• Silver status is a benefit of the no-annual-fee Hilton Honors American Express Card (see rates and fees).
• Gold status is a benefit of the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card, the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card, The Platinum Card® from American Express and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (enrollment is required for the Amex Platinum and Amex Business Platinum cards).
• Diamond status is a benefit of the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card, or you will be upgraded to Diamond status when you spend $40,000 in a calendar year on the Hilton Amex Surpass or the Hilton Amex Business.

The information for the Hilton Aspire Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Bottom line

Hilton allows members from competing loyalty programs to try out elite status in the Hilton Honors programs for 90 days. If you meet the stay requirements in those 90 days, you can enjoy Gold or top-tier Diamond status through March 2027.

It is great to see this generous offer return to allow elite members of other programs to “try before they buy.” Ensure you meet the match requirements, and choose the most advantageous time to apply.

The Montreal-based Star Alliance carrier plans to serve 60 to 65 U.S. “stations” — or airports, such as New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and LaGuardia Airport (LGA), both of which are considered separate stations — by 2028, Alexandre Lefèvre, Air Canada’s vice president of planning and scheduling, said at the Routes Americas conference in Nassau, Bahamas, on Tuesday.

Schedule data from aviation analytics firm Cirium shows that Air Canada will serve 50 U.S. destinations in the second quarter. The airline has unveiled one new U.S. destination to date this year: Jacksonville International Airport (JAX).

Bargain hunting: The best time to book flights for the cheapest airfare

“We need to offer more connectivity,” Lefèvre said. “We need to offer more dots on the map, [and] basically create more value.”

Air Canada’s planned U.S. expansion follows an established playbook. The airline focuses primarily on midsize American cities where connections over one of its three hubs — Montreal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL), Toronto Pearson Airport (YYZ) and Vancouver International Airport (YVR) in British Columbia — make sense for trips to Asia or Europe. These are known as “sixth-freedom” itineraries where travelers originate in one country, change planes in another country and arrive in a third country.

The growth of Air Canada’s sixth-freedom business from the U.S. enables it to grow in Europe and Asia as well. It will add Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL) in the Philippines, Naples International Airport (NAP) in Italy, Václav Havel Airport Prague (PRG) and Porto Airport (OPO) in Portugal to its map in 2025.

Fueling this growth is a robust airplane order book. Air Canada’s latest fleet plan from the end of October 2024 shows that the carrier has at least 83 aircraft, including 27 Airbus A220-300s, 30 Airbus A321XLRs and 18 Boeing 787-10s, on firm order, with deliveries scheduled through 2029.

The airline will use those new planes to grow its schedule by 5% to 6% annually over the next three to four years, Lefèvre said. Continuing delivery delays at both Airbus and Boeing could slow that growth.

Where Air Canada could deploy those planes in the U.S. is the question. Asked what type of destinations the airline is looking at, Lefèvre said, “Our big focus, and our big success over the past few years, have been in those unaligned markets where we’ve got a right to win.”

“Look at Hartford for example,” he continued. “Hartford is a market market where you can make a difference but not as much as if you want to serve Oklahoma City, for example. If you look at Oklahoma City and you look at the routing to go from [there] to Europe … and we’re exactly on the right path. Those are the markets we’re looking at.”

Air Canada has no immediate plans to serve Oklahoma City’s Will Rogers World Airport (OKC), Lefèvre added.

Salt Lake City, San Antonio and Louisville, Kentucky, are other types of destinations that fit Lefèvre’s description of potential future Air Canada markets.

Air Canada ended service to Hartford in October after more than two decades of serving the market, Cirium schedules show.

The airline’s growth in the U.S. will be part of its joint venture with United Airlines. The two carriers coordinate schedules and fares on transborder routes, and United helps sell Air Canada flights in the American market.

Air Canada and United also have a separate joint venture with the Lufthansa Group that covers transatlantic routes.

Even as Air Canada plans to add more breadth to its U.S. map, it’s the largest markets that still generate the most traffic for the airline.

“Most of our international connections are still big markets — San Francisco, LAX, Chicago and New York — all those cities, none of them have enough nonstops to serve the demand,” Lefèvre said.

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For more than a decade and a half, answering that question in the U.S. was a simple “yes,” owed to a remarkable stretch of safety that had seen 16 years pass without a deadly crash involving a U.S. airline.

Last month, that long-running streak came to a tragic halt when a U.S. Army helicopter collided with an American Airlines regional jet as the PSA Airlines-operated aircraft prepared to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). 

None of the 64 people on board the Bombardier CRJ700 — or the three soldiers on the Black Hawk helicopter — survived, first responders shared in the wake of the crash.

Before January ended, 2025 was already the deadliest year for aviation in America in nearly a quarter century.

How could it happen? And what does it mean for a mode of transportation so many of us took for granted as the gold standard for safety?

“Air travel, as a whole, is still safe,” Shawn Pruchnicki, former airline pilot and aviation accident investigator at Ohio State University’s Center for Aviation Studies, told TPG.

“But what this accident highlights for us,” Pruchnicki said, “is that our large margin of safety that we have built into the system over decades has been eroded to some degree.”

Safest mode of transportation

The relative safety of getting on a plane versus — say, getting in your car to commute — remains so stark, the statistics are almost hard to comprehend.

According to a report published last year by the International Air Transport Association, the odds, backed by current safety statistics, work out so that any one traveler would have to fly every day for 100,000 years to experience a fatal accident.

2023, that same report noted, was the safest year on record for commercial air travel.

Consider, too, the fact that some 45,000 aircraft take off and land across America each day — the overwhelming majority of them without incident.

Even the nation’s top transportation safety advocate — often a critic of airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration — has put the overall safety of flying in perspective:

“The fact is, our aviation system is the safest in the world,” National Transportation Safety Board chair Jennifer Homendy wrote in a social media post last spring — comments that came amid a barrage of head-turning aviation headlines in the months following an inflight emergency on an Alaska Airlines jet last January.

Wide-ranging investigation

But the tragic death of 67 people in a major commercial airline accident demands significant scrutiny, nonetheless.

In keeping with long-standing aviation practices, the NTSB is charged with leading the investigation — an exhaustive probe that’s surely examining everything from factors on board the American Eagle flight deck to the altitude of the Army helicopter and operating conditions inside the DCA control tower.

“We will find out what happened. We will do it factually, and we will do it accurately,” Todd Inman, NTSB member, said at a news conference a day after the crash, promising a preliminary report within 30 days.

A spotlight on air traffic control

Already, though, the aftermath of the collision has sparked widespread discussion about the state of our nation’s air traffic control facilities — the critical nerve centers of our national airspace, where highly-trained and essential professionals give instructions to the tens of thousands of aircraft that take off and land each day in America.

To be clear: It remains too early to say precisely what factors led up to the 8:47 p.m. collision on Jan. 29 — let alone whether air traffic control played any role, whatsoever, cautioned Michael McCormick, longtime controller now on the faculty at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

“I see it as speculation, as way too early to engage in,” McCormick said. “Until we know the circumstances behind it, we shouldn’t be laying any kind of fault, blame, on any individual or group.”

Still, leaders across the aviation industry widely agree outdated technology and a shortage of air traffic controllers is among the most pressing concerns facing air travel in the U.S. today.

Those concerns were percolating long before the Blackhawk helicopter and American Eagle 5342 collided.

That same night, The New York Times reported staffing levels at DCA’s control tower were “not normal” — albeit, likely not terribly unusual, considering more than 90% of Federal Aviation Administration facilities are understaffed nationwide.

Staffing shortage a longstanding concern

By any stretch, the shortage of air traffic controllers is a major problem facing the industry. For perspective: More than 943 million people boarded commercial flights in the U.S. in 2023, according to FAA data. That was up about 30% from 2012, 11 years prior.

Yet, in 2023, America’s skies were patrolled by more than 1,000 fewer fully certified air traffic controllers than in 2012, according to a 2023 safety study commissioned by the FAA.

Today, the agency remains thousands of controllers short of its ideal target, in part due to a slew of factors that disrupted hiring and training over the past decade, from sequestration in the 2010s to multiple government shutdowns and the coronavirus pandemic.

The controllers the FAA does have regularly work six-day weeks and 10-hour days, the head of the nation’s largest air traffic controllers union said at an industry conference I attended last fall in D.C.

“We are not in a good place,” Rich Santa, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, said while speaking at the Regional Airline Association Leaders Conference in September. “It’s unsustainable.”

Outdated facilities

It’s not just staffing, either.

Increasingly, our nation’s aviation operations are strained by outdated technology and facilities — from decades-old computer programs to more practical hurdles like leaky roofs and faulty heating, ventilation and cooling systems, a 2023 report revealed.

The FAA has invested years — and billions of taxpayer dollars — into upgrading its infrastructure, but those improvements haven’t come close to fruition; look no further than the January 2023 outage to a critical pilot information system that triggered the first nationwide ground stop since Sept. 11, 2001. A glitch plagued that same system earlier this month.

Just in December, a top government official called fixing the FAA’s systems “the work of many years and billions of dollars” while speaking on Capitol Hill.

“A snap of Iron Man’s fingers cannot fix this,” Kevin Walsh, I.T. and cybersecurity director at the Government Accountability Office during the Biden administration, testified to a Senate subcommittee on Dec. 12.

Usually a minor inconvenience

Now, in the vast majority of cases, these air traffic control hurdles manifest in mere inconvenience: namely, flight delays, when the FAA has to slow the flow of air traffic to a manageable level for the controllers it has on duty that day — moves made specifically in the interest of safety.

Those backups are especially common along busy East Coast corridors, and they’re often made worse when a summer thunderstorm throws a wrench in an airport’s tightly packed departure schedule — or when wintry conditions lead to a deicing backlog.

Overall, one in five flights on U.S. carriers were delayed last year, according to FlightAware — up from 16% five years prior, even as cancellation rates dropped sharply from all those meltdowns we saw a few years ago.

Safety risks the primary concern

But aviation safety experts have worried that staffing shortages and outdated technology could one day contribute to a major accident. Those fears grew louder after a series of hair-raising near misses near U.S. airports over the last couple of years, which Homendy, the NTSB chair, spoke about last fall in Washington.

“What we’ve seen in a lot of our investigations is pilot deviation. We’ve seen some fatigue. We’ve seen training issues, especially in air traffic control,” Homendy said, speaking at the Regional Airline Association Leaders Conference in September.

“We’re seeing that, as people are getting trained,” Homendy continued, ” … that they’re not even remembering some of their training that they got a week or two ago. So, we’re trying to understand, ok, should we be looking at other methods of training?”

Reassurance, with an eye on needed changes

Now, it’d be easy to digest everything you just read and feel fearful about getting on a commercial flight.

The reality is, these are but the most glaring concerns in a remarkably safe air travel system that, until two weeks ago, hadn’t seen a deadly U.S. airline crash since the Colgan Air disaster in Buffalo, 16 years ago this week.

“You assume greater risk driving to the airport than you do flying to or from the airport,” McCormick, the longtime air traffic controller, said. “I have no qualms about getting on a plane and flying somewhere.”

“We have the safest airspace in the world,” newly installed Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy added during an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” last week.

“We’ve seen some cracks. And it rattles people when they see these disasters. But air travel is safe,” Duffy said, while pledging to “surge controllers” to the FAA’s facilities.

A spotlight on making necessary changes

What else might be done to shore up aviation safety gaps remains a lingering question.

We should note, the arrival of a new administration in Washington did bring new upheaval at the FAA — including the resignation of a widely respected administrator, Michael Whitaker, who oversaw the agency reaching its hiring goal of 1,800 air traffic controllers last year.

At the same time, many industry insiders I’ve spoken with in recent days are hopeful the recent accident could inspire the badly-needed improvements to our national air system that have evaded both political parties over the years.

“I think this is actually a very good opportunity as compared to past accidents to actually solving some problems,” Pruchnicki said. “We’ve all been holding our breath for years.”

The nonpartisan U.S. Travel Association, for one, said it was “encouraged” by President Trump’s recent comments calling for a bill modernizing air traffic control, even as the president drew criticism for speculating, early, about causes of the recent crash.

More recently, a newly-formed alliance of airline and industry leaders has emerged, reiterating the safety of air travel while vowing to learn lessons from the worst air disaster the U.S. has seen in a generation.

“Over the last few decades, it’s been very hard to get our industry … to agree on anything,”  Rob Land, JetBlue’s government affairs chief, told me this week. “Air traffic control is number one for everybody now. It will increase efficiency, add to safety, everyone gets that. I think, finally, the government’s starting to get it.”

The Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier just rolled out an all-new online activity page for its loyalty program, a carrier spokesperson told TPG.

To find your latest activity, log in to your American Airlines AAdvantage account and click the activity button on the left-hand side of your account page. Then, you’ll see the new activity view.

Value added: You can now finally earn miles, Loyalty Points from paid American Airlines upgrades

The new view allows you to search for individual transactions, filter by different activity types (including flights and cobranded credit card spending) and sort by dates (such as the current or previous qualifying year).

This new functionality should give frequent flyers a much deeper look into their accounts; power users will likely enjoy being able to slice and dice their data in new ways.

The old activity page rolled out as part of the introduction of Loyalty Points back in 2022 and left a lot to be desired. The tile-based user experience made it hard for frequent flyers to filter through their activities and see details about their earning and redeeming updates.

The airline also used to use small, nearly indistinguishable icons to display different types of activities, ranging from planes for completed flights to discount tags for mileage redemptions and cards for cobranded credit card spending.

With the new experience, you can filter without needing to squint to see the different small logos representing activity types.

Note that upcoming trips are still listed in the old tile view, but hopefully, that’ll change in the coming months as American invests more in the AAdvantage user experience.

One feature that’s still missing is the ability to download account activity. Power users sometimes enjoy this functionality because it allows them to create custom spreadsheets and filters for their activity. (Other major airlines offer this.)

All in all, American’s upgrades are part of the airline’s recent announcement of changes that are coming to the loyalty program in 2025. Other updates include extended systemwide upgrade expiration dates and the introduction of new Million Miler lifetime status tiers. Catch all the latest updates in our guide to the American AAdvantage program.

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I personally went the furthest I’ve ever gone to rack up more points late last year when I took on the SAS EuroBonus challenge for the chance to earn a million EuroBonus points. The catch? To complete the terms of the challenge, I only had about a month to fly 15 different airlines as I hopscotched across the globe on the most complicated itinerary I’ve ever put together.

If successful, I would make it just under the wire on New Year’s Eve. Then, I just had to wait to see if those million points would be mine. Here’s what happened.

The path to 1 million points

Late last year, Scandinavian Airlines announced a promotion called the EuroBonus challenge to celebrate its transition from Star Alliance to SkyTeam. According to the terms of the promotion, you could earn the following number of points by completing the following flight tasks:

• 10,000 points for flying with five SkyTeam airlines
• 100,000 points for flying with 10 SkyTeam airlines
• 1,000,000 points for flying with 15 SkyTeam airlines

With plenty of time off for the holidays and several days of unused vacation to burn through ahead of 2025, I decided to give the challenge a go in December with the goal of earning the full million points.

Over the course of three weeks, I planned to take 20 flights on 15 different SkyTeam carriers and fly around 38,000 miles to 16 countries in Asia, Europe and North America.

I began with a flight from Portland, Oregon, to Seoul, South Korea, via Seattle on Delta Air Lines, Korean Air and Garuda Indonesia. Next, I visited Bali, Indonesia, before taking Vietnam Airlines to Ho Chi Minh City and on to Hanoi, Vietnam. From there, I continued on to Taiwan, China and Thailand on a combination of carriers, including China Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, Xiamen Airlines, Kenya Airways and Saudia. After an overnight in Dubai and a flight to London aboard Virgin Atlantic, I hopped around Europe, visiting Oslo, Norway; Bucharest, Romania; and Madrid, with layovers in Amsterdam and Paris, on a mix of Air France, KLM, Air Europa and TAROM flights before ending with a long-haul on Aeromexico.

Most of my itinerary went off without a hitch, but after a snafu with the fare code on a Kenya Airways ticket, I had to add a quick last-minute round trip between London and Oslo on SAS in order to officially earn miles with 15 different SkyTeam carriers.

That pivot clinched the deal, though, and after I completed my last flight from Madrid to Mexico City on New Year’s Eve, I anxiously double-checked all my tickets and noted that the mileage credit for each flight hit my SAS EuroBonus account.

Then, just under four weeks after I stepped off my last flight, it finally happened: 1 million SAS EuroBonus points had been deposited into my account.

Now, I’m just figuring out how I want to use them all. Chances are they will not go as far as you might think a million points can take you, but I still have some fun plans in the works for them.

Eurobonus promotion stats

I reached out to SAS, and the carrier shared some interesting stats with me about the EuroBonus promotion.

• Over 50,000 members registered for the promotion, but only a few more than 900 people completed it.
• The average age of participants was 40, with the youngest being 4 years old and the oldest being 73 years old.
• Thirty percent of participants were female, and 70% of participants were male.
• Everyone who completed the challenge visited China at least once.
• The average points millionaire who completed the challenge visited four continents, 17 countries and 23 airports.
• Nine people visited six continents (Africa, Asia, South America, North America, Europe and Oceania), while 22% of participants visited at least five of them.
• Of all the flights taken, 92% were in economy class.
• SAS was the most flown airline.

Here is a breakdown of where the members who completed the challenge are from, with the U.S. representing almost a fifth of the participants:

Surprisingly, Europe didn’t have as many participants as I expected. With six SkyTeam airlines based there, I thought that number would be a lot higher. I also thought the Scandinavian countries would have more participants since that is the airline’s prime territory.

How I might redeem my EuroBonus points

To be honest, the shock factor hasn’t worn off yet, as every time I look in my account, I am wowed by the seven digits. I’ve never had this many points or miles in a single account at one time before. But that doesn’t mean I intend to sit on them. After all, points and miles are often subjected to frequent devaluations, so I want to plan to use as many of them as possible in a short amount of time.

Of course, I can use the million points on SAS flights, but I can also book awards with SkyTeam partners, rent cars, lock in hotel stays and redeem for lounge access and upgrades on SAS. However, availability to book premium cabins on partners looks pretty thin, which I hope is just because SAS is so new to SkyTeam. Perhaps as the program is more closely integrated with those of its partners, more premium seats will become available as awards.

Currently, the redemptions offering the best value for these points appear to be on SAS’ own flights, as the airline uses a fixed-price award chart known as SAS Bonus. However, for my purposes, these are mainly useful for flying between the U.S. and Europe, with a one-way business-class award ticket starting at 50,000 points. SAS flies to 108 destinations, primarily in Europe, with a handful of destinations in Africa and Asia.

SAS also uses a region-based, fixed-price award chart for partner flights that has some great sweet spots, but the availability of flights is extremely limited at the moment. Right now, you can book award flights on Aeromexico, Air Europa, Air France, China Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Garuda Indonesia, Kenya Airways, KLM, Korean Air, Vietnam Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Saudia, TAROM and Xiamen Air using EuroBonus points.

Air Europa, China Airlines and Vietnam Airlines award tickets booked through SAS are subject to a multiplier that doubles the amount shown on the award chart, so these will not be good options to choose from. For example, a round-trip flight from the U.S. to Europe in business class with most SkyTeam partners costs 130,000 points, but if I fly with Air Europa, specifically, it will cost me 260,000 points.

It’s important to note that despite SAS having a fixed-point partner award chart, one-way tickets are not half the price of the round-trip awards. The partner award chart shows the starting round-trip prices for award flights at the lowest level. If you want to book a one-way flight, it will cost 60% of the round-trip award ticket cost. For example, a round-trip economy award ticket from the U.S. to Europe on a partner airline costs 70,000 points, so a one-way ticket will cost 42,000 points.

Additionally, only layovers of less than 24 hours are allowed.

I have been searching for days, and hardly anything turns up in economy class — let alone business class — on many partners. For example, a round-trip business-class ticket between the U.S. and Europe should require 130,000 points on a SkyTeam partner like KLM or Air France, but I haven’t been able to find a single award over the next several months, even after searching across many routes.

I’m still an optimist, though. Based on what I’m seeing so far, here are 13 potential uses for my newly minted EuroBonus points based on travel plans I need to make. Please note that these flight prices are based on one-way itineraries, which will cost 60% of the round-trip cost based on the partner award chart. Flights on SAS booked through SAS are not subject to this, and one-way flights will cost half of a round-trip flight.

Flying Delta in the continental US

Using my SAS points to cover domestic Delta flights can be a great value, especially during busy periods when cash fares might be higher than usual. Domestic flights on Delta cost 15,000 points one-way in economy and 30,000 points in first class or Delta One.

So far, I have searched three transcontinental domestic routes that feature Delta One seats and suites. I looked at 35 different dates ranging from February to April for flights from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK).

My search yielded 10 dates with premium availability; however, none of the itineraries featured the Delta One product and all required a layover.

These points prices were on continental flights, and flights to Hawaii were available for 50,000 points one-way in economy, which is, quite frankly, a poor redemption value. The reason for these high prices is that SAS lumps Hawaii in the Asia-Pacific region rather than North America.

Virgin Atlantic and Delta transatlantic flights

I can fly from one of many U.S. gateways to London on Virgin Atlantic to hop across the pond, so I’ve been concentrating some of my searches there as well.

I was only able to see economy availability; one-way flights were 42,000 points when searching between March and May from JFK, Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) to London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR). Taxes and fees were reasonable, costing just around $81. However, I did not find a single available seat in business class.

I should be able to fly to London from another one of Delta’s hubs — excluding New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA) — for the same price. However, I would prefer to fly Virgin Atlantic due to having had better meal experiences with that carrier versus Delta. 

SAS business class from the US to Scandinavia and vice versa

Booking SAS flights from the U.S. to the airline’s hub at Copenhagen Airport (CPH) is arguably the best value and the option with the most award availability. Flights cost just 50,000 points one-way in business class from any of the airline’s U.S. gateways if there is a “Business Bonus” award (the carrier’s equivalent of a saver business award). You can also look at flights to SAS’ hubs in Stockholm and Oslo for expanded availability.

Awardhacks.se is a great tool for showcasing seat availability at the 50,000-point business-class redemption rate. SAS tends to have a lot of last-minute availability in business class on various U.S. routes.

Additionally, you can book economy flights one-way for just 30,000 points and bid on cash upgrades. You can use ExpertFlyer to check the number of seats available in business class and base your bid around that availability. I have done this twice from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to CPH, and each upgrade cost me less than $400 compared to over $7,000 if you paid cash for the business-class ticket. Plus, with my SAS Silver elite status, my upgrade bids are worth 10% more. This means that if I book an economy ticket and bid $500 dollars for an upgrade, my bid amount will actually be worth $550.

While searching, I noticed much more availability when leaving Scandinavia to go to the U.S. In particular, CPH to JFK, BOS, EWR, LAX and Dulles International Airport (IAD) near Washington, D.C., showed more available seats. For example, when searching for availability this month, I found 23 seats going from CPH to JFK and just seven seats when departing from JFK TO CPH.

During my searches, I found very little availability from ATL and Miami International Airport (MIA).

Furthermore, if I want to travel beyond Scandinavia in Europe, SAS-operated flights from the U.S. to Copenhagen, Oslo or Stockholm with a layover on a partner airline start at 42,000 points one-way in economy.

Intra-European flights

The prices on intra-European flights on SkyTeam partners are 24,000 points one-way in economy or 36,000 points one-way in business class. If I fly SAS metal, the award prices within Europe are 15,000 and 25,000 points in economy and business class, respectively.

I would opt for economy class on all intra-European flights since most European business-class cabins tend to be just standard economy seats with the middle seat blocked. Not to mention, most of the flights are less than four hours, so I can manage with limited legroom. There is plenty of availability on many of the airline’s routes, so chances are I will be using some of my points in this fashion.

I currently value my EuroBonus points at about 1 cent apiece, so if the cash price is less than $240, I would just opt to pay cash instead of using points.

Korean Air Boeing 747 Prestige class

One of my bucket list items in the aviation world is to fly in a premium cabin on the upper deck of a Boeing 747 before they are all completely retired from service. To catch a ride on the “Queen of the Skies” in a premium cabin on the upper deck and pay with my SAS points, I would need to fly with Korean Air, as it is the only airline in SkyTeam, and one of only a handful of airlines in general, that still operates this aircraft type for commercial passenger flights. I would have to fly from ATL, LAX or JFK to Seoul’s Incheon International Airport (ICN) on Korean Air.

Korean Air Prestige, the carrier’s business-class product, can be theoretically booked using SAS points, but availability is nonexistent as far as I can see, so I’m not holding out hope, but I will try to set alerts for it.

Intra-Asian flights

There’s no shortage of partner airlines in Asia on which I can redeem my points — there are seven, to be exact. Three are based in China and Taiwan, three are in Southeast Asia and one is in South Korea. Award prices are based on region, and flights to and from the Southeast Asia region are 15,000 and 30,000 points one-way in economy and business class, respectively.

Meanwhile, flights between the Central, East and South Asia regions to Southeast Asia start at 30,000 and 54,000 points one-way in economy and business class, respectively.

Flights from Southeast Asia to the Middle East

Flights from Southeast Asia to the Middle East start at 42,000 and 78,000 points one-way in economy and business class, respectively.

Additionally, flights from Central, East and South Asia to the Middle East, like China Eastern’s route from Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) to Dubai International Airport (DXB), are 48,000 and 84,000 points one-way in economy and business class, respectively.

US to the Middle East in Saudia business class

Saudia offers nonstop flights from three U.S. destinations to its two home hubs in Saudia Arabia. I could fly from LAX or IAD to King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED) in Jeddah or from JFK to King Khalid International Airport (RUH) in Riyadh and then connect onward throughout the Middle East and beyond.

Saudia economy awards on these routes start at 48,000 points one-way, while business-class awards on these routes cost 88,000 points one-way. My Saudia business-class experience was comfortable and great for the price, and it feels like it can be a solid way to get to the Middle East without flying one of the main Middle Eastern carriers (Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways).

West Coast to Taipei, Taiwan, in business class

Taiwan is becoming one of my favorite countries to visit thanks to its rich heritage, culture, diverse climates, incredible food scene and visa-free entry. Many West Coast airports now have nonstop flights to Taipei on SkyTeam airlines. For example, out of SEA, SkyTeam carriers China Airlines and Delta both offer nonstop flights. Delta will be my best option, as China Airlines charges double the price Delta does. I have been searching high and low to try to find business-class availability on this route and have been unsuccessful so far, but I will keep searching.

US to Shanghai in China Eastern business class

This is another option with very little to no availability, even in economy class. If I can find availability, I will definitely snag this, as the hard product on the airline’s Airbus A350 looks great.

China Eastern flies directly to PVG from five U.S. outposts: Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL), Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD), JFK, LAX and SFO.

Delta One to Asia and Oceania

Since I am based on the West Coast, I have multiple options from SEA and LAX to take Delta One to Asia and Oceania.

I have seen some promising business-class availability for flights to Tokyo on multiple dates; for 88,000 points, I could fly one-way from SEA to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport (HND). I also saw one date when I could fly from LAX to Sydney Airport (SYD) for 99,000 points one-way in business class. That said, these awards tend to disappear fast, so I will need to be quick on the draw if I hope to take one of these.

US to South America with Aerolineas Argentinas

Aerolineas Argentinas is the only SkyTeam airline that is based in South America.

This option is not yet available for SAS points bookings. When it is, however, I hope to fly from New York or Miami to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and connect onward to other South American destinations. A phone representative for SAS told me the reason why flights are not yet bookable with points is because of technical difficulties, but this should be resolved shortly. Once available, flights from the U.S. to South America will cost 30,000 and 54,000 points one-way in economy and business class, respectively.

US to Mexico with Aeromexico

When looking for a short weekend trip to somewhere with warm weather, Mexico is always an option for me. Aeromexico flies to Mexico City International Airport (MEX) from nearly 20 U.S. destinations, making it possible to stay in the capital or easily connect onward to other cities in Mexico.

Most of these flights are under four hours long and are only available on narrow-body aircraft, so I will opt to travel in economy class for just 15,000 points one-way. I consider this a solid use of points given how pricey cash flights to Mexico can be.

Honorable mentions

There are a few other options not mentioned above.

For example, I could fly Vietnam Airlines business class from San Francisco or Los Angeles to Vietnam. The award prices are too high, though, with one-way economy flights costing 108,000 points due to the double multiplier on select partner airline awards. It’s not a great redemption, but given the lack of nonstop options from the U.S. to Vietnam, it’s still worth considering despite the low redemption value.

There are also long-haul flights on the other Asian airlines in the SkyTeam alliance, but like Vietnam Airlines, I have not found any consistent award availability.

As for getting to Africa, Kenya Airways is a good option, but when searching for flights to Nairobi, Kenya, there was no availability in any cabin for several months. The only available awards I could find were via Europe on European SkyTeam carriers for economy seats, so I’ll hold off on booking that for now.

Restrictions and limitations

Despite having these bonus points, there are some limitations that I have already encountered.

These 1 million bonus points I have been awarded expire in five years, and given how hard it has been to find availability, they may be harder to redeem than expected. As time passes, I hope SAS and its SkyTeam partners will release more award availability.

Even though SAS has a published partner award chart, most award flight prices I found when searching are actually much higher, and I don’t expect that to get better.

Additionally, finding business-class availability has been like finding a needle in a haystack. SAS has said that some partner airlines are not bookable yet, so I expect to see more options in the future, but I am unsure whether that also means more premium seats will be available for redemptions.

While I am grateful to have these bonus points, there are some other important limitations I must note. To start, if you book an award flight and decide to cancel, you will be subjected to a $25 fee for intra-European flights and $75 for flights to and from Asia and North America.

Taxes on these award flights range from $57 to $89 one-way, which include the fuel surcharge, depending on the region and class of service. Even with these limitations, the redemption options seem promising; it will just take extra effort to pinpoint exact routings and dates.

Bottom line

While I am thrilled to be a points millionaire, redeeming my points in premium cabins is going to be a bigger challenge than I expected. Ultimately, it will come down to searching every few days to see if any business-class availability pops up on SkyTeam partners. I am hopeful this is just growing pains and more partner availability will be released in the coming months and years, as SAS just joined SkyTeam less than five months.

Right now, the best redemption option that provides me the most outsize value seems to be taking 20 one-way business-class flights from the U.S. to Scandinavia, which is what I thought would be the best option even before I started the challenge.

In fact, “red-eye flights” — aptly named for the fatigue they inspire — are a ubiquitous part of the daily flying schedule for most of the large U.S. airlines.

A glaring exception: Southwest Airlines, the nation’s fourth-largest carrier, which, for its first five-plus decades of flying, didn’t operate overnight flights.

That is, until Thursday night.

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Southwest’s first red-eyes

Inside Terminal 1 at Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas, balloons, decorations and blaring music livened the late-night atmosphere. It was the sort of celebration you’d expect for an inaugural flight, when an airline launches service to an exciting new destination.

In this case, though, the pomp and circumstance preceded two oft-flown transcontinental routes — and two late-night departures that would be routine at any of Southwest’s top competitors.

But for the Dallas-based carrier, Thursday night’s red-eyes to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) and Orlando International Airport (MCO) — along with three more departing from other western U.S. airports that same night — marked a significant milestone, and the launch of a new strategy the airline hopes will help boost its bottom line.

A new strategy

After years of speculation, Southwest executives first announced the carrier’s red-eye plans last summer as part of a larger push to turn around recent years’ lackluster financial results — a shift that also revealed the carrier’s plans to ditch its longstanding open-seating policy.

Southwest’s goal: grow its flying (and earnings) by making better use of the jets it already has in its fleet. After all, planes don’t make money sitting on the ground — a big reason the other airlines have long kept planes in the air through the night.

Making Southwest red-eyes feasible required a significant overhaul of its long-criticized tech infrastructure over the last couple of years.

But on Thursday night, its first five overnight routes launched — starting in Vegas.

A late-night party

Passengers, by and large, showed up without even realizing there was historical significance to Thursday night’s flights.

“I was actually very surprised that they didn’t do any red-eyes ever,” George Porter, a passenger on the LAS-BWI route, told TPG.

“Gave us a little motivation,” Nicole Owens added ahead of what was likely to be a short night’s sleep on her way home to Maryland.

In true Vegas spirit, Southwest customers with a seat on the BWI and Orlando red-eyes lined up to spin a wheel, with prizes consisting of various airline-branded giveaways like luggage tags and water bottles.

The carrier also gave out eye masks — a staple of other carriers’ amenity kits, but a novelty for an airline that’s never flown overnight.

In the background: fitting tunes, from Lionel Richie’s “All Night Long (All Night)” to Dua Lipa’s more contemporary “Dance the Night.”

A growing red-eye schedule

It wasn’t just Vegas crewmembers and passengers burning the midnight oil; Southwest also launched transcontinental red-eyes Thursday from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) to BWI.

It also flew overnight from LAX to Nashville International Airport (BNA).

More are coming: By summer, the carrier expects to have 33 nightly flights — including several departing Hawaii airports in Honolulu, Kona and Maui, which the carrier believes will be a boon both for its operations and for passengers planning a trip to the Aloha State.

“Now, folks in Hawaii can stay there longer, take a late-night flight, connect, and make it home in a day,” Steve Christl, Southwest’s vice president of operations and design, said in Vegas on Thursday night. “It’s good for them. It’s great for Southwest.”

All aboard the first overnight flight

In a sign of that excitement, the carrier rolled out a mini red carpet for passengers who boarded the Boeing 737-800 to search for their first-come, first-served seats.

“It’s open seating here at Southwest: You may sit anywhere you’d like,” a flight attendant said in an announcement that now carries added nostalgia, with the airline’s hallmark seating policy in its final stretch.

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Flight 1652 pushed back at 10:19 p.m., 19 minutes late following a day of unusually significant weather disruptions in Vegas.

Mother Nature was equally pesky during what proved to be a highly turbulent three-hour, 50-minute flight that touched down at BWI at 5:19 a.m., arriving at the gate five minutes ahead of schedule.

Deplaning into a new dawn for Southwest

At BWI, the Southwest ground staff offered a boisterous welcome and light breakfast during the still-predawn hours of Friday morning.

Meanwhile, additional celebratory decor on the airport concourse marked another milestone this week — the launch of Southwest’s new partnership with Icelandair.

Southwest’s already robust Maryland base will see more of these early-morning landings from red-eye flights than any other airport as the carrier grows its overnight schedule over the next few months.

And it’s likely more Southwest airports could join its nighttime network in 2026, multiple executives have told me.

“As we continue to see what the demand is there, and the capabilities within Southwest, we’ll look at allocating more toward red-eye flying,” Christl said Thursday.

So, hang on to that eye mask, lock in that late checkout at your hotel — and have your next morning’s coffee order ready to go.

Related reading:

• Your complete guide to maximizing Southwest Rapid Rewards
• The best Southwest Airlines credit cards
• How to quickly earn the Southwest Companion Pass
• Southwest A-List status: What it is and how to earn it
• Maximize your airfare: The best credit cards for booking flights
• The best credit cards to reach elite status
• How to change or cancel a Southwest Airlines flight