Monthly Archives for December 2025.
Delta president Glen Hauenstein—widely seen as the architect of the airline’s premium push, pricing discipline, and SkyMiles economics—will step down at the end of February. Network chief Joe Esposito is being elevated to EVP and Chief Commercial Officer, inheriting the commercial machine Hauenstein built.
American briefly published a 2026 AAdvantage changes page, then pulled it after travelers started circulating screenshots. The leaked update suggests elite status thresholds stay the same, but Loyalty Point Rewards get reshuffled — with the 30% bonus at 100,000 points eliminated and several higher-tier perks swapped for merch credits, AA Vacations offers, and subscriptions.
Chase is walking back the guarantee that The Edit hotels always price at 2 cents per point, but it is offering a short-term fix: book any The Edit property through December 22, 2025 and Chase says it will credit you back to full 2x value even if the booking prices lower. There’s also an upside: Points Boost seems to be expanding on airfare, including JetBlue premium cabins at 2 cents per point and new 1.5 cent economy boosts across a wider set of airlines.
American just flipped basic economy with no warning: starting today those tickets earn zero AAdvantage miles, zero Loyalty Points, and no status credit for flying. It’s a sharp break from how American has used basic economy as the on-ramp into AAdvantage—and it’s likely to push price-sensitive flyers to stop engaging with the program entirely.
A lost jacket turned into a five-figure travel bill. After a British Airways passenger tweeted for help, scammers posing as BA support got his booking details, cancelled his return ticket, and the airline refused to reinstate it—quoting $17,511 to fly home.
‘Free’ $50 from Rakuten plus new Dallas airport gets its first airline, American Airlines and United catering, and the ying and yang of Capital One lounge food.
American has finally confirmed plans to renovate its Concourse D Admirals Club at Reagan National, a project first reported months ago. The 10,000+ square foot lounge is slated to add about 50% more seating starting in early 2026—another sign that American’s broader lounge push is turning into tangible upgrades.
Chase introduced Points Boost as the Sapphire Reserve’s big new redemption pitch: up to 2x on flights, and a guaranteed 2x on The Edit hotels. Now Chase has quietly rewritten the terms so The Edit is only “up to 2x” as well—turning the one fixed-value use case into a dynamic, no-notice downgrade.
Rove Miles is offering a Mesa points “match” for anyone stuck with a Mesa rewards balance—really a giveaway of up to 5,000 Rove points per member, capped at 2 million points total. To claim, upload a screenshot of your most recent Mesa statement and your current rewards balance; points are supposed to post within two weeks after verification.
Bilt just added a new transfer partner, and it’s one nobody else offers: Spirit Airlines. That brings Bilt to 23 airline and hotel transfer partners — a bigger transfer list than Amex or Chase — but whether you should actually move points is another matter.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
