Tag · 10 pieces

Award Chart

Every piece on the journal carrying the award chart tag, most recent first.

10 MAY 2026 loyalty

Air Canada Aeroplan 2026: The 2020 Reset, Five Years Later (and the SQC Pivot)

Five years on from the 2020 Aeroplan relaunch, the published award chart has gone the half-decade without a devaluation — but on 1 January 2026 Air Canada quietly retired the SQM/SQD elite-qualification model and replaced it with a single revenue metric, Status Qualifying Credits (SQC). We audit the chart, the eUpgrade currency, the new SQC qualification system, the non-Star partner roster, US co-brand earn, and Family Sharing, and we benchmark Aeroplan against MileagePlus, Miles & More, BA Avios, and LifeMiles.

By Jonas Reinholt · 24 min read

08 MAY 2026 loyalty

World of Hyatt 2026 Chart Update: The 67% Peak Ceiling Jump and What It Actually Costs

Hyatt announced its 2026 award chart update on February 25 for stays booked from May 20. The marketing copy framed the change as 'preserving the transparency members expect' and the program added two new redemption levels at each category, but the central number — the new Category 8 'Top' ceiling — moved from 45,000 points to 75,000 points per night. That is a 67% peak-rate increase at the top of the chart, and it is the most aggressive structural devaluation Hyatt has made in the trailing five years.

By Harriet Cole · 9 min read

12 APR 2026 loyalty

AAdvantage in 2026: Where the Programme Actually Sits

There was no single April 2026 chart devaluation event from American Airlines — but the AAdvantage programme has continued its slow drift toward higher own-metal redemption levels, and the partner chart remains the only place left in the programme where saver-style fixed pricing still exists. We work through where own-metal awards now actually price, which partner sweet spots remain genuinely intact, and what the structural distinction between AA-operated dynamic pricing and the partner chart means for how to redeem in 2026.

By Jonas Reinholt · 14 min read

12 APR 2026 loyalty

Flying Blue 2026 — A Program Teardown

We worked through Air France-KLM Flying Blue in 2026 — dynamic pricing, the Promo Awards cadence, the XP ladder to Ultimate, the Saudia partnership, and the six US transferable currencies that all sit at 1:1. From our own balance, no comped points.

By Sébastien Laroche · 14 min read

27 MAR 2026 loyalty

Avianca LifeMiles 2026: Why Star Alliance Sweet Spots Persist

Avianca LifeMiles remains the single most valuable Star Alliance currency for partner premium redemptions in 2026, despite two carrier bankruptcies, a Chapter 11 restructuring, and a financial-stability question that has not fully resolved. We worked through the current LifeMiles distance-based award chart, the points-buy promotion cadence, the elite tiers, and the post-bankruptcy risk profile to determine whether the programme still merits a place in the premium-traveller mile portfolio.

By Jonas Reinholt · 21 min read

19 FEB 2026 loyalty

JAL Mileage Bank 2026 — A Program Teardown

We worked a JAL Mileage Bank balance for six months, booked F on JL5 JFK-HND, and stress-tested the JGC tactic. The 2026 teardown of the distance chart, oneworld sweet spots, status, and the Marriott bottleneck.

By Naomi Kawakami · 19 min read

18 FEB 2026 loyalty

Etihad Guest 2026 — A Program Teardown

Etihad Guest under Antonoaldo Neves: the Saver Award relaunch, the 25 percent tier-mile reduction, the AA and Virgin Atlantic partner chart, and the Amex MR transfer cliff on June 30. Verified from our own balance.

By Helena Cross · 14 min read

29 JAN 2026 loyalty

ANA Mileage Club 2026 — A Program Teardown

We worked an ANA Mileage Club balance for six months, booked LH First trans-Atlantic on partner space, and stress-tested the SFC hack. The full 2026 teardown of the partner chart, status tiers, transfers, and round-trip rule.

By Naomi Kawakami · 23 min read

22 JAN 2026 loyalty

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer 2026 — A Program Teardown

We tested an SQ Suites redemption from JFK to FRA, an EWR-SIN J Saver, and a JFK-FRA-SIN J via LH partner — paid in our own KrisFlyer miles. The full 2026 teardown of Saver, Advantage, Access, partner charts, PPS, and transfers.

By Helena Cross · 18 min read

17 JAN 2026 loyalty

Alaska Mileage Plan 2026: The Distance-Based Chart, Two Years In

Alaska Mileage Plan operates a fifth the size of American AAdvantage and a quarter the size of United MileagePlus, and the March 2024 move to a unified distance-based partner chart was the most consequential structural change in the program's history. Two years in, the headline sweet spots are gone — Cathay First JFK-HKG is no longer 70,000 miles — but the program still punches above its weight on the specific partners and distance bands that survived the transition.

By Jonas Reinholt · 25 min read