24 MAY 2026 news
Korean-Asiana Merger Completion: The December 17, 2026 Brand Sunset
On December 17, 2026, Asiana exits Star Alliance and Korean Air absorbs the brand, fleet, and slots. December 1 is the hard deadline for Star Alliance awards.
Tag · 21 pieces
Loyalty
Every piece on the journal carrying the loyalty tag, most recent first.
15 MAY 2026 loyalty
Marriott Bonvoy 2026 Category Bumps: The Mid-Year Adjustments and What They Actually Cost
Marriott Bonvoy quietly published its 2026 category-adjustment list in mid-April. We worked through the math on the 71 properties that moved up, the 22 that moved down, the March 12 top-off cap increase from 15K to 25K, and the residual value of the Annual Choice Benefit free-night award after the latest round of off-peak/peak ceiling pushes.
13 MAY 2026 loyalty
Delta SkyMiles Q2 2026 Update: Where the Program Actually Stands
Delta SkyMiles published its Q2 2026 award pricing reset on April 8, the third in a series of quarterly adjustments since the 2023 program shakeup that dropped the published award chart. We worked through the math on long-haul J redemptions, partner award pricing, the Medallion threshold structure, and the Delta One Lounge access realities to assess where the program actually sits in mid-2026.
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.
08 MAY 2026 loyalty
Lufthansa Miles & More 2026 — A Program Teardown
Miles & More after the June 2025 dynamic-pricing transition: the partner chart, Allegris and Swiss Senses First Class redemption access, HON Circle perks, and the structural US accumulation problem. From our own balance, no comped points.
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.
06 MAY 2026 loyalty
British Airways Executive Club & Avios 2026: Status, Reward Flight Saver, and the Surcharge Problem
British Airways Executive Club is a programme of striking contradictions in 2026: the Companion Voucher is arguably the best single benefit in any Western frequent-flyer scheme, while the fuel surcharges on BA-operated redemptions remain the worst. We work through the elite tiers, the Avios ecosystem shared with Iberia, Aer Lingus, and Qatar, Reward Flight Saver, the famous 2-for-1 voucher, partner sweet spots on Qatar Qsuite, Cathay, JAL, and Alaska, and how the programme compares to AAdvantage, Aeroplan, LifeMiles, and Miles & More.
04 MAY 2026 loyalty
Best Hotel Loyalty Programs 2026
We ranked seven hotel loyalty programs by elite-benefit value, redemption cpm, free-night-cert value, chart stability, and Category-1 sweet-spot count. The 2026 picture is reshaped by the Hyatt 67% peak-rate jump and the Hilton five-tier restructure.
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.
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.
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.
22 MAR 2026 loyalty
World of Hyatt Globalist 2026: Why It's Still the Most Valuable Hotel Status
World of Hyatt Globalist enters its eighth year as the smallest top-tier hotel program in the big-five but, by the numbers, the most generous of them. We work through the 60-night qualification, the published benefit set, the Cat 1-7 free night strategy, the Globalist Concierge, and how it compares with Marriott Ambassador, IHG Diamond Royal, Hilton Diamond, and Accor Live Limitless Platinum for the 2026 elite year.
18 MAR 2026 loyalty
Best Frequent Flyer Programs for US 2026
We ranked the eight US-accessible frequent flyer programs by redemption-value cpm, transfer-partner depth, status-earn efficiency, chart stability, and sweet-spot count. The 2026 picture is more compressed than at any point in the past decade.
12 MAR 2026 loyalty
IHG One Rewards 2026 — A Program Teardown
We held the IHG Premier through a year of dynamic pricing, paid for Ambassador, and chased Royal Ambassador. The 2026 teardown of IHG One Rewards versus Hyatt and Marriott, with the math on every tier and the 4th-night-free.
10 MAR 2026 guides
How to Maximize Business Class Upgrades in 2026: A Complete Guide
Business class upgrades have become harder, not easier, since 2024. We've built the most comprehensive guide to upgrades in 2026 — by carrier, by route, by status tier, and by exact upgrade-instrument-to-cash conversion ratio.
03 MAR 2026 loyalty
American Express Membership Rewards 2026: Best Transfer Partners for Premium Cabin Redemption
American Express Membership Rewards remains the deepest flexible-points currency in the United States for international premium-cabin redemption, with 19 airline transfer partners covering all three global alliances and three hotel partners. We work through every partner, every regular transfer-bonus pattern, the sweet spots that survive into 2026, and how MR now compares to Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou, and Capital One Venture miles after a year of partner-list changes.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.