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Upcoming Southwest Rapid Rewards Changes for 2023

Southwest Airlines, one of the major US airlines and the world’s largest low-cost carrier, is making some changes to its Rapid Rewards® program and Companion Pass. The changes will go into effect starting January 1, 2023.

If you are a Rapid Rewards member, you may have already received an email from Southwest informing of these changes. If not, here is everything you need to know about the upcoming update in the Rapid Rewards program.

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Flying Blue Eliminates Free Stopover on Award Tickets

Current State of Affairs With Flying Blue

Flying Blue is the frequent flyer program of Air France-KLM. They share it with some partners: Kenya Airways, Tarom, Aircalin, and Transavia. It is one of Europe’s major frequent flyer programs, along with Executive Club (British Airways) and Miles&More (Lufthansa group).

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Changes to Citi Prestige and FlexPerks Cards

In June 2016, Citi announced a massive list of downgrades to the Citi Prestige® Card that really eviscerated this card’s value proposition. However, existing cardholders were given over a year of lead time to absorb the changes and cancel their cards if they felt the remaining benefits no longer justified the $450 annual fee.

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Amex Announces Big Changes to the Platinum Card

Ever since Chase released the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, Amex has been playing catch up in the premium card market. Amex’s first response was far less than hoped for – they added 5X earning on airfare to the personal card and the ability to receive a 50% points rebate for premium cabin booking to the business card.

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The Year in Review: Frequent Flyer Program Changes in 2016

A lot happened in the world of frequent flyer programs this year. Not surprisingly, award chart devaluations were the norm, particularly for premium cabins. The news wasn’t all bad, though. Some redemptions actually dropped in price, and airlines and credit card issuers introduced new partnerships, giving members more redemption and transfer options.

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Tips and Tricks for Beating the New United Award Booking Rules

Tips and Tricks for Beating the New United Award Booking Rules

The dust has settled from United Airlines’ new award booking rules which went into effect on October 6. While the news was worse than originally thought, there are some tricks that allow for creative award routings. In United’s zeal to create a mechanical computer-dependent system, it seems they did not program in enough rules to prevent travelers from hopping around the globe with complex itineraries that provide tons of value for MileagePlus members.

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United’s New Award Rules Are Worse Than Initially Feared

United’s New Award Rules Are Worse Than Initially Feared

Anytime an airline announces changes to their award program, the changes are usually worse than the airline tries to make them sound. In August, United announced major changes to award booking rules as well as to their online booking engine. These changes became effective last week on October 6 and now that we have had some time to test out the new booking engine, we can confirm the devaluation is worse than expected and that United’s original announcement was a bit deceptive.

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United Just Changed a Fundamental Rule for Booking Award Travel

United Just Changed a Fundamental Rule for Booking Award Travel

One of the most valuable features of many airline  loyalty programs is the ability to book a stopover during your itinerary. How does a stopover differ from a regular connection? Usually you must arrive and depart within 24 hours during international connections (or within 4 hours during domestic connections).

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American AAdvantage Changes Coming Down the Pike

aadvantage changes

American Airlines recently announced more changes to the way flyers will earn miles and elite status, and it’s getting more complicated than ever to figure out what a trip will yield when it comes to mileage rewards.

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AAdvantage Program Changes for 2016

American Airlines is changing how you earn miles and qualify for elite status, as well as adjusting some of its redemption rates for award flights. These changes, which have been rumored for months, will hit the AAdvantage program starting in March 2016.

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Program Devaluations for 2015

Program devaluations are the bane of every frequent flyer. You go into this pastime with your eyes open. You study the program rules and award charts and make a plan to earn the miles that will net you award flights to your dream destination.

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2014 Loyalty Program Devaluation Update

2014 Loyalty Program Devaluation Update

As an avid collector of miles and points, it won’t take long before you notice something: frequent program devaluations. Changes to award rates happen occasionally in some programs and all too often in others. You’ve got to be aware of what’s going on in the loyalty travel market so you can best utilize the miles and points you’ve earned.

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