New Summer 2022 IHG Promo — Earn 50X+!?

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IHG is fresh off of a revamp of its new reward program, IHG® One Rewards, and now it’s offering a new promotion for the summer of 2022 that will allow you to earn up to 50X+!

It also has an added bonus for IHG card holders like those who have the IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card.

Let’s take a look at this promotion and see what your earnings could look like!

Offers in this article may no longer be available.

The new IHG promo

  • Earn “2X points” on your 2nd through 5th qualifying nights
  • Earn “3X points” on your 6th through 14th qualifying nights
  • Earn “4X points” on your 15th qualifying night and all subsequent qualifying nights
  • IHG cardholders in US earn 3,000 bonus points after the third night and after the sixth night
  • Total promotional bonus points cap of 100,000 points
  • Members can pre-register May 4, 2022 through May 17, 2022
  • Promotion Period runs May 18, 2022 to August 31, 2022
Miniature golf at Holiday Inn Express Waikiki.

Don’t forget you must register!

Update: People are having issues with the registration link. May need to check back in a couple of days.

Update 2: Try this link

IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card

If you’re wanting to make the most out of this promotion consider applying for the IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card which comes with a bonus of 140,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 in first three months. Plus, one free night.

Plus, it has the following features:

  • 10X for spend at IHG
  • 5X on travel and hotels
  • 5X on gas
  • 5X on dining
  • Annual free night certificate at an “eligible hotel”
  • Automatic Platinum Elite Status
  • 20% discount on purchases of IHG points
  • 4th night free on award stays
  • Up to $50 United TravelBank Cash each calendar year
  • Global Entry or TSA Pre-Check credit of up to $100 every 4 years
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • $99 annual fee

Your earnings

This promo offers a standard multiplying effect on your base points.

For example, if you spend $100 at an IHG Hotel that earns 10 points per dollar, you would earn the following on your 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th qualifying night stay:

  • 1,000 base points (10 points x $100 = 1,000 points)
  • 1,000 promotional bonus points

The promotional bonus would then add on to your base points earnings at a rate of 2X base points on your 6th through 14th qualifying nights and 3X base points on your 15th qualifying night and all subsequent qualifying nights.

For cardmembers in the United States with an IHG Credit Card like the IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card, an additional 3,000 bonus points will be awarded after the cardmember’s first three qualifying nights and another 3,000 bonus points after the cardmember’s second three qualifying nights.

No additional bonus points for IHG® credit card use will be awarded past the sixth qualifying night.

Cardmembers qualifying for this offer have an opportunity to earn a maximum of 106,000 promotional bonus points.

Earnings with the IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card

So let’s take a look at what the earnings could look like with the IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card.

Let’s say you just stayed for the 6th night on a $100 stay.

Your earnings could look like:

  • 1,000 base points
  • 2,000 promotional points
  • 3,000 cardmember points
  • 1,000 IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card points
  • 600 points with Platinum Status (from card)

That’s a total of 7,600 points or 76X! At a conservative valuation of .5 cents per point, that’s like getting 38% back which is fantastic.

Admittedly, the super-high return is limited to the sixth night since you won’t get that 3,000 point card member bonus for other nights, but it just goes to show that this could be a very rewarding promo for cardholders, especially if your third and sixth night is at a cheap hotel.

But even when you’re not receiving that extra 3,000 points for being a card member, the 3X and 4X can also be super lucrative, too.

Let’s say you just stayed for the 15th night on a $100 stay. Your earnings could look like:

  • 1,000 base points
  • 3,000 promotional points
  • 1,000 IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card points
  • 600 points with Platinum Status (from card)

That’s 5,600 points or 56X, which is still pretty incredible. It’s pretty rare to be able to quadruple earnings on a hotel promo.

The only drawback is the cap at 100,000 points, which might be easy to hit with 4X earnings.

Final word

This is a pretty lucrative promotion for card holders since you can net some pretty big earnings by staying six nights. This can also become a pretty rewarding promo for those staying more nights but it requires more work to achieve that 4X rate.

Advertiser Disclosure: UponArriving has partnered with affiliate partners and may receive a commission from card issuers. UponArriving does not display all credit card offers and affiliate relationships may impact how offers are presented. 

Editorial Disclosure: Opinions, reviews, analysis & recommendations are UponArriving’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. 

How to Get 50X on Hilton Stays Right Now (Q3 Promo)

Advertiser Disclosure: UponArriving has partnered with affiliate partners and may receive a commission from card issuers. UponArriving does not display all credit card offers and affiliate relationships may impact how offers are presented. Amex Disclosure: Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.

Hilton is always offering tempting promotions and the latest promotion called “More Nights, More Points” offers you yet another opportunity to earn big.

The promo

From May 2, 2022 through September 5, 2022, Hilton Honors members will earn Double Bonus Points for stays of up to two nights and Triple Bonus Points for stays of three nights or more.

This is a pretty solid hotel promotion especially if you can combine earnings with a co-branded Hilton card like the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card. (More on the potential earnings below.) 

Registration Link 

You’ll need to register for the promo which you can do right here.

By the way, you can find promos like this in the WalletFlo app. Just check the promos section and search your favorite hotel brand for the latest deals!

Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort Review

Your potential earnings

Let’s take a look at how lucrative this promo can be.

Assume you make a four night stay at a hotel costing $100 per night.

You will learn the following points:

  • 10X Points per USD x $100 x 4 Nights = 4,000 Base Points
  • 20X Points per USD x $100 x 4 Nights = 8,000 Bonus Points

That’s a total of 30X but things can get much more lucrative.

Now let’s say you have one of the most popular Hilton credit cards the: Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card.

The Hilton Surpass currently comes with a great bonus that allows you to earn 130,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $2,000 in the first 3 months.

Offer no longer available.

But it also provides you with 12X on Hilton and instant Hilton Gold status which will bump up your earnings a lot. (Terms apply.)

If you made the same four night booking for a hotel costing $100 per night you would earn the following points:

  • 10X Points per USD x $100 x 4 Nights = 4,000 Base Points
  • 20X Points per USD x $100 x 4 Nights = 8,000 Bonus Points
  • 12X Points per USD x $100 x 4 Nights = 4,800 Surpass Bonus Points
  • 8X Points per USD x $100 x 4 Nights = 3,200 Gold status Bonus Points

That’s a total of 50X on your hotel spend!

If you value Hilton points at .5 cents per point that comes out to 25% back. Not bad at all. Learn how to apply for the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card.

Hilton Fort Worth Review (Historical JFK Hotel)

If you have the more premium Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card those earnings can climb a little higher.

The same four night booking for a hotel costing $100 per night you would earn the following points:

  • 10X Points per USD x $100 x 4 Nights = 4,000 Base Points
  • 20X Points per USD x $100 x 4 Nights = 8,000 Bonus Points
  • 14X Points per USD x $100 x 4 Nights = 4,800 Aspire Bonus Points
  • 10X Points per USD x $100 x 4 Nights = 3,200 Diamond status Bonus Points

That’s a total of 54X on your hotel spend!

All information about the Aspire has been collected independently by UponArriving.

Final word

As is often the case, the new Hilton promo allows you to stack earnings to a high degree. This promotion could be a great way to earn tons of Hilton points on your summer travels.

If you plan on spending your points at more expensive Hilton properties then your cash back on this promo code get you over 30% back if you have the right credit card.

Don’t forget to check out the promos tab in the WalletFlo app for more deals and savings!

Advertiser Disclosure: UponArriving has partnered with affiliate partners and may receive a commission from card issuers. UponArriving does not display all credit card offers and affiliate relationships may impact how offers are presented. 

Editorial Disclosure: Opinions, reviews, analysis & recommendations are UponArriving’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. 

Amex Disclosure: Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.

New Marriott Promotion (earn elite status quicker)

Marriott is offering a new promotion for 2022 which will allow you to not only earn points but also earn elite qualifying nights quicker.

Hopefully, you’ve downloaded WalletFlo so you already know about this promo but just in case here are the details.

The promo

You’ll be able to earn 1,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points and one additional Elite Night Credit each night but you’ll need to register first.

Register

Key Terms

  • Earn points and night credit from February 8, 2022 through May 4, 2022.
  • Registration ends April 20, 2022
  • No earning limits

An extra 1,000 points per night will benefit cheaper stays since your bonus amount is not tied to your overall spend.

1,000 points comes out to a little under $8 with a WalletFlo valuation of .77 cents per point.

This means that for normal to expensive stays, the value of this promo is going to be limited in terms of points earned.

The real value will come with the elite nights.

We haven’t heard about lowered requirements for Marriott elite status so depending on how travel trends go, this might be the only fast track that is offered.

Earning double reward nights for a few months could be a great way to easily achieve a higher level of Marriott elite status like Platinum or Titanium.

If you already have a business and personal Marriott card then you may have up to 30 elite nights already in the Marriott bank. So with only 10 nights you could hit Platinum. That’s insanely easy which might end up being a bad thing as upgrades become harder to obtain in the future.

So from a points earning perspective, this promotion has limited value but from an elite status earning standpoint, it could actually be pretty lucrative.

RebatesMe $30 Special Bonus

One of the easiest ways to put money back into your wallet is to use a cashback portal when making online purchases. There are quite a few different portals to choose from but one of my favorites is RebatesMe.

And right now you can sign up with a special bonus!

Sign up through this referral link and you can get $30!

It’s not uncommon to see a cash back portal offer something like a $10 or $20 sign up bonus. But a $30 bonus is definitely something on the higher end and worth taking advantage of.

Signing up only takes a couple of seconds. To make things even quicker, you can sign up through your Google, Apple, or Facebook account credentials.

How it works

Once you sign up you will have the $30 in your account but you will need to make qualifying purchases earning cash back totaling above $10 within 365 days of your join date in order to cash out.

Once you create an account then you can start shopping and earning cash back to get to that $10 mark.

All you need to do is find a store that you want to shop at and then click on that store.Then just hit the shop now button and you will be taken directly to the store. You just need to check out as you normally would and you should qualify for the relevant cashback rate shown on RebatesMe.

Note that there is also a RebatesMe Browser Extension. That makes it even easier to earn cashback because all you have to do is essentially click a button.

Be sure to deactivate your ad blocker for best results.

New Marriott Promo for 2021 (Up to 4,500 points per stay)

It feels like it has been a while but Marriott is finally offering a new promotion for 2021. It’s not the most exciting promotion but it is still a pretty decent promo for people that will be making multiple stays and those looking to stay at all-inclusive properties.

The Promo

  • Get 1,500 bonus points on each stay, starting with your first stay.
  • Plus, earn 3,000 more points on All-Inclusive by Marriott Bonvoy stays
  • Promo Link

Some are reporting they are not eligible but I would check back if you get that message.

Key terms

  • Registration is required by November 28, 2021
  • The promotion earning period is for stays between September 14, 2021, and December 12, 2021, at participating Marriott Bonvoy properties.
  • Award redemption stays where points are redeemed for the entire stay are not eligible for the promotion
  • Homes & Villas by Marriott International, Marriott Executive Apartments®, and Marriott Vacation Club® owner-occupied weeks are not eligible for bonus points

Is it worth it?

For the standard bonus rate, you’ll be getting 1,500 bonus points on each stay. Using a WalletFlo valuation of .77 cents per point, 1,500 bonus points comes out to ~$11.55 back.

Since this promotion offers a flat rate of bonus points that obviously is more lucrative for cheaper stays.

At most Marriott properties you’ll earn 10 Marriott points per dollar spent at the property directly.

So let’s say you spent $200 for a stay.

You’d be earning 2,000 base points + 1,500 bonus points. That comes out to about 13% back on a $200 stay and is even more rewarding for stays cheaper than $200.

Of course, if you had a Marriott credit card and elite status those earnings could be even better.

For example, let’s say you had a $200 stay but you also used the Marriott Brilliant Card and you have Titanium status. In that case your earnings would look like this:

  • Base Points: 2,000
  • Titanium Elite Points: 1,500
  • Promo Points: 1,500
  • Brilliant: 1,200

That would come out to 6,200 total Bonvoy points or ~$48 back if you value the points at .77 cents per point. That is approximately 24% back on $200 in spend in the form of Marriott points which is not bad.

If this was an all-inclusive stay you would also be earning an additional 3,000 points. But all-inclusive properties are typically going to be more expensive so your return rate will likely go down by a good margin.

Related: What Does All-Inclusive REALLY Mean at A Resort?

There are also several Amex Offers out right now that could potentially add to your savings like getting $50 back when spending $250 or more. Be sure to use WalletFlo to help you locate the latest hotel deals.

Final word

This is a pretty standard to subpar promo for typical multi-night stays but for someone planning to make multiple short stays at cheaper properties this could end up being a pretty decent deal. The additional 3,000 points on all-inclusive stays is nice but because all-inclusive properties are more pricey and guests like to stay there longer, I don’t think there is going to be a ton of value in terms of return on spend.

New Hilton Promo: Up to 3X the Points!

Hilton has announced a new promotion for 2021 called “Power Up Your Points.” This is a very straightforward promotion which is extra lucrative for all of you proud Hilton cardholders. Below, I will break down the offer and show you just how much value you can expect to get from this promotion.

The Offer

  • Earn Double Points on stays completed September 7 to December 31.
  • Earn Triple Points when you use your Hilton Honors card to pay for your stays
  • Registration Link

Key Terms

  • Offer valid for stays completed September 7, 2021, through December 31, 2021 (“Promotion Period”) at any hotel or resort within the Hilton Portfolio.
  • Hilton Honors members must first register at HiltonHonors.com/PowerUp prior to completing a stay within the Promotion Period.
  • You must check out on or prior to December 31, 2021 to be eligible for this offer.
  • There is no limit to the total amount of Bonus Points that may be earned during the Promotion Period with this offer.

There’s a pretty long list of eligible Hilton cards including a few cards that I did not even know existed. Maybe some of you more “seasoned” credit card folks who have been in the game for a long time will recognize some of the cards below.

Hilton Honors Credit Cards include:

  • Hilton Honors American Express Card
  • Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card
  • Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card
  • Hilton Honors American Express Business Card
  • Hilton Honors Visa Classic Sumitomo Card
  • Hilton Honors Visa Gold Sumitomo Card
  • Hilton Honors Visa Platinum Sumitomo Card
  • Hilton Honors American Express Premium card
  • Hilton Honors Platinum Barclaycard
  • Hilton Honors Credit Card issued by Deutsche Kreditbank AG.

Value potential

Let’s say that you stayed at a Hilton hotel for four nights at $100 per night and that you used the Hilton Aspire to book the hotel. Because you would be using an American Express Hilton Honors Card, you would be eligible for the triple bonus rate.

You would earn the following rates:

  • 4,000 base points
  • 4,000 Diamond elite bonus points
  • 8,000 “Power Up Your Points” bonus points
  • 5,600 Aspire bonus points

That is a total of 21,600 Hilton Honors points. At a WalletFlo valuation of .52 cents per point, that’s $112.32 in value. For $400 in spend that is 54X (approximately 28% back) which is a nice stack.

There are also a lot of Hilton Amex Offers you can stack with your savings right now. Check out WalletFlo to see all of the different types of saving opportunities!

Final word

Overall, this is a very straightforward promotion offering some pretty lucrative savings. The only drawback is that you have to use a Hilton card to get the most points which some people may not be able or willing to do. Be sure to register right now so that you don’t forget later on.

Whitehouse extending facemask requirement until January 18, 2022

8/17/21 Update:

It looks like the Biden Administration is going to extend the mask requirement until January 18, 2022.

Back in April when the mask requirement was extended to September 13, 2021, a lot of us thought there may be an end to masks on planes by mid September but with the outbreak of the Delta variant this summer I think a lot of us saw the writing on the wall.

Unfortunately, this probably means a lot more unruly passengers as mask usage seems to be a major correlative factor for that type of behavior. In fact, according to the FAA, out of 3,889 unruly passenger reports this year about 74% of them related to violations of airline mask policies.

There has been talk about mandating vaccines for air travel and indeed that is already going to happen in Canada. Indeed, most Americans support mandating vaccine passports for domestic air travel and some major US airlines (United Airlines, Frontier Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines) now require their employees to be vaccinated.

However, based on comments made from airline executives and top government officials it does not seem like vaccines will be mandatory for domestic air travel in the US. It could happen but it doesn’t seem very likely at this point.

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TSA is extending the facemask requirement for everyone across all transportation networks throughout the United States, including at airports, onboard commercial aircraft, on over-the-road buses, and on commuter bus and rail systems through September 13.

“The federal mask requirement throughout the transportation system seeks to minimize the spread of COVID-19 on public transportation,” said Darby LaJoye, the Senior Official Performing the Duties of the TSA Administrator.

“Right now, about half of all adults have at least one vaccination shot and masks remain an important tool in defeating this pandemic. We will continue to work closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to evaluate the need for these directives and recognize the significant level of compliance thus far.”

TSA notes that “[t]he extension of the face mask requirement is consistent with this most recent CDC guidance.”

This is true but many people including myself are starting to question the guidance from the CDC.

First, there is the long list of reversals that the CDC has made on issues such as mask wearing that make many people skeptical about CDC recommendations in general.

But that aside, early reports are showing that vaccinations are effective not just at preventing infection but also transmission.

In other words, vaccinated individuals likely have a very low risk of spreading the coronavirus to anyone.

This likely means that others would only benefit a very small (perhaps negligible) amount from a vaccinated person wearing a mask. Basically, I suspect that if you do get vaccinated, wearing a mask is simply not needed or at least not worth the burden.

And if you still do need the mask even after getting vaccinated then I guess masks are now a permanent fixture?

Now I am not a medical professional so don’t take any of this advice too seriously but I think a lot of people share this same viewpoint that the CDC cost/benefit analysis is out of whack post-vaccinations.

Vaccines have now been available to virtually everyone in the country for a couple of weeks and so within another couple of weeks virtually everybody will have had a chance to get fully vaccinated.

To me, logic would dictate that mask wearing (for vaccinated adults) would not be needed much sooner than September. By the end of May, full immunity will have kicked in for just about everybody who wanted the vaccine and it would seem that masks for vaccinated people don’t make sense beyond that date.

But I understand that governments like to play things conservatively so it really is no surprise that the extension has been made until September.

Perhaps they feel that if they remove the mask mandate now then a lot of the non-vaccinated individuals will stop wearing them and contribute to the spread of the virus among the non-vaccinated which includes children. New strains of coronavirus might be spreading to more children so there could be legitimate concern there.

At some point we just have to accept that there’s going to be a risk to people who are not vaccinated and just get on with life, though. As of two weeks ago, half the country’s adults had at least one vaccine shot so I think that day should be here pretty soon.

I will give TSA credit for at least establishing a specific date as that shows that they are interested in this all coming to an end at some point.

Still, it’s going to be weird when there is a mask requirement in the middle to late summer when the virus is likely posing virtually no threat in the US.

Worth noting: the existing civil penalty fine structure will also remain in place which starts at $250 and rises to $1,500 for repeat offenders who violate this face mask requirement.

Big Chase Sapphire Changes Coming?

8/10/21 Update:

Chase just confirmed that the rumored changes discussed below will go into effect August 16.

As a reminder here are the changes:

Sapphire Preferred changes

  • $50 hotel credit
  • 10% anniversary point bonus
  • 3x on dining/streaming services/online grocery (excludes: excluding Target, Walmart and
  • 5x on travel booked through the Chase Travel portal

Sapphire Reserve changes

  • 10X on Chase Dining Hub
  • 10X on hotels through Chase Travel portal
  • 10X on car rentals through Chase Travel portal
  • 5X on airline travel booked through the Chase Travel portal

The new changes give the Sapphire Preferred a considerable upgrade. While I am not crazy about the 3X on groceries being limited to online groceries, the 3X on dining is solid. With the additional 10% anniversary point bonus and the $50 hotel credit, it’s going to be even easier to offset the already reasonable annual fee (assuming that it does not soon increase).

The changes to the Reserve are more mediocre. The only change that I am potentially excited about is earning 10X on rental cars, since I am not a huge fan of booking hotels or even airfare through a travel portal and the options in the Chase Dining Hub are minimal.

Tip: Be sure to download the app WalletFlo to help you keep up with the new credit and bonus categories!

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7/7/21 Original article:

News just broke on Reddit about Chase adding new features to two of its most popular credit cards: the Sapphire Preferred and the Sapphire Reserve. The information is based on leaked documents so we don’t know if these changes are going to occur or not but if they do, it’s possible they could be implemented in the middle of August. Here’s a look at some of the new changes.

Sapphire Preferred changes

  • $50 hotel credit
  • 10% anniversary point bonus
  • 3x on dining/streaming services/online grocery (excludes: excluding Target, Walmart and
  • 5x on travel booked through the Chase Travel portal

$50 hotel credit

It looks like the $50 hotel credit is going to be issued on a cardmember year basis and limited to hotel bookings in the Chase Travel Portal. If so, that greatly reduces its value since hotel bookings through OTA’s usually decrease the benefits you get from loyalty programs. Still, you could use it to cover all or part of a cheap hotel stay for a one night stay at an airport hotel or somewhere similar.

The addition of this credit would make me think that the annual fee will be increased. It seems very rare for cards to introduce credits and not hike the annual fee but we will see. Some people think that this credit may have to be earned (presumably with spend) which may not mean a fee increase.

10% anniversary point bonus

Based on some of the language I’m seeing it looks like this 10% anniversary point bonus would be based on the base earning rate for all purchases of 1X.

So let’s say that you spent $10,000 on travel. You would earn 20,000 points with 2X on travel but your 10% rebate would only apply to your earnings at a rate of 1 point per dollar spent. So instead of getting 2,000 Ultimate Rewards back you would only get 1,000 Ultimate Rewards.

That is still a decent little rebate but not nearly as lucrative as it would be if it was based purely on all earned points.

New bonus categories

  • 3X on dining, streaming services, and online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart)
  • 5X on travel booked through the Chase Travel Portal.

The 3X on dining and streaming is a nice upgrade. 3X on dining, while a great change, seems to detract from the value of the Reserve. It’s always a weird look when a card with a much higher annual fee offers the same bonus multiplier.

3X on groceries would be great but the limitation to online groceries really is not that attractive to me.

I have used Instacart and curbside delivery with various grocery stores but I have not been too impressed. People really don’t know how (or care) to pick out good produce and a lot of people really lack attention to detail when it comes to specific types of groceries requested.

5X on the Chase Travel Portal merely puts the CSP on par with no annual fee Freedom cards, so it’s not terribly exciting.

Sapphire Reserve changes

  • 10X on Chase Dining Hub
  • 10X on hotels through Chase Travel portal
  • 10X on car rentals through Chase Travel portal
  • 5X on airline travel booked through the Chase Travel portal

So with the Reserve, it looks like it is all about the new bonus categories.

10X on dining is phenomenal but it is limited to the Chase Dining Hub. Many people will not have any locations near them and even in bigger cities like Phoenix you may only have a handful of options. So there is very limited value.

10X on hotels and car rentals is actually pretty impressive. Of course, you have to deal with the OTA problem of losing out on elite benefits and possibly perks so that is still a major limitation. The 10X on rental cars might not be a bad deal though.

Once again, 5X on airline travel through the Chase Travel Portal is nothing special considering you can get that with a Freedom card.

Notably missing from here is the multiplier on streaming and groceries and also the 10% rebate. It’s extra odd that Chase would add unique perks to the CSP considering they have a rule that does not allow you to get both the CSR and CSP.

Final word

Right now, it looks like the Sapphire Preferred would be the big winner here but based on some of the perks like the hotel credit it seems like that annual fee might be creeping up. The changes to the Reserve could be lucrative for a subset of people who utilize the Chase Travel Portal and occasional outings through Chase Dining but overall the enhancements seem pretty limited.

CDC Changes Mask Guidance

The CDC just recommended that vaccinated individuals begin wearing masks again when indoors which is a bit of a reversal from their recommendation made about two months ago.

I say a “bit” because they state it applies to places with high covid transmission rates, so it’s not exactly universal.

For example, regions like the northeast and upper Midwest are still seeing relatively low infection rates, so I’m guessing masks are not needed indoors in those places per the CDC. But the delta variant has caused notable spikes in Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Florida, so the guidance would apply in those locations.

You can check the transmission rates for very state here.

The CDC also recommends that everyone in grade schools wear masks indoors, “including teachers, staff, students and visitors, regardless of vaccination status.”

While cases are growing rapidly, hospitalizations and deaths are also growing but at lower rates than cases. They are also not anywhere near what they were during peak times. Take a look at the death rates below — it is still extremely low despite the quick rise in cases and it doesn’t mirror the uptick. I know deaths tend to lag but I don’t see any noticeable change in trajectory close to what we see with new cases right now.

Here is a look at the uptick:

What does it mean that there is a sharp uptick in new cases but not deaths? As a non-expert, I’m not sure but it sure does seem like a sign that this surge may not be as serious as prior surges.

What does this mean for masks on planes?

Currently, the federal mask mandate — which applies to trains, planes and airports, buses, and transportation hubs — extends to September 13, 2021.

Some experts are predicting another surge from the delta variant that could peak sometime between September and October, so this could mean another extension of this deadline.

However, it looks like airlines like Southwest are not recommending another extension of the mask mandate. They do state that they will back guidance from the CDC, though.

If the CDC is mostly guided by new cases, I think there’s a good chance we’ll see the federal mask mandate extended — probably announced sometime next month.

But if they are giving more weight to deaths and hospitalizations, the situation may not be so bad.

The problem is that some parts of the country will be much worse than others due to giant disparities in vaccination rates which makes it difficult to apply a federal mandate fairly across the country.

So while I’m hoping for an end to the mask mandates, it seems like that might be a bit further down the road. We’ll see.

Citi Offering up to 1:1 transfer to AAdvantage (LTO)

Citi ThankYou Points has long been #3 (behind Amex and Chase) when it comes to transferable points programs (at least to me it has).

It has some great transfer partners if you know how to use them but they have been lacking in a major way by not having one of the legacy carriers as a transfer partner.

However, for a limited time that will be different.

The new limited-time transfer promo

Citi is now offering the ability to transfer points from Citi to American Airlines AAdvantage for up to a 1:1 ratio. This will only last from July 18 to November 13, 2021.

You transfer ratio to American Airlines AAdvantage will depend on the type of Citi card you have.

Below are the transfer ratios:

1:1 (1,000 Points = 1,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® Miles)

  • Citi Chairman
  • Prestige
  • Premier

1:0.5 (1,000 Points = 500 American Airlines AAdvantage® Miles)

  • Citi ThankYou Preferred
  • Citi Rewards+

The 1:1 ratio is great but I’m not too crazy about the lower transfer ratio.

I guess if you had no other use for your Citi points it would be better than nothing but I’d maybe even look into upgrading if possible so that you can take advantage of the new transfer ratio (assuming that works).

If you were transferring a lot of miles, you might be able to offset the annual fee with the increased value from your transfer.

Final word

This is a pretty exciting promotion for people who have been looking for a way to boost their AAdvantage accounts.

Perhaps it’s sign of things to come with Citi?

I wouldn’t be too doubtful given that AA is a transfer partner of the new Bilt Mastercard. Maybe AA is looking to make more moves with Citi in the near future?

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