The Upgraded Points Podcast

A lot just happened in the points and miles world. Citi added JAL Mileage Bank as a transfer partner with a 30% bonus through October 24, and it changes the math on how to use ThankYou Points for Japan and Oneworld bookings.

Hyatt officially ended its American Airlines partnership and announced a new one with Delta hours later. Chase Sapphire Reserve anniversary offers are live with up to $350 back on select purchases, some expiring as soon as October 16.

Alaska's Choose How You Earn feature is rolling out ahead of a January 1, 2027, start date. And Apple dropped the iPhone Duo, a foldable phone that folds to the size of a passport, plus AirPods 5 with real-time Live Translation that could change how you travel internationally.

Plus, Katie shares whether the new AA Executive Card vacation credit was actually worth using, and a Chase 10 million points giveaway you can enter right now.

Let’s get into it!

(00:00) - The Upgraded Points Podcast Episode 77
(02:54) - Using the AA Vacations Portal
(08:17) - Citi Adds JAL
(12:22) - New Apple Products for Travelers
(21:40) - Chase Sapphire Reserve Card 10-year Anniversary
(24:34) - Chase Sapphire Reserve Improving DoorDash Credits
(25:10) - Sapphire Reserve for Business Changes
(26:20) - Alaska Airlines' New Way to Earn Status
(28:28) - Hyatt Dumps AA, Adds Delta

Creators and Guests

Host

Christopher Hassan

Host

Katie Corrigan Seemann

What is The Upgraded Points Podcast?

Want to travel more and spend less? Every week, Upgraded Points provides expert insights, travel hacks, and the latest industry news to help you maximize your points and miles like a pro. Hosted by Chris Hassan and Katie Corrigan Seemann, travel experts at Upgraded Points, this podcast breaks down the best strategies for booking luxury flights, scoring hotel upgrades, and making every trip unforgettable — all without breaking the bank.

Expect insider tips, real-world trip breakdowns, and answers to your biggest travel questions. Whether you're a points and miles beginner or a seasoned expert, we’ll help you travel smarter, save money, and unlock next-level adventures.

Email us at podcast@upgradedpoints.com

Subscribe now and Travel Different.

00:00:00:05 - 00:00:09:19
Chris
A lot just happened. City added Japan Airlines Hyatt dumped American for Delta and Chase is giving away 10 million points.

00:00:09:20 - 00:00:15:15
Katie
So today we're sharing what you need to know. No fluff, just the important stuff that really matters.

00:00:15:18 - 00:00:21:15
Chris
And if you're thinking about upgrading your phone, stick around because Apple just dropped something really interesting for travelers.

00:00:21:16 - 00:00:34:14
Katie
And I'm going to see if Chris can talk me out of buying the new iPhone duo. It's all coming up next on the Upgraded Points podcast.

00:00:34:16 - 00:00:37:14
Chris
Hey I'm Chris. Welcome to the Upgraded Points.

00:00:37:16 - 00:00:58:08
Katie
And I'm Katie and today we have so much to talk about. There has been a lot of news in the points of Miles world, and we're going to just go over all of the important stuff today. And that includes Hyatt and Americans breakup, the Chase Sapphire ten year anniversary, some new Apple stuff, new city, frantic partner. We have lots to talk about today.

00:00:58:08 - 00:01:17:14
Katie
Before we jump into all of that, though, as always, if you're enjoying the podcast, don't forget a freeway to support us is by leaving a five star rating and review on Apple Podcast and Spotify, and head on over to YouTube. Drop a comment, give us a thumbs up. Subscribe to that channel. We really do appreciate all of it.

00:01:17:16 - 00:01:39:22
Katie
So, Chris, okay, before we jump into all the news, I wanted to give you an update. So last week's episode, we talked a lot about sort of planning for end of the year, making sure you're not missing any big travel credits and things like that. And I actually made a lot of moves after that episode because it kind of reminded me like, oh, there's actually a lot of this I need to do too.

00:01:40:00 - 00:02:14:13
Katie
So it worked. Yeah it did. I took our own advice, so worked really well. So first of all, I had a have a three night stay in in a couple, I guess next month to go visit. My brother and I had a points booking and I realized I had a Delta stays credit. So what I did is I just swapped one night of my points booking, and I booked this one night using my Delta stays credit from my Delta Platinum card, which comes with a $150 credit, and the room was only $148.

00:02:14:13 - 00:02:35:06
Katie
So free hotel room dot. Sweet. Yeah, okay. Love that. Also, I was at the Conrad Las Vegas last week and I'll talk about that. Stay next week. We have too much to talk about today. But I had I was there for a conference so most everything was covered. But I did have dinner that wasn't covered. That was just separate.

00:02:35:06 - 00:02:49:18
Katie
So I charge it to my room and I paid for my room with my Hilton or I'm sorry, my Amex Business Platinum card that has a $50 quarterly Hilton credit and like dinner was $51 or something. So it was perfect.

00:02:49:20 - 00:02:50:17
Chris
Smooth.

00:02:50:18 - 00:03:17:20
Katie
Yeah. So next there's more. So we talked about the AA vacation packages and the fact that the American Airlines executive card now comes with two $250 credits. I am generally not one to book through a portal like that, but I wanted to try it. And then we talked about that maximize Miles promo last week, where you can earn a pretty good number of points and miles and loyalty points.

00:03:17:22 - 00:03:39:14
Katie
So I looked for a trip coming up just over Thanksgiving. Domestic like, nothing too exciting. I had flights booked through Delta with Miles. I didn't love it. It was a pretty good value, but it was just a lot of miles for like a not exciting flight. So that wasn't that wasn't amazing. So I've kind of been trying to figure something out for that.

00:03:39:17 - 00:04:03:03
Katie
I priced out flights on American because American actually had pretty good prices for these flights that I needed. And then I priced the same thing out on AA vacations with a rental car. And after I factored in that $250 credit, it was actually $70 cheaper to book the flights and the rental car through American Airlines vacations.

00:04:03:06 - 00:04:03:16
Chris
Oh.

00:04:03:18 - 00:04:33:11
Katie
So not bad. I was happy with that. However, it's not all amazing. The the website itself I found very clunky. It was not a smooth process, like if I didn't have that $250 credit, there is no way that I would ever go back to this site again. It wasn't a fantastic experience. I also realized that it doesn't code as an American Airlines purchase, so it only earns one point per dollar instead of four.

00:04:33:12 - 00:05:03:04
Katie
Had I booked the flights through American, which doesn't feel good at all, like that kind of upset me. And then the packages are not freely canceled and changeable, so that was almost a deal breaker. I almost just abandoned ship. But this particular trip, like I'm 99% sure it's going to happen. So for the sake of the show, I wanted to try it out and see how it all happened.

00:05:03:06 - 00:05:30:00
Katie
But yeah, so if I need to cancel or change this, I have to pay a fee and I forget exactly what it was. Maybe 50 bucks a person before a certain date or something. Like it's not completely unreasonable. I mean, it's unreasonable, but it's not completely insane. But like, if I have to change that, then I, like, wipe out all my savings, and now I'm just kind of super stressed, so I don't know how I feel about it.

00:05:30:01 - 00:05:48:03
Katie
The one other good thing I will say that maximize Miles promo does allow, so it'll all earn my my whatever 8 or 9 points. I forget what I earn per dollar for my status, but my husband and daughter will also get that earning rate based on my status instead of their status.

00:05:48:06 - 00:05:48:14
Chris
Oh.

00:05:48:15 - 00:06:00:21
Katie
So that's nice, but I'm not feeling super amazing about that credit. And therefore the American Airlines executive card. It just I wanted that to be such a no brainer.

00:06:01:01 - 00:06:02:04
Chris
Yeah.

00:06:02:06 - 00:06:21:10
Katie
But they just there's just too many hoops to jump through. You know giving up that forex earning I don't know it just feels like it could have been done better. So we'll see I'll report back once it's all done and I get my points and see how I feel about it after. But so I guess it's.

00:06:21:10 - 00:06:44:10
Chris
My what is the move if you you're gonna have to do this again, you know, next semester. Yeah. What is the move. Is it to book a, you know, a cheap flight somewhere around that that what is it, two. Two $5,250. And then just add on a rental car that you may or may not even need just to make it a package so you can trigger the credit?

00:06:44:10 - 00:06:46:04
Chris
Or is there, like, a better way?

00:06:46:06 - 00:07:06:22
Katie
That's basically it. The only thing I noticed is they do have experiences through the AA vacations portal, and when I glanced real quick, it looked like there was some like maybe baseball games or some some kind of sports event. I think that could be a really interesting way to use this credit, where you're not dealing with flights that need to be canceled.

00:07:06:23 - 00:07:23:08
Katie
So I'm going to look into that next semester, as you say, because I'm not thrilled with booking the vacation package. But yes, like you can get a good deal. But there's just it's just not easy. So we'll see.

00:07:23:09 - 00:07:25:00
Chris
We'll see. Testing.

00:07:25:02 - 00:07:53:23
Katie
You know, all for the show off of the show and then. Oh, the last thing I wanted to mention, while I was kind of poking around my city account, I noticed that I have a city merchant offer for, I think it was $30 back on a $250 purchase for Avis through October. So if you have not used your $120 Avis Budget rental car credit on that American Airlines Executive card, check your account, see if you have that.

00:07:53:23 - 00:08:10:10
Katie
Because then if you do an Avis rental of at least $250 or more, you can stack the 30 with the what is it, the 120? So just wanted to mention that I wish I had actually already used that one, so. But I thought it was a nice little stack there, so keep that in mind. Okay, let's move on.

00:08:10:10 - 00:08:18:00
Katie
We have so much news to talk about. So Chris, I think one of the first things we have to talk about is is really exciting. What's going on?

00:08:18:01 - 00:08:47:20
Chris
Yeah, yeah. This is a big one. City has just added Japan Airlines as a transfer partner. Yeah. So beginning September 20th, eligible card members will be able to transfer. Thank you. Points to JL mileage Bank. And to celebrate the launch, there's going to be a 30% transfer bonus through October 24th. So that is that is huge news and a really valuable transfer bonus.

00:08:47:20 - 00:09:12:09
Chris
So the eligible card members with an annual fee city card will be able to transfer 1000 thank you points and they'll receive 1300 Japan Airlines miles. If you have a no annual fee card, you could transfer your 1000 thank you points and get 910 Japan airline miles. Still not bad. After the promotion it goes back to 1 to 1.

00:09:12:09 - 00:09:38:09
Chris
And then for those who do not have an annual fee card, it drops to. When you transfer 1000 points, you'll get 700 Japan airline miles before city only built in, Rove transferred to Japan Airlines at a 1 to 1 ratio. Capital one transfers at a one to .75, so if you transfer 1000, you'll only get 750. So even with their I think their last transfer bonus, it still didn't even get to 1 to 1.

00:09:38:09 - 00:10:06:07
Chris
So this is a really good deal. Good news Japan Airlines is a really valuable program, and it had gone under the radar for a long time due to limited transfer partners and, you know, a less than user friendly website. But now that it's getting so much attention, dare I say that it's ripe for devaluation? I don't say I'm sorry to say it.

00:10:06:08 - 00:10:28:20
Chris
Yeah, but we're going to start talking more about it, I'm sure. And we're not going to be the only ones because you know it. You can book One World Partners, American Airlines, British, you can book Emirates, you can use a back door to book Air France business class at better rates than than through flying blue. And when you book round trip flights, you get even more discounts.

00:10:28:20 - 00:10:57:14
Chris
And if you're looking for Japan Airlines Metal, you'll get expanded availability. So personally, this is going to make me reconsider my my strategy because I had been hoarding city thank you points, as our listeners know, because I've enjoyed sending them to American Airlines and I have a bunch of them earmarked for Japan Airlines flights. But now that's probably not necessary, and it's probably not even wise to do that.

00:10:57:16 - 00:10:59:08
Chris
What do you think, Katie?

00:10:59:10 - 00:11:27:00
Katie
I really wish I had more city points right now. I haven't been focusing too much on city, so I have a very relatively small balance compared to other other points. But I am actively trying to book flights to Japan and I really want to fly Japan Airlines business class. I think probably most of us do. And honestly, that feels like completely, almost impossible right now.

00:11:27:03 - 00:11:47:20
Katie
So I'm kind of I'm loving this. I hope that it doesn't mean there's a devaluation coming at some point, but like, I feel like I need to go grab a welcome offer on a city card to get a chunk of points so I can actually have a reasonable amount to transfer before this transfer bonus ends. Now, of course, that's all.

00:11:47:20 - 00:12:07:14
Katie
If I can find availability because I'm not transferring points speculatively in this situation even though. Right, you know Japan Airlines is going to be a nice option. But so yeah, I really like this. I just I wish I had like half a million city points sitting in my account right now so I could just, you know, as soon as I find something and jump on it.

00:12:07:14 - 00:12:11:11
Katie
But yeah, I mean, overall, I think this is great news.

00:12:11:13 - 00:12:15:05
Chris
Yeah. That's great. City points just got more valuable in my book.

00:12:15:06 - 00:12:16:03
Katie
At least I agree.

00:12:16:04 - 00:12:40:03
Chris
That's great. All right, well let's kick things off. I want to talk about a little bit of tech and travel. So early in September Apple had its annual event and there was a lot of new stuff announced. And I want to focus on stuff that's interesting for travelers. And we're not going to bury the lead here. Let's talk about the iPhone duo.

00:12:40:05 - 00:13:01:13
Chris
This is Apple's thinnest iPhone ever, and it folds. It folds up as small as a passport and then it opens up to 7.6in display. So I'm just thinking like for travelers this is great for in-flight entertainment, right? You can it's almost like an iPad mini. So you can have your TV shows and your movies. It's great for selfies.

00:13:01:13 - 00:13:21:08
Chris
It has that screen on the back so you can see what you're taking a picture of yourself. I love the demo of the. You can fold it and it turns into an alarm clock at night, so you can look at the next your bed. Yeah, it looks really good. And so the question is like, could this replace maybe a tablet that's in your travel bag.

00:13:21:10 - 00:13:38:03
Chris
So for travelers think it's a fair question. But at $2,000 starting it's it's a big step up from the regular iPhone. And the camera is not as good. It's good. But it doesn't have the zoom that the 18 Pro has.

00:13:38:04 - 00:13:46:03
Katie
So I know you love the zoom because you're always posting the zoom reels and stuff, which are. So you get me every time, like it's so cool.

00:13:46:09 - 00:13:56:07
Chris
Exactly. So I wouldn't be able to do that with the duo. Katie, what is this something that's on your radar? Would you would you buy this folding iPhone?

00:13:56:09 - 00:14:12:01
Katie
So this is a real life scenario that I'm going through right now. My current phone is super old. Like I still have the 13 Pro and it is. Yeah, I know really? Yeah. For like the last three years, I'm like, I really need to replace it. And I keep like, I'll put it off one more year, one more year.

00:14:12:01 - 00:14:34:01
Katie
And so I had already been planning as soon as these phones came out, I was getting the new one. But then this duo came out and, I don't know, like, I need you to talk me out of it, Chris, because I, I wasn't going, I wasn't going for it. But then I saw the demo of the cool like selfie mode, where it just like snaps the photo and like when I'm traveling by myself and I have to take pictures and that's that's great.

00:14:34:01 - 00:14:49:21
Katie
And like the, the camera on the back. So you can like, see your own pose when someone else is taking a photo like that. All really appeals to me. But the camera, the camera is the problem, so I'm sure it's better than what I have on my 13.

00:14:49:23 - 00:14:50:11
Chris
Yeah, I did.

00:14:50:11 - 00:14:58:02
Katie
It like I was looking forward to having that zoom, and I don't know if I want to spend that much for an inferior camera. I don't know what to do.

00:14:58:07 - 00:15:20:16
Chris
So well. I will talk. I'll try to talk you out of it, but I wouldn't I wouldn't let the camera be the issue because it has the same camera as one of the same cameras as the Pro. So you'll get your normal shots. They're going to be great. It's just not going to have that zoom. And I post the zoom things I do on Instagram, but it's very rare that I actually actually use the zoom to its full capacity.

00:15:20:17 - 00:15:42:23
Chris
It's definitely cool. But yeah, I think the duo, it's cool. I think my wife is going to get it. I'm not going to get it. So it's think it's going to make its way into the family. One thing I think is weird, though. I want to see the cases because I'm seeing the case that actually covers the back screen, so it seems a little funky.

00:15:43:00 - 00:16:06:20
Katie
I was wondering about that too, because I have. Oh, it's actually right here. I use one of these like wallet things like the MagSafe with the wallet, and my husband was saying that he didn't think that this would actually fit on the duo. He had watched, like all the videos and stuff. So that's that's kind of I mean, it's not a problem, but I'm so used to having that right there with like a couple credit cards.

00:16:06:21 - 00:16:07:02
Chris
Yeah.

00:16:07:03 - 00:16:12:16
Katie
So it would be something that I'd need to consider, but it's just like kind of cool. Again, I might.

00:16:12:17 - 00:16:13:12
Chris
Just definitely.

00:16:13:12 - 00:16:28:09
Katie
Just do it I don't know. We'll see. I'm gonna I'm not I don't want to make a decision until I can actually see it in person and hold it, because I'm also worried about like how wide it is and if it's going to be uncomfortable in my hand because my hands are relatively small. Yeah. And just like. Yeah.

00:16:28:10 - 00:16:31:12
Katie
So I don't know. We'll see. But I'm considering it.

00:16:31:15 - 00:16:32:04
Chris
Okay.

00:16:32:05 - 00:16:34:01
Katie
Well drop your comments in the.

00:16:34:02 - 00:16:34:18
Chris
Yeah.

00:16:34:20 - 00:16:38:21
Katie
Let us know. Should I get it or should I not.

00:16:38:23 - 00:16:48:12
Chris
One other reason to convince you otherwise Katie is the 18 Pro. It's coming out with a color that I'm not. I don't think it's purple. It's maroon. So I don't know if that's in your palate.

00:16:48:13 - 00:17:14:06
Katie
I'm mad at that color. Like, whoever picked these colors really should get a new job. Like they're not good. My high school uniforms were maroon, and so I have a, like, an aversion to any color that resembles maroon. And so while I appreciate that it's getting close to purple, it just says high school uniform to me, so I can't if I get the just the pro, I'm just going to get like the silver black or whatever.

00:17:14:07 - 00:17:14:19
Katie
Yeah.

00:17:14:21 - 00:17:41:13
Chris
All right. For anyone who's interested in the pro, it, it did get a boost in specs and the new color, but it also got $100 price increase. Besides that not really much changed. It did get a better camera. And so it has variable aperture with laser cut blades. So that's going to help with low light photos. So if travelers taking pictures of airplanes and hotel rooms it's going to be pretty good.

00:17:41:15 - 00:17:59:22
Chris
The zoom is staying the same. So there's not much of an upgrade there from the 17, but it is promising the best battery life of any iPhone, so that's always good. I'm bummed about the price increase, but I'm still probably getting this phone I upgrade every single year because I can reset.

00:17:59:23 - 00:18:00:17
Katie
My.

00:18:00:19 - 00:18:16:19
Chris
Well, I can resell. IPhones are so expensive in Brazil. My one year used phone is the same price as a new phone, so I can sell my phone locally here. Give somebody a great deal. I usually I usually sell it to my friends or family, and then I can just take that money and go buy the new phone.

00:18:16:19 - 00:18:38:21
Chris
So if I'm doing that every year, I can kind of do that upgrade without, you know, too much out of pocket. So for sure that's that. Moving on. Other announcements. Apple Watch got a couple new upgrades. Apple series 12 and the ultra for both got big health upgrades, battery life and the what I think is cool about the Apple Watch.

00:18:38:22 - 00:19:03:22
Chris
The new chip measures your heart rate every five seconds, and then it's going to display a readiness feature that will help. It combines all your vitals and exercise and sleep, and it's going to give you four recommendations there. Recover, pace yourself ready and go for it. So I'm just thinking after a long haul flights and time zone changes, travelers is going to be able to better understand how their bodies are handling the trip.

00:19:03:22 - 00:19:20:09
Chris
And your watch. Just saying, hey, maybe go take a break, maybe it's time to listen, but that one's pretty cool. That starts at 3.99. The price didn't go up from last year. So that's that's interesting. I'm on an Apple Watch three. So that's pretty old. So I'm maybe upgrading to that as well.

00:19:20:11 - 00:19:21:03
Katie
You do.

00:19:21:09 - 00:19:21:17
Chris
I still.

00:19:21:17 - 00:19:23:04
Katie
Got the three as well.

00:19:23:06 - 00:19:28:10
Chris
Well the three I mean I've been loving it. I've had no reason to upgrade until.

00:19:28:12 - 00:19:46:06
Katie
I mean really I use it as a glorified alarm clock and like set some timers on it. I don't really do much on it other than that. So I haven't been able to convince myself to to upgrade it, but that sounds kind of cool. It actually reminds me a little bit of some of the functionality of the Aura ring, so it feels like there may be trying to get some of that market share.

00:19:46:07 - 00:19:51:05
Chris
And the and the beauty is that there's no subscription. So if you have the watch there's no paywall or anything.

00:19:51:05 - 00:19:55:18
Katie
So maybe it's time for an upgrade. I'm just going to go all out on Apple this year.

00:19:55:20 - 00:20:17:05
Chris
Wait for a portal bonus. I don't know if these are going to be eligible, but usually usually not. And then the final one, which I think is the sleeper hit from the announcements is the AirPods five. And so besides, you know, the latest active noise cancellation technology that, you know, we all love. It has the live translation feature.

00:20:17:05 - 00:20:39:13
Chris
And so you can have conversations in foreign languages translated in real time. This is just not and it's $129. So when this first came out, I think it was only available in the Pro versions. And those started at 250. At $129, you're getting live translations in your ear. Plus there are some of the best headphones out there in great noise canceling.

00:20:39:13 - 00:20:46:08
Chris
So yeah, lots, lot to lot to consider from this latest latest Apple news.

00:20:46:08 - 00:20:46:14
Katie
Yeah.

00:20:46:15 - 00:21:06:17
Chris
Really cool. All right. Well let's take a break. And when we come back we're going to dive into more news, including the Chase Sapphire Reserve Cardio anniversary. It's full of offers into 10 million point giveaway.

00:21:06:19 - 00:21:13:18
Chris
Real quick before we jump back in, if you're listening to this podcast, you're exactly the kind of person we built our free newsletter for.

00:21:13:21 - 00:21:19:12
Katie
We break down the best credit card offers, transfer bonuses, travel news and award alerts so you stay ahead of the game.

00:21:19:13 - 00:21:24:22
Chris
A lot of the deals we talk about on the show don't last long. The newsletter is where we flag those fast.

00:21:24:23 - 00:21:37:06
Katie
It's totally free and you can sign up at upgraded points.

00:21:37:08 - 00:22:00:07
Katie
Okay. Welcome back. Let's dive back into the news with the Chase Sapphire Reserve anniversary offers. The Chase Sapphire Reserve just turned ten and they have some new exclusive offers available. These are for card members who had their card as of September 16th. And these are just Chase offers, so you do need to go in and add those to your card before making a purchase.

00:22:00:09 - 00:22:24:18
Katie
Some of the highlights. First one is you can save $125 on a $500 or more stay at eligible hotels in the US as long as your payment is completed by October 16th, 2026. You can stay after you just have to prepay for your reservation. And then there are a handful that are available through December 14th, so you have a little bit more time on these.

00:22:24:20 - 00:22:56:23
Katie
You can save 250 or get 250 back as a statement credit after spending $1,000 or more at Miraval or allele properties that participate in World of Hyatt and those are US locations. Only you can get 200 back after spending $200 or more on a semi-private JSX flight, you can get $300 $350 back after spending $1,500 or more on a wander vacation home, and then you can also get $125 back after spending 500 on a premium Sixt car rental.

00:22:57:00 - 00:23:12:07
Katie
One thing to note your offers might be a little bit different. So on that sixth one mine was actually saved 200 on 500, but only if you've held the card since 2016 with no product changes.

00:23:12:11 - 00:23:13:02
Chris
Oh wow.

00:23:13:04 - 00:23:33:05
Katie
I've also had a 100 of 600 offer for Chase travel, and that one was also available only to card members who have had the card the entire time with no product changes. So that was strange because I know some of our team members did not have that and they had the different offer, so not sure what's going on there.

00:23:33:06 - 00:24:02:00
Katie
It must mean that some of these are targeted. Maybe you have something slightly different. So just go in and check your Chase offers and see if there's anything there that you can use. And then yeah, Chase is also giving away 10 million points. Yes, million. And it is a new contest that they are promoting. It involves posting an Instagram or TikTok video about your favorite destination that you have visited, and what it would mean to experience it.

00:24:02:00 - 00:24:25:03
Katie
Again. They're accepting entries through November 6th. Ten finals will each get half a million points, and one grand prize winner will get 5 million points. There is some fine print, so make sure you go and read all of the contest rules before you submit an entry. But you know, it's kind of nice to have an opportunity to get a big boatload of points.

00:24:25:05 - 00:24:49:13
Chris
That'd be fun. Yeah. All right. Well, there's still some more good news coming out of Chase after they are improving the DoorDash credit. So that starts October 1st. The monthly $5 DoorDash credit is becoming a $15 credit. And that's going to be good on any eligible DoorDash order, restaurant or otherwise. Plus, the two existing $10 restaurant credits aren't changing.

00:24:49:15 - 00:24:56:17
Chris
So even though it's a $10 a month difference, that's a big deal. I mean, it's rare, you see credits just improved like that overnight.

00:24:56:18 - 00:25:06:20
Katie
Yeah, that makes it actually, like borderline usable. Like I ignored it at $5, but 15, like, yeah, you know, maybe I'll think about it. So good. Good one.

00:25:07:00 - 00:25:28:21
Chris
All right. And if you have this sapphire reserve for business and you spend a lot on social media or search engine advertising, pay attention to this. Because in November 15th there's going to be a limit to the three x category. Now you will be capped at $1 million spent on social media and search engine advertising on each anniversary year.

00:25:29:02 - 00:25:56:18
Chris
You're using a business card for for those kind of advertisements. Just keep that in mind. On January 1st, 2027, the annual statement credit for the edit by Chase travel will double from $500 to 1000. This comes as for statement credits with a max value of $250 per stay that can be used at any point throughout the year, if that fits with your travel style and you can use those credits, this is a huge value add.

00:25:56:19 - 00:26:06:21
Chris
As a reminder, this card is $795 a year and you can get more value from that with with just one benefit alone, which is great.

00:26:07:01 - 00:26:40:16
Katie
Yeah, that's a solid improvement on that card there. Really nice. I mean yeah, you still have to go through and use the coupons, but if you're traveling for work and you can use that like that's fantastic, then next thing is, is kind of an interesting one that we were actually just talking about very recently off off air. But Alaska Airlines, if you will remember when they changed their program and switch to Atmos, one of the big features that they promoted was the fact that you will be able to choose how you earn your elite qualifying points.

00:26:40:16 - 00:27:04:01
Katie
And we think we're finally starting to see that rollout. Some members are now seeing a choose how you earn feature in the app, and that lets you make the choice now, but the earning method will not take effect until January 1st. So it seems like this isn't going to be it's going to be a next year thing. We were expecting it this year, but it is good that we're seeing hints of this.

00:27:04:01 - 00:27:25:00
Katie
And as a quick reminder, you can we'll be able to choose between three different ways to earn Atmos rewards elite status. And it's either distance traveled. So you had earned one point for every mile flown. You can earn by price. You'll get five points for every eligible dollar, or you can go buy segments. So you'd get 500 points for every segment.

00:27:25:00 - 00:27:45:03
Katie
And until now, there were no indications of when this was going to go live. We will say that no one, as of yesterday on the Upgrade Points team has had access yet, and we do have some members with status, some without. So it appears this is either a very slow rollout or someone hit a button a little too soon.

00:27:45:03 - 00:28:12:13
Katie
And some people saw some things they weren't supposed to see. Regardless, it seems like all all arrows point to this is going to be a January of 2027 thing, so keep an eye out for that. We will absolutely update you when we have more, because we still don't know how this is going to work for partner airlines. So that could be a big change because right now you can earn Alaska status when you're flying on partner airlines, which is a great perk of the program.

00:28:12:18 - 00:28:18:22
Katie
Who knows how that's going to be affected by this, this, this new way of earning status. But we will keep you posted on that.

00:28:18:23 - 00:28:20:00
Chris
We will.

00:28:20:01 - 00:28:36:14
Chris
And let me wrap things up with some news that you probably already heard of. But we need to cover because it is pretty big. Hyatt and American have broken up and then moved on quickly, very quickly.

00:28:36:16 - 00:29:15:19
Chris
The same day, just a couple of minutes apart. So World of High and American Airlines Advantage Partnership officially ends on November 15th of 2026. Members who link their American Airlines in World of Hyatt accounts by November 15th will be able to preserve some access to the reciprocal benefits. For limited time, AA members can earn Hyatt Loyalty Point rewards through February 28th of 2027, while Hyatt members can select some advantage miles and rewards through December 31st, so both of those dates coincide with the end of each loyalty year for each program.

00:29:15:20 - 00:29:17:07
Chris
Shortly after that break.

00:29:17:08 - 00:29:20:05
Katie
Up, shortly.

00:29:20:07 - 00:29:42:05
Chris
On the rebound heightened, Delta announced a partnership that we don't know much yet, but we know that eligible elite members of both programs will soon be able to earn both World of High Points and Delta SkyMiles on qualifying travel. So as soon as we get some more information about that, we'll we'll definitely share that.

00:29:42:06 - 00:30:03:11
Katie
Yeah, that was just weird how that'll so I mean, and I gotta say, I'm not super upset because when they changed the Hyatt American Partnership, what was at the beginning of last year, I think, yeah, they really butchered it at that point. So like it lost all its value for me. So we'll see. Maybe, maybe Hyatt and Delta are going to be a better match.

00:30:03:11 - 00:30:22:05
Katie
But we'll see. We'll keep you posted. Well that is going to do it for us. If you have questions or comments for us that you'd like us to answer on air, if you just want to send us some some happy notes, or let me know if I should get the iPhone duo or if I shouldn't, you can reach a podcast and upgraded points and we will see you next week.

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