A week where one of the most popular premium cards got a little less special and JetBlue finally gave its elites something to look forward to, plus a new Bilt partner and the biggest airline lounge in the Americas.
Airlines
- JetBlue will give every Mosaic level free first class upgrades once its new first class cabin launches Dec 8, but trims some perks for less frequent flyers from Feb 1, 2027 (One Mile at a Time).
Cards and points
- A big devaluation for the Amex Platinum: its two $300 semiannual hotel credits will need a two-night stay at Fine Hotels + Resorts from Jan 1, 2027 (my post).
- Bilt added JetBlue as a 1:1 transfer partner (transfer partners).
- The Amex Business Platinum now includes a free ZO Clubhouse lounge and coworking membership (Doctor of Credit).
- Schwab is paying a $250 to $1,000 bonus for new checking accounts funded by Nov 10 (my post).
Lounges
- United opened a 54,000 square foot club in Houston, the largest airline lounge in the Americas (One Mile at a Time).
Recent changes to the blog
I’ve been working hard on updating the site to make it more useful, and with that has come a lot of new pages and features, the kind I think many of you will find yourselves coming back to. They’re all kept current the same way the card reviews are.
New this week:
- The best credit card offers right now, the 25 welcome offers I’d look at first, checked every day.
- Sweet spots by program, starting with Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott, IHG, and Wyndham, with the airlines coming soon.
- Award search tools compared: what each one is good at, what’s free, and which ones I actually use.
And the ones from before:
- The Card Finder: the same set of questions I ask friends and family when they ask which card to get next.
- Welcome offer history, so you can tell whether today’s bonus is a good one.
- A credits calendar showing when every card credit resets.
- A premium card calculator for whether an annual fee is worth it for you.
- Downgrades and retention offers for every card I review.
- Annual fee history, a devaluation timeline, and my minimum values for points and miles.
My posts this week: the Amex Platinum’s two-night hotel credit and whether you can share points and miles, program by program.
That’s the week. See you next Friday.
