I nearly spit out my coffee when I saw United's latest email this morning. They're asking certain members to pay $12,670 to 'upgrade' to 1K status - and they're marketing it as a discount.

But that's not even the biggest news today. American Express just announced they're tightening Centurion Lounge access with two new restrictions starting this summer, and we're finally understanding the real reason behind Southwest's recent points devaluation.

Let's unpack what's happening.

How much is United charging certain members for a 'discounted' upgrade to 1K elite status?

The answer is waiting near the bottom - keep scrolling. 👇

Starting July 8, 2026, American Express is adding two new restrictions to Centurion Lounge access. If you've been enjoying these premium lounges, here's what's changing.

First, Amex is implementing a three-hour time limit for lounge visits. That means you'll need to vacate the lounge three hours after entry. For most travelers catching a domestic connection, this won't be an issue. But if you're one of those savvy folks who shows up five hours early to work from the lounge with reliable Wi-Fi and free food? Your strategy just got disrupted.

The second restriction is potentially more impactful: you'll need to be flying that same day to access the lounge. This kills the popular tactic of visiting a Centurion Lounge when you're not even flying - something some cardholders have been doing when they live or work near an airport.

American Express says these changes are designed to 'preserve the Centurion Lounge experience' by ensuring cardmembers have a comfortable place to relax. Translation: the lounges are too crowded, and this is their latest attempt to thin the herd without eliminating access entirely.

This isn't Amex's first rodeo with access restrictions. Over the past few years, they've steadily tightened who can get in - eliminating free guest access for most cards, restricting authorized user access, and now adding time and flight requirements. It's a delicate balancing act: keep the lounges exclusive enough to justify premium card fees, but not so exclusive that cardholders feel the benefit isn't worth it anymore. Check out all our lounge access coverage for more strategies.

Here's a sentence I never thought I'd write: United Airlines is offering to sell 1K elite status to certain members for $12,670 - and calling it a discount.

Let that sink in for a moment.

Some United MileagePlus members received targeted emails offering them a chance to 'upgrade' to 1K status - the airline's top publicly available tier - for this eye-watering sum. The offer is marketed as a discount from some theoretical full price, though United conveniently doesn't mention what that full price might be.

To be clear, 1K status is valuable. You get premium cabin upgrades on domestic flights, Global Services consideration, better award availability, and extensive lounge access. But $12,670 valuable? That's where this gets interesting.

Here's the math problem: to earn 1K status the traditional way, you'd need 18,000 Premier Qualifying Points - roughly equivalent to spending around $18,000 to $20,000 on United flights in a year, depending on your fare class. So United is essentially asking you to pay about 60-70% of what you'd spend on actual flights, but without getting the flights.

The only scenario where this makes sense? If you're planning to fly United extensively anyway and want the benefits immediately rather than earning them throughout the year. Or if you're a consultant or business traveler whose company reimburses status purchases but you keep the benefits.

For everyone else, this feels less like a discount and more like a test to see who'll pay almost anything for status. For more on United's elite program, check out our United MileagePlus coverage.

Remember when Southwest Airlines recently devalued Rapid Rewards, making points worth less for redemptions? We all assumed it was just another standard loyalty program squeeze. Turns out, there's a much more interesting story hiding in their financial statements.

The devaluation appears to be directly tied to Southwest's new bag fees and seat assignments - and specifically how they account for their co-brand credit card deal with Chase.

Here's what's happening behind the scenes: when Chase pays Southwest for their co-brand partnership, the airline has to split that money between two buckets. One bucket is for future travel liability (the flights people will book with points). The other bucket is for 'benefits' like checked bags and seat assignments that cardholders get.

Now that Southwest has introduced bag fees and seat assignment charges, those 'benefits' suddenly have clear market value. The airline can allocate more of Chase's payment to benefits - which they can recognize as revenue immediately - and less to future travel liability.

It's a brilliant accounting move that boosts short-term revenue while simultaneously justifying a devaluation. The bag fees and seat charges aren't just new revenue streams - they're also accounting tools that let Southwest recognize credit card partnership money faster.

For us as points collectors, it's a reminder that loyalty program changes aren't always about customer behavior or cost management. Sometimes they're about quarterly earnings calls and how revenue gets recognized on financial statements.

The silver lining? Understanding these mechanics helps you anticipate future changes. When airlines add new fees or benefits, watch for corresponding loyalty program adjustments. For more on Southwest's recent changes, see our Southwest coverage.

Sometimes patience doesn't pay off in the points world - but right now, not having the Citi Strata Elite card yet might actually work in your favor.

Citi just improved the launch offer on their new premium card from 80,000 points to 100,000 Citi ThankYou Points - plus massive first-year credits that significantly offset the annual fee.

The card carries a $395 annual fee, but the first-year credits are substantial: $200 travel credit, $100 hotel credit, and various other statement credits that can easily total $400+ in value if you use them strategically. That effectively makes the first year either free or slightly profitable before you even count the 100,000-point bonus.

What makes Citi ThankYou Points particularly valuable is their transfer partners - including Turkish Miles&Smiles (wild sweet spots), Singapore KrisFlyer (fantastic premium cabin redemptions), and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club (cheap Delta flights to Europe).

If you value Citi points at 1.5 cents each - a conservative estimate for savvy redeemers - that 100,000-point bonus is worth $1,500. Combined with the first-year credits, you're looking at nearly $2,000 in value for a $395 fee.

The math makes this one of the year's best credit card launches, especially if you're building a flexible points portfolio beyond just Chase and Amex.

After a seven-year hiatus, American Airlines announced plans to resume regularly scheduled passenger flights to Venezuela. They're the first U.S. carrier to make this move since most American airlines suspended service in 2019 due to political instability and safety concerns.

American hasn't released specific details yet - no routes, dates, or frequency announced. But the fact they're publicly committing to Venezuela service suggests they see improving conditions and business opportunity.

For AAdvantage members, this could eventually open new award redemption possibilities and earning opportunities on a route that's been largely inaccessible via U.S. carriers for years. Watch for more details in the coming weeks as American finalizes their plans.

Delta Air Lines is about to put some very interesting planes in the air - Airbus A321neos with 44 first class seats. Yes, you read that correctly: 44 seats in the front cabin.

Before you get too excited, this isn't a permanent configuration. It's actually a temporary workaround while Delta deals with delayed deliveries of lie-flat seats for their A321neo fleet.

Rather than park expensive new aircraft while waiting for premium seats, Delta is installing all standard domestic first class recliners - creating these ultra-premium-heavy configurations temporarily. Once the lie-flat seats arrive, they'll reconfigure the planes into their intended premium transcontinental layout.

For savvy travelers, this creates a temporary opportunity: dramatically increased upgrade availability on whatever routes these planes fly. Delta hasn't officially announced which routes will see these configurations, but they're likely to appear on longer domestic routes where the airline intended to use the premium transcontinental product.

If you hold Delta status and find yourself on one of these flights, your upgrade odds just got a lot better - at least until late 2026 when the proper configurations arrive.

United is charging $12,670 for a 'discounted' upgrade to 1K status. While that might sound absurd to most of us, there's probably a small subset of business travelers for whom the math actually works - especially if their company is paying.

Have you ever visited a Centurion Lounge when you weren't flying that day? With Amex's new same-day flight requirement starting in July, that strategy is coming to an end. Hit reply and let me know if this change affects your lounge strategy - I read every response!

That's all for today. See you tomorrow with more miles, points, and travel opportunities.

- The Miles & Points Daily Team

Before we wrap up, I wanted to share some timely opportunities I've been tracking (courtesy of our friends at AwardTravelFinder). These deals won't last long, so let's dive in.

Airline programs:

Hotel programs:

Other programs: