Something quietly shifted in the loyalty world this week - and a couple of the changes have real deadlines attached. One of them hits in 12 days and costs you $50 if you miss it. Let's get into it.

Delta's new promo lets hotel stays, vacation rentals, and rental cars count toward MQD elite status. How many times has Delta run a similar promotion before this 2026 version?

The answer is waiting for you near the bottom. Keep scrolling. 👇

If you hold the Amex Platinum and haven't touched your Saks Fifth Avenue statement credit yet, this is your final warning. The credit - worth up to $50 for the January-June period - disappears permanently on June 30. And this time, it's not coming back.

Amex announced back in March that they're cutting this benefit entirely, following Saks Global's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in January. Cardmembers who spend at least $50 at Saks (in-store or online) before June 30 will receive a $50 statement credit. That's a clean 1:1 return on a purchase you'd make anyway - or you could stock up on travel accessories, luggage, or even gift cards.

While you're checking the Saks credit, it's also worth auditing your other Q2 benefits. The Amex Platinum and Business Platinum carry several quarterly and monthly credits that reset - or expire without rollover - on June 30. Think: Equinox, Clear Plus, airline incidental fees. If you haven't used them this quarter, log into your Amex account today and check what's sitting unused.

Delta just re-launched one of its most popular status-boosting promos: hotel stays, vacation rentals, and rental cars booked through Delta's partners can now count toward Medallion Qualifying Dollars (MQDs). If you're chasing Silver, Gold, Platinum, or Diamond status and you've got summer travel already planned, this is worth paying attention to.

This isn't a new idea - Delta ran similar promotions six times across 2024 and 2025. But the fact that it keeps coming back (and this is already the third time in 2026) suggests Delta is actively leaning into non-flying paths to status. For anyone who travels heavily on hotels or rental cars but doesn't fly enough to qualify organically, this is the closest thing to a shortcut in the SkyMiles world.

The practical move: if you're planning a summer hotel stay or renting a car, book through the Delta channel to make those dollars count twice. Check the Delta SkyMiles site for the current partners and MQD earning rates tied to this promotion.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred refresh we covered earlier this week brought a great headline - 100,000 points on a $95 card - but it buried a change that's worth revisiting from a strategy angle. The reduction in Hyatt transfer ratios is starting to shake some reader confidence in Ultimate Rewards as a long-term store of value.

The argument for hoarding Chase points has always been: you have the best transfer partner in Hyatt, and you can move points when you find the right redemption. The logic still holds, but it's now slightly less airtight. If Chase is willing to adjust Hyatt - historically its crown jewel transfer partner - what's next?

That said, the program still has enormous depth. Virgin Atlantic Flying Club (with its 30% transfer bonus running through July 14) remains one of the best ways to get into Delta and ANA premium cabins at rates the airlines themselves don't sell. And with a 55% Chase-to-Marriott transfer bonus running through June 30, there's a clear short-term reason to move points if you have Marriott redemptions in mind. You can track all live transfer bonuses in one place at the link below.

If you fly into or out of Europe at all, this is genuinely good news. EU leaders agreed this week to a significant overhaul of EU261 - the regulation that governs passenger compensation for delayed and cancelled flights. The decades-old framework is getting tightened in several key areas.

Under the updated rules, airlines would be required to notify passengers earlier when disruptions occur - and the bar for claiming compensation gets lower. The rules also make it harder for airlines to hide behind vague "extraordinary circumstances" exemptions to avoid paying out. The specific rollout timeline is still being finalized, but the direction of travel (pun fully intended) is clear: flying in Europe is about to come with stronger consumer protections.

For points travelers, this matters because premium cabin redemptions on European carriers just got a little more insured. If your Air France Business Class award gets cancelled, the new framework gives you more leverage to claim compensation on top of whatever the airline offers in rebooking.

United MileagePlus is running a 100% bonus on purchased miles right now - that's effectively 1.88 cents per mile, which is well below the typical redemption value for international business class. The offer ends this Wednesday, June 24, so you have six days to pull the trigger.

The math works best if you already have a specific redemption in mind - buying miles speculatively is risky, but if you're 20,000 miles short of a Polaris Business redemption to Europe or a Star Alliance partner flight in Asia, this is worth running the numbers on. Use the United Miles Calculator to see if buying makes sense for your specific target.

Marriott Bonvoy is also running a 40% buy points bonus through this Tuesday, June 23 at 0.89 cents per point. Both offers are tracked at our buy points promotions page.

June 30 is shaping up to be a crowded expiry date. Five transfer bonuses - including the 55% Chase-to-Marriott bonus, a 25% Amex-to-Flying Blue bonus, and a 50% Rove Miles-to-Turkish Airlines bonus - all expire in 12 days. If you're sitting on Amex Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, or Citi ThankYou points and have a redemption in mind, now is the time to make the move.

The Citi ThankYou to Qatar Privilege Club Avios bonus (30% extra through June 30) is one worth flagging specifically. Qatar Avios open up some genuinely valuable redemptions - oneworld partners, Qatar's own Qsuites at reasonable rates - and a 30% bonus on the transfer makes the economics considerably better. Our Qatar Airways Avios Award Flight Finder can help you identify what's actually available before you commit points.

The answer is 🅓 - Once in 2024 and twice in 2025, making this the third time Delta has run the promo in 2026 alone (and the sixth or seventh time across the full run). Delta clearly likes this promotion - and at this point, it's starting to feel like a de facto permanent feature that just hasn't been made official yet.

With five transfer bonuses expiring June 30, I'm curious: are you planning to move any points before the deadline - and if so, which program? Hit reply and let me know what you're moving and why. I read every response and love hearing what you're all planning.

Twelve days to use a benefit that's disappearing forever, a Delta status promo that just keeps returning, and a growing pile of expiring transfer bonuses - today's issue had a lot of 'do this now' energy. Hope it was useful.

- Jack

A real US flight runs today. Pin the airport on the map, then guess the route in 5 tries. Wordle for plane geeks.

These are the top credit card welcome bonuses we're tracking. Offers change frequently - see all cards.

1. The Platinum Card: 175,000 points after spending $12,000 in 6 months ($6.95/yr)

2. Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card: Earn 150,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in y... ($5.5/yr)

3. Chase Sapphire Reserve: 150,000 points after spending $6,000 in 3 months ($7.95/yr)

Whether you're spending hotel points or airline miles, these are the standout deals right now via Award Travel Finder:

Hotels:

• Residence Inn Maui Wailea - Wailea, HI, US | 1.6cpp value | 70,000 pts/night

• JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa - Aventura, FL, US | 7.6cpp value | 65,000 pts/night

• Zemi Beach House, LXR Hotels & Resorts - West Indies, AI | 2.5cpp value | 110,000 pts/night

• Conrad Tokyo - Tokyo, 13, JP | 1.5cpp value | 100,000 pts/night

• Kimpton Seafire Resort + Spa - Grand Cayman, KY | 4.2cpp value | 70,000 pts/night

Live Transfer Bonuses:

• Amex Membership Rewards → Air France KLM Flying Blue: +25% bonus - ends June 30, 2026

• Amex Membership Rewards → Avianca LifeMiles: +15% bonus - ends July 15, 2026

• Amex Membership Rewards → Marriott Bonvoy: +20% bonus - ends June 30, 2026

• Amex Membership Rewards → Marriott Bonvoy: +20% bonus - ends June 30, 2026

• Chase Ultimate Rewards → Marriott Bonvoy: +55% bonus - ends June 30, 2026

• Chase Ultimate Rewards → Virgin Atlantic Flying Club: +30% bonus - ends July 14, 2026

Buy Points & Miles Deals:

• United Airlines (MileagePlus): 100% bonus at 1.88¢ (ends June 24, 2026)

• Marriott (Bonvoy): 40% bonus at 0.89¢ (ends June 23, 2026)

Full live tracker → milesandpointsdaily.com/buy-points-promotions

Browse every award deal we track at AwardTravelFinder.com →

Friday Flight Deals finds the best flight deals when paying cash beats using points.

Browse all deals at FridayFlightDeals.com →