There's a window open right now that I think closes faster than people expect - and it's not the one everyone's been talking about.

Yes, the Chase Sapphire Reserve's 150,000-point bonus is the headline. But the real urgency today is a pair of buy-points deadlines hitting Wednesday, a genuinely interesting new airline that just went on sale from London, and a Capital One offer that rewards you for booking your summer experiences. Let's get into it.

Riyadh Air just launched its first commercial routes. Which aircraft type will it use for its inaugural long-haul service?

The answer is near the bottom of today's newsletter... keep scrolling. 👇

The Chase Sapphire Reserve has been sitting at an eye-popping 150,000-point welcome bonus, and it's generated more reader questions in the past week than almost anything else we've covered this year. So let's tackle the big ones head-on.

Short answer: for most active travelers, yes. The 150,000 Ultimate Rewards points are worth a conservative $2,250 in travel - more if you transfer to partners like Hyatt or United. The card comes with a $300 annual travel credit that effectively cuts the fee to $250, plus Priority Pass lounge access, Global Entry credit, and a suite of travel protections that most people would pay for separately anyway.

The most common question we're seeing: 'Can I get the bonus if I had a Sapphire card before?' Chase's rule is that you can't receive the bonus if you received a new cardmember bonus on any Sapphire card in the past 48 months. That's four years. If it's been longer, you're in the clear - and this 150K offer is the strongest public bonus the card has ever carried.

The spend requirement is $6,000 in the first three months, which sounds steep but works out to $2,000/month - very achievable if you put recurring bills, groceries, and any planned travel purchases on it.

If you're on the fence about whether the card makes sense for your situation, our Is the Chase Sapphire Reserve Worth It? calculator walks through the math for your specific spend and travel habits.

A genuinely exciting development landed yesterday: Riyadh Air, the ambitious Saudi airline startup backed by the Public Investment Fund, has officially put tickets on sale. Six launch routes have been unveiled, and London is first in line.

The airline took delivery of three Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners almost immediately after announcing launch, with several more on the way. By all accounts the interiors are striking - Riyadh Air has clearly invested heavily in the cabin product, which puts pressure on established Gulf carriers to respond. This is a carrier worth watching.

New airlines almost always launch with competitive introductory pricing to fill seats and build loyalty. That's the playbook Riyadh Air is running right now. If you've been curious about flying through Riyadh or onward to destinations across Asia and beyond, this is exactly the window to book - before the airline gets established and prices normalize.

There's no loyalty program confirmed yet, so for now this is a cash-fare play. If cheap cash fares to the region or connections beyond Riyadh interest you, it's worth a look - and Friday Flight Deals will be tracking the best fares as they emerge.

Two buy-points windows are closing fast - both expire this Wednesday, June 10.

JetBlue is offering a 125% bonus when you buy TrueBlue points, pricing them at just 1.43 cents each. That's a genuinely strong rate for a program where Mint business class redemptions can deliver serious value on transcontinental routes. Copa's ConnectMiles program has an 80% bonus at 1.61 cents per mile - useful if you're eyeing Latin America awards or partners in the Star Alliance ecosystem.

The golden rule with buying points: only do it if you have a specific redemption in mind. Buying speculatively into a points balance you don't have a plan for is how people end up with miles that expire unused.

American Airlines' AAdvantage program also has a 40% discount running through this Saturday (June 13), pricing miles at 2.26 cents each. AA miles are best used for partner business class redemptions where the math still works in your favor.

You can track all current buy-points promotions - including the United 100% bonus running through June 24 and the Marriott Bonvoy 40% bonus - on our Buy Points Promotions tracker.

If you have a Capital One Venture or Venture X card, there's a targeted offer worth checking: Capital One Offers is showing up to 35X transferable miles when booking with Klook, the platform for tours, activities, and experiences. Some users are seeing 40% cashback through Capital One Shopping instead.

Klook covers everything from skip-the-line museum tickets to cooking classes and day tours - the kind of spending that normally earns at a base rate. At 35X, that's a meaningful stack if you're planning a trip this summer. Check your Capital One Offers dashboard to see what rate you're targeted for, as these are personalized.

One thing that doesn't get enough attention in the miles world is the bonus challenge - a targeted, shorter-duration path to elite status that bypasses the full annual qualification window. Airlines and hotels use them to recruit members from competing programs or to accelerate engagement with occasional flyers.

If you're new to points and miles, or if you've been flying enough with one carrier that you're curious about status, bonus challenges are worth actively seeking out. The typical structure: complete X flights or stays within 90 days and receive status for the remainder of the year. The math often works out dramatically better than qualifying through normal spend.

Award Travel Finder is a great starting point for planning which airline's status would actually deliver the most value based on where you typically fly - because status only matters if the airline goes where you do.

The answer is C - Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. Riyadh Air took delivery of three brand-new 787-9s and is using them to launch its inaugural commercial service, with London as the first route on sale. The interior has drawn strong early reviews, and the airline has more Dreamliners on the way.

Riyadh Air is entering a market with some serious heavyweights - Emirates, Qatar, Etihad. Would you give a brand-new Gulf carrier a shot for a long-haul trip, or do you stick with established airlines? Hit reply and tell me - I read every response and genuinely love hearing where you stand on this stuff.

That's the edition for today. The CSR bonus is real and worth serious consideration if your 48-month clock has reset - but the Wednesday buy-points deadlines are the most time-sensitive thing in this issue. Don't let those slip by if you have a redemption in mind.

- Jack

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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 ($8.95/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)

The Award Travel Finder team has been tracking these redemptions - here's what stands out:

Hotels:

• The St. Regis Aspen Resort - Aspen, CO, US | 2.9cpp value | 114,000 pts/night

• The Naka Island, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, Phuket - Phuket, TH | 1.8cpp value | 80,000 pts/night

• Calala Island, an SLH Hotel - NiCaribbean, NI | 99.1cpp value | 150,000 pts/night

• Conrad Bora Bora Nui - Bora Bora, PF | 1.6cpp value | 120,000 pts/night

• Six Senses Shaharut - Negev Desert, IL | 2.9cpp value | 500,000 pts/night

Buy Points & Miles Deals:

• American Airlines (AAdvantage®): 40% discount at 2.26¢ (ends June 13, 2026)

• Copa Airlines (ConnectMiles): 80% bonus at 1.61¢ (ends June 10, 2026)

• Garuda Indonesia (GarudaMiles): 20% bonus at 1.79¢ (ends June 13, 2026)

• JetBlue (TrueBlue): 125% bonus at 1.43¢ (ends June 10, 2026)

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

• Leading Hotels of the World (Leaders Club): 100% bonus at 6.0¢ (ends June 12, 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 →