Flight attendants using emergency flashlights to serve dinner at 35,000 feet. That's not a training drill - it's what happened yesterday on an American Airlines transatlantic flight after the airline sent the plane anyway, galley lights or not.

But we'll get to that story in a moment. First, let's talk about what might be the final nail in Spirit's coffin.

Which hotel program just launched its first points purchase promotion of 2026?

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

Spirit Airlines was already dealing with bankruptcy, massive route cuts, and employees fleeing to competitors. Now they've lost one of their credit card partners - a development that underscores just how precarious things have become.

Credit card partnerships are lifelines for airlines. They generate hundreds of millions in annual revenue by selling miles to banks, who then give them away as card rewards. When a bank walks away from that relationship, it's a vote of no confidence that speaks volumes.

Ironically, Spirit had teased a Free Spirit debit card last year that still hasn't materialized. A landing page recently appeared with details like 200 welcome points and 1 point per dollar spent, but applications aren't open yet.

At this point, with a card partner departing and the airline's future uncertain, it's questionable whether that debit card will ever see the light of day. The timing couldn't be worse for Spirit, which needs every revenue stream it can find.

Picture this: you're a flight attendant preparing meals for hundreds of passengers on a seven-hour transatlantic flight. The only problem? The galley lights don't work. Your solution? Emergency flashlights.

That's exactly what happened on an American Airlines flight from London to Los Angeles yesterday. The aircraft's galley lights were completely non-functional, but the airline dispatched it anyway. Crew members had to use flashlights to navigate preparing and serving food and drinks in near-total darkness.

"They just sent the plane anyway," one crew member reportedly said. The decision to fly with broken galley lights put flight attendants in an impossible situation - trying to provide meal service while holding flashlights in a dark, moving cabin.

This isn't just about inconvenience. It's a safety concern. Flight attendants need proper lighting to prepare meals, check for allergens, and respond to passenger needs. Dispatching an aircraft with known equipment failures raises questions about what other corners might be getting cut.

For passengers in premium cabins paying thousands for transatlantic business class, this kind of service failure is particularly frustrating. You expect a certain standard when booking long-haul premium travel, and serving meals by flashlight doesn't meet it.

World of Hyatt just launched its first points purchase promotion of 2026, offering a 20% discount on purchased points through April 7, 2026. That brings the cost down to 2.08 cents per point - not the cheapest we've seen, but potentially valuable depending on your redemption plans.

World of Hyatt points are consistently valuable because the program maintains reasonable award pricing and offers excellent premium properties. Unlike some hotel programs that have experienced severe award inflation, Hyatt has remained relatively stable.

At 2.08 cents per point, you need to get at least that much value from your redemption to break even. Hyatt points typically deliver 1.5 to 2+ cents per point in value, so this promotion can work if you have specific stays planned at higher-category properties.

The sweet spots are Category 5-7 properties where you can easily exceed 2 cents per point in value. Think Park Hyatt Tokyo at 30,000 points per night versus $600+ cash rates, or Alila Ventana Big Sur at similar pricing disparities.

One important note: if you have access to transferable points currencies like Chase Ultimate Rewards or Bilt Rewards, transferring is almost always better than buying. Chase transfers to Hyatt at 1:1 with no fees, so you're effectively getting points for free (or whatever you value those Chase points at, which is typically less than 2 cents).

Southwest Airlines rushed into selling seat assignments after decades of open seating, and it's already backfiring. Passengers are discovering they paid extra for window seats that don't actually have windows - and now the airline could face lawsuits.

The issue affects specific rows on Southwest's 737s where the fuselage design places structural elements instead of windows. These seats have always existed, but they weren't a problem when boarding was first-come, first-served. Now that Southwest is charging premium prices for window seats, passengers are understandably upset when they arrive to find a blank wall.

The potential legal issue is straightforward: if you advertise and charge extra for a window seat, you need to deliver an actual window. Failing to disclose that certain window seats lack windows could be considered deceptive advertising or breach of contract.

Other airlines that sell seat assignments clearly mark windowless window seats on their seat maps and typically don't charge extra for them. Southwest's implementation appears to have missed this crucial detail in their rush to generate new revenue.

Southwest hasn't publicly addressed the issue yet, but they'll likely need to update their seat maps and refund passengers who paid extra for seats that didn't deliver as advertised. The bigger question is whether they'll face class-action lawsuits from passengers who feel they were misled.

World of Hyatt launched its first points purchase promotion of 2026, offering 20% off through April 7th. That brings the cost to 2.08 cents per point - a decent deal if you have high-value redemptions planned at premium Hyatt properties.

That's all for today. See you tomorrow with more miles and points news!

Looking to redeem your points? Here's what's available right now:

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.

The points and miles world is unusually quiet today - no major transfer bonuses or buy points promotions to report. Sometimes patience pays off in this game.

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

Browse all deals at FridayFlightDeals.com →