Picture this: you booked a flight three months ago, locked in your fare, and did everything right. Then your airline emails you a week before departure demanding extra money - and threatening to deny you boarding if you don't pay up.

That's not a hypothetical. That's exactly what Volotea, a Spanish low-cost carrier, is pulling right now. And it deserves more attention than it's getting.

Which loyalty program is currently offering an 80% bonus on purchased miles - but the window closes in just two days?

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

European low-cost carrier Volotea has done something I've genuinely never seen from a commercial airline before. The carrier is demanding that passengers who have already purchased tickets pay an additional €7 fuel surcharge before boarding - citing rising oil prices as justification.

Let that sink in. You bought your ticket. The contract was done. And now they want more money or they'll refuse to let you on the plane.

The reason this matters beyond Volotea specifically: airlines typically absorb the risk of fuel price swings. When oil is cheap, they profit. When oil spikes, they take the hit on already-sold tickets. That's the deal. Allowing airlines to retroactively reprice tickets based on fuel costs would fundamentally change the nature of buying an airline ticket - and every frequent traveler should be paying attention to whether this behavior gets challenged or quietly normalized.

For all our coverage of airline fees and where they're headed, check out our airline fees coverage.

Readers have been flagging surprisingly smooth approvals for the new Citi Strata Elite, Citi's flagship premium travel card. And the numbers on first-year value are genuinely compelling - analysts and readers alike are putting the total haul at around $2,300 when you stack the welcome bonus with the card's credits and benefits.

That puts it in the conversation with the heavyweights. For context, that's the kind of first-year number that gets people's attention in the premium card space, and it's coming from a card that hasn't had the same years of brand recognition as some of its competitors.

If you've been thinking about whether a new premium card makes sense in your wallet right now, this is worth a hard look - especially if you haven't opened a Citi card recently. We've covered the Citi Strata Elite launch in detail - see all our Citi Strata Elite stories here.

Virgin Atlantic first announced plans to add Starlink WiFi back in July 2025, alongside a broader cabin overhaul for its Boeing 787 fleet. But there's a meaningful update now: Virgin Atlantic has signed a new agreement that moves the rollout timeline forward, with full fleetwide coverage now targeted for 2027.

The key word here is free. This isn't just 'we're adding WiFi' - it's free Starlink WiFi, which is a materially different proposition for anyone who's ever paid $28 for a mid-flight connection that barely loaded email.

For Virgin Atlantic Flying Club members and anyone who redeems Virgin Points for transatlantic flights, this is a genuine quality-of-life upgrade. If you want to check which Virgin Atlantic flights already have WiFi installed before booking, SeatWifi is the fastest way to verify connectivity options by route.

UK readers - Smart With Points has been tracking the Virgin Atlantic cabin overhaul and Flying Club developments closely. Worth a bookmark if you're flying Virgin from the UK.

Here's a quiet policy change from Lufthansa that caught my eye - and not in a good way. The airline has introduced cancellation fees on what were previously marketed as flexible ticket tiers. We're talking up to $1,760 to cancel a 'flexible' fare, depending on the booking.

The word 'flexible' in airline-speak has always required a decoder ring. But charging over a thousand dollars to cancel a ticket explicitly sold as flexible is a new level of creative interpretation. If you hold Lufthansa tickets booked on a 'flexible' fare, now is the time to re-read your booking conditions before you assume any changes are fee-free.

This timing is notable because Lufthansa Miles & More is currently offering a 50% bonus on purchased miles through May 10. If you're accumulating miles for a Lufthansa redemption, just go in with eyes open about what happens if plans change.

The Atmos Rewards Summit Visa Infinite card - the $395 annual fee premium card from the combined Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian loyalty program - has a benefit that doesn't get nearly enough attention: a partner award booking fee waiver.

Partner award booking fees are one of those friction costs that quietly erode redemption value - sometimes $25, sometimes $50 per ticket, charged on top of your miles. Getting those waived on a card you might already have for other reasons is real money back in your pocket.

The Atmos program is also currently running a 100% bonus on purchased miles through May 2, priced at 1.88 cents per mile. If you're planning an award booking through Atmos partners and are short on miles, that's a meaningful deal. Use our Alaska Miles Calculator to check whether buying makes sense for your specific redemption.

This one closes fast. Air France-KLM Flying Blue is offering an 80% bonus on purchased miles right now, priced at 1.69 cents per mile - but the window closes April 16. That's Wednesday.

Flying Blue is one of the better programs for transatlantic premium cabin redemptions, particularly on Air France and KLM metal. If you've been eyeing a business class booking to Europe and you're a few thousand miles short, this is the moment. Award Travel Finder is showing solid business class availability on Air France routes right now - worth a search before this bonus disappears.

Check all current buy points offers and compare programs at our buy points promotions page - there are several strong offers running simultaneously right now.

A few more buy points opportunities worth flagging before they expire:

Note that the Southwest offer technically expired yesterday (April 13) - double check availability before purchasing. For the full rundown of everything currently active, our buy points promotions tracker has the complete picture.

The answer is Air France-KLM Flying Blue, which is currently offering an 80% bonus on purchased miles - but only through April 16. If that's on your radar, today and tomorrow are your last chances.

The Volotea story today got under my skin, and I suspect it's not an isolated experience. Would love to hear what you've dealt with firsthand.

That's it for today, my friends. A lot happening across the board - stay sharp on those Flying Blue miles before Wednesday, and keep an eye on how the Volotea fuel surcharge situation develops. If other carriers are watching, we'd all benefit from a loud response.

Not everything needs to be an award booking, by the way - Friday Flight Deals is tracking some excellent cash fares this week if you want to stretch your budget on the cash side too.

See you tomorrow with more.

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

Hotels:

Status Matches & Challenges:

See all status matches →

Browse all award deals at AwardTravelFinder.com →

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:

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

1. Business Gold Card: 200,000 points after spending $15,000 in 3 months ($375/yr)

2. Chase Sapphire Reserve: 125,000 points after spending $6,000 in 3 months ($795/yr)

3. American Express Gold Card: 100,000 points after spending $6,000 in 6 months ($325/yr)

4. Ink Business Preferred: 100,000 points after spending $8,000 in 3 months ($95/yr)

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

Browse all deals at FridayFlightDeals.com →