ICYMI: A Roundup Of The Week Just Gone – Strikes, Great Deals, Bad News & More

an airplane flying in the sky

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A big feature of this week has been the points and miles sales that we’ve seen various loyalty programs launch. United’s MileagePlus sale ended on Friday but you still have time (just!) to participate in Radisson’s promotion while Hyatt’s and Alaska’s are longer affairs.

Outside of the miles & points sales there were a few important pieces of news that emerged this week (and you’ll find links to all below).

There was news of a BA pilots’ strike (and an attempt by the airline to get the courts to intervene), we found out that the new Business Class Club Suites will be coming to multiple new routes (including a few to/from the US), AMEX targeted select cardholders for a fantastic offer, Qatar Airways offered 17+ hours in its Qsuites Business Class cabin for just 54,250 miles and there was plenty more going on as well.

Click on the headlines (below) to get the full stories

Get A 50% Bonus When You Buy Radisson Points Through 28 July (TODAY!)

flags on a building

Radisson Rewards is back with a new points sale in which it’s offering a bonus of up to 50% to anyone willing to buy its currency on or before 28 July 2019. The hotelier has also increased the maximum number of points Radisson Rewards members can buy in a year and, for some this may make this sale more interesting than it would otherwise be.

Big News! BA Club Suites Coming To Multiple New US Destinations

British Airways New Club World Suite - Image courtesy of British Airways

At the end of last week, we found out that Toronto will no longer be the first long-haul destination to get the Club Suites service and we also found out that BA’s first refurbished 777 aircraft (complete with Club Suites) will be flying the London – JFK route from 27 October this year. Now there’s yet more news.

Marriott Revives Starwood’s Emirates Partnership – Make Sure You Register!

Back in the days before the Marriott/Starwood merger, Starwood’s loyalty program (SPG) offered its members a way of earning Emirates Skywards miles and Starpoints at the same time. The scheme was closed to new applicants during the merger process but has now been resurrected under the Marriott Bonvoy banner.

No Surprise: British Airways Pilots Vote Overwhelmingly For Strike Action

BALPA, the union representing over 90% of all British Airways pilots, has been indicating its dissatisfaction with the progress of negotiations with management for some time so when a ballot for strike action was called last month the result was never really in any doubt.

British Airways Loses High Court Bid To Prevent Pilots’ Strike

a large airplane with blue and white text

On Monday, the union representing approximately 90% of all British Airways pilots announced that its members had overwhelmingly voted for strike action following the breakdown of contract talks with the airline’s management.

Soon after the ballot results had been announced, British Airways, in a move that surprised absolutely no one, attempted to get the High Court to issue an injunction against any proposed industrial action – this did not work out well.

Get Up To 30% Back When You Add Select Citi Cards To Apple Pay (Care May Be Required)

At the beginning of the month, Citi emailed ThankYou Preferred and Citi Rewards+ cardholders an offer in which they can earn between 5 and 10 ThankYou points per dollar spent in select categories, and now more emails are going out offering a similar selection of cardholders the chance to get a statement credit after adding their cards to Apple Pay.

GREAT DEAL: Fly London – USA In Business Class For Under £1,300 Roundtrip

TAP A330-900 Business Class

TAP Air Portugal has once again loaded up some fantastic Business Class fares for travel from London to four major US cities. The fares are available on a wide variety of dates between August 2019 and June 2020 and a 5% discount code you’ll find in this post will make any bookings that little bit cheaper.

You Can Now Book Japan Airlines (JAL) Awards On AA.com  

There was a time (in the not too distant past) where Alaska Airlines and British Airways were just about the only partners whose awards could be reliably booked via the American Airlines website – now we have 17 different partner airlines to choose from on AA.com and the latest addition to American’s online stable is Japan Airlines (JAL).

DEAL: Earn 16,000 Membership Rewards Points With AMEX Fine Hotels & Resorts [Targeted]

a building with trees in front of it

Right now AMEX is offering targeted cardholders a fantastic deal in which they can earn a LOT of Membership Rewards points when making a single booking through the American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts service.

Aer Lingus Offering Double Avios Between London & Dublin [Limited Time]

Aer Lingus may not be part of the oneworld alliance but, just like British Airways and Iberia (its IAG stablemates), it uses Avios as its loyalty currency. These Avios can be used just like British Airways/Iberia Avios and can even be transferred over to the British Airways Executive Club or Iberia Plus.

That’s why a promotion just launched by Aer Lingus may be of more interest than you might think.

Mystery Promo: What Bonus Has Alaska Mileage Plan Got Waiting For You?

Alaska Mileage Plan is back with a new mileage sale and, as is the case more often than not with this loyalty program, the promotion is targeted and the maximum bonus available can vary from person to person.

AMEX Takes More Steps To Stop You From Earning Easy Points

a sign on a wall of green plants

American Express cardholders have been noticing yet more new wording starting to appear in the terms and conditions of various credit cards….and these new restrictions are aimed at all cardholders and not just those looking to earn a sign-up bonus.

Fly 17+ Hours In The Qatar Airways Qsuites For Just 54,250 Miles!

Qatar Airways Easy Deals are the airline’s discounted award fares that work along similar lines to Flying Blue’s Promo Awards. I’ve only recently started paying attention to these deals and I’m already wishing I’d noticed how good they can be some time ago – if you can make the routings to/from Doha work for you there are some amazing deals to be had.

BEST DEAL: Buy Hyatt Points With A 40% Bonus

The two most important things you probably need to know about Hyatt’s latest points sale are as follows: The promotion isn’t targeted (everyone can earn the same bonuses) and with a maximum bonus of 40% on offer this is as good as Hyatt’s points sales get. If this sale doesn’t work for you it’s unlikely that any other Hyatt points sales will work any better.

Qantas Is Now Selling Tickets For Its Two New USA Routes

a red and white airplane tail fin

Qantas and American Airlines recently had their price-fixing enterprise joint venture partnership rubber-stamped by the US Department of Transport and now it’s time for the airlines to start keeping some of the promises they made when they begged the DoT to let them collude at the expense of the flying public.