Upgraded Points

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is featuring its most sought-after welcome bonus offer, and it’s definitely one that won’t last very long. New applicants can earn 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after meeting the card’s minimum spending requirement, marking the return of the best-ever bonus offer on this popular travel card. 👉 Comment “100” and we’ll send you all the details!

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has long been one of the most recommended travel credit cards. It offers strong earning rates, solid travel protections, and access to Chase’s Ultimate Rewards ecosystem — all at a reasonable $95 annual fee. Now, Chase is adding perks to the card without raising that fee. However, not all the changes are positive, and most take effect on June 15, 2026. The refreshed card adds new earning categories, upgraded credits, new travel protections, and a couple of bonus perks. While it does all of that, Chase is keeping the annual fee at $95. However, the card is losing a benefit and altering another in a way that’s sure to upset some customers.

Summer Mondays just got a little easier to face. Capital One is once again handing out a free handcrafted drink every Monday at its Capital One Cafés, and you don’t need to be a cardholder to grab one. The promo runs alongside the MLB regular season, so you’ve got a long runway to use it — but only one shot per week. #coffee #capitalone #upgradedpoints

This is the Amex Platinum benefit nobody talks about... Comment “GAS” and we’ll send you the exact steps to unlock these savings! ⛽️

send this to someone who can't stop traveling ✈️

The best welcome bonus offer we’ve ever seen on a Chase Ultimate Rewards card is back. The Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ now features a huge 200,000-point welcome offer. If you missed it the first time around or have been sitting on the sidelines for a good welcome offer, this is your second chance to earn it. 👉 Comment “200” and we’ll send you all the details.

Kimpton Hotels has a summer social password, and if you say it at check-in, you might walk away with free breakfast, complimentary parking, a room upgrade, or a welcome amenity. 🎁 The password is “in bloom and out of office,” and it works at any Kimpton property through August 31st. Yes, it’s a little awkward to drop into casual conversation with a front desk agent, but the staff knows about it and expects it. If you have any Kimpton stays booked this summer, don’t forget to use it. Have you ever used the secret password? Let us know what you received in the comments! 👇

The clouds hit different at 35,000 feet. No notifications, nowhere to be, just you and your thoughts and whatever’s playing in your headphones. ☁️ Anyone else do their best thinking up there?

Katie spent almost nine hours at the Seattle Centurion Lounge, and she’s calling it her favorite one yet. It’s newer, it’s bigger, and the food selection is genuinely better than most Centurion Lounges. Instead of one stewed protein and a rice dish, there were multiple options, and all of them were good. There’s a full coffee bar, shower suites, and the lounge is open to the terminal in a way that actually works because the airport has a live music program running below. Katie sat between a Kurt Cobain poster and an Eddie Vedder poster and said her nineties grunge girl heart was completely full. One thing worth knowing, though. Starting July 8th, Centurion Lounges are limiting layover access to five hours. Katie got her nine-hour visit in just under the wire. Stream this episode by searching “Alaska Airlines London inaugural flight review” on The Upgraded Points Podcast.

Alaska Airlines’ new business class suites product is genuinely impressive, and Katie has the receipts. ✈️ Full privacy door, lay flat seat, mattress pad, plush duvet, two pillows, slippers, and a branded amenity kit with Salt and Stone products. Every seat had a refillable aluminum water bottle waiting on arrival, and the ceiling has little dots of light that look like stars when you close your door and lie down. The food was better than expected, too, a chicken cottage pie with vegetables that were actually cooked properly, which Katie noted almost never happens in business class. The one regret was skipping the Salt and Straw ice cream sundae cart at the end of dinner service. She’s already planning to fly it again just to fix that mistake. 🍧 Stream this episode by searching “Alaska Airlines London inaugural flight review” on The Upgraded Points Podcast.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has long been one of the most recommended travel credit cards. It offers strong earning rates, solid travel protections, and access to Chase’s Ultimate Rewards ecosystem — all at a reasonable $95 annual fee. Now, Chase is adding perks to the card without raising that fee. However, not all the changes are positive, and most take effect on June 15, 2026. Comment “CHASE” and we’ll send you all the details.

If you’re on the shorter side and flying Premium Economy, book the bulkhead seat. It changes everything. Most bulkhead seats in Premium Economy have a leg rest in addition to the footrest, allowing you to recline more than just tipping back. Katie flew American Airlines Premium Economy on the new 787 from London to New York, grabbed the bulkhead window seat, and stretched out almost completely flat. Not lie flat, but fully extended. She called it business class for short girls, and honestly, it tracks. 🤣 The new redesigned Premium Economy cabin on American’s 787 also looks genuinely impressive. Fresh, modern, elevated. If you’ve been on the fence about whether Premium Economy is worth it on a transatlantic flight, this one will help you decide.

Alaska Airlines just made history with its first-ever flight to London, and Katie was on it. She flew their brand new business class suites product on the 787 Dreamliner, spent the day at the Seattle Centurion Lounge, checked out the Alaska Airlines Lounge in the north satellite terminal, and flew home on American Airlines’ new redesigned Premium Economy cabin. Plus, there’s some theme park and hotel news you don’t want to miss if you have summer travel plans. This podcast episode covers a lot of ground, and all of it is worth your time. 👉 Stream this episode by searching “Alaska Airlines London inaugural flight review” on The Upgraded Points Podcast.

If you’re planning a family trip to the Caribbean or Mexico this summer, Katie has been to several of these resorts and has real opinions.🏖️ Her top pick for families with kids is the Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana in the Dominican Republic. Punta Cana is easy to get to from almost anywhere, the beaches are gorgeous, and this resort has an on-site water park with slides and a lazy river that keeps kids busy all day without ever leaving the property. The main pool is enormous and heated perfectly. It’s one of those pools that just goes on forever. If you want a Mexico option, the Dreams Bahia Mita near Puerto Vallarta has on-site water slides and a ropes course that works for the whole family. The Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos is another solid pick, just go in knowing one of the pools runs cold. And if you’re not locked into all-inclusive, the Kimpton Seafire in the Cayman Islands has an incredible beach you can actually swim in and a kids club that kept Katie’s daughter busy for hours. 👉 Stream this ep

Flight availability is the constraint this summer. Hotels aren’t. When you’re planning a summer trip, especially international, lock in the flights first and figure out the hotel after. There is a finite number of seats to Paris, Rome, or the Dominican Republic. There are many more hotel options and greater flexibility on that side of the equation. When you do get to hotels, don’t default to the big four. Programs like Accor, I Prefer, Choice, and Wyndham have some genuinely great properties in major cities and at a fraction of the points cost. We covered all of these on the pod recently, and the deals are real. Stream this episode by searching “Five Tips for Booking Summer Travel” on The Upgraded Points Podcast.

T-Mobile customers are getting a new travel perk that could make their next Delta flight a little more enjoyable. 🥂 As part of its new “Member Month” celebration, T-Mobile announced that eligible customers will soon receive a complimentary premium in-flight drink when flying Delta Air Lines. Even better, this benefit isn’t just a limited-time promotion. 👉 Comment “DELTA” and we’ll send you a DM with everything you need to know. Cheers! . . . #travel #tmobiletuesdays #delta @tmobile @delta

Summer 2026 is here, and award space is already thinning. ☀️ If you havent booked yet, you're not too late, but the window is closing fast. We put together 5 tips you can act on right now, whether you’re flying domestic or international, solo or with the whole family. Plus, Chris has a hot take about Epic Universe that might change how you think about Orlando for a multi-generational trip. This one is worth a listen before you finalize your summer plans. 🏖️ Stream this episode by searching “Five Tips for Booking Summer Travel” on The Upgraded Points Podcast. #Summer #travel #vacation

This is us every single time and we’re not even sorry about it. ✈️ Tag the friend who’s always down and the friend who always needs convincing. There are two kinds of people in this world.

The American Express Centurion Lounge line was so long they handed us a to-go box, so we opened it for you. 👀 Turns out it’s actually pretty solid. Yogurt, a croissant egg sandwich, and a drink. Not the full lounge experience, but honestly not a bad consolation prize either. If you’ve ever wondered what happens when the wait is too long, now you know. Drop your questions below, we’ll answer them. 👇 #CenturionLounge #Amex #travel