✈️ Chase Aeroplan & Hilton Amex Cards Just Changed Everything — Here's What You Need to Know Now

0:00Welcome to the Miles & Points Daily Podcast, the show where we turn loyalty program fine print into your next first class adventure. I'm Lucas, your host, and yes, I did stay up way too late last night comparing award cancellation fees across 17 different frequent flyer programs, so you don't have to. Let's get into it. Before we dive in, a quick word about some tools that make the Miles & Points hobby so much easier. If you're hunting for award space, head over to awardtravelfinder.com. It's your one-stop shop for searching award flight and hotel availability across programs like Qatar Airways, British Airways, Japan Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Virgin Atlantic, and more. You can also find high-value hotel redemptions and status-match opportunities right there. And if you want to be notified the moment a great deal drops, check out alerts.awardtravelfinder.com for real-time alerts on flight and hotel point deals. Links to all eight of our travel tools

1:01are in the show notes. Check them out. All right, let's kick things off with some big credit card news. First up, the Chase Air Canada Aero Plan card just got a major refresh, and it's a big one. The annual fee has jumped from $95 to $195. That's a hundred dollar increase, but the card now comes with some genuinely compelling new benefits. The headline perk is automatic Aero Plan 25K Elite status every single year, with no spending requirement whatsoever. You also get 15% off eligible Air Canada award flights booked with Aero Plan points, and up to $100 an annual Air Canada statement credits, split into $250 credits per year. If you use those credits fully, you're effectively bringing that annual fee back down to $95. The earning structure has also changed. General travel purchases now earn three points per dollar, gas stations move up to two points per dollar, but heads up,

2:01dining and grocery will drop from three points to two points per dollar, starting January 1st, 2027. And here's the kicker. There's currently a best-ever welcome offer on the card, up to 115,000 bonus Aero Plan points. You earn 75,000 after spending $4,000 in the first three months, plus an additional 40,000 after spending $20,000 in the first 12 months. At 1.5 cents per point, that's worth up to $1,725. If you fly Air Canada with any regularity, this card deserves serious attention. You can find the link to apply in the show notes. Next, Hilton and American Express have launched boosted welcome offers across all four of their co-branded cards, and these are among the best deals we've ever seen. Let me run through them quickly. The no-annual fee Hilton Honors American Express card is offering 70,000 points, plus a free-night award after spending $2,000 in six months.

3:04The Hilton Honors Serpast card, that's $150 annually, is offering 130,000 points, plus a free-night award after $3,000 in six months. The Hilton Honors Business card, at $195 per year, is offering 150,000 points, plus a free-night award after $8,000 in six months. And the crown jewel, the Hilton Honors Aspire card, that's a $550 annual fee, is offering a best-ever 200,000 bonus points after $6,000 in six months. Plus, the card always comes with an annual free-night award. Now, here's what makes these free-night awards special. They're valid at properties costing up to 250,000 Hilton points per night, which is essentially uncapped for most properties. That's extraordinary for a welcome offer bonus. All four offers are available through January 13th, 2027, so there's time to plan. Links for all four cards are in the show notes.

4:06Staying in hotel card territory, the Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express card, currently has a limited time welcome offer of 100,000 Bonvoy bonus points, plus a free-night award worth up to 50,000 points after spending $8,000 in the first six months. That's a combined value of up to 150,000 points, which at 0.7 cents per point is worth roughly over $1,000. The card has a $125 annual fee and comes with 15 elite nights toward Marriott status every year, plus an anniversary free-night award. If you're chasing platinum elite status, this is a card worth having. Link in the show notes. Now for something that every points collector should bookmark, a comprehensive rundown of airline award, ticket change, and cancellation fees. This is important stuff, because the flexibility of award tickets is one of the big advantages of using miles over cash.

5:08Here's your quick cheat sheet on the best programs. Alaska Atmos Rewards, American Advantage, Delta Sky Miles, JetBlue TrueBlue, Southwest Rapid Rewards, and United Mileage Plus. All charge nothing for changes or cancellations. Those are the programs to use when booking speculative awards. On the other end of the spectrum, Eti Had guest has arguably the most punitive policies. No changes or cancellations within 72 hours of departure and percentage-based fees that can eat up a significant chunk of your miles. Avionca Life Miles charges $150 for changes and up to $200 for cancellations. Virgin Atlantic Flying Club charges $100 for either. The bottom line here is simple. If you're booking a trip that might change, lean toward programs with free cancellations and always cancel before departure.

6:10Most programs forfeit your miles if you miss that window. United Mileage Plus is running a mileage purchase sale through September 30th, 2026. Depending on what offer you're targeted for, you could buy miles for as low as 1.88 cents each with a 50% discount or 100% bonus. The best deal requires purchasing at least 20,000 miles in one transaction. United caps purchases at 50,000 miles per 90-day period. Now, should you buy? Only if you have a specific redemption in mind. Particularly United Polaris Business Class on long haul routes, where United has reserved most awards space for mileage plus members. For partner awards, programs like Air Canada Arrow Plan or Avionca Life Miles typically offer better value. Log into your mileage plus account to see what offer you're targeted for. Here's a quick but important heads up

7:12for anyone booking award travel through Marriott Bonvoy. A titanium member reported being walked from the Sheraton Brooklyn because no rooms had working air conditioning and then was charged 15,000 extra Bonvoy points to stay at the neighboring hotel. Marriott later treated the move as voluntary. This is a reminder, document everything when you're walked from a property. Get the reason in writing if you can and know your rights as an elite member. Being walked should never cost you additional points. For those of you who love a great aspirational redemption, here's one that might just blow your mind. Riverview Ranch in Montana is a small luxury hotels property that you can book with Hilton Points or Free Night Certificates. Cash rates run $3,500 to $4,700 per night. With Hilton Points, you're looking at 220,000 points per night.

8:13And given that Hilton Points often go on sale for half a cent each, that's roughly $1,100 per night in points cost, which is a dramatically better deal. The Ranch is all inclusive. Activities, food, drinks, airport transfers, all included. The catch, draconian cancellation fees. Within 60 days of your stay, you're locked in completely. 100% cancellation penalty. So make sure you're committed before you book. But if you can swing it, this has been called the most aspirational points day in America. And finally, a quick tip for anyone flying American Airlines in first or business class. Pre-order your meal. American lets you select your main course up to 30 days before departure. And the pre-order system often has more options than what's available on board. American loads exactly as many meals as there are passengers and premium cabins. So if you wait, you get whatever's left.

9:16Log in to AA.com or the American Airlines app. Find your reservation and look for the InFlight Food section. Do it at least 20 hours before departure. That's when the pre-order window closes. That's all for today's episode of Miles and Points Daily Podcast. A huge thank you for listening. If you found this helpful, and I hope you did, please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. And visit us at milesandpointsdaily.com for more tips, deals, and deep dives into the world of points and miles. We'll see you next time and happy travels.