United just unveiled one of its quirkiest route expansions yet … Slovenia, Luxembourg, and Okinawa are all getting nonstop U.S. service for the first time ever. Also today: a sneaky-good Citi transfer bonus that puts it on equal footing with Amex for luxury hotels, and an invite to our Minneapolis happy hour.
- 🛫 United’s Big Expansion: Slovenia, Luxembourg, Okinawa & More
- 🎙️ Starter Kit, Vol. 1: How to Find the Cheapest Flights, Every Time
- 🤝 Deal of the Day: Earn $1,000 (100K Points) With No-Annual-Fee Business Cards
- 🏨 Citi’s New Bonus Puts It on Par With Amex for Luxe Hotel Stays
- 🍻 Minneapolis: Join Us for a First Class Happy Hour!
- ✈️ Other Travel Tidbits
🛫 United’s Big Expansion: Slovenia, Luxembourg, Okinawa & More
No airline has mastered the art of adding fun new routes quite like United. The carrier just outdid itself again.
United just unveiled its latest slate of more than a dozen new destinations and routes on tap for 2027, and it’s one of the quirkiest (in a good way) expansions to date. More than half are to cities with no current nonstop service. I’ll be honest: I had to pull up a map for some of them.
Take a deep breath and grab a snack, because this is a looooong list:
- Newark (EWR) to Luxembourg (LUX) 🇱🇺
- Newark (EWR) to Ljubljana (LJU), Slovenia 🇸🇮
- Newark (EWR) to Olbia (OLB) on Sardinia, Italy 🇮🇹
- Newark (EWR) to Catania (CTA) in Sicily, Italy 🇮🇹
- Newark (EWR) to Ibiza (IBZ), Spain 🇪🇸
- Newark (EWR) to Valencia (VLC), Spain 🇪🇸
- Newark (EWR) to Terceira (TER) in the Azores, Portugal 🇵🇹
- Newark (EWR) to Marseille (MRS), France 🇫🇷
- Washington, D.C.-Dulles (IAD) to Toulouse (TLS), France 🇫🇷
- Denver (DEN) to Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG), France 🇫🇷
- Washington, D.C.-Dulles (IAD) to Milan (MXP), Italy 🇮🇹
- San Francisco (SFO) to Okinawa (OKA), Japan 🇯🇵
- Los Angeles (LAX) to Osaka (KIX), Japan 🇯🇵
Get the full details on each of these new additions in our full story!
All (double-counts list): 13 of those new routes are already on sale today. But there’s a lot to unpack here.
Many destinations like Luxembourg, Slovenia, Terceira, and Ibiza have never been served by a U.S. carrier … or, like, at all. Several of them will operate on brand-new narrowbody Airbus A321-XLR jets – planes that have the range to make these long treks but with fewer seats to fill.
And that’s the point: To go where no other airline will. Or, as United’s head route honcho Patrick Quayle told reporters yesterday, it’s “looking ahead to where people want to go and having the confidence to lead the industry” with “a mix of science, art, and a lot of creativity.”
Slovenia was already high on my list, and it just vaulted even higher. How about you?
– Kyle Potter, executive editor
🎙️ Starter Kit, Vol. 1: How to Find the Cheapest Flights, Every Time
🧰 Our “Starter Kit” podcast series kicks off today!
✈️ We’re taking you all to “sicko school” with this new bonus series of the podcast devoted to mastering points and miles. But everyone starts in the same place: finding cheap flights – or struggling to find a better deal.
So Gunnar and Kyle devote Volume 1 of the series to finding cheap airfare: the tools, tips, tricks, strategies, and – most importantly – the mindset they use day in, day out to get the best deal on every single flight.
Watch it now on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. And stay tuned for the next installment next week!
🤝 Deal of the Day: Earn $1,000 (100K Points) With No-Annual-Fee Business Cards
Heat scale (out of 3): 🔥🔥
Why we love it: Two of the best no-annual-fee business cards on the market are dangling a massive bonus right now … and if you’ve got the right card already in your wallet, you can turn it into six figures worth of travel.
The *Ink Unlimited* and *Ink Cash* cards are both offering $1,000 cash back after spending $8,000 in the first four months. Pair either one with a Chase Sapphire or Ink Business Preferred card, and that cash converts into 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
Learn more about these offers here.
– Nick Serati, Thrifty Traveler co-founder
🏨 Citi’s New Bonus Puts It on Par With Amex for Luxe Hotel Stays
Travelers with Citi ThankYou points got a nice surprise this week with a new 25% transfer bonus to Leading Hotels of the World’s (LHW) Leaders Club. That bumps the usual 5:1 ratio up to 4:1 – so through Sept. 19, 1,000 Citi points now gets you 250 Leaders Club points instead of 200.
That might not seem like a good deal if you’re used to 1:1 transfers, but hang with me: Leaders Club points are typically worth somewhere around 8 cents each, so with this bonus, you’re pulling in roughly 2 cents for each Citi point you transfer. That’s a noticeably better return than you’ll get sending Citi points almost anywhere else … especially when it comes to hotels.
Even if you don’t have Citi points, LHW is still worth your attention. Amex quietly added Leaders Club as a transfer partner last month at 4:1 ratio, putting the two banks on equal footing here (even without a bonus from Amex). This means if you’ve got an American Express Gold Card® or American Express Platinum Card® in your wallet, you can book award nights with LHW, too.
LHW might not be a household name like Marriott or Hilton, but its lineup of 400-some loosely affiliated luxury properties includes some real heavy hitters: Capella Bangkok, Royal Mansour Marrakech, and Hotel de Paris Monte-Carlo, all of which show up on The World’s 50 Best Hotels list. And yes, they’re still bookable with points (though don’t expect bargain pricing at that tier).
For travelers with a more modest stash of Amex or Citi points, there are still tons of great options:
- Royal Myconian Resort (Mykonos, Greece) goes for ~3,500 points per night – just 14,000 Amex or Citi points with a 4:1 transfer ratio
- Grand Park Hotel Rovinj (World’s #48 Best hotel in Croatia) for just 4,500 points per night in the shoulder season – 18,000 Amex or Citi points
- Imperial Hotel, Tokyo can (often) be had for under 5,000 points a night – less than 20,000 Amex or Citi points
- Parker Palm Springs (California) for ~7,000 points – or 28,000 Amex or Citi points at a 4:1 ratio
These are all examples of what’s possible, but keep in mind: LHW prices awards dynamically, so you may see higher rates when the cash price goes up. If you’re looking for even more inspiration, Max Miles Points built a tool that shows what kind of value you can get from your points at LHW’s full portfolio of hotels.
A couple of things to be aware of before you transfer points:
- You still have to pay taxes and fees on award stays – ranging from nothing to several hundred dollars a night, depending on the property. Price out a cash stay first so you know what you’ll be on the hook for.
- And if you’re counting on the Amex Platinum’s complimentary Sterling Club status for a pre-arrival upgrade, that perk doesn’t extend to award bookings.
Bottom line? At first glance, Citi’s latest transfer bonus might look like a dud … but it’s a bit deceiving. Whether you’ve got Citi ThankYou points or Amex Membership Rewards, there’s tons of value to be had with LHW.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some hotels to book before you snatch them all up.
– Jackson Newman, senior editor
🍻 Minneapolis: Join Us for a First Class Happy Hour!
Mark your calendars, and join the Thrifty Traveler team on Thursday, September 24, from 5:00–8:00 p.m. at Utepils Brewing in Minneapolis for our First Class Happy Hour!
Get your tickets for a casual evening where travelers can connect, swap stories, and have some fun!
We’ll have drinks, travel-themed games and giveaways, plenty of travel talk, and a live Q&A with members of our team! Bring your questions and get to know the people behind Thrifty Traveler!
And because no happy hour is complete without one, your first drink is included with your ticket. Cheers to that!
Whether you live nearby or are making the trip to Minneapolis, we hope you’ll join us for a fun evening with fellow travelers!
– Kat Erdahl, community marketing manager
✈️ Other Travel Tidbits
- 💙 JetBlue’s second BlueHouse lounge opens Aug. 27 in Boston (BOS), spanning 12,000+ square feet with room for 204 guests. Access is expanding to domestic Mint and Mint Flex flyers (but not the new “Mint Base” fares), joining Mosaic 4 elites and JetBlue Premier cardholders. (The Points Guy)
- 🍽️ American is opening its exclusive Flagship Dining rooms to business class passengers starting Sept. 15, and reopening the LAX location after a six-year closure. (View from the Wing)
- 🎯 Our full guide to Rove Miles transfer partners breaks down where to move miles across all 20 partners, including some really unique options.
- 🇵🇹 Hyatt just announced its first Park Hyatt in Portugal, set to open in Comporta by 2029. The beachfront property will feature 58 rooms and suites, six private villas, and an adjacent golf course, joining Park Hyatt’s growing European lineup. (Hyatt)
