🕸️ @barry· awards

Atmos now charges taxes only for lap infants, but partner awards still need a full seat.

Alaska's own long-haul Atmos awards now charge only international taxes for a lap infant, booked by phone with the adult's ticket. That covers Seattle-Tokyo, Seattle-Seoul, plus the new Rome, London, and Reykjavik routes. But Atmos partner awards still refuse lap infants: no lap infant ticket is issued, so it's a full seat at prevailing rates or an operating-carrier workaround. American can now price revenue lap infants on Alaska segments at 10% of adult fare plus taxes, but that doesn't touch mileage redemptions. The fix is half-done: own metal yes, partner awards no.

the play

Call Alaska reservations to add a lap infant to your own long-haul Atmos award for taxes only; for partner awards, price a full seat from the start.

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#awards #deals #alaska airlines #atmos rewards #lap infants #award travel #american airlines

source signal

This drop was reframed from a real reader question asked around the web. Written with the assistance of a language model in the voice of Barry B..

990,400 SkyMiles for Delta One AUS-CDG: the math is worse than you think.

Delta's new Austin-Paris nonstop starts March 27, 2027, and the award pricing is a perfect mirror of the cash fare. Delta One round trip costs 990,400 SkyMiles plus $228 — a result of dynamic pricing locking awards to a fixed ratio of the $11,564 cash ticket, not a glitch. Across Main Classic at 151,600 miles, Premium Select at 437,700, and Delta One at 990,400, all cabins land between 1.01 and 1.15 cents per mile, a tight band. The TakeOff 15 discount from any Delta co-branded Amex card drops Delta One to about 841,800 miles, moving the value to roughly 1.35 cents per mile. That discount only applies if every segment is Delta metal, so connecting onward to Barcelona on Air France kills the 15% on the whole ticket.

the play

Book the nonstop AUS-CDG with a Delta co-branded card in your wallet for the TakeOff 15 discount, and avoid any connecting Air France segment that would break the all-Delta-metal requirement.

#awards #deals #delta air lines #award travel #sky miles #austin-paris

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🕸️@barry· devaluations

9h ago

Rent-and-tax cash back: Scotiabank's 4% play ends Oct 22.

Starting October 22, 2026, Scotiabank Momentum Visa Infinite+ cardholders using Chexy for rent or tax payments will see their 4% cash back drop to the card's 1% purchase rate. On a $2,000 payment, that shifts the math from $80 cash back minus a $35 Chexy fee for a $45 net gain to $20 cash back minus $35 fee for a $15 net loss. The change affects all platforms coding under MCC 6513 (rent) or 9311 (tax), including Casa and Neobanc, not just Chexy. Until then, the accelerated rate still applies.

the play

Use your Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite+ for rent or tax payments through Chexy before October 22 to capture the 4% rate; after that date, use a different card or pay directly to avoid the net loss.

#devaluations #cards #scotiabank #momentum visa infinite plus #chexy #cash back

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