Fare War: $29 Inter-Island Hawaii Flights

I'll keep this brief as to be timely, as these fares won't last.

Southwest just dropped their price on some of their brand new inter-island flight, between Honolulu and Maui, to $29, and Hawaii Airlines is playing ball. Right now you can find flights on both airlines between Honolulu and Maui, as well as Honolulu and Kona (on Hawaiian) for the super low price of $29.

I'm seeing the Southwest flights pricing at just 1,379 Rapid Rewards (and $5.60 in tax).

Redeem AA Miles by Tomorrow for 10% Rebate

Attention AAdvantage cardholders!

Singapore Star Alliance Award Devaluation

Singapore Krisflyer, loyalty program of Singapore Airlines, increased the price of various partner award prices on April 16, 2019. These changes weren't without notice, as they announced in March the impending devaluation. Devaluations always suck but are inevitable.

Singapore devaluations sting in a special way as they are by far the easiest mile to earn. Every major transferrable point currency--Chase Ultimate Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards, Citi Thank You Points, Capital One miles and Marriott Rewards--transfer to Singapore Krisflyer, so they are the sweetheart of foreign loyalty programs.

Thankfully the changes weren't drastic.

How to Check Your Chase 5/24 Count

A couple days ago I wrote a post clarifying the Chase 5/24 rule and it's relationship to small business credit cards. A reader asked the following question in the comments:

"How do I figure out if I can apply for the United Explore Card under the 5/24 rule. I didn’t keep track of when I applied for the various cards I have.

Clarifying Chase 5/24 in Relation to Business Cards

Opening five credit cards within 24 months will render you ineligible for any further Chase credit cards, until that five number has dropped to, at the most, four credit cards within the last 24 months. While not published by the bank, the Chase 5/24 rule is widely accepted as truth by the miles and points community after years of shared and collected experiences.

Business credit cards do not, anecdotally, count in your Chase 5/24 total.

United Drops Award Chart November 15

United published some heavy-hitting changes to their loyalty program over the weekend. In a nutshell, United is following Delta down the path towards a totally revenue-based loyalty program.

United has announced dynamic award pricing effective immediately for flights with travel dates of November 15 and on. This means that instead of having set, published prices for award flights, the mileage price will fluctuate based on the cash price. No more award charts.

Brazil Visa Requirements Waived for US Citizens

Until mid March, Brazil required that all US Citizens visiting Brazil--even those visiting less than 90 days--obtain a visa that required both money and time to get. In 2018 Brazil made it easier to obtain by giving us the option to process the visa online and dropped the price from $160 to $40.

As of June 17, 2019, all US citizens can visit Brazil for up to 90 days for free without any official documents aside from a passport. Brazil's new president Jair Bolsonaro made the move to drop visa requirements before visiting the US earlier in March.