
I've got two new limited-time transfer bonuses worth knowing about this week, a useful Air France sale from nearly a dozen U.S. cities, and an under-the-radar American Airlines credit card offer that significantly outpaces what you'll find in public.
There's also an important heads-up for anyone who shares Citi ThankYou points with another cardholder, and some tips on what to do if you're affected by the official shutdown of Spirit Airlines. Here's the full rundown on this week's biggest stories in travel.
The start of May brought new transfer bonuses from two major credit card issuers, offering the chance to give your balances a meaningful boost before you move them.
Now through May 27th, Chase has a 20% transfer bonus to Air France/KLM, meaning 1,000 Chase points convert to 1,200 Flying Blue miles. The Flying Blue program has some solid sweet spots, along with monthly discounted Promo Rewards (a new set was released this week). Just remember that these awards carry taxes and fees that you'll need to factor into your calculations.
Meanwhile, Capital One is running its own 20% bonus to Qantas Frequent Flyer through May 31st. Qantas has a distance-based award chart with business class on American Airlines to Western Europe for 57,000 points each way, and short American Airlines hops for as few as 8,000 points roundtrip.
Points Path Pro and our Founders Club members get live Air France/KLM and Qantas points pricing directly in Google Flights, so you can check award availability and see exactly how far your boosted miles will take you before you commit to a transfer.

In case you missed it...
We tested 4 different packing cubes: Which one is best?If you've been thinking about adding an American Airlines credit card to your wallet, our friends at Frequent Miler have found an under-the-radar offer with a top-notch bonus.
This link from an inflight promotion features the Citi AAdvantage Platinum card with 80,000 bonus miles after spending just $1,000 in the first three months. The $95 annual fee is even waived for the first year.
Even though this offer is used by flight attendants on American flights, you don't need to be on a plane to access it. Just click the link and apply using any six-digit code, including 000000.
The standard public offer on this card is only 50,000 miles, so getting 80,000 miles with no fee in the first year is a meaningful upgrade. It also matches the best offer we've seen on this card.
Keep in mind the bonus is subject to Citi's 48-month rule, meaning you won't be eligible if you earned a welcome bonus on this specific card in the past four years. Bonuses on the Citi Business AAdvantage Platinum card or the (now-discontinued) Barclays Aviator Red card won't affect your eligibility here.
If a trip to Europe is on your radar, it's worth taking a look at what Air France and KLM are offering this month.
The airlines' Flying Blue Promo Rewards for May are live, with economy flights to Europe starting at 18,750 miles each way from 11 U.S. cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Washington D.C., and more.
There aren't any deals in business class from U.S. cities this month, but one great thing about Promo Rewards is that all European destinations are eligible via a connection in Paris or Amsterdam, which means there are significant economy options.
You'll need to book by May 31st for travel through October 31st to get these prices, and you won't find availability on every flight, so you'll need to do some digging. Points Path Pro and Founders Club members can use our Points Calendar to search Air France and KLM one-way award pricing week by week, or you can use the Air France/KLM calendar trick to see monthly pricing.
Air France and KLM recently raised their award surcharges and economy awards to Europe carry roughly $160 in taxes and fees. That's worth keeping in mind as you weigh the value of this month's pricing. But if you have a European trip in mind, this is a good time to do some searching.

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Claim your free trialIf you've been pooling points across accounts with one or more Citi ThankYou cardholders, the ability to do so is unfortunately about to come to an end.
Effective May 17th, Citi will no longer allow ThankYou points to be shared between cardholders. This change doesn't affect the ability to pool points across your own Citi cards. If you hold multiple ThankYou-earning cards — like the Citi Strata Premier and the Citi Double Cash — those points will still be able to be combined into a single ThankYou account.
With this change, Citi joins American Express in prohibiting points sharing, while Chase only allows it between cardholders in the same household. That means families who earn rewards across multiple members will want to designate a specific person as the primary Citi earner going forward.
Remember that any Citi points you share with someone else before the May 17th deadline will still carry the existing 90-day expiration, so be sure you have a specific redemption in mind before you move them.
Finally, as most readers undoubtedly already know, Spirit Airlines officially ceased operations on Saturday morning, cancelling all future flights and bringing an end to the airline's 33-year history.
Other carriers are stepping in with limited-time offers for affected travelers. JetBlue has $99 rescue fares while Southwest is offering distance-based walkup tickets starting at $200. United has capped fares at $199-$299 on former Spirit routes with proof of a Spirit booking, and American has rescue fares on routes where the two airlines overlapped.
If you have tickets for a future Spirit flight and booked directly with the airline, a refund should be automatically issued to your original payment method. If you booked through a third-party, you'll need to contact that platform directly to pursue a refund.
However, if you have trouble getting a refund, your best bet is to submit a chargeback to your credit card company. This is one of the underrated benefits of paying for travel with a credit card. When something goes wrong, you have a clear path to getting your money back that cash and debit card purchases don't offer.
Free Spirit points and any Savers Club memberships are effectively worthless at this point, and if you hold a Spirit Airlines credit card, hold off on any further use until more details emerge about how those accounts will be handled.
While Spirit was never an airline that would win a popularity contest, its ultra-low cost fares meant other airlines were forced to keep prices lower in order to compete. With the carrier now gone, we're likely to see higher airfares in the long run. So even if you weren't a Spirit customer, your wallet will probably miss them.

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Get it at AmazonThat's a wrap on this week's biggest stories in travel. But before you go, if you're planning to book an award flight this summer, make sure to check out our new guide to change and cancellation fees across 16 major airlines. Have a great weekend! ✈️