Our roundup of this week's top 5 travel deals

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This week I've got a solid American Airlines award sale starting at just 9,000 miles for domestic flights, along with the last chance to grab elevated welcome bonuses on Southwest credit cards, and a pair of expiring deals worth grabbing before the weekend's over.

Plus, there's just a few days left to move your Amex points to one of the bank's partners before the option to transfer closes. And I've got some choice words to share about Qatar Airways' baffling new loyalty program changes. Here's what you nxeed to know to make the most of this week's travel news and deals.

American Airlines is making a play for your summer travel plans with a ​surprisingly strong award sale​ featuring some deals that are worth a look.

Now through July 7th, you can book one-way award flights starting at 9,000 AAdvantage miles within the U.S. or to Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America. Flights to Europe start at 21,000 miles each way, plus taxes and fees.

Eligible travel dates run from August 1st through September 30th. Keep in mind those dates lines up with peak hurricane season for the Caribbean and Central America, so you might look at the domestic or European options instead (or roll the dice if you're feeling lucky).

You'll want to double check the cash prices on these fares before using miles to make sure it's worth it. ​Points Path​ is a fast and easy way to instantly check and compare the cash and miles price of every flight, and all Points Path users get unlimited live American mileage pricing in Google Flights without paying a dime.

One other note is that this award sale is only valid on flights marketed and operated by American or American Eagle, so partner flights are out. But if you're looking for a late summer getaway and have American miles (or Citi ThankYou points to transfer to American), ​do some searches and see what pops up​.

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If you've been sitting on the fence about a Southwest credit card, it's time to move, because we're just a few days away from the end of the current limited-time sign-up bonuses.

Right now, ​all three Chase Southwest personal credit cards have elevated welcome bonuses​, up to a maximum of 90,000 points. But these offers are slated to expire this Thursday, July 2nd at 7am Eastern time.

The total bonus depends on which card you're applying for. You can get 80,000 points on the ​Southwest Plus​ after $1,000 spend, 85,000 on the ​Southwest Premier​ after $2,000 spend, and 90,000 on the ​Southwest Priority​ after $3,000 spend in the first three months.

Also, if you're aiming for a ​Southwest Companion Pass​, card sign-up bonuses count toward the 135,000 qualifying points you need in a calendar year. So any of these offers gets you nearly two-thirds of the way there with relatively little spending.

Keep in mind that you're not eligible for these offers if you've earned a welcome bonus on any consumer Southwest card in the past 24 months. But pairing a personal Southwest card with a business one is fair game, and that could be a great way to score a Companion Pass without stepping on a single Southwest flight.

Earlier this week at my monthly "Ask Me Anything" session for our Founders Club members, I talked about how awful the new Qatar changes are. Now that I've had a few days to think about it, I've realized the word "awful" is too generous. They're flat out stupid.

Qatar has quietly rolled out a new rule that blocks most members of its frequent flyer program from redeeming Avios for anyone but themselves. To book for family or friends, you now have to either fly a paid Qatar ticket (or partner ticket credited to Qatar), or hold a Qatar Airways credit card (which almost no one in the U.S. does).

Then, if you actually qualify via one of those methods, the system for adding passengers to your account is laughably complicated. "My List" lets you add up to four people who already have a Privilege Club account, while "Family & Friends" lets you add up to six other people, but they can't have a Qatar account.

Why four people on one list and six on the other? Only the magical wizards at Qatar know. But these changes are self-defeating in a way I find almost impressive. Qatar is telling the thousands of people who transfer their bank points to Qatar — which Qatar gets paid for — that their points are useless unless they also pay for a flight or carry a mediocre credit card.

One possible workaround to this inane policy is to move your Avios over to British Airways (or another Avios program) and book from there. But that only works until you hit award space that Qatar only releases to its own members.

I realize that Qatar and other airlines are trying to block fraudsters and mileage brokers with these changes. However, in the process they've made it so difficult to engage with their program that their actual customers can't use it either.

I suspect we'll eventually see some of this nonsense rolled back as Qatar realizes a lot of people are no longer interested in their program. But it'll probably take at least 6-12 months for that to happen, so I'll be avoiding Qatar's frequent flyer program for now.

In case you missed it...

​Double your points by stacking rewards with this free program​

If you're not completely shopped out from this past week's Amazon Prime Day event, there's a pair of lingering last chance opportunities that you can still grab today.

First up is Rakuten's $50 new-member bonus that's set to expire this Tuesday, June 30th. When you ​sign up through a referral link​ and spend $50 within 90 days, you'll pocket the $50 bonus. You just need to sign up before the offer expires — you'll then have plenty of time to do the spending.

To be fair, Rakuten has extended this offer in the past after it's expired, but there's no way to know if this is genuinely the last call. So if you've never joined Rakuten, ask a friend or family member for a referral link, or ​feel free to use ours here​ (and our thanks if you do).

The second is that ​Amazon Prime Da​y is officially over, but we're still spotting some travel gear with solid prices that haven't reverted yet. Here are five that can be worth snagging now while they're hanging on.

• ​Apple AirTags 4-pack​ ($89, regularly $99)
• ​SEEKWAY Water Shoes​ ($16.98, regularly $21.98)
• ​DJI Mini 3​ ($339, regularly $549)
• ​Bose QuietComfort Headphones​ ($179, regularly $359)
• ​BAGAIL Compression Packing Cubes​ ($16.99, regularly $24.99)

These prices can revert without notice, so if any of them belong on your packing list, grab them now rather than later. Travel gear deals this good don't usually stick around once ​Prime Day's​ spotlight fades.

Finally, if you've been parking Amex points with your eye on a niche redemption, the window to use one of the program's quirkier partners is about to close.

American Express is dropping Etihad Guest as a transfer partner this Tuesday, June 30th. That means tomorrow, June 29th, is effectively the last day to move points from Amex to Etihad.

Etihad Guest isn't a program most people use often. Its award cancellation policy is brutal — you can lose anywhere from 25% to 100% of your miles just to cancel an award ticket. But ​Points Path Pro​ and Founders Club members get live Etihad award pricing right in Google Flights, and I find the program can shine on short JetBlue routes close to departure, where awards sometimes price out shockingly low.

If Etihad's frequent flyer program is part of your toolkit, Bilt, Capital One, and Citi all still partner with the program, so you won't be totally cut off after Tuesday. But if Amex is your main stash, get any pending transfers done by the end of Monday.

That's all the travel news from this past week. But if you've got Chase points and a craving for Europe, don't miss ​our latest story on flying to London for just 5,000 points​ thanks to a limited-time 30% transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic. Have a great weekend! ✈️

This story may contain links through which we are compensated when you click on or are approved for offers, and we may receive compensation for sending traffic to partner sites. Points Path may receive a commission from card issuers. This compensation may impact how and where links appear in this story. This story does not necessarily include all financial companies or all available financial offers. The editorial content in this story is not provided by any of the companies mentioned, and has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are the author's alone. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. All prices are accurate as of June 28, 2026, at 1pm ET.