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August?! How is it August already? School starts next week in some parts of the country! (Like here in Los Angeles.)
The Delta-Starbucks earning structure changes on August 5 — and it’s neither as good as Delta’s announcement makes it sound nor as bad as some of the headlines suggest. Also this week: René saw Journey for nine dollars, MotoArt made coasters out of actual Delta aircraft skin, and it turns out reporters spent decades stealing the china off Air Force One. (One allegedly built a full dinner-party set. Piece by piece. Over years.)
Starting August 5, three things change at once with how you earn SkyMiles at Starbucks: earning switches from reloading your balance to simply spending at the register, the rate drops to a flat 1 SkyMile per dollar (a real haircut if you were reloading $50 or more to maximize), and you now have to have flown a qualifying Delta flight within the past 12 months to earn at all. Grace period through October 5 for existing linked members. Worth a read before August 5 if you’ve been playing this one carefully.
What is this? 1978? René saw Journey’s Final Frontier farewell tour live — and paid nine dollars for his ticket. The whole staycation was essentially free once you factor in the Chase Sapphire Reserve®’s StubHub credit, hotel points, EV charging, and card dinner credits. This is the kind of post that’s useful before you have concert tickets, not after. (And Journey’s still out there. Just saying.)
MotoArt released a limited-edition coaster set made from actual Delta aircraft fuselage skin — a 747, a 757, and a 767 — to mark Delta’s 100th anniversary. If you know an avgeek who has everything, this is probably the exception. A portion of proceeds goes to the Delta Care Fund.
This week’s roundup is a good one: reporters who flew on Air Force One apparently spent decades quietly stealing the china, glassware, and embroidered pillowcases — one allegedly amassed enough gold-rimmed plates to host a dinner party. Meanwhile, Bahrain bought a 747 for $100,000, spent seven months stripping it down to every last bolt, and sank it in the Arabian Sea as the centerpiece of the world’s largest underwater theme park. Plus a Princess Cruises standby program with balconies from $99 a night, the Ryanair window passenger’s infuriating follow-up, and more. Dive into René’s travel news roundup.
In case you missed them:
- Air Force One’s china thieves, a 747 underwater theme park, and more travel news
- Coasters made from real Delta aircraft skin — a Delta 100th anniversary collector’s set
- Delta-Starbucks SkyMiles earning changes August 5 — who wins and who doesn’t
- René saw Journey for $9 — here’s how he did it on points and card credits
Advertiser Disclosure: Eye of the Flyer, a division of Chatterbox Entertainment, Inc., is part of an affiliate sales network and may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened. This relationship may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. Reader comments reflect the views of the individuals who wrote them, are not reviewed or endorsed by Eye of the Flyer or by any advertiser, and should not be treated as advice. Some links on this page are affiliate or referral links. We may receive a commission or referral bonus for purchases or successful applications made during shopping sessions or signups initiated from clicking those links.
