Travel Uncertainty — What Points Travelers Should Know
This is the March 8, 2026 edition of the LazyPoints Weekly newsletter. It goes out by email every Sunday at 8:00 a.m. Pacific–unless I oversleep–and is archived here on the blog. Want it straight to your inbox each week? Sign up here.
There’s a lot going on in the world right now, including conflict in the middle east and a partial government shutdown here in the US. And that’s creating some problems:
Some destinations have new safety concerns
Airspace disruptions can cause flight disruptions
Rising oil prices can affect airfares
Global Entry is temporarily offline
Even if your travel plans won’t take you anywhere near those events, they can still have ripple effects for travelers.
Safety First
I’ve been registering my trips with the State Department’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) for a while now, and it is a very useful free service. You can register your travel plans, and STEP will send alerts about safety conditions in your destination(s), including alerts about things like natural disasters, civil unrest, and violence. It also makes it easier for the US embassy or consulate to contact you if needed.
Will travel insurance cover your trip?
If something related to the Iran conflict does happen to disrupt your trip, will your travel insurance cover you? Unless you purchased “cancel for any reason” coverage, the answer seems to be “probably not.” For example, the Amex Platinum’s trip cancellation insurance covers acts of terrorism, but not travel impacted by “declared or undeclared war.” So check the terms and conditions carefully and keep these limitations in mind when planning travel.
A Global Entry alternative
With Global Entry offline, now is a great time to check out Mobile Passport Control (MPC). Because I’ve always used the Global Entry kiosks, I hadn’t tried MPC until recently. MPC requires you to enter your trip, take a self-photo, and answer some questions; the whole process only took me a few minutes. Because your submission is only valid for four hours before arrival, it works best when you have Wi-Fi on the plane, but you can also complete the process after landing. The only time I used it, I was the only person to do so, and cleared passport control in a matter of seconds.
Should you pre-book points travel?
With the looming possibility of increased travel costs, it might make sense to make travel plans now. Because many airline frequent flyer programs are dynamically priced or pass on fuel surcharges, award pricing or fees could rise in those programs. And award chart programs without fuel surcharges might see increased demand, limiting availability.
Unfortunately, most programs have change or cancellation fees, so unless your plans are firm, it may not be worth investing points to hedge against future price increases that are, at this point, still hypothetical. However, there are some programs that have more flexible terms, like American, Alaska (except for partner booking fees), Delta (except basic economy), and United. If you have enough points to lock in an affordable, flexible fare with one of those programs, though, it could help you lock in a good price now.
Lazy Take 🦥
There’s a lot of uncertainty about travel in 2026. Stay safe out there, be mindful of your travel coverage, and consider if points could be valuable as hedge against that current uncertainty.
This week on the blog 📝
We published our full review of the Atmos Summit card–a unique and powerful card and my personal favorite.
Quick Points of the Week ⚡
More value 📈
Rove adds JAL as a transfer partner, launches with transfer bonus. JAL miles can be powerful, so another way to earn them via Rove’s shopping portal/travel booking platform is always welcome. (Daily Drop) Frequent Miler has a referral link offering 1,500 Rove miles for signing up.
Hilton improves its award calendar. The prices aren’t improving per se, but they’re making it easier to spot the best deals visually. (Thrifty Traveler)
Emirates (mostly) improves partner award chart. Most award rates are getting better, sometimes significantly — but Emirates has also recently slashed transfer ratios with most banks, and can have high fuel surcharges. (Award Wallet)
New products/features 🆕
Amex debuts new lounge concept. The Las Vegas “Sidecar” lounge will be a small outpost with short turnarounds on food and drinks for flyers departing within 90 minutes. (OMAAT)
Robin Hood launches $695-fee card. But it looks more complicated than rewarding. (View From the Wing)
Extra (status) points 🪙
Earn extra Loyalty Points on American. Register for free to earn extra Loyalty Points toward status for flights in March and April. Great if you are pursuing AA status, and might be worth doing even if not. You never know how your travel plans or the travel industry might change in 2026, and they could end up being useful. I’ll still be crediting my AA flights to Atmos, though. (TPG)
Recommended 👍
The economics of the Bilt Palladium. View from the Wing looks under the hood to see who wins and loses and how it all works.
Sign up bonus of the week 🎯
Links marked with an * are affiliate or referral links, meaning we may earn if you apply via our link.
I didn’t see any great new offers this week, but there are plenty of great elevated offers still available.
Other great sign-up bonuses this week
50,000 points+ $300 Bilt Cash + Bilt Gold status on the Bilt Palladium (our take: 🔥🔥🔥🔥)
70-125k points on Delta co-branded cards (our take: 🔥🔥🔥 for the Gold) ends April 1
175k points in the IHG Premier (our take: 🔥🔥🔥)
125k pointson the Chase Sapphire Reserve*(our take: 🔥🔥🔥)
20-40k + companion pass on Southwest cards (our take: 🔥🔥) ends 3/18
175k points on the Hilton Aspire (our take: 🔥🔥)
5 free nights + airline credits on the Marriott Boundless (our take: 🔥🔥)
70-130k points + free night on the Hilton Honors/Surpass (our take: 🔥)
75k points on the Chase Sapphire Preferred* (our take: 🔥)
75k points + $250 travel credit on the Capital One Venture Rewards (our take: 🔥)
60k points on the no-fee Choice Privileges Mastercard (our take: 🔥)
70k points on the JetBlue Plus (our take: 🔥)
Up to 100/175k on the Amex Gold/Platinum (our take)
Enjoy the weekend! 🦥
Safe travels out there.