A Vail hotel deal I love, Singapore Airlines delays its new cabins, and Flying Blue makes expiration much simpler

Hey {{first name | reader}},

Happy Wednesday!

Today we have a hotel deal I love, a frustrating delay from one of the world's best airlines, and a loyalty program update that is rare in 2026: an airline making things simpler instead of more annoying.

Here's what's inside today's post:

This one is a little personal for me.

Not many people know this, but I lived and worked in Vail for four months during a university Work and Travel program. I worked at a hotel there, learned about the industry, spent the season in the mountains, and somehow convinced myself that walking around in ski boots was a perfectly normal way to live.

So Vail has a special place in my heart. Whether you go in winter for skiing or in summer for hiking, mountain air, and that clean Colorado village feel, Vail is one of those places that feels different from most US resort towns. It is polished, beautiful, easy to enjoy, and yes, usually very expensive.

That is why this Four Seasons Resort Vail offer is worth flagging.

For eligible stays from January 15, 2026 through January 10, 2027, you can book a complimentary fourth night at Four Seasons Resort Vail. Stay four nights, pay for three.

Four Seasons Vail is arguably the best hotels in town. It sits right in the heart of the village, has the service level you expect from Four Seasons, and works well whether you are planning a ski trip, a summer mountain escape, or a family vacation where you want everything to just be easy.

When you book through us, the offer can also include Four Seasons Preferred Partner benefits:

The credit can be used toward eligible incidental charges at the resort, so if you are already planning to eat, drink, or use hotel services during the stay, it is real value.

Rates in Vail move a lot depending on season, snow conditions, school holidays, and weekends. If you are planning a Colorado trip in 2026, especially around ski dates, it is worth checking early.

And as always, a little reminder. Our hotel booking service is designed to make luxury stays easier and more rewarding. We help you compare the best available rates, identify when preferred partner perks apply, and book eligible stays with benefits like daily breakfast, hotel credits, upgrade priority, early check-in, late check-out, and VIP recognition, depending on the property. We also handle the details with the hotel before you arrive, from special occasions and room preferences to welcome notes and amenity requests, so the stay feels more polished from the start. If you are planning a hotel stay and want to make sure you are not leaving value on the table, send us the dates and property you are considering before booking directly.

We get very happy when messages like this land in our inbox:

“Hey Tomi, we have just checked in at the Fairmont Prague, and we’re very pleasantly surprised about an upgrade to a junior suite as well as a bottle of Champagne already waiting on ice in our room. Thank you for taking care for us!”

That is the goal of our hotel booking service. Not just getting a room confirmed, but making sure the hotel knows who you are, adding the right perks when available, and giving the stay a better chance of feeling special from the moment you arrive.

Now for some sad aviation news.

Singapore Airlines has announced it has delayed the rollout of its new First and Business Class products on the Airbus A350 fleet. The first retrofitted A350 was originally expected to enter service in 2026, but the timeline has now moved to Q1 2027. The delay appears to be tied to supply chain constraints and certification issues with one of the new seat products.

This is disappointing, because Singapore Airlines has been overdue for a major premium cabin refresh. Their current long-haul business class is still very good. The seat is wide, the service is excellent, and the food can be fantastic. But the sleeping position and overall layout are starting to feel older compared to newer products with doors and more modern design. The gap between what Singapore offers today and what the best products in the market look like has been slowly growing.

The bigger story here is the A350-900ULR fleet. These are the aircraft Singapore uses on ultra-long-haul routes like Singapore to New York, one of the longest flights in the world. The retrofit plan is expected to bring First Class to these aircraft, which would be a major upgrade for passengers on the airline's longest routes. The broader A350 retrofit program covers 41 aircraft and includes new premium seats with privacy doors.

If you were hoping to book the new product soon through KrisFlyer or partner awards, that is probably not happening until 2027 at the earliest. And even then, new cabin rollouts usually take time. One aircraft enters service first, a few routes get the product, and then availability becomes a bit of a guessing game for a while.

Singapore will get there. They are still an amazing airline and one of the best in the world. Just not as soon as we hoped.

After that disappointing news, let's end on a positive one.

As of May 4, 2026, Flying Blue has simplified its mileage expiration policy. All Flying Blue miles now share a single 24-month validity period, and eligible earning activity extends the entire mileage balance by another 24 months.

This is a very welcome change. Previously, Flying Blue's expiration rules were more confusing because not all activity worked the same way. Some activity could extend certain miles while leaving others untouched. That was frustrating and easy to get wrong.

Now the rule is much easier to understand: earn miles through eligible activity at least once every 24 months, and your full balance stays active. That is it.

Eligible activity includes flying and crediting to Flying Blue, earning through partners, hotel or car rental activity, shopping portal earnings, and other qualifying earning activity. Redeeming miles or simply logging in does not reset the clock, so the key is earning activity, not just account activity.

This is especially useful because Flying Blue is one of the most practical airline programs for many travelers. It has monthly Promo Rewards, solid transatlantic award pricing when space is available, and easy transfer access from most major bank points currencies. The program can still have frustrating dynamic pricing, but when the price is right, it is one of the easiest ways to book Air France, KLM, and SkyTeam flights to Europe.

The main takeaway: this makes Flying Blue safer to use as a long-term points program. I still would not transfer points speculatively without a plan, but if you already have Flying Blue miles sitting in your account, keeping them alive just became much simpler.

That is rare good news in the points world. And I will take it.

That's it for today. More deals, news, and trip reviews coming your way on Friday.

Catch you in the clouds,

Tomi from Points Master