Certainly surprising for many, the announcement came that Allegiant Air, based in Las Vegas, will acquire Sun Country Airlines, based in Minneapolis. This will create a force in the US market that cannot be underestimated, focussing on the leisure market.

As part of the merger, which should be completed by the end of the year, the two Frequent Flyer Programs Allways Rewards and Sun Country Rewards will also be combined. It will certainly be interesting to see what the product will look like, as the Allegiant program largely revolves around a co-branded credit card, while Sun Country takes a more traditional approach.

Given the constant devaluations of many other US programs, there is hope that the new airline will choose a different strategy here to gain more attention in the market!

Until January 17, an extraordinary auction is taking place in the Emirates Skywards program.

The program is auctioning seven Platinum cards with specific numbers, which grant the holder Platinum status for up to 20 years. The proceeds from the auction will be entirely donated to the Emirates Airline Foundation, which cares for children in need around the world.

The auction is now, of course, entering the hot phase, and currently, the lowest bid is at 325,000 AED, granting five years of Platinum status. To secure the 20-year Platinum level, a minimum offer of 1.5 million AED is required.

The question is hence simple – fly a lot for 20 years or pay a lot now?

The positive surprise of 2025 was perhaps Lufthansa, which did not misuse the switch to a dynamic rewards system at Miles & More for a price increase, as seen in other programs.

While prices in Business Class were partially raised, some reward flights in Economy Class have even become significantly cheaper, especially on short-haul routes.

That’s why the current promotion with Avis is certainly interesting: For reservations until January 31 (and rentals until April 30), you will receive 4,000 bonus miles for rentals of at least two days. With such a rental, you will hence receive enough miles for a round trip for four people from Frankfurt to Paris.

Luxair, which uses the Miles & More program on a co-branded basis, still sees the attractiveness of the program apparently more critical.

That’s why it has extended its own mini-program High Five, which runs in parallel to Miles & More, until April 30, 2027. And for regular Luxair customers, it is certainly one of the most attractive programs at all.

For every five bookings with Luxair within the last 12 months, you receive a voucher worth the cheapest of the five bookings. In the “elite” program – the highest level is reached with 20 bookings – the voucher value is increased by up to 30%.

Since bookings – and not flight segments – are considered for the promotion, one should ideally operate with one-way flights here.

The New Year will also start with some, perhaps interesting, news for frequent flyers.

In March, Air Serbia will launch its own program. So far, the company has used Etihad’s program, Etihad Guest, on a co-branded basis. How this partnership will develop remains to be seen.

In April, Air New Zealand will rename its program to Koru. Aside from a new top elite tier, this is likely more of a rebranding than a fundamental overhaul of the program.

And then we are also waiting for the full launch of Riyadh Air’s Sfeer program, which has already announced partnerships with Air France, KLM, Delta and Virgin Atlantic!