Happy Friday!

Before heading into the weekend, I’ve got a bunch of travel and points updates for you.

For one, be sure to avoid this aging plane, especially since business-class tickets can cost more than $3,000. Plus, there are two great opportunities to use your Chase points.

United is also making changes to the Polaris Lounge and much more.

BTW, if you’re not yet following me on Instagram, you’re missing out on my latest updates. You can fix that here.

Advertiser and Editorial Disclosure

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American’s Airbus A321T, its posh three-cabin premium transcontinental jet, turned 12 this year — and it seriously shows.

I just took two flights in business class on this plane, and I’m so glad I didn’t pay the $3,500 sticker price.

(I redeemed 35,000 Alaska Atmos points for each leg of the trip, which I instantly transferred 1:1 from Bilt. Atmos is seriously my favorite loyalty program these days.)

When I got to the airport, my seat was swapped because the original one was inoperative. The replacement wasn't much better.

Scratches everywhere. A worn-out armrest. A broken seat control panel. A remote that didn't work. A loose tray table.

It was the same story on the way home. It’s a sad demise for what was once the poshest plane in the country.

Read more about my experience, including American’s reply, below.

If you're sitting on a stash of Chase points, pay attention.

Hyatt is rolling out a revamped award chart next month, and it’s going to be a lot less rewarding than the one it replaces. (Remember: Chase points transfer instantly to World of Hyatt at a 1:1 rate.)

Hyatt still hasn't said exactly when in May it'll flip the switch (reports point to May 7), but I'd spend some time this weekend booking award stays through the end of the year and beyond.

You'll lock in today's rates, and if they happen to drop before your stay, you can request a points refund.

Air Canada’s Aeroplan program — one of the best ways to book Star Alliance awards on airlines like United and Lufthansa — will once again start expiring miles later this year.

If you have points sitting in your Aeroplan account, now's a great time to extend your expiration date.

Transfers reset the expiration clock by 18 months, and right now, Chase is offering a 20% bonus on transfers to Aeroplan through April 30.

So you earn bonus points and reset your expiration at the same time. A savvy win-win.

It’s really bleak out there for airlines right now.

Fuel prices keep climbing, and now Europe is warning it could run out of jet fuel within six weeks.

That would obviously cause mass chaos, but since airlines haven't started canceling flights, maybe they think this gets resolved in time. (Lufthansa, though, just shut down a subsidiary overnight.)

Meanwhile, Spirit Airlines, which was supposedly ready to emerge from bankruptcy this summer, is now on the verge of liquidation, according to reports.

High fuel costs are likely largely to blame. And if Spirit goes under, it'll be a sad day for your wallet.

Without Spirit in the market putting downward pressure on fares, the incumbents will have far less incentive to keep prices low. Fingers crossed it pulls through. (Plus, I'd seriously miss the Big Front Seat.)

Here’s a random quirk that I discovered after comparing Clear and TSA’s Touchless ID program. (If you missed it, check out my comparison chart.)

I originally wrote that Touchless ID is limited to adults 18+, which — turns out — isn’t fully accurate.

Five U.S. airlines support Touchless ID, and Delta is the only one that lets minors opt into the program.

Eligible kids (those with Known Traveler Numbers and passports saved to their SkyMiles accounts) can use the Touchless ID lane when traveling with a parent.

They’ll see the Touchless ID logo on their boarding pass, but when they reach the TSA agent, they’ll be asked to present an ID instead of a facial scan.

As a new-ish parent myself, I wish all the other airlines followed this policy.

Because right now — unless we’re flying with Delta — my family needs to use the standard Precheck line because our daughter can’t get the Touchless ID logo on her boarding pass.

Can’t say I’m surprised, but United is clamping down on partner access to the Polaris Lounge.

Going forward, only passengers flying biz or first on one of United's joint venture partners will get in. (That includes Air New Zealand, ANA, Austrian, Brussels, ITA, Lufthansa, and Swiss.)

All other Star Alliance flyers can use the United Club or sit at the gate.

This will likely help reduce overcrowding a bit, especially since United will need to make room for domestic Polaris flyers on premium transcon flights.

More broadly, at United’s big Elevated event a few weeks back, the carrier flooded the internet (and this newsletter) with good news.

In the weeks since, it's buried a string of devaluations behind that good news, including:

Hopefully, this wraps up the devaluations. But in today's environment, who knows?

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