Grocery store Diamond, new Emirates suites from New York, PPP enhancements and more

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In this weekend’s Frequent Miler week in review around the web, read about key enhancements to the PPP loan program that might be relevant for readers with small businesses, when Emirates is re-starting service to some cities (including new first class suites from New York), an easier-than-expected path to Diamond status via supermarkets and more.

Lawmakers Add Major Enhancements To PPP Loan Forgiveness Program For Small Businesses

a group of people sitting around a table

I haven’t closely followed the Payroll Protection Program, but Chuck at Doctor of Credit has periodically posted updates that break is down and make it easier to follow. This latest update sounds like it might be very beneficial for a lot of small business owners, so if you’ve been working your way through the mess and looking for some clarity, this is worth a quick read.


Emirates restarting Singapore flights on 18 June with new First Class Suites

a large airplane made of flowers

Singapore-based blog Mainly Miles covers the news that Emirates is set to re-launch a number of routes (including between JFK and Dubai and Singapore and Dubai) in less than two weeks. Additionally, they are flying the new first class on some of these routes — including from JFK. With the reduced fuel surcharges, that could make the New York flight worth keeping your eye on if and when you decide to travel again.


Grocery-Spending to Diamond Status on the Amex Hilton Surpass Card

a close up of a credit card

This post from Middle Age Miles actually came out a couple of weeks ago, but I’d previously missed it. It seems that the bonus points earned via US Supermarket spend on the Surpass card are not only counting as base points toward lifetime status but also as base points toward 2020 status. That makes for a great opportunity to earn Diamond status while spending toward your free night certificate.


American Express Hilton Aspire Resort Credit Applied Toward Restaurant Purchase in 3 Days

a man sitting at a table with food and drinks
Cheers to Grant for posting this! Note: You probably can’t use the resort credit to pay for dinner at The French Laundry since you buy your ticket via Tock, but you could probably pay for the wine pairing.

Travel With Grant covers the new ability to use the Amex Hilton Aspire resort credit at restaurants and it was good news and well-timed on several fronts: first, I was thinking about getting take-out tonight to bring to a drive-in movie theater (my first take-out since early March and certainly the first form of in-person entertainment in as long) — but I had totally forgotten that the Aspire credit for restaurants kicked in a few days ago. Looks like dinner is on Amex tonight! It’s obviously also good to know that it posts quickly, but furthermore I thought it was good news that this posted based on an in-app restaurant purchase for Grant. That means it could be easy to make up any any small odd amount of resort credit left at the end.


Regional Road Trips: 5 Amazing Places to Stay Using Points in New England

a person sitting on a rocky hill looking at a mountain range
This picture is in Stowe, which is 2.5 hours from Manchester – but I’d be interested in seeing another part of Vermont.

You’ll surely see a lot of road trip posts in the coming months, but I was really impressed by this short post from Erin Hurd at Nerd Wallet because I live in the Northeast and had never heard of any of these hotels. There’s a Kimpton in rural Vermont? And a Wyndham that costs 15K in Newport? What? If my family decides to travel at all this summer, one of these five places might seriously be on our list as they are all drive-able for us.


That’s it for this week around the web. Check back soon for this week’s last chance deals.

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Grant

Hi Nick, thanks for linking to my Hilton Aspire post. Hope you had a great weekend 🙂

Grant

That’s really fast for the statement credit to post 🙂

[…] Grocery store Diamond, new Emirates suites from New York, PPP enhancements and more via […]

Craig at Middle Age Miles

Hey Nick – Thanks for the link to our article on grocery-spending to Hilton Diamond with the Surpass card. I thought it was a bit of a niche party trick, but I’ve been surprised at how many people have been interested in the article and the opportunity. Hope you’re having a great weekend. ~Craig