Meghan Coyle

And I'm Sally French. And we're the travel nerds ready to help you plan your next big trip. As always, we'll talk about a few credit card companies that are nerd wallet partners in this episode, but that doesn't influence how we discuss them. The benefits, terms, and fees mentioned were accurate at the time of posting, but things can change.

Some offers may have expired by the time you're listening. For the latest details, follow the links in the episode description.

Some offers may have expired by the time you're listening. For the latest details, follow the links in the episode description.

Some offers may have expired by the time you're listening. For the latest details, follow the links in the episode description.

And it's like happening kind of soon. The assigned seating is supposed to be available to book starting in the third quarter of 2025. Southwest cardholders and elite members will have the ability to pick a standard or in some cases preferred seat assignment within 48 hours of departure.

And it's like happening kind of soon. The assigned seating is supposed to be available to book starting in the third quarter of 2025. Southwest cardholders and elite members will have the ability to pick a standard or in some cases preferred seat assignment within 48 hours of departure.

And it's like happening kind of soon. The assigned seating is supposed to be available to book starting in the third quarter of 2025. Southwest cardholders and elite members will have the ability to pick a standard or in some cases preferred seat assignment within 48 hours of departure.

So this is like kind of an extra perk if you have a Southwest card or if you have elite status is now you can kind of get a free upgrade to some of the better seats that you have to pick.

So this is like kind of an extra perk if you have a Southwest card or if you have elite status is now you can kind of get a free upgrade to some of the better seats that you have to pick.

So this is like kind of an extra perk if you have a Southwest card or if you have elite status is now you can kind of get a free upgrade to some of the better seats that you have to pick.

If you are a Southwest Flyer, it seems like having one of the co-branded credit cards is almost a requirement to make it just a little better. Also, some other changes happening to airlines and airline cards. The United Club access changes went into effect last week. So if you have a United credit card that gets you one-time United Club passes every year, this change affects you.

If you are a Southwest Flyer, it seems like having one of the co-branded credit cards is almost a requirement to make it just a little better. Also, some other changes happening to airlines and airline cards. The United Club access changes went into effect last week. So if you have a United credit card that gets you one-time United Club passes every year, this change affects you.

If you are a Southwest Flyer, it seems like having one of the co-branded credit cards is almost a requirement to make it just a little better. Also, some other changes happening to airlines and airline cards. The United Club access changes went into effect last week. So if you have a United credit card that gets you one-time United Club passes every year, this change affects you.

It used to be that you could just give those passes to anyone. But now the primary cardholder or the authorized user must be present when you go to the lounge. And you also can't go for as long. You have to enter within three hours of your flight's departure time.

It used to be that you could just give those passes to anyone. But now the primary cardholder or the authorized user must be present when you go to the lounge. And you also can't go for as long. You have to enter within three hours of your flight's departure time.

It used to be that you could just give those passes to anyone. But now the primary cardholder or the authorized user must be present when you go to the lounge. And you also can't go for as long. You have to enter within three hours of your flight's departure time.

And they're also expanding some of their lounges and redesigning them. Benjamin Din, our colleague we had on the podcast last week, went to the reopening of the United Polaris Lounge at Chicago's O'Hare Airport last week. And it looks so much more modern than the old design, although there's still like kind of a lot of marble. It's also 50% bigger, which is really nice.

And they're also expanding some of their lounges and redesigning them. Benjamin Din, our colleague we had on the podcast last week, went to the reopening of the United Polaris Lounge at Chicago's O'Hare Airport last week. And it looks so much more modern than the old design, although there's still like kind of a lot of marble. It's also 50% bigger, which is really nice.

And they're also expanding some of their lounges and redesigning them. Benjamin Din, our colleague we had on the podcast last week, went to the reopening of the United Polaris Lounge at Chicago's O'Hare Airport last week. And it looks so much more modern than the old design, although there's still like kind of a lot of marble. It's also 50% bigger, which is really nice.

You should read Ben's review of the new lounge on the NerdWallet website. We'll put a link to the review in the episode description. By the way, a bunch of new transfer bonuses came out last week. Chase Ultimate Rewards is doing a 25% bonus to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club through June 15th and a 25% bonus to KLM Air France's Flying Blue program through May 31st.