One of our favorite travel credit cards is celebrating its birthday with hundreds of dollars in limited-time travel offers, including up to $200 back on a JSX flight and up to $125 back on an eligible hotel stay after qualifying spend. Just be sure to activate the offer before you book. The JSX offer alone could cover a big chunk of a one-way semi-private flight.

Then we head to Amsterdam Schiphol, where Amex just opened its first Centurion Lounge in Europe. The nearly 6,000-square-foot lounge has local art, floor-to-ceiling windows, a full bar, food and a barista-made coffee bar. We cover where to find it, who can access it and why its relatively small size could mean waits at one of Europe’s busiest airports.

And to round things out, the new AirPods 5 are now available with Active Noise Cancellation and Live Translation, which could be especially useful when traveling.

Learn more about one of our favorite travel credit cards

Get $100 off your first JSX flight

You don't need a Bilt credit card to earn Bilt Points. Join Bilt Rewards for free and earn points on purchases you're already making while still earning rewards from your credit card.

Take Lyft, for example. Link your Bilt and Lyft accounts to earn 2X Bilt Points on eligible rides. You can also earn bonus points at participating restaurants, Walgreens, and fitness studios through Bilt Neighborhood Benefits.

Flying with a pet? Add them to your reservation as early as possible, since airlines usually limit the number of pets allowed in the cabin.

Have a travel or points question? Submit it here and it may be featured in a future episode.

Your travel credit card, an airport in Amsterdam, and your headphones are all getting a little glow-up this week.

Welcome back to Departure Digest. Today, we’re talking about [a popular travel credit card’s] 10th birthday, a new Amex Centurion Lounge, and the new AirPods that just became a lot more interesting for travelers.

I’ve had [this card] since it first came out, so watching this card turn 10 feels a little weird. It’s changed a lot over the years, and that annual fee has definitely gotten a lot less cute.

[The issuer] is celebrating the anniversary with a handful of limited-time travel offers for cardmembers.

You’ll find them under [the card’s card-linked offers], and you have to activate the offer before you make the purchase.

The two I’d pay attention to are for IHG and JSX.

With IHG, you can get $125 back when you spend $500 or more on an eligible stay in the U.S. And this can work for a future stay too, as long as you book a prepaid stay and complete the payment by Oct. 16.

Then there’s JSX, which is the one that really caught my attention.

You can get $200 back when you spend $200 on a JSX flight.

If you’ve never heard of JSX, it’s a semi-private airline that operates from smaller airports and private terminals, so the airport process is much quicker. Some of its shorter routes, like Los Angeles to Las Vegas, can go for about 200 bucks, so that credit could cover a big chunk of a one-way flight.

And if you’re new to JSX, there’s also a $100 promo for new flyers when you’re referred by a friend. We’ll include a link to that below, so you may be able to stack the two offers.

One important detail across these [card-linked offers]: you have to book directly with the travel brand, not through [the bank’s travel portal].

[The card] launched in 2016 and went through a major refresh last year, so it looks pretty different from the card I originally signed up for 10 years ago, but I like the direction it’s headed.

And now, some good news for anyone flying through Amsterdam. Amex just opened a brand-new Centurion Lounge at Amsterdam Schiphol, which is its first in continental Europe.

It’s nearly 6,000 square feet, with local art, floor-to-ceiling windows, a full bar, food and a coffee bar with a barista.

It’s also great because it’s in a part of the airport that could really use another good lounge.

For travelers using Priority Pass, Amsterdam has just two lounges, and they’re consistently among the busiest in Europe. So I have a feeling this new Centurion Lounge is going to be very popular, and I wouldn’t be shocked if there’s a wait, especially since it’s not that big.

It’s located between Concourses E and F on the non-Schengen side of the airport.

Access is available to eligible cardmembers, including The Platinum Card from American Express, the Business Platinum Card from American Express and Centurion members. Delta SkyMiles Reserve cardmembers can also access it when flying Delta under the applicable rules.

And last but not least, the new AirPods 5 are now available.

This is actually pretty exciting for travelers because Active Noise Cancellation is now available on Apple’s entry-level AirPods, starting at about 130 bucks.

That means you don’t have to splurge on the more expensive models just to get noise cancellation and block out crying babies on your next flight.

They also have Live Translation, which can translate conversations in real time. You just need to turn on Apple Intelligence on your iPhone for the feature to work.

For anyone who’s ever been in a foreign pharmacy trying to act out a stomachache, that could be a very useful upgrade.

And as a reminder, many newer planes now also let you connect your own headphones or AirPods to the seatback screen via Bluetooth.

For me, the noise cancellation alone makes these great for travel. Add Live Translation, and suddenly I’m looking at the AirPods a little differently.

So that’s your Friday travel update. A bit shorter today, but not a bad week for a travel glow-up. Have a great weekend!