2025 Travel and Points Developments
This article comes out on Thanksgiving, hopefully a day where you have even more reasons than normal to avoid reading my nonsense. By the time you see this, you’ve probably already given thanks for what truly matters. But now, why not consider the silly things, such as a few 2025 travel and points hobby developments you’ve enjoyed since last Thanksgiving? I’m sharing a bit of what I’m thankful for there today, and I encourage you to do so in the comments!
2025 Travel and Points Items I’m Thankful For
Amex Platinum Card Refresh
Like last year, I’m mentioning Amex again, but for a different reason. Chase came out swinging with the Sapphire Reserve update, seemingly catching Amex on its heels. But with the Platinum refresh, and the Business Platinum changes (perhaps to a slightly-lesser degree), Amex has clearly outlasted Chase, in my view.
As I had hoped, Amex updated the Platinum with enhanced versions of benefits the bank already provided. Existing Amex cardholders could more easily decipher the improvements and readily obtain value from them than with Chase’s versions. Based on this evolution, I look forward to seeing how Amex tweaks other cards in its portfolio, creates new products, and returns familiar ones. I’m confident Amex will give me plenty of reasons to continue chasing a variety of cards with increased annual fees.
Banks and Credit Unions, Near and Far
Meanwhile, I’m thankful for a random mix of smaller banks and credit unions for the unique products they provide. With everything available from home, it’s easy to push off for later those institutions literally around the corner. Promising options continue to be available seemingly everywhere, but we must remember to look beyond the screen(s).
Hilton Honors Free Night Rewards
Somehow, Hilton Honors has not devalued the best-of-its-kind hotel certs this past year in any meaningful way. These certs can still be widely used across the vast Hilton Honors portfolio sans a few properties (mostly timeshares). If anything, these certs have perhaps increased in value. That’s because Hilton continued raising award rates on certain properties this year. And attentive Hilton cardholders can continue picking up plenty of certs in a variety of ways.
Our Local School District
Our little ones’ school calendar and their related extracurricular activities is the foundation for timing our travels. We anticipate the calendar release each year. Recently, we received two pieces of positive news here.
First, our local district released calendars for the next two full school years, through spring 2028. This is a tremendous gift we didn’t see coming, as we usually only get one advance year at a time. Now, we’re able to more confidently plan our long-term travel plans. But also, I have one less excuse for procrastinating.
Second, our district continues to start the school year after Labor Day, something my family and I vastly prefer. Of course, opinions vary widely on this topic, just like the variety of schedules do across the nation. But we enjoy our late starts and endings to the school year, including the travel timing opportunities they provide.
Bank of America More Rewards Day
While capped in recent years, Bank of America continues to provide us with a fun option for earning a bit extra each year, More Rewards Day. This past 6 November, we were able to pick up an extra 2x/2% cash back across our entire card portfolio, up to $2.5k spend per account. My wife and I were productive as ever, and we only experienced one fraud alert (easily cleared) between the two of us. This certainly isn’t the most lucrative play throughout the year, but it’s one we continue to enjoy.
Conclusion
Those are just a few of the points and travel angles we’re thankful for in the past year. I’m confident the coming days and promos will bring more, too. While I’ll undoubtedly enjoy the greatness of an unintentional nap this Thanksgiving, I don’t want to sleep on a few deals.
So as your belly and mind settles, consider what points and travel developments you’re thankful for this year. Please share in the comments!
