Points and Miles New Year’s Resolutions
I’ve landed in January 2025 after a blur of a holiday season. This past one went by way quicker than I’m used to, but perhaps that’s just another example of my firmly-middle age. But time isn’t waiting for me to grapple with that. Now that we’re in the new year, I’m sharing my points and miles resolutions for 2025. I expect certain plans to change as our dynamic hobby evolves, but I’m very confident my pursuit of below will not.
I Will Hand Out All of These
I’ve achieved Executive Platinum status for the past few years thanks to the fun of the American Airlines Loyalty Points scheme. But this year, I’ll be better at giving out all of my outstanding service coupons to AA employees. Each year, I’ve received a couple sheets of these in the mail, put them on a shelf, and promptly ignore them for the rest of the year. No more! I’ve handed out most of this past year’s, with a few left to deliver by the end of March. I generally receive ample service often enough from a variety of AA employees where I shouldn’t have any of these remaining. I can and will do better.
A Delta Donut
My wife and I will not earn a single Delta mile this year. In the past, we’ve exclusively earned them via Amex, but we simply have no reason to for the foreseeable future. First off, we prefer points, big spend bonuses, and other benefits on Amex’s Hilton and Marriott cards. Given Amex’s general five credit card limit, Delta cards just don’t make the cut. Second, Delta’s astronomical award prices just seem to get worse. Delta’s not alone there, but it just seems more accentuated with them. Third, and somewhat related to the second, I fly award tickets on Delta by booking with Flying Blue miles. In my experience, these bookings often require substantially fewer miles than with Delta’s own currency.
Membership Rewards Peace
Perhaps 2024’s most negative development for active points and miles hobbyists who enjoy cashing out was Amex’s new cap on superior Invest with Rewards redemptions via the Schwab Platinum. Amex gradually instituted these changes, with unlimited cashout at 1.1 cents per point until the end of September 2024. Cardholders were given a new cap of one million to cash out at that rate for the last quarter of the year. Now, cardholders only receive that valuation on one million points for the entire year. While other options to cash out at one cent per point exist, many will need to be more creative to continue picking up similar value. Eventually, I expect many will keep cashing out points via Schwab even at 0.8 cents per point.
My plans will change based on the earning and redemption levels I achieve throughout the year. I don’t have all the answers right now, but I’m confident that I’ll be happy enough with whatever I settle on at any given time. I’ve exclusively redeemed Membership Rewards for cash, ever since the first one I earned. I firmly believe that will not change.
More Active Credit Consumption
Banks continue to hand cardholders a variety of credits which put increasingly more responsibility on individuals to consume. Cardholders doing so in a timely manner is even more important now. Some are easier to consume than others. Firmly underscoring this “good problem” is significant volumes of the same benefit. The new Hilton statement credit with the Amex Business Platinum is a prime example of the conundrum.
I don’t want to resort to just buying Hilton gift cards into perpetuity – they’re not available now, anyway. And I don’t have enough planned stays to leverage all of them for points and cash bookings. I’m now focusing on options for consuming these credits around town, i.e. turning this travel benefit into an everyday one. Initial reports on these credits triggering has been promising, so I’m feeling pretty positive here.
Hurry Up and Wait
It’s a no-brainer for us to collect as many hotel certs as possible, but our speed to do so is an ongoing dilemma. Optimally, we’d take as long as possible, fully knowing we currently have plenty to meet our needs for the foreseeable future. Taking longer to pick up newer ones means they’ll have a much later expiration date on the other end.
But I also know that big spend methods can change. Some options entirely disappear. So I better scale when I can, right? Therefore, whether I’m picking up certs as part of a welcome offer or an annual big spend bonus, I plan to spend right up to the threshold without crossing it until the proverbial last minute. That way, I’m leveraging all big spend methods I have access to at a given time while deferring the activation of the new cert to a a more desirable period.
This may sound like a tremendously obvious strategy to many of you; it does to me, as well. Indeed, I’ve thought of it for years. But in my excitement to achieve goals sooner rather than later, I’ve probably picked up some certs faster than I needed to in the past. I’ll be more intentional on my timing this year.
Points and Miles – Conclusion
Again, I feel like I’ll maintain these points and miles resolutions throughout the year, no matter what changes. In fact, I should be strive for these ones year-over-year. Some are more niche than others, but I don’t see our situation changing enough where these will fall by the wayside. The challenge will be maintaining focus here and elsewhere in the reality of an ever-changing points, miles, and travel landscape. On a whole, I still think we end up the big winners with such a complex hobby. What are your points and miles resolutions for 2025?
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