Happy New Year!
Last year I was very blessed in the amount of travel I was able to accomplish - plenty of opportunities and it allowed me to reach some pretty fun status goals. It helped to have to drive across the country (my Mazda3 made it!) and have a few extra Hyatt nights as well. So I thought it might be fun to scope out how my year ahead may be looking for points, travel, and other adventures:
United
Sadly, not much flying for me on United last year with the introduction of the PQD requirement. While I've been very loyal to UA in the past, I made the decision to go with the best option for accruing last year and it was American. I'm hopeful to get back to some type of status with UA in the future, but it's not looking good. In the meantime I'll keep trying to get miles via dining and CC use. (update: I've had to make a few UA bookings after all! Guess we'll see how those go...)
American
My effort to focus on AA last year paid off and I was able to achieve Executive Platinum status for all of this year. Fares are still looking very high during the upcoming summer - just to go home would cost me $500-600 and so I'm wondering how my pattern may change. I think I'll make Platinum again if my pattern holds...Exec Plat will be tough without some international travel at year end.
Hyatt
I ended up having a few more stays at Hyatt properties than expected last year and was able to qualify for Diamond in 2016. I'm not sure I'll have enough stays this year to keep it, so I'll keep Platinum status via the Hyatt credit card for sure. Looking forward to trying to use suite upgrades this year as I can.
Overall, it looks like I'll be down a bit in my overall travel for the upcoming year. I'm trying to scope out more deals when I see them and hope I can still fit a few trips in when I can.
What are your travel plans this year?