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point and miles university

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Transferring HawaiianMiles to Alaska MileagePlan and Vice Versa

💡tl;dr - As I recently did it for an upcoming redemption, I thought it’d be helpful to do a step-by-step walkthrough of turning HawaiianMiles into Mileage Plan Miles.  By now, you may have heard that Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines have merged. One of the first items checked

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Quick Hack: Use Your Browser's Developer Tools to See Hyatt Promotions You've Registered For

💡Tl;dr - A browser hack to view the Hyatt promotions you've previously registered for.  Yesterday, I wrote about Hyatt's current promotion at Hyatt Vacation Club properties and how you could get some solid value if you meet the right criteria. While writing this piece, I

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Hyatt Releases its 2025 Property Category Reshuffling: Nothing Too Drastic

💡Tl;dr - Hyatt released its 2025 property category chart, and as is usually the case, some notable properties have moved up a category while others have moved down. Each year, usually sometime in mid-Q1, Hyatt will release an updated property category chart where travelers can see which properties have

Deals

Turn Amex Membership Rewards into Qatar Airways Privilege Club Avios with a 20% bonus

💡tl;dr— You'll receive a 20% bonus when you transfer American Express Membership Rewards to Qatar Airways Privilege Club Avios. This may be a helpful offer if you need a handful more miles to complete an Qatar Airways Privilege Club or other Avios redemption. Through March 31, 2025,

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Capital One Adds JetBlue As a Transfer Partner: Ratio is Not Competitive

💡Tl;dr - You can now transfer Capital One rewards to JetBlue's TrueBlue. While learning about new uses for your versatile bank points is always great, the transfer ratio is not promising. Capital One has added JetBlue's TrueBlue as a transfer partner, allowing you to freely

News Featured

The Brand New Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica Punta Cacique Opens May 1st: Here's How to Book it 'On the Cheap'

💡Tl;dr - An exciting new Hilton property in Costa Rica - the Waldorf Astoria Punta Cacique - will soon open its doors. Did you hear that? That howling wind sound? That's the collective exhale of one million Hilton loyalists, letting out sighs of relief. They just finished

Musings Featured

Don't @ Me: Hyatt Globalist Is Not Worth It Anymore and Hyatt Is Better Off For It

💡Tl;dr - Hyatt's recent improvements to its loyalty program, specifically the expansion of Milestone Rewards and introduction of 'gifting' awards to fellow members Controversial take incoming, so to the lords of points and miles fandom, consider yourself triggered-warned: Hyatt Globalist is not worth the chase

Deals

Deal: Receive an 80% Bonus on Your Purchase of Air France / KLM Miles

💡tl;dr—Air France / KLM just launched its first points sales of 2025 and the airline group is offering a bonus of up to 80% when you purchase miles. If you've identified a good redemption using Flying Blue miles, this might be a good deal for you. Through

Deals

Turn Chase Ultimate Rewards into Marriott Bonvoy Points with a 50% bonus

💡tl;dr - Chase is back with another transfer bonus, this time with Marriott Bonvoy. You'll receive a 70% bonus when you transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to Marriott. This may be a helpful offer if you need a handful more points to complete an Marriott redemption. Through March

Deals

Turn Amex Membership Rewards into Hilton Honors Points with a 25% bonus

💡tl;dr - American Express is back with another transfer bonus, this time with Hilton. You'll receive a 25% bonus when you transfer Membership Rewards to Hilton Honors. This is not a great deal to me since you can likely buy Hilton points at a clip cheap enough

PAMU Featured

PointsCalendar: A Lightweight, Powerful, and FREE Hotel Award Availability Tool

💡Tl;dr - A quick look at another award tool that can help you find hotel award night availability - PointsCalendar A few weeks ago, I wrote a triad of pieces covering some of my favorite tools I used for award travel. (Parts 1, 2, and 3 are here). I

Deals

Marriott's First Point Sale of 2025 - 45% Bonus on Your Bonvoy Points Purchase

💡tl;dr - Marriott is back with another points sale, offering a 45% bonus on purchases of 40,000 or more points. This sale is a solid opportunity to save money on future pricey cash rate reservations, or top off your points balance to make an immediate reservation. Most leading

Deals

Buy United Airlines MileagePlus Miles with a 95% Bonus

💡tl;dr—United Airlines just launched its first points sales of 2025 and the airline is offering a bonus of up to 95% when you purchase miles. If you've identified a good redemption using MileagePlus miles, this might be a good deal for you. Through February 28, 2025,

Deals

Turn Amex Membership Rewards into Avianca LifeMiles with a 15% bonus

💡tl;dr— You'll receive a 15% bonus when you transfer Amex Membership Rewards to Avianca Lifemiles. This may be a helpful offer if you need a handful more miles to complete an LifeMiles redemption. Through February 28, 2025, you'll receive a 15% bonus on Amex Membership

Deals

Turn Chase Ultimate Rewards into Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Points with a 30% bonus

💡tl;dr—Chase is back with another transfer bonus, this time with Virgin Atlantic. You'll receive a 30% bonus when you transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to Virgin Atlantic. This may be a helpful offer if you need a handful more points to complete an Flying Club redemption. Through

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Speedrun Your Way to Meaningful Elite Status for Each Major Hotel Chain with These Shortcuts

💡Tl;dr - The fastest ways to get to a meaningful status in each major airline or loyalty program. My favorite travel tips and hacks are the ones that help everyday folks get meaningful value with minimal effort. To that end, I wanted to publish a short piece identifying the

Deals

Start Your Elite Status Chase Off With a Bang: Marriott Launches Double Elite Nights Promotion

💡tl;dr - Marriott launched a promotion for double elite nights, which can help fast-track you to elite status. Marriott revealed the details for its first big promotion of the year, offering Bonvoy members the opportunity to earn 1,000 bonus points and one bonus Elite Night Credit for each

News

Hyatt and Bahia Principe: Though Deal is Done, Integration Not Yet Fully Baked

💡Tl;dr–Searching for Bahia Principe Hotels on Hyatt’s website will take you away from the Hyatt website and take you to Bahia Principe’s site to view a hotel. While doing some research for another article, I noticed a small quirk on the Hyatt platform. While Bahia Principe

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Want to Fly Qatar Q-Suites? Hint: Try Booking with Virgin Australia

💡tl;dr–Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways recently deepened their partnership, which includes new routes from Doha to Sydney, Brisbane, and Perth and more award seating for Q-suites bookable on Virgin Australia. Gold in the Inbox I usually ignore emails from most frequent flier programs, but the Velocity Frequent Flyer

PAMU Featured

Quick Tip: Time the Selection of Your Hyatt Milestone Awards to Push Out the Expiration Dates

💡tl;dr - Nothing monumental here - just offering a quick heads up that the expiration for Hyatt award certificates is based upon the date you select the award, as opposed to the day you earned the award. Remember this fact in order to maximize the utility of your Milestone

News

Coming 2026: JW Marriott Serengeti Lodge - More Bush Time on Points

💡tl;dr - In 2026, Marriott will open its third high-end African safari lodge at Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. After the success of its properties at Masai Mara in Kenya and Kruger in South Africa, the JW Marriott Serengeti Lodge is likely to be one of 2026's

Musings

The List No One Asked For: Blackbeard's Predictions for the World of Points, Miles, Loyalty, and Travel in 2025

💡tl;dr - Before we get too far into 2025, I wanted to offer some predictions on developments we'll see in the travel sphere in 2025, specifically relating to points, miles, credit cards, and loyalty programs. Below, I've listed some predictions on what we'll

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Nightly Upgrade Awards: Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Bonvoy Elite Annual Choice Benefit

💡Tl;dr - The usefulness of Night Upgrade Awards continues to be hit or miss for many Bonvoy Elites. I've had a fair amount of success using these awards, so I'm sharing some simple tips to maximize your chances of confirming your upgrade. All of the

waf

It's 6pm Somewhere, Time for Sabrage: Sabering and Champagne at The St. Regis

💡tl;dr - In many ways, the aura of the New Year is ripe with 'tradition.' I thought it worthwhile to highlight a unique tradition you can experience at many St. Regis hotels worldwide - the sabrage.  The St. Regis Hotel & Resorts is one of the top

Musings

My Airline Elite Status - How I Did in 2024 and Thoughts on Airline Loyalty Going into 2025

tl;dr—My strategy for chasing airline status is less focused on the benefits I'll receive from a given airline and more on amassing as many valuable miles as possible while expending the least effort.  For the past few years, I've moved away from airline loyalty