January 1 every year is a date when frequent flyers feel a moment of panic. It's the day that, for most airline and hotel programs, elite status counters reset to zero. All that flying, staying, etc. that we persevered through with select partners to gain or retain status in 2024 is now last year's news. 2025 has started, and all the numbers are ( Read more... )

Every year around the start of the year I take stock of my balances in various frequent traveler points programs, both to see how we'll I've done in accumulating & using miles as well as to set goals for the coming 12 months. Yesterday I posted a wrap-up of my airline miles and status for 2024. Now it's time for the same with hotel points and ( Read more... )

Around every New Year I take stock of my balances in various frequent traveler points programs, both to see how well I've done in accumulating & using miles as well as to set goals for the coming 12 months. One thing that's different recently is now all the airlines I fly with and the hotels I stay with are doing it, too. They've been emailing me " ( Read more... )

Panama Travelog #40
IAH United Club - Tue, 31 Dec 2024. 4pm.We're about halfway home from Panama right now. We're cooling our heels at the United Club at IAH. We relaxed in the Copa Airlines club in Panama before our first flight, and on our connecting flight from Houston to San Jose we've been upgraded to first class. These are all benefits of my ( Read more... )

Panama Travelog #2
IAH Airport - Sun, 22 Dec 2024. 6am.

We're headed to Panama. Now we're farther than a mere 10 miles away from home; we're about halfway there. We're making a connection in Houston ( Read more... )

Another one of my credit cards posted its annual fee following account anniversary recently. This is a card I happen to have owned a long time, 7 years. That's longer than any other hotel/airline affinity card I currently own, and longer than all but one hotel/airline card I've ever owned in the past. As I've kept this card so long you might think ( Read more... )

I just clinched A-List Preferred ("A+") status on Southwest Airlines for another year. It's the highest level elite status in one of their two elite programs. Of course, I also have the other valuable elite status- I re-earned Companion Pass in OctoberA+ status is much like elite status in other airlines' programs. Its main benefits are early ( Read more... )

I've just requalified for Companion Pass with Southwest Airlines. What is Companion Pass? It's a unique level of elite status at Southwest Airlines in which I designate one person as my companion who can join me on any flight I take almost for free. (More details in a blog I wrote a few years ago.) It's one of the best deals in the airline loyalty ( Read more... )

Recently I closed one of my credit cards, the Barclays AA AAdvantage Aviator card. You know how they say, "When one door closes, another opens"? Well, when I closed one card I opened another. 🤣 Except it wasn't cause-effect or even karma. It's really more of a coincidence.


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Here it is Friday night, in the summer, and once again we're halfway to somewhere else. 🎵 Woah, we're halfway there! 🎵

In a 1:1 this afternoon with my boss we were discussing weekend plans, and he said he finds it inspiring how much Hawk and I travel on weekends. I explained to him this Friday Night Halfway travel technique I started using years ( Read more... )