From a points and miles perspective, 2024 was kind of quiet. While I logged ten hotel stays and twenty total nights, I only redeemed points and miles on two of those ten trips. The amount of travel was actually pretty comparable to the prior year, however the reasons were much different. Three of the ten trips were for business, so those were paid by my employer. Many of the other trips were in support of my kids’ extracurricular activities and paid for in cash. The two trips I used points and miles on were to Maine in July and Boston in October.
For the trip to Maine, I redeemed American Airlines AAdvantage miles and gift cards for free flights. I also redeemed a Hilton free night certificate and Hilton points for three free nights in Portland. At the end of the day, a trip that would’ve cost over $5,000 only cost me $1,999.
I also redeemed points and miles to get an “almost free” trip to Boston. For that trip, I used United TravelBank cash, American Airlines AAdvantage miles and Chase Ultimate Rewards points for the flights and hotel. All of that only cost me only $17 for a trip that would’ve cost over $2,500 if paid in cash.
In February, I also achieved American Airlines AAdvantage Platinum elite status for the second year in a row. The main benefits of Platinum status are priority check-in and boarding, complimentary Main Cabin Extra seats at booking and two free checked bags. I was able to sit in exit rows on most flights and I’m really getting used to the extra leg room!
It feels like 2025 is going to be another year of small trips. I already have several planned, but none longer than five days. In February I’m taking my younger daughter, Rory, to Seattle for a long weekend. Then in April, I’m going to Phoenix with my wife, brother-in-law, sister-in-law and mother-in-law. The final trip I have booked is to College Park, Maryland to attend my niece’s college graduation. I hope to fill in the year with a few more trips, but I have nothing major planned right now.
Before we get into 2025, let’s take a look back at what I accomplished in 2024.
Credit Cards
- Credit cards opened: 6 (5 for me, 1 for Annie)
- Sign-up bonus points earned: 385,000 points
- Referral bonus points earned: 15,000 points
- Retention bonus points earned: 3,000 points
- Everyday spending: 289,222 points
Together, Annie and I opened six new credit cards in 2024. That was after a relatively slow 2023, where we only opened a total of two new cards. There were two main reasons for the increase in activity this year. The first was to quickly add to my stash of Chase Ultimate Rewards points. To achieve that goal I opened Chase Freedom Flex, Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Ink Business Unlimited cards.
The second reason for the increase in credit card applications was in reaction to industry news. First let’s look at the points earned on those Chase cards.
Chase Cards
Chase allows people to earn a new sign-up bonus on any Sapphire card once every 48 months. I applied for my first Sapphire card six years ago, so it was well past time to go for another welcome bonus. However, you can only posses one Sapphire card at a time, so first I had to downgrade my existing Sapphire Reserve card. In early May, I product changed that card to a Chase Freedom card. Then after waiting two weeks, I was approved for a new Chase Sapphire Preferred card and its 75,000-point welcome bonus!
Before that, I had Annie refer me to a Chase Freedom Flex card. In that instance, I earned 20,000 points as a welcome bonus while Annie earned 5,000 points for the referral.
Finally, in September I opened a Chase Ink Business Unlimited card. At the time, Chase was offering a best-ever 90,000-point welcome bonus. So between the welcome and referral bonuses, I earned a total of 190,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points in 2024!
Now for the action I took in response to industry news.
Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines Merger
Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines merged this year and announced that their loyalty programs will be combined in the summer of 2025. Once that happens, Hawaiian Airlines credit cards will no longer be available, removing an opportunity to earn new card welcome bonuses.
Until the merger announcement, I had no interest in earning Hawaiian Miles. However, those miles can now be moved to Alaska’s loyalty program, which has many appealing redemption opportunities. It’s also difficult to earn Alaska miles, since Bilt Rewards is their only transfer partner. So this was a huge opportunity to earn big welcome bonuses and one that wasn’t going to last.
Annie and I both signed up for the Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard and earned a combined 140,000 Hawaiian miles. The requirements to earn the welcome bonus on this card is about as easy as it gets. You simply need to pay the annual fee and make one purchase and the miles are yours. In addition, a perk of being a Hawaiian Airlines cardholder is the ability to transfer miles between Hawaiian accounts for free. So I was moved Annie’s 70,000 miles to my Hawaiian account, and then moved those miles to my Alaska account.
I now have over 155,000 Alaska miles, which I hope to use in the next few years. Maybe on a trip to Japan or South Korea!
American Airlines Chooses Citi
The second piece of industry news was American Airlines choosing Citi to be the exclusive issuer of AA credit cards. Currently AA credit cards are offered by both Citi and Barclays banks. Sometime in the near future, Citi will acquire the Barclays AA credit card portfolio and begin transitioning Barclays cardmembers to Citi in 2026. It wasn’t known when Barclays would shut down new credit card applications, so I took the opportunity to apply for the Barclays AAdvantage Aviator Red card. After paying the annual fee and making just one purchase, I earned 60,000 AA miles.
Next year I’ll likely talk Annie into applying for the same card as well. It’s such a quick and easy way to earn AA miles and the opportunity won’t last much longer.
Retention Bonus Points
I only earned a measly 3,000 miles in retention bonuses this year. I’ve found that banks are being more stingy with these bonuses nowadays. However, the one bank I was able to get something out of was Citi. I called them up to say I was thinking of cancelling my Citi AAdvantage MileUp card. Even though that card has no annual fee, I still asked if there were any retention bonuses they would offer. Their offer was pretty bad at 3,000 miles after spending $1,000 on the card. However, since there’s no annual fee, I had nothing to lose and accepted the offer.
All in all, I earned a total of 692,222 points on everyday spending and credit card bonuses! That’s the highest annual amount I’ve earned since I started keeping track in 2018. Below is a comparison from the last four years.
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Everyday Spending | 195,233 | 198,067 | 219,252 | 289,222 |
| Sign-up Bonuses | 415,000 | 215,000 | 170,000 | 385,000 |
| Referral Bonuses | 20,000 | 0 | 0 | 15,000 |
| Retention Bonuses | 10,000 | 0 | 20,000 | 3,000 |
| Total | 640,233 | 413,067 | 409,252 | 692,222 |
Trips: Flights and Hotel Stays
- Flights taken: 16 (6 business + 10 personal)
- Miles flown: 12,790
- Individual hotel stays: 10
- Total hotel nights: 20
My travel in 2024 was comprised of three business trips and several small personal trips. There was a three-night trip to Baltimore for my daughter’s final high school club volleyball tournament. I also flew to Boston twice. Once to move that same daughter into college and another for a weekend visit in October.
| 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miles Flown | 10,034 | 34,791 | 0 | 1,634 | 11,023 | 13,314 | 12,790 |
| Hotel Stays | 7 | 20 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 10 |
| Hotel Nights | 13 | 38 | 0 | 7 | 19 | 22 | 20 |
However, the travel highlight for the year was a summer trip Annie and I took to Maine. We saved over $3,000 using points and miles on the airfare and hotel costs on our trip to the “Pine Tree State”.
Maine
In July we headed out for a six day trip to Maine and couldn’t have enjoyed it more! Known for its rocky coastlines, mountains, and forests, it’s one of the most beautiful states I’ve been to. Our itinerary had us staying three nights in Portland before driving up the coast to stay another three nights Bar Harbor.
Portland
Portland is a coastal city with a working waterfront, historic architecture, and a vibrant arts scene. It’s also one of the most bike-friendly cities in the country and a bourgeoning foodie town. It has great nightlife, shopping and tourism, but keeps it’s small town feel.
We stayed at the Canopy by Hilton Portland Waterfront, a new and modern hotel located steps away from Portland’s Old Port neighborhood. That’s where tourists will find most of the cities’ restaurants and shopping. Our stay was completely free, thanks to a free night certificate, earned via my Hilton Honors American Express Aspire card, and 160,000 Hilton points.
Peaks Island
My favorite excursion while in Portland was taking a ferry to one of the nearby islands in Casco Bay. Casco Bay Lines operates year-round ferries to six islands. We went to the nearest one, called Peaks Island. It’s actually part of the city of Portland and has a decent residential population that booms in the summer. With amazing ocean views to explore, we rented a golf cart and zoomed around the island. We also had a terrific lunch at Island Lobster Company.
Red’s Eats
On our drive to Bar Harbor, we had what might’ve been our most enjoyable meal. About an hour north of Portland sits a little lobster shack that’s not to be missed. Located at the foot of Wiscasset’s Main Street, Red’s Eats is one of the most famous restaurants on Route 1 in Maine. It’s been there for 81 years and always has a long line. We waited more than an hour in the hot, steaming sun and it was totally worth it. While we waited we perused all the pictures of famous people who’ve stopped by for a bite.
Annie and I shared a lobster roll and fried clams. We’d already had a few lobster rolls while in Portland, but this one blew them all away. Both the taste and the portion size were top notch. Red’s was way more generous with their lobster meat than every other place we tried.
Bar Harbor
Our last three nights were spent at the Bar Harbor Inn in Bar Harbor. The iconic New England hotel was exceptional and the picturesque coastal community is a quintessential summer tourist town. It comes alive during the summer with tons of shopping, restaurants and outdoor activities. It’s also the gateway to Acadia National Park.
In the park, we drove on the 27-mile Park Loop Road which connects Acadia’s lakes, mountains and shoreline. It provides access to popular areas such as Sieur de Monts, Sand Beach, Otter Point, Jordan Pond, and Cadillac Mountain. We stopped in several places along the way to do a little hiking and get closer to nature.
One of the most breathtaking sights is from atop Cadillac Mountain. It is the highest point on the eastern seaboard of the United States, and offers magnificent views of the island landscape.
Points Redeemed
For the year, I redeemed 286,500 total points/miles. That broke down to 68,500 points/miles for flights and 218,000 points for hotel stays.
Airfare Redemptions
- 11,000 American Airlines miles were returned to my account for airline tickets from Chicago to Portland (In 2023, I redeemed 37,000 miles for the flights, but in 2024 I found the same flights for only 26,000 miles; after rebooking, 11,000 miles were added back to my AA account)
- 79,500 American Airlines miles were redeemed for three airline tickets from Chicago to Boston
Hotel Redemptions
- 160,000 Hilton points were redeemed for the hotel stay in Portland
- 58,000 World of Hyatt points were redeemed for a hotel stay at the Hyatt Centric Faneuil Hall Boston
Points Transferred
I also transferred a total of 104,500 points to four travel partners via Chase, American Express and Bilt.
- 3,000 points went to Air Canada
- 79,000 points went to Hyatt
- 2,500 points to Alaska Airlines
- 20,000 points to British Airways
Air Canada
To keep my Air Canada miles from expiring, I transferred 3,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points to my Air Canada account. I timed the transfer to coincide with a Chase promotion giving 20% more miles when transferring points to Air Canada.
Hyatt
I made three transfers from Chase to Hyatt in 2024. The first was a move of 1,000 points to keep my existing Hyatt points from expiring. Then I transferred another 15,000 points for a stay at the Hyatt Centric Faneuil Hall Boston. Finally, I transferred 63,000 points for a stay at the Hyatt Regency Newport Beach West, which I ended up cancelling. So those points remain in my account to use on a future stay.
British Airways
The transfer to British Airways was done prospectively. I took advantage of a 30% American Express promotion to build up my balance of Avios. Avios are the miles currency for British Airways, Ibeira, Aer Lingus and a few other carriers. At some point in the next few years, I’d like to use my Avios on Iberia for business class seats to Spain.
Points earned off airline flights and hotel stays:
- American Airlines: 18,318 miles
- United Airlines: 3,760 miles
- Hilton Hotels: 51,759 points
- Marriott: 61,880 points
- Hyatt: 619 points
Promotional Activity
Promotions come in many forms, but the most common is earning bonus points/miles or cash back on certain purchases. Signing up for promotions is free, so I make it a point to register for every one I come across.
Points and miles earned via promotional activity in 2024:
- American Airlines: 2,500 miles
- United Airlines: 11,475 miles
- Hilton Hotels: 7,500 points
- Marriott: 23,300 points
- American Express Membership Rewards: 8,108 points
In total, I earned just under 53,000 bonus points/miles in 2024. That’s just a hair under what I earned the prior year. Below you’ll find more detail on how I earned some of those promotional bonus points/miles.
American Airlines AAdvantage Miles
Early in the year, my Citi credit card offered bonus American Airlines miles with a very small spending requirement. The promotion offered 5x miles on online purchases up to a total of 2,500 bonus miles. When promotions like these occur, I simply switch my purchases to the applicable credit card. Then once I’ve earned up to the maximum points, I just switch back to cards I typically use.
United Airlines Miles
United offered a very similar promotion during the second quarter of the year. This one offered 5x miles spent on specific categories. I also earned bonus miles by adding an authorized user to my United card after receiving a promotion via email.
Marriott Bonvoy Points
Marriott ran a bunch of valuable promotions in 2024. In one quarter, they gave 1,000 bonus points plus one bonus Elite Night Credit for each night stay. Those extra elite night credits went a long way in helping me earn Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status for another year.
Marriott always runs some pretty great promotions each year, so I make sure to register whether I have a trip scheduled or not. If I don’t register right away, I’ll probably forget. Then should a trip pop up during the promotional period, I’ll be sure to earn those valuable bonus points.
In another promotion, this time via American Express, I earned 5,000 bonus Marriott points after meeting a $1,500 spending requirement.
Surveys
The amount of time I spent doing surveys in 2024 was basically flat compared to the prior year. Whatever time I did spend on surveys was almost always due to some kind of promotion to earn extra rewards. I just don’t have the time anymore to devote to earning points and miles this way. Plus the amount of points and miles that can be earned is simply not enough to justify the time spent.
I earned points via four different survey websites, for a total of 21,958 points/miles. Points and miles earned via surveys in 2024:
- American Airlines: 7,103 miles
- United Airlines: 500 miles
- Alaska Airlines: 355 miles
- Hilton Hotels: 14,000 points
Shopping and Dining Portals
Shopping and dining portals are another easy way to earn extra points and miles.
Shopping portals are very easy to use. You simply sign up for each portal using your loyalty account number. When you’re ready to shop, you click through the portal to a merchant’s website before making your purchase. The portal will track your purchase and award you the appropriate amount of points, miles or cash back.
In exchange for shopping portals directing traffic to a merchant websites, the portals get a commission from those merchants. The portals pass along some of that commission to you in the form of points, miles or cash back.
I mainly used the American Airlines AAdvantage eShopping portal for my online shopping because it helps me achieve elite status with the airline. I was able to rack up over 69,000 American AAdvantage miles just from their shopping portal. And for my journey to elite status, I also received the same amount of Loyalty points. The elite status year ends on February 28, 2025 and I’m on track to reach American AAdvantage Platinum Pro status for the first time ever. Without the shopping portal, I’d have absolutely zero chance of earning any status with American Airlines!
With dining portals, any restaurant participating with the Rewards Network will earn bonus points or miles. You must register your credit cards before dining, and then points/miles will accumulate automatically.
Points and miles earned via shopping and dining portals in 2024:
- American Airlines: 77,897 miles
- United Airlines: 695 miles
- Marriott: 197 points
- American Express Membership Rewards (via Rakuten): 27,127 points
Bottom Line
I’m still waiting to spend some points and miles on a huge trip. That’s something I’d like to do in the next two years. Instead of doing a ton of travel, 2024 was more about growing my points and miles balances and maintaining my American Airlines elite status. I improved the amount of points/miles earned on everyday spending by 70,000 compared to the prior year.
Without any big travel plans in 2025, it will be another year to increase my points and miles balances. I look forward to booking a big trip this coming year for 2026. I hope everyone has a great 2025!
