Friends,
As the year turns and travel resets, I am thinking about loyalty again. Not just points, but what elite status is actually worth paying attention to as a traveler when a new qualifying year begins.
I ended 2025 in a good place across a few programs. Some of that came from intention and some of it came from circumstance, including where I live, how often I travel, and who I tend to fly or stay with when I do. Like most things in travel, there is always someone far ahead of you and someone who wonders why you care at all.
For me, loyalty still matters, but only when it delivers real value.
On the airline side, my focus this year is American Airlines. I am beginning 2026 as Platinum Pro and my goal is to qualify into Executive Platinum by year end. The reason is simple. OneWorld Emerald status delivers meaningful benefits when traveling internationally, and American still takes (reasonably) good care of you at the top end of the published tiers.
Southwest will continue to be part of my travel mix as well. Living in Dallas makes that almost unavoidable, and A List status remains easy to maintain and genuinely useful. I like Southwest for what it is, even if I am watching their leadership and direction with a bit of skepticism. Convenience counts more than I’d like to admit.
When it comes to hotels, Marriott is largely in a holding pattern for me. I am grateful to have lifetime Platinum status as a backstop, especially given how widespread their footprint is, but it is not a program I am chasing. There are pockets of value, but not enough to justify intentional effort in my opinion.
Hyatt is a different story.
I finished last year qualifying for Globalist the hard way, and I am planning to keep it. The consistency of benefits, the way upgrades are handled, the value of the points themselves, and the overall sense of care still stand out to me. Hyatt knows they have a smaller footprint, and they compete accordingly. If you like hotels and you like the loyalty game, it is hard to beat.
One of the things I enjoy most is finding moments where programs can stack. Recently, that meant booking a Hyatt stay through an American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts rate and still receiving Globalist benefits. The result was a stay that punched far above what I actually paid, and those moments are what keep this interesting for me.
All of this is to say that I am not chasing everything. I am choosing a few lanes and letting the rest be what they are. Loyalty works best when it aligns with how you already travel, not when it forces you into decisions you would not otherwise make.
If you are thinking through your own plans for the year, I hope this gives you a helpful framework. And if you want help planning or booking a trip, especially when it comes to using status, points, or preferred programs well, you know where to find me.
Thanks for being here, and thanks for flying along.
Fly well.
