Year End Planning Checklist

12 snips

Dec 12, 2025

Dive into year-end travel strategies with creative tips for reaching Delta Diamond status just in time. Explore a paid status match with Royal Air Maroc and the impacts of Turkish Miles&Smiles devaluation. Discover Capital One’s transfer ratio changes and how they affect redemptions. Don’t miss key updates on expiring statement credits, essential spending thresholds for free nights, and elite status deadlines. Plus, hear personal travel updates and card strategies to maximize rewards before the year wraps up!

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ADVICE

Finish MQDs With Targeted Spend

If you're short on MQDs, consider same-day round trips, buying MQDs, or getting a Delta card for MQD boosts before year-end.
Prepay seasonal spending like taxes and gifts on the card to hit the $5,000 threshold efficiently.

INSIGHT

Paid OneWorld Status Match Opportunity

Royal Air Maroc offers paid status matches to OneWorld tiers that last through December 31, 2026.
The $349 Gold match (OneWorld Sapphire) is the practical sweet spot for lounge access.

INSIGHT

Turkish Hawaii Sweet Spot Shrinks

Turkish Miles&Smiles devalued partner awards to Hawaii, raising economy to 25k and business to 40k.
The change kills a longstanding domestic-to-Hawaii sweet spot but still leaves usable rates if availability exists.

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Episode 150 of the Award Travel 101 Podcast focuses heavily on year-end strategy, with Mike Zaccheo and moderator Cameron Laufer walking through news, bonuses, trip updates, and the annual housekeeping travelers should tackle before December 31. They open by highlighting a community post about someone just 500 MQDs short of Delta Diamond and discuss creative last-minute options—same-day turn flights, buying MQDs, or leveraging Delta credit card boosts. News items include Royal Air Maroc’s new status match (valid through 2026), a significant Turkish Miles&Smiles partner award devaluation, and Capital One’s upcoming transfer-ratio cut to Emirates. Mike and Cameron also share their own card bonus pursuits and recent travel planning, including Mike’s NYC trip and Cameron’s Singapore Airlines business-class redemption and new Hyatt Globalist status.

The main segment dives into year-end planning across credits, spending, and elite status. Mike reviews the long list of expiring statement credits—hotel credits from Amex, Chase, and Citi; airline incidental credits; and category-specific perks like Amex Dell/Saks/Resy and Hilton’s monthly credits. Cameron covers annual spending thresholds, including Hilton free night certificate triggers, Hyatt spend-based nights, Amex Platinum’s 75K spend for guest lounge access. They also outline status deadlines, reminding listeners that most airline and hotel elite metrics close December 31.

Rounding out the episode, the hosts discuss point pooling and transfer limits—noting strict annual caps for Citi ThankYou, Marriott, and Hilton—plus considerations around buying points and credit-card strategy like triple-dipping and 5/24 checks. The “Tip of the Week” advises booking Alaska Airlines partner awards (such as those operated by AA) under “other person” so you can later manage the reservation directly through American Airlines.

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Reserve tickets to our Spring 2026 Meetup in Phoenix now. award.travel/phx2026

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