2024 Year In Review
- Garrett Falcone
- Dec 31
- 5 min read
Updated: Feb 17
The first half of 2024 was as busy a 6 month stretch as I can remember. Between work, class, and a couple personal trips I was on the road nearly every week. Thankfully, I was able to enjoy the Chicago summer as I traveled much less in the second half of the year - a couple work trips and a handful of weddings.
Our hotel branded credit cards came in handy this year with how many weddings we had. The free night certificates make the annual fee worth it in my opinion and we utilized 8 free night certificates this year.
World of Hyatt continues to be my favorite hotel loyalty program and I feel that top-tier Globalist status is much more valuable than the top-tier status of Hilton or Marriott. Free breakfast at the Park Hyatt New York alone was worth over $100 per day.
Over the last couple of years I've found myself utilizing the Flying Blue program more and more to book flights across the Atlantic. I've often found incredibly cheap Economy tickets and more often than not, have been able to cancel and re-book to a business ticket as I get within two weeks of the flight.
With a couple of international work trips, I was able to re-qualify for United 1K status for 2025. However, next year's requirements will see an increase to 28,000 PQP. While I agree there have ben far too many 1Ks since COVID and something needed to be done, unfortunately I might be part of the group that loses status - we will see what 2025 has in store!
Contents
2024 flights courtesy of MyFlightRadar24
London
Big Ben - London, United Kingdom 2024
For the second year in a row, we kicked off the year with a long weekend trip to Portugal with some friends, this time to Lisbon. But, first we stopped in London for a couple days to visit some friends there.
We originally had incredibly cheap economy flights on Air France that cost only 11,250 Flying Blue points each, but our flights ended up being changed just the day before. Fortunately, we were able to snag a couple of business seats on United for just 60,000 Avianca Lifemiles (transferred from Citi Thank You) each. We were also able to get a room at my favorite London hotel, the Conrad London St. James for just 80,000 Hilton points a night.
Lisbon
Belem Tower - Lisbon, Portugal 2024
Our second annual friends trip to Portugal was just as fun as the first, filled with great food and good wine!
I had booked a flight back on Iberia Business using 30,000 Avios (transferred from Chase), but since this flight was also changed I was able to switch on British Airways Business for no extra charge, an upgrade in my opinion.
I had a couple of expring Marriott free night certificates (up to 35,000 points) which we were able to use at the Memmo Princípe Real, a boutique hotel we really enjoyed although they did not have a gym.
Hawaii
Napali Coast - Kauai 2024
We planned a trip to Hawaii nearly a year ago solely because there was award availability open at both the Grand Hyatt Kauai and the Andaz Maui, a couple Hyatt hotels that are incredible redemption properties but also notoriously difficult to find availability at.
This was our first time to Kauai and we had a great time adventuring around the island. We then followed that up with a few relaxing days on the beach in Maui.
Germany
Koblenz - Germany 2024
I've been to Germany countless times for work - the Frankfurt airport is actually my third most visited airport in the world. But, it's always been for work and although this time was for a class, we did have the chance for some fun activities like an evening boat ride on the Rhine.
Las Vegas
The Palm - Las Vegas 2024
I was in Las Vegas for a work event and Gwen was able to come out to spend the weekend. With MGM switching from Hyatt to Marriott, the only Hyatt hotel left on the strip is the Rio which is undergoing a significant rennovation. While I wouldn't recommend this hotel to anyone (at least not yet), it does present an incredible value for Hyatt status as rooms during the week can go for less than $100/night. Additionally, we were able to take advantage of the new hotels promotion offering an extra 500 points per night.
Brussels
Grand-Place - Brussels, Belgium 2024
I had another work trip to London for a few days and then Brussels for two days. This was my first time in Belgium (outside of the airport) and although there wasn't much time for sightseeing, I was able to spend an evening walking around the city center.
San Jose
Lovers Point - California 2024
One of the weddings we attended over the summer was near San Jose and we had some time to drive down to Santa Cruz and Carmel-by-the-Sea. Flying into San Francisco, we were able to get Economy tickets on the way there for 17,000 United miles and First on the way home for 50,000 United miles. We were also able to use 3 Hyatt free night certficates at the Hyatt House Cupertino.
New York
Park Hyatt New York - New York 2024
We spent 3 days in New York to attend the US Open and were able to check out another hotel that's been high on my list to visit. At category 8, the Park Hyatt New York was 45,000 Hyatt points per night, but it was absolutely worth it. We were also able to get some cheap Economy tickets for 32,000 United miles roundtrip.
Charlotte
Mint Museum - Charlotte 2024
We had another wedding in Charlotte at the Mint Museum where we were able to utilize a couple of Marriott free night certificates at the JW Marriott Charlotte. Flights were also only 6,000 American miles each way.
Puerto Rico
La Parguera - Puerto Rico 2024
We wrapped up the year with a friends trip to Puerto Rico, spending time on the west side of the island this trip. We were able to book an Economy ticket on United and upgrade to First using Plus Points on the way there and coming back we found an Economy ticket for 8,000 American miles.
In Summary
Hyatt continues to be my favorite hotel program that I still find a ton of value from, especially when it comes to luxury hotel stays on points.
The free nights that come with hotel co-branded credit cards came in handy with all the weddings we had this year.
I've utilized Flying Blue frequently to book incredibly cheap Economy tickets to Europe on points, plus most major credit card points transfer with frequent bonuses.
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