It’s easy to get swept up in the magic — and craziness — of the holiday season. Between decorating, collecting gifts, and preparing for the New Year, there’s a lot to plan and keep track of in late December. And that’s just those of us who don’t travel for the holidays and have to deal with things like crowded airports and long security lines.
At TPG, the end of the year is usually a time when many of us take inventory of the cards in our wallets and double-check which perks and benefits we haven’t taken advantage of yet. This helps us strategize which cards we will apply for in the coming year and plan future trips.
This got some of us thinking: What if this year isn’t just about making a wish list for kids? And so our 2024 holiday wish list was born.
Related: Our 2025 Credit Card Predictions
Card-specific greetings
Because many of us are frequent travelers, we’re no strangers to cobranded hotel credit cards. Some of our favorites include Hilton American Express honors the Aspire Card Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card and World of Hyatt Credit Cards.
Information for the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has been independently collected by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Most of these cards are part of a suite of products designed for people who stay at Hilton, Marriott and Hyatt properties — even if it’s just one or two nights a year.
Each card offers different ways to earn bonus points on stays with their respective hotel chains, such as free night award certificates and other perks like room upgrades. While these benefits are great, we feel there is some room for improvement. Some things we’d love to see in 2025:
- Hyatt Card Premium entered the global market
- Bonus categories on Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card and Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card (except current for bookings through Capital One Travel)
- A more flexible $300 Capital One travel credit
- A premium Built Mastercard® (even if that means facing an annual fee) that offers benefits and a solid earning rate
- Lounge access (preferably Delta Sky Club lounge access) — without warning — to Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card members
- Ability to earn a consistently elevated rewards rate (rather than on a rolling quarterly basis) on a Chase or American Express card for home improvement purchases Or At home improvement retailers (for example, paint, lumber, appliances, garden supplies, and light bulbs from places like Lowe’s or The Home Depot)
- Return to Restaurant Credit’s credit card Priority Pass membership
- Any credit card issuer comes up with a premium rewards card for people who don’t live in the city (for example, Gopf, Uber, and Lyft credits are essentially useless for people who live in a remote suburb or rural area).
- Expansion of lift benefits at Chase Sapphire Reserve®
- Ability to join a waitlist for Chase Lounge online (instead of at the door)
- Annual/Anniversary Loyalty Bonus on American Express Cards
- More bonus categories at Platinum Card® from American Express
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RELATED: Our 2024 Credit Card Predictions and Trends — What We Got Right and Wrong
Loyalty program and wishes of points and miles
When it comes to airline and hotel loyalty rewards programs, TPG staff like to see things like:
- Hyatt got rid of Club Access awards for Globalists and replaced them with something more useful
- More useful benefits at Hyatt’s Explorer status level
- Wells Fargo Rewards and/or Citi ThankYou Rewards Air Canada adds Aeroplan as a transfer partner
- Free breakfast for IHG One Rewards Platinum Elite members
- Guaranteed late checkout until at least 2pm for Hilton Diamond, Wyndham Diamond and IHG Diamond Elite members
- IHG lets you apply for suite upgrade certificates online instead of needing to call up to 14 days before your stay
- Hyatt offers a true award calendar that shows availability rather than just price
- Eliminates expiration of Hyatt free night awards
- Delta brings back rollovers for medallion qualification dollars
- A fifth or sixth night is free on a Hyatt award (even if it’s only for cardholders or elite members).
Related: How to travel safely with Christmas presents
Additionally, some employees mentioned that they would like the ability to convert Citi ThankYou Rewards points to AAdvantage miles, while others disagreed because doing so could devalue AAdvantage miles. We also want Capital One to add one of the big four US airlines as a transfer partner in 2025.
The bottom line
The credit card, loyalty program, and points and miles landscape continues to evolve. At TPG, we’re always speculating about what’s in the pipeline about our loyalty programs and the benefits featured on the cards in our wallets – especially at the end of each year.
As we all gear up for the busy holiday season, we thought we’d try our own holiday wish list to see what might stick in the year ahead. Here’s hoping some of our wishes come true.