Next summer, Singapore Airlines also has excellent award availability on routes from North America to Singapore and beyond. You will want to redeem points from Aeroplan to take advantage of the cheapest deals (87,500 points each way). These won’t last long.
Don’t miss out on 2023 loyalty and credit card perks
The Platinum Card from American Express offers lots of seasonal benefits, but they must be used within a certain timeframe. For example, there is the $100 Saks Fifth Avenue credit ($50 in the first half of the year, $50 in the second) that needs to be used before the end of December. Another Amex benefit you must use or lose is the $200 airline credit. Cardholders must designate their preferred airline at the start of the year, but you have the entire year to use it. This is your last chance to spend the $200 on things like inflight snacks, bags, or even bonus miles at check-in.
If you achieved elite status with airlines like American and Delta, they offer threshold awards (rewards you get for achieving a new level of status) that allow you to choose benefits like upgrade certificates and bonus miles. You will need to select these before the deadline though, and for many of these programs, December or January are the last chances to do so.
Looking ahead, World of Hyatt just announced some major changes to its Milestone Rewards (the benefits you receive for reaching certain stay or spending thresholds). New for 2024 is the ability to gift your status to someone else for a particular stay, a perk the loyalty program calls Guest of Honor, and more options to choose from when earning a reward. They include credits for Hyatt’s FIND Experiences program as well as a free night certificate to use at a Hyatt property.
Members in Ennismore’s Dis-Loyalty program have some creative competitions and prizes up for grabs this month as part of its Dis-Loyalty Drops campaign. On December 9, the first four members to arrive to one of its London hotels (the brand will reveal the address that day on social media) with a packed suitcase and passport will win an immediate getaway for two aboard a Eurostar train to either Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, or Lille with dinner and hotel included. Even if you’re not in London, members can win a free annual membership to Dis-Loyalty (major travel discounts and free coffee every day of the year, which normally costs about $183) on December 21 and a designer suitcase from Scandinavian outdoor brand Db.
Buy your way to elite status
If you are short of elite status earning for the year, not all hope is lost (at least with some travel brands). American Airlines awards Loyalty Points for using its online shopping mall for holiday shopping or by registering for offers via its SimplyMiles platform. This is the only airline program that gives out next year’s elite status based on this year’s spending. But you will need to have one of American’s co-branded credit cards to benefit from SimplyMiles.
If you want to buy miles, some airlines make that an option too. United has its Premier Accelerator program, which gives members the chance to purchase additional elite-qualifying status points to get them to the next elite tier. For those that favor flying private, Delta’s new partnership with Wheels Up doles out Medallion status to members that fund an account for flights in the coming the year.
