Weekly Review: September 14, 2019

My dad, Ford, and I, just returned from our incredible surprise birthday trip to South Africa. We had so much fun, though after being gone for over two weeks it’s also nice to be home again. I’ll continue rolling out the trip report over the coming days, and can’t wait to share all the details.

On the points & travel front, this week Hyatt introduced a new promo offering up to triple points, Hilton introduced a new bonus on purchased points, Marriott introduced peak and off-peak award pricing, a pilot strike grounded British Airways, two new airlines announced Paris to Newark flights, and more.

With that out of the way, here’s a recap of this week on the blog:

Featured Stories

New Hyatt Promo Offers Up To Triple Points

With World of Hyatt’s new Bonus Journeys promotion, you can earn up to triple points:

• Earn triple World of Hyatt points for stays at all Hyatt Place properties
• Earn double points at all other Hyatt hotels and resorts; this even includes M life Rewards destinations, as well as Small Luxury Hotels of the World properties

Note that you only start earning bonus points with this promotion starting with your second stay. With your first stay you’ll earn points as usual.

Why I Kinda Hate Flying Business Class With My Dad (But Not Really)

I’m sorry for the pause in the trip report for my dad’s surprise trip. We’re just wrapping up an incredible 2.5 week trip for my dad’s birthday, which has been so fun.

I intended to make the report as “live” as possible, but seven hours of game drives per day while on safari really didn’t leave much time to dedicate to trip reports, given how much time they take to write.

The good news is that we’re now headed back to the US, so I hope to publish the remainder of the report quickly. I’m sad that this trip is over, but I’m also excited to never eat and drink again (forget a lion eating a whole zebra, they feed humans more than that while on safari).

When Should You Downgrade A Credit Card?

I spend a lot of time on the blog talking about applying for credit cards, though that’s potentially not the only way that you can acquire a credit card that might be on your radar.

In this post, I wanted to talk about another method for doing so, which is product changing your credit card. More specifically, I wanted to focus on “downgrading” to another credit card, in particular cards without annual fees.

This is especially useful when you’re trying to create the perfect credit card portfolio and are finding yourself faced with bank restrictions, like Chase’s 5/24 rule.

TIPS: Earning Miles & Promos

Southwest Airlines Plus Card Review (2019)
Hilton Honors Promo: Earn Up To Triple Points (Now Live)
New AAdvantage Aviator Red Mastercard Bonus: 60K Miles + Companion Certificate
Hard Pass: American’s New Promo On Purchased Miles
New Hyatt Promo Offers Up To Triple Points
Today Only: Buy United Miles With 100% Bonus
Virgin Atlantic Credit Card Review (2019)
Transfer Hotel Points To Aeroplan With 30% Bonus
Hilton’s Biggest Ever Bonus On Purchased Points
LifeMiles Offering Bonus On Purchased Miles
New Southwest Credit Card 60K Bonuses: Which Is Best?
When Should You Downgrade A Credit Card?
Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Card Review (2019)
Qatar Airways Business Class Fare Sale From The US
Buy Alaska Miles With Up To 50% Bonus
Amex Business Green Card Has A New Bonus
Buy Choice Privileges Points For 30% Off
Revealed: Chase Freedom Q4 2019 Bonus Categories
Earn Bonus Points For InterContinental Stays
Incredible New Bonus On IHG Credit Card
Citi Double Cash Card To Earn ThankYou Points
Four Seasons Hawaii Resorts & Promotions [2019]

TRICKS: Redeeming Miles

LifeMiles’ Star Alliance Award Sale (Including For First Class)
Caution: Amex To Aeroplan Transfers Limited To Once Daily
Amex Fixed Points Travel Program (Canada)
Marriott Introducing Peak Award Pricing (And More)
How Much Are Ultimate Rewards Points Worth? (2019)

TRAVEL With Ben (Lucky)

Airline Twitter Humor: Lexus & Poppers Edition
Why I Kinda Hate Flying Business Class With My Dad (But Not Really)
“American Airlines Doesn’t Want Us To Help”
Qatar Airways Super Wifi: How Good Is It?

REVIEWS & Trip Reports

Review: The Beekman Hotel, New York City
Review: Air France La Premiere Lounge Paris

NEWS & Updates

The World’s 15 Longest Flights (2019)
Ouch: Pilot Strike Grounds British Airways
Delta’s New Tokyo Haneda Flights Now On Sale
Equifax Settlement: More Hoops To Jump Through
Sad: Cathay Pacific Cutting New York To Vancouver Flight
Spirit Airlines Introducing More Comfortable Seats?!
Virgin Atlantic’s Sao Paulo Flights Launch March 2020
Lufthansa’s Next North American Destination Is…
Rumor: Delta Keeping 717s Through 2030, Installing TVs
Ouch: British Airways Pilots Lose Flight Benefits After Strike
Park Hyatt Auckland Accepting Reservations
Royal Air Maroc Launching Flights To Beijing
Uh Oh: Cathay Pacific Cutting Flights Due To Weak Demand
Corsair Launching Paris To Newark Flights
Lufthansa Blocks A320neo Seats Over Center Of Gravity Issues
Ethiopian Airlines Launching Houston Flights (For Real This Time?!)
LOL: Qatar Airways Considering TAAG Angola Investment
French Bee Launching Paris To New York Flights
Kenyan Lawmaker Wants To Combat Airplane Farting
LATAM’s New Business Class Now On Two 777s
“The House” Lounges Join Priority Pass… With A Big Catch
British Airways Cancels Flights Ahead Of Next Pilot Strike
United Downgrades All Flights To Hong Kong

I hope everyone has a great rest of the weekend!