Cheap awards to Hawaii are no more, but plenty of opportunity still exists (Week in Review)

The Turkish sweet spot to Hawaii is one of the examples I’ll always point to about why it pays to dig into this hobby. For years, it was possible to book economy class awards on United Airlines to and from Hawaii for just 7,500 miles each way (and later 10,000 miles each way….but now 25,000 miles each way). I’m irrationally sad to see that sweet spot evaporate with no advance notice, but I take plenty of consolation in the fact that many readers were able to put that deal to use, in some cases multiple times. It wasn’t necessarily easy (sometimes, it was downright frustrating), but the juice was worth the squeeze. I’ve heard from one reader who took advantage of it more than a dozen times, truly making the most of it while it lasted.

While I’ll mourn the loss of that opportunity, I still can’t help but feel fortunate for this hobby that puts multiple trips to far-flung places within reach. From Greg’s uses of miles and points this year to Tim’s review of the Park Hyatt Zanzibar and my own recent travels, I can’t help but still feel giddy for the opportunities that exist thanks to what feels like the grown-up version of monopoly money in credit card rewards. I type this post from Rovaniemi, Finland, enjoying my third time at Santa Claus Holiday Village thanks to the ability to get here with miles and points. Devaluations will continue to happen, but so will new opportunities arise.

This week on the Frequent Miler blog…

End of year checklist for 2025

The end of the year is near: don’t wait until the last minute to take advantage of your calendar-year and quarterly coupon credits and wrap up your elite status plans. Also, carefully consider the opportunity to triple-dip coupons on newly-opened cards; December can be the most lucrative time of year to consider a new credit card when the offer is right, and the coupons can be put to good use. This post covers most of what you need to remember in the coming weeks.

Is it worth hoarding points? | Coffee Break Ep80 | 12-2-25 | Podcast

Speaking of opening new cards in December, does it make sense to open a new card for a big offer even if you don’t need the points right away? On this week’s Coffee Break, Greg and I discuss how having a good quantity of excess points on hand helps us strike while the iron is hot.

No more Turkish Delight: Domestic United awards go up again

Sadly, the proverbial iron has cooled when it comes to using Turkish Miles & Smiles for United Airlines flights, with domestic economy awards jumping up in price, particularly those flights to and from Hawaii that used to be a show-stopping deal with Turkish miles. I am sad to see the incredible Turkish-for-United-to-Hawaii sweet spot end, but I don’t think that any of us would have predicted it persisting as a sweet spot for six years after we originally reported it back in 2019. Hopefully, many readers were able to strike during the prolonged period when the iron was hot on that deal. Nonetheless, it stings for Turkish to devalue with no advance notice. I understand that prices will rise. And in this instance, I wouldn’t be surprised if United were a driving force in changing this. Still, changing an award chart without any advance notice will always feel wrong to me.

Real world: How I used points to fly in 2025

Thankfully, there are still many great ways to use miles and points in 2025. In this post, Greg lays out which miles he used to book trips in 2025. In the process, he points out a couple of great sweet spot uses that still exist (though keep in mind the devaluation coming to Amex transfers to Cathay Pacific). At the end of this post, Greg mentioned that he booked many “placeholder flights” with miles from AA, Alaska, Delta, and JetBlue since those airlines allow for cancellation without penalty. One addendum I’d like to add there: Remember that while JetBlue allows for free award cancellation, they do not refund the taxes but rather hold them as JetBlue Travel Bank credit (which expires 12 months from the date of booking!). While that won’t matter much for most folks on domestic awards, I was about to book a placeholder international award with JetBlue miles the other day when I realized that the ~$800 I would pay in taxes and fees would be tied up in a JetBlue flight credit if I cancelled. Stick to those other programs if you’re booking international placeholder flights.

Omni Hotels & Resorts added as Mesa transfer partner

In hotel redemption news, Mesa has added another unique transfer partner: Omni Hotels & Resorts. To my knowledge, this marks the first time that Omni has partnered with a transferable points system. You’ll need to redeem 30,000 Mesa points in order to get a free night with Omni (30,000 Mesa points gives you 100 Omni credits, which is enough for a free night at any Omni). You’ll only want to make that redemption when cash rates are high (to beat our Reasonable Redemption Value, cash rates would need to be north of $390 per night), but I’m sure there are instances where this could be a valuable transfer partner, particularly because competition for Omni free nights is probably quite low.

Eat out, earn more: Guide to card-linked dining programs for airlines, hotels & more

Competition for your dining dollars remains strong. There are many dining programs on the market, from airlines to hotels to transferable points systems. This post gives you the rundown on which programs are most valuable, and it has been updated with the latest bonus offers from a couple of the airline dining programs.

The St. Regis Bora Bora: Fantastic service, but disappointing overall

I recently spent the better part of two weeks in French Polynesia, with part of that trip including a return to the St. Regis Bora Bora. While I would gladly return to French Polynesia, I’m not sure I’d go back to the St. Regis again. Service is terrific, but it very much feels like a resort clinging to the memory of its glory days. The staff is excellent, but at the price point they command because of location, the ownership probably needs toarec invest some of its profit margin in improvement of the grounds and facilities.

Park Hyatt Zanzibar: Bottom Line Review

I’ve long had my eye on the Park Hyatt Zanzibar, so I was really glad to get Tim’s take on it. I’d heard mixed reviews, but Tim’s review gave me far more context: I think the less favorable reviews I’d read were likely from those expecting an isolated luxury beach hotel rather than a Park Hyatt in a bustling town that happens to also be on a beach. While I like the isolated beach resort now and then, I also love how miles and points can put you in the heart of the action of a place you’re excited to visit. Tim’s review convinced me that if and when I get to Zanzibar, I’ll probably plan on at least a few nights here.

The lowest hotel ratings we’re willing to book | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep335 | 12-5-25

On this week’s Frequent Miler on the Air, we kick off with discussion of the week’s miles and points highlights and lowlights, including some painful recent devaluation news. Then, for this week’s Main Event, we have our monthly Ask Us Anything episode. We run our Ask Us Anything on the first Wednesday of every month on Youtube, so if you have questions, you can tune in live on the first Wednesday of the month at 9pm Eastern — or listen here in podcast form.

Rewards for Charitable Giving

If you’re planning some charitable giving this holiday / end-of-year season, and you didn’t listen to our recent podcast episode about charitable giving, you’ll want to check out t post where Greg gives you easy bullet points for maximizing both your rewards for giving and your impact by finding opportunities that won’t cost your recipient more to receive the gift.

How to book Leading Hotels of the World with points (Video)

Leading Hotels of the World is one of the reasons we have been bullish on Citi points as of late. However, this program gets less attention both because of the exclusivity with Citi and what initially feels like a slightly less straightforward search experience. In this video, Greg walks us through how to book Leading Hotels of the World with points — in the end, it isn’t all that difficult and the value can be excellent.

That’s it for this week at Frequent Miler. Keep an eye on this week’s last chance deals and hop on them before they’re gone.

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