Zach Griff’s Ambitious 2025 Travel Vision: Elite Status Insights and Journey Highlights

The year 2024 may well have been my most significant year to date, particularly from a personal standpoint.

In regard to travel, I accumulated over 100,000 miles through 59 flight segments, marking yet another hectic year for me on the move. Some memorable experiences include a skiing adventure in Europe during the winter, a delightful retreat to Greece in the summer, and an early-autumn trip to the Puglia region of Italy.

As a travel blogger and content creator, many of my followers were taken aback when I paused my travels for nearly three months at the end of the year. This certainly had nothing to do with feeling “over” travel.

Actually, upon announcing the arrival of my daughter in late October, it became clear to everyone. I had been eager to share this wonderful news with my community, and thus 2024 certainly concluded with excitement — even if my travels were not as frequent as they had been in the previous five years.

Now that our family has expanded to three, I am beginning to cultivate new perspectives on travel. Below, I will outline some of these insights — including my ambitions for elite status this year — along with my travel statistics from 2024.

Travel statistics for 2024

Total miles traveled: 100,093 (2023: 191,271; 2022: 185,780; 2021: 152,033; 2020: 133,796; 2019: 205,985)

Longest journey: Dubai to New York City (6,832 miles)

Shortest journey: Philadelphia to New York City (80 miles)

Diverse airlines used: 14

Different airports visited: 34

Earned elite statuses: Six (Amtrak Guest Rewards Select Plus, American Airlines AAdvantage Executive Platinum, United Airlines Premier 1K, Hilton Honors Diamond, Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite, World of Hyatt Globalist)

Travel intentions for 2025

Since the birth of my daughter, my outlook on travel has shifted; I have started categorizing my journeys as either family travels or work-related travels.

As I look towards 2025, I am genuinely attempting to embrace the former. Although my daughter is still quite young, I aspire to cultivate in her a passion for travel and discovery so she can come to cherish the wonderful world around us.

I’ll wait a few more months before she begins to comprehend her surroundings, but I am already in the midst of planning trips to visit family in Israel and to prominent cities that offer numerous attractions for children, such as London.

Moreover, as I wish to spend more time at home with her, I am also reevaluating my approach to work-related travels. Previously, whenever an event occurred in a distant location, I’d often turn it into a significant trip.

However, with my current focus on being home, I intend to continue accepting invitations to events, grand openings, inaugural flights, and similar occasions but…

reduce the duration I spend on the road.

For example, late last year, I traveled to San Diego and Boston for the inauguration of the Chase Sapphire Lounge and Delta One Lounge, respectively. What could have been a one- or two-night journey will now become a same-day return trip. (And rest assured; I enjoy airplanes enough to invest ample time dwelling in those metallic tubes.)

This all indicates that you will still witness me traveling in 2025 and sharing updates, but I may just arrive home before you even realize it.

Plans for elite status in 2025

This year, I relinquished one elite status that I had maintained for several consecutive years: JetBlue Mosaic.

I only boarded three flights with JetBlue last year and discovered that the entry-level Mosaic status didn’t significantly enhance my experience. Since JetBlue ceased allowing Mosaics to redeem points for Even More Space seats at favorable rates, I have found little advantage in the most basic Mosaic category.

However, I just completed my inaugural JetBlue flight without Mosaic status and found it rather exasperating to wait on hold for a customer service representative for over an hour (the Mosaic helpline typically answered within minutes). So there’s a chance I might pursue the status if my JetBlue journeys increase this year.

Two of my other longstanding elite statuses are American AAdvantage Executive Platinum and United Premier 1K.

I am presently located in Philadelphia, but I will be relocating back to New York City midway through the year. Therefore, it is logical to keep dividing my primary airline between American and United.

I should mention, though, that I have not found my Executive Platinum status nearly as rewarding as it once was, mainly due to the upgrade situation.

Ever since American started allowing passengers to buy their way to status, I have observed what seems like a significantly greater number of top-tier elite members on my flights. This leads to increased competition for the dwindling number of last-minute, first-class upgrade opportunities. Last year, I utilized cash (or miles) for many of my domestic upgrades, and it is likely I will continue along this path in the upcoming year.

Another frustrating aspect of my loyalty to American has been the scarcity of confirmable upgrade space on long-haul flights. One of the benefits of Executive Platinum status that I highly value is the option to select systemwide upgrades for long-haul journeys.

I accumulated six of these last year but only managed to successfully utilize one.

Nonetheless, I intend to renew my Executive Platinum status this year and then reevaluate next year if it is worthwhile to proceed.

Discussing upgrades, I found far more value from United Premier 1K last year than in quite some time. I was fortunate to have my PlusPoints upgrades clear remarkably often, and if this trend continues, I will be quite content next year. (Pro tip: Schedule long-haul flights during off-peak season.)

The most encouraging news regarding United is that I don’t even need to requalify for my status this year. This is due to the Chicago-based airline unofficially permitting new parents to extend their status for an additional year; if I don’t travel sufficiently with United this year to reach 1K, I will certainly be reaching out to the MileagePlus service center toward the end of the year to …

cash in on this promotion.

When I return to New York, I might contemplate reintroducing Delta Air Lines into my travel plans, but I frequently perceive the Atlanta-based airline’s prices to be steeper than its rivals. Furthermore, the unimpressive SkyMiles redemption rates do not make flying with Delta particularly enticing.

Although I likely won’t journey as much in 2025, I intend to utilize my cobranded credit cards to assist me in bridging the gap to renewing my status. Each of my preferred airlines permits you to earn status through spending, so I’ll ensure to settle my tax obligations and significant purchases with my credit cards throughout the year.

Credit cards also play a crucial role in unlocking hotel status. Like many of my TPG associates, the World of Hyatt loyalty program is undoubtedly my top choice. As a premier Globalist member, I consistently receive excellent service, regular upgrades, and significant benefits during my stays.

Consequently, I’m prepared to do what it takes, including utilizing the World of Hyatt Credit Card, to achieve Globalist status once more next year.

Given that Hyatt properties are not always available in my travel destinations, I also maintain status with Hilton and Marriott for those stays outside of Hyatt.

Maintaining status with those two loyalty programs requires simply holding the appropriate credit card. I don’t intend to cancel my Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card or my Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card this year, thereby sustaining my Diamond and Platinum Elite status, respectively.

The details for the Hilton Amex Aspire card have been gathered independently by The Points Guy. The information presented on this page has not been evaluated or endorsed by the card issuer.

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