Oh, hey there. Long time, no see. 👋

It’s Mike here. I just finished a week of… *gulp*…. moving back to Canada.

My life has changed a lot since the last time you heard from me, and the next year is going to be… weird.

But more on that another time. 😉

Let’s talk turkey:

• 🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday

• 💳 Don’t forget about this news

• 🏨 Hyatt’s relationship status is messy

• ✈️ Come learn about transferable points

• 🌎 Travel Trivia Reveal

🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday

💳 Don’t forget about this news

While I was out last week, Capital One surprised us all by dropping an insane new welcome offer on the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card.

You’ll get a $300 credit to use on hotel and vacation rental bookings through Capital One Travel in your first cardholder year AND 75,000 Capital One miles after spending $4,000 in the first three months of opening the card.

Even if you use those miles to offset charges at 1 cent each, that’s still $750 in flat value AND $300 of hotels against a $95 annual fee.

It’s a no-brainer offer. So much so that two years ago when we first saw this offer, I jumped on it immediately. 👇

And back then, the credit was only $250…. So it’s even better now.

Anyway, I think this offer is relevant to basically anyone, so I’d consider it while it’s still around:

🏨 Hyatt’s relationship status is messy

You might've seen that there was a pretty big shakeup in the airline and hotel world last week… in case you missed it, here's the scoop:

American and Hyatt are breaking up… and Hyatt is already seeing someone else. 😏

The breakup

American Airlines and World of Hyatt just announced that they're winding down the partnership they've had since 2019.

And I encourage you to read the press release, because it feels like a legit breakup text… anyway, it’s not all bad news.

The silver lining

The good news is that nothing goes away immediately.

If you want to link your accounts, you have until 11:59 p.m. Central on November 15, 2026 to do so.

World of Hyatt members can keep earning AAdvantage awards through Milestone Rewards until December 31, 2026.

These include things like seat coupons and even decent elite status, so it’s worth being aware of.

AAdvantage members, on the other hand, can keep earning World of Hyatt awards through Loyalty Point Rewards until February 28, 2027.

The real loss here is the reciprocal status challenges, which I was kinda hoping to use sometime soon. Womp womp.

Hyatt got over that relationship FAST

The very same day the AA partnership ended, Hyatt went public with somebody new. 👇

Delta and World of Hyatt announced what they are calling a new, long-term strategic relationship, and it's set to launch “in the coming months” (which basically means they have no idea when).

The headline benefit at launch is something called Dual Earn.

Delta Medallion members will earn SkyMiles on qualifying Hyatt stays, and World of Hyatt elites will earn World of Hyatt points on qualifying Delta flights.

There's also a vague promise of "exclusive experiences" for those with elite status in both programs.

In Delta’s own words:

"Delta's relationship with Hyatt is being built with a different level of ambition."

Ambition? In the travel world?? I like that.

The bottom line

We don't know the finer details of this new partnership just yet, and we don't know if there's any status matching involved, which are the two things that I’m hoping to see.

Once we know more, I’ll give you the lowdown.

For now, link your Hyatt and AA accounts before November 15 if you haven't already, and hop on any benefits you might want before it’s too late.

✈️ Come learn about transferable points

Points and miles are cool, but they’re also really annoying. Over the years, this hobby has gotten so much more complicated than it used to be.

The good news is that once you get the hang of some basic concepts, the rest becomes much, much easier.

One of those concepts is transferable points, which is by far the most valuable way to use credit card points.

This week, we’re hosting a live class called Transfer Points 101, which will teach you all the basics to get you up to speed.

The class is on September 17 at 3pm Eastern time. If that sounds fun to you, register at the link below to save your spot:

🌎 Travel Trivia Reveal

The answer to today’s trivia question is none other than Wyndham, with over 6,000 hotels scattered across the U.S., according to data by Orbit.

That's enough to barely beat out Choice at around 5,900, Marriott at around 5,800, and Hilton at around 5,200.

If we look at things on a global scale, Wyndham actually doesn’t come close to winning. Marriott takes the cake on that front, having just opened its 10,000th hotel (against Wyndham’s 8,400).

And speaking of Wyndham…

Remember a couple months ago when I told you about Wyndham’s upcoming program changes?

Well, those changes go into effect TODAY. Here’s a quick refresher:

The award chart is moving from three tiers to four, at 5,000, 15,000, 30,000, and 45,000 points per night.

The cheapest tier dropped from 7,500 points to 5,000, which is great. But the 45,000-point tier is brand new, which is a bummer. 👇

I wrote a full breakdown of all of it, including the new card lineup and what the math looks like now that the tiers have changed.

That’s it for today, amigos. I’m going back to building IKEA furniture and scrubbing floors, but I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow.

Byeeeeee

43.6532° N, 79.3832° W

With contributions by Sam Anthony and Katie Begnoche.