Why Mark Abandoned Istanbul

Want to work with us? Reach out! inquiries at milestomemories dot com Hyatt just dropped five new pricing tiers on their award chart — and it's got Shawn and Mark rethinking their entire hotel strategy. Plus: Mark had to scrap his Istanbul trip, rebook his whole Europe itinerary using Aeroplan, LifeMiles, Delta SkyMiles, and Bilt credits, and lived to tell the tale. And yes — the LifeMiles call center almost broke him. **What we cover:** - Hyatt's award chart devaluation: five new tiers and what it actually means for redemptions - Why Hyatt's value proposition was always about consistency and Chase earning (not footprint) - Mark's current hotel rankings: Hilton free night certs, IHG's underrated card refresh, and Accor's flexible points - Choice Hotels and why Benjy's going to be thrilled - The Hilton Surpass card: still the best mid-tier hotel card and why - Hyatt free night certs — are they actually worth more now post-devaluation? - Why Mark abandoned Istanbul and pivoted to Warsaw two weeks before the trip - Rebuilding the whole itinerary: 70K Aeroplan on Turkish, 8K United miles Istanbul-Warsaw, 25K Delta SkyMiles on Air France business, and Bilt credits for the Sheraton - Turkish Airlines IT nightmare: can't check in, ticket number mismatch, and the LifeMiles call center hangup saga - RyanAir reality check: what Americans need to know about weight limits and bag rules - The case for travel flexibility and why points make last-minute pivots actually possible 📧 Free newsletter: https://milestomemories.us3.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=39c6737d725a04fea73324680&id=1e73edd8c8 ✈️ Track your travel credit cards for free: https://milestomemories.boardingarea.com/go/travel-freely-eop/ 💳 Join our free Facebook group (16,000+ members): https://www.facebook.com/groups/1164408426942519 🏆 Diamond Patreon (bonus shows + Slack community): https://www.patreon.com/milestomemories 🥇 Gold Membership ($10/mo): https://www.patreon.com/milestomemories 🎧 Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/is/podcast/mtm-travel-the-fun-side-of-points-travel/id1476287601 📖 Miles to Memories website: http://milestomemories.com 👍 Help us reach 10,000 subscribers — subscribe if you haven't already! Are you sticking with Hyatt after the devaluation, or have you already moved on? Let us know what hotel program is your go-to right now! #MilesToMemories #MilesAndPoints #CreditCards #Hyatt #HotelPoints #TravelHacking Episode Description: 0:00 - Welcome to MTM Travel 0:22 - Shawn's MGM Grand stay via Chase Edit 1:54 - Hyatt devaluation breakdown 3:06 - What Hyatt got right (and wrong) — Mark's take 3:51 - Mark's hotel program rankings today 4:44 - Hilton free night certs vs. Marriott vs. Hyatt 5:08 - Breaking down hotel point values the right way 5:52 - Hilton credit card strategy + IHG's underrated refresh 7:49 - Accor: the most flexible points redemption nobody talks about 8:36 - IHG value vs. Hilton, Wyndham, and Choice Hotels 9:02 - Why Choice is underrated (Benjy was right) 9:24 - Elite status: who does it best and worst 10:27 - The Radisson/Club Carlson BOGO nostalgia lesson 10:49 - Hyatt guest of honor and the 60-night question 11:22 - Hilton Surpass: best mid-tier card and why 11:51 - Hyatt free night certs — still worth it? 12:14 - Don't sleep on Wyndham or Choice via Citi ThankYou points 12:53 - Hilton Las Vegas credits — Shawn finally got the memo 13:54 - Mark's Istanbul pivot: why he bailed on the original plan 14:33 - Turkish Airlines IT nightmare: can't check in, ticket number chaos 16:50 - LifeMiles call center: the hangup heard 'round the world 19:26 - The full rebooked itinerary: Warsaw, RyanAir, Air France business, Bilt Sheraton 23:10 - Rebuilding home leg: Aer Lingus business + LifeMiles to Detroit 24:35 - The real lesson: points make travel flexibility possible 25:25 - What are you doing with Hyatt? Let us know Advertiser Disclosure: This site/channel is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site/channel (including, for example, the order in which they appear). This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers.