As predicted at the beginning of the year, this year was a really quiet one for me. In fact, I only went on one trip in 2023, which was a short hop to the Big Island. Otherwise, I haven’t traveled and haven’t really even dined out. With that said, let’s get this 2023 in-review post going.
In my 2023 outlook post, I mentioned that I may not travel at all this year because I started a new job at the beginning of the year and because I had a shift in financial priorities. Both of those remain true today – I’m nearly one year into my new job and am loving it, while I’m continuing to prioritize other things in life, which, unfortunately, comes at the expense of traveling. But that’s ok.
2023 In-Review
While 2023 was much quieter than last year, I’m still grateful for the travel I did get to do – my Big Island Bird-Watching adventure. Of course, I was supposed to have two intra-Hawaii trips this year, the Big Island one and one to Maui in September. But we all know what happened in Maui this past August, which triggered the cancellation of my September trip. Sure, I could’ve kept it and shifted to another hotel elsewhere on the island, but September was too soon, and I was set on checking out the Hyatt Regency Maui.
Ironically, that trip was going to take place thanks to the Southwest Airlines free flight vouchers I won last year. But since I had already gone to the Big Island earlier in the year, I had no further use for the vouchers and ended up giving them to my parents to burn.
My 2023 Statistics
Of course, this couldn’t be a 2023 in-review post without going over my (measly) travel stats:
Miles Flown
- Hawaiian Airlines: 216 miles
- Southwest Airlines: 216 miles
- Total: 432 miles
Hotel Nights
- Hilton: 2 nights
- Marriott: 1 night (award)
Rental Car Days
- Avis: 3 days
Despite not traveling, I managed to accrue 15 elite qualifying nights in Marriott Bonvoy and five in World of Hyatt, thanks to their respective credit cards. That isn’t nearly enough to do, well, anything in either program, but it’s something. Further, I wasn’t able to use my World of Hyatt Lounge Pass from last year because I rescheduled my Hyatt Regency Maui stay for next year, so I’m losing out on that benefit earned in 2022. But since we’re on the topic of status, let’s cover that next in my 2023 in-review post.
Hotels
- Hilton Honors: Gold
- Marriott Bonvoy: Lifetime Platinum
- MGM Rewards: Gold
- World of Hyatt: Explorist
Airlines
- Alaska Airlines: none
- Hawaiian Airlines: none
- Southwest Airlines: none
Rental Car
- National: Executive
Yeah, not much has changed here. That said, it’s worth reminding that MGM Rewards left its partnership with World of Hyatt and joined Marriott Bonvoy this past October (it seems things have been delayed to “early 2024”). As such, my time as a World of Hyatt Explorist is going to be short-lived. I’ll keep status through 2024, but after that, I’ll drop down to Discoverist.
Credit Card Statistics
Despite my lack of travel this year, card earnings didn’t get impacted too much – my spending patterns just shifted a bit. So, next in my 2023 in-review post, let’s go over points/miles earned.
- Alaska Airlines Visa Signature: 3,386 miles
- American Airlines Mile Up: 63 miles
- Amex EveryDay: 0 points
- Apple Card: $11.28 ($86.28 with sign-up bonus)
- Chase Freedom Flex: 21,166 points
- Chase Freedom Unlimited: 26,384 points
- Chase Sapphire Reserve: 8,983 points
- Hilton: 0 points
- Hilton Surpass: 11,083 points
- Marriott Bonvoy Bold: 0 points
- Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority: 17,684 points
- World of Hyatt Visa: 11,787 points
In case you’re keeping score, I earned 56,533 Ultimate Rewards points this year with Chase. It’s worth noting that most of the Hyatt and Southwest earnings were thanks to 5x bonus offers I had throughout the year, whereas all other cards earned at their usual rate. Also, I wasn’t kidding when I said I wouldn’t put any spend on my Marriott card anymore – I’m no longer chasing status with them, nor am I going after aspirational stays with any of their hotels, so there’s no incentive for me to use the card anymore, which is also why it was downgraded from the Premier.
In all honesty, I probably shouldn’t be putting much spend on the Hilton cards, either, as Hilton Honors points have the poorest value of any currency I hold. Even if I dumped all my spending on that card this year, I wouldn’t be able to earn enough points to spend even one night in a hotel I want to stay in.
2023 In-Review, Final Thoughts
I’d say my 2023 in-review isn’t too shabby, especially considering I barely traveled. I know, I know. The irony, eh? This is a travel blog, after all. Unfortunately, this will likely be the status quo for the time being. That said, points and miles will play an even bigger role in what travel I do end up doing, and I’ll need to refine my strategy more to make future travel possible. How I’ll do that? I haven’t decided yet. One thing’s for sure: I should probably stop putting spend on my Hilton card
Good call on Marriott and really also on Hilton. So done with those guys. Independent hotels and Hyatts are the goal for me.
Thanks for reading! Seriously, those two seem to be racing to see who can be worse nowadays. I try to avoid Hiltons as much as possible, but Marriott is a brand I’ll likely end up staying with here and there when Hyatts aren’t an option in the area.
Seems to be a growing consensus. It’s too bad that neither company seems to care!