Forget Hyatt: The Hotel Programs Actually Worth Your Points Now + Trip Rebooking CHAOS!

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: ✈️ Track your travel credit cards for free: 💳 Join our free Facebook group (16,000+ members): 🏆 Diamond Patreon (bonus shows + Slack community): 🥇 Gold Membership ($10/mo): 🎧 Podcast: 📖 Miles to Memories website: 👍 Help us reach 10,000 subscribers —

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Forget Hyatt: The Hotel Programs Actually Worth Your Points Now + Trip Rebooking CHAOS! is an episode from Miles to Memories - Fun Side of Miles, Points & Travel by Shawn Coomer.

This episode is 26:33 long.

This episode was published on Mar 17, 2026.

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