Good evening everyone, happy Wednesday Thursday Friday (or whatever day it is). I hope you enjoyed reading How Right (& Wrong) were my 2024 Airline, Hotel & Credit Card Predictions? Admittedly, my track record on making accurate predictions is pretty bad, but I decided to play Monday Morning Quarterback and take a loooooong look back at travel predictions I made over the last 7 years. I dusted off my prediction archives and found 8 predictions that came true, but just a couple years too late. Here they are:
2017 predictions that came true too late:
- Alaska Airlines will introduce a new level of elite status (maybe MVP Gold 100K?) – Alaska Airlines added MVP Gold 100K elite status in January 2022 (link).
- Citi will stop issuing the Citi Prestige and focus more on improving the Citi Premier. – Citi stopped accepting applications for the Citi Prestige in July 2021 (link) and rebranded the Citi Strata Premier in May 2024 (link).
2018 predictions that came true too late:
- Southwest Airlines will increase their Transfarency by automatically keeping track of travel funds in each account. – Southwest Airlines implemented this feature in July 2022 (link).
2022 predictions that came true too late:
- Choice will allow you to book award stays online for Preferred Hotels & Resorts properties. – Preferred Hotels & Resorts are bookable online with Choice points, effective March 2024, but there are still some bugs to work out (link).
2023 predictions that came true too late:
- American Airlines or Alaska Airlines will be added as a transfer partner from a transferable points currency. – Alaska Airlines was added as a Bilt transfer partner in May 2024 (link).
- Bank of America will introduce a premium Alaska Airlines credit card with new perks and features. – The new credit card was announced recently and will come out in the Summer 2025 (link).
- Citi will increase the annual fee on the Citi Premier Credit Card, but bring back travel protections and introduce new perks. – The rebranded Citi Strata Premier brought back trip delay protection, trip cancellation & interruption protection, and lost or damaged luggage in May 2024 (link).
- Wells Fargo will introduce a new credit card that has a transferable points currency. – Transfer partners were added to the Wells Fargo Autograph and Autograph Journey cards in April 2024 (link).
My success with these predictions is in line with the quote, “A broken clock is right twice a day” which is pretty close to my usual success rate on predictions. I have my 2025 predictions ready to go and will publish that post on Sunday morning. Thanks for reading and have a great weekend everyone!
P.S. To read more, check out my old prediction posts here.
Another great “Predictions” article. I can’t wait to see your prognostications for 2025.
Philly and I are watching the Razorbacks on TV now. We head to New Orleans next week for the ND game. We’ll be rooting for your Boise State Broncos against Penn St too. Maybe it’ll be ND vs Boise in the semifinals. That would be fun.
On the points and miles front, I should note that we were able to use an AA Companion Cert from Philly’s Barclays card to great effect, to offset exorbitant fares to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl. That was very valuable. The CFP playoffs also starkly illustrate the value of having a bankroll of various points & miles currencies. I’ve been able to use points & miles to make fully refundable plans for all of the games throughout the playoff, in case the Irish continue to advance. It’s quite a blessing to have that kind of flexibility.
I am rooting for your Razorbacks and ND teams. Good luck! I’m hoping Boise State goes far and plays well. Disappointed that Ashton jeanty didn’t win the Heisman.
Good work booking those refundable hotels and award flights. You will have a great time at the game next week :)