Good afternoon everyone and let me be the first (or maybe the tenth) to wish you a very happy New Year! Fresh off the heels of reviewing my 2025 travel predictions (including 7 wins and plenty of misses), it’s time to look ahead. From airlines and hotels to credit cards and loyalty programs, here are my overly ambitious (and occasionally wishful) predictions for what 2026 has in store for the miles and points community.

Airline Predictions:

• Alaska Airlines will change the Global 25K Companion Award into a Global 25K Award Discount (valid for a single passenger).
• Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, or Delta Airlines will launch a debit card.
• Southwest Airlines will not award Rapid Rewards Points on Basic Fares.

Hotel Predictions:

• Choice Hotels will allow a Cash + Points redemption option.
• Hilton will cap their Free Night Certificates at 150K or 200K points, but topping up with points.
• Hyatt will announce that Globalist Elite Status will require 75 or 80 nights for 2027.
• Marriott will blow up their “credit card matrix” and allow members to have more Marriott Credit Cards.
• Omni Hotels, Best Western, or Sonesta will be added to a transferable points program (my guess is Citi).
• With the loss of Vacasa, Wyndham Rewards will partner with a new vacation rental company.

Credit Card Predictions:

• AMEX, Chase, or Capital One with cap free lounge access based on credit card spending tiers: 4 free visits for all card holders, 10 free visits if you spend $25K, and unlimited free visits if you spend $75K.
• Bank of America will introduce a 5x rotating category credit card to compete with the Discover It Credit Card and Chase Freedom Flex Credit Card.
• Barclays will resurrect the Barclays Arrival Credit Card, offering a juice sign up bonus and at least 5 transfer partners.
• Bilt Card 2.0 will include Silver Elite Status for the $95 annual fee card and Platinum Elite Status for the $495 annual fee card.
• Citi will bring back the 1.25 CPP value when booking travel through the Citi ThankYou Point travel portal if you have the Citi Strata Elite Credit Card.
• Citi will launch an upgrade offer for the Citi Strata Premier Credit Card to the Citi Strata Elite Credit Card.
• Either the Barclays AAdvantage Aviator Red Credit Card will become a Citi American Airlines Credit Card or the Barclays Hawaiian Airlines Credit Card will become a Bank of America Atmos Rewards Credit Card.
• Rove will partner with another online shopping portal or award search tool (my guess is Points Yeah).
• Some Priority Pass Memberships will bring back restaurant access, but will cap the number of visits per year.
• The US Bank Smartly Credit Cards and US Bank Altitude Reserve Credit Cards will allow points to be combined and at least 5 transfer partners will be added by end of Q1.
• Wells Fargo with improve the Autograph or Autograph Journey Credit Cards right before the Bilt Cards convert.

And there you have it, my 2026 travel predictions. Some may be bold, some may be controversial, and a few might even come true. I’d love to hear your own predictions for the year ahead, so feel free to share them in the comments below. Thanks for reading and here’s to a rewarding, travel-filled, and adventure-packed 2026!