Chase is cutting Priority Pass access to Sapphire Lounges entirely, which is likely about overcrowding but stings if you were counting on it, though they did loosen the connection window from three hours to five. Singapore Airlines is also restricting award searches, with people unable to search without miles or recent activity and no public explanation, almost certainly an attempt to stop bots and scraping, and we get into why that is a frustrating way to treat customers whose miles mostly come from credit card transfers anyway. American Airlines is aligning its 24 hour cancellation policy with the federal minimum, dropping from a 48 hour window to the legal 168 hours, though award tickets are unaffected. On the tools side, point.me added map area pricing, points balance valuations, and side by side flight comparisons, and we talk through how point.me, Seats.aero, and PointsPath each fit differently into an award search routine. Shawn also recaps an impromptu Disneyland trip with two Hyatt Regency stays, including a category one through four cert on a $400 room and a night that cost 20,000 points against a $120 cash rate, plus why hotel parking fees have quietly doubled everywhere. We close with the surprisingly contentious question of what to write on the tip line as a Hyatt Globalist. Also, Mark has a Lululemon story. Let us know in the comments what your favorite award search tool is.
Episode Guide:
0:00 Welcome to MTM Travel
0:31 Mark's Lululemon Story
4:23 The Lululemon Gift Card Problem
8:20 Singapore Restricts Award Searches
12:19 point.me's New Search Features
14:06 Which Award Tool Should You Use?
16:47 An Impromptu Disneyland Trip
18:32 20,000 Points for a $120 Room
20:08 Hyatt Gift Cards Are Still a Pain
22:56 Hotel Parking Fees Have Doubled
25:26 Sapphire Lounges Cut Priority Pass
27:20 AA Cuts Last-Minute Refunds
29:40 What Do You Write on the Globalist Tip Line?
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