2025 Elite Status Plans, Travel Statistics and Travel Highlights from TPG’s Zach Griff

2024 may be my most important year yet, especially from a personal perspective.
Travel-wise, it’s been another busy year for me with over 100,000 miles flown on 59 sectors. Some of the highlights include a European ski trip in the winter, a Greek vacation trip in the summer, and a trip to the Puglia region of Italy in early fall.
Given my work as a travel blogger and creator, some of my followers were surprised to learn that I stopped traveling for almost three months at the end of the year. It’s certainly not because I travel “too much”.
In fact, when I shared the news of my daughter’s birth in late October, it quickly became clear. I’ve been waiting to share this good news with my community, so 2024 will definitely end with a bang—even if I don’t travel as much as I have for the past five years.
Now that we are a family of three, I am starting to have some new perspectives on travel. Below, I’ll share some of those insights—including my plans for elite status this year—as well as 2024 travel statistics.
Tourism Statistics 2024
Total flight miles: 100,093 (2023: 191,271; 2022: 185,780; 2021: 152,033; 2020: 133,796; 2019: 205,985)
Longest flight: Dubai to New York (6,832 miles)
Shortest flight: Philadelphia to New York (80 miles)
Unique airlines: 14
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Unique airport: 34
Elite status gained: Six types (Amtrak Guest Rewards Select Plus, American Airlines AAdvantage Executive Platinum, United Airlines Premier 1K, Hilton Honors Diamond, Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite, World of Hyatt Globalist)
2025 travel plans
I’ve been thinking about travel in a different way since my daughter was born. I divide my travel into two categories – family travel and work travel.
Going into 2025, I really want to lean towards the former. Even though my daughter is still young, I want to instill in her a love of travel and exploration so that she can appreciate the great world we live in.
I’ll give her a few more months until she starts to understand what’s going on around her, but I’m already planning to take her to Israel to visit family, as well as to major cities like London with lots of kid-friendly attractions.
I also think about work travel differently because I want to be home with her. In the past, when something happened suddenly in some distant place, I would often go there.
But now that I prioritize getting home, I plan to still say yes to events, grand openings, first flights, etc., but minimize the time I need to be on the road.
For example, late last year I traveled to San Diego and Boston to attend the openings of the Chase Sapphire Lounge and the Delta One Lounge, respectively. What would have been a one or two night trip will now become a same day trip. (Don’t worry; I absolutely love airplanes and would spend a lot of time inside these metal tubes.)
All of which is to say that in 2025, you’ll still be seeing me on the road and posting about it, but I’ll probably be home before you know it.
2025 Elite Status Plan
This year, I gave up an elite status I had earned for many years: JetBlue Mosaic.
I only took three JetBlue flights last year and found that the entry-level Mosaic status didn’t really improve my experience. I haven’t seen much benefit from the lowest Mosaic tier since JetBlue stopped letting Mosaic redeem points for more space at a discounted rate.
That said, I just took my first JetBlue flight without Mosaic status and found it frustrating to wait for support for over an hour (the Mosaic line always gets connected within a few minutes). So if my JetBlue travel increases this year, maybe I’ll eventually pursue that status.
My other two long-term elite statuses are American AAdvantage Executive Platinum and United Premier 1K.
I currently live in Philadelphia, but I will be moving back to New York City mid-year. So it makes sense to continue splitting my primary airlines into American and United.
I will say, though, that I haven’t found my Executive Platinum status to be nearly as profitable as it has been in the past, mostly because of the upgrade situation.
Since American Airlines started allowing travelers to pay for status, I’ve seen more top elite members on my flights. This has led to an ever-dwindling number of first-class seats available for last-minute upgrades and increased competition. Last year I paid for a lot of domestic upgrades with cash (or miles) and I’ll probably continue to do that next year.
Another thing that frustrates me about American Airlines loyalty is the lack of confirmed room for upgrades on long-haul flights. One of the perks of Executive Platinum membership that I value most is the ability to select system-wide upgrades for long-haul flights.
Last year I accumulated six, but only successfully redeemed one.
That said, I plan to renew my Executive Platinum membership this year and then re-evaluate next year whether it makes sense to continue doing so.
Speaking of upgrading, last year I found the United Premier 1K to be a better value than I’ve seen in recent memory. I’ve been extremely lucky to complete the PlusPoints upgrade, and if this momentum continues, I’ll be a happy camper next year. (Pro tip: Book long-haul flights during the shoulder seasons.)
The best news about United is that I don’t even have to re-qualify this year. That’s because the Chicago-based airline unofficially offers new parents the ability to extend their status for a year; if I don’t hit 1K trips on United this year, I’ll definitely be calling Mileage at the end of the year Please visit MileagePlus Service Center to enjoy this offer.
I might consider adding Delta into the mix again when I move back to New York, but I often find that the Atlanta-based airline has higher fares than its competitors. In addition, sluggish SkyMiles redemption rates also make flying with Delta less cost-effective.
While I may not be traveling as much in 2025, I plan to use my co-branded credit card to help me bridge the gap in updating my status. All of my top airlines allow you to earn status through purchases, so I would make sure to use credit cards for tax bills and big purchases during the year.
Credit cards are also the key to unlocking a hotel’s identity. As with many of my TPG colleagues, the World of Hyatt loyalty program is by far my favorite. As a top Globalist member, I always enjoy excellent treatment, frequent upgrades and great benefits during my stay.
So I will do whatever it takes, including purchasing a World of Hyatt credit card, to close the gap to achieving globalist status again next year.
Since there isn’t always a Hyatt in the places I visit, I also keep Hilton and Marriott status for those non-Hyatt stays.
Staying on top of both plans is as simple as having the right credit card. I have no plans to cancel my Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card or my Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card This year, so I will maintain Diamond and Platinum elite status respectively.
Hilton Amex Aspire card information is independently collected by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
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