Happy New Year’s Eve from Punta Cana!

As we get ready to ring in the new year, I figured there’s no better time to look back on where I’ve been, what statuses I earned, my travel highlights, and more from 2025.

And goodness knows that 2026 is already shaping up to be even busier. I’m already hitting the road during the first week of January, so stay tuned.

Wishing you and your families a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year filled with lots of upgrades and points redemptions!

Speaking of upgrades, I’m basically out of PlusPoints donations for my United upgrade giveaway. If you’re a United Premier member with expiring PlusPoints, please reply to this email letting me know how many you’d like to donate! Help me pay it forward as we enter the new year.

This is easily my favorite post to compile each year. Maybe it’s because I’m generally a sentimental person, or because I like crunching numbers. (After all, I did spend two years in business school doing exactly that. Or so my parents think…)

Still, nothing brings me more joy (professionally, of course) than looking back at my travels and seeing what I accomplished during the year.

Obviously, this was a big year for me on many levels. Nothing was as big as leaving TPG to pursue editorial independence.

That happened just six weeks ago, which, on the one hand, feels like yesterday and, on the other hand, feels like it’s been an eternity. From the Tray Table is just getting started, and don’t forget to tell your colleagues, friends, and family to subscribe!

I also packed in a ton of travel into 2025, including flying more than 150,000 miles for the first time since 2023.

I earned a whopping eight elite statuses, the most in recent memory. That’s largely thanks to credit card perks and spending. (Which is quickly becoming the most straightforward way to earn elite status these days.)

That’s both good and bad.

For one, it means that I’ll be able to take advantage of perks even with airlines and hotels I don’t frequent as much. But that also means that elite ranks will swell, and capacity-constrained perks, like extra-legroom seats and upgrades, may not be available when I want them.

Either way, I’m excited for what next year will bring, and I’ll end with a recap of my nine most standout trips and stories of 2025.

I broke down the above with some interesting, never-before-shared details and shared insights into my elite status plans, travel itineraries, and credit card strategy for the new year at the link below.

Be sure to check it out (and let me know what you think of my nascent idea under the Israel trek header!)

I’d like to think I’m a pro at airline ticketing procedures and policies.

But over the past 10 days, I’ve been screwed multiple times by some nuances I’ve never personally encountered before.

I made a slew of changes and cancellations to fully refundable tickets for travel to and from the Dominican Republic. And guess what? I didn’t actually receive full refunds for these tickets, despite paying extra for the refundability.

Turns out, the Dominican Republic tourism and aviation tax isn’t generally refundable — even if you buy a fully refundable ticket. The airlines (looking at you, American and JetBlue) certainly didn’t disclose that prominently during the booking process.

And while I’ll keep digging into this in the new year, in the meantime, I hope the folks at the Dominican Republic’s tourism and aviation office have appreciated all the extra revenue I’ve generated for them over the last few days.

Bilt may have gotten popular as the loyalty program for renters, but it’s been working for months to expand beyond just helping renters earn a bunch of points (for free).

In the past few newsletters, I’ve mentioned how I use Bilt to triple-dip on earning points for everyday activities like dining out and shopping at Walgreens. I even use Bilt Travel to book most of my United tickets nowadays.

And the company’s next big move is just a few weeks away, when it will reveal the details of its three new credit cards, all of which will be issued by Cardless.

I’ve used the existing Bilt card for years (mostly to pay rent), and I’m excited to see what the folks at Bilt have cooked up with the new cards.

A fully revamped loyalty program. International expansion. Profitability.

Breeze Airways, the four-year-old airline from serial entrepreneur David Neeleman (of JetBlue fame), is planning for its biggest year yet.

It starts tomorrow with a revamped Breezy Rewards loyalty program that offers things like confirmed upgrades at booking and 100% transferable buddy discounts.

These are unique perks that I haven’t really seen elsewhere. And Breeze’s chief commercial officer, Lukas Johnson, is hoping that they’ll be enough to convince you to choose Breeze vs. flying a larger network carrier.

Then, on Jan. 10, Breeze plans its first international flight to a “boring” destination, as I described it to Johnson during our illuminating interview. (Cancun is so well served from the U.S. already that it deserves this description.)

And finally, Breeze is keeping its eyes on the prize: profitability. Johnson dished a bunch of details that you probably won’t find elsewhere.

He also didn’t mention that Breeze would postpone one of its big international inaugurals just days after we spoke. A true PR pro, some might say.

The next time you check out of a Marriott hotel, the mobile app might prompt you to send a tip.

I discovered that this new digital tipping functionality is already live at 1,500 hotels in the Americas, with more on the way soon.

I’m conflicted about this move.

Tipping culture in the U.S. is already pretty wild, and I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been asked for a tip during my travels. (Umm, who tips the self-serve checkout machine at an airport concessionaire?)

But my real hesitation boils down to transparency.

How do I know the digital tip is actually going to the housekeeper who cleaned my room? (Aka the single-most important person to tip at a hotel, unless you’re hoping for an upgrade in Vegas.)

There is none!

Enjoy the last few hours of 2025, and I’ll be back online next week with lots more exciting updates.