New traditions: TPG employees’ 2024 holiday wish list

It’s easy to get caught up in the magic — and madness — of the holiday season. Between decorating, gathering gifts, and preparing for the new year, there’s a lot to plan and keep track of at the end of December. And that’s just for those of us who don’t travel for the holidays and have to Face things like crowded airports and long security lines.

At TPG, the end of the year is often a time when many of us take inventory of the cards we have in our wallets and double-check what perks and benefits we haven’t taken advantage of. This helps us strategize about which cards we will apply for next year and plan future trips.

This got some of us thinking: What if making a wish list this year isn’t just for the kids? And so our 2024 holiday wish list was born.

Related: Our 2025 credit card forecast

Card-specific greetings

Because so many of us are frequent travelers, we’re no strangers to branded hotel credit cards. Some of our favorites include Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Cardfemale Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card and Hyatt World Credit Card.

Information about the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Most of these cards are part of a suite of products aimed at people who might stay at Hilton, Marriott and Hyatt hotels – whether regularly or simply one or two nights a year.

Each card offers different ways to earn rewards points for stays at the respective hotel chain, along with other perks like free night award certificates and room upgrades. While these perks are great, we think there’s still some room for improvement. Some things we want to see in 2025 include:

• The premium World of Hyatt card enters the market
• Bonus categories above Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card and Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card (in addition to current bookings through Capital One Travel)
• The $300 Capital One travel credit is more flexible
• A premium Mastercard® card (even if that means paying an annual fee) offers perks and a solid rate of return
• Lounge access (preferably Delta Sky Club lounge access) — without prior notice — is for Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card member
• Ability to earn high rewards rates consistently (rather than rotating quarterly) on Chase or American Express cards on home improvement purchases or at home improvement retailers (such as paint, lumber, appliances, garden supplies, and light bulbs from places like Lowe’s or The Home Depot, for example)
• Restaurant credit refunds for Priority Pass member credit cards
• Any credit card issuer that offers a premium rewards card for people who don’t live in a city (for example, Gopuff, Uber, and Lyft credits are essentially useless for people who live in the city) suburbs or remote rural areas)
• Extend Lyft benefits above Reserve Chase Sapphire®
• Ability to join the waitlist for the Chase lounge online (instead of at the door)
• Annual/anniversary loyalty bonus on American Express cards
• More bonus categories above American Express Platinum® Card

Related: Our 2024 credit card predictions and trends – what we got right and wrong

Customer loyalty program and wishes for earning points and airline miles

When it comes to airline and hotel loyalty rewards programs, TPG employees would love to see things like:

• Hyatt eliminated the Club Access Awards for globalists and replaced them with something more useful
• More helpful benefits at Hyatt Explorer status
• Wells Fargo Rewards and/or Citi ThankYou Rewards add Air Canada Aeroplan as transfer partner
• Free breakfast for IHG One Rewards Platinum Elite members
• Guaranteed late check-out at least 2pm for Hilton Diamond, Wyndham Diamond and IHG Diamond Elite members
• IHG allows you to apply for a room upgrade certificate online instead of needing to call 14 days before your stay
• Hyatt offers an awards calendar that actually shows availability instead of just pricing
• Hyatt eliminated expired free night awards
• Delta offers a rollover of Medal Qualified Dollars
• Thursday or Friday night free on Hyatt award stays (even if only for cardholders or elite members)

Related: How to travel safely with Christmas gifts

Additionally, some employees mentioned that they would like the ability to convert Citi ThankYou Rewards points into AAdvantage miles, while others disagreed because doing so could reduce the value of AAdvantage miles. We’d also like to see Capital One add one of the big four US airlines as a transfer partner by 2025.

Bottom line

The landscape of credit cards, loyalty programs and points and miles is constantly evolving. At TPG, we’re always speculating about what’s going on with regards to loyalty programs and the perks available on the cards in our wallets — especially at the end of each year.

As we all prepare for a busy holiday season, we thought we’d try making our own holiday wish lists to see what might happen next year. Here’s hoping some of our wishes come true.

Related: 11 things the TPG team is excited about for 2025