147. 2025 in Points and Miles In Review (Part 2): Key Changes, New Realities, and What Comes Next
Point Me To First Class
Devon Gimbel MD
4.9 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 22 December 2025
⏱️ 48 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
What really changed in the points and miles world this year—and how should that shape your strategy going forward?
In part two of our 2025 Year in Review, Kelly and I continue breaking down one of the most transformative years we've seen in award travel. Beyond rising annual fees and tightening loyalty programs, this year revealed deeper structural shifts in how airlines price awards, who gets access to the best redemptions, and what flexibility actually looks like going forward.
We dig into the continued expansion of dynamic pricing—and why it isn't always the disaster it's made out to be. You'll hear real examples of when dynamic pricing has increased access and value, along with why moments of program change can sometimes be the best time to book.
We also explore how airlines are reshaping award access around status and cardholder loyalty in ways that go far beyond free bags or early boarding. For the first time, elite status and co-branded cards are directly impacting award availability, pricing, and even whether certain premium cabins can be booked at all.
We wrap it all up by zooming out to talk about what all of this means for 2026 and beyond—how transferable points are evolving, why diversification matters more than ever, and how to think strategically about status in a landscape that's clearly shifting.
If you enjoyed part one of our year in review, this conversation brings the full picture into focus.
Get full show notes and transcript: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/2025-points-miles-year-in-review-part-2/
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to Point Me to First Class, the only show for employed professionals, entrepreneurs, and business owners who are looking to optimize their higher than average expenses to travel the world. |
| 0:10.7 | I'm your host, Devin Gimble, and I believe that your expenses are your greatest untapped asset, if you know how to leverage them. |
| 0:17.8 | Ready to dive into the world of credit card points and miles so you can travel more, travel better, and travel often. Let's get started. Hello, everyone, and welcome |
| 0:31.2 | back to part two of our 2025 year in review analysis. In last week's episode, Part 1, Kelly and I looked back on some of the |
| 0:39.4 | biggest shifts we saw this year in the credit card and points in miles landscape, from rising |
| 0:44.4 | annual fees and evolving credit card benefits to the way loyalty programs are tightening their |
| 0:49.6 | focus on rewarding and incentivizing loyalty within their own programs over cooperating as extensively |
| 0:55.8 | with partners as they have in the past. We also talked about how the landscape as a whole is |
| 1:00.7 | becoming more nuanced, more complex, and in many ways more mature for both the programs themselves |
| 1:07.0 | and the consumers engaging with them. In part two of this conversation, Kelly and I |
| 1:11.6 | continue unpacking what turned out to be one of the most transformative years we've seen |
| 1:15.9 | in the world of points and miles. In this episode, we explore some of the deeper shifts that |
| 1:20.6 | happened this year and the implications of those shifts on how we earn and use points next year. |
| 1:26.0 | We also talk about the expansion of new ways to engage |
| 1:28.6 | with points and how that's opened up more flexibility and value than we've seen in years past. |
| 1:34.0 | You'll also hear our thoughts on the debut of not one but two new transferable points currencies |
| 1:38.4 | in 2025 and what that means for the future of earning, redeeming, and building a diversified |
| 1:43.7 | points strategy that actually works for you. We cover all of this as well as our top predictions for |
| 1:49.9 | 2026, including the huge shift I foresee coming. If you enjoyed last week's episode, |
| 1:55.9 | you're going to love hearing the conclusion of our 2025 year and review analysis today. |
| 2:01.8 | One of the things that I noticed about this year in terms of a trend, which is by no means, |
| 2:07.3 | again, a groundbreaking trend is more of a continuation of a trend that we have just seen |
... |
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