Welcome to Miles and Points Daily, the podcast that keeps you updated on the latest in miles, points, and credit card rewards. I'm your host Lucas, and I'm here to help you navigate the ever-changing world of travel rewards with a smile on your face and points in your pocket. Before we dive into today's news, let me tell you about a tool that could save you a fortune on your hotel stays. Introducing hotelredemptions.com, a tool that monitors your hotel bookings and alerts you when you can rebook for less points. It's like having a personal assistant watching your reservations twenty-four seven, so you never miss an opportunity to save points. Now, let's get into today's exciting updates from the miles and points world. We've got some fantastic news about Hyatt promotions, a great Citi transfer bonus, and some major changes coming to Southwest Airlines. First up, let's talk about an often overlooked way to earn free nights with World of Hyatt. The World of Hyatt Brand Explorer promotion is currently running, and it's one of those hidden gems that many people miss. This promotion gives you free night awards for trying different Hyatt brands, which is perfect for those of us who love variety in our hotel stays. The beauty of this promotion is that it encourages you to explore different Hyatt properties while earning valuable free nights. My tip here is to plan your stays strategically around this promotion. If you're already a Hyatt loyalist, make sure you're diversifying your stays across different brands within the portfolio. You could try a Grand Hyatt for business travel, an Alila for a luxury getaway, or a Hyatt House for extended stays. Each different brand you stay at gets you closer to those free night rewards. Next, we have some excellent news for Citi ThankYou cardholders. There's currently a twenty-five percent transfer bonus when you move your Citi points to Leading Hotels of the World. This is particularly exciting because Leading Hotels of the World was only added as a Citi partner in October two thousand and twenty-three, making it one of their newest transfer options. Leading Hotels of the World represents some of the most luxurious independent hotels globally, so this bonus could unlock some incredible redemptions. With the twenty-five percent bonus, you're essentially getting more value for your Citi points. If you have Citi ThankYou points sitting in your account, this could be the perfect time to book that luxury hotel stay you've been dreaming about. Just remember, transfer bonuses like this don't last forever, so act quickly if you have a specific redemption in mind. Now, let's talk about some major changes coming to Southwest Airlines. The airline has announced that it will start assigning seats on January twenty-seventh, two thousand and twenty-six, marking the end of their famous open seating policy. This is huge news for Southwest, as open seating has been one of their defining characteristics for decades. Along with assigned seating, Southwest will also introduce eight boarding groups instead of their current cattle call system. Seat assignments will go on sale July twenty-ninth, two thousand and twenty-five. For frequent Southwest flyers, this changes everything about how you'll approach booking with the airline. My recommendation is to start thinking about how this might affect your Southwest strategy. If you're someone who loved the flexibility of open seating, you might want to book your last few open seating flights before the change. On the other hand, if you always stressed about getting a good seat, this could be a welcome change. Keep an eye out for how Southwest prices their assigned seats and whether this affects their Rapid Rewards program. American Airlines is making some history with a new trial program for connecting passengers. If you're flying from London Heathrow to Dallas Fort Worth on American flight fifty-one and taking a connecting flight, you can now skip the usual immigration, baggage claim, re-check, and security process. This is groundbreaking for the US aviation industry and could significantly improve the connecting experience. This trial program addresses one of the biggest pain points for international travelers connecting through US airports. Traditionally, you'd have to go through the full arrival process even if you were just connecting to another flight. If this trial is successful, it could revolutionize how we think about connecting through US hubs. For award travelers, this could make American Airlines hubs much more attractive for complex international itineraries. Before we wrap up, let me tell you about one final news item. The United States is doubling the cost of the ESTA travel authorization from twenty-one dollars to forty dollars. While this might not directly affect your points and miles strategy, it's an additional cost to factor into your travel budget when visiting the US from visa waiver countries. Looking for the best award flights? Use AwardTravelFinder.com to search availability across Qatar Airways, British Airways, Japan Airlines, Cathay Pacific and more. Try it for free with our link in the shownotes. That wraps up today's Miles and Points Daily podcast. Thanks for listening, and remember to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts or visit us at milesandpointsdaily.com for more great content. Until next time, keep earning those points and miles, and I'll see you tomorrow with more exciting updates from the world of travel rewards.