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The Lazy Status Hack, Part 2: Hotel Status With a Hotel Card

Jake Redman May 12, 2026

Is buying hotel status worth it in 2026? You can’t literally buy elite tiers but the four branded hotel cards below hand them over with the annual fee.. The four branded hotel cards still worth holding are the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant, Hilton Honors Aspire, IHG One Rewards Premier, and World of Hyatt Credit Card. That matters more than people admit. In The Lazy Status Hack: Automatic Hotel Upgrades Without the Brand Loyalty (Part 1), we covered the “Status Lite” tier you get from cards like the Amex Platinum. This post takes the next step up. I keep coming back to […]

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Lounge at airport. Is chase sapphire reserve worth it in 2026?
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The $795 Question: Is the Chase Sapphire Reserve Worth It in 2026?

Jake Redman May 11, 2026

It is Monday, May 11, 2026. The Chase Sapphire Reserve refresh is now nearly a year old, and for many of us, the first $795 renewal notice just hit the inbox. If you’re like me, you’re staring at that number and doing the math. Is the IHG Platinum status (which I already have with my IHG One Rewards Business card) and the $750 in hotel-specific credits enough to justify the jump from $550? More impoartantly, is the Chase Sapphire Reserve worth it in 2026? Modhop dosn’t care about the marketing fluff (other than for the occasional entertainment value). We care […]

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amex platinum hotel status could get you a nice hotel room in this glassy building
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The Lazy Status Hack, Part 1: Hotel Status Without a Hotel Card

Jake Redman May 8, 2026

Nobody likes the grind. To me, staying fifty nights a year in beige hotel rooms just to get a free muffin is a younger person’s game. For the rest of us, brand loyalty starts to feel like unpaid homework with worse pillows. We want the perks without the repetitive trauma of sleeping in a different city every week. We want the ocean view, not the HVAC unit. Short version: The Amex Platinum gives you automatic Hilton Honors Gold and Marriott Bonvoy Gold for $895 a year. Hilton Gold is meaningfully better than Marriott Gold because of the breakfast or food […]

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