Aryan Gaekwad

Points and Loyalty Editor at ShopBack, covering the "how to optimise and get rewarded" end of the travel journey across the Australia, Singapore, and United States markets. Aryan's work sits at the loyalty-program and rewards-optimisation decision, downstream of the booking choice.

The reporting draws on published airline and hotel award charts, program terms and conditions, credit-card issuer reward structures, and observed award-availability across the major redemption platforms.

Areas of focus

Airline program comparisons. Qantas Frequent Flyer versus Velocity Points. Delta SkyMiles versus United MileagePlus versus American AAdvantage. Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer versus Cathay Asia Miles versus ANA Mileage Club. Which program earns fastest on which route, and where the sweet-spot redemptions actually sit against real availability.

Hotel loyalty comparisons. Marriott Bonvoy versus Hilton Honors versus Hyatt Globalist. IHG One Rewards, Accor ALL, World of Hyatt regional angles. Which program's elite math actually works out for which shopper profile.

Credit card and travel-points overlap. Chase Sapphire versus Amex Platinum versus Capital One Venture X in the US. ANZ Travel versus Qantas Premier versus Amex Explorer in Australia. DBS Altitude versus Citi PremierMiles versus UOB PRVI Miles in Singapore. Coverage runs from the miles-optimisation lens: earning rate on travel spend, transfer-partner value, and the specific redemptions that beat the alternative-cashback math.

Award booking and transfer partners. Amex Membership Rewards transfer-partner sweet spots ranked. Chase Ultimate Rewards partner-airline value. Bilt Rewards mechanics. Real redemption examples with dates and observed availability.

Elite status strategy. The math on Bonvoy Platinum versus Titanium, Qantas Gold versus Platinum One, Hilton Diamond, American Executive Platinum. Which status is worth chasing for which shopper, which status match programs exist, and when to let a status lapse.

Points-heavy travel case studies. Documented redemptions: business-class Tokyo return for X points, specific-route sweet spots, transfer-partner arbitrage, aspirational redemptions that beat cash by a defensible margin.

Editorial standards

Every award chart, transfer ratio, or elite requirement in an Aryan article cites the program's own published terms as of the article's date. Airline award charts, hotel loyalty benefit tables, credit-card issuer earning structures, and program partnership pages are the primary sources. Third-party miles blogs and points aggregators are not cited as authorities.

Redemption examples are verified against real award availability at the time of publication, and every observed redemption gets a date attached. Because award charts, transfer ratios, and status thresholds change (sometimes with short notice), the date_modified field records the last re-verification, which happens at minimum every quarter and immediately after any known program change (devaluation, transfer ratio change, category shift).

Point valuations cite the observed cent-per-point value based on a stated redemption, not aggregate valuations from third-party sites. Elite status math is shown transparently: earning target, benefit dollar-value, and the fine-print exclusions that change the answer.

Recommendations are conditional. "Worth chasing" is stated for a particular traveller with a particular annual travel pattern, with the trade-offs at the top so readers can self-select against their own spending.

ShopBack receives a commission when readers apply for credit cards or complete travel bookings through a cashback link. This commission does not vary by editorial coverage, and issuers or programs cannot pay for inclusion, ranking, or favourable language. Where a card pays a notably higher commission than a comparable peer, the conflict is disclosed inline.

Get in touch

Tips, program changes, or redemption data worth looking at: aryan.gaekwad@shopback.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/aryan-gaekwad

Corrections are logged in-article with the date and what changed.

Editorial team

Aryan covers points and loyalty. The rest of the travel beat is split with:

• Jean Goh, Travel Destinations Editor: trip cost breakdowns, city-level guides, transit deep-dives
• Austin Pua, Travel Booking and Deals Editor: OTA and aggregator comparisons, sale timing, and reliability reviews

Credit-card coverage that sits outside the miles-optimisation lens is with Ziling Liu, Personal Finance Editor.

Editorial oversight for the ShopBack blog sits with Jia, Editor-in-Chief.