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Episode 184 of the Award Travel 101 podcast featured Cameron Laufer and April Rose recapping their recent trips to Greece while also covering the latest points and miles news. The episode opened with a discussion of a community post about whether it was worth paying to keep a small British Airways Avios balance from expiring, with members offering a variety of creative solutions. News included American Express adding Leading Hotels of the World as a Membership Rewards transfer partner, new Alaska Mileage Plan redemption opportunities on Philippine Airlines, American Airlines adding Oman Air award bookings, and tighter access rules for Chase Sapphire Lounges. Cameron and April also shared recent credit card approvals and upcoming travel plans before diving into the main topic.

The Greece recap focused on how each host used points, miles, and travel perks to maximize their trips. Cameron walked through his family's itinerary of Athens, Naxos, and Santorini, explaining why he mixed award flights, ferries, and inexpensive domestic flights to balance convenience and value. He discussed the pros and cons of the Grand Hyatt Athens, vacation rentals for a family of five, and several ways he saved money using card benefits like Lyft credits, Blacklane credits, and airport lounge access. April shared highlights from her own island-hopping adventure, including Mykonos, Paros, and Milos, along with booking Emirates First Class home using a strategic credit card signup bonus.

The episode wrapped up with practical advice for anyone planning a trip to Greece. The hosts recommended visiting the Acropolis early or late in the day, renting a car to explore Naxos, checking Santorini's cruise ship schedule before visiting Oia, and packing for cool evenings during shoulder season. April also highlighted the incredible history of Delos and noted Hyatt's growing presence in Greece. Cameron closed with a useful Chase Ultimate Rewards tip, explaining how he successfully transferred points between family members by linking accounts through an intermediary household member when a direct transfer wasn't possible.

Episode Links:

• Amex Adds Leading Hotels of the World
• Philippine Bookable Through Alaska
• Oman Bookable Through American
• Chase Lounge Rules

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Late Summer 2026 Meetup in Milwaukee now. award.travel/mke2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Episode 183 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosted by Angie Sparks and Cameron Laufer, covers the latest points and miles news, personal card updates, and practical award travel strategies. The hosts discuss current promotions, including back-to-school airline shopping portal bonuses, Citi's 20% transfer bonus to Flying Blue, and Chase Freedom Flex's upcoming removal of foreign transaction fees. They also highlight a concerning change from Singapore Airlines, which appears to require members to have KrisFlyer miles in their accounts before they can search award availability, making trip planning more difficult. Angie and Cameron also share their recent credit card activity, including meeting spending requirements, closing cards with high annual fees, and adjusting travel plans after flight cancellations.

The main topic focuses on how to stretch 100,000 American Express Membership Rewards points into a vacation for two, using a budget of 100,000 points plus up to $1,000 out of pocket. Angie shares examples for Toronto, Denver, and San Juan, combining airline transfer partners like Aeroplan, Delta, JetBlue, and Hilton to maximize value, while Cameron presents sample itineraries to Park City, Orlando, and Madrid using transfer partners, Hilton points, and Amex Travel benefits. The episode emphasizes that flexibility with destinations and travel dates is often the key to finding great award availability. The tip of the week encourages listeners not to hesitate to close credit cards that no longer provide value, especially when the annual fee outweighs the benefits.

Episode Links:

• Back to School Offers
• Citi to Flying Blue Transfer Bonus
• Freedom Flex no Foreign Transaction Fee
• Singapore Search Restrictions

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Late Summer 2026 Meetup in Milwaukee now. award.travel/mke2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Episode 182 of the Award Travel 101 podcast opens with a spotlight on member Alison’s incredible points-funded safari to Kenya, a reminder that award travel can unlock experiences far beyond flights and hotel chains. By leveraging a Virgin Red redemption, an Amex transfer bonus, and Alaska miles for long-haul flights, she and her travel partner enjoyed five nights at an all-inclusive safari lodge with twice-daily game drives for the equivalent of just over 80,000 points per night. The hosts also covered several noteworthy developments in the points world, including the opening of the new Chase Sapphire Lounge at Dallas/Fort Worth, the new Air Canada and Hyatt partnership, a lucrative Capital One Spark Cash Plus offer, and Rove adding Qantas as a transfer partner with a limited-time bonus.

The hosts also shared personal travel updates and a useful booking lesson. Cameron discussed having a Qatar Airways flight to Thailand unexpectedly canceled without notice, ultimately reworking the itinerary through Chicago and securing a backup Starlux business class award. He also discovered that a Hyatt Place booking in Louisville appeared nonrefundable online but actually carried a 60-day cancellation policy after messaging Hyatt—a good reminder to verify cancellation terms instead of relying solely on what a website displays.

The main discussion focused on the non-award tools that make the hobby easier. Angie and Cameron highlighted their favorite award search platforms, including Seats.aero, AwardWallet, MaxMyPoint, FlightConnections, and Google Flights, before expanding into budgeting software, credit card benefit tracking, and trip planning. AwardWallet and CardPointers were praised for keeping track of points, free night certificates, credits, and card offers, while Google Sheets, Google Maps, Facebook travel groups, TripIt, and ChatGPT have become essential planning tools for organizing itineraries, researching destinations, and building customized travel plans. The episode emphasized that while earning points is important, having the right collection of tools can save time, prevent costly mistakes, and make planning award travel far less stressful.

Episode Links:

• Chase Lounge DFW
• Capital One Spark Cash
• Hyatt/ Air Canada partnership
• Rove adds Qantas

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Late Summer 2026 Meetup in Milwaukee now. award.travel/mke2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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The Award Travel 101 crew kicked off Episode 181 by discussing one of the week's hottest travel deals: Norse Atlantic's $118 one-way fare from Orlando to London Gatwick. While the price grabbed plenty of attention, the hosts reminded listeners to look beyond the headline fare, noting Norse's low-cost model means extra fees for amenities that many travelers expect. They also covered several major developments in the points and miles world, including American Airlines quietly increasing award prices on certain Japan Airlines partner flights, an enhanced World of Hyatt credit card welcome offer, a wave of valuable Amex Offers for hotels and travel, and Marriott's latest award pricing increase. Angie and Cameron also shared updates on their own points-earning progress and upcoming travel plans, including schedule changes, hotel decisions, and new credit card bonuses.

The main discussion centered on whether booking hotels directly with points is still the best strategy as hotel loyalty programs continue to devalue their currencies. Using real-world examples from Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt, the hosts compared direct award bookings against Chase Travel, Capital One Travel, Citi Travel, and American Express Travel. In many cases, travel portals—especially when paired with annual travel credits, Points Boost, Fine Hotels + Resorts, or The Edit benefits—required significantly fewer transferable points than booking directly, particularly for Marriott and Hilton stays. Hyatt remained the notable exception, where transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards to Hyatt often continued to provide the strongest value. The episode concluded by encouraging listeners to think beyond traditional award bookings, weigh elite benefits and earnings when comparing options, and wrapped up with a practical international travel tip: always pay in the local currency when using a credit card abroad and avoid Euronet ATMs, which typically offer poor exchange rates.

Episode Links:

• American Partner awards increase
• Hyatt personal card increased offer
• Amex Hotel Offers
• Marriott award rates are increasing

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Late Summer 2026 Meetup in Milwaukee now. award.travel/mke2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Episode 179 of Award Travel 101, hosted by Angie Sparks with moderator Mike Zaccheo, covers news on Delta's new "Miles Headstart" borrow-now-earn-later feature, an Alaska Atmos Rewards status match opportunity, and IHG discounts on new-hotel stays, alongside personal updates on card spend progress, upcoming trips (Punta Cana, Japan, the Milwaukee meetup), and Angie's Swiss rail and Ireland trip planning. The main segment spotlights Napa Valley as a destination, with both hosts sharing their own trip breakdowns — flights, hotel picks (Alila Napa Valley, Andaz Napa, Silverado Resort), wineries, and food recommendations like Ad Hoc and Mustard's. The episode wraps with a tip on chasing time-limited earning opportunities like the Newegg/Paze promotion before they disappear.

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Late Summer 2026 Meetup in Milwaukee now. award.travel/mke2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Hosts Angie Sparks and Justin Walter open with a member highlight—Lori’s Northern Lights trip to Finland with her son—before diving into a busy news week. Wyndham Rewards is overhauling its award chart to four fixed tiers (5,000–45,000 points/night) starting September 15, 2026, with most hotels expected to stay in the lower tiers. Asiana Airlines will exit Star Alliance on December 16, 2026 as part of its Korean Air merger, though bookings and elite benefits continue as normal until then. One Key Rewards (Expedia/Hotels.com/Vrbo) is making changes effective July 28 that look like a net negative—boosting non-flight earning to 3% OneKeyCash while killing flight earnings and dropping its Hotel Price Guarantee. And Bilt Rewards added Preferred Hotels & Resorts’ “I Prefer” program as a new transfer partner as of June 22.

On the personal front, Angie’s chasing spend on an Alaska business card and two Amex Business Platinum cards (timed conveniently around their Milwaukee meetup payments), plus deposits down for Morocco and golf trip tours—now hunting flights to Ireland for four. Justin knocked out bonuses on a United Explorer and Citi AAdvantage card, celebrated landing a Ritz-Carlton card in the household, and is weighing Delta One vs. AA business class for a Rome trip while a Munich trip hangs in the balance.

The main topic tackles whether Delta SkyMiles still deserves its “SkyPesos” reputation, pointing to a string of elevated card offers and Thrifty Traveler Premium alerts suggesting real value can be found with the right search strategy (round-trip searches often price better). They close with a timely tip: burn those credit card credits before June ends—Justin’s using his Uber credit on dinner that very night.

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Late Summer 2026 Meetup in Milwaukee now. award.travel/mke2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Episode 178 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosted by Cameron Laufer and Eric Holly, focused on maximizing points and miles around one of life’s most expensive milestones: college. The episode opened with a discussion about the demise of a popular Paze/Newegg workaround that had allowed users to earn 10x Ultimate Rewards points through select Chase Sapphire and Freedom cards. While gift card purchases at Newegg are no longer eligible, Cameron and Eric reminded listeners that opportunities still exist through other Paze merchants such as United, StubHub, Sephora, and Domino’s. The hosts also covered several noteworthy developments in the points world, including Chase’s rare 100,000-point Sapphire Preferred bonus, a 15% transfer bonus from American Express Membership Rewards to Avianca LifeMiles, new Chase Freedom quarterly bonus categories, and tighter restrictions on booking award tickets for friends and family through Qatar Airways.

The main discussion centered on strategies for earning rewards while paying college-related expenses. Both hosts emphasized that tuition payments, despite often carrying processing fees near 3%, can still make sense when used to earn lucrative welcome bonuses, elite status thresholds, free night certificates, or airline loyalty benefits. Eric highlighted the use of Gift of College gift cards purchased at grocery stores to earn bonus rewards before loading funds into a 529 plan, while Cameron discussed opportunities to pay expenses with credit cards and potentially reimburse oneself from a 529 account. They also explored ways to earn rewards on student housing, sorority dues, and other campus expenses, including using Bilt for rent payments and strategically timing large expenses to meet spending requirements.

The episode concluded with a discussion on helping college students build good financial habits while earning rewards. Both hosts favored keeping things simple, often recommending a single card setup such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Citi Strata Premier, or Amex Gold to maximize common college spending categories like dining and groceries. Authorized user cards were presented as a useful tool for parents who want visibility into spending and easier record-keeping for reimbursements. Cameron shared that his daughter’s newly approved Sapphire Preferred will likely become her primary college card, while Eric discussed tailoring card strategies to each of his children’s financial maturity and goals. The broader takeaway was that while college can feel like a financial “demotion” for parents, it also presents numerous opportunities to earn valuable points, miles, and travel rewards from expenses that would be incurred anyway.

Episode Links:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred Refresh
• Amex to Lifemiles Bonus
• Chase Freddom/Flex Q3 categories
• Qatar Booking Restrictions

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Late Summer 2026 Meetup in Milwaukee now. award.travel/mke2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Episode 177 of the Award Travel 101 podcast featured Angie Sparks and Cameron Laufer discussing a variety of points-and-miles developments, along with a relatable highlight post from member Melissa about unexpectedly helping a 20-year-old replace a totaled car. While everyone was safe, the experience led to another large purchase charged to a Capital One card, adding to a family history that includes eight vehicle purchases since 2020. The hosts also covered several notable news items, including the end of the Chase Sapphire Reserve’s 150,000-point welcome offer, a new 200,000-point bonus on the Sapphire Reserve Business card, elevated 100,000-point offers on the Ink Cash and Ink Unlimited cards, a 30% Chase-to-Virgin transfer bonus, and the announcement that Philippine Airlines will join Oneworld next year. They also discussed reports that American Express may soon restrict Resy dining credits to restaurants specifically marked as eligible within the Resy app.

The main topic focused on the refreshed Chase Sapphire Preferred card. New benefits include 3x points on gas and EV charging, 3x points on vacation rentals through brands such as Airbnb and Vrbo, a Global Entry/TSA PreCheck/NEXUS credit every four years, a complimentary year of Apple TV+, an increased annual hotel credit, and enhanced travel protections, all while maintaining the $95 annual fee. However, the biggest change for award travelers is the reduced Hyatt transfer ratio for Sapphire Preferred cardholders, moving from 1:1 to 4:3. Angie and Cameron explored the implications, noting that while Hyatt loyalists may find the change disappointing, the card still offers strong value for beginners and those who primarily use Ultimate Rewards with other transfer partners. They also discussed alternatives such as upgrading to the Sapphire Reserve, utilizing Bilt points for Hyatt transfers, or making a speculative transfer of Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt before the new ratio takes effect.

The episode wrapped up with personal updates and strategy discussions. Angie shared that ChatGPT helped her compare transportation options and ultimately choose a Swiss Rail Pass for an upcoming trip, while also finalizing plans for Morocco. Cameron reviewed several flight options for Greece, weighing the value of different award redemptions and routing choices. The hosts concluded with a practical travel tip: always place your wallet, keys, purse, shoes, and other essentials in the same spot each night while traveling. A recent hotel fire experienced by friends reinforced how valuable this simple habit can be when an emergency requires a quick evacuation.

Episode Links:

• Chase Ink Business Cards New Offer
• Chase Sapphire Reserve Biz New Offer
• Chase Sapphire Preferred Refresh
• Philippine Airlines Joins Oneworld
• Amex Resy Changes
• Chase to Virgin Transfer Bonus

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Late Summer 2026 Meetup in Milwaukee now. award.travel/mke2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Episode 176 of the Award Travel 101 podcast kicked off with a fun discussion inspired by a member’s post asking which region of Europe or Northern Africa listeners would choose for an all-expenses-paid two-week vacation. The conversation highlighted how differently travelers prioritize destinations, with Angie favoring the expensive countries of Scotland, Norway, Finland, and Estonia, while Cameron debated between the broader sightseeing opportunities in Southern Europe and the appeal of Switzerland. The hosts also covered several points-and-miles news items, including the Chase Sapphire Reserve 150,000-point offer nearing its end, elevated welcome bonuses on Delta Amex cards, Citi’s closure of new applications for the Custom Cash card, and changes to Air Tahiti Nui award pricing that have made once-predictable redemptions far more expensive.

The hosts shared their latest points-and-miles wins and travel updates as well. Angie celebrated completing a Wells Fargo business card bonus, but now faces the challenge of meeting the hefty spending requirements on two Amex Business Platinum cards before her pool project expenses are finished. Meanwhile, Cameron successfully secured a United Business card despite being over 5/24, booked a Wyndham stay for an Auburn football game by purchasing points at a steep discount, and used a Citi Strata Elite credit toward a Blacklane transfer in Athens. Upcoming trips to Morocco, Ireland, and Turkey were also discussed, along with the ongoing balancing act of maximizing points while minimizing cash expenses.

The main topic challenged the hosts to answer a simple question: where would they go with 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points for two people, assuming a minimum two-night trip and a $1,000 cash budget for taxes and extras. Their examples showcased a wide variety of possibilities, including four nights in London using Virgin Atlantic and Hyatt points, a luxury San Diego getaway combining United flights with The Edit hotel credits, a Miami beach vacation with JetBlue and IHG, a Puerto Rico escape using Southwest and Hyatt points, a Morocco adventure built around Iberia award flights, and even a budget-friendly Orlando trip. The episode demonstrated that 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points can still unlock meaningful travel experiences when paired strategically with transfer partners and card benefits. The tip of the week reminded travelers to update their digital wallets before departure and ensure lounge access cards, National Park passes, and other travel essentials are easily accessible when needed.

Episode Links:

• Chase Sapphire Reserve bonus ending soon
• Citi Custom Cash closed
• Delta cards elevated offers
• Air Tahiti Nui- American now dynamic

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Late Summer 2026 Meetup in Milwaukee now. award.travel/mke2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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In this episode, Mike is joined by former moderator Jackie and her P2 Brent to discuss one of the most creative uses of points and miles you'll hear about — the Mother's Ruin Challenge, a single-day bar crawl across four cities (New York, Chicago, Nashville, and Charleston) all completed to earn free drinks for life. Jackie and Brent break down the logistics, the planning, and how points and miles made the whole thing possible — turning what would have been an outrageously expensive last-minute multi-city trip into something totally doable.

Two news items worth knowing: American Airlines appears to be cutting off partner programs like British Airways and Alaska from booking last-minute saver awards within 144 hours of departure, while those same seats remain available through AA's own miles program. On the brighter side, Hyatt is rolling out Advance Booking Access starting June 30, 2026, giving Explorist, Globalist, and Lifetime Globalist members a 13-month award booking window — a full month ahead of everyone else.

The episode closes with a spotlight on Chicago Seminars (November 6–8 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago O'Hare), a weekend gathering of roughly 500 points-and-miles enthusiasts featuring sessions ranging from beginner to advanced, manufactured spending discussions, and networking — plus a philanthropic component benefiting select charities. The overarching theme of the episode: points and miles aren't just about saving money, they're about lowering the barrier between "that would be cool" and "I'm actually doing it."

Links to Topics Discussed

• American Airlines blocking last minute partner awards
• Hyatt Advance Booking Window for elites
• Chicago Seminars

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Late Summer 2026 Meetup in Milwaukee now. award.travel/mke2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Episode 174 of the Award Travel 101 podcast focused heavily on Hyatt’s newly announced award chart changes and how travelers can adapt to them. Cameron Laufer and Mike Zaccheo explained that Hyatt is replacing its traditional fixed categories with a more dynamic five-tier structure across eight hotel categories, resulting in noticeable increases for many properties. Standard award rates are rising roughly 17–38%, while some peak pricing jumps could reach as high as 67%. Although a handful of properties decreased in price, far more increased, especially luxury hotels. The hosts discussed examples like Park Hyatt Siem Reap remaining at 15,000 points per night while Secrets Punta Cana increased slightly from 29,000 to 30,000 points. They also noted positives, including free night certificates remaining valid at top-tier pricing and expanded booking windows for elites and cardholders, while questioning whether Hyatt may quietly shift more nights into higher pricing tiers over time.

The episode also covered several loyalty program updates and transfer partner changes. Hilton launched a summer promotion offering 2,000 bonus points for shorter stays and 4,000 for longer stays, while Kimpton introduced its seasonal secret password promotion. The hosts highlighted major transfer partner shakeups, including American Express removing Etihad as a transfer partner in the U.S. They also reviewed transfer bonuses ending soon, including bonuses from Amex to Hilton, Chase to Southwest, and Capital One to Qantas. In the “highlight post” segment, they addressed a listener frustrated with having 193,000 British Airways Avios, emphasizing that Avios become much more valuable when used through partner airlines such as Iberia, Qatar Airways, Finnair, American Airlines, and Alaska Airlines, while reminding listeners that Avios are easy to keep active with occasional account activity.

The hosts wrapped up with personal trip updates and practical award travel advice. Mike shared several upcoming trips, including Napa Valley, Chicago, Milwaukee, and Paris, detailing how he pieced together premium cabin flights and hotel stays using a mix of American Airlines, Alaska, Air France, and Hyatt points. Cameron discussed rebooking a tour through a shopping portal for significant cashback and planning logistics for an overnight arrival in Athens after a long economy flight. The episode concluded with a “tip of the week” focused on organizing complex award itineraries using tools like spreadsheets and TripIt to track reservations, monitor schedule conflicts, and simplify “gardening” award bookings over time.

Episode Links:

• Hilton Summer Promo
• Kimpton Secret Password
• Amex drops Etihad
• Hyatt Changes

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Late Summer 2026 Meetup in Milwaukee now. award.travel/mke2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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In Episode 173 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Angie Sparks and Cameron Laufer covered a wide range of points and miles strategies, starting with two standout community posts. Angie highlighted an important discussion about insuring a complex trip booked across multiple credit cards to maximize welcome bonuses. The group recommended considering a standalone policy through companies like Allianz and using tools such as Squaremouth to compare coverage, while also putting the most expensive trip components on the card with the strongest travel protections. Cameron shared a clever positioning flight success story where a member booked Delta flights to JFK through Air France Flying Blue after transferring Chase points during a transfer bonus, saving a significant amount of points. The discussion also touched on the importance of understanding cancellation fees across different partner programs, with Virgin Atlantic noted as a favorite for inexpensive Delta award cancellations.

The episode also covered several major pieces of points and miles news, including Chase’s 30% transfer bonus to Southwest, IHG’s 100% bonus on purchased points, Citi’s 25% transfer bonus to Wyndham, and new Qatar Airways restrictions limiting how many people can be added to family and friends redemption lists. Angie shared a recent Wells Fargo business card approval with a $500 bonus that will help offset a large pool deposit expense, while Cameron discussed receiving his Rakuten-to-Bilt transfer and reminded listeners about the updated earning structure for different Bilt status tiers. The hosts also gave personal trip updates, including Angie’s evolving Morocco itinerary and Cameron’s plans to lock in Hyatt stays before upcoming program changes while continuing to prepare for Greece travel.

The main topic focused on “workhorse cards” — the credit cards the hosts rely on consistently for everyday spending and maximizing rewards. Cameron highlighted favorites like the Chase Ink Cash for 5x office supply spending, the Amex Gold for dining and groceries, the Citi Strata Premier for its broad 3x categories and American Airlines transfers, and even the premium Bilt Palladium setup. Angie discussed cards she uses heavily in rotation, including the Citi Custom Cash for groceries, the Hilton Surpass for earning a free night certificate through annual spend, the Venture and Venture X for simple 2x earning, the Chase Freedom Flex for rotating categories, and the Venmo card for Costco purchases that code as grocery spend. They wrapped up with a practical tip for travelers booking independent hotels abroad: always compare prices across hotel websites, portals, Booking.com, Expedia, Costco Travel, and aggregators like Trivago because rates can vary dramatically.

Episode Links:

• Chase to Southwest Bonus
• IHG Buy points Bonus
• Qatar Restrictions
• Citi to Wyndham Bonus

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Late Summer 2026 Meetup in Milwaukee now. award.travel/mke2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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In Episode 172 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Angie Sparks and Cameron Laufer opened with a discussion inspired by member Leena’s safari planning post, where the community shared advice on destinations, timing, and operators for an unforgettable milestone birthday trip. The conversation reinforced how award travel can make extraordinary journeys — from Bali girls trips to Indian weddings and African safaris — suddenly attainable. The hosts also covered several major news items in the travel space, including changing valuations for Southwest Rapid Rewards points, Rove adding Air Canada Aeroplan as a transfer partner alongside a 25% transfer bonus, and Frontier’s promotional offer awarding bonus miles for paid round trips. One of the biggest developments discussed was the shutdown of Spirit Airlines.

The episode also included candid updates on the hosts’ own award travel strategies and frustrations. Angie detailed multiple recent credit card denials despite having strong justifications for her existing card lineup, leading her to focus more on maximizing current cards rather than chasing new bonuses. Cameron mentioned cancelling a Hawaiian Airlines card for Player 2, while both hosts shared ongoing trip-planning adjustments. Angie successfully rebooked a Morocco flight using American Airlines miles for a better itinerary and leveraged Fine Hotels + Resorts credits for luxury accommodations. Cameron discussed continuously monitoring award space for an Athens trip after dealing with phantom Alaska Airlines availability and frustrating tax refund discrepancies from American Airlines.

The main topic featured a “You Asked, We Answer” segment revisiting interesting community questions. Topics ranged from compensation expectations after a large champagne spill in Emirates business class damaged a traveler’s electronics, to reactions surrounding Spirit Airlines’ collapse and the impact on low-cost flyers in Fort Lauderdale. The hosts also discussed Ethiopian Airlines business class consistency, especially for travelers hoping to avoid outdated aircraft products, and debated whether parents should open rewards cards in their children’s names to stockpile points for family travel before stricter “lifetime” bonus rules become widespread. Cameron closed the episode with a practical tip reminding listeners to carefully audit airline refunds after cancellations, noting that while his American Airlines points redeposited correctly, part of the cash refund required manual escalation.

Episode Links:

• Southwest Point Valuation
• Rove Adds Aeroplan
• Frontier Promo
• Spirit Ends Operations

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Late Summer 2026 Meetup in Milwaukee now. award.travel/mke2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Episode 171 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosted by Angie Sparks and Cameron Laufer, opens with a practical community highlight: a traveler facing a broken in-flight entertainment system on a United Premium Plus flight. The discussion reinforces that while compensation isn’t guaranteed, notifying a flight attendant can often result in goodwill gestures like bonus points. The hosts then run through a packed news segment, including Chase transfer bonuses to Flying Blue and Marriott, an elevated 150,000-point sign-up bonus for the Sapphire Reserve, and new restrictions around Sapphire card eligibility. They also cover new IHG credit card offers, Flying Blue Promo Rewards for discounted domestic routes, and a standout Amex-to-Hilton transfer bonus of 20%, setting the stage for the episode’s main focus.

Angie and Cameron share personal updates on credit card strategies and upcoming travel, highlighting the constant balancing act of hitting minimum spend, maximizing free night certificates, and navigating issuer rules like Chase’s 5/24. Angie details several trips in progress—including Morocco, Ireland, and domestic travel—while optimizing points, credits, and cash savings (like rebooking a rental car for significant savings). Cameron notes upcoming plans to Aruba and possibly Everest Base Camp, alongside ongoing points-earning strategies.

The main topic dives into the best Hilton redemptions, with a focus on maximizing value through free night certificates, transfer bonuses, and strategic point usage. Angie highlights outsized value at luxury properties, including SLH hotels charging upwards of $2,000 per night, while Cameron breaks down real-world redemption comparisons showing how transferring Amex points (especially with bonuses) or even buying Hilton points can yield strong value—often 2–3 cents per point equivalent. The episode wraps with a tip of the week encouraging listeners to take advantage of transfer bonuses for programs they regularly use and a simple troubleshooting trick: switching browsers can resolve common issues like errors when transferring Avios between accounts.

Episode Links:

• Chase to Flying Blue Transfer Bonus
• Chase to Marriott Transfer Bonus
• New Sapphire Reserve Bonus
• Elevated IHG Card Bonuses
• Flying Blue May Promo Awards
• Amex to Hilton Transfer Bonus

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Late Summer 2026 Meetup in Milwaukee now. award.travel/mke2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Episode 170 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosted by Cameron Laufer and Joseph Petrovic, blends timely travel news with a deeper discussion on the value of short, points-powered trips. The episode opens with a highlight on luxury hotel redemptions, including Cameron’s standout stay at Park Hyatt Niseko during ski season for just 45K points per night. In the news, they cover a range of updates: a Flying Blue promotion offering bonus miles on paid economy flights to Europe, a new IHG–ANA partnership that adds earning and transfer opportunities, and Chase’s “The Edit” promotion, which offers elevated redemption value at select luxury properties—though recent data suggests values may be declining. They also break down upcoming Hyatt award chart changes, noting that while some properties decrease, the majority are increasing in category, making certain redemptions—especially family-friendly ones—more expensive.

The main segment focuses on “Quick Trip Wins,” emphasizing how short, often spontaneous trips can deliver outsized value and meaningful experiences. Both hosts share personal examples, from college visits and concerts to family time and last-minute travel saves. They highlight how points and miles make these trips more accessible, even if they aren’t truly “free,” and discuss strategies like booking speculative flights, leveraging credit card travel credits, and capitalizing on last-minute award availability. Joe shares several high-stakes booking stories, including snagging deeply discounted award flights just hours before departure, while Cameron reflects on how these trips help balance busy schedules and create lasting memories with family.

Ultimately, the episode underscores that while luxury redemptions often get the spotlight, it’s the quick, intentional trips that can have the biggest personal impact. Points and miles serve as a powerful tool to enable flexibility, reduce costs, and say “yes” to experiences that might otherwise feel out of reach. The episode wraps with a practical tip: protect your credit by keeping it locked to prevent fraud—but don’t forget to unlock it before applying for new cards.

Episode Links:

• Air France/ KLM 10K Bonus
• ANA/IHG partnership
• Chase The Edit 2.5 Points Boost
• Hyatt Award Chart changes

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Late Summer 2026 Meetup in Milwaukee now. award.travel/mke2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Episode 169 of the Award Travel 101 podcast recaps the community’s spring meetup in Phoenix, with hosts Mike Zaccheo and Laura Kofoid reflecting on the experience and easing back into everyday life afterward. The episode opens with a member highlight that reinforces a key points-and-miles lesson: always ask. After a mechanical delay caused a return to JFK, member Cindy successfully requested and received 10,000 American Airlines miles as goodwill compensation—turning an inconvenience into a small win.

In the news segment, the hosts cover several noteworthy updates. Wells Fargo has added Wyndham Rewards as a transfer partner at a strong 1:2 ratio, expanding redemption opportunities across thousands of properties worldwide. Meanwhile, United has tightened Polaris Lounge access rules for Star Alliance premium cabin passengers, meaning not all business or first class tickets on partner airlines will grant entry. They also note Southwest’s plans to open its first-ever lounge in Nashville, signaling a shift in the airline’s traditionally no-frills approach.

The bulk of the episode focuses on the Phoenix meetup itself, highlighting events like the opening reception at The Duce, educational sessions at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix, and social activities that fostered deeper connections among attendees. Mike and Laura emphasize what makes these meetups special: a shared passion for award travel, real-time learning beyond blogs, and a collaborative environment where both beginners and experts contribute. Attendees left with actionable strategies, inspiration for future trips, and new friendships—underscoring the episode’s simple takeaway: if you’re into points and miles, go to a meetup.

Episode Links:

• Wells Fargo adds Wyndham
• Reduced Polaris Access
• Southwest Nashville lounge

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Late Summer 2026 Meetup in Milwaukee now. award.travel/mke2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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This episode of the Award Travel 101 podcast features Angie Sparks with guests Paul Lanyi and Megan Heister, who share how they’ve used points and miles to support their aging parents while maintaining demanding travel schedules. First they briefly discuss community debates (like credit card fees at restaurants) and industry news like Rove expanding its value by adding Virgin Red and Virgin Atlantic as transfer partners, Miles & More releasing new mileage bargains (bookable via Rove), and United launching elevated credit card offers with bonuses up to 110,000 miles and 3,000 PQP.

Then, the focus shifts to their personal experiences with long-distance caregiving. Both Paul and Megan describe frequent, often last-minute cross-country travel—sometimes dozens of trips per year—made possible by strategic use of airline miles, hotel points, and travel credits. Megan alone redeemed nearly a million points in 2024, while Paul flew to New York 36 times in two years, illustrating the scale of commitment involved.

They explain how caregiving expenses—from housing to medical care—can be leveraged to earn significant rewards when paid by credit card and reimbursed through insurance or other programs. Both emphasize the flexibility that points provide, allowing them to book urgent flights, upgrade for comfort during stressful times, and even bring in additional support when needed. Megan highlights how this approach not only reduced costs but also reassured her mother, while Paul underscores the importance of planning ahead financially and logistically to maximize both care and rewards.

Beyond the tactics, the episode centers on emotional and practical lessons learned. Building in-person relationships with care teams enables more effective remote management, and having clear, early conversations about parents’ end-of-life wishes is critical to avoiding conflict and ensuring dignity. They also stress the value of travel insurance and maintaining a reserve of points for emergencies. Ultimately, the discussion shows how award travel can be a powerful tool—not just for leisure, but for showing up consistently for loved ones during some of life’s most challenging moments.

Episode Links:

• Rove Adds Virgin as partner
• Miles & More Bargains
• Elevated United offers

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Late Summer 2026 Meetup in Milwaukee now. award.travel/mke2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Episode 167 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosted by Angie Sparks and Cameron Laufer, covers recent travel news, credit card updates, and a deep dive into cash back credit cards. They begin with a member question about CLEAR and note that while some credit cards offer reimbursement, travelers may also get discounted or free memberships through airline status. In the news segment, they highlight a Flying Blue status match for U.S. residents, changes to American Express transfer partners (including losing Etihad), Centurion Lounge updates, and several limited-time transfer bonuses. They also mention elevated welcome offers on Alaska and Hilton credit cards, encouraging listeners to take advantage before they expire.

The main topic focuses on the pros and cons of cash back credit cards compared to travel rewards cards. Angie and Cameron emphasize that while transferable points are often more valuable for award travel, cash back cards offer simplicity, low or no annual fees, and solid earning rates in common spending categories. However, they typically come with lower sign-up bonuses and still count toward application limits like Chase’s 5/24 rule. They review several popular personal cards, including options from American Express, Chase, Citi, Bank of America, Discover, Capital One, and Wells Fargo, highlighting key earning structures like rotating 5% categories, flat 2% cash back, and bonus categories for groceries, dining, and gas.

They also briefly touch on business cash back cards, which can offer higher earning rates or large sign-up bonuses but may come with annual fees. The episode wraps with personal updates on recent card bonuses and travel plans, plus a tip advising listeners to book two hotel rooms under different names to maximize elite status benefits like Hyatt’s Brand Explorer. Overall, the episode provides a practical overview of when cash back cards make sense and how they can complement a broader travel rewards strategy.

Episode links:

• Flying Blue Status Match
• Amex Loses Etihad
• Amex Lounge News
• Alaska Card offers
• Hilton Card offers
• Best Cash Back Credit cards

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Late Summer 2026 Meetup in Milwaukee now. award.travel/mke2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Episode 166 of the Award Travel 101 podcast introduces new team member Laura Kofoid, who joins host Angie Sparks for a casual conversation about her background and entry into the points-and-miles hobby. Laura shares how she discovered travel rewards after retiring from a long IT career and looking for a new hobby, eventually becoming deeply engaged in maximizing loyalty programs. The episode also highlights a fun community post debating airplane seat preferences, where most travelers favored window views but often chose aisle seats for practicality—except for parents, who frequently opt for the middle seat to sit between family members.

In the news segment, Angie and Laura discuss several updates in the travel rewards world. These include a new partnership between Marriott and Ethiopian Airlines (though with a less favorable transfer ratio), changes to Cathay Pacific’s Asia Miles award chart coming in May 2026, and the addition of Wyndham as a transfer partner for Bilt Rewards, further strengthening Bilt’s growing ecosystem. They also critique a newly launched Amex business cash-back card, noting its high annual fee and lack of transferable rewards. Laura shares her recent strategy of picking up United business credit cards due to her Denver hub, while Angie continues searching for valuable new card offers.

The episode wraps with a deeper “Meet the Mods” feature on Laura, where she reflects on her biggest wins—like using Hyatt points for a six-night stay in Kauai—and lessons learned, including costly booking mistakes and missed opportunities with sign-up bonuses. She explains her shift from full-price cruising to more strategic travel with upgraded flights and hotel stays. Laura emphasizes her preference for Chase and Amex ecosystems and offers a simple but valuable tip of the week: “HUCA” (Hang Up, Call Again), encouraging persistence when dealing with customer service in travel bookings.

Episode Links:

• Marriott-Ethiopian Partnership
• Cathay Devaluation
• Amex Graphite Biz
• Bilt Adds Wyndham

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Late Summer 2026 Meetup in Milwaukee now. award.travel/mke2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Episode 165 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosted by Angie Sparks and Cameron Laufer, opens with a discussion about booking a safari using points. While some luxury lodge options like the JW Masai Mara and Marriott properties near Kruger were mentioned, the consensus advice was to use points for flights and pay cash for the safari itself. This approach provides more flexibility in choosing camps and experiences, while also allowing travelers to earn rewards or hit a new sign-up bonus through cash spending.

In the news segment, the hosts cover several major updates in the points and miles world. ITA Airways announced it will shut down its Volare loyalty program by the end of March 2026, giving members a limited window to redeem points. Citi is devaluing transfer ratios to Choice Hotels and Preferred Hotels, though it is temporarily offsetting this with transfer bonuses to Avianca LifeMiles and Virgin Atlantic. Meanwhile, Chase has increased the sign-up bonus on its Ink Preferred business card to 100,000 points, making it an attractive option for earning rewards on travel and business spending.

The main topic focuses on lesser-known credit card perks that can provide significant value if used correctly. These include primary car rental insurance, purchase protection, extended warranties, companion certificates, travel insurance, and cell phone coverage. The hosts emphasize that understanding the fine print—such as exclusions, coverage limits, and eligibility requirements—is key to maximizing these benefits. They wrap up with practical tips: set alerts for award availability and stay flexible with travel plans, as changing circumstances or better deals can arise unexpectedly.

Episode Links:

• ITA Program Ending
• Citi to Virgin Transfer bonus
• Citi to Avianca Transfer bonus
• Citi to Choice/ I-Prefer Devaluation
• Chase Ink Preferred Offer
• Award Wallet Benefits List

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Late Summer 2026 Meetup in Milwaukee now. award.travel/mke2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Episode 164 of the Award Travel 101 podcast features host Mike Zaccheo with guests Tim Kozikowski and Mary Willet, a New Jersey–based couple who are both deeply involved in the points-and-miles hobby. The episode begins with a community question about whether beginners should focus on earning Chase or Amex points. The discussion highlights that most experienced travelers recommend earning both. Chase is often preferred for valuable transfer partners like Hyatt and United, particularly for travelers based near United hubs or those still under the Chase 5/24 rule. Amex is favored for its strong everyday earning rates, especially with cards like the Amex Gold, and for strong airfare redemption opportunities. The broader takeaway from the community discussion is that sign-up bonuses provide the most value, and diversification across programs—sometimes including Capital One and Citi—is generally the best strategy.

The hosts also cover recent travel news, including new offers on Marriott Bonvoy credit cards and an improvement allowing members to top off Marriott free night certificates by up to 25,000 points instead of the previous 15,000 limit. Another update highlights the opening of the Hyatt Regency Niagara Falls Fallsview on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, offering new redemption opportunities with strong room views and potential suite upgrade awards. After sharing upcoming travel plans—such as trips to Texas, Thailand, Japan, and community meetups—the conversation shifts to the main topic: how couples manage a “P1/P1” relationship where both partners actively participate in the award travel hobby rather than one person doing all the planning.

Tim and Mary discuss how they each got into the hobby, starting with an Aeroplan credit card in 2022, and how their shared interest shapes their travel strategy. They talk about coordinating credit card applications, managing points balances, dividing responsibilities like spreadsheets and bookings, and occasionally navigating disagreements over points strategy. The episode highlights how collaboration can improve optimization, from staggering applications around rules like 5/24 to pursuing different loyalty programs or business cards. The hosts wrap up with redemption stories, lessons from mistakes, rapid-fire travel preferences, and advice for couples entering the hobby—emphasizing communication, organization, and having clear travel goals while enjoying the experiences points make possible.

Episode Links:

• Marriott Bonvoy Card offers
• Marriott Now Allowing Top offs up to 25k
• Hyatt Regency Niagara Falls Fallsview

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Late Summer 2026 Meetup in Milwaukee now. award.travel/mke2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Episode 163 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosted by Angie Sparks and Cameron Laufer, opens with a lighthearted highlight from the community about surviving timeshare presentations. Members shared strategies for getting through the required 90–120 minute pitch that often comes with discounted vacation offers—suggestions ranged from setting a visible timer and clearly stating you’re not interested, to humorous tactics like bringing sugar-hyped kids or joking about being fresh out of bankruptcy. The hosts also discussed travel news, including a promotion from Holiday Inn Club Vacations offering bonus IHG points with a discounted stay, the opening of a small but upscale American Express Sidecar Lounge in Las Vegas, a 30% Chase-to-Wyndham transfer bonus, and changes to Emirates partner award charts. Angie and Cameron also shared personal updates about credit-card welcome bonuses they’re working on and upcoming trips they’re planning or booking.

The main topic focuses on Cameron’s trip to Chile and how to use points and miles to reach South America. Major gateways like Santiago (SCL) and Buenos Aires (EZE) offer multiple award options across alliances. Cameron flew from Cleveland to Santiago via Dallas using American Airlines miles, noting that American and Alaska miles can book business-class awards starting around 50,000 miles one way. Other options include Latam flights from Miami or New York, bookable through partners like Virgin Atlantic or Delta, as well as Star Alliance bookings through Air Canada for United, Avianca, or Copa flights. Once in the region, travelers heading to Patagonia can fly to smaller airports such as Puerto Natales or Punta Arenas using Latam or low-cost carriers like JetSMART, sometimes for cheap cash fares that can be offset with travel portal credits.

Cameron also explained that Patagonia trips—especially to Torres del Paine—require careful planning due to complex logistics. His group flew to Puerto Natales, then took a bus and catamaran to begin the famous W Trek, a roughly 50-mile hike over five days. Despite the complicated planning for a group of six, the stunning scenery made it worthwhile. Accommodation options range from affordable hostels to luxury properties, including some bookable with points or through premium travel.

Episode Links:

• IHG Timeshare Offer
• Amex new Vegas lounge
• Chase to Wyndham bonus
• Emirates partner chart changes

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Late Summer 2026 Meetup in Milwaukee now. award.travel/mke2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Episode 162 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosted by Cameron Laufer and Mike Zaccheo, opens with a listener question that highlights the difficulty of earning American Airlines miles without access to key transfer partners. The discussion underscores why AA miles remain so valuable, especially for premium partner redemptions like Japan Airlines, and explores limited workarounds such as credit card sign-up bonuses or indirect transfer options. The hosts then cover recent news in the points-and-miles space, including Chase adding Wyndham as a transfer partner, transfer bonuses from Citi, and elevated credit card offers across Hilton and United portfolios. They also share personal updates, including recent redemptions, new card strategies, and upcoming travel plans.

The main focus of the episode is “Hyatt-ageddon,” a major overhaul of the World of Hyatt award chart. Hyatt is introducing a new pricing structure with expanded tiers and significantly higher point costs—ranging from moderate increases to jumps as high as 67% at peak levels. The hosts explain that while Hyatt is not fully moving to dynamic pricing, the wide pricing bands and lack of guarantees on award availability make it function similarly. Popular properties are expected to price at higher tiers more frequently, reducing the outsized value Hyatt points once offered.

Despite the negative reaction from many travelers, the hosts emphasize that this kind of devaluation is common in loyalty programs. They suggest adapting strategies by prioritizing free night certificates, booking high-end properties sooner rather than later, and considering alternatives like other hotel programs or even booking through travel portals. The value of Hyatt elite status—particularly Globalist—is also questioned, with the conclusion that while benefits remain strong, travelers may need to reassess whether pursuing status still makes sense under the new system.

Episode Links:

• Chase adds Wyndam as partner
• Elevated Hilton Card offers
• Elevated United Card offers
• Bank of America rewards changes

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Late Summer 2026 Meetup in Milwaukee now. award.travel/mke2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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In Episode 161 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Angie Sparks welcomes Justin Walter to share details from his recent family trip to Punta Cana. The episode kicks off with a highlight from member Megan, who creatively paid an $11,000 hospital bill using $200 Visa gift cards purchased at office supply stores—earning a stash of Ultimate Rewards points in the process. In news, Angie covers a 15% transfer bonus from American Express Membership Rewards to Avianca LifeMiles, while Justin shares that Emirates Skywards will no longer award miles on Condor-operated flights starting May 1, 2026 (though redemptions remain). Angie also highlights a 40% transfer bonus from Chase Ultimate Rewards to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, and Justin reminds listeners that dozens of limited-time promos across major loyalty programs are ending soon.

On the credit card front, Angie shares that her Barclays Aviator card will convert to a Citi Strata card, prompting her to apply early to secure a sign-up bonus—ultimately receiving an unusually generous credit line offer. She also grabbed a no-lifetime-language Hilton Surpass offer that includes a free night certificate, planning to leverage upcoming pool renovation expenses to meet spending requirements. Justin, meanwhile, is working through Amex Business Gold and Delta Business Reserve bonuses for status, while his Player 2 was denied for a Citi AA Platinum Select and is considering a Hilton card with elevated offers. They also preview a packed year of travel, including Phoenix, Morocco, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Puerto Vallarta, Vegas, Rome, and Japan.

The main topic centers on Justin’s family trip to Punta Cana, where they stayed at Dreams Macao Beach Punta Cana, booked directly through Hyatt for 29,000 points per night plus $60 per child. They flew nonstop on Delta Air Lines, paying a premium for the convenience. Justin notes this wasn’t their first full-family trip, as grandparents joined them previously. The episode wraps with a practical tip of the week: don’t believe every travel rumor you read online—especially when it comes to loyalty program changes.

Episode Links:

• Amex to Avianca transfer bonus
• Condor drops Emirates Earning
• Chase to Virgin transfer bonus
• Promos Ending soon

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Late Summer 2026 Meetup in Milwaukee now. award.travel/mke2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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In Episode 160 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Angie Sparks welcomes Claudia Corral and Adrian Pagan from ExpertFlyer to discuss the evolution of one of the original tools in the award travel space. Angie reflects on how, before modern award search engines existed, travelers had to manually check airline sites or rely on ExpertFlyer alerts—often needing to understand complex fare classes to make it work. Now under Red Ventures, the platform has been modernized with a new mobile experience, improved alerts, and upgraded technology aimed at making the tool both more powerful for frequent flyers and more approachable for newcomers.

The episode also covers current travel news and community highlights. Elevated offers on Southwest Airlines personal credit cards include up to 40,000 Rapid Rewards points plus a Companion Pass valid through February 2027, while Marriott Bonvoy launched a promotion awarding 2,500 bonus points per stay and bonus Elite Night Credits for stays at unique brands through May 10, 2026 (registration required). In the group discussion, members debated their top “keeper” credit cards, with The Platinum Card from American Express and the Chase Sapphire Preferred frequently mentioned.

Claudia and Adrian clarify that ExpertFlyer isn’t a points-search engine, but rather a comprehensive flight intelligence platform. It provides real-time seat maps, detailed fare class availability, upgrade space (notably valuable for American Airlines systemwide upgrades), flight schedules, fare rules, and tools like minimum connection times and visa information. Designed for frequent travelers, agents, and families alike, the platform encourages users to master one feature at a time, search flights segment by segment, and set strategic alerts. Looking ahead, the team is focused on improving award and upgrade searches—especially for American Airlines—enhancing seat maps, and refining alerts. A new AI-powered flight status insight feature also translates airline jargon into plain English to help travelers better understand delays or cancellations and potentially support compensation claims.

Expert Flyer is offering a promo code so that AwardTravel101 listeners get 30% off an ExpertFlyer Premium Yearly account, the insider tool elite travelers use to fly smarter.

Choose Premium Yearly account and use promo code ATPodcast30 at checkout. Eligible until 3/31/2026

Episode Links:

• Southwest CC Welcome offers
• Marriott Promo

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Late Summer 2026 Meetup in Milwaukee now. award.travel/mke2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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In Episode 159 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Angie Sparks and Mike Zaccheo cover listener tips, loyalty news, and Angie’s recent “actual vacation.” The highlight post addresses how to handle two-factor authentication (2FA) when traveling internationally, especially when using a local eSIM. Community suggestions include switching to authenticator apps instead of SMS and keeping your primary line active for texts and calls while using an eSIM for data. In the news, they discuss a new United Business card offer (100,000 miles plus 2,000 PQP), Air Canada adding ITA Airways as a distance-based redemption partner, a targeted Marriott Bonvoy points purchase bonus, and several loyalty promotions set to expire. They also share updates on their current credit card strategies and upcoming trips.

The main topic centers on Angie’s first true vacation in years. After initially considering a resort stay in Anguilla, she and her husband opted for a seven-night Norwegian Cruise Line sailing out of San Juan with a port stop each day. They intentionally limited excursions, choosing instead to relax—reading, enjoying the sun, and unplugging. Angie strategically used a mix of cash, points, and credit card perks to offset costs, including Ultimate Rewards points to book the cruise through Chase Travel, free night certificates at the Caribe Hilton for a pre-cruise stay, and various statement credits for rides, dining, and lounge access. She also highlights how her Southwest Priority card delivered outsized value under the airline’s new seat assignment policy, saving nearly $500 on seat selection and baggage fees. While the trip delivered the relaxation they wanted, Angie notes some declines in NCL’s onboard experience and wouldn’t necessarily recommend that specific ship in the future.

Episode Links

• United Business card offer
• Air Canada/ ITA partnership
• Marriott buy points promo

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Late Summer 2026 Meetup in Milwaukee now. award.travel/mke2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Episode 158 of the Award Travel 101 Podcast features host Joseph Petrovic and returning guest Steve Harms as they dive into recent award travel news, big credit card bonuses, and trip updates before a deep-dive on Hawaii—especially Steve’s favorite island, Kauai. They discuss how members are currently using their points, evaluate the value of the Chase Sapphire Reserve, cover major airline and credit card developments, and share their own recent wins, including 100K+ mile bonuses, AA Loyalty Point milestones, and premium cabin award finds to Japan. Steve highlights his extensive Hawaii experience—17 trips across the islands with a strong focus on Kauai—breaking down flight options, award strategies, places to stay, and must-see spots. Whether planning a future island getaway or optimizing award travel, listeners get practical insight, personal stories, and plenty of tips.

Links to Topics Discussed

• Is the CSR Worth The Price?
• Elevated Citi Offers
• AA Barclay Cards Converting to Citi
• Capital One Venture X Offer
• Bilt Palladium Card
• Best Ways to Book Flights to Hawaii With Points and Miles
• Reservations - Go Hāʻena
• Kauai Festivals and Events
• Trip Planning Guide
• Kauai Farmers Markets

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Late Summer 2026 Meetup in Milwaukee now. award.travel/mke2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Episode 157 of the Award Travel 101 podcast features Angie Sparks in conversation with Tim Qin, founder of the award search tool Roame.Travel. The episode opens with a timely highlight from the Award Travel 101 community, where a member used a Roame alert to snag ANA First Class for 108,000 Avianca miles—award space that no other search tool caught. Angie then runs through the latest news, including Iberia’s 40% off award promotion (making Europe reachable for as few as 9,600 Avios), elevated welcome offers on IHG credit cards, and a brief mention of the newly announced (and somewhat confusing) Bilt 2.0 redemption options.

In the “bonuses and updates” segment, Angie shares recent card application adventures in her household, including abandoning a complicated Bilt Palladium application and dealing with a frozen credit report on a Wells Fargo Autograph Journey application. She also outlines her current strategy to earn a Hilton Free Night Certificate and extra United miles by timing large insurance payments. On the travel front, Angie discusses the challenge of sorting through conflicting information on Swiss train passes, while Tim checks in with his own updates.

The main topic dives deep into Roame.Travel, with Tim explaining what inspired him to build the tool, how its vision has evolved, and what differentiates it in an increasingly crowded award search space. They discuss how Roame can be especially powerful for casual users through alerts and streamlined searches, upcoming enhancements, and current limitations—such as airlines the tool doesn’t yet support, including British Airways and Cathay Pacific. The conversation gives listeners a clear sense of where Roame fits into the award travel ecosystem and how to get the most value out of it.

Episode Links:

• Iberia Promo
• IHG Welcome Offers
• Bilt Cash Redemption Options

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Late Summer 2026 Meetup in Milwaukee now. award.travel/mke2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Episode 156 of the Award Travel 101 podcast opens with Cameron Laufer and Mike Zaccheo discussing a strange and unsettling incident shared in the Award Travel 101 Facebook group, where a traveler appeared to be panhandled inside DFW airport using a dubious story involving an “emergency passport.” The hosts agree the situation didn’t add up and use it as a springboard to talk about staying alert in airports. They then move into news and updates, covering several current travel and credit card developments, including a new Hyatt welcome offer with five free nights, an enhanced Capital One Venture bonus, American Airlines elite status buy-up offers, Alaska Airlines’ “Ski Free” promotion, and news of a proposed Sun Country–Allegiant merger. Both hosts also share recent personal card approvals, retention offers, and trip updates, highlighting how points and miles were used for travel to New York, Key West, Europe, Mexico, and Park City.

The main topic of the episode is a deep dive into the controversial rollout of “Bilt 2.0,” including new card tiers (Blue, Obsidian, and Palladium), the introduction of “Bilt Cash,” and major changes to how rent and mortgage payments earn points. Mike and Cameron break down the math behind the new earning options, explaining how cardholders now need significant non-bonus spend to earn rent or mortgage points fee-free, which sparked backlash from users who felt the program’s core promise had shifted. They discuss why the rollout caused a firestorm—citing complexity, perceived deception, and new earning restrictions—while also acknowledging positives like welcome bonuses, mortgage eligibility, higher potential earn rates, and strong transfer partners such as Hyatt.

In closing, the hosts offer balanced perspectives on who the revamped Bilt program may or may not be for. Cameron views it as potentially attractive for non-renters seeking strong transfer partners and solid earn rates on everyday spend, while Mike urges listeners to focus on opportunity cost and not get swept up in hype without doing the math. The episode wraps with a practical “tip of the week,” advising travelers to be proactive and push for better hotel accommodations when airlines strand them overnight due to delays or missed connections.

Episode Links:

• Hyatt 5 Night Offer
• Capital One Venture Offer
• American Status Buy up Offers
• Fly Alaska Ski Free
• Sun County/ Allegiant Merger
• Bilt 2.0 Details

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Late Summer 2026 Meetup in Milwaukee now. award.travel/mke2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Episode 155 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, “This and That,” features Angie Sparks and Mike Zaccheo covering a wide range of points-and-miles news, personal updates, and community highlights. A standout moment comes from a member post calculating that 11 trips taken with kids—booked using points—would have cost over $40,000 in cash but instead totaled under $2,000, underscoring both the massive savings and the priceless experiences gained. The hosts also discuss developing news, including rumored new Bilt cards, a potential Saks Fifth Avenue bankruptcy impacting Amex credits, new credit card offers from Aeroplan and Marriott, and plans for a Capital One Lounge at Charlotte airport.

Angie and Mike share their own credit card strategies, recent approvals and denials, and how they’re managing spend thresholds and bonuses. Angie dives into trip planning for Switzerland, Turkey, and an upcoming cruise, highlighting the creative use of Chase credits, hotel points, and free night certificates—along with the quirks of booking Swiss trains. Mike talks about “gardening” itineraries to save points, upgrading cabins, and planning trips to Key West, Vegas, Napa, and an anniversary stay at Alila Napa, largely using American Airlines and Marriott Bonvoy redemptions.

The main discussion centers on travel quirks inspired by an article, sparking a lively debate on premium cabin dining habits, pre-departure drinks, excessive bedding, refillable hotel amenities, and window shade etiquette. The episode wraps with a practical tip of the week: travelers renting cars at Orlando (MCO) can avoid rental company toll fees by signing up for the free Florida Visitor Toll Pass kiosk just steps from the rental counters—paying only the tolls themselves and nothing extra.

Episode Links:

• Aeroplan Card
• Marriott Boundless Offer
• Capital One Lounge CLT

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Late Summer 2026 Meetup in Milwaukee now. award.travel/mke2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Episode 154 of the Award Travel 101 podcast features Angie Sparks and moderator Anthony Cave, recorded early due to scheduling, with a lighter news slate and no new card bonuses or trip updates from Angie. The highlight of the week was a reflective community post where members shared their best award travel experiences of 2025, ranging from aspirational first-class flights like Swiss, Emirates, and Singapore Suites to more personal moments such as traveling with loved ones or beginning retirement abroad. In news, the hosts discussed Bilt’s new real-time award flight search tool, rumors around a possible “Bilt 2.0” card with mortgage-earning potential, JetBlue’s still-active ultra-low 800-point award flights, improving Alaska partner earning rates in 2026, and a Marriott-to-Singapore Airlines status pathway.

Anthony shared that while he hasn’t picked up new bonuses, he’s been maximizing Amex credits and is planning a big winter trip to either Europe or Asia, along with booking some comped cruises. The main topic of the episode was a deep dive into the Choice Privileges rewards program, including the newly introduced Titanium status tier. Key elite benefits include free breakfast at former Radisson properties for Diamond members, a new Titanium award, and the standout perk of being able to book suites for the same number of points as standard rooms. Downsides include resort fees on award stays and inconsistent late checkout.

The hosts outlined how Choice status is relatively easy to earn through its two credit cards, which provide automatic status, elite night credits, and strong earning categories. They also highlighted valuable redemption sweet spots—such as hotels in Prague, Vienna, Tokyo, and Auckland for surprisingly low point totals—and favorable transfer ratios from major bank programs. The episode wrapped up with a reminder that Marriott PointSavers awards can only be searched on desktop, making it a useful but often overlooked tool.

Episode Links:

• Bilt Search Tool
• Alaska Atmos Increased Earning
• JetBlue 800 point Flights
• Singapore Status Match

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Late Summer 2026 Meetup in Milwaukee now. award.travel/mke2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Episode 153 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosted by Angie Sparks with moderator Cameron Laufer, opens with a community “commiseration” post about painful travel mistakes. Member Ray shared losing 38,000 JetBlue points and cash after accidentally booking a non-refundable Blue Basic fare and missing the DOT cancellation window by just a few hours. This sparked stories from others about points and money lost due to rigid policies or simple stubbornness, reinforcing how unforgiving award travel rules can be. The hosts then covered key news, including the Venture X 100k offer ending January 5, the JetBlue–JAL partnership ending March 31, Chase Freedom/Flex Q1 5x categories, and a disappointing British Airways Avios devaluation that raises both award costs and fees.

Angie and Cameron also shared recent card activity and trip updates. Angie is focusing on earning steady points into 2026, timing new applications like the Amex Brilliant, and planning future travel to Switzerland and possibly Australia in 2027. Cameron discussed recent redemptions in Southeast Asia that delivered strong value, progress on large bonuses, and upcoming family travel using Southwest Companion Pass benefits. The main discussion centered on a 2026 points forecast, including which cards they’re interested in opening, which ones they plan to close or downgrade, and how shifting fees, benefits, and credit limits are shaping their strategies.

The episode wrapped with award travel goals for 2026 and a practical tip of the week: don’t let chasing small credits or minor wins consume disproportionate time and energy. Angie noted that some credits, like Instacart, may not be worth the effort, while Cameron echoed this with examples like phone credits. Overall, the episode balanced cautionary tales, forward-looking strategy, and a reminder to keep points and miles fun—and efficient—as 2026 approaches.

Episode Links:

• Venture X Offer Ending
• JetBlue/JAL Partnership Ending
• Chase Freedom Q1 Categories
• British Airways Devaluation

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Late Summer 2026 Meetup in Milwaukee now. award.travel/mke2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Episode 152 of the Award Travel 101 podcast covers a wide range of timely award travel news, recent booking challenges, and a deep dive into how Angie and Cameron are thinking about points earning as they look ahead to 2026. The hosts open with a community highlight about delayed Amex-to-Delta transfers, reminding listeners that transfers may still be usable even if balances don’t immediately update, and that transfer times vary by program. In the news segment, they discuss several changes affecting travelers, including airlines rolling out free in-flight internet, American Airlines eliminating mileage earning on Basic Economy tickets booked after December 17, Chase reducing Points Boost values for The Edit hotels, and Bilt adding Spirit Airlines as a transfer partner.

Both hosts then share recent bonuses, trips, and booking experiences—good and bad. Angie notes difficulties using Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts credits due to pricing and availability, as well as a frustrating phantom award space issue on United. Cameron details multiple upcoming trips, including booking LATAM business class to Chile via Virgin, taking advantage of a limited Amex-to-Virgin transfer bonus, and finding strong premium economy value on Air France, even if logistics made it less appealing. These examples highlight how flexible points strategies and constant monitoring are often required to secure good redemptions.

The main topic focuses on how many points were earned and spent this year and what that means for 2026. Angie describes a relatively slow year for new card openings but significant spending on major trips, leaving her overall points-positive while planning to cancel or downgrade several cards and target a few specific additions next year. Cameron reports earning 1.8 million points, realizing how heavily he relied on American Airlines miles, and deciding to prioritize earning more of them going forward. The episode wraps with a reminder that calendar-year credits—especially Amex credits—are about to expire, urging listeners to use them before the deadline.

Episode Links:

• Atmos Free Starlink
• American No earning on basic economy
• Chase reduces Points Boost on the Edit
• Bilt adds Spirit

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Late Summer 2026 Meetup in Milwaukee now. award.travel/mke2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Episode 151 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosted by Angie Sparks and Joseph Petrovic, covers a wide range of travel and points news before diving into a full recap of ZorkFest. In the news segment, the hosts discuss Mesa unexpectedly shutting down accounts, changes to the Ritz-Carlton card’s lounge guest policy, JetBlue’s new Terminal 5 lounge with very limited access, and concerns around a Cathay Pacific transfer devaluation from Amex Membership Rewards. They also highlight year-end checklist reminders, such as expiring credits, point pooling, and spending thresholds. Angie and Joe share recent bonuses, card closures, and points earned, along with detailed trip updates involving Vegas, Japan, Orlando, Phoenix, and upcoming meetups.

The main topic centers on ZorkFest, a unique event that blends traditional travel rewards with casino loyalty programs. Held at the M Resort in Henderson, Nevada, ZorkFest attracts attendees interested in high expected value opportunities, cost-effective stays (including bookings with Choice points), and hands-on learning through labs and live gaming experiences with experts. Both Angie and Joe recount their flights, hotel experiences, and why the event stands out: strong presenters, opportunities for new players, and a focus on maximizing rewards across both travel and casino ecosystems. The hosts note that the event just wrapped up and is likely to return next year.

The episode wraps with miscellaneous trip highlights, community connections, and a “Tip of the Week” emphasizing adaptability. Joe stresses that points and miles opportunities are constantly changing, with earning avenues and redemption paths frequently disappearing. The key takeaway is to stay flexible, plan ahead, and be ready to pivot strategies as programs evolve—an especially timely reminder given the rapid changes discussed throughout the episode.

Episode links:

• Mesa Shutdown
• Ritz Lounge Access
• JetBlue JFK Lounge
• Cathay Devaluation

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Late Summer 2026 Meetup in Milwaukee now. award.travel/mke2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Episode 150 of the Award Travel 101 Podcast focuses heavily on year-end strategy, with Mike Zaccheo and moderator Cameron Laufer walking through news, bonuses, trip updates, and the annual housekeeping travelers should tackle before December 31. They open by highlighting a community post about someone just 500 MQDs short of Delta Diamond and discuss creative last-minute options—same-day turn flights, buying MQDs, or leveraging Delta credit card boosts. News items include Royal Air Maroc’s new status match (valid through 2026), a significant Turkish Miles&Smiles partner award devaluation, and Capital One’s upcoming transfer-ratio cut to Emirates. Mike and Cameron also share their own card bonus pursuits and recent travel planning, including Mike’s NYC trip and Cameron’s Singapore Airlines business-class redemption and new Hyatt Globalist status.

The main segment dives into year-end planning across credits, spending, and elite status. Mike reviews the long list of expiring statement credits—hotel credits from Amex, Chase, and Citi; airline incidental credits; and category-specific perks like Amex Dell/Saks/Resy and Hilton’s monthly credits. Cameron covers annual spending thresholds, including Hilton free night certificate triggers, Hyatt spend-based nights, Amex Platinum’s 75K spend for guest lounge access. They also outline status deadlines, reminding listeners that most airline and hotel elite metrics close December 31.

Rounding out the episode, the hosts discuss point pooling and transfer limits—noting strict annual caps for Citi ThankYou, Marriott, and Hilton—plus considerations around buying points and credit-card strategy like triple-dipping and 5/24 checks. The “Tip of the Week” advises booking Alaska Airlines partner awards (such as those operated by AA) under “other person” so you can later manage the reservation directly through American Airlines.

Episode Links:

• Royal Air Maroc Status Match
• Turkish Devaluation
• Capital One to Emirates Devaluation
• Year End Statement Credits
• Year End Hotel Status Strategy

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Late Summer 2026 Meetup in Milwaukee now. award.travel/mke2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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In this episode of Award Travel 101, hosts Angie Sparks and Mike Zaccheo dive deep into the Marriott Bonvoy rewards program. They explore the program's extensive hotel network of over 8,900 properties across 34 brands, ranging from budget-friendly Fairfield Inn to luxury Ritz Carlton. The hosts break down the elite status tiers, highlighting that Platinum status offers the most meaningful benefits, including room upgrades, free breakfast, and guaranteed 4 PM late checkout.

The discussion covers Marriott Bonvoy credit card strategies, noting the various cards from Amex and Chase that offer elite night credits and status. They candidly discuss the program's pros and cons, praising its wide footprint and diverse property range while critiquing issues like resort fees on award stays and less-than-impressive benefits for lower-tier status levels. The episode concludes with a key tip: focus on loyalty strategies that genuinely work for your personal travel needs, rather than getting caught up in status-chasing hype.

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Late Summer 2026 Meetup in Milwaukee now. award.travel/mke2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Episode 148 of the Award Travel 101 podcast focuses on maximizing points and cashback during Black Friday shopping while also covering the week’s key award-travel news. Angie and Cameron open with a community highlight about stacking rewards on large purchases—using new credit cards for signup bonuses, checking card-linked offers, comparing shopping portals, and leveraging gift-card category bonuses at grocery or office-supply stores. They also touch on programs like Wayfair Professional that sometimes unlock extra savings or rewards opportunities. News updates include a 40% Amex-to-Virgin Atlantic transfer bonus, Frontier’s extended Go Wild Pass, expanded Air France Flying Blue saver availability for elite members, and an elevated $40 TopCashback referral bonus.

The hosts also share their personal points wins and trip planning. Angie is using a new Citi Strata Elite card to cover property taxes and wrap up a United Gateway spending tracker, while Cameron is evaluating Citi and Chase cards for various family members and prepping for future Southwest Companion Pass timing. Travel planning includes Angie’s upcoming Uruguay trip and Cameron’s multi-stop itineraries for Greece and Thailand, including discussions about award pricing, hotel options, and routing strategies on carriers like Qatar, ANA, and JAL.

The main topic—Black Friday shopping—dives into stacking card offers, elevated Rakuten rates, Capital One Shopping deals, Visa gift-card plays via Rove, and portal comparisons using tools like Cashback Monitor. Cameron and Angie outline the best credit cards for holiday spending across different categories and offer strategies like buying gift cards in bonus categories to boost points. They also share must-have travel items recommended by the AT101 community, such as portable fans, chargers, Airfly adapters, and CO₂ detectors. The episode wraps with a tip of the week: using Thrifty Traveler’s credit-card benefits tracker to manage annual credits across multiple cards more effectively.

Episode Links:

• Amex to Virgin 40% Transfer bonus
• Frontier Go Wild Pass
• Air France Award Space for Elites
• Top Cash Back Link
• Amazon Black Friday Deals

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Spring 2026 Meetup in Phoenix now. award.travel/phx2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Episode 147 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosted by Angie Sparks with guest Jake Futerfas, dives into maximizing Aeroplan, Air Canada’s loyalty program. Jake, a long-time community member and Aeroplan expert, shares insights on why Aeroplan stands out, how to accumulate points, and the best redemption strategies. The discussion covers sweet spots, partner redemptions, and benefits of the Chase Aeroplan card, including earning toward elite status and leveraging eUpgrades and Priority Rewards to offset dynamic pricing. Jake also highlights perks for United flyers and offers a practical tip: always carry your Global Entry card when flying from Canadian airports with U.S. preclearance.

Listeners are reminded to monitor year-end deals like transfer bonuses, status matches, and point-buying promos. The episode emphasizes strategic planning for both earning and redeeming points, especially with Aeroplan’s flexibility and partner network, making it a valuable resource for travelers looking to optimize their rewards.

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Spring 2026 Meetup in Phoenix now. award.travel/phx2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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In Episode 146, Angie Sparks and Joe Petrovic recap their weekend at Chicago Seminars, highlight a timely AT201 post about preparing for phone theft while traveling, and cover key news including IHG’s 100% points bonus, an elevated United Club Card offer, and early hints of a new Hyatt credit card. They also touch on current transfer bonuses, mileage sales, status matches, and the launch of Bilt earnings through Rakuten.

The main discussion focuses on Chicago Seminars itself—a volunteer-run, charity-driven event where roughly half the attendees are first-timers. Angie and Joe share takeaways from the sessions, standout speakers, and the strong community aspect, noting the event raised nearly $32,000 for charity this year. Travel disruptions added extra drama, with Angie navigating a last-minute cancellation thanks to backup options and miles. They close by encouraging newcomers to attend next year and share an ExpertFlyer tip for checking why a flight was canceled.

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Spring 2026 Meetup in Phoenix now. award.travel/phx2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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This episode features Mike Zaccheo and Angie Sparks diving deep into the world of credit card statement credits and how to maximize them. The episode begins with a highlight post from member Karen, who detailed her inspiring solo round-the-world trip at age 60, showing how miles, points, and determination can unlock life-changing travel. In news, the hosts cover Flying Blue’s November Promo Rewards offering discounted redemptions from North America to Europe, a 20% Capital One transfer bonus to British Airways, Wells Fargo adding JetBlue as a transfer partner, and a major announcement that Rove Miles will soon support Lufthansa’s Miles & More—its first European transfer option.

Angie shares her latest booking spree, spending 1.3 million points to plan a Switzerland and Istanbul trip, while Mike talks about arranging a Key West getaway for family. They also discuss their travel plans for Chicago Seminars weekend. The main topic focuses on using all available card credits—daily, monthly, quarterly, and annual—across popular cards like the Amex Platinum, Amex Gold, Hilton Aspire, and Chase Sapphire Reserve. They break down credits covering everything from Uber, dining, and streaming to resort stays, airline fees, and portal bookings, emphasizing that these perks can dramatically offset annual fees when used strategically.

Links to Topics Discussed

• Flying Blue Promo Rewards
• Capital One to British Airways Transfer Bonus
• Wells Fargo to JetBlue Transfer Bonus
• Credit Card Statement Credit Listing

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Spring 2026 Meetup in Phoenix now. award.travel/phx2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Joe returns to host, joined by first-time guest James He and former moderator Eric Holly. The highlight post covers a member’s lost hotel item and how travelers handle forgotten valuables. In the news: Singapore Airlines’ KrisFlyer devaluation, a new JetBlue–United partnership allowing reciprocal earning and redemptions (with limited premium space), and a rare 25% Chase transfer bonus to Southwest. The team also shares their latest credit card bonuses, milestone progress, and efforts to trim down annual fees.

Trip updates include Eric’s California work travel and future Portugal plans, James’ upcoming premium-class flights to Asia, Africa, and Europe, and Joe’s family trip to Atlanta plus speaking appearances at Chicago Seminars and Zorkfest.

Main topic: JetBlue’s “25 for 25” challenge. Both Eric and James completed it—visiting 25 JetBlue destinations to earn 350K points and Mosaic 1 status for 25 years. Each spent around $3,500 and built trips around existing plans. They explain how to qualify, eligible flights, and why the long-term rewards make it worthwhile. The episode wraps with tips on status matching and using tools like Plastiq to help meet spend goals.

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Spring 2026 Meetup in Phoenix now. award.travel/phx2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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This week, Mike Zaccheo and moderator Justin Walter dive deep into Delta SkyMiles after highlighting an inspiring post from Karen, a solo traveler in her 60s who completed a 3-week, around-the-world business- and first-class trip using 326K AA and Virgin miles plus $8.2K in cash for a journey valued at ~$22K. Her itinerary spanned NYC, Tel Aviv, Paris, Tokyo, and Phoenix, with smooth connections, Hyatt stays on points, and carry-on-only travel. She earned 38K miles back and proved that with planning, persistence, and a good points strategy, major bucket-list trips are possible at any age.

In the news, Citi launched the new AAdvantage Globe Mastercard, while Hyatt refreshed its personal card offer . JetBlue announced Mosaic status changes for 2026—more benefits for top elites but fewer perks for lower tiers—while SkyTeam expanded lounge access to 70+ domestic lounges, excluding Delta’s own Elite Plus members.

The main topic explored how Delta SkyMiles has evolved into a dynamic, spend-based loyalty program where Amex partnerships play a key role. Although miles never expire, the lack of an award chart creates unpredictable pricing, making partner bookings (Air France, Virgin Atlantic) and flash sales the best value opportunities. The hosts discussed Delta’s Medallion tiers, MQD rules, and the shifting role of Sky Clubs as Amex access limits tighten, noting that Delta increasingly positions itself as a “premium brand.” Their advice: always compare award prices across partner programs before redeeming and also evaluate miles vs cash prices.

Links To Topics Discussed

• New Citi AAdvantage Globe Card
• Hyatt Credit Card Offer with Double Elite Nights
• JetBlue Elite Status Changes
• SkyTeam Elite Lounge Access Changes

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Spring 2026 Meetup in Phoenix now. award.travel/phx2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Episode 142 of the Award Travel 101 podcast features Angie Sparks joined by guest Carissa Rawson, Director of Travel and Marketing at Rove Miles. The highlight post celebrated member Debbie’s generosity in gifting a Napa Wine Train voucher she couldn’t use, which another member, Lisa, gave to her father-in-law for his 89th birthday. News included Citi Strata Elite’s 100K public offer, elevated cash-back offers on Capital One’s Quicksilver and Savor cards, and a potential new partnership allowing Rakuten users to earn Bilt (and thus Hyatt) points. Angie also mentioned the usual round of transfer and purchase bonuses shared via the AwardWallet blog.

In the main topic, Carissa discussed Rove Miles, a new flexible travel currency not tied to a credit card, explaining how it works, its benefits compared to traditional booking methods, and how it integrates with loyalty programs when booking hotels. Angie also gave a quick trip update about awaiting P2’s decision on whether to include Istanbul on their way to Switzerland, and the episode closed with Carissa’s tip of the week about Choice points and a reminder that the long-awaited AT101 merch store is now open.

Links to Topics Discussed

• Signup for a Rove Miles account (affiliate link)
• Citi Strata Elite New Public Offer
• Capital One Increased Offers
• Bilt Rewards - Rakuten Partnership

Where to Find Us

1. The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Buy your Award Travel 101 Merch here
5. Reserve tickets to our Spring 2026 Meetup in Phoenix now. award.travel/phx2026

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Episode 141 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosted by Mike Zaccheo with Angie Sparks, opens with the “highlight post” about the demise of the popular Red Aviator “Sub for a SUB” card—long favored for its easy single-purchase American Airlines miles bonus. The news roundup covers major developments: the completion of the Hawaiian-Alaska merger and Alaska’s award chart updates, elevated Chase Ink offers and limited-time Hilton Amex bonuses Angie also reviews several active transfer bonuses.

In personal updates, Angie notes her Atmos bonus posting, Aviator annual-fee payments pending, a Hilton Surpass FNC spend met, and plans to downgrade her Ritz card. Mike reports no new activity since his Atmos and Citi Strata Elite bonuses. Angie also shares exciting travel news: booking saver business-class seats from Dallas to Istanbul via a Citi-to-Turkish transfer for her upcoming Switzerland trip, while Mike outlines firmed-up details for his 2026 Japan journey—Singapore’s LAX-NRT fifth-freedom flight, five nights at Park Hyatt Tokyo using a suite upgrade, and a return on JAL booked through a Capital One transfer bonus.

The main segment centers on Angie’s family reunion and leaf-peeping trip through New England, where she splurged on Alaska First Class (75 k miles for four tickets) and balanced multiple travel-portal, Hilton, Marriott, and Hyatt redemptions worth $2.2 k in cash value. She leveraged credits across Capital One, Citi, and Amex for lodging, dining, and rental cars, plus AA lounge access. Her takeaway: though scenic, the trip involved excessive driving, heavy traffic, and limited dining availability. The “Tip of the Week” urges listeners to review unused credits before year-end.

Links to Topics Discussed

• Atmos Rewards Award Chart Changes
• No Fee Chase Ink Business Card Offers
• Hilton Amex Offers
• Credit Card Transfer Bonuses Summary

Where to Find Us

1. The Free Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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In Episode 140 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosts Mike Zaccheo and Cameron Laufer cover a range of topics from heartwarming uses of points to travel industry updates and destination planning. They open with a moving story from a community member who used 18,000 AA miles to fly an old friend across the country for emotional support—highlighting how miles can offer more than just luxury travel. Mike and Cameron then discuss notable credit card updates, including new Capital One transfer partners like Qatar Airways and Japan Airlines (with a 30% bonus), and question whether the $895 Amex Platinum fee is worth it given the long list of credits offered. Transfer bonuses from Citi and Amex are also covered, and they touch on current promotions like Chase Freedom’s Q4 5x categories.

The main segment dives into Cameron’s recent trip to the Dolomites in Italy. He provides a detailed rundown on how to get there using points and miles from various programs—highlighting Emirates’ fifth-freedom JFK–Milan route, and Star Alliance partners like United and Lufthansa. For accommodations, they explore luxury hotel options using programs like I Prefer, Marriott, and portals from Amex, Chase, Citi, and Capital One. Ground transportation tips emphasize renting a car over relying on trains and buses. Cameron wraps up with Dolomites-specific advice like reserving parking at Tre Cime, getting to Seceda early, and hiking resources, making this episode both informative and personal.

Episode Links:

• Capital One new Transfer Partners
• Capital One To JAL Transfer Bonus
• Other Transfer Bonuses
• Amex Platinum Details
• Chase Freedom Q4 5x Categories
• Dolomites Points & Miles Post

Where to Find Us

1. The Free Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Episode 139 of the Award Travel 101 podcast featured Angie Sparks and Joseph Petrovic with a recap of the Miami meetup and the latest travel news. The highlight post centered on whether travelers still need local currency, with most members agreeing that while cards dominate, a small amount of cash is still useful in certain locations. Big news included the refreshed Amex Platinum card with an increased $895 annual fee but a slew of valuable new credits (Resy, Lululemon, FHR, Uber One, Oura, and more), Citi transfer bonuses up to 50%, and new Southwest Business card offers that can lock in a Companion Pass for nearly two years. Angie and Joe also shared recent personal card moves, promos expiring soon, and how they’re using points and credits for upcoming trips.

The Miami meetup drew about 82 attendees at the Hyatt Regency Coral Gables, where upgrades ranged from suites to presidential rooms. Despite a grumpy check-in clerk and a chemically unbalanced pool that ruined swimsuits (compensated with Hyatt points), the group enjoyed lively evenings at the hotel bar, a hot chicken challenge, and plentiful breakfasts. Sessions at the Hotel Colonnade featured talks on Rove Miles, AI trip-planning with Notebook LM, and creative ways to generate spend. Social activities included a dinner at Bay13 and the immersive SuperBlue art exhibit, with attendees also making use of their new Amex Resy and Lululemon credits around Miami.

Both hosts emphasized the value of in-person meetups as the “secret sauce” of the hobby, where tips and strategies get shared informally. Angie recounted how one member even offered her a companion ticket after a conversation, while Joe picked up a new acronym that led to fresh insights. The episode closed with a reminder that the next major Award Travel 201 meetup will take place in Phoenix, April 16–18, 2026, with tickets already available to members.

Links to Topics Discussed

• Amex Platinum Refresh
• Rove Miles Transfer Bonuses
• Southwest Business Card Offers

Where to Find Us

1. The Free Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Episode 138 of the Award Travel 101 podcast opens with Angie Sparks and Mike Zaccheo discussing a highlight post from member Luis, who was abruptly shut down by Amex with over two million points at stake. The community debated the best redemption strategy—ranging from Delta (discouraged) to BA, Aeroplan, or spreading across multiple programs including Hilton. News updates included Capital One removing Priority Pass restaurant benefits from Venture X Biz cards, a Chase 20% Flying Blue transfer bonus, and Southwest rolling out free Wi-Fi for Rapid Rewards members. They also highlighted multiple transfer bonuses across Hilton, Marriott, and Virgin and reminded listeners of tools like the Transfer Bonus Calculator.

The main topic centered on Hilton Honors, with Angie pointing out positives like Hilton’s large global footprint, easy paths to status via co-branded Amex cards, and its uncapped free night certificates (FNCs)—which remain among the most flexible in the industry. Mike countered with drawbacks, noting significant devaluations in 2025, with standard awards now topping 250,000 points per night at premium properties. Benefits can feel weaker than other chains, particularly in the U.S. where breakfast is replaced by limited food and beverage credits and parking fees still apply on award stays. They reviewed Hilton’s four credit card options, their earning rates, elite benefits, and statement credits, as well as the frequent buy-points promos and Amex transfer bonuses.

The tip of the week covered how to generate and add an Atmos virtual card to Apple Pay using the BOA app, offering a workaround for those still waiting on their physical cards. Overall, the episode balanced community highlights, industry news, and a deep dive into Hilton’s strengths and weaknesses for travelers navigating the ongoing devaluation landscape.

Links to Topics Discussed

• Capital One Venture X Business Eliminates Priority Pass Restaurant Benefit
• Chase to Flying Blue Transfer Bonus
• Southwest Free WiFi
• Hilton Honors Devaluation

Where to Find Us

1. The Free Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Episode 137 of the Award Travel 101 podcast featured guest Ian Carroll, founder of the award search tool Seats.aero. Angie opened with a highlight post from a member who discovered Chase is now more strictly enforcing repeat-sub restrictions, similar to Amex’s lifetime rules. The episode also covered news of elevated welcome offers on IHG credit cards, refreshed Amex Delta card bonuses, and several ongoing mileage sales and hotel promotions. Angie shared her own recent credit card approvals and denials—including a Barclays Red card approval after a manual verification—while Ian celebrated finally getting the Atmos Summit card. Travel updates included Angie’s upcoming New England trip and Miami meetup, and Ian’s EVA and Starlux premium cabin bookings from San Francisco to Asia.

The main topic focused on Seats.aero, exploring its origins, how the product vision has evolved, and what makes it unique among a crowded field of award search tools. Ian discussed how the platform stands out with features like customizable alerts, streamlined award searches, and the new “Seats.aero Assistant.” They also touched on hotel alert services, airline coverage gaps (like BA not yet being integrated), and planned enhancements for casual and advanced users alike.

The episode wrapped with Angie’s tip of the week: always follow up on bank communications. She shared how a letter from Barclays, which she initially considered ignoring, ended up securing her approval for another 70,000 AA miles after a quick verification call. The takeaway: those small steps can sometimes unlock big wins in the points-and-miles game.

Where to Find Us

1. The Free Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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In Episode 136 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosts Angie Sparks and Cameron Laufer discuss a variety of travel and points-related topics. They begin with a member highlight, where a listener shares a positive experience using their Saks credit on an Amex Platinum card. The hosts also cover recent travel news, including JetBlue’s new partnership with Condor, which offers redemption opportunities with varied point values depending on the departure location, and Citi’s new transfer relationship with American Airlines, allowing certain cards to transfer points at a 10:7 ratio. They also touch on Virgin Voyages’ status match offer, which benefits travelers looking to get perks on their first or second Virgin cruise.

The main focus of the episode is on Southwest’s Companion Pass (CP). Cameron and Angie outline how the CP works and how to earn it—primarily through accumulating 135K points in a calendar year, with credit card bonuses counting toward that total. They discuss the timing of earning the pass and mention that the current 100K sign-up bonuses on personal cards through September 17th provide a great opportunity for those looking to earn it. They also delve into whether Southwest's higher fares and additional fees, such as baggage and seat selection charges, have diminished the value of the Companion Pass. Both hosts speculate on potential changes to the CP program, suggesting that the benefit might be limited in the future, especially for those planning to earn it in 2026 or beyond. Finally, they offer a tip about not opting out of marketing messages, which can lead to lucrative offers, and announce the upcoming launch of an Award Travel 101 merchandise store.

Episode Links:

• Book Condor With JetBlue Points

• Citi Transfers to American Airlines

• Virgin Cruise Status Match

• Sign Up for Southwest Cards to Support the Group

Where to Find Us

1. The Free Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Episode 135 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosted by Angie Sparks with Mike Zaccheo, opens with a member story about a mortgage broker advising card closures—sparking near-universal advice to simply find a new broker. In news, they cover the launch of the Alaska Airlines premium card, Frontier’s companion certificates tied to spend, a Southwest temporary Companion Pass promo, and the upcoming Singapore KrisFlyer devaluation.

Angie shares updates on her app-o-rama (with mixed results), booking a Caribbean cruise, and setting plans for Switzerland, while Mike reports progress toward his Citi Strata Elite SUB and approval for the new Atmos Summit card.

The feature dives into Atmos Rewards, the new combined Alaska–Hawaiian program, with flexible earning options, expanded redemptions, refreshed elite tiers, and a new premium credit card. Award charts and the Companion Fare remain intact, and the episode closes with a tip: don’t be afraid of a “no” when going after new cards—you might be surprised.

Where to Find Us

1. The Free Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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In this episode, Angie and April dive into travel hacks, promotions, and their unforgettable Italian adventures. They highlight a clever mileage-earning strategy from a listener who used a Capital One Shopping portal to rack up over 300,000 miles on a reimbursable business expense—underscoring the value of stacking credit card offers and shopping portals. Travel news includes JetBlue’s launch of a full-service travel portal and new Florida routes from Long Island, United’s Mileage Play promo, and fresh Capital One card offers. April also mentions ongoing promotions from Marriott Homes & Villas, Wyndham, and a status match opportunity via SAS and Scandic.

The main segment focuses on Italy, where Angie and April share their luxurious, points-powered itineraries. Angie recounts her first major points trip, which included business class flights and mostly free hotel stays. Her group journey spanned Milan, Florence (with a Cinque Terre day trip), Rome, Pompeii, and Sorrento. April’s recent trip featured Rome and Sardinia, where she stayed at the upscale 7Pines resort and enjoyed boat tours, live music, and gourmet pizza. She flew Volotea and Aeroitalia, noting the latter’s new partnerships with major airlines like Delta and Qatar Airways. Both hosts offer rich travel tips for each destination—from climbing Florence’s Duomo to sunset dinners on the Amalfi Coast—making this episode a treasure trove for anyone planning a dream trip to Italy.

Links to Topics Discussed

• United MilageP Play Promotion
• JetBlue's new Travel Portal
• Capital One Increased Offers

Where to Find Us

1. The Free Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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This episode hosted by Mike and Angie , opens with a highlight post from Ira asking about easy, at-home ways to use various Amex statement credits. Angie explains that some, like Dunkin’ and office supply store credits, can be used online, while others, like the dining credit, are best used in person or via services like Grubhub. In the news segment, they cover Chase co-branded card multiplier promos, confirmation that Hawaiian Airlines credit cards will remain available, a recently expired United flash sale to Asia and Oceania, and major Aeroplan program changes starting in 2026, shifting to revenue-based point earning with new status qualifying credits and milestone rewards.

In personal updates, both Angie and Mike share recent credit card bonuses, including the Citi Strata Elite 100k in-branch offer, and trip planning changes. Angie rebooked Northeast hotels to leverage Chase Points Boost and Citi Elite’s $300 hotel credit, finalized a rental car for a golf trip, and planned a November “girls’ trip” with possible glamping. Mike lists upcoming travel to Nashville, New Orleans, New York (twice), Texas, and Miami for the AT101 September meetup.

The main topic, “I’ve got points—now what?”, addresses people who have amassed rewards but feel overwhelmed deciding how to use them. Angie shares four recent examples, from someone feeling pressure to book the Maldives because “everyone does,” to travelers struggling with cash vs. points decisions, or comparing award flights unfavorably to friends’ paid fares. Mike and Angie discuss how destination choices are often influenced by personal bucket lists or others’ invitations—like Mike’s potential Jamaica trip offered by a friend—and emphasize tailoring redemptions to individual goals, timing, and comfort levels rather than trends.

Links to Topics Discussed

• Chase Co-Branded Cards My Bonus Promo
• Hawaiian Airlines Credit Card
• United Deal Alert
• Air Canada Aeroplan Program Changes

Where to Find Us

1. The Free Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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In Episode 132 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, host Mike Zaccheo is joined by community member Heather Killingbeck to dive into how her passion for the Dave Matthews Band (DMB) intersects with her love of points and miles. Heather shares how a spontaneous trip to a DMB show in Mexico led to meaningful friendships and a realization that she needed to make concert travel more affordable—enter points and miles. She's since used over half a million points, possibly up to a million, to follow the band to iconic venues like The Gorge and even on a European tour, with award redemptions taking her to Amsterdam, Paris, and Lisbon. Her go-to strategy includes the Southwest Companion Pass, Hyatt Globalist perks, and travel hacking tools to make the most of every trip, all while juggling work, family, and parent guilt.

The episode also covers major news in the points world: the launch of Citi’s new Strata Elite card with a hefty bonus, luxury perks, and the surprise reintroduction of American Airlines as a 1:1 transfer partner with Citi ThankYou Points. Heather shares recent bonuses she's earned, trip updates including an upcoming return to Baha Mar for Thanksgiving, and her unforgettable award-based travels. From crowdstrike flight chaos to lounge sprints and missed connections that turned into bonus nights, her stories highlight both the joys and unpredictability of award travel. The episode closes on a reflective note, encouraging listeners to "chase the joy," whether through a favorite band, a shared hobby, or the travel communities that make it all possible.

Links to Topics Dicussed

• Comedian Experience Luxury Hotels with his "Sapphire Points"
• Citi Strata Elite Launches

Where to Find Us

1. The Free Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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In Episode 131 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosts Angie Sparks, Anthony Cave, and Justin Walter kicked things off with a community discussion where member Antha asked whether to use points for a premium cabin on the outbound or return leg of a trip. The consensus leaned toward upgrading the overnight flight for better rest, with 66% of the poll agreeing. The episode also covered a range of updates: Choice Privileges launched a sweepstakes, Hyatt added more Standard and Bunkhouse properties (though with limited Globalist benefits), and Delta is celebrating its 100th anniversary with a slew of SkyMiles promos. Alaska Airlines and Choice Privileges were also named the top travel rewards programs of the year. Meanwhile, all Southwest credit cards underwent significant changes—higher annual fees, reduced benefits, and elevated welcome offers that could help earn the Companion Pass if timed right.

In personal updates, Angie closed her BOA Travel Rewards card and debated keeping her WF Autograph Journey. Justin finished a $20K Amex Business Platinum bonus and is planning a trip to Paris, while Anthony just returned from The Hague and is anticipating Alaska’s rumored premium card. The main topic focused on EU261, the European regulation that provides broad passenger rights for delays, cancellations, and other travel disruptions. Both Anthony and Justin praised EU261, calling it one of the most passenger-friendly laws globally and noting that its coverage is often enough to make up for the lack of credit card travel protections when booking flights in Europe.

Links to Topics Discussed

• Choice Privileges Sweepstakes
• Hyatt, The Standard Brand
• US News Best Travel Rewards Programs
• Delta Airlines Beyond the Summer Promotions
• Southwest Cards Overhaul
• EU261 Overview

Where to Find Us

1. The Free Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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In Episode 130 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Mike Zaccheo and Angie Sparks dive into a range of updates and insights. They kick things off with a community highlight from Chris, who shared a Europe trip report and crowd-sourced suggestions for future destinations—Angie recommended Slovenia. They then covered loyalty program news, including a Flying Blue and Accor giveaway of 1 million points, Bilt’s new Virtuoso-partnered hotel booking platform, a 100k mile welcome offer on the new United Business Card, and Hyatt’s new award points calendar for easier booking. Angie also highlighted ZorkFest 2025, which blends casino and award travel education, and shared a promo code for listeners.

The main topic was London—one of both Mike and Angie’s favorite cities. She and Mike discussed flying into various London airports, taking Eurostar, and their own travel experiences ranging from BA economy to a private plane. Lodging options included everything from Airbnbs to luxury hotels, with recommendations for Hyatt properties across categories. They shared top attractions like the British Library, Tower of London, and Churchill War Rooms, plus pro tips for museums, theater, and even cricket. Trip planning notes, a Miami Meetup announcement, and updates on their own travels rounded out the episode.

Links to Topics Discussed

• Zorkfest Tickets on Sale
• Flying Blue 20th Anniversary Giveaway
• Bilt Introduces Home Away From Home Program
• Chase United Business Card Elevated Offer
• New Hyatt Points Availability Calendar

Where to Find Us

1. The Free Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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In Episode 129 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Mike and Cameron explore key updates in the points and miles space and take a deep dive into premium travel credit card comparisons. They begin by discussing a community post on whether it’s better to use points or pay cash for travel—highlighting that the decision depends on factors like point balances, ease of replenishing, cents-per-point value, and potential devaluations. News updates include Amex offering a 15% transfer bonus to LifeMiles, the Alaska Companion Fare now working on Hawaiian flights, upcoming changes to the Amex Biz Platinum Dell credit, and Bilt preparing to launch new credit cards with Cardless.

The main topic centers around comparing high-end cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve (CSR), Venture X, Amex Platinum (personal and business), AA Executive, and United Club. The hosts break down annual fees, travel credits, lounge access, and additional perks. For example, while the Venture X remains a value play with its $395 fee offset by a $300 travel credit, the Amex Platinum carries a hefty $695 fee but includes a long list of lifestyle credits and lounge access. They also discuss how each card aligns with different spending patterns and travel habits, including elite status benefits, points multipliers, and authorized user costs. The episode includes both hosts reflecting on their recent travels—Mike’s trip to Nashville and Cameron’s in-depth Peru itinerary—and sharing useful travel tips, like using airline apps and tools like Flighty to manage flight disruptions effectively.

Episode Links:

• Amex to Lifemiles 15% Bonus
• Alaska Companion pass for Hawaii flights
• Amex Business Plat Dell credit
• Bilt Upcoming changes
• Chase Sapphire Reserve personal
• Chase Sapphire Reserve business
• Capital One Lounge Access Changes
• Capital One Venture X personal vs business
• Citi AA Executive
• United Club card

Where to Find Us

1. The Free Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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In Episode 128 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Angie Sparks and Joseph Petrovic discuss the latest promotions, program changes, and their evolving card strategies. They highlight a popular 50% DoorDash promo that pairs well with Chase credits, and cover news such as Choice Privileges’ status match through 2026, Aeroplan’s points expiration returning this November, and the ability to book Porter Airlines with Alaska miles. Angie also mentions rumors of a Ritz-Carlton card fee hike and credits that could hurt its value, while encouraging listeners to stay on top of transfer bonuses and promotions through AwardWallet. Both hosts share updates on their personal card bonuses, travel bookings, and recent successes like scoring premium cabin flights and using hotel points and vouchers effectively.

The main topic focuses on re-evaluating premium credit cards in light of rising annual fees, rumored program changes, and shifting value propositions. Angie is considering consolidating premium cards, dropping her Ritz in favor of a Brilliant while keeping two Aspires as long as uncapped free night certificates remain. Joe plans to cut several premium cards, keeping co-branded ones that still deliver value. Both agree that the Chase Sapphire Reserve’s refresh is good for year one but likely not long-term, and that card and program strategies need constant reassessment to adapt to the evolving landscape. They also touch on elite status strategies—Angie leaning more toward AA over WN, Joe maintaining Hyatt and AA Executive Platinum—and warn listeners about the time and effort required to extract full value from these “coupon books.” Angie closes with a tip about politely requesting late fee waivers when travel disrupts payments, reminding everyone to stay proactive and kind in managing accounts.

Links to Topics Discussed

• Choice Privileges Status Match
• Air Canada Aeroplan Mileage Expiration Policy Update
• Alaska Airlines no able to be redeemed for Porter Airlines

Where to Find Us

1. The Free Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Episode 126 of the Award Travel 101 podcast kicks off with hosts Angie Sparks and Joseph Petrovic diving into a community trip report featuring Switzerland, Austria, and Germany. The post highlights how award travel makes such adventures possible, prompting Joe to reflect on the gratitude he feels for being part of this group. From card application hurdles to trip upgrades, Angie and Joe share personal experiences and travel wins. Angie attempted to apply for the Chase Sapphire Reserve business card but was denied due to recent activity and no banking ties, while Joe had similar luck with elevated card offers. They also detail recent travel, including Joe’s family’s Hawaii getaway and an upcoming return to Japan packed with first-class flights and savvy points usage.

In the news segment, big changes to Chase’s Sapphire Reserve—including relaxed eligibility rules and Points Boost in the travel portal—are discussed, though confusion remains over who qualifies for bonuses. Amex’s revamped card offers, including a personalized welcome offer model for the Platinum and Gold cards, are also reviewed. JetBlue’s 25th birthday promotion is spotlighted for offering the chance to earn Mosaic 1 status for 25 years based on flying to unique destinations. The episode wraps up with a deep dive into the United MileagePlus program, where Joe explains its partner network, earning potential, redemption quirks, and status tiers. He emphasizes the value of signing up even for lesser-used loyalty programs and closes with a tip: don’t ignore hotel programs like Wyndham and Choice, which can be surprisingly valuable.

Links to Topics Discussed

• Chase Travel Credit Promotion
• Amex Platinum Card New Welcome Offer
• Amex Gold Card New Welcome Offer
• Chase United Quest Card New Welcome Offer
• JetBlue Status Challenge
• United MileagePlus Guide

Where to Find Us

1. The Free Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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In Episode 126 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Angie Sparks welcomes back Mike Zaccheo, who just returned from a two-week Alaska adventure with 18 family members. The trip included a cruise from Vancouver through Glacier Bay and College Fjord, followed by a land segment from Whittier to Anchorage, Denali, and Fairbanks. Mike recapped highlights like ziplining in Skagway, a mushing experience with an Iditarod competitor, and scenic rail rides with Alaska Railroad. He also shared the chaos of managing 19 travelers, tips like using AirTags on all luggage and assigning group captains, and the value of oneworld Emerald status and the co-branded Alaska Card and for free Alaska Airlines baggage for everyone.

The episode’s news focused heavily on the overhaul of the Chase Sapphire Reserve (CSR), which introduced 8x points on Chase Travel purchases, a $500 Edit credit, 4x on direct bookings, and a Points Boost program replacing the 1.5x portal redemption. Other perks like lounge access and travel credits remain, but approval language may tighten. The new CSR Business version, comes with business related credits and large welcome offer.

Additional updates included Citi’s 20% transfer bonus to Flying Blue and Amex devaluing the Business Platinum 35% rebate. The episode wrapped with tips on Alaska cruise and land tours from both hosts.

Links to Topics Discussed

• Chase Sapphire Reserve Personal Card Overhaul
• New Chase Sapphire Reserve Business Card
• Citi Thank You Points Transfer Bonus to Flying Blue
• Amex Business Platinum 35% Points Rebate Devaluation
• AwardWallet Merchant Lookup Tool

Where to Find Us

1. The Free Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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In Episode 125 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosts Angie Sparks and Cameron Laufer dive into a variety of hot topics in the travel and points world before focusing on a destination deep-dive into Iceland. They discuss recent credit card offers, including elevated Hilton Amex bonuses and a new Alaska Airlines Visa offer with a rare companion fare deal. Hyatt's bonus point promotion and Oman Air's upcoming entry into the Oneworld Alliance are also covered. On the personal front, both hosts share recent award redemptions, card strategy updates, and trip planning efforts—including Angie's family reunion logistics and Cameron’s luxurious stay at Hermitage Bay.

The main segment features an in-depth guide to traveling in Iceland, drawing from Angie and Cameron’s separate experiences. Both traveled in August, but while Angie focused on the Golden Circle and adventurous Highlands hikes, Cameron tackled the full Ring Road route counterclockwise, visiting a broad range of regions including the East Fjords and North Iceland. They share practical advice for using points and miles for flights and accommodations, emphasizing the limited but valuable hotel options like Hilton Nordica and ION Adventure Hotel. Tips include renting a 4x4 vehicle, buying food at Costco to save money, and being prepared for strenuous hikes. The episode wraps with a fun announcement: Award Travel 101 merchandise is coming soon.

Links From Episode

• Oman Joins OneWorld
• Hyatt Promotion
• New Hilton Offers
• New Alaska CC offer

Iceland Names/Places
South
Blue Lagoon
Friðheimar- Tomoto restaurant
Reykjadalur Hot Springs
Jokulsarlon- glacier boat ride and diamond beach
Reynisfjara Beach
Skaftafell- glacier and hikes

Highlands
Landmannalauger and/or Thorsmork

Southeast
Hofn- Pakkhus restaurant
Stokksnes

East

Seydisfjordur or Borgarfjörður Eystri

North- Akureyri
Dettifoss waterfall
Lake Myvatn and baths
Dimmuborgir lava field
Leirhnjukur- bubbling hot fields
Husavik- whale watching
Siglufjörður- orange lighthouse

Northwest
Snaefellsnes
Kirkjufell- waterfall

Lodging
Hunkubakkar

Where to Find Us

1. The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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In Episode 124 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, host Angie Sparks is joined by organizers of the renowned Chicago Seminars, the oldest and largest in-person gathering for the points and miles community. The event, taking place November 7–9, 2025, at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare, will feature over 50 sessions, nearly 50 expert speakers, and aims to build on last year’s success, which raised over $30,000 for charity. With over 500 attendees expected, the seminar is a packed, sleep-deprived, info-filled weekend designed for everyone from beginners to advanced users of travel rewards. Early room availability was snapped up quickly, but nearby hotel options and tips for award alerts were shared. The $329 ticket includes meals, receptions, and upgraded app features, plus enhanced community-building events and labeled experience-level sessions.

The episode also dives into key travel news, including significant devaluations from Capital One Venture X and Hilton. Capital One announced that authorized users will lose lounge access benefits in 2026 unless cardholders pay extra fees or hit high spending thresholds. Meanwhile, Hilton has increased award pricing at several high-end properties to as much as 200,000 points per night, making free night certificates even more valuable. Additionally, Flying Blue released its June promo fares, and several programs are offering point purchase bonuses and transfer incentives. The hosts share personal travel updates—from Anguilla and Asia to booking award redemptions—and tease the next meetup in Miami, happening September 19–21 at the Hyatt Regency Coral Gables.

Show Links:

• Hilton up to 200K per night

• Flying Blue Promo Awards

• Capital One Venture Lounge changes

• Sign up for Chicago Seminars

Where to Find Us

1. The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Episode 123 of the Award Travel 101 podcast covers a variety of travel rewards topics, including a debate over using Ultimate Rewards vs. Capital One points for the same flight. The hosts, Angie Sparks and Mike Zaccheo, also discuss major updates in the travel industry, such as United and JetBlue’s Blue Sky partnership, Chase’s new welcome bonuses on IHG credit cards, and the finalization of Capital One’s acquisition of Discover Bank. Meanwhile, Southwest Airlines implements new policies that bring checked bag fees, Basic fares, and expiration dates on flight credits.

The episode’s main topic, Angie and Mike anders some travel questions from the community that might had been overlooked. The hosts weigh in on credit card strategies, airline booking tips, and award redemptions while preparing for their own upcoming travels—Mike is gearing up for a family trip to Alaska, and Angie has multiple destinations in mind, including Anguilla and a potential golf trip to Ireland.

They also preview the next Award Travel 101 meetup in Miami, set for September 19–21, featuring a brewery reception, travel seminars, and an immersive art experience. Their tip of the week: don’t procrastinate on confirming travel plans.

Links to Topics Discussed

• United and JetBlue form Blue Sky partnership
• IHG Cards Enhanced Offers
• Capital One- Discover Merger Finalizes
• Southwest Bag Fees
• Southwest Same Day Change Policy Change

Where to Find Us

1. The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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In Episode 122 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Cameron Laufer is joined by Emmanuel Crouvisier from CardPointers to discuss the latest news in travel rewards, new credit card offers, and tips for maximizing points. A standout feature of the episode is the deep dive into CardPointers, a tool designed to help users optimize their credit card rewards. Emmanuel explains how CardPointers was born and offers a detailed walk-through of its features, including the “For You,” “Pointers,” and “Offers” tabs, as well as how users can stack rewards and integrate with shopping portals for even more value. The episode also covers security concerns, multiuser features, and how the app’s iOS widgets and desktop browser extension can help users keep track of their points.

The podcast also highlights several important updates in the travel rewards world. This includes devaluations by Citi, where the redemption rate for cashback on the Strata Premier and Prestige cards dropped from 1 cent per point to 0.75 cents, and changes from United Airlines, which have removed instant upgrades for elites on certain fare classes and eliminated the Excursionist perk.

Listeners are also encouraged to take advantage of new credit card offers, such as the 75K Aeroplan card for a $95 annual fee and the 100K American Executive card, both with specific spending requirements. The episode wraps up with some personal travel updates, including Cameron’s upcoming trips to Chicago and Patagonia, and Emmanuel’s recent trip to Jamaica. Lastly, Cameron shares a tip of the week about stacking rewards using Capital One shopping and CardPointers to maximize savings.

Episode Links:

• Citi Cash Back Devaluation
• Aeroplan Offer
• Citi AAdvantage Executive Record High Offer
• United Program Changes

Where to Find Us

1. The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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In Episode 121 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Angie Sparks and Mike Zaccheo recap a packed week of travel news, personal updates, and a deep dive into the recent "Magnificent Miles Meetup" in Chicago. They highlight a popular Facebook post comparing Andaz Maui and HR Maui, with opinions divided based on points cost and who’s traveling with you. News-wise, they cover Hawaiian Airlines parting ways with Amex, a Citi to Wyndham 25% transfer bonus, Flying Blue dropping Delta award prices for 2026, and Aeroplan offering a 90% bonus on purchased points. Angie shared she’s cutting back on card applications after a denial, while Mike celebrated scoring a 100k Chase Sapphire Preferred bonus.

The main topic focused on the Chicago meetup, where despite weather and travel delays, most attendees made it thanks to their seasoned travel skills. Angie and Mike flew on AA (via Alaska for Mike), and stayed at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, using points and benefits like GOH awards and club access. Formal events included a Friday rooftop reception, Saturday learning sessions from travel experts, and a custom improv comedy show Saturday night. Unofficially, attendees self-organized through a Messenger chat for cruises, walking tours, karaoke, and hotel lobby meetups. Looking ahead, a fall meetup is planned with early access for their AT201 group and expanded capacity expected. Their takeaway tip? Always build in extra time to get to the airport—things go wrong!

Links to Topics Discussed

• American Express Ending Transfers to Hawiian Airlines
• Citi Thank You Points to Wyndham Transfer Bonus
• Flying Blue Drops 2026 Delta Award Pricing
• Air Canada Aeroplan Buy Points Promotion

Where to Find Us

1. The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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In Episode 120 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Mike Zaccheo and Angie Sparks cover Angie’s recent trip to Slovenia and Croatia, blending personal travel highlights with timely award travel news. Big community updates include the long-awaited announcement of the 2025 Chicago Seminars (Nov 7–9 at HR ORD), changes to Emirates First Class award access for elites only, and generous summer promotions from Best Western and Marriott Homes & Villas. Hyatt also announced a cap on the number of awards a member can receive via gifting, beginning June 7, 2025. On the personal front, Angie completed spend on her ABG card and is eyeing her next one, while Mike is working up the nerve to have Player 2 call Chase before a bonus expires.

Angie detailed her trip to the Balkans, booked using Turkish Miles & Smiles with a bonus from Citi ThankYou Points. Despite a few travel hiccups, she had an enjoyable experience flying Turkish Airlines and Polaris on the return. Hotels were mostly booked with cash via OTAs, with some offset using Capital One travel credits. Angie and her travel companion rented a car for their road trip, visiting Lake Bled, the Julian Alps, and iconic caves like Postojna, before crossing into Italy and heading down the Istrian coast into Croatia. Highlights included truffle tasting tours, the Roman ruins in Pula, and the stunning Plitvice Lakes. Angie strongly recommends Slovenia for its beauty, affordability, and mild summer weather. Her tip of the week? Always pack a charging brick—especially when facing airport delays.

Link to Topics Discussed

• 15th Annual Chicago Seminars
• Emirates restricts First Class award redemptions
• Best Western Points Promotion
• Hyatt Restricts Award Gifts
• Marriott Homes & Villas Promotion
• Em

Where to Find Us

1. The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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In Episode 119 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Mike and Maria kick things off with a community highlight from Paul, who shared his unique travel ritual of getting haircuts abroad to experience local culture. This sparked a lively discussion, with other members mentioning grocery stores, tattoos, children’s books, and grooming services as ways to engage with destinations more deeply. The hosts then dove into news: Chase's 100K Sapphire Preferred offer is ending soon, Alaska Airlines added Philippine Airlines as a partner, Amex and Chase paused Emirates transfers temporarily, and Hyatt launched a lucrative promo for Under the Canvas stays.

The main feature covered “Disappearing Sweet Spots” amid ongoing devaluations in award charts. While many programs have raised prices or introduced dynamic pricing (like JAL and Lufthansa), there are still valuable redemptions to be had. ANA’s RTW awards remain competitive, and Cathay Pacific has been reliably releasing premium cabin awards despite eliminating its chart. Maria emphasized the importance of diversifying points currencies to navigate future changes.

The episode closed with a timely tip: use Rakuten’s 15% Big Give Week and the AA shopping portal to stack points on Mother’s Day purchases.

Links to Topics Discussed

• Chase Sapphire Preferred Elevated Offer
• Alaska Adds Philipine Airlines as a Booking Partner
• Chase & Amex Pause Transfers to Emirates
• Hyatt Under the Canvas Promo
• Maria Points The Way - Cathay & JAL Changes

Where to Find Us

1. The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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In Episode 118 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, host Mike Zaccheo is joined by moderator April Rose. The episode begins with the "Post of the Week," highlighting a discussion on whether obtaining a Real ID before the May 7 deadline is worthwhile, given that some licenses don’t expire for years. Commenters suggested alternatives such as carrying a passport or a Global Entry card for compliance.

The news segment covers updates like Bilt Rewards adding Southwest as a transfer partner, reciprocal checked bag benefits for Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines cardholders, and Citi’s devaluation of transfer rates for select loyalty programs.

The episode’s highlight feature addresses a sensitive topic—managing travel points and miles after the passing of a loved one. Mike and April delve into the policies of different loyalty programs, providing a guide for transferring points, including required documentation and potential fees. They also explore creative ways to honor a loved one’s legacy using points, such as taking trips to places they cherished or donating miles to charity. To prepare for such situations proactively, they suggest enrolling in family sharing programs across various airlines and hotel chains. The episode concludes with a tip from April: travelers can text TSA for inquiries on acceptable items when flying.

Links to Topics Discussed

• Bilt adds Southwest as a transfer partner
• Bilt Rent Day promotions
• Alaska-Hawaiian reciprocal bag benefits
• Citi reduces transfer ratios
• TSA Rules on cremated remains
• Text TSA for info

Where to Find Us

1. The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Angie Sparks is joined by special guest Steve Harms, a seasoned award traveler and recent retiree, to explore how retirement reshapes points and miles strategies. Steve shares his journey into the hobby starting in 2020, diving headfirst into earning transferable points, amassing over a dozen cards, and navigating credit card rules like 5/24. He also outlines his wife Cindy’s more cautious but strategic participation, especially given her role as a caregiver for her parents. The couple’s travel patterns and card usage evolved significantly due to caregiving responsibilities and then Steve’s retirement in 2024. Their planning now revolves around minimizing annual fees, maximizing retention offers, and selectively product-changing cards to continue earning bonuses without increasing financial burden.

The main focus of the episode is how retirement impacts travel rewards strategy. Steve recommends applying for high-AF cards and meeting spend thresholds before retiring, when income is more predictable. Post-retirement, tighter budgets mean being more selective, relying on retention bonuses, using tools like CardPointers, and even incorporating cash-back strategies or bonus purchasing to fill gaps. He also shares insights into managing healthcare costs without employer group insurance—touching on COBRA, Medicare, and supplemental plans. For retirees, cards like the no-AF AARP Essential Rewards Mastercard (3% on gas and drugstores, 2% on medical) can be especially valuable. A listener SOS from “Credit Card Jail” also prompted discussion on getting creative with less common banks and targeting no-lifetime-limit Amex offers. Finally, Angie shares a TSA PreCheck tip for fixing boarding pass issues when booking with partner airlines—proving a little persistence can pay off.

Where to Find Us

1. The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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In Episode 116 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Angie and Cameron dive into key travel news and updates, including a lively community discussion sparked by a member seeking solo travel advice for women. Recommendations ranged from safe bets like Switzerland and Singapore to more debated destinations like Morocco, Mexico City, and Cape Town.

In news, SkyTeam announced lounge access policy changes that include tighter time restrictions and stricter guest access, while Qatar introduced a new “QSuites Guarantee” to compensate for aircraft downgrades. Hawaiian and Alaska Airlines are offering point purchase bonuses. Lastly, ANA is phasing out its ultra-cheap round-the-world ticket but now allows one-way awards, opening up new opportunities with low surcharges and excellent value.

The highlight segment focuses on the American Airlines AAdvantage program. Angie and Cameron explore its unique characteristics, like the lack of bank transfer partners, but also its strengths—such as cheap domestic awards and valuable partner redemptions. They also break down the Loyalty Points system and status tiers, which offer incremental rewards from 40K points upward. Earning strategies include credit card bonuses, shopping portals, AA Hotels, and Bask Bank.

The episode wraps with a tip from Cameron on consolidating Southwest flight credits before upcoming program restrictions, helping travelers simplify redemptions and maximize their leftover funds.

Links to Topics Discussed

• SkyTeam Lounge Access Policy "Enhancements"
• Qatar Q-Suites Guarentee
• Alaska Airlines & Hawaiian Airlines Buying Points Bonus Offers
• ANA Eliminating Round-the-World Ticket
• Bask Bank AAdvantage Miles Earning

Where to Find Us

1. The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Episode 115 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosted by Mike Zaccheo, features Joe Petrovic's recent return from his second trip to Japan within a year. The "Post of the Week" highlights Maria, a moderator, who utilized the concierge service of her legacy Ritz Carlton card to secure restaurant reservations in Seoul despite language barriers. This episode underscores leveraging unique credit card benefits for hassle-free travel planning.

Among the discussed news topics is the record-high bonus offer for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, ideal for new travelers, and tightened product change rules by Citi, limiting flexibility in switching between card families. Other highlights include updated bonus categories for Chase Freedom and Citi Custom Cash cards and Loganair's adoption of Avios currency, making their often-expensive short flights more accessible.

The episode's main feature dives into Joe's spring trip to Japan to practice Japanese and experience cherry blossom season. His meticulously planned itinerary included flights and luxurious hotel stays leveraged through credit card points and perks. Notable highlights of the trip include exploring Okinawa, Osaka, and Tokyo, indulging in cultural and natural sites like Naminoue Beach, the Umeda Sky Building, and cherry blossom viewing spots.

Finally, the podcast wraps up with travel tips, emphasizing tools like Google Maps and translation apps, learning basic phrases in the local language, and planning extra time to navigate. Whether for seasoned travelers or beginners, the episode is packed with practical advice and inspiring travel tales.

Links to Topics Discussed

• Chase Sapphire Preferred Record High Offer
• Citi Tightening Product Change Rules
• Rotating Quarterly Bonus Categories Reset
• Scottish Airline Loganair Adopts Avios Currency

Where to Find Us

1. The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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In Episode 114 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Angie Sparks and Mike Zaccheo take listeners behind the scenes of what it's like running a large Facebook community dedicated to points and miles travel. They kick things off with a viral post about Tampa International Airport's humorous rebranding inspired by its iconic flamingo statue, Phoebe. The episode covers major updates in the travel and credit card world, including widely disliked changes to United’s credit card portfolio, the return of National Car Rental’s One Two Free promo, and various hotel promotions from Hyatt and Accor. Angie shares her recent Atlanta trip booked with points and previews plans for a fall leaf-peeping road trip.

The heart of the episode focuses on the daily grind (and occasional chaos) of moderating a massive Facebook group. While most members are helpful and enthusiastic, the hosts explain the challenges of dealing with repeat questions, Facebook's finicky search and tagging systems, and limitations placed by certain banks that restrict how their products can be discussed. They also talk about how the group earns money—mostly through affiliate links and AT201 memberships—and encourage members to support the group by using their links and participating more actively. They wrap up with a reminder not to rely too heavily on autopay and to always double-check credit card payments.

Links to Topics Discussed

• United Airlines Card Portfolio Overhaul
• National Card Retnal One, Two, free promotion
• Hyatt 777 Bonus and other current promotions
• Accor Live Limitless bonus point promotion

Where to Find Us

1. The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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In Episode 113 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Mike Zaccheo is joined by Angie Sparks to cover recent travel news, community highlights, and updates in the points and miles world. The featured post of the week sparked lively discussion in the Facebook group, where members shared their post-travel routines—from immediately unpacking to leaving bags untouched for days or even storing them in the garage to avoid bedbugs. The news segment touched on Cathay Pacific’s upcoming award chart changes, Chase’s all time high IHG Business card offer, American Airlines' status match targeting dissatisfied Southwest elites, and a slew of ongoing buy points and loyalty promotions.

Angie and Mike also discussed recent personal wins and upcoming trips, including Angie’s plans using the Companion Pass and Mike’s booking for Phoenix and a stay at the Hyatt Regency Times Square. The highlight feature focused on Hyatt's shifting loyalty program—once a favorite but now facing scrutiny due to changes like the loss of SLH, the addition of peak/off peak pricing, and the re-categorization of over 150 properties, many moving up in cost. Are these changes enough to finally make us persue loyalty elsewhere? Or will we (mostly Mike) forever drink from the World of Hyatt Kool-Aid pitcher?

They wrapped up with a tip encouraging listeners to attend local points and miles meetups to exchange knowledge and discover new travel hacks, emphasizing the value of in-person community connections.

Links to Topics Discussed

• Cathay Pacific Award Chart Changes
• Chase IHG Busines Card Offer
• American Airlines Instant Status Pass for Southwest "Elites"
• Hyatt Annual Category Changes

Where to Find Us

1. The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Episode 112 of the Award Travel 101 podcast features host Mike Zaccheo and guest Brandyn Osborne, a passionate traveler, entrepreneur, and board gamer. They first met in the Charlotte (CLT) Centurion Lounge, sparking Brandyn's involvement in the Award Travel 101 community. Brandyn shares how his wife's inspiration led him to discover award travel, culminating in a memorable business-class honeymoon trip to New Zealand and Fiji using credit card sign-up bonuses. The conversation also explores his professional journey in gaming and how award travel helped him connect with gaming friends worldwide, eventually forming his business, Conhorde.

The duo discusses recent travel news, including Southwest Airlines' controversial decision to eliminate free checked bags starting May 28 for most passengers. They touch upon credit card offers such as Chase Freedom Q2 bonus categories and Brandyn's strategic card usage to maximize rewards. Trip updates include Mike's St. Kitts adventure, hiking Mt. Liamuiga, and Brandyn's UK and European travels for work and personal interests. Brandyn emphasizes how gaming conventions shaped his career, offering tips on affordable travel for enthusiasts using points, while stressing the importance of accountability and supportive travel partners. The episode highlights practical advice and the intersection of passion and savvy travel strategies.

Links to Topics Discussed

• Southwest to Charge For Checked Bags
• Chase Freedom Flex Q2 Bonus Categories
• Chase Ink Business Card Comparison
• Venture X Business vs Amex Platinum Business
• Conhorde - Brandyn's Business

Where to Find Us

1. The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Episode 111 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosted by Angie Sparks with guest Joseph Petrovic, covers key updates in the world of points and miles. They discuss a travel hack to avoid costly airline upgrades by using schedule changes instead. In industry news, Southwest has reduced reward rates, Etihad is offering up to a 40% transfer bonus until March 2025, and Singapore Airlines is celebrating 10 million KrisFlyer members with bonus miles and a 20% discount on select award flights.

Angie and Joe also share recent travel and credit card updates. Angie rebooked her return flight from Croatia to avoid an overnight layover, while Joe optimized his Japan trip by securing multiple flights and award hotel stays. He also saved points by rebooking a Bonvoy stay at a lower rate. Their credit card strategies were a major focus—Angie manages 53 cards with over $8,000 in annual fees and plans to close 10 to save costs, while Joe, with 50 cards, offsets fees through tax strategies and benefits, making his collection cost-neutral.

To wrap up, Joe highlights ExpertFlyer as a valuable but often overlooked tool for securing first and business class upgrades on airlines like Alaska, American, Hawaiian, and Korean. While many tools have emerged in the award travel space, ExpertFlyer still provides an edge for certain travelers. The episode offers valuable insights into maximizing award travel, staying flexible with bookings, and making the most of credit card benefits.

Links to Topics Discussed

• Southwest Slashes Earn Rates
• Hotel Program to Etihad Guest Transfer Bonus
• Singapore Airlines Krisflyer Promos

Where to Find Us

1. The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Episode 110 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosted by Angie Sparks with Cameron Laufer, covers a range of travel reward topics, from hotel loyalty programs to new credit card offers and companion pass deals. They highlight a discussion about maximizing hotel points for international stays, with Hyatt standing out for high-tier status benefits and Hilton offering strong resort options. They also review recent promotions, such as Chase’s 20% transfer bonus to Avios, new Hilton Amex card offers, and Frontier’s new Companion Pass for Platinum and Diamond members. Additionally, Angie shares insights into a now-expired JetBlue transfer bonus and personal experiences with credit card applications and spending strategies.

The main feature of this episode compares award travel search tools based on recent findings from Frequent Miler. They discuss several options, including Point.me, Seats.aero, PointsYeah.com, Roame.travel, and Award Tool, outlining their strengths, pricing, and unique features like real-time searches, cached results, alerts, and multiple airport search capabilities. While no single tool is perfect, they emphasize choosing one based on travel habits and preferred airlines. Cameron closes the episode with a tip for booking domestic flights—purchasing the cheapest same-day flight and leveraging schedule changes to switch to a more desirable option for free.

• Chase to Avios Transfer Bonus
• New Hilton Amex Offers
• Frontier Companion Pass

Where to Find Us

1. The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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In Episode 109 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosts Angie Sparks and Mike Zaccheo discuss a variety of travel-related topics. Angie highlights a member's trip report on using AMEX Marriott Bonvoy card rewards to stay at the Westin Bora Bora, while Mike shares exciting news about new Capital One and Chase Sapphire lounges in Las Vegas and Philadelphia respectively. They also cover updates on CapitalOne's partnership with JetBlue, the reintroduction of United Premier luggage tags, and a Southwest discount code for award flights.

The hosts then share their recent travel experiences and upcoming trips. Angie talks about her beach trip to the Hiatus Clearwater Beach hotel, while Mike mentions his plans to visit St. Kitts and Alaska. They also delve into their packing strategies and favorite travel gadgets, such as multi-device charging cords, TSA-compliant toiletry bags, and RFID-protected travel purses. The episode concludes with a tip of the week on using apps like Tripit Pro and Award Wallet to manage trip details.

Links to Topics Discussed

• Capital One Lounge Las Vegas
• Chase Sapphire Lounge Philadelphia
• CapitalOne adds JetBlue back as transfer partner
• United Premier luggage tags are available again
• Order Delta Medallian luggage tags
• 20% Off Discount Code for award flights for Southwest cardholders
• Southwest targeted 3,000 point bonus offer

Where to Find Us

1. The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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In Episode 108 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosts Angie Sparks and Maria Fung discuss a variety of topics related to points and miles. They highlight a Facebook post from Ruby, who used over 1 million points for a family trip to Florida and Legoland, despite acknowledging it wasn't the best redemption value. Angie also shares news about a new Amex transfer bonus to Hilton Honors points, Avianca devaluing its LifeMiles program again, and Citi's best-ever offer on the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®. Maria mentions various hotel promotions and encourages listeners to follow their Facebook group or the Award Wallet blog for updates.

The hosts then share their personal experiences with credit card applications and bonuses. Angie talks about her partner's struggles with getting approved for an Amex Biz Gold card and their success with a Southwest card. She also mentions her son's first credit card approval and upcoming travel plans. Maria provides an update on her Citi AA Business card and Amex MR strategy, as well as her recent self-care trip to Japan. She emphasizes the importance of last-minute redemptions, points diversification, baggage allowance, and knowing alcohol import rules. The episode wraps up with trip updates and key takeaways for maximizing points and miles for travel.

Links to Topics Discussed

• Amex MR Transfer Bonus to Hilton Honors
• Avianca Lifemiles Devaluation
• Citi AAdvantage Platinum Card Enhanced Bonus

Where to Find Us

1. The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Episode 107 of the podcast focuses on skiing with points, featuring hosts Cameron, Joe, and April. They kick off the episode with a discussion on an interesting WSJ article about the extreme lengths people go to reserve pool chairs at resorts. The news segment highlights current point transfer bonuses, including Chase’s 30% bonus to Virgin Atlantic and Amex’s 15% bonus to Avianca Lifemiles, as well as a limited-time 100K offer for the United Business Card. They also touch on ZorkFest, an upcoming event on the intersection of casino rewards, travel, and loyalty programs. The hosts share their recent credit card bonuses and milestone achievements, with Joe discussing his Hyatt 110-night milestone and Cameron’s attempt to secure the BOA Alaska Airlines Business Card.

The episode’s main feature dives into strategies for skiing on points, covering season passes like Epic and Ikon, hotel and flight redemptions, and planning tactics. Cameron emphasizes spreadsheet tracking for the best pass deals, while April shares her experience with Alaska Airlines’ free ski passes. The hosts discuss top ski destinations, including Utah, Colorado, Vermont, Europe, Japan, and Canada, detailing how to use points for flights and hotel stays. The tip of the week comes from Joe, who reminds listeners of the "why" behind award travel—using points not just for luxury, but to create meaningful experiences, like funding his daughter's summer violin program through Hyatt points.

Links to Topics Discussed

• Chase Ultimate Rewards Transfer Bonus to Virgin Atlantic
• Amex Membership Rewards Transfer Bonus to Lifemiles
• United Business Card Increased Bonus

Where to Find Us

1. The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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In Episode 106 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Mike Zaccheo is joined by fellow community member Charlie to discuss how award travel fuels adventure. Fresh off their whirlwind European microstates trip, they recount their experiences visiting some of the smallest and most fascinating countries in the world, including Andorra, Monaco, and Liechtenstein—all made possible through strategic use of points and miles. From lie-flat seats on transatlantic flights to luxury hotel upgrades and rental cars for border-hopping, their journey showcases the power of award travel to create unforgettable experiences.

Before diving into their adventure, they cover the latest in airline loyalty programs, including the new JetBlue Premium Card, Virgin Atlantic’s status match offer, and United’s updated status challenge. Charlie also shares some impressive recent redemptions, from an Amex Gold 200k offer to Citi AA Business approvals.

They wrap up with a valuable tip—book early and book often—emphasizing how planning ahead for flexibility and in some cases pivoting at the last possible minute helped one of them score Lufthansa First Class and other premium redemptions for their ambitious travels.

Links to Topics Discussed

• New JetBlue Premium Card
• Virgin Atlantic Status Match
• United Status Match

Where to Find Us

1. The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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In this episode moderators Eric Holly and Maria Fung take over hosting duties where they focus on the challenges and strategies of traveling with teenagers, a topic both moderators are familiar with as parents of teens at home and in college. They discuss how family schedules have changed over the years and how they’ve adapted their travel planning to accommodate busy school calendars and personal preferences.

The episode also covers the latest updates in travel rewards. Hyatt’s Bonus Journeys promotion is back, offering 2X and 3X points on stays through March 2025. Lufthansa is introducing new A380 routes, including its first-ever service to Denver, and Choice Privileges has partnered with Westgate Resorts to expand booking options. Japan Airlines is also increasing U.S. service, meaning more availability for award seats. Additionally, Maria and Eric share insights into their current credit card bonuses and strategies for maximizing points.

When discussing family travel, both moderators reflect on how they involve their teens in trip planning. Maria shares how her family now splits up for certain trips due to conflicting schedules, while Eric highlights the importance of aligning flights when traveling with a college student. They also revisit their favorite travel memories—Maria’s 21-day European adventure and Eric’s Northern Lights experience in Norway—while acknowledging the challenges, such as planning multi-generational trips or managing long-haul economy flights with restless kids. The episode concludes with their Tip of the Week, emphasizing the importance of using travel tools to find the best flight and hotel deals efficiently.

Links to Topics Discussed

• Q1 Hyatt Bonus Journeys
• Choice Privileges Adds Westgate Resorts
• Citi AA Business
• Citi Double Cash

Where to Find Us

1. The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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In Episode 104 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosts Mike Zaccheo and Eric Holly discuss the importance of utilizing shopping portals, highlighting a post by a member who earned 50k points through CapitalOne shopping. They also cover news such as United's high buy-up offers for elite status, the shutdown of the Dosh App, and Chase's new bonus promotions for co-branded cards. Additionally, they mention the recent FlyingBlue devaluation, which saw increases in award redemptions for economy, premium economy, and business class.

The hosts share personal updates on the bonuses they received and their travel plans. Eric talks about his recent Bank of Hawaii card acquisition and upcoming trips, including a family weekend in St. Pete, an anniversary weekend in NYC, and a graduation trip to Paris and London. Mike discusses his European Microstates adventure and a bachelor/bachelorette party in Nashville. They also highlight popular New Year's travel destinations such as New York, Sydney, London, Tokyo, and Rio de Janeiro, each known for unique celebrations and festivities. Finally, Eric shares details of his trip to Chile, including stays in Vina del Mar, Easter Island, and Santiago, with a focus on maximizing loyalty points and rewards.

Where to Find Us

1. The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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In this episode, Angie and Anthony Cave dive into the latest in travel news, personal updates, and tips for making the most of your points and miles. The highlight post of the week is Scott's review of Secrets Papagayo in Costa Rica, a Hyatt all-inclusive, where snorkeling and diverse dining options stood out. Angie and Anthony also discuss the new U.K. Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) requirement starting January 9, Delta’s partnership switch from Lyft to Uber, and updates on Hyatt, including a lucrative new business card offer and promotions like double elite night credits for Under Canvas stays.

The conversation shifts to personal travel updates, with Angie prepping for a Slovenia trip inspired by its recent popularity and Anthony planning visits to Japan, Vienna, and Taiwan on award travel deals.

The main feature delves into budget travel, where Anthony highlights how airline status and deal-hunting elevate the economy experience, sharing examples like mistake fares and fast-track status matches. Angie offers a different perspective, focusing on flexibility, leveraging credit card perks, and prioritizing trip-specific hotel locations over brand loyalty.

Wrapping up, the hosts share practical tips, like checking wheretocredit.com for maximizing airline miles on cash flights, and remind listeners of ongoing deals like American Airlines' 10x miles promotion for wildfire relief donations.

Links to Topics Discussed

• UK Electronic Travel Authorization now required Costs £10 and reports are that it is quick and easy
• Earn 10X AA Miles for Red Cross CA wildfire relief donations
• Delta Announces Rideshare Partnership Going Form Lyft to Uber
• Chase World of Hyatt Business Card Enhanced Offer
• Venetian Las Vegas Now Part of the World of Hyatt
• Hyatt Under the Canvas Promotions

Where to Find Us

1. The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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In this episode hosts Angie and Mike discuss strategies for maximizing rewards in 2025. They highlight a community post from Marc, a member who successfully earned 1.4 million points by patiently following advice to apply for the Chase Freedom Unlimited card. The hosts also share notable updates in the travel rewards world, including changes to Aeroplan’s “Pay Yourself Back” program, Alaska Airlines’ elite status retention challenge, and promotions from Marriott Homes & Villas and their Eat Around Town program.

For their 2025 strategies, Angie and Mike review their current credit card portfolios and identify areas for improvement. Angie plans to close several cards to reduce annual fees, open new cards to fill gaps, and maximize her credits and points earnings. Her focus will be on building transferable points balances and utilizing card benefits more efficiently.

Mike outlines a similar plan, focusing on keeping key Chase and Amex cards while potentially exploring more Citi cards. He also plans to leverage cards to maintain Hyatt Globalist and AA Executive Platinum status. He also laments his stranded Singapore Airlines Miles and hope to find an adequate use to book travel with them this year.

Both emphasize the importance of maximizing bonus categories and ensuring all credits are used to avoid lapsing benefits.

The episode wraps up with a practical tip from Angie on using the Fine Hotels & Resorts (FHR) credit available through Amex Platinum cards. She recommends using a tool called MaxFHR.com to find affordable properties where the credit can be applied, making it easier to take full advantage of this often-overlooked benefit.

Links to Topics Discussed

• Chase Aeroplan Card Pay Yourself Back Changes
• Alaska Airlines Elite Status Challenge
• Marriott Homes & Villas Bonus Points
• Marriott Eat Around The Town Promo

Where to Find Us

1. The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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In Episode 101 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Angie and Cameron discuss the post of the week from member Kelly about card strategies for booking stays with VRBO and Airbnb, highlighting the potential benefits of using cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve and the Ink Business Preferred. They also mention using British Airways, Delta, and Qantas portals for extra rewards, and keeping an eye on airline promotions for bonus points. The episode also covers news about Accor and Qatar Privilege Club's promotion for earning double rewards, as well as a new offer from Avianca's Lifemiles card.

The main feature of the episode focuses on the importance of diversifying points and miles across various programs, comparing it to diversifying financial assets. Angie and Cameron share personal stories of how diversifying has helped them unlock more redemption options and avoid missing out on awards due to limited points in one program. They offer advice on prioritizing flexible points and planning a strategy to collect points in multiple currencies, such as starting with Chase and then moving to other programs after reaching 5/24. The episode concludes with a tip of the week from Cameron, recommending the travel blog Earthtrekkers for its comprehensive advice on various destinations and hiking trails.

Links to Topics Discussed

• Accord and Qatar Double Dip Partnership
• Cardless Avianca Elite Card
• Marriott Promotions

Where to Find Us

1. The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Mike and Angie recap an exciting year in the world of award travel. This milestone episode kicks off with a look at the lively community debate over a 47-hour Amtrak ride from Chicago to Miami—a no-go for most but sparking dreams of scenic sleeper-car journeys through the mountains. The hosts also dive into current travel deals, including Frontier's GoWild! Pass, IHG's double points promo, and Alaska Airlines' ski getaway perks. Don't forget to check out the latest transfer bonuses from Amex, Chase, and Marriott before the year ends!

Mike and Angie reflect on their personal travel wins and challenges this year. Mike shares highlights like earning 1.6 million points through new cards, including the Amex Business Gold, and embarking on trips to Australia, Italy, and Toronto along with meetups in San Antonio, Seattle and Chicago. Angie recounts her creative use of travel funds and miles for family and international adventures, including a business class trip to India. While Angie faced a few travel disappointments with canceled trips, she made the most of domestic travel using companion passes and free night certificates.

To wrap up, they reflect on the tools that make award travel possible, from AwardWallet and TripIt to trusty spreadsheets. Whether you're tracking elite statuses, maximizing credit card perks, or planning your next dream getaway, this episode is packed with insights and tips to help you make the most of your points and miles in the coming year. Happy travels, and here's to an exciting 2025!

Links to Topics Discussed

• Frontier GoWild! Pass
• IHG Promos
• Alaska Airlines Alpine Getaways
• Amex Business Gold
• Year End Checklist

Where to Find Us

1. The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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In Episode 99 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Mike Zaccheo and Justin Walter dive into exciting travel updates and tips. Highlights include member Paul’s recommendation to explore European Christmas markets, featuring Vienna’s charm. News about Chase Freedom’s Q1 2025 5x categories, Virgin Red’s link to Virgin Flying Club for bonus points, and status match opportunities for Delta and Hilton elites was discussed. Southwest also announced the sale of A-List status, offering perks like priority boarding and same-day flight changes.

In the main feature, Justin recounts his recent 6-night family trip to Europe, managing the logistics of traveling with seven people, including his sister-in-law’s first international journey. He secured United Polaris business class tickets, enjoyed the Polaris lounge at ORD, and stayed at the Hyatt Regency Churchill in London with upgraded suites and stellar service. The family explored iconic attractions earning bonus points through Rakuten for ticket purchases. They wrapped up the trip with a positioning flight to Amsterdam.

While Justin and his travel companions had a smooth return flight to the U.S., his parents faced a different experience. Their itinerary was hit by a lengthy delay, resulting in an unplanned overnight stay in Chicago. This situation served as a reminder to stay calm and make use of available resources when irregular operations (IROPS) occur. On a positive note, they successfully filed a UK261 claim to compensate for the inconvenience.

Justin concludes with practical family travel tips—plan your transportation, bring portable strollers, and use Uber for ease. Plus, Justin’s tip of the week encourages listeners to jump on outstanding offers when you see them, like we did with the NLL Amex Business Gold recently.

Links to Topics Discussed

• Chase Freedom Q1 2025 Categories
• Link Virgin red to Virgin Flying Club for 4000 points
• AA Announced 2025 Loyalty program changes

Where to Find Us

1. The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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This week Angie talks with our moderator April Rose where they discuss the featured post of a member's frustration over not being able to use their Priority Pass (PP) membership at SFO, prompting them to consider downgrading their CSR card. PP lounge access is often better internationally, sparking a discussion on the potential downgrades by other members.

In the news, AA announced that Citi will be the sole issuer of AA credit cards by 2026. Rakuten is offering a $40 sign-up bonus through their portal, valid until 12/16. Spirit Airlines, currently in bankruptcy, offers a status match opportunity until January 2025. The fee to pay federal income taxes with a credit card has decreased, making it more profitable to use a 2% cash-back card.

In the main feature April and Angie also share updates on their personal award travel experiences and discuss the benefits and logistics of planning girls' trips using points and miles, from lounge access to sharing travel expenses. They highlight the importance of having a ready-to-go cosmetic bag and optimizing packing for TSA regulations.

Links to Topics Discussed

• Citi to Become Sole Issuer of American Airlines Credit Cards
• Rakuten shopping portal cash back offers (or Amex MR)
• Spirit Airlines Elite Status Match
• Paying taxes with a credit card

Where to Find Us

1. The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Mike and Randy Clinton dive into various year-end strategies and travel-related topics. They kick off the episode by discussing a lively debate from the community about the etiquette of bringing ziplock bags or containers into airport lounges to take food onto planes. Mike and Randy highlight how this discussion gained traction and sparked varied opinions among travelers, especially those with kids who might not enjoy plane food. They emphasize that while some lounges offer grab-and-go options, others do not, leading to creative solutions by travelers.

The hosts also cover several news updates and personal travel experiences. Mike talks about the ITA Volare refer-a-friend offer and the discontinuation of LoungeBuddy.com. They share their recent bonus earnings from various credit card offers, including Amex Business Gold and Hawaiian Airlines.

Randy outlines his upcoming trip to China, while Mike shares his experience booking a Taylor Swift concert trip using travel credits. The highlight feature of the episode focuses on year-end strategies for maximizing travel rewards and status matches with airlines and hotels, such as AA's Instant Status Pass, United's Status Match, and Marriott Elite Nights.

Links to Topics Discussed

• ITA Airways Volare Refer-A-Friend Offer
• AA Expands Instant Status Pass
• Amex Business Gold
• Marriott Elite Nights with Credit Cards
• Hilton Aspire
• United Status Match
• Royal Caribbean-MGM Status match

Where to Find Us

1. The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Angie and moderator Eric Holly dive into the latest updates in points and miles this week as well as the highlight feature of college visits made more affordable with points and miles.

Angie kicks off by sharing a heartwarming post from a member, Orane, who was surprised with a free upgrade to United Polaris on his birthday month, showing the unexpected perks of loyalty programs. News, includes Citi’s new extended warranty benefit for its no-fee cards, IHG’s 100% bonus points promotion, and expanded partnership perks between American Airlines and Aer Lingus. Also highlighted are an array of Black Friday deals, from discounts on travel tools like Thrifty Traveler Premium (use code AT10 for 10% off) and services like Point.me and CardPointers.

The hosts discuss their recent points and miles endeavors, with Angie scoring a 200K bonus on the Amex Business Gold card and Eric completing his Amex Business Gold spending requirement. Trip updates include Angie’s plans for a March getaway to Atlanta and Eric’s upcoming adventures to Chile, Easter Island, and his youngest daughter's graduation trip spanning England, Paris, and Barcelona. They also dive into the topic of college shopping, with Eric reflecting on how travel rewards shape their journeys to visit campuses and the impact on school choices.

To close, the "Tip of the Week" offers a valuable nugget: Hertz rentals with an AMEX Platinum card provide a four-hour grace period for returns in the U.S., a handy trick for flexible travel plans.

Links to Topics Discussed

• Citi Adds 2 Year Extended Warranty to No Fee Double Cash and Custom Cash
• IHG Buy Points Promo (100% bonus)
• AA and Aer Lingus Growing Partnership with Reciprocal Benefits
• Black Friday, Cyber Monday & Travel Tuesday Promos

Where to Find Us

1. The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Welcome to Episode 95 of the Award Travel 101 podcast! I'm Angie Sparks, joined by Mike Zaccheo. This week, we’re switching things up by saving the highlight post for later, as it ties into our feature on holiday shopping and earning strategies.

News highlights: Alaska is temporarily blocking partner award bookings within 72 hours of departure, but it’s expected to last only a few days. Wyndham’s Earner Business Card has lost its ability to match to Caesars Diamond, signaling a decline in status equivalency options. Meanwhile, elevated offers on United credit cards (70k on Quest, 90k on Club) are good for frequent flyers seeking perks like free checked bags and priority boarding. Other deals include a $750 offer on the Capital One Spark Cash card and a 40% discount on Spirit Airlines points.

Highlight Feature - Holiday Earning and Savings: Black Friday is a hot topic, and member Rebecca asked about strategies for earning and burning points during the season. From airline sales to shopping portal deals, there are plenty of opportunities, especially for flexible travelers. Whether you’re buying TVs during the Super Bowl or flowers for Valentine’s Day, timing purchases around seasonal sales can maximize your rewards. And don’t forget: flexibility in travel plans greatly improves your chances of snagging those saver tickets!

Where to Find Us

1. The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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In this episode, Mike and Angie dive into highlights from the week, notable travel deals, and the emotional rollercoaster of post-trip sadness. Angie returns from India, sharing updates on her upcoming plans for Slovenia and a possible return to France.

Meanwhile, Mike prepares for taking his daughter to Taylor Swift’s concert in Toronto, detailing his booking process and challenges with finding the right hotel. The highlight post of the week focuses on the Scandinavian Airlines “1 Million Mile Challenge,” a lucrative deal for frequent flyers willing to spend $4,000 on a series of SkyTeam flights to earn one million EuroBonus miles.

The episode’s feature, “Post-Trip Sadness,” explores the challenges of returning home after travel. Angie and Mike share their personal experiences, like tackling laundry, adjusting to normal routines, and grappling with the absence of upcoming trips. To combat this, they suggest booking or planning future travel, organizing trip photos, and finding joy in being home.

The tip of the week on understanding airline classes is shared in order to relieve help distinguish Premium Economy from Economy+.

Links to Topics Discussed

• Buy Hawaiian Miles Promo(ends 11/15 midnight Hawaiian Time)
• Thai Airlines Expanded Award Availability

Where to Find Us

1. The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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This week Mike reconnects with Erin Kilpatrick, a former corporate worker who has embraced the nomadic lifestyle, which she detailed in Episode 35.

Erin shares her recent travels in Guatemala, where she’s enjoying the local culture and maximizing her rewards points. The main topic, "Love It or Leave It," focuses on evaluating credit cards and deciding which ones to keep or let go, particularly for maximizing travel rewards.

The Award Travel 1-on-1 consultation service, which Erin has recently joined to provide personalized guidance on award travel strategies is discussed. These sessions cover the basics of points and miles, award search methods, and credit card strategies. Mike and Erin conduct a mock consultation to give listeners a feel for what to expect, focusing on their own credit card strategies and goals while giving reminders like how to calculate 5/24. Erin, for instance, considers dropping her Hilton Surpass card due to changing travel needs, while Mike contemplates parting ways with his Chase Sapphire Reserve.

They share key takeaways, encouraging listeners to evaluate how credit card benefits fit their travel patterns and emphasizing the value of earning transferable points. As they discuss their future strategies, Mike and Erin underscore the importance of consulting with someone knowledgeable to tailor a personalized rewards approach.

Links to Cards Discussed

• Amex Hilton Surpass and Hilton Business Cards
• Chase World of Hyatt Personal Card
• Chase World of Hyatt Business Card
• Amex Green (and family restrictions)
• Citi Strata Premier
• Chase Sapphire Reserve

Where to Find Us

1. The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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Todays episode is a special one. It starts off with the routine discussion of the news of the week, including a favorite offer on the Chase Ink Business Unlimited card and adjustments to elite status benefits of the Alaska Mileage Plan program. Angie heads off to India, Joe will be attending Zorkfest and Mike is planning his next crazy adventure which will involve visiting 6 European countries in 3 days.

Joe reflects on the journey of managing the Award Travel 101 (AT101) community, particularly the challenges of leading it through the pandemic and its evolution over the years. Highlights from the past years are shared, including community meetups, family travel, and milestones achieved, like earning Hyatt Globalist status and managing the podcast's relaunch.

Most significantly, Joe has a big announcement and Angie and Mike share their future plans of expanding the AT101 community with initiatives such as creating a merchandise store, continuing to host meetups, and cultivating the AT201 group for advanced travelers. Their goals center on fostering growth, expertise, and continued engagement in the community.

Where to Find Us

1. The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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In this podcast episode, strategist David Ocamb, delves into the AT101 community's identity and the challenges people face in the points and miles hobby. Key news includes Alaska Airlines' changes to its upgrade policies, opportunities for luxurious travel to Europe, and Virgin Atlantic transfer bonuses.

The highlight feature focuses on Ocamb’s research project on the AT101 community. The study aimed to understand the community better through surveys and interviews, revealing key findings, such as feelings of imposter syndrome among members. The majority of respondents feel they know less than other members, especially when comparing their travel experiences. Social media influences perceptions, with many feeling left out due to influencers' luxurious lifestyles. Interestingly, the community is predominantly female, which David and Joe take pride in. The project will continue to track trends and insights in future surveys.

Where to Find Us

1. The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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In Episode 90 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, former team admins Toni Perkins Southam and John Hartnagel join Joe to discuss the history of the community. Member Bess asks about using a credit card for a car down payment.

The hosts also give a shoutout to Cardpointers, one of our favorite tools for maximizing credit card offers. Grab your discounted membership using the link above! They also dive into various travel rewards news, including changes to the Hyatt and AAdvantage partnership, and discuss the potential value of the increased Sapphire Preferred offer.

Joe, John and Toni share updates on their own travel plans and points redemptions, including spending Hilton Honors points on a Presidential Suite in Hiroshima and discussing options for upcoming holidays and spring break.

Finally, they reflect on the growth of the Award Travel 101 community, tracing its history back to 2014, founded by Richard Kerr to the present, where Joe celebrates his upcoming five-year anniversary with the team.

Links to Topics Discussed

• Elite Hotel Benefits w/o status?
• Who Wants to be a (points) Millionaire?
• Increased Sapphire (Preferred) Offer
• Hyatt & AAdvantage Partnership Changes

Where to Find Us

1. The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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In this episode Jackie Wisniewski, a former Award Travel team member, and Joe's first hire joins him to discuss her journey in the award travel community and her commitment to helping others. Her latest contributions include organizing events like the Chicago Seminars, which raised substantial funds for charity.

Joe reflects on how she’s earned 20-30 million rewards points over the last six years and has used them for charitable causes, helping friends and family, and supporting community members. He also frequently helps others by giving away awards, assisting with award searches, and keeping his DMs open to answer questions from the community.

The episode follows the theme of paying it forward with the post of the week from Erin Hurd, which highlights her story of using her Southwest Performance Business card’s WiFi credits to make random passengers' flights better.

Alongside these anecdotes, the episode covers news about Hyatt’s free night awards, 15k award flights to Europe, and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club’s upcoming changes. Jackie and Joe also share updates on their own trips, with Jackie planning trips to South America and Asia, while Joe prepares for business and leisure travels. Overall, the episode emphasizes the importance of giving back within the award travel world.

Links to Topics Discussed

• Earn Five Hyatt Category 1-4 Free Night Awards With the World of Hyatt Credit Card
• 15k Award Flights to Europe From 11 North American Cities via Flying Blue Promo Rewards
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club To Adopt Dynamic Pricing, Other Program Changes on October 30
• New: Convert Chase Ultimate Rewards to Avios With a 30% Transfer Bonus

Where to Find Us

1. The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025

Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions!
Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card!

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In this episode, Mike talks to Award Travel 101 moderator Maria Fung who discusses various travel rewards topics and updates. They feature Ira's mistake of using the wrong credit card, despite labeling them.

News includes Hawaiian/Alaska mileage transfers, changes at Southwest (such as new seats and legroom options), and Bilt's October Rent Day promotion.

Mike and Maria also share recent trip updates, including Mike’s upcoming flights and Maria’s travels to Los Cabos, Bangkok, and Hong Kong.

The highlight feature is an interview with Maria, focusing on her introduction to travel rewards, her favorite redemption (Venice), and her tips for booking. Maria has a passion for family travel but also enjoys taking solo trips. Maria's tip of the week encourages travelers to stay open to all options.

Links to topics discussed:

• Hawaiian/ Alaska 1:1 Transfer is Live. As of airtime you can still also transfer from Amex Membership Rewards to Hawaiian Airlines (then on to Alaska)
• Southwest Airlines Changes
  • No more open seating and adding extra legroom seats
  • Keeping free checked bags (still see it as more revenue)
  • Partnership with Icelandair
  • Elite Benefits
    • A-List Preferred can select extra-legroom seats at time of booking
    • A-List can select extra legroom 48-hours before
  • Bilt October Rent Day (passed)
    • • Hilton Gold, Diamond status challenge 14 nights
      • Virgin Cruises benefits
  • Wells Fargo Rewards adds Virgin as a Seventh Transfer Partner

Where to Find Us

1. The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community.
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
4. Our next meetup will be May 16-18, 2025 in Chicago! Tickets are selling fast so visit the Award Travel Meetups page to secure yours today.

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Mike and Joe are on the podcast this week with special guest and former Award Travel 101 moderator and current NerdWallet editor Erin Hurd.

They discuss the post of the week, from Travel Grumps 101 member Paige, who was surprised to find her Global Entry revoked without any clear reason, despite having not been guilty of any customs violations or illegal activities. Joe has particular insight in this matter having gone through it himself.

In travel news, JetBlue is entering the lounge business, and the Hawaiian-Alaska Airlines merger is progressing with 1:1 point transfers between the programs expected within a month. Also provided is a recap the 14th Annual Chicago Seminars where Joe, Mike and Erin met up with 500 other points and miles aficionados to talk strategy and learn tips from over 50 speakers.

In the feature segment special guest Erin Hurd focuses on her transition from hobby to full-time work in the award travel space, covering personal growth, favorite reward programs, and future trends in the industry.

Where to Find Us
For questions, you can join us in the free 110,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
2. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
3. Our next meetup will be announced soon. Visit the Award Travel Meetups page for details once announced.

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Episode 86 hosted by Angie and Joe kicks off with a member's concern about Priority Pass lounge overcrowding due to cardholders bringing in multiple guests. This prompts a discussion about potential guest limitations to improve the lounge experience for all.

The news segment covers a variety of travel-related updates, including how to renew Global Entry membership quickly, finding partner award flight availability, and new Amex credit restrictions. They also highlight opportunities to earn bonus rewards, such as 5 free nights with the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card and elevated Delta Amex card offers.

The main feature focuses on building healthy credit to maximize points and miles. They offer tips like paying accounts on time, keeping credit utilization under 30%, and maintaining a mix of credit types. The hosts explain the differences between FICO and VantageScore models, the impact of opening and closing credit cards on scores, and share a personal story where travel rewards saved a member over $2,000 on last-minute bookings.

Links to Topics Discussed

• How To Renew Your Global Entry Membership (And a Trick to Getting a Quick Approval)
• How To Find Airline Partner Award Flight Availability
• Amex To Add New Uber Cash Credit Restrictions in November
• Popular Free Night Certificate offer is back on the American Express® Marriott Bonvoy Business® Card
• Score increased SkyMiles With Elevated Delta Amex Card Offers

Where to Find Us
For questions, you can join us in the free 110,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
2. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
3. Our next meetup will be announced soon. Visit the Award Travel Meetups page for details once announced.

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This week we feature another installment of “Meet the Mods” Angie talks with Justin Walter who shared his journey into the points and miles hobby, which started in 2021 after being inspired by fellow enthusiast Justin Vacula. His first major redemption, staying at the Hyatt Ziva Cancun, got him hooked, and he now prefers traveling in business class, especially for international trips.

One of his favorite redemptions was flying Virgin Upper Class from JFK to London using Flying Blue miles. He’s now looking forward to his upcoming trip to Japan, where he’ll experience JAL’s first class. Justin’s tip of the week is to always work on hitting minimum spending requirements to continue building points, as it's essential to unlock valuable rewards.

Links to news discussed

• Chase Ink Unlimited new elevated bonus
• SAS joining Skyteam, now bookable via Delta and Flying Blue
• American Airlines switching to dynamic pricing on Fiji Airlines
• IHG is back with another airline partnership. Lufthansa Miles & More
• Amex launched a 30% transfer bonus from Membership Rewards to Hilton Honors through 9/30.

Where to Find Us
For questions, you can join us in the free 110,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
2. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
3. Our next meetup will be announced soon. Visit the Award Travel Meetups page for details once announced.

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In this episode the Award Travel 101 podcast, "Book Early, Book Often" Mike and "Backup" Joe share their latest strategies and news updates. Mike discusses his recent approval for the Hawaiian Airlines personal card and transferring 100,000 MR points with a 20% bonus, taking inspiration from Greg and Nick at Frequent Miler. Joe shares his success with a 250K Business Platinum card and his travel plans, including a status match trip to Atlantic City and a booking for a concert using a Hyatt certificate.

The hosts also challenge conventional travel norms, encouraging listeners to make decisions that suit their personal preferences. Mike emphasizes not fearing layovers, ignoring the obsession over credit card rules like 5/24, dismissing the "CPP Police" and not blindly following popular travel trends.

Joe adds that fringe options like lesser-known airlines or using cash when it makes sense can often provide better value than sticking to mainstream choices. He also reminds listeners that award travel is almost never "free travel."

Links to Topics Discussed

• Washington Residents: Earn Delta SkyMiles for Seahawks Passing Yards
• Five New Southwest Promotions to Earn A-List Elite Status Faster
• Latest Marriott Bonvoy Promotions:Bonus Points on Two-Night Stays, up to 10K Points per Night at Select Brands, and More
• Bilt and Walgreens Partnership. Extra points on pharmacy purchases but beware of the fine print!

Where to Find Us
For questions, you can join us in the free 110,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
2. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
3. Our next meetup will be announced soon. Visit the Award Travel Meetups page for details once announced.

Support the AT101 Podcast/CommunityTechnical Note: If you encounter an error trying to listen on Apple Podcasts, please turn OFF your VPN if you are using one.

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We are less than a month away from this year’s Chicago Seminars, the oldest and largest gathering of points and miles aficionados. Joe and Mike talk about the event and give a preview of lectures both Joe and I will be giving. There is also a survey

Also discussed are strategies to prepare for a potential Alaska and Hawaiian airlines merger now that the USDOJ has green lighted the deal. Lastly should we be putting more focus on the Marriott Bonvoy program and it's mid-tier Platinum status? Our moderator Maria thinks so.

Links to Topics Discussed

• Increased Ink welcome offer coming to an end
• Choice Hotels Adds New Sweet Spot Rewards starting at 5k points
• Bilt Rewards Hawaiian Airlines Transfer PartnershipPermanently Ends
• How To Create a Travel Rewards Credit Card Strategy for Families
• Podcast Episode 19 - The Tools of Travel
• Visit the Chicago Seminars site for tickets. Use code MikeZCS10Discount for $10 off
• Award Travel Survey Date to be compiled and presented at Chicago Seminars.

Where to Find Us
For questions, you can join us in the free 110,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
2. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
3. Our next meetup will be announced soon. Visit the Award Travel Meetups page for details once announced.

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Meetups are one of our favorite aspects of this hobby which allow us to interact in person with those who share our same passion/obsession. Angie and Mike are fresh off the latest Award Travel 101 meetup in Seattle where they interreacted with almost 50 other members of the community. They detail the experiences of the weekend and reiterate the benefits of attending meetups and how sometimes it's nice to converse with others who suffer the same affliction as you.
Links to topics discussed

• Fontinebleau Las Vegas Status Match
• Current Capital One Spark Business Offer
• 5 issuers raise Global Entry credit to match fee increase
• Qatar Avios Devaluation, significantly affects American and Alaska domestic US award.
• Amex announces forthcoming Centurion Lounge in Salt Lake City (SLC)
• Photos from the OUT to SEA meetup in Seattle (Award Travel 101 Facebook Group)

Where to Find Us
For questions, you can join us in the free 110,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
2. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
3. Our next meetup will be announced soon. Visit the Award Travel Meetups page for details once announced.

Support the AT101 Podcast/CommunityTechnical Note: If you encounter an error trying to listen on Apple Podcasts, please turn OFF your VPN if you are using one.

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As part of our "Meet The Mods" series Mike talks with April about her background, travel style and of course love of Hyatt. They also discuss the nuances of being native New Yorkers where it's seemingly required to vacation in Florida nearly every year. Further discussion ensues about important credos such as " book early, book often" and "the phone eats first."

Links to Topics Discussed

• Hyatt Promos
• Hyatt Fast Track, trough AA status match
• Enhanced offers on Amex Bonvoy Cards
• Rooms.aero compared to other hotel award search engines

Where to Find Us
For questions, you can join us in the free 110,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
2. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
3. We head "OUT to SEA" this weekend and our next meetup will be announced soon. Visit the Award Travel Meetups page for details once announced.

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If you have been around this space for awhile you'll inevitably run into issues dealing with "muggles" or those unwise in the magical arts of award travel. Angie and Mike talk about the type of muggles we meet and how to best converse with them without sounding like a crazy person.

Links to topics discussed

• Under the Canvas Joins World of Hyatt
• Flash” 70% transfer bonus from Chase to Marriott (through August 15)
• Amex MR 30% Transfer Bonus to Avios
• Amex MR 20% Transfer Bonus to Hawaiian
• "Pepe Silvia" It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia

Where to Find Us
For questions, you can join us in the free 110,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
2. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
3. Our next meetup is located in SEATTLE on AUGUST 16–18, 2024. For more details and to purchase tickets, visit "Out to SEA" on the award.travel website.

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This week Mike talks with Joe who has just logged his latest entry in his "Summer of Travel" logbook by traveling Japan Air Lines Business Class JFK to Toyko, intra-Asia flights to Korea and back. Then the culmination of Etihad business and first class from Tokyo to Abu Dhabi back to JFK. Hyatt and FHR stays throughout.

Links to Topics Discussed:

• Southwest Eliminating Hallmark Open Seating Policy, plus other changes in the works.
• Amex Gold Card Changes, $75 AF increase, more "coupon book" credits
• World of Hyatt, how most of Joe's hotel bookings were made
• Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts Program, where some other bookings were made through.

Send us a text message to share your thoughts about this episode.

Where to Find Us
For questions, you can join us in the free 110,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
2. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
3. Our next meetup is located in SEATTLE on AUGUST 16–18, 2024. For more details and to purchase tickets, visit "Out to SEA" on the award.travel website.

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Angie talks with new moderator and Ohio native Cameron about his background, travel style and favorite trips. He details his passion for travel for both himself and to show his family the world and how points and miles made it all possible.

Links to topics discussed:

• Temporarily can not can book AF/KLM through Virgin (until August)
• New Amex Centurion Lounge at DCA
• Elevated Capital One Venture Welcome Offer- 75k +$250 statement credit for $4k spend.
• Charles Schwab Amex Platinum Cash Out Limit Changes

Send us a text message to share your thoughts about this episode.

Where to Find Us
For questions, you can join us in the free 110,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
2. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
3. Our next meetup is located in SEATTLE on AUGUST 16–18, 2024. For more details and to purchase tickets, visit "Out to SEA" on the award.travel website.

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

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Let us know what you think of this episode or hit us up with a topic you'd be interested in learning more about by sending us a Text Message.

In this week's episode Mike and Angie discuss some of the major changes in their life such as a new house and a new job and how it affects their award travel strategy.

Links to Topics Discussed in This Week's Episode:

• Chase Ink Preferred 120k Offer
• IHG Premier Card 5 Free Night Award offer
• Chase Bonvoy Bold mediocre refresh
• Chase Sapphire Reserve giving 3 months of Bonvoy Gold status... meh
• Hilton rolls out 400 more SLH properties. Some good deals are to be found
• Double points on stays at Hyatt Place/Hyatt House

Post of the Week
Member David talks about mobile phone service abroad.

Where to Find Us
For questions, you can join us in the free 110,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
2. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
3. Our next meetup is located in SEATTLE on AUGUST 16–18, 2024. For more details and to purchase tickets, visit "Out to SEA" on the award.travel website.

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

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Let us know what you think of this episode or hit us up with a topic you'd be interested in learning more about by sending us a Text Message.

It's now July, and we're more than half-way through 2024. In this episode, we're reviewing what we've done through the year to this point, along with some of the trips and places we've been able to book thanks to Award Travel!

The Award Travel 101 Podcast is brought to you in part by Thrifty Traveler Premium. Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT10” for $10 off your first year. Recent finds include:

• Business Class to Europe for 38K points
• JetBlue Mint to Caribbean (West Coast) for $968
• Round-trip Economy to Alaska for $391

Find them at:
ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium

Post of the week

From this long-time community member, Joe. Have you heard of this guy? Do you take time to recharge with your significant other?

News

• Virgin targets another Award Sweetspot
• BA Executive Club Stealth Devaluation
• Flying Blue Calendar Trick
• Bask Bank AAdvantage Bonus
  • see post in Award Travel 101 community where I broke down "the math."

For a full transcript of topics, visit the AwardWallet Blog

Where to Find Us
For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community We are close to our capacity of 500 members so new memberships will be cut off soon. Don't delay in registering if you want to join!
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in SEATTLE on AUGUST 16–18, 2024. For more details and to purchase tickets, visit "Out to SEA" on the award.travel website.

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community Thanks to our Sponsor Thrifty TravelerThe Award Travel 101 Podcast is brought to you in part by Thrifty Traveler Premium. Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT10” for $10 off your first year. Find them at:
ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium

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Let us know what you think of this episode or hit us up with a topic you'd be interested in learning more about by sending us a Text Message.

Award Travel 101 moderator, digital nomad and foodie Anthony Cave talks with Mike about his background, what got him into award travel and how he found living a nomadic life was more cost effective and fulfilling.

Later on Mike and Anthony discuss their love of airport lounges, their most/least favorites and the best ways to access them.

Links to news and topics discussed:

• Flying Blue status match for U.S. residents
• Alaska status match until the end of 2025
• Chase Freedom Q3 Bonus Categories
• More Escape Lounges Join Priority Pass
• Spacious Delta One Lounge at JFK T4 is Open
• Capital One Lounge Coming to JFK
• Strawberry Hotels Summer Pass
• Qatar Airlines Card

Where to Find Us
For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community We are close to our capacity of 500 members so new memberships will be cut off soon. Don't delay in registering if you want to join!
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in SEATTLE on AUGUST 16–18, 2024. For more details and to purchase tickets, visit "Out to SEA" on the award.travel website.

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community Thanks to our Sponsor Thrifty TravelerThe Award Travel 101 Podcast is brought to you in part by Thrifty Traveler Premium. Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT10” for $10 off your first year. Find them at:
ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium

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In this episode, Angie and I cover news of the week along with mistakes we’ve made or we’ve seen friends and family make.

The Award Travel 101 Podcast is brought to you in part by Thrifty Traveler Premium. Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT10” for $10 off your first year. Recent finds include:

• Business Class to Paris for 50,000 points
• Round-trip JetBlue Mint for 44,000 points
• Round-trip to Hawaii for $399

You can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium

Our good friend (and former moderator) Erin randomly ran into 3 other Award Travelers. Have you ever randomly run into Award Travel friends?

News

• LifeMiles showing $1,000+ fees on awards (even in economy)
• Virgin Atlantic is having a 40% off award sale!
• No notice devaluation of Choice hotels
• Aeroplan has (again) paused points expiration

What bonuses did we get?

Joe

• 40 Night Milestone + How to get 10% off Hyatt Award Bookings
• American Loyalty Point Bonus - 30% for next 6 months

Angie

• Alaska Consumer Card
• Wells Fargo Autograph Journey
• Hilton Surpass

For full details, check out post on AwardWallet!

Tip of the week

Avoid some of these mistakes. Sit down with a calendar and your AwardWallet trip log, and make certain that flights and hotels are booked for the correct dates.

Where to Find Us
For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in SEATTLE on AUGUST 16–18, 2024. For more details and to purchase tickets, visit "Out to SEA" on the award.travel website.

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community Thanks to our Sponsor Thrifty TravelerThe Award Travel 101 Podcast is brought to you in part by Thrifty Traveler Premium. Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT10” for $10 off your first year. Find them at:
ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium

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Mike and Joe discuss new airport lounges, Hilton and Hyatt independent hotel affiliations, tipping culture and the broader featured topic of how travel teaches us new things about every place we visit.

The Award Travel 101 Podcast is brought to you in part by Thrifty Traveler Premium. Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT10” for $10 off your first year. Recent finds include:

• Business Class to Stockholm for 54,000 points
• Round-trip to Rome for $586
• First Class Suites to Hawaii for 31,000 points

You can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium

For a full details, check out the blogpost on AwardWallet.

Where to Find Us
For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in SEATTLE on AUGUST 16–18, 2024. For more details and to purchase tickets, visit "Out to SEA" on the award.travel website.

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community Thanks to our Sponsor Thrifty TravelerThe Award Travel 101 Podcast is brought to you in part by Thrifty Traveler Premium. Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT10” for $10 off your first year. Find them at:
ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium

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BREAKING news from our partners at Thrifty Traveler!

Starting right now through Thursday, June 20th at 11:59PM Eastern, NEW subscribers can get 50% off their first year of their Premium Alerts, which can be customized from more than 200 US and Canadian cities.

You can even opt-in for INSTANT TEXT Alerts for special “mistake” fares or the rarest “Unicorn deals.” In the last month alone, Thrifty Traveler Premium has sent over 3 alerts per day for:

• R/T domestic flights under $200 (some even under $100)
• An ultra-low $135 r/t to Dublin
• Skymiles flash sales to Mexico, Central America, and even the Caribbean for 16K R/T

Other aspirational award alerts Thrifty Traveler Premium has delivered include:

• QSuites to the middle east and beyond
• Emirates First class
• Air France/Flying Blue to Europe (even during Olympics)
• United Polaris to Europe and Australia
• American Flagship routes to Europe

All of these awards were in lie-flat seats. In fact, Joe just returned recently from Rome in business class on ITA’s newest plane (just 3 months old) c/o one of these alerts from Thrifty Traveler Premium for just 54K flexible points, and next month he's traveling to Tokyo in business class on JAL’s newest A350-1000, courtesy of an alert and 60K AAdvantage miles.

Again, with this is a limited-time offer from Thrifty Traveler Premium that runs through Thursday, June 20th at 11:59PM Eastern, you too can get these customized alerts sent directly to your inbox for 50% off. That’s $49.99 for an investment into the next year of your Award Travel future!

Where to Find Us
For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in SEATTLE on AUGUST 16–18, 2024. For more details and to purchase tickets, visit "Out to SEA" on the award.travel website.

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community Thanks to our Sponsor Thrifty TravelerThe Award Travel 101 Podcast is brought to you in part by Thrifty Traveler Premium. Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT10” for $10 off your first year. Find them at:
ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium

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This week Angie talks with newest Award Travel 101 moderator Randy Clinton. Randy discusses his background, what got him started in travel rewards and loyalty programs, some of the aspirational products he has flown and how he booked them. He also shares some of his tips for one of his favorite ways to travel, cruises and how to status match for the most benefits.

Links to topics discussed:

• Emirates slashed economy partner award pricing by up to 20%
• Hilton Surpass 130K + Free Night Award
• Cruise Status Matches
  • Carnival
  • Virgin Voyages
  • MSC

Our Hyatt status challenge Globalist challenge is also still going on. You can earn Explorist status with 10 nights or Globalist with 20 nights. You must be a member of Award Travel 201 to have access to this deal.

Where to Find Us
For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in SEATTLE on AUGUST 16–18, 2024. For more details and to purchase tickets, visit "Out to SEA" on the award.travel website.

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community Thanks to our Sponsor Thrifty TravelerThe Award Travel 101 Podcast is brought to you in part by Thrifty Traveler Premium. Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT10” for $10 off your first year. Find them at:
ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium

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Joe is off cruising the Mediterranean so Mike and Angie are on this week. We talk about some news such as AA rolling back their unpopular changes to how loyalty points would be earned. Finally we ponder quirks in the award travel world that makes us grumpy from restrictive bank rules to the CPP Police.

Reminder that we’re helping Award Travel 201 Members Get an Official Hyatt Globalist (Challenge) - you must be a member to access this deal.

Where to Find Us
For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in SEATTLE on AUGUST 16–18, 2024. For more details and to purchase tickets, visit "Out to SEA" on the award.travel website.

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community Thanks to our Sponsor Thrifty TravelerThe Award Travel 101 Podcast is brought to you in part by Thrifty Traveler Premium. Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT10” for $10 off your first year. Find them at:
ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium

View Details

The Award Travel 101 Podcast is brought to you in part by Thrifty Traveler Premium. Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT10” for $10 off your first year. Recent finds include:

• R/T ANA "The Room" Business Class for $2,139
• R/T Mexico/Central America 17K
• O/W Emirates First class for 61K

You can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium

Highlight feature: Thrifty Travel!

Meet Gunnar. Starting as journalist, Gunnar worked his way through the local media scene before landing at Thrifty Traveler as a senior reporter and deal analyst. Award Travel has helped enrich his travels with his Player Two (P2), and they've created fond memories flying some incredible products, by way of his work at Thrifty Traveler.

We'll cover:

• Background
• Introduction to travel rewards/loyalty programs
• Highlights
• Family/solo Travel
• Strengths
• Favorite airline, hotel, credit card programs
• Deals

We discussed this with Thrifty Traveler Premium founder, Jared Kamrowski, in Episode 41 so, “Is Award Travel dead?” The past 6-7 month have probably been more brutal than what we’ve seen in any other past period with award price hikes and no-notice changes from many of our favorite programs:

• United
  • First
  • Second
  • Third
• Turkish Miles & Smiles
• World of Hyatt
  • Annual Adjustment
  • 45 Small Luxury Hotels rejoin World of Hyatt
  • Here’s What Your Hyatt Points Are Worth Toward Mr & Mrs Smith Bookings
  • Hyatt Converts 9 Destination Residences in Hawaii Into Homes & Hideaways Properties
• Virgin Atlantic

Gunnar's Thrifty tip of the week

The old adage, "Book early, book often!" Don't "put it away" by booking and forgetting it.

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in SEATTLE on AUGUST 16–18, 2024. For more details and to purchase tickets, visit "Out to SEA" on the award.travel website.

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

View Details

The Award Travel 101 Podcast is brought to you in part by Thrifty Traveler Premium. Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT10” for $10 off your first year. Recent finds include:

• JetBlue Mint Transcon for $988 R/T
• Business to Tahiti for 70K
• Business to Paris for 50K

You can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium

Post of the week

Member Claire spoof post

News

• Get an Official Hyatt Globalist (Challenge) - you must be an AT201 member
• Citi Strata Premier
• Virgin Red cruises for 74k points
• Tidbits:
• JetBlue and Etihad Guest
• Air Canada Promotion
• 45 properties former SLH properties are back:
  • Bhutan Spirit Sanctuary - Episode 48 with Ryan Smith
  • Croatia (4 of them)
  • Cape Fahn Hotel (Koh Samui)

What bonuses did we get?

Angie

• Working on Minimum Spend on new Sapphire Preferred
• Barclay's AAdvantage Silver (update)

Joe

• Alaska miles issue
• 30% Transfer bonus to Virgin
• 40% Transfer bonus to Hilton
• Why?

Trip updates

Angie: nothing new
Joe:

• FNA to save $445 for Cleveland Marathon
  • 35K Annual Marriott FNA
  • Points transfer
• Hilton FNA

Highlight Feature: The Summer of Travel (Pt. 1 - Getting ready for a trip)

Angie:

• Keep toiletry bag packed and ready
• Charging cables, international adapters, packing cubes, and travel pillow
• Storage box for each specific trip
• Use AwardWallet for flight and hotel information and tripit for sharing with other people.
• Vaccines or Visas
• Clean the house and do the laundry!
• Credit, Priority Pass, and Global Entry cards

Joe:

• Preplanning is minimal
• Double check hotels and flights to avoid surprises
• Passport packed - can always buy most other things if needed
• Make sure I unload CCs I don’t need from wallet
• A debit card? Charles Schwab Debit Card + local currency
• Check AwardWallet app for lounges
• Always half packed

Tip of the week

Be an “average Joe”

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in SEATTLE on AUGUST 16–18, 2024. For more details and to purchase tickets, visit "Out to SEA" on the award.travel website.

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

View Details

The Award Travel 101 Podcast is brought to you in part by Thrifty Traveler Premium. Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT10” for $10 off your first year. Recent finds include:

• Business Class to Japan/S.Korea for 50K miles
• Jetblue Mint to Rico for $796 R/T
• Singapore First Class Suites for 59K

You can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium

Post of the week

Long time member Erin shared a post discussing the best way to handle a potentially oversold flight when you do have the flexibility to make the change.

News

• New Qatar Privileges Credit card
• Bilt Changes
  • Pay Condo Fees
  • New Hotel Transfer Partner - but don't do it!
• New Amex Transfer Bonus
• Capital One Removes Restaurant Benefit

What bonuses did we get?

• Angie
  • Enhanced Sapphire Card offer - will she get approved?
  • Business Platinum application - can she get another?
  • Aviator Silver - update
• Marty
  • Amex refer a friend (10X) - we also discussed this last week for Episode 67: InOur Wallets Right Now
• Chris - Hyatt Promo

Trip Updates

• Angie
  • Slovenia - Girls trip research
  • Alaska Companion Certificate to the rescue
  • Gold Guest Upgrades
• Marty
  • No more lap infant - needs 3 seats in Premium Economy
• Chris
  • Rio stay
  • Delta status run

Highlight Feature: Workhorse Cards (In Our Wallet Right Now)

The 14th annual Chicago Seminars has a long and storied history. In Episode 64: The Most Powerful Tool in Award Travel, we had two of the event's organizers sharing the announcement of this year's event changes.

In this episode, Angie is joined by two more of this year's organizers, who share more details on the variety of speakers for each level and what attendees can expect. Go to Call for Presentations to recommend speakers or topics. To learn more or purchase tickets, check out Chicago Seminars 2024 Dates and New Location Just Announced.

TIP OF THE WEEK
When flying discount carriers like Frontier or Spirit, watch the seat map and know the cutoffs. Check-in when there's only only good free seats left.

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in SEATTLE on AUGUST 16–18, 2024. For more details and to purchase tickets, visit "Out to SEA" on the award.travel website.

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

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In this episode, we discuss the cards we're putting to work from our wallets.

The Award Travel 101 Podcast is brought to you in part by Thrifty Traveler Premium. Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT10” for $10 off your first year. Recent finds include:

• Singapore First Class Suites for 59K
• Round-trip Caribbean for 17K
• Business class to Europe for 45K

You can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium

Post of the week
Award Travel will be in Seattle for our fall meet. It’s a great way to make friends and learn tips and tricks not shared elsewhere. Dates are 8/16-8/18. Early bird pricing will be through May 31st! Get your ticket today!

News

• Should You Get the Chase Sapphire Reserve® or the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card?
• United Skyrockets Business Class Partner Award Pricing by up to 200%
• 15K Award Flights to Europe
• Qatar Airways 30% Transfer Bonus From Citi
• 31+ Promos Ending Soon

Trip updatesAngie

• Chicago Seminars rebooking
• Montana - savings on Southwest
• Alaska Companion Certificates for Hawaii

Joe

• Wyndham Points save the day
• Frontier Status books three tickets with bags and seats for $137

What bonuses did we get?

• Angie - anxiously awaiting AA Barclays Silver card
• Joe - working on cards with bonus categories

Highlight Feature: Workhorse Cards (In Our Wallet Right Now)

Award Travel 101 Community members probably know which cards to start with - Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve, Ultimate Rewards' earning Ink (Preferred, Unlimited, Cash) cards, Amex Gold and Platinum (consumer and business) cards. But what happens when you can't get new cards? Many of us have been in that boat where we can’t open new cards for a while. What's next?

Angie

• Chase Ink Plus (not open to new applicants)
• Chase Freedom Flex
• Citi Premier
• Amex Gold
• Citi Double Cash

Joe

• Citi American Executive
• World of Hyatt Business
• Citi Premier
• Ink Cash
• Wyndham Business
• Amex Biz Gold

Tip of the week

Look for value in places others aren't. Saving hundreds of dollars for a hotel, I found one for just 13.5K points in a place others were not looking (and got a suite)!

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

View Details

The Award Travel 101 Podcast is brought to you in part by Thrifty Traveler Premium. Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT10” for $10 off your first year. Recent finds include:

• OW Business Class to New Zealand for 50K
• RT to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for 40K
• RT Premium Economy to Europe for 56K

You can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium

Post of the week

Charlie Hagadorn a feature in the paid version of seats.aero one of the award search tools called rooms.aero saves big bucks!

News

• Elevated American Express Business Platinum offer
• Mr. & Mrs. Smith is now bookable with Hyatt points
• Lufthansa First class bookable with LifeMiles
• New rules/laws/protections

Trip updates

• Angie
  • Return flight from India
  • Updating Southwest Companion
• Joe
  • New Hilton on Clearwater - may use Free Night Award

What bonuses did we get?

• Angie
  • Authorized User card offers
  • Hilton Free Night Awards have been deposited
• Joe
  • Working on 10X bonus on Business Gold for 14X

Highlight Feature: Nice to Meetcha!

We just returned from our meetup in San Antonio for Fiesta. There were over 150 Award Travel 101 and members from the Award Travel 201 communities in attendance.

Speakers:

• Justin Vacula (Hurdy Gurdy Travel Podcast) blew everybody’s minds with creative ways to hit minimum spend and earn status (Podcast Episode 43)
• Toni Perkins-Southam (Forbes Advisor) shared deals over the years as well as the one most important aspects of the Award Travel (Podcast Episode 51)
• Logan Robinson (Aligned Incentives) discussed how to simplify meeting minimum spends
• Ryan Smith (AwardWallet) shared some under-the-radar card perks and benefits (Podcast Episode 48)
• Several of the Chicago Seminars' organizers were there to share updates AND a nice discount for attendees (Podcast Episode 64)

Tip of the weekAngie's story to check what cards are saved in your Uber/Lyft wallets.

• Chase Sapphire Reserve
• Chase Freedom Flex

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

View Details

The Award Travel 101 Podcast is brought to you in part by Thrifty Traveler Premium. Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Recent finds include:

• Business Class to Paris for 40K
• Premium Economy to Taipei for $1,994 R/T
• Business class to Seoul on Korean (Rare find) for 75K

You can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium

Post of the week

Andrew “Bacon” Goodman - Disney for $375 INCLUDING PARK TICKETS!?

News

• Hilton/Small Luxury Hotels (Updates)
• Choice Sweet Spots
• New Citi AAdvantage Business offer

Trip updates

• Joe
  • Girl's night & Boy's night without spending $675!

What bonuses did we get?

• Angie
  • Two Free Hilton Nights
• Joe
  • 20K Referral
  • 14X spend Amex Business Gold
  • Almost done with wife's Citi AAdvantage Card

Highlight Feature: 20 Largest Hotel Chains & the Six We're Focusing On

We came across an interesting diagram ranking the top 20 hotel programs throughout the world. Do you know which is largest?

Some are less familiar, so we ranked the six we most frequently discuss in the Award Travel 101 Facebook community:

• 2 Wyndham - 9,280 Properties from Days Inn all the way up to Wyndham Grand.

• 3 Marriott- One of the largest footprints with 8,484 properties a wide range of price points from Springhill Suites up to Ritz Carlton and St. Regis luxury hotels.

• 6 Choice - with 7,500 properties domestically, Choice is not known for being great. They start with low level properties like Comfort Inn’s and Quality Inn’s but their Ascend and Cambria properties look great.

• 7 Hilton - counting 7,165 properties in their portfolio, Hilton is similar to Marriott with a fairly sizable footprint with a wide range of price points from Hampton Inn to Waldorf Astoria.

• 8 IHG - With 1,000 less (6,164) properties, another one that families on a budget may opt for is Holiday Inn Express and their tasty cinnamon rolls. IHG starts with Holiday Inn’s and has upper level Kimptons.

• 16 Hyatt - With 1,200 properties (Hyatt says 1,300+ today), World of Hyatt is markedly smaller. They start at Hyatt Place and their flagship properties fall under Park Hyatt.

TIP OF THE WEEK:

Have a good backup plan for using your credit cards. Tune in to hear Angie's fail.

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in San Antonio, TX on April 26–28, 2024. If you want a waitlisted ticket, see this post in AT101.

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

View Details

The Award Travel 101 Podcast is brought to you in part by Thrifty Traveler Premium. Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT10” for $10 off your first year. Recent finds include:

• Business Class to Switzerland for 60K
• Japan for 55K R/T
• Business Class to Europe starting at 45K

You can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium

Post of the week

Jennifer Jacobs - A tale of caution - vacation club/time-share presentations

News

• AwardWallet’s Roundup of Airline and Hotel Program Sweet Spots
• One Credit Card Issuer Just Increased Its Global Entry Benefit. Will Others Follow?
• Credit Card Welcome Offers of 100,000 Points (or More!)

What bonuses did we get?

• Jackie
  • Enhanced United Business card welcome offer
• JT
  • Spending toward World of Hyatt card Free Night Award and elite night credits
  • Wyndham Business Card - how will this be maximized (hint: Angie and I discussed this last week)
• Joe
  • Referral from Amex Business Gold - why is that so important (14X Dining)?
    • Tip for Double dipping this referral in Award Travel 201 (must be a member - $90 per year & includes AwardWallet Plus)
  • Received 2nd Hyatt Cat 1-4 certificate and swapped out a two night stay at a Category 4 peak night pricing (from this card) to get 36,000 points back

Highlight Feature: The Most Powerful Tool in Award Travel

How does one weed out the noise to find what's most useful for your Award Travel strategies? In-person events will provide opportunities for attendees to speak with and listen to experts in the field which help fine-tune their strategies. We encourage you to attend, engage, explore, learn, and ask questions.

In the podcast, I mentioned that early on, I didn't know how to complete a minimum spend. Here are some tips that might help you avoid that same situation. Had I attended an event back then, I would have understood my options.

To learn more:

• 14th Annual Chicago Seminars
• Taco 'Bout a Fiesta

Tip of the week

Make the most out of schedule changes. Hear how all three of us have used these recently to improve our schedules and/or save in the process.

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in San Antonio, TX on April 26–28, 2024, and we’ve opened up a few more tickets for members! To learn more visit Taco 'Bout A Fiesta! on Eventbrite

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

View Details

The Award Travel 101 Podcast is brought to you in part by Thrifty Traveler Premium. Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT10” for $10 off your first year. Recent finds include:

• Business Class to Europe for 59K points
• Business Class to Colombia for 64K miles R/T
• R/T to St. Kitts for $431

You can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium

Post of the week

Penina Olar - My husband and I are considering a trip to Asia this summer. When is the best time book with points? My husband wants to fly business class but it’s showing the miles to be at 200K per person for one way. Will the price come down if I book closer to our trip? Most likely going in June.

News

• Zorkcast Episode of “Yo 11 Minutes” 70 - status matching
• Complete Guide to Wells Fargo Transfer Partners
• Air India Refreshes it’s Flying Returns Program
• Iberia Plus Bonus: New Milestone Rewards
• Application Fee Is Going up for Global Entry, NEXUS, and SENTRI, Kids Will Be Free

What bonuses did we get?

• Angie
  • Where's my 20K point checking account bonus?
• Joe
  • Alaska Business Card
  • Alaska Consumer Card

Trip updates

• Angie
  • Modified India trip - 3 separate carriers on 3 different tickets
  • Domestic flights used Business Platinum portal to get 35% points back
• Joe
  • Chicago Seminars flights 7K out & 11.4K back. Hotel (16K WOH) booked
  • Tampa Dad/Son trip using 50K Breeze and 28K Southwest points plus WOH
  • Booked GH Tokyo using 95K + Suite Upgrade Award $1,200 per night ($3,600)

Highlight Feature: Strategy - When to Close Cards

Thanks to a recommendation from a member, we decided to review when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em.

• Is there long-term value?
• Are the benefits enough to offset the annual fee?
• If not, is there a retention offer?
• If no offer, is there a path t0 product change to preserve the credit line to help with utilization ratio
• If there's no path to product change, consider closing the card as long as it’s not the oldest card
• If no annual fee, no reason to close. However, sometimes it helps if you close some no fee cards with no value. This was something one of our moderators did to get a Capital One card. If you’re not using them though, put a small charge on them periodically.

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in San Antonio, TX on April 26–28, 2024, and we’ve opened up a few more tickets for members! To learn more visit Taco 'Bout A Fiesta! on Eventbrite

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

View Details

The Award Travel 101 Podcast is brought to you in part by Thrifty Traveler Premium. Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT10” for $10 off your first year. Recent finds include:

• Business Class to Hawaii for 31K
• French Polynesia for 40K R/T
• One-way Business class to Paris for 40K

You can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium

Post of the week

New Mod, Anthony Cave - fly to Australia for $100

News

• • 8 New Airlines Just Joined PreCheck. Here’s A List of All 99 TSA PreCheck Participating Airlines— Iberia is the biggie here
  • Chase Sapphire Reserve and Ritz-Carlton Card Priority Pass Benefit Change: No More Restaurants or Markets
  • You Can Now Redeem Choice Privileges Points Online at Preferred Hotels
  • Amex Hilton Honors Business Card Shakeup: Priority Pass Out, Spending Credits In, Higher Annual Fee
  • Chicago Seminars 2024 Dates and New Location Just Announced

What bonuses did we get?

• Angie
  • Hilton Biz cards to get Free Night Award before 6/30
• Joe
  • Citi AAdvantage 75K welcome offer
  • Product changed my Citi AAdvantage Platinum to Citi Custom Cash
  • Met $15K spend on World of Hyatt

Trip updates

• Angie
  • Montana girls golf trip - Companion Pass
  • Chicago Seminars. Using Hyatt points (8k per night) plus a FNC from brand explorer
  • I’m going to India!
• Joe
  • Carambola Renaissance Marriott Bonvoy - see my review here

Highlight Feature: How You Doing — Quarter One Review

Angie -

• Free cruises - Wyndham Business Card
• Spending for all the Free Night Certificates
• Closing cards that are causing too much work
• In the home stretch of the house process so new cards and trips second quarter
• Was gifted AA Gold and upgraded Barclay’s Red to Silver
• Boundless to another Ritz?

Joe -

• AA status - Just 1/10th of the way return to Executive Platinum
• Hyatt Status - 23/60 nights so far (just 4 from stays)
• Marriott Status - 54/50 nights via shortcut
• Wyndham points - enough to book Vacasa for 2025
• Just two welcome offers so far, but I have more planned for Q2

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in San Antonio, TX on April 26–28, 2024, and we’ve opened up a few more tickets for members! To learn more visit Taco 'Bout A Fiesta! on Eventbrite

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

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Mike returns to discuss his journey down under to skip his 40th birthday. I also share some tips on how I put my trip together to join him for just 52 hours on the ground.

The Award Travel 101 Podcast is brought to you in part by Thrifty Traveler Premium. Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT10” for $10 off your first year. Recent finds include:

• Round-trip to Paris for 38K miles
• Business Class to Vietnam "Nerd Alert" for 40K miles
• One-way Business to England/Ireland for 45K points

You can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium

News

• United Mile Pooling
• Updated Ink Cash Bonus
• Bilt - American & Alaska
• Track Travel Plans with AwardWallet

What bonuses did we get?

• Mike -
  • Chase Ink Cash
  • Amex Business Checking

Trip updates

• Joe
  • Rebooked Southwest - saved how many points?
  • Rebooked Car rental in Caribbean to save $130
  • Backup Flights to Protect options

Highlight Feature: Points Down Under

Mike shares how he created a memorable trip to celebrate his 40th turn around the sun. I spent 52 hours there too. Both of us flew American and United's longest routes in opposite directions.

Mike - Birthday bucket list trip to Australia

• AA Flagship to LAX
• Greenwich Lounge JFK (former Flagship)
• Dream Hollywood (1 night) - Hyatt Cat 1-7 cert
• 1 day National car rental $60
• Warner Brothers Studio Tour (Viator)
• AA Flagship to SYD
• Qantas F Lounge (salt & pepper squid, minute steak)
• Flagship Lounge
• Hyatt Regency Sydney (4 nights)
• Upgraded to Harbour View Executive Suite
• Bondi Beach, Ocean Pools, Coastal Walk
• Hunter Valley Wine Tour (Viator)
• Blue Mountains Tour, Scenic World & Featherdale Animal Park (Viator)
  Park Hyatt (4 nights)
• Harbour View King room Opera House view
• Bridge Climb
• Opera House Tour
• Manly Beach
• St. Patrick's Day festivities
• United Polaris SYD-IAH-CLE

Joe - Quick turn to SYD 56 hours of travel and 52 hours on the ground

• 5 lounges in IAH
• Polaris 80K (now 100K) UA + $26
• Train $14 each way to CBD and Circular (Key) Quay
• Four Seasons FHR booking
• Lots of Lounges
  AA - bit of fiasco 65K + $80

Tip of the week

People/community make the difference (getting my seat back). I shared a more in-depth piece in our Premium/Paid Award Travel 201 Community.

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in San Antonio, TX on April 26–28, 2024, and we’ve opened up a few more tickets for members! To learn more visit Taco 'Bout A Fiesta! on Eventbrite

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

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In this episode, I interview a long-time friend, who was hesitant to open up credit cards for fear of ruining his credit and overspending. Tune-in to hear how he overcame that fear and is now booking his first international business class flights! These aren't the typical domestic carriers a newer Award Traveler might book either (American, Delta, or United).

The Award Travel 101 Podcast is brought to you in part by Thrifty Traveler Premium. Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT10” for $10 off your first year. Recent finds include:

• Round-trip Business class to Faroe Islands for under $1,100
• Business class to S.E. Asia for 50,000 miles
• Puerto Vallarta & Cabo San Lucas, Mexico under $294

You can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium

Award Travel 101 Podcast Episode 60 Show Notes

POINT.ME DISCOUNT OFFER

If you didn't catch our LIVE interview Thursday evening (3/14/2024) with co-founder, Tiffany Funk, she's offered the Award Travel 101 community 50% off annual subscriptions of point.me for a limited time. Full Details:

• Code: AWARDTRAVEL101
• Offer: 50% off a yearly standard subscription (not redeemable for monthly)
• Expires: 3/31/24 at 11:59pm EST

There are so many new tools you can use to search for award space, but the one that provides the most robust options is point.me, and it's one of the two tools I rely on to assist in my daily searches. So if you want to try point.me and SAVE 50% on your next year of Award Searches, use the code listed above.

Highlight Feature: Booking Your First International Business Class Flight

Welcome to Episode 60 of the AT101 Podcast! My co-host, Angie Sparks is off, AND I was traveling to Australia for the most crazy journey I've done to this point, but I thought I’d introduce Tod this week, so we recorded this episode ahead of my travels. Tod is a longtime friend, but he hasn’t always been as excited about award travel as many of us have been. He’s the perfect example of someone who didn’t believe in the power of credit card rewards, yet has come to embrace them as a tool to do more with less.

In our highlight feature, we’ll discuss his growth and how he’s managed to book his first international (overseas) trip to Manilla, Philippines (in business class) and how he’s booking airlines that he would never have expected to be flying just a few short months ago (like Qatar’s QSuites or EVA lie-flat business class) - all from credit card reward programs and a willingness to branch out.

Tip of the week

Stacking rewards programs can be useful - like getting Grocery store/fuel rewards in addition to your cards that earn category bonuses.

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in San Antonio, TX on April 26–28, 2024, and we’ve opened up a few more tickets for members! To learn more visit Taco 'Bout A Fiesta! on Eventbrite

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

View Details

The Award Travel 101 Podcast is brought to you in part by Thrifty Traveler Premium. Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT10” for $10 off your first year. Recent finds include:

• Business Class to Europe 55K points
• Round-trip to Mexico/Caribbean for 10K miles
• Round-trip to Zanzibar for $885

You can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium

Post of the week

Lee VC - Amex is going crazy!

News

• • New Rewards coming from Wells Fargo
  • World of Hyatt’s Annual Sadness-Inducing Award Changes Announced
  • World of Hyatt Adds the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas
  • Wyndham Rewards Is Adjusting Award Prices for Hotel Stays and Vacasa Bookings
  • It’s Back: Best-Ever 75K Bonus Offer on the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Card
  • New Hilton Credit Card Offers Provide up to 155,000 Points

Trip updates

• Angie - still nothing new
• Joe
  • Return from Australia
  • Europe/Rome - canceled Waldorf Astoria?
  • Return from St. Croix
  • Canceled Back up Spring Break trip

What bonuses did we get?

• Angie
  • Alaska offer hasn't posted yet
  • Wyndham Business and Venture X Business have
• Joe
  • Extreme Stacking - PS5 for $81
  • Cardpointers will help so you don’t miss an offer ever again

Highlight Feature: Finding Award Space

Flexibility in types of points available, dates of travel, and airline routings. Start your search with your preferred airline, then expand your search out to partner airlines, and compare points needed.

• point.me
• seats.aero
• roame.travel

OTHER TOOLS include - AwardLogic, Awayz, AwardNexus, SeatSpy, maxmypoint, openhotelalert to make your search easier or award alert services such as our partner Thrifty Traveler Premium.

1. Do practice searches to improve your searching skills.
2. Step-By-Step: How to Search for Award Flights
3. AT101 Transfer Partner Chart

Tip of the week

100 days out for booking Choice Privileges Rewards, but…

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in San Antonio, TX on April 26–28, 2024, and we’ve opened up a few more tickets for members! To learn more visit Taco 'Bout A Fiesta! on Eventbrite

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

View Details

Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT10” for $10 off your first year. Recent finds include:

• Round-trip to Mexico for 11K points
• Business Class to Southeast Asia for 50K miles
• Business class to Europe for 55K miles

You can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium

Join us for Ask Me Anything LIVE Event with Tiffany Funk

New group of mods

Post of the Week

Will Weider - long lines at LAS Centurion

News

• When and How You Can Book Award Flights for Friends and Family
• Increased Marriott Bonvoy Credit Card Offers: Up to 185K Points or 5 Free Nights
• Get Access to Hidden Award Space with United Credit Cards
• World of Hyatt’s Annual Sadness-Inducing Award Changes Announced
• Little-Known Southwest Credit Card Perk: 20% Off Discount Code for Southwest Reward Flights

TRIP UPDATES?

Angie - nothing new

Joe -

• Virgin Islands
• Rebooked GH Seoul again thanks to a member's suggestion

WHAT BONUSES DID WE GET?

• Angie - Alaska card and Venture X Business
• Joe- Ink Preferred. 20K Frontier Miles

Highlight Feature - Maximizing Spend for the Most Rewards

Cards to use and where - idea is to build a portfolio/family of cards that return more value. Get CardPointers and SAVE:

http://cardpointers.com/at101 Never earn only one point per dollar ever again:

• Travel
• Gas
• Grocery
• Dining
• Utilities
• Office Supply & Communications below
• Streaming
• Pharmacy
• Health/Gym
• Everywhere

Tip of the Week

Book now, ask questions later. My buddy's how a friend nearly lost his optimal booking.

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in San Antonio, TX on April 26–28, 2024, and we’ve opened up a few more tickets for members! To learn more visit Taco 'Bout A Fiesta! on Eventbrite

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

View Details

The Award Travel 101 Podcast is brought to you in part by Thrifty Traveler Premium. Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT10” for $10 off your first year. Recent finds include:

• Business Class to Europe for 50K points
• Tapei for 75K miles
• Business class to Hawaii for $582

You can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium

Post of the week

Xochitl Sierra Hernandez - What would you do if placed in this situation?

News

• Etihad Guest Changes
• Awards to Book Before They're Gone
• Capital One to Purchase Discover?
• American Airlines

Trip updates

• Angie
  • Safari cancellation
  • Beach day in May
• Joe
  • Sydney, Australia - How I used a Credit Card Perk/Benefit
  • Chase Travel Portal Booking - Does it make sense?
  • $573 savings
  • Choice Points for HUGE savings - should you buy them?
  • Flexibility vs paying less
  • Hyatt Points, but a catch?

What bonuses did we get?

• Angie
  • Wyndham Business
  • Alaska Card
  • Venture X Business
• Joe
  • Chase Ink
  • Barclays AAdvantage

Highlight feature: Let’s Get Crafty - Crafting a Credit Card Strategy

The basic strategy is the same for every situation.

• Do you have a Player Two?
• Evaluate any upcoming trips or desired trips

Scenario 1: Two player mode, both people can get business cards

• Number one recommended starter card
• Best business cards
• Specific branded cards
• 5/24 Status

Scenario 2: Two player mode, only one person can get business cardsSimilar to Scenario 1 but you can’t refer each other on business cards

Scenario 3: Two player mode, no business cards

This is when looking long term is very important

Scenario 4: Single player mode, no business card

This is the most challenging way to play the game.

Tip of the week

An Award Travel 101 member who goes by FindFlightsforMe on IG - how to buy Flying Blue miles (for less).

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in San Antonio, TX on April 26–28, 2024, and we’ve opened up a few more tickets for members! To learn more visit Taco 'Bout A Fiesta! on Eventbrite

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

View Details

The Award Travel 101 Podcast is brought to you in part by Thrifty Traveler Premium. Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT10” for $10 off your first year. Recent finds include:

• Starlux Business Class to Taipei for 75K miles
• Business Class to South America for 39K points
• Roundtrip to Hawaii for under $500

You can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium

How did your passion for travel begin?

• "I used to watch planes from the airport. I would ask my mom where each plane was going, and she would make up a place. 🤣"

Why? Most teens are not into learning about travel rewards programs

• Like many in the space, it started with saving money.

Favorite airline, hotel, credit card programs (and does status play a role in any of your travels)?

• Amex Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards

Where are you heading next?

• Queenstown, NZ
• Study abroad in Japan

Travel Style -

• Mostly economy.

Best deal you’ve received?

• San Francisco (SFO) to Lisbon (LIS) for $300 round trip
• SFO to LIS that was only $90

Highlight Feature - Different Ways to Approach Budget Travel

• Schedule changes
• Frontier 50K/Platinum
• Spirit Gold
• Ticket counter bookings
• Southwest A-List
• Delta SkyMiles
• Southwest
• American
• Virgin Atlantic
  • KLM nonstop and Virgin
  • Virgin offers an underrated companion fare
• British Airways
  • Solid amount of award space from Vegas - high surcharges.

Other Things to Know

• Frontier 100K/Diamond
  • free checked, carry-on bag, early boarding, and other perks
• JetBlue True Blue
• Southwest Rapid Rewards
• United
• Aeroplan awards under 500 miles
• Lifemiles
• Turkish - used to be 7.5K, but is now 10K for economy. Business was 12.5K, but is now 15K per person
• American - last minute awards
• British Airways - see the updated award chart
• Etihad Guest - starts at 6K for awards under under 500 miles
• Delta - Compare
• Virgin Atlantic - start at 8.5K - see updated chart
• Flying Blue -

Where to Find John

John is active in the Award Travel 101/201 community and writes for Bougie Miles. To reach him:

• john.ryan@fora.travel
• @vegasteenager on twitter

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in San Antonio, TX on April 26–28, 2024, and we’ve opened up a few more tickets for members! To learn more visit Taco 'Bout A Fiesta! on Eventbrite

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

View Details

The Award Travel 101 Podcast is brought to you in part by Thrifty Traveler Premium. Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT10” for $10 off your first year. Recent finds include:

• Qatar First Class "Nerd Alert" to Australia for 100,000 points
• JetBlue Mint to London, England for $1,856 round-trip
• Business Class to Paris for 50,000 miles

You can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium

Marianne Michalek Shovan - Why is my car rental more expensive with Amex Discount Code than without?

News

• Air France–KLM Flying Blue Award Sweet Spots
• Amex Adds ‘Family’ Restrictions to the American Express® Green Card
• Book Now: Turkish Airlines to Devalue Miles & Smiles, Introduce New Award Charts
• 683 United Award Routes That You Can Book for Just 6,000 Aeroplan Points

Trip updates

• Angie
  • nothing new (again)
• Joe
  • Used 5.5K Virgin miles (per person) to fly Seoul to Jeju Island on Korean (KE) saving over $310 each way. It totaled 13,000 points total for 3 of us (16,5000 with 30% speculative transfer bonus) each way. 25,385 Membership Rewards converted to 33,000 Virgin Flying Club Points to save $620 on our travels.
  • Should I use points or cash for Hyatt hotels in S. Korea?
  • Applied Suite Upgrade Awards to Grand Hyatt Jeju and Grand Hyatt Seoul

What bonuses did we get?

• Angie
  • Waiting for Wyndham offer to post.
  • Waiting for Amex Business checking bonus.
  • Approved for Bank of America Alaska card
  • P2 not denied for Venture X Business
  • So putting spend on 0% apr cards for right now
• Joe
  • Nearly done with Player Two's Chase Ink Business Preferred offer
  • Working on World of Hyatt Business card to retain elite status

Highlight feature: Transferable Over Fixed Points

• Back to Basics: An Introduction to the Types of Reward Points
  • Fixed Value Rewards
  • Cashback
  • Travel Statement
  • When to Use
  • Travel Portals
  • Fixed-Value Airline Miles
  • Branded Airline Miles and Hotel Points
  • Flexible Awards
• AT101 Transfer Partner Chart

Tip of the week

Be flexible with your card strategy and don’t take denials personally. It happens to everybody at some point in this hobby so be prepared to pivot to a new card or your existing portfolio.

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in San Antonio, TX on April 26–28, 2024, and we’ve opened up a few more tickets for members! To learn more visit Taco 'Bout A Fiesta! on Eventbrite

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

View Details

Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT101” for $10 off your first year. Head to ThriftyTraveler.com for more details and check out their Google Flights guide. Recent finds include:

• ANA First Class "NERD ALERT" for 73K
• Business Class for $2,627 round-trip to India
• Business Class to Istanbul and beyond for 45K

You can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium

Post of the Week

Zee Stacy received a 1099 from Chase and was quite concerned. Is this normal?

News

• Delta card changes - are the changes all bad?
• Marriott promo - promo runs February 13 - April 29

Trip Updates

• Angie
  • Boys trip?
  • Montana?
  • Canada or San Diego?
  • Slovenia and Croatia
• Mike
  • New Orleans - used World of Hyatt points and AAdvantage miles
  • Pancake Run canceled
  • Australia!
  • Work travel - Capital One Vs Centurion Lounge.

What bonuses did we get?

• Angie
  • Wyndham Rewards Business Earner -
  • Denied Capital One Venture X Business and P2 got Amex popup (meaning no welcome offer) on Amex Business Gold
  • Could the Bank of America Alaska card do the trick?
  • If not I’ll use my 0% APR cards and my Amex Hilton Business to earn a FNC for my upcoming large spend
• Mike
  • Amex Business Checking -
  • Capital One Venture X -
  • Chase Ink Cash - always a perennial favorite in the Award Travel 101 community
  • Next card… Bonvoy Brilliant?

Highlight feature: Getting Player Two (P2) Into Award Travel

• What is a P2? Do you have to be married?
• Keep it simple! Mike started card labeling for P2 and she still struggled, so now strategy is KISS (Chase Freedom Unlimited and Chase Ink Unlimited)
• Keep P2 in the loop
• Set a dollar threshold
• Teach shopping portals
• Suggestions from our P2’s: “tell me which card to use”

Tip of the week

Marry a P1 (kidding). Shopping portal strategy for valentines day presents.

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in San Antonio, TX on April 26–28, 2024, and we’ve opened up a few more tickets for members! To learn more visit Taco 'Bout A Fiesta! on Eventbrite

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

View Details

Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT101” for $10 off your first year. Head to ThriftyTraveler.com for more details and check out their Google Flights guide. Recent finds include:

• Round-trip business class to Japan for $1,925 (or 125,000 points)
• Business class to Hawaii for 55,000 miles
• Business class to Germany for 55,000 points

You can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium.

Award Travel 101 Podcast Episode 53 Show Notes

We're changing up this week's format, with our very first member interview. Award Travel 101 community member Allison Tackette joins us with tips she's learned over 10 years in the space.

Background

Allison is a former teacher who wanted to get out and see the world, but her time off in the summer often resulted in finding peak season pricing. Travel CAN be expensive if you're always paying cash, but pushing people to the brink helps them get creative!

Introduction to travel rewards and loyalty programs

Is it as simple as asking how to travel for free? In 2013, information was far more scarce than it is today. Now we have tons of resources and the Award Travel 101 Facebook community where you can ask questions and get instant answers.

Places You Could Return Over and Over

While she enjoys traveling the world, check out why she thinks Japan is the place she could never lose interest in.

Travel style

Allison travels primarily as a solo traveler, but she does travel with family on occasion too.

Deals

Is there anything better than First Class for your first significant redemption? Can you believe that the redemption she made years and years ago, is still the same cost today?

Highlight Feature - Can I book travel inside 60 days (or less)?

Which programs offer you the greatest flexibility? Use these to set yourself up and keep looking as you get close-in. Some of the most aspirational flights and airlines might be found inside 14 days or less including:

• Lufthansa
• ANA
• JAL
• Emirates
• Not airline specific, but unsold business/first flights to Australia and New Zealand often open up around a week out.

Tip of the week

Use tools like seats.aero or point.me to simplify your searches. Check out Episode 19 "The Tools We Use"

Where You Can Find Allison

Instagram: @luckytictac
awardtravelvacations.com

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in San Antonio, TX on April 26–28, 2024, and we’ve opened up a few more tickets for members! To learn more visit Taco 'Bout A Fiesta! on Eventbrite

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

View Details

Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT101” for $10 off your first year. Head to ThriftyTraveler.com for more details and check out their Google Flights guide. Recent finds include:

• Business Class to Europe for 55K points
• Premium Economy to Singapore for $1,249 R/T
• Business Class to Portugal for 45K miles

You can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium

Post of the week

Beth Hanes Product changing gone wrong - Why does Chase hate me?
John Buchan - Is there an over-emphasis on the Chase Ink sign ups?

News

• Alaska cancels 20% of their flights
• United Offers (Outrageous) Premier Elite Status Buy-Up Offers
• New Alaska Consumer & Business cards as well as Hyatt Consumer & Business offers
• Did Marriott just #Bonvoy MGM
• New Lounge opening - who can get in?

Trip updates

• Angie -
  • Tulip girls coming to Tampa for Gasparilla
  • Keeps checking for flights to "Taco 'Bout a Fiesta" San Antonio meetup
  • Looking at flights for Montana-would love to piggyback a trip with P2
  • P2 mentioned he’d love to do a cruise
• Joe -
  • Booked a trip to Japan and Korea trip as a result of a “missed” Thrifty Traveler Premium alert that retails for $31K for less than $250

What bonuses did we get?

• Angie
  • Finished Minimum Spending Requirement (MSR) on Ink Cash
  • Applied for Wyndham Business and eventually approved approved!
• Joe
  • Finished MSR on the Wyndham Business Earner card
  • Shared a tip on how I plan to get 25% off an $1,800 purchase
  • P2 -100K Ink Preferred
  • 40K referral

Highlight feature: Strategies for Building Healthy Credit and Better Offers

• Guide to Building Healthy Credit
• Credit Card Strategy
• Application Rules of 4 Major Issuers

Tip of the week

Don’t sleep on lesser known partner programs. I provided an example of how you can use Etihad Guest miles for less in Award Travel 201. FULL DISCLOSURE - it is a subscription group, and runs from $9.99 monthly to $89.99 annually AND provides complimentary AwardWallet Plus.

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in San Antonio, TX on April 26–28, 2024, and we’ve opened up a few more tickets for members! To learn more visit Taco 'Bout A Fiesta! on Eventbrite

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

View Details

Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT101” for $10 off your first year. Head to ThriftyTraveler.com for more details and check out their Google Flights guide. Recent finds include:

• Delta One Business Class to Europe for 50K points
• Cathay Pacific First class to SE Asia starting at 125K points
• Business Class to Hawaii 40K points

You can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium

Award Travel 101 Podcast Episode 51 Show NotesJoe is joined by the most frequent guest of the podcast, Toni Perkins-Southam. Many of you may remember Toni as the longest-running Award Travel 101 moderator and community admin.

Toni spent almost five years in the community (two years as a community manager) before taking a position with Forbes Advisor. Toni shares how she got her start writing with AwardWallet and continued her journey. Are you interested in writing about travel topics too? Fill out this form to put in your application.

Award Travel 101 from 2017–2022: Longest active mod/admin

• 2020–2022 craziness
• 2022 and beyond
• Fear of Flying Season 1 Episode 4 + Season 2 Episode 13
  updates?
  • Paul Borish Traveler's Psych

What you’ve been up to since leaving

• Trips
  • Favorite places
  • Wishlist

New Cards

• Favorite award currencies
• How you’re earning points today
  • Welcome offers/sign-up bonuses
  • Buyer's groups
  • Shortcuts

Taco ‘Bout A Fiesta: Presenters

• • Toni Perkins-Southam
  • Ryan Smith
  • Justin Vacula

Tip of the week

If you are already going crazy, might as well do it someplace cool!

Where To Find Toni

• @tonisoutham on Instagram
• Toni Perkins-Southam Forbes advisor profile
• tperkins@forbesadvisor.com

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in San Antonio, TX on April 26–28, 2024, and we’ve opened up a few more tickets for members! To learn more visit Taco 'Bout A Fiesta! on Eventbrite

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

View Details

Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT101” for $10 off your first year. Head to ThriftyTraveler.com for more details and check out their Google Flights guide. Recent finds include:

• Business Class to Ireland for 50,000 points
• Aruba in Mint (lie-flat) for 35,000 points
• Business Class to Spain for 34,000 miles

You can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium

Post of the week

Either Tom Coumaris - disappearing in-room coffee makers. How do you get your morning brew?

News

• Updates on the 737-Max9 - is it safe?
• Top 10 Card offers of 2024
• DONT MISS OUT ON THE 90,000 ENHANCED INK OFFERS BEFORE THEY EXPIRE - 7AM on 1/18/2024
• Now Live - Hyatt Milestone Rewards Offer Expanded Choices This Year
• The Best Business Class Award Sweet Spots for Flights to Europe

Trip updates

• Angie - Focusing more on earning right now while preparing for a move
• Joe -Decided against NZ. Trying to figure out a winter get-away.

What bonuses did we get?

• Angie - Working on Minimum Spend Requirement on Ink Cash. Considering a Venture X Business.
• Joe - Barclays Wyndham Business card arrived - why did I get this card?

Highlight feature: 2023 Trip Recaps

• Angie: 12 new cards (6 and 6) 8 biz, 4 personal
  • SUB (Sign Up Bonuses/Welcome Offers) = 1,435K points
  • Referrals = 390K
  • One checking account bonus for P1 (Player one - her husband)
  • Points used = 1,200K with net increase of 575K points.
  • Doesn’t include normal spend. Loads of Southwest flights and used several Free Night Award
• Joe: 14 new cards (10 P1 & 4 P2), 43 total
  • SUBs = 1,476K + HH FNA
  • Referrals = 500K
  • 100K from spend
  • 100K from shopping portals
  • $8K in annual fees - $1,500 positive in perks vs annual fees
  • Saves me around $2,700

Tip of the week

It's a new year, with new credits. We mentioned this back in Episode 45, so use all your credits and perks. Don’t wait!

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in San Antonio, TX on April 26–28, 2024, and we’ve opened up a few more tickets for members! To learn more visit Taco 'Bout A Fiesta! on Eventbrite

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

View Details

Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT101” for $10 off your first year. Head to ThriftyTraveler.com for more details and check out their Google Flights guide. Recent finds include:

• Round-trip to Southeast Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Singapore, etc...) starting at 68,000 points
• Business class to Switzerland for 50,000 points
• Round-trip to Punta Cana for 16,000 miles

You can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium.

Post of the week

Ira Serkes asks, "How many trips do you take each year, and what is your longest trip in 2023?"

News

• Book Hilton Free Night Awards via Chat
• Amex Adds Family Language to Marriott cards
• Changes to Bilt Rewards Status

Trip updates

• Angie
  • Can you believe that she only has one trip planned?
• Joe
  • Stayed at the Ritz Carlton for New Year's Eve
  • NZ with help from seats.aero

What bonuses did we get?

• Angie
  • Just received the bonus for an Amex Business Platinum
  • Working toward an Chase Ink Business card bonus
• Joe
  • Failed NLL application
  • Barclay's Wyndham Business card (for opportunities like this)
  • Upgraded to Bonvoy Brilliant
  • Transferred 200K Amex MR to Virgin Atlantic with 30% Bonus

Highlight feature: 2024 (Award Travel) Resolutions

• Angie -
  • Update and use all/more features of Award Wallet
  • Clean up Google Photos
  • Clean up multiple email accounts
  • Create a spreadsheet of all my cards
  • Explore casino matching for free cruises
• Joe - Here are some other things I need to work on
  • Citi/Barclays AA companion certs - never use
  • (4) UA Club passes - making sure to use
  • (2) Gold monthly Dining credits - I rarely use these
  • (2) Amex Platinum Streaming credits with only one in use and (4) Walmart Plus subscription credits with one in use

Tip of the week

Take some time to look at all the cards and ensure you’re using all of your credits and benefits and see if your strategy should be tweaked.

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in San Antonio, TX on April 26–28, 2024, and we’ve opened up a few more tickets for members! To learn more visit Taco 'Bout A Fiesta! on Eventbrite

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

View Details

Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT101” for $10 off your first year. Head to ThriftyTraveler.com for more details and check out their Google Flights guide. Recent finds include:

• R/T Business class to Lima for $1,620
• R/T Emirates Business class to Milan for 108K
• O/W Business class to Australia/New Zealand for 63K

You can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium.
The Award Travel 101 Community needs your help

If you have an interest in applying, we're looking for a few good moderators. You'll hear Ryan discuss how he got his start in this episode, so to get more information, check out our application form here.

Award Travel 101 Podcast Episode 48 Show Notes

To provide listeners with more depth, we've included some questions and answers we didn't have time to explore further in the podcast episode. You can also check out the day Ryan completed the journey here.

Background -

• How did your passion for travel begin?
• When did you start chasing countries (and how long has it taken)?
• Why?

Introduction to travel rewards/loyalty programs -

• Do you remember when you realized the power of Award Travel?
• First Credit Card?
• How many cards do you pick up every year?
• Any cards you’re working on bonuses for right now?
• Favorite airline, hotel, credit card programs (and does status play a role in any of your travels)? This has evolved with needs. I’ll give a few examples, but also Hyatt and Marriott status, no airline status, losing Hilton status

Highlights - Off the beaten path

• Is there a place that blew you away that would surprise listeners?
• Where would be the first place you’d return?
• Is there somewhere you believe once was more than enough and you’d never return?
• Where are you heading next?

Travel Style

Solo/Family/Couple?
Slow/fast?
Economy/Business/First?

Deals

Pandemic pricing was incredible. As travel was rebounding, we booked everything we could before prices exploded.

How best can podcast listeners follow in your footsteps or is that even possible today?

More than one passport? US and Brazil
Is it possible to do this on an US Passport? With the exception of North Korea, yes, but there are delays with some visas

Tip of the week

Don’t forget to reprice your bookings. This saves us a ton of money and points every year.

Where To Find Ryan

To follow Ryan throughout his travels, you can find him on X (Twitter) at @RyanSmithTravel

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in San Antonio, TX on April 26–28, 2024, and we’ve opened up a few more tickets for members! To learn more visit Taco 'Bout A Fiesta! on Eventbrite

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Welcome back to the Award Travel 101 Podcast — from the original Facebook community created for miles and points enthusiasts. Angie, Allison, and Joe jump on the pod to share the 100K Member Celebration Winner, their newest cards, trip updates, and to bring you an Airing of (2023) Grievances!

Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT101” for $10 off your first year. Head to ThriftyTraveler.com for more details. Recent finds include:

• Business class to Hawaii for 31K
• Business class to Tokyo for 60K
• Business class to Europe for 32K

You can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium.

Post of the week

We polled the Award Travel 101 community to see which of the 25 Program Devaluations hit you the hardest.

News

The Grand Prize Winner for our 100K Member Celebration

Trip updates

• Angie - nothing
• Allison - getting ready for Gasparilla
• Joe - What to do about Australia - it’s only 90 days away. Is it worth doing for two days?

What bonuses did we get?

• Angie - Business Platinum, Bank Bonus, and Ink Unlimited
• Allison - nothing
• Joe - Business Platinum, but maybe another Business Platinum too?

Highlight feature: Festivus Airing of Grievances 2023

Festivus was created as an alternative to the pressures and commercialism of the Christmas holiday season. The sitcom Seinfeld put their own spin on it, including the airing of the grievances, which consists of each person lashing out at others and the world about how they have been disappointed in the past year. "I got a lotta problems with you people, and now you're going to hear about it!"

We’ve had a lot of negative changes in the Award Travel world in 2023 (25 to be exact), but here are the program updates that impacted the community most:

1. MGM and Hyatt announce Breakup
2. British Airways Hikes Avios Awards on American and Alaska & United Makes Major Award Chart Devaluation
3. Citi Executive Card Changes (Higher fee, reduced AU benefit)

To see the full list of all 25 Program Changes, check out the AwardWallet Blog at 7PM Eastern/4PM Pacific.

Tip of the Week

Don’t procrastinate. As you can see from our review of 2023, things change all the time!! Earn and Burn baby!

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in San Antonio, TX on April 26–28, 2024, and we’ve opened up a few more tickets for members! To learn more visit Taco 'Bout A Fiesta! on Eventbrite

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Allison and Jackie take over the pod to discuss the news and to share more about their recent trip to Rio de Janeiro to see Taylor Swift in concert.

The Award Travel 101 Podcast is brought to you in part by Thrifty Traveler Premium. Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT101” for $10 off your first year. Recent finds include:

• Business Class to London for 49,000 miles
• Business Class to Seoul for 61,000 points
• Round-trip to Mexico for 11,000 points

You can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium.

Post of the week

Alicia Carroll shared that her miles were stolen by hackers. Use unique passwords, Two-Factor Authorization (2FA), and AwardWallet.

News

• American Airlines Adjusts How Card Spending Counts Toward AAdvantage Status
• British Airways Hikes Avios Awards on American and Alaska
• You Can Now Redeem Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Miles Online for Aeromexico Flights
• Credit Card Perks You Can Gift for the Holidays

Highlight feature:

• Jackie’s flights - Entire trip report
• Allison -
  • AA economy down DFW-GRU
  • How's economy on Latam
  • Cheap AA award for GOL
  • AA Business Class GRU-DFW (55,000 AAdvantage miles, topped off with BILT Rewards)
    • Traffic in Sao Paulo is deceiving
• Hilton Copacabana - A+ views of the beach, 50k and 5th night free
• Taylor Time - making friendship bracelets (with friends from Award Travel 201) presidential suite, extreme heat alert day and concert postponement
• Other Rio things - Christ the Redeemer, Brent’s meat map, caipirinhas, parrot pet, Escadaria Selarón and best $1 caipirinhas (2000 tiles from 60 countries)
• Paraty
• Brazil Visa requirement beginning Jan 10, 2024
  • $80, electronic visa submission
  • a flight reservation showing arrival and departure
  • two free visa pages
  • a bank statement showing a balance of at least $2,000 and the most recent 30 days of transactions

Tip of the week

Passport turnaround times are short right now! Great time to get or renew yours, turnaround within a few weeks.

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in San Antonio, TX on April 26–28, 2024, and we’ve opened up a few more tickets for members! To learn more visit Taco 'Bout A Fiesta! on Eventbrite

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

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Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT101” for $10 off your first year. Head to ThriftyTraveler.com for more details and check out their Google Flights guide. Recent finds include:

• R/T to Hawaii for 24K miles
• R/T to Japan starting at 35K points
• R/T Business class to S. America for 41K points

You can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium.

Post of the week

Duane Rice posted about his “low roller” trip. This is a perfect example of many ways you can play the "game" and still be winning.

News

• World of Hyatt Updates
• Guest of Honor Perk
• 37 different promos
• Alaska purchases Hawaiian

Trip updates

• Angie - nothing
• Joe -
  • Park Hyatt St. Kitts
  • How to Book a Premium Suite
  • Toys for Tots
  • Southwest on Christmas

What bonuses did we get?

• Angie
  • Amex Business Platinum card PLUS checking account offer
  • Chase Ink Business card (Update)
  • Amex Authorized User (AU) bonuses
• Joe
  • Amex Business Platinum (Update)
  • Buy AA miles for ONE cent each AND earn Loyalty Points (this is in our Premium Award Travel 201 Community)

Highlight feature: 2023 Trip Recaps

Angie:

• Safari: points paid for flights and post safari hotels, cash for safari itself
  • Part One
  • Part Two
• AT101 meetups
• Bali/Singapore: points paid for flights and hotels
• Family trip: Travel funds + Companion Pass
• IN/KY family/work trip

Joe:
For the full rundown, check out the post on AwardWallet. A few favorites:

• Daddy/Daughter Trip
• Huge 1st Class trip with my dad
• Mexico - First International Family Trip

Tip of the week

It’s December, so make certain you’ve used all your credits and perks. Don’t wait until the end of the month in case they don’t post in time!

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in San Antonio, TX on April 26–28, 2024, and we’ve opened up a few more tickets for members! To learn more visit Taco 'Bout A Fiesta! on Eventbrite

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

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Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT101” for $10 off your first year. Head to ThriftyTraveler.com for more details and check out their Google Flights guide. Recent finds include:

• Business class to Paris for 40K
• Business class to New Zealand for 63K
• Business class to India and Middle East for 68K

You can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium.

Post/s of the week
Chelsea Elizabeth

News

• Southwest bookable through Chase travel portal
• Lifelock at 95% Rakuten
• Black Friday
• Huge Qatar award dump
• Condor and Emirates partner
• Alaska changes

Trip updates

• Angie
  • Montana trip
  • P2 doesn’t want to safari.
  • Australia??
• Joe
  • Breeze credits/points
  • Hyatt VIP Suite for P2 & me

Short-notice meetup

Toys for Tots drive on Monday, December 4, 2023 from 6 to 9 p.m. Joe will be joining. To get your free tickets.

What bonuses did we get?

• Angie
  • Business Gold
  • Another Ink
• Joe
  • Targeted Business Platinum + checking offer

Highlight feature: Lingo

Feel like you are learning a new language? We often get folks saying “please spell out these acronyms” but when it’s the same word over and over again, you need shorthand. Some examples include 5/24, CSR, SUB, and P2.

Airline codes

Check out our world-famous Award Travel 101 Transfer Partner Matrix.

Airport codes

It's necessary when for searching for award flights that you know where you're going.

Class of Service codes

For simplicity these are boiled down to 3 major:

• F - First
• J - Business
• Y - Economy

General terms

There are so many more, and you can find those on this FlyerTalk message board post.

Tip of the week

Use Award Wallet. Once you have a bunch of cards it’s hard to keep track of all the credits and benefits! Angie received an email from AwardWallet that she hasn't used the $75 credit on the WN Priority card! Keeping track of how you used a FNA can add value.

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in San Antonio, TX on April 26–28, 2024, and we’ve opened up a few more tickets for members! To learn more visit Taco 'Bout A Fiesta! on Eventbrite

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Justin fell into travel rewards programs accidentally as he was working his way through various casino programs. Listen as he and Joe discuss some of the dead deals of the past to learn more about what you can look for in the future.

Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. For Black Friday (11/24/2023) ONLY Use promo code “THANKS” for HALF off your first year of alerts. Head to Thrifty Traveler Premium alerts for more details. Recent finds include:

• United’s Polaris Business class for just 45K points
• British Airways Club Suites 5th Freedom for 15K (Nerd Alert)
• Air France/KLM Business Class to North Africa for 30K

Again, you can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium.

Award Travel 101 Podcast Episode 43 Show Notes

If you want to hear Part One of this discussion, where Justin interviews me, check out the Hurdy Gurdy Podcast. In this particular episode Justin shares how online poker led him to into travel rewards and loyalty programs. Justin will be speaking at our Spring Meetup in San Antonio on how to use programs most don't discuss to generate more rewards. We'll cover:

• Background
• Introduction to travel rewards/loyalty programs
• Highlights
• Favorite airline, hotel, credit card programs
• Deals - "phone army?"
• The “War on happiness.”

To join Justin's Greater Philadelphia Miles & Points monthly meetups. You can find some interesting takes on casino rewards, miles & points, and Dave Ramsey on the Hurdy Gurdy Travel YouTube Channel. For everything else, check out the Hurdy Gurdy Travel website.

Tip of the week

Check out our instructional video on how to use CardPointers with the Company's founder, Emmanuel Crouvisier. Through Travel Tuesday 11/28/23, Save 50% off CardPointers during their Holiday Special. That means you can get one year for just $30 or a LIFETIME subscription for $100.

Short-notice meetup

Boarding Area's bloggers Le Chic Geek (a.k.a. Jeanne) and Pizza in Motion (a.k.a. Ed) are pairing up with Trevor from Tagging Miles to do a Toys for Tots drive on Monday 12/4/2023 from 6-9PM. You can find them at

Bar Bao

3100 Clarendon Blvd
Arlington, VA 22201-5301

Joe will be joining the fun, so if you wish to ask for travel advice, meet other travelers, or just come to share the holiday spirit, get your free tickets or check out their Facebook event page for more details.

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in San Antonio, TX on April 26–28, 2024, and we’ve opened up a few more tickets for members! To learn more visit Taco 'Bout A Fiesta! on Eventbrite

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Angie's back to catch up on all of the news and to discuss how we can better manage all of our award programs.

Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT101” for $10 off your first year. Head to ThriftyTraveler.com for more details and check out their Google Flights guide. Recent finds include:

• Business Class to Italy for 58K
• United Polaris to Australia for 75K
• R/T to Europe under $500

You can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium

Post of the week

Joseph Petrovic - 100K Celebration

News

• Earn Up to 90,000 Bonus Miles new United Offers
• Avoid Delta’s High Partner Award Rates
• British Airways Restricting Award Availability (non-issue for most)
• 30% Transfer Bonus Hilton Honors
• Bilt Rewards new Transfer Partner
• Qatar Airways (was 30% - now 25%) Transfer Bonus
• New: Redeem Qatar Airways Avios for JetBlue Flights
• But Was it All Just a Dream?
• Marriott Changing Suite Night Awards
• 12 Hilton Honors Redemptions
• 12 Marriott Bonvoy Redemptions
• Earn 75,000 Points New Southwest Offers
• Although Southwest To Devalue Rapid Rewards

Highlight feature: How Do You Track All of Your Rewards?

Get your FREE AwardWallet

• trip itineraries, flight delays, flight check in reminders
• tracking balances and credits, free night certs, expiration of points
• store passport info, password and loyalty program login info
• track store loyalty programs

Use #AwardWalletProTips in the community to see more

Tip of the week

AwardWallet can really simplify your life. Take the time to set up a free AwardWallet account and add your travel documents. We all make mistakes:

• Joe missing out on a deal
• Angie with kid needing passport info but she was out of town and it was locked in a safe

You can also get AwardWallet Plus. AwardWallet Plus is included with an AWARD TRAVEL 201 subscription.

Short-Notice Meetup - Toys for Tots DriveGet your FREE TICKETS here.

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in San Antonio, TX on April 26–28, 2024, and we’ve opened up a few more tickets for members! To learn more visit Taco 'Bout A Fiesta! on Eventbrite

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Award Travel 101 Podcast partner and founder of Thrifty Traveler Premium, Jared Kamrowski, joins Joe to discuss how Award Travel fundamentally changed his life and experiences.

Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT101” for $10 off your first year. Head to ThriftyTraveler.com for more details and check out their Google Flights guide. Recent finds include:

• JetBlue Mint to Europe starting at 30K
• Business class to Australia starting at 120K R/T
• Emirates business class to Athens for 62K (5th Freedom)
• Singapore business class (longest flight in the world) to Singapore for 88K

You can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium.

Highlight feature: Let's Get Thrifty!

Meet Jared. Starting as a broke college student, Jared became a road warrior who learned techniques to improve his travel experiences for less. He and his wife wanted to travel more in their personal lives, so like many of us, he dug more into credit cards and reward programs that helped boost his ability to accomplish many of their goals. Eventually, he started his own site, Thrifty Traveler, sharing some of the tips he'd learned. The blog grew quickly, and he left his job to develop the business further, He hasn't looked back, and has grown the business into a 25 member team who scour the web looking for the best cash and award fares for you. We'll cover:

• His background
• How he was introduced to travel rewards/loyalty programs
• Where the space is headed in the next 12 months (Is Award Travel dead?)
• Highlights from his travels
• His general travel style (Family/Solo travel)
• Strengths
• Favorite airline, hotel, credit card programs

Jared's Thrifty Tip of the week

Simplify your life and use the tools that are available to you. We discussed several of them in the Award Travel 101 Podcast Episode 19. Some are free and some require an annual or monthly fee. While you don't need to spend as much as Joe does, it could benefit you to find a few that return the most value for your needs.

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in San Antonio, TX on April 26–28, 2024, and we’ve opened up a few more tickets for members! To learn more visit Taco 'Bout A Fiesta! on Eventbrite

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

View Details

Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT101” for $10 off your first year. Head to ThriftyTraveler.com for more details and check out their Google Flights guide. Recent finds include:

• Business Class to Europe and North Africa for 30K
• Round-trip to Europe in Economy for 27K
• Business Class to New Zealand for 49K
• Business Class to Tokyo for 60K

You can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium.

Post of the week

Kevin Wilson - another reminder of what Award Travel is about

News

• Year-end Strategies for Top Hotel Elite Status
• Best Miles and Points for flights to Hawaii
• Air Canada Aeroplan Sues seats.aero
• Hyatt Sweet Spots

Trip updates

• Mike
  • Labor Day Niagara Falls
  • Rebooked Flights to Sydney for 3rd Time AA Flagship Business saver awards for 60K each
  • AA Flagship Business from JFK for 32k each
  • Austin/San Antonio - Beer BBQ, Buc-EEs + Driverless Car
• Joe
  • How I saved 47K miles United miles
  • Still working on father/son trip with dad
  • Booked vacation rental - stacked with UA through VRBO to earn miles

What bonuses did we get?

• Mike
  • Ink Preferred + received 3 referral bonuses (120k)
  • Citi AA Business Card
  • Finished $15k spend on Hilton Business Card for the Uncapped Free Night Award
• Joe
  • earned 175K Loyalty Points (earning a Milestone Choice Benefit) and I’m deciding if I should push to 250K. What would you do?

Highlight feature: Unique Flights

Alaska Pancake Run - CLE-PIT-SEA-CLE one member referred to it as a domestic “5th Freedom.”

• $500 for two (with companion fare)
• Alaska lounge access via our Citi AA Executive cards
• Check off Hyatt brand explorer. Hyatt at Olive 8.
• The Museum of Flight holds one of the largest air and space collections in the US

Tip of the week

How I Saved more money with CardPointers. If you want to start saving more using the cards you already hold, check out CardPointers today.

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in San Antonio, TX on April 26–28, 2024, and we’ve opened up a few more tickets for members! To learn more visit Taco 'Bout A Fiesta! on Eventbrite

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

View Details

Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT101” for $10 off your first year. Head to ThriftyTraveler.com for more details and check out their Google Flights guide. Recent finds include:

• Delta One Business Class to Europe for 39K
• First Class to Australia for 109K
• JetBlue Mint for for under $2K R/T to Europe

You can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium.

Post of the week

Angie Sparks - another reminder as to why I love having a cache of points

News

• Delta Elite status changes
• MGM Marriott updates
• Transfer Bonuses Flying Blue & Lifemiles
• How I Traveled (with my son) Using Awards & $54
• Hilton Surpass & Aspire changes
• Incredible MINIMUM 3X Everywhere up to 10X Freedom Unlimited

Trip updates

• Angie - Took First Flight as a Spirit Gold member
• Joe - Booked framework for Father/Son trip in 2024
  • 20K United miles in economy (CLE-IAD)
  • 98K Avios (70K Membership Rewards transferred from British Airways) for Iberia business IAD-MAD-VCE (hear how this nearly prevented me from booking)
  • 30K Hyatt Centric Murano (2 days) - see 5 Reasons to get the World of Hyatt card
  • cruise
  • 80K Hilton points and a Free Night Award for two nights at the Waldorf Astoria Rome Cavalieri
  • 150K Virgin Atlantic points (104K MR & 4K UR) for ITA business class FCO-JFK C/O Thrifty Traveler Premium
  • 15K BA Avios (11K MR) for economy JFK-CLE
  • Canceled one Etihad First flight to get 230K AA miles back

What bonuses did we get?

• Angie - P2 applied for Amex Business Gold but need to call for reconsideration
• Joe - P2 Amex Business Gold approval
  • Saved $500 with CardPointers

Highlight feature: It's Meetup Week (Angie at Chicago Seminars & Joe at Zorkfest in Lake Tahoe)

Angie and Joe both met for the first time as Joe was traveling to Angie's hometown, so they both love meetups. Angie went to Chicago Seminars, Joe went out west for Zorkfest.

Tip of the week

Pay attention to what benefits you are entitled to from your status. Angie learned something she didn't know.

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in San Antonio, TX on April 26–28, 2024, and we’ve opened up a few more tickets for members! To learn more visit Taco 'Bout A Fiesta! on Eventbrite

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

View Details

Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT101” for $10 off your first year. Head to ThriftyTraveler.com for more details and check out their Google Flights guide. Recent finds include:

• Business class to Rome for 58K
• Business class to Tokyo for 60K
• Premium Economy to Europe for 36K R/T

You can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium.

Post of the week

Elizabeth Holmes Hanes posted about needing to up her hotel redemptions. Was she blinded by status when there was a gorgeous Marriott right around the corner?

News

• Get Bonus Hilton points -Is it worth purchasing points? There's a 100% bonus, and it could make sense in certain situations.
• What's going on with certain Award tools? ExpertFlyer and Seats.aero are having issues. Expertflyer is removing all Star Alliance carriers, plus seats.aero received a cease and desist order from Aeroplan. Is Expertflyer becoming useless?

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

Trip updates

• Angie - has both Australia and a safari booked but can she convince P2 to go?
• Allison - Still doesn’t love her Brazil flight. 2 options booked - which would you choose? Booked a hotel finally, Hilton Copacabana (5th night free). There was a JW Marriott with similar points price, so why did she choose the Hilton?

What bonuses did we get?

• Angie - closed first Business Platinum. Calling to start the Chase Sapphire Reserve product change
• Allison - has been holding steady. Should she get something new?

Highlight feature: Bali! Doing a $12k trip for less than $1500 out of pocket plus some points

How we Booked Flights

Both of us booked Qatar (QR) by transferring American Express Membership Rewards to British Airways. 100K plus $202

• Angie: DPS-SIN 14K Lifemiles plus $40.60 then SIN-JFK for 112.5K transferred from Chase Ultimate Rewards (took FOREVER) to Singapore Airlines (SQ) plus $59.92
• Allison: Same QR price, DPS-SIN was 8.5K SQ miles +$15.95 (transferred from AMEX), plus Etihad Business Class SIN-AUH-JFK was 87.5K and $122.63 booked through Aeroplan.

How we Booked Hotels

Angie and Allison discuss their Bali Girls Trip:

• A $12k trip for less than $1500 out of pocket plus some points
• Full trip report posted in the Award Travel 101 Community w/hotel and airline reviews

Tip of the week

Go to meetups to make friends!!

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in San Antonio, TX on April 26–28, 2024, and we’ve opened up a few more tickets for members! To learn more visit Taco 'Bout A Fiesta! on Eventbrite

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

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Angie's back, and she and Joe jump on the pod to discuss the state of Amex, their newest bonuses, trip updates, and under appreciated award currencies.

Post of the week

Pam Turla Rule - transferred points only to find phantom award space

News

• Price of CardPointers went up, but it hasn't reflected in our link yet, so worth a try
• Virgin 30% Transfer bonus (Chase) - Through 11/15
• Amex introducing “family” rules across Delta cards and new Gold card restrictions
• Amex refresh of biz gold card
• Hyatt Gaming Members & Hurting those who have disabilities? (Part of why I appreciate having a Concierge)
• AT101 hit 100k members!

Trip updates

• Angie- family trip for 2024 + start planning next girls trip
• Joe - booked Etihad First (13 hours) to AUH for start of Father/Son trip part two. I discuss why I booked two different dates and how much it costs.

What bonuses did we get?

• Angie - closing
  • Amex Business Platinum and Chase Sapphire Reserve
  • P2 might need another Ink with elevated offer
  • Business Gold for Property Taxes?
• Joe - finished
  • Uncapped Hilton Honors Free Night Award
  • Cat 1-4 World of Hyatt Free Night Award. Should I choose the 10K points or the SUA?
  • Chase Ink Cash referral for 40K

Highlight feature

Are all points equal? Should a member get a 140K IHG offer or take less from the 75K United Business or even less from the 60K Citi Premier?

There are things for which you should have a basic understanding:

• How much spend until you hit your desired award?
  • Comparison of 140K IHG One Rewards Premier, 75K United Business, and 60K Citi Premier - would it surprise you that the lowest bonus could be worth the most?
• Is there outsized value
• New card bonuses vs bonus categories vs non-bonus categories
• Is there a reason to continue spending on a non-bonus card

Do your own comparisons and see which cards offer YOU the best returns.

Tip of the week

Angie - Confirm gate and seat assignments.

Joe - for the 70, 80, 90, or 100 Hyatt milestone selection, wait until 1/1/24. If you wait until 1/1/24, you’ll extend the validity of the Suite Upgrade Award to 2/28/26. This is just one of the many tips

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in San Antonio, TX on April 26–28, 2024, and we’ve opened up a few more tickets for members! To learn more visit Taco 'Bout A Fiesta! on Eventbrite

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

View Details

Sophie and Joe discuss news, their newest cards, trip updates, and how Sophie has transitioned into the travel business.

Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT101” for $10 off your first year. Head to ThriftyTraveler.com for more details and check out their Google Flights guide. Recent finds include:

• First class to Hawaii for 31,000 miles
• Business class to London for 61,000 miles
• Flash Sale for 19,000 miles (Round-Trip) to Mexico

You can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium.

Highlight feature:

Meet Sophie Keller

• Background - 1st card- Chase Sapphire Preferred/United Explorer
• Highlights - Hyatt Zilara Cap Cana right after it opened last year, Park Hyatt New York and Flagship First before award price hike for 25K Amex Membership Rewards JFK-SFO, and multiple Visits to Secrets Impressions and Moxche
• Travel style - A mix of budget and Luxury, typically solo
• Favorite programs - World of Hyatt, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and American AAdvantage

Post of the week

We received some great feedback on the Podcast

News

• Maximizing Hilton Honors 5th Night Free - Joe’s story on mistake
• Promotions ending
• Enhanced Alaska Card $95 card offer
• Frontier Status (actual) Match
• 90K Bonuses are back from Chase

Trip updates

• Sophie - Getting ready for ZorkFest
• Joe - Father son trip
  • Lie-flat seats for 25K Citi ThankYou Points
  • Cheap Car Rentals plus status upgrades
  • Hyatt Free Night Award at Expensive Resort
  • Fun Activities & Planespotting
  • Hyatt Free Night Award Plus Suite Upgrade
  • Hilton Free Night Award at Expensive Boutique Property
  • Lounge Passes from Credit Card
  • Lots of (Nearly) Free Food

What bonuses did we get?

• Sophie -Chase Ink Preferred bonus hit
• Joe - Citi AA Ex

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in San Antonio, TX on April 26–28, 2024, and we’ve opened up a few more tickets for members! To learn more visit Taco 'Bout A Fiesta! on Eventbrite

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

View Details

Angie and Joe are off traveling this week, so Mike takes over the podcast with community member Erin Kilpatrick to discuss her “mid-life renaissance” this year which would not have been possible without award travel.

Thrifty Traveler Premium
Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code "AT101" for $10 off your first year. Head to ThriftyTraveler.com for more details and check out their Google Flights guide. Again, you can find them at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium

All about Erin

• Start in award travel
• First rewards card
• First personal award trip
• Joined AT 101 in 2018 and 201 in 2020.
• This Year- Mid-life renaissance!

Countries Visited

• Ecuador (Galapagos), Uruguay, England/Wales, Norway, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Sweden

Upcoming

• Portugal, Turkiye, Brazil, Germany, Tunisia

Save with CardPointers

Preparation

• Normal card applications, ~3-4/year, no particular plan
• Last minute decision to quit and take this journey
  • Opened Hilton Surpass and Hilton Business
  • Opened Barclays AA Aviator Red - 60k miles
  • Bought some Choice points (US Travel Association promo)
• Started the journey with ~ 2 million points/miles

By the Numbers Thus Far

• 4.5 months
• 50 hotel award nights: 50
• 58 paid nights: (cheap in S. America)
• 40 other nights free w/ friends/family, volunteer work
• 12 award flights
• 9 cash flights ($2000)

Solo Travel Summary

• Full social calendar
• Met fellow travelers
• Visit friends around the world
• Met up with friends/family when paths cross
• The more you travel, the more people you meet from around the world to network and socialize with in the future

Money Savings Tips

• Pick low cost of living countries
• Stay in one place longer
• Grocery store
• Stay flexible- refundable fare on discount airlines
• Negotiate directly with locals vs third party

What Erin Has Learned

• Diversification! Variety of points and mile currencies.
• Focus on the more important things in life
• Hilton program- 5th night free
• Choice Hotels - secret of Europe
• Amex uber credits work in Ecuador (USD)
• Capital One Points- Redeem through Capital One statement credits vs Travel portal.
• Fringe benefits of the award travel credit cards/status
• Priority Pass - Most lounges are great outside the US, even in tiny airports.
• Delta statu

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in San Antonio, TX on April 26–28, 2024, and we’ve opened up a few more tickets for members! To learn more visit Taco 'Bout A Fiesta! on Eventbrite

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

View Details

What happens when you're too loyal to a program - are they loyal back? Angie and Joe discuss developments this week, bonuses they've earned, and prepping for travel.

Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code "AT101" for $10 off your first year. Head to ThriftyTraveler.com for more details and check out their Google Flights guide. Again, you can find them at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium

Post of the Week

Justin Walter had a post about EU261. We spoke about credit card travel protections (Episode 27), but EU261 is totally different.

News

• Several transfer bonuses:
  • Capital One to LifeMiles 15% bonus (new)
  • Amex to Flying Blue 25% bonus
  • Chase 30 % to Avios
  • Chase 50% to Bonvoy
• Point.me “Quicklook”
• Hyatt Elite status shortcut -
  • Earn Hyatt Explorist
  • Hyatt Globalist
• Hyatt Bonus Journeys
• Buy Frontier Elite 20k status
• 150K Venture X Business Miles Bonus
• Capital One changes how to use the $300 portal credit on VX
• Delta MASSIVE (program) devaluation
  • Leads to a bigger discussion
  • AA change to T&C
  • Is Hyatt next?

Save with CardPointers

TRIP UPDATES

• Angie - booked flights and hotels for P2 conference and visiting the kid, booked flights for our Spring meetup in San Antonio
• Joe - Anniversary / Father son trip

WHAT BONUSES DID WE GET?

• Angie - nothing
• Joe -
  • Ink Preferred Welcome Offer - pending
  • Citi AAdvantage Executive card arrived -
    • 20K LP bonus. Plus bonus miles
    • What Milestone should I choose?
    • Alaska lounge access

Highlight Feature - Managing the Pre-trip chaos and what has to be done before heading out of town

• Angie:
  • Make a list!
  • update “in case of death file”
  • Clean the house, laundry, get medicine refills
  • Pre-pack (only for long trips)
  • Girly maintenance stuff
  • Pay all bills that aren’t on autopay (utilities)
  • If P2 is going there’s a whole other list of things

Tip of the Week

Make sure you’re paying attention to your wallet

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in San Antonio, TX on April 26–28, 2024, and we’ve opened up a few more tickets for members! To learn more visit Taco 'Bout A Fiesta! on Eventbrite

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

View Details

Angie and Joe jump on the pod to discuss news, their newest card/s, trip updates, and to share the key to unlocking so many more miles/points - BUSINESS CARDS.

Post of the Week

Anthony Cave - had a very specific question about an upgrade option for a flight for his birthday trip. It highlights the benefits of community with people weighing in with firsthand experience about whether the cost was worthwhile.

News

• The newest (and second) Capital One Lounge FINALLY opens
• Limited time increased offer on Hyatt business card but it’s a tiered bonus
• Southwest promotion to earn 3x CP points on qualifying flights
• Transfer These Points to a Friend or Family Member for just $15
• Should you buy these CHEAP points?
• Enhanced Marriott Bonvoy Business Offer - is this going under the radar?

TRIP UPDATES?

• Angie
  • changed positioning flight for Bali (still have AA flight booked) and changed return flight from Sydney due to AA deal
• Joe
  • Booked United & confirmed Polaris seats with JUST 12.5K Turkish Miles per person
  • More details on how to book and confirm in Award Travel 201 ($9.99 per month or $89.99 per year)
  • Pancake run Alaska Airlines triangle

WHAT BONUSES DID WE GET?

• Angie
  • Chase Ink Preferred - bonus ready to post, holding off on cards due to possible mortgage,
  • closed United Quest and Alaska Business
  • ready to close one of the Business Platinum cards
• Joe
  • AAdvantage Citi Executive card for bonus miles plus 20K LP ($120 Avis credit $10 Grubhub - Also on Amex Gold)
  • $3K away from both World of Hyatt and Hilton Surpass Free Night Awards

Highlight Feature - Business cards - Unlocking the magic!

How do you get a business card? Start by reading this post on AwardWallet.

• benefits of getting business cards vs personal card
• no impact to 5/24 (Discover, Capital One and Barclay’s can and do show on personal report)
• excellent points earning opportunities
• Amex Business Gold 4x multiplier
• Chase Ink Cash 5x multiplier
• balances don’t show on personal credit report so 0% APR cards are great options to carry a balance

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in San Antonio, TX on April 26–28, 2024, and we’ve opened up a few more tickets for members! To learn more visit Taco 'Bout A Fiesta! on Eventbrite

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

View Details

Angie is back with Joe to discuss card offers, news, trip updates, and the answer to whether having so many cards will ruin your credit.

Award Travel 101 Podcast Episode 32 Show Notes

The Award Travel 101 Community and Podcast are brought to you by AwardWallet. If you register for our next-level Award Travel 201 Community for $89.99 annually, AwardWallet Plus is included in your subscription (which means you get access to next-level strategies for just $5 per month). If this interests you, register here.

Post of the Week

Krista Wetmore - she was listening to the podcast, and wondered, “he was an AU in his wife’s chase sapphire card. I’ve only seen that this is not a good thing to do. Are there times / reasons this makes sense to do?”

News

• New Transfer Bonus
• How far out do airlines open their schedules?
• If this guy is switching loyalty, should you?

TRIP UPDATES

• Angie- getting home from MSP
• Joe-
  • trip with my son Less than 52K R/T (2 oneways), 153K points worth of Free Night Award certificates, 3 Free days, & JUST $54.05 Out Of Pocket
  • Use tools to identify Premium planes not serving Premium routes
  • Hotel hopping
  • Pancake run Alaska Airlines triangle

WHAT BONUSES DID WE GET?

• Angie - considering another Amex Business Gold or Business Platinum
• Joe - Chase Ink Preferred
  • Taxes due - probably put toward Amex Hilton Surpass spend for uncapped Free Night Award

Highlight Feature - 40 Cards - Is it Necessary? Will it Ruin You?

Referring back to Episode 30

• Let’s Dispel a myth - This isn’t “Free” travel, but you can
• Build Wealth (Savings) With Credit Cards
  • Bank bonuses
  • Fixed point cashouts
  • Overall goal
• Our Credit Scores - low or high?
• Annual fees - how much do we pay and are there ways to reduce cost?

Cardpointers referral

Tip of the Week

Alec Legg -

"A weird tip for those who book partner awards and have trouble booking seats. Try putting the PNR on other airline's "manage booking" tool. I just booked China Airlines through KLM and the China Airlines site wouldn't let me choose seats or even let me pull up my record. I read to try Saudia but that didn't work but I tried Garuda Indonesia and it let me pick my seats!"

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 98,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. If you want to jump into more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Our next meetup is located in San Antonio, TX on April 26–28, 2024. For more details and to purchase tickets, visit our Taco 'Bout A Fiesta! Eventbrite.

View Details

Mike joins Joe to discuss his newest cards, news, and their most recent trip to educate members on how to ramp up their Award Travel game. Plus is there a Fiesta in-store?

Post of the week

This comes from our Daniel Mark Adsit who shared how he put an entire 27-day trip to South America utilizing rewards. Check it out and let us know in the comments what your longest rewards trip was.

News

• Time sensitive stuff that ended the day before this episode released, but that's why you should be following along in the Award Travel 101 community
• Chase to British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus 30%
• Is my AA account being hacked

What bonuses did we get?

• Mike -
  • Hilton Business. 130k + FNA. Immediately redeemed it for Niagara Falls.
  • Ink Business Preferred. 50% through min spend. Also got two referral bonuses for a total of 80k
• Joe - almost done with Chase Ink Preferred Minimum Spend Requirement

Highlight feature: MSP Meetup Recap

We brought almost 100 Award Travel community members to Minneapolis for "Let's Go Crazy with AT in the TC," to party like it's 1999.

• Arrival - flight disruptions caused some havoc
• Tram - how was it
• Reception at Graze Rooftop - this is where the rubber hits the road
• Elite Breakfast - Was one better than the other?
• Presentations - presentations kicked off
• Free time - Prince Museum, Fair, Socials - what did each of us do?
• Brits Pub - Party Like It’s 1999
• After party (Loud dance club) - how Joe helped a member use a tool he'd just learned about from JT's presentation
• Hell’s Kitchen - did we do the unthinkable and skip free Elite breakfast?
• Airport lounge hopping
• First Class Home (Free WiFi!) - Joe booked economy with just 8.5K Virgin points, so how did he get First Class?
• Next meetup in SAT - Taco 'Bout A Fiesta! Limited amount of tickets left (and an even smaller amount of discounted tickets using code: SAT20 to save 20%).

Tip of the week

Our Tip of the Week comes from Mike, who's been updating the Award Travel 101 website. For some of the tools we've produced to answer common questions of group members, checkout:

• Transfer Partner Matrix - simple view of which card points transfer to which travel partners
• Card Earning Charts - quick view of potential earnings
• Cents Per Point Calculator - how to value point returns
• Transfer Bonus Calculator - helps determine exact requirements
• Lounge Map - stacked on Google Maps
• Airport Maps - stacked on Google Maps

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 98,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. If you want to jump into more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Meetup sold out, but you can waitlist

View Details

The Award Travel 101 Community and Podcast are brought to you by AwardWallet. Check out all of the features in AwardWallet Plus which can help you better track your progress and prevent loss or expiration. If you register for our next-level Award Travel 201 Community for $89.99 annually, AwardWallet Plus is included in your subscription (which means you get access to next level strategies for just $5 per month). If this interests you, register here.

Post of the Week

Comes from our Award Travel 201 Community member Raney O'Keefe, who says that miles and points have been burning her out. She asks," Has this every happened to any of you? Do you just need an auto-pilot break sometimes?"

News

• American Express makes some changes that most Award Travel 101 members won't be pleased with. What's your take?
• Finnair announces changes to their rewards program and follow the steps of Qatar in switching to Avios. Does this excite you?

WHAT BONUSES DID WE GET?

• Angie - tried to apply for the Charles Schwab American Express Platinum - what caused this plan to fail?
• Joe - Chase Ink Business Preferred arrived - knocking out his Minimum Spending Requirement easier than expected

HIGHLIGHT (Main Feature) What Cards are In Our Wallet

• Angie -
  • Ink Plus
  • Amex Gold
  • Citi Premier
  • Citi Double Cash
  • Chase Freedom
  • Chase Freedom Unlimited
  • Ritz Carlton
  • P2:
  • Amex Gold
  • Citi Premier
  • Citi Double Cash
• Joe -
  • Hilton Surpass
  • United Business
  • Citi Premier
  • Citi AAdvantage Business
  • World of Hyatt
  • Business Gold
  • Chase Sapphire Reserve
  • Chase Ink Business Preferred
  • Amex Platinum
  • P2:
  • Citi Premier
  • Amex Gold
  • Chase Sapphire Reserve
  • Hilton Surpass

Tip of the Week

Our next meetup in Minneapolis is under way, and it's great for making friends and connections in the hobby to improve your understanding. If you're interested in upping your Award Travel game, check out our Award Travel 201 Community which includes AwardWallet Plus.

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 98,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. If you want to jump into more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Meetup sold out, but you can waitlist

View Details

Angie and Joe are back to discuss their most recent card bonuses, some of their favorite card perks, and how Joe managed to combine multiple card offers/discounts plus earn rewards totaling thousands of dollars!

Post of the Week
Shawn Andrew

NEWS

Lahina, Maui (Hawaii) #Masterthread

WHAT BONUSES DID WE GET?

Angie - Update on Chase Ink Business Preferred and closing cards right now.

Joe - FINALLY an approval for the Chase Ink Business Preferred with reduced spend for 100K Ultimate Rewards points at time of publishing.

• P2 finally got her Hilton Honors Surpass bonus and a Free Night Award

HIGHLIGHT (Main Feature) Putting All The Tricks Together

Angie -

• Incidental Credits
• Lounge Access

Joe - perks and benefits used for our recent trips

• Clear - how to access freely
• Precheck/Global Entry
• Lounge Access -
• Flight Bump credit - used 50,500 Breeze points ($505)
• 34K AAdvantage miles P2 & P4
• Booked 3 hotels in Vegas
  • Excalibur - earned 3 Hyatt nights and used this to access MGM Grand Pool and Lazy River
  • Virgin Hotels - booked 5 nights to earn 50K AA miles and 60K Loyalty Points
  • Crockfords Las Vegas $480
    • $200 Fine Hotel & Resorts (FHR) Platinum Credit
    • $125 Property Credit
    • $66 breakfast credit
    • Room upgrade
    • Early Check-in
    • 4PM Checkout
    • Free Wifi
• Casino Loyalty cards for $100-200 in parking savings
• Free High Roller (Caesar's Diamond benefits) $80
• Two rental cars - why?
• Rental car status - walked in, skipped lines, had my choice of Audi, BMW, Mercedes, and Volkswagen SUVs for less than $50 per day
• AA flights for 21K both upgraded ($1,100 over the price of economy)
• Southwest flights - two for LAS-CLE and two for TPA-CLE totaling 51K $709
  • Southwest Performance Business saves $116 with A-List upgrades and Wifi
• Priority Pass - Bar Symon on return $112

The total savings amounted to $3807 in savings or discounts. Not only that but I earned miles and points and a free rental car during our travels too.

Tip of the Day

Check the card you are applying for and make sure it’s the right one (ask us if you need to) Allison, Angie, or Joe.

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 98,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. If you want to jump into more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Meetup sold out, but you can waitlist

View Details

POST OF THE WEEK

Since Eric is a prominent part of our affiliated Travel Grumps 101 we thought we would look there for a particularly noteworthy post.

Amber Moore (Pilot leaving the wrong airport Overhead page)

NEWS & ENHANCED OFFERS

• New Transfer Bonuses - Last week Joe and Angie talked about transfer bonuses
• Also Lots of Amex Offers out there - Mike will be taking advantage of the and $20 off $100 at LEGO. Wish I had the $75 off $300 at Hyatt Centric

TRIP UPDATES

• Eric-
  • Family trip to San Diego for college tours plus an Offspring concert. Manchester Grand Hyatt for 15,000 per night. Taking advantage of my Hyatt Globalist benefits. Rental car via points from Hertz.
  • Long work trip coming up - 3 weeks away from home with the MSP meetup in the middle.
    September/October/November work trips and at least one concert a month (U2, The Cult, Dark Wave Festival(New Order, Tears for Fears, B 52s, and more)
  • New Year’s Eve trip to Baha Mar and Disneyworld (AA flights 10K each + $5.60). Baha Mar and Points stay Swan Reserve book 4, 5th free
  • Starting to plan and book our Summer 24 Italy/Greece trip
• Mike-
  • Returned from work to Europe (and a bit of fun). Polaris upgrade. Lots of delays. How Global Entry, CLEAR, and Precheck saved the connection (colleague wasn’t as lucky)
  • Piecing together activities for a number of trips in the next few months, Austin, New Orleans, Jamaica and Australia. Eric helped me to choose a hotel for a stopover in San Francisco enroute to Australia, Hyatt Regency SOMA. Also potential for using Hilton Certs? Canopy SOMA? Actually they all look underwhelming.
  • Super excited for MSP

WHAT BONUSES DID WE GET?

• Eric - Hilton Business Card, ½ way through the minimum spend should finish up next month
• Mike - Hilton Business Card, (Couldn’t pass it up). Close to hitting $4k min spend
• P2 approved for Chase Ink Preferred after $8k spend

HIGHLIGHT (Main Feature) Meet the Mods: Eric Holly, Certified Pancake Machine Repair Technician (CPMRT)

• Start in award travel
• Most memorable trip
• Worst grump
• The “training process” of becoming a CPMRT
• Favorite pancake machine location
• Tips for travelers who encounter broken pancake machines

WHAT YOU DIDN'T KNOW

How to build Alaska Airlines miles easily

Support the Award Travel 101 Podcast & CommunityApplying for a new card through our affiliates is how we keep providing services like this podcast or the community at no cost.

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 98,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. If you want to jump into more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Meetup sold out, but you can waitlist

View Details

News & Enhanced Offers

New month, new offers. Follow the Award Travel 101 Facebook community where we discuss these topics and more:

• Bilt
• Southwest Promotion
• Hilton Honors
• LifeMiles
• Marriott Bonvoy
• Bask Bank

Trip Updates

• Angie - Update to previous podcast comment
• Joe -
  • Short-notice trip
  • Car rental
  • Grand Cypress
  • The return

What Bonuses Did We Get?

Angie - still working on a the minimum spending requirement to Earn 100K Ultimate Rewards

Joe - applied for the Ink Preferred. Received 7-10 day notice.

Highlight Feature: Premium Credit Card Travel Protections & Which is Best?

Our "posts of the week" and "highlight feature" are care of two members of the Award Travel 101 Facebook Community. Shane Fortune shares his documenting process. Ivan Dell’Era highlights some card benefit differences.

For more details, check out the "Master List" of Credit Card Benefits.

Amex Platinum

Many members think using the American Express Platinum card is best, since it earns 5x points on airfare. But not so fast! What do the Terms & Conditions state?

Key terms:
Definition of who's covered, for how much, and things to know

Capital One Venture X

When the Venture X card launched a lot of folks looked at it as a replacement for their Chase Sapphire Reserve (CSR). It had free authorized user cards (AU), a lower annual fee, good transfer partners and what appeared to be excellent travel protections. But are they? What do the Terms & Conditions state?

Key terms:
Definition of who's covered, for how much, and things to know

Chase Sapphire Reserve

The Sapphire Reserve is the card that revolutionized the field with it's incredible welcome offer, best lounge access, and strong travel protections. Is it still the best in the field? What do the Terms & Conditions state?

Key terms:
Definition of who's covered, for how much, and things to know

Which Card/s Do Angie & Joe Use

Angie: CSR for travel protections-wider airline partner network, higher dollar limit and broader family definition. (I use my Ritz card too as it has similar protections as the CSR).

Joe: I hold both Sapphire cards, but generally I use the Reserve for the protections that kick in earlier.

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 97,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. If you want to jump into more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Meetup sold out, but you can waitlist

View Details

In this episode, I chat with Special Education Intervention Specialist (and my wife/P2), Jessica Petrovic, about our recent trip to the Andaz Mayakoba in Mexico and how we navigated various obstacles.

NEWS & ENHANCED OFFERS

• Tips for Managing Credit Score - Know what goes into it - significant
• Tips for Finding Partner Award Availability - what is it, why do I care
• Should the Ink Preferred be your preferred travel card - it still has a reduced 100K Bonus offer with reduced spend

TRIP UPDATES?

• Joe -
  • How I saved 12K Rapid Reward points
  • What did I book for 19K AA miles
• Jessica -
  • 1st Mommy/Daughter trip

WHAT BONUSES DID WE GET?

• Jessica - Hilton Surpass arrived - what plans do we have?

HIGHLIGHT (Main Feature) Andaz Mayakoba Vacation

• The perks - Sapphire Reserve (Priority Pass) Breakfast at Bar Symon saves $80-90 for the family
• Flight over - Cancelled UA Award flight using 70K miles and rebooked $810 Cash
  • Applied 20 PlusPoints (upgrade instrument) per person for Jessie and Noah
  • Complimentary Premier Upgrade (CPU) for P4 and me
• CUN Arrival - Passport Control - How was it?
• Transfer - USA Transfers - Experience?
• Andaz Mayakoba arrival -
  • 155K Hyatt Points (6 nights off-peak for 21K per night, and 1 night at peak 29K)
  • Used Suite Upgrade Award Milestone benefit (first earned at 50 nights and again at 60 nights) to upgrade to “Standard” suite. Choice of Lagoon or Oceanview. Chose Oceanview.
  • Offered an upgrade to Ocean Front for $200 per night (really about $250 after taxes and fees), which included butler service. What is butler service, and is it worth it?
  • Summer Weather
  • Globalist Breakfast
  • Free Bikes - 5-7 min ride from breakfast to La Playa
  • Free Golf cart rides - you want to walk?
  • Free ecotour - boat ride
  • Activities for kids 12 and under
  • Cost of service - pesos vs dollars
  • Should families consider this resort +/-
  • My tour of Mayakoba, El Pueblito, Banyan Tree & Saffron (Thai)
• Flight Home - cancelled UA award flight home using 80K miles and rebooked $715 flight home
  • Used 20 PP per person for Jessie and P3 - instant upgrades (PZ2) over a week out
  • Used 20 PP per person for P4 and me to get the #1 & 2 upgrade spots and cleared at check-in
• CLE arrival - backwards process
  • how was clearing customs
  • Used Amex Platinum and Business Platinum to pay for GE for both kids ($200) - how was the process?
  • What about TSA?
• Overall thoughts

Tip of the week (what You didn’t know):Allison Carraway - use BA Avios for AA flights

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 97,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. If you want to jump into more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Meetup sold out, but you can waitlist

View Details

POST OF THE WEEK (from the group)

Daniel Mark Adsit - recently did an around-the-world itinerary with 8 stopovers in 7 countries. Checkout his post on how he accomplished this incredible journey.

NEWS & ENHANCED OFFERS

• Changes to Citi AA Exec card - increased Annual Fee PLUS fee for Authorized Users
• Another change to AAdvantage - Rocketmiles and Book AAdvantage Hotels (BAAH) reduced earning potential AND now one and the same
• Hyatt/MGM - no longer. The "Break-up." The new partner.

TRIP UPDATES?

• Angie - another safari????
• Joe -
  • Flights to St. Croix
  • Rebooked Mexico flights (and rebooked the same ones)

WHAT BONUSES DID WE GET?

• Angie -
  • P2 applied for the new reduced spend 100K Chase Ink Preferred offer
  • Chase Ink Unlimited
  • Barclay’s AA
• Joe -
  • AA
  • Hilton Surpass

HIGHLIGHT (Main Feature) What are Points Worth?

Did you know that AwardWallet has a tool that helps you see what type of value others in the community are redeeming for? Here’s how AwardWallet calculates.

Flexible Points

• American Express Membership Rewards - 2.04 based on 24,697 bookings
• Capital One Venture Miles - 2.52 based on 9,977 " "
• Chase Ultimate Rewards - 1.90 based on 52,671 " "
• Citi ThankYou Points - 2.15 based on 8,295 “ “

Airline Miles

There are 20 Programs tracked by AwardWallet and here are some of the ones most often mentioned in the Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.

• American Airlines AAdvantage - can book many airlines and has been highly valuable
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club - 6.05 is crazy 117, but you can get solid returns on DL
• Avianca Lifemiles - 3.18 based on 229
• British Airways Executive Club - 3.14 based on 3,237

US carriers - United MileagePlus, Delta Skymiles, and Southwest Rapid Rewards typically run between 1.1-1.5 (might be high IMO) except Alaska Mileage Plan which is at 2.68 (based on 4,840 bookings) due to their exceptional award chart for Asia and the South Pacific.

Hotels

• Choice - .60
• Hilton Honors - .61 based on 27,858
• IHG - .73 based on 5,085
• Hyatt - 2.22 based on 18,303
• Marriott - 1.00 based on 18,503
• Wyndham - 1.17 based on 821

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 97,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. If you want to jump into more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Meetup sold out, but you can waitlist

View Details

Shoutout to Thrifty Traveler Premium for partnering with this episode of the Award Travel 101 Podcast

Wouldn't it be amazing to get alerts when lie-flat business class space opens up? Thrifty Traveler Premium does just that.

Use the promo code ‘AT101’ for $10 off your first year at thriftytraveler.com/premium

POST OF THE WEEK

Susie Buckwald - NYT Article on packing efficiently. Are you #teamcheck or #teamcarry?

NEWS & ENHANCED OFFERS

We're breaking away from our normal discussion on credit card offers, asking if it's worthwhile to chase or keep top-tier American Airlines status now that benefits that once were only available to Executive Platinum members are now available to all. Is Platinum Pro the new sweetspot?

TRIP UPDATES

Mike -

• Headed to Paris for a meeting. Ted Lasso Tour, Historic Bar Crawl.
• Economy-only work policy
• 15k UA miles waitlist to Premium Economy
• Two Hilton certs for Waldorf Hilton normally 80k or 500£ per night
• 12.5k AA for British Airways London (LHR) to Milan (LIN) - lounge access

Joe -

• 19K AA miles for P3 and me for impromptu NYC trip
• Ritz Carlton - card Free Night Award plus points
• Mexico - 37.5K UA miles per person round-trip (booked in one-way segments).
• 1K status - how will I try to get upgrades?
• Andaz Mayakoba - how did I get a beach suite with a plunge pool?

WHAT BONUSES DID WE GET?

Mike- Barclay AA Aviator Red for 70K

Joe - Barclay AA aviator Red for P2 for 70K

HIGHLIGHT (Main Feature) Airport Lounges

Mike's joining us LIVE from the Polaris Lounge in Newark (EWR), where he discusses the ways to gain lounge access via cards, status, or select airline tickets. What are some of your favorites?

Cards

• Amex Platinum
• Capital One Venture X
• Chase Sapphire Reserve
• United Club Card
• Citi AAdvantage Executive Elite
• Delta Reserve

Status

• Star Alliance Gold
• OneWorld Sapphire
• OneWorld Emerald
• SkyTeam Executive Elite

Only Available Via Premium Ticket

• Polaris Lounges
• Chelsea Lounge JFK (First)
• Greenwich Lounge JFK (Business)
• Soho Lounge JFK (First Class or Emerald)

Airline First Class lounges

• Lufthansa
• Etihad
• Swiss
• Air France
• Cathay Pacific
• Emirates
• Singapore
• British Airways

WHAT YOU DIDN'T KNOW

Two new features of TTP - Our sponsor Thrifty Traveler Premium has introduced two new features - Never lose notices again and “Nerd Alert” Use Code AT101 to save $10

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 95,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. If you want to jump into more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Meetup sold out, but you can waitlist

View Details

Shoutout to Thrifty Traveler Premium for partnering with this episode of the Award Travel 101 Podcast

Wouldn't it be amazing to get alerts when lie-flat business class space opens up? Thrifty Traveler Premium does just that.

Thrifty Traveler's army of flight deal analysts are searching 24/7 for flight deals so you don't have to. These deals are bookable with cash or points and miles flying in economy, business, and first class cabins.

Use the promo code ‘AT101’ for $10 off your first year at thriftytraveler.com/premium
Don't forget to check out many of their guides to saving money on your next flight too:

• Google Flights
• Cheap Flights
• Best Day to Book Flights
• How to Find Cheap Flights
• Google Flights Explore

POST OF THE WEEK (from the group)

• Nancy Kaelin Smith - I’m new to the group. The abbreviations people use in their posts are confusing me. Is there a list to help decipher some of the posts and advice? Checkout “Back to basics”

NEWS & ENHANCED OFFERS

• NEW INK PREFERED OFFER - less spend and 100K Bonus. Reports of Chase matching the spend down
• Refer AwardWallet get points - after years of tracking almost 700 other programs AwardWallet now transfers to 7 partners
• Real data driven info (DL1 on domestic routes) -
• 30% Transfer Bonus to BA/IB - use GCMap & FlightConnections to see where this could take you.

TRIP UPDATES?

• Angie -
• Joe - Busy week
  • Expertflyer notice
  • Marriott in US Virgin Islands for 180K
  • Marriott 35K Cert plus 11K points to do a staycation with P2 at the Ritz
  • Spring 2024 Award Travel meet. Where will we end up? I booked a Premium Suite using a little known “suite spot” and flights down using just 6K AA miles

WHAT BONUSES DID WE GET?

• Angie -
• Joe - P2 Barclays AA & Elevated Hilton Honors (denied Bonus)

HIGHLIGHT (Main Feature) Favorite Loyalty Programs

• Flexible Point
• Airline
• Hotel
• Car Rental

WHAT YOU DIDN'T KNOW

Gardening your reservations - Hotels, flights, car rentals - everything in travel is very dynamic (means ever-changing) right now, and you can likely snag deals by periodically checking over your booked trips for lower prices:

• Award price drops
• Cash price drops
• Award availability opens last-minute

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 95,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. If you want to jump into more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Meetup sold out, but you can waitlist

View Details

Shoutout to Thrifty Traveler Premium for partnering with this episode of the Award Travel 101 Podcast

Wouldn't it be amazing to get alerts when lie-flat business class space opens up? Thrifty Traveler Premium does just that.

Thrifty Traveler's army of flight deal analysts are searching 24/7 for flight deals so you don't have to. These deals are bookable with cash or points and miles flying in economy, business, and first class cabins.

Use the promo code ‘AT101’ for $10 off your first year at thriftytraveler.com/premium

Don't forget to check out many of their guides to saving money on your next flight too:

• Google Flights
• Cheap Flights
• Best Day to Book Flights
• How to Find Cheap Flights
• Google Flights Explore

POST OF THE WEEK (from the group)

Sarah Gillingham - New to rewards, no rewards cards, high credit scores, spend on Amazon, Lowes, Grocery & gas. Where should she start?

• 8 Steps to Better Travel Podcast Episode
• Allison’s post - a Mini Course in Award Travel

NEWS & ENHANCED OFFERS

• Current Hotel Status Match Opportunities
• Why I Speculatively Transfer Points
• Qatar 30% TYP bonus ends 6/30

TRIP UPDATES?

Angie - finalized planning Bali, booking two Hyatt properties, one more night using FNC for tenting
Joe - upgraded to Punta Cana, but not going. Found flights back for ⅓ of the cost I’d originally booked

WHAT BONUSES DID WE GET?

Angie - Hilton Business for P2, Chase Ink Unlimited, 2 Barclay’s AA cards, and a Citi AA personal
Joe - P2 Barclays AA & Elevated Hilton Honors - 200K Business Plat?

HIGHLIGHT (Main Feature)

First Class Father’s Day Award Travel Celebration Trip to Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Italy
This ONE post links to 16 prior posts on different awards used or cash spent in order to generate rewards. In total, 731,500 points (or point equivalents - like hotel Free Night Awards) and $2,374.84 were used to cover travel that retailed for $46,766.73* at the time of booking.

WHAT YOU DIDN'T KNOW

There are last minute deals to be had if you have even a little bit of flexibility. I had just a one day on either side of our trip.

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 95,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. If you want to jump into more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Meetup sold out, but you can waitlist

View Details

Shoutout to Thrifty Traveler Premium for partnering with this episode of the Award Travel 101 Podcast

Wouldn't it be amazing to get alerts when lie-flat business class space opens up? Thrifty Traveler Premium does just that.

Thrifty Traveler's army of flight deal analysts are searching 24/7 for flight deals so you don't have to. These deals are bookable with cash or points and miles flying in economy, business, and first class cabins.

Use the promo code ‘AT101’ for $10 off your first year at thriftytraveler.com/premium

Also check out Thrifty Travelers’ guide on how to use Google Flights

POST OF THE WEEK

Diane Ketcham - What are the advantages and disadvantages of booking one way travel?
See Allison's Trip

NEWS & ENHANCED OFFERS

• Marriott Bonvoy Increased Card Offers
• New AA Upgrade Policy
• Plaza Premium Lounges Rejoining Priority Pass
• Wyndham Status Match

TRIP UPDATES - Taylor Swift Drama

• Allison
• Mike

WHAT BONUSES DID WE GET?

• Mike - Ink Unlimited, 130K Amex Business Gold, 70K Barclay AA Aviator Red
• Allison - 50K Amex Blue Business Plus

HIGHLIGHT (Main Feature) Earn hotel free night certificates (FNC) from the 4 big hotel brands

HyattCategory 1-4 free night

• World of Hyatt Card
• Brand Explorer
• 30-Night Milestone

Category 1-7 or A-D free night

• 60-Night Milestone

Marriott: See our Bonvoy Card Comparison Chart

• 35k free night Boundless Card: Business Card
• 50k free night Bountiful Card: Bevy Card
• 85k free night Brilliant Card: Ritz Carlton Card

Hilton

• Hilton Honors Aspire Card
• Hilton Honors Surpass Card
• Hilton Honors Business Card
• Limited Time Increased Offer on These Cards

IHG

• IHG Premier Card
• IHG Premier Business Card

WHAT YOU DIDN'T KNOW
Mike loves the United Club Infinite Card for its perks and ability to earn PQP towards earning United status

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 95,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. If you want to jump into more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Meetup sold out, but you can waitlist

View Details

Shoutout to Thrifty Traveler Premium for partnering with this episode of the Award Travel 101 Podcast

Finding award space can be tough. Wouldn't it be amazing to get alerts when lie-flat business class space opens up? Thrifty Traveler Premium does just that.

Thrifty Traveler's army of flight deal analysts are searching 24/7 for flight deals so you don't have to. These deals are bookable with cash or points and miles flying in economy, business, and first class cabins. Never miss another incredible award deal by subscribing to Thrifty Traveler Premium:

• Google Flights
• Cheap Flights
• Best Day to Book Flights
• How to Find Cheap Flights
• Google Flights Explore

Some recent examples include:

• Hawaii for 35K R/T in Economy
• Lie-flat transcon for $997 R/T
• Business class to Turkey for 45K

Use the promo code ‘AT101’ for $10 off your first year at thriftytraveler.com/premium

POST OF THE WEEK (from the group)

Two posts this week about lounges. I picked these because I believe some of us have lost our excitement, whereas many wish they could do what we do.

Siana Ray - newly renovated Centurion Lounge?
Devon Holly - new Chase Sapphire Terrace?

NEWS & ENHANCED OFFERS

• Enhanced United 80K offer - the good & the bad
• Bask Bank (up to) 20K AA Bonus - never before have they offered anything like this
• Use AW to track FNA (Free Night Awards) - just a reminder
• Flying Blue promo - 25% transfer bonus ends 6/17
• Qatar Privilege Club promo - 30% transfer bonus ends 6/30

TRIP UPDATES

• Angie - nothing new sadly!
• Joe - yes, lots of new stuff, but were you following the community to see what?

WHAT BONUSES DID WE GET?

Angie -
Joe -

HIGHLIGHT (Main Feature)

Mistakes made:

• Buying (transfer) points from family
• Going crazy with apps/not understanding app rules
• Getting airline/program specific awards before flexible currencies
• Late Charges - not paying enough attention to due dates
• Booking without checking program flexibility
• Chasing status - how much does status cost (opportunity costs?)

WHAT YOU DIDN'T KNOW

How many times can I change the name for my Companion Pass with Southwest?

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 95,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. If you want to jump into more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community
2. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Meetup sold out, but you can waitlist

View Details

Award Travel 101 Podcast Episode 19 Show Notes

THRIFTY TRAVELER PREMIUM

Get deal/award alerts straight to your inbox. Thrifty Traveler Premium does just that. Use promo code ‘AT101’ for $10 off your first year. Again, you can find them at http://thriftytraveler.com/premium

POST OF THE WEEK (from the group)

Mike Zaccheo shared in the group the new Chase Sapphire Lounge in Boston as well as the 8 upcoming lounges. But more importantly-the entrance rules for those lounges. This brings some added value to the CSR that had lost a bit of its luster.

NEWS & ENHANCED OFFERS

Several reports of Chase shifting credit limits without asking for member approval and reports of Chase Ink cards appearing on personal credit reports.

HIGHLIGHT (Main Feature)

Tools we use to search for award flights:

• In-person meetups
• Expertflyer - LIVE video & post on AwardWallet
• Point.me
• Roame.travel - Live video
• Flight Connections
• Straight to the Points
• Thrift Traveler Premium (use code AT101 to save $10)
• FlightRadar24
• Flightaware
• Wikipedia
• Google Flights
• Open Hotel Alert
• Stay With Points
• MaxMyPoint
• Awayz

WHAT YOU DIDN'T KNOW

Which airlines have a ONE month calendar search:

• United
• Delta
• Virgin Atlantic - Sort of (Video in Award Travel 201)
• Qantas
• LifeMiles

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 95,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. If you want to jump into more intermediate and advanced strategies, our Award Travel 201 community ($89.99 annually) is filled with those who want to dig into the weeds, looking for more outsized value.
2. To book time with our team to discuss how to better your earning and burning strategies, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Meetup sold out, but you can waitlist

View Details

THRIFTY TRAVELER PREMIUM

Get deal/award alerts straight to your inbox. Thrifty Traveler Premium does just that. Use promo code ‘AT101’ for $10 off your first year. Again, you can find them at http://thriftytraveler.com/premium

POST OF THE WEEK

Inga KC - What Level 4: Travel advisory? Inga just returned from Iran flying Qatar Business Class for 70K AAdvantage miles each way.

NEWS & ENHANCED OFFERS

• Increased Southwest offers - 30% discount interesting
• 30% Transfer Bonus to Virgin Atlantic - Virgin Voyages
• Frontier Status with Rewards Card

TRIP UPDATES

• Angie - what to do when termites invade your house?
• Joe -
  • Atlanta - It had been 107 days since my last flight. Checkout the Presidential Suite and the rewards and card benefits I used to make this trip happen:
    • Free Breakfast ($28)
    • 18K Skymiles ($209)
    • 24K Hyatt Points ($1,122)
    • 12K Rapid Rewards - upgraded boarding & wifi credit from the Performance Business card ($207)
  • Chicago - Spent 24 hours in Chicago. Where'd we go, and what did we do
    • Free Breakfast ($56)
    • Uber Credits ($22) Plus 10X Earned on Lyft
    • UA Travel Bank ($511)
    • Economy Plus from status (upgraded on return) $306 value
    • Thompson using a Cat 1-4 Free Night Award Holiday Weekend ($685)

WHAT BONUSES DID WE GET?

• Angie - nothing new to report
• Joe - why couldn't I put a (travel) charge I’d planned on putting on Amex Biz Gold?

HIGHLIGHT (Main Feature)

Cards that can Help earn Status

• American - AAdvantage
• Delta - Skymiles
• United - MileagePlus
• Southwest - Rapid Rewards
• Hilton - Honors
• IHG - One Rewards
• Hyatt - World of Hyatt
• Marriott - Bonvoy

WHAT YOU DIDN'T KNOW

Always pay international bills in the “local” currency using a card that doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees. See how I saved over $200.

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 95,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. If you want to jump into more intermediate and advanced strategies, our Award Travel 201 community ($89.99 annually) is filled with those who want to dig into the weeds, looking for more outsized value.
2. To book time with our team to discuss how to better your earning and burning strategies, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Meetup sold out, but you can waitlist

View Details

POST OF THE WEEK (from the group)

Reva Palmer Cook: anyone need a free husband, LOL? While we kid, this situation is anything but funny. Husband cashed in all their points to pay the bill!! What would you do if this happened to you, and is there any way to recover?

NEWS & ENHANCED OFFERS

• Citi 25% transfer bonus to Flying Blue through 6/17
• Amex Hilton cards all have enhanced offers including a Free Night Award certificate after meeting the spend requirement
• United Increases the cost of Awards
• Purchase Lifemiles for 1.32 cents or Aeroplan miles for 1.24 cents each. Is it worth it?

TRIP UPDATES

• Angie - P2 (Player 2) has a reunion so we’ll be piggybacking a family trip on to that. Will use Southwest travel funds and Companion Pass to book the flights and Autoslash for the car.
• Joe - it's been over 2 months since kid's passport applications have been submitted. Hoping those come though. Looking to swap out hotel in Split - current property not great value in points + I can earn a nice chunk of miles (and Loyalty Points) toward American status

WHAT BONUSES DID WE GET?

• Angie - Chase Ink Unlimited, Citi AAdvantage -still working on both
• Joe - Nothing new

HIGHLIGHT (Main Feature)

RTW trips

• Carriers to use:
  • Asia Miles
  • ANA
  • Aeroplan
  • (Qantas and Aero Mexico can do it but pricier and more restrictions)
  • British Airways (Oneworld Carrier chart) - Little bit of the "Juice" I share in Award Travel 201 - RTW in Business class for 140K
• Brief overview of each program such as number of segments, main rules to watch out for, idiosyncrasies of each program

WHAT YOU DIDN'T KNOW

If you have to cancel a trip and there’s a cancellation fee, see if there’s been a schedule change that gives you free cancellation now or can you actually change the ticket to a different date (with potentially a future schedule change) for less money. All carriers are different in terms of how much of a schedule change there needs to be and whether a change in your travel dates would be sufficient.

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 94,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. If you want to jump into more intermediate and advanced strategies, our Award Travel 201 community ($89.99 annually) is filled with those who want to dig into the weeds, looking for more outsized value.
2. To book time with our team to discuss how to better your earning and burning strategies, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Meetup sold out, but you can waitlist

View Details

Award Travel 101 community manager Allison Caraway discusses how she was introduced to travel and loyalty programs, her time traveling with family, some of her favorite programs, and a trip she's building to Singapore and Bali with friends she met from the community.

Question of the week (from the group)!

Eric Wood - I have a Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select that I've had for years (well over 48 months). I don't want to close it, but would love another bonus...

Citi Product Change Rules

• AA MileUp - can help you earn AAdvantage miles 2x faster through Grocery store spend
• Double Cash - 2x on everything
• Custom Cash - 5x earnings on top eligible spend category each billing cycle
• Rewards+ - 2x groceries/gas up to $6k annually. See how Allison flew Turkish Business class for 29K ThankYou Points.
• Citi no-fee options

NEWS & ENHANCED OFFERS

• American Airlines Now Offering Mileage Discount When Booking Round-Trip Awards
• IHG Business 165K
• Maximize Chase Ultimate Rewards

WHAT BONUSES DID WE GET

1. Allison - BILT card and received 5x in first 5 days

TRIP UPDATES

• Allison - Baseball (19, adding DC, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Cleveland this year,) Belize, MSP, Bali
• Joe -
  • Booked Premium Suite with Hyatt points and flights with Delta Skymiles and Southwest Rapid Rewards (CC rewards cover about $1,750 including Priority Pass restaurant benefit)
  • Booked a night for P2 (Happy Mother's Day to her and all of the Moms here in AT101!) using an expiring Marriott 35K Free Night Award
  • Helped a buddy book Hyatt Regency Clearwater (expiring Category 1-7 Free Night Award) along with a few nights at Grand Cypress (2 Category 1-4 Free Night Awards), all on points totaling 27K Rapid Rewards and 20K Skymiles saved $1,850
  • Working on an overnight in NYC with my son, I nabbed JetBlue Mint 4A & 4F "Throne Seats" LAS-JFK using 50K (ea) AA miles to cover ($2,400) - paid $400
  • (25K vs 33K) United miles to book a mixed cabin award for less than economy. Used a trick (shared in AT201) to get Premium Economy instead of economy

WHAT YOU DIDN'T KNOW

Allison’s Tip of the Day - How and why you want to use the AA Award Map.

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 94,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. If you want to jump into more intermediate and advanced strategies, our Award Travel 201 community ($89.99 annually) is filled with those who want to dig into the weeds, looking for more outsized value.
2. To book time with our team to discuss how to better your earning and burning strategies, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. Meetup sold out, but you can waitlist

View Details

POST OF THE WEEK

Maggie Schwalbach had a engaging post asking about best card for Grocery spend. Members chimed in with an overwhelming winner. American Express Gold card. Others used:

• Citi Premier - Unlimited 3X in SO many places
• Chase Freedom Flex (or old Visa Freedom) - rotating quarterly categories when it’s grocery category
• Chase MyBonus on branded cards - I've seen as high as 10X
• Fee-free Giftcards from Office Supply stores using Chase Ink Cash
• Citi Custom Cash - 5X on highest monthly spend category
• Blue Cash Preferred for Cash back - 6% cashback
• Don't forget about the Amex EveryDay Preferred - up to 4.5X
• Any card where we're trying to complete Minimum Spend

NEWS & ENHANCED OFFERS

• Get your 80,000 Ultimate Reward points on our most recommended beginner card
• Capital One Venture One with 40k points for $1k spend
• How to earn elite status with credit cards.

TRIP UPDATES?

• Angie - United deal, and working on Bali hotels
• Joe - booked a flight he hopes to rebook for less

WHAT BONUSES DID WE GET?

• Angie -
  • Chase Ink Unlimited
  • Citi AAdvantage
• Joe -
  • finished P2s CIU
  • working on American Express Business Gold

HIGHLIGHT (Main Feature)

Why should one attend an Award Travel meetup?

• If you enjoy chatting about these topics
• Learn how others are getting ahead in travel and loyalty
• Make friends and build your network
• Add to your arsenal of tools with tips not shared in the broader communities

WHAT YOU DIDN'T KNOW

• Elizabeth Holmes Hanes shares how to earn some extra Marriott bonus points that Angie didn’t know about. Link your Uber account and earn bonus points with Marriott but if you actually order UberEats and have it sent to a Marriott during a stay you earn an extra bonus! If you order UberEats when traveling, best to pay special attention to this one.
• Rakuten is having it’s Big Give Week where you earn monster shopping portal bonuses on some online shopping. But by the time this episode airs, the 20X offer will be over so follow the group so you know these things when they happen since we post them immediately!

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 93,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. If you want to jump into more intermediate and advanced strategies, our Award Travel 201 community ($89.99 annually) is filled with those who want to dig into the weeds, looking for more outsized value.
2. To book time with our team to discuss how to better your earning and burning strategies, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. If in-person learning is your style, you can check out our next meetup or register now!

Crooked Path Productions

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Points for the Win (from the group)!

Award Travel 101 member, Nicole Fischer Swallen, shows us how it's done with her New Zealand trip report. It's a great example of how to piece a trip together. “I used certs that were going to expire by March. We were not penny pinching or trying to make the stay free.”

Awards Used

• Marriott Free Night Award certificate.
• 55K Alaska miles +$51 per person
• 65K AA miles + $47.27 per person (one card bonus could net those miles)

NEWS & ENHANCED OFFERS

• Hyatt Acquisition of Mr. & Mrs. Smith
• United Polaris - Thursday night INSANITY for 3 hours
  • Mike Booked - CLE-IAH-SYD March 14-19.
  • Park Hyatt Sydney
  • Joe Booked CLE-IAH-SYD March 15?
  • 2 nights at Hyatt Regency Sydney
  • Delta One back to the states
• Hyatt Bonus Journeys - 3K points every 2 nights

WHAT BONUSES DID WE GET?

• Mike - Chase Ink Unlimited - almost finished Minimum Spending Requirements (MSR) to earn welcome offer
• P2’s 20,000 point referral bonus posted. Consolidated Chase Ultimate Rewards
• Amex Business Gold - Applied on a whim. Looking at Singapore (SQ). Prefer using Membership Rewards to protect Ultimate Rewards for World of Hyatt
• Award Travel 201 Benefit - Enhanced Amex Welcome Offers benefitting members
• Joe - what's going on with Citi? I really wanted my wife to get that enhanced Citi Platinum American AAdvantage offer!

TRIP UPDATES

• Mike - Grand Canyon recap
• Austin in late September

HIGHLIGHT (Main Feature) the Freddie Awards (Americas)

See more in the Award Travel 101 by AwardWallet Community.

• Best Hotel Customer Service - Marriott
• Best Airline Customer Service - Southwest
• Best Hotel Elite Program - Hyatt
• Best Airline Elite Program - American AAdvantage
• Best Hotel Promo - Marriott
• Best Airline Promo - Aeroplan
• Best Hotel Redemption - Marriott
• Best Airline Redemption - Aeroplan
• Best Credit Card - Southwest Rapid Rewards
• Hotel Program of the year - Marriott
• Airline Program of the Year - Aeroplan
• 210 - Hotel Accor
• 210 - Airline Westjet

Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community

For questions, you can join us in the free 93,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. If you want to jump into more intermediate and advanced strategies, our Award Travel 201 community ($89.99 annually) is filled with those who want to dig into the weeds, looking for more outsized value.
2. To book time with our team to discuss how to better your earning and burning strategies, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. If in-person learning is your style, you can check out our next meetup or register now!

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POST OF THE WEEK (from the group)

Sometimes you get such a good question in the Award Travel 101 Community, so we’re going to discuss it more in the Main Feature.

NEWS & ENHANCED OFFERS

• How to Book Emirates 1st Class
• New (and enhanced) 80,000 Point Chase Sapphire Preferred Welcome Offer. See why we recommend this card so highly.
• New Choice Sweetspots

TRIP UPDATES

• Angie - Spirit Status Match (NOW DEAD)
• Joe - trip to Florida I was planning last week dead. But I received an invitation to something pretty cool and I’m driving 😲 (but I'll use fuel points to save on gas)
• See how I saved $394 on a sold-out hotel using 6,500 Hyatt points

WHAT BONUSES DID WE GET?

• Angie - Chase Ink Unlimited (Approved data point)
• Joe - Looking to got 130K Amex Business Gold - how’d I get that offer? (More in-depth post in Award Travel 201 - see info on how to up your travel game and join below)

HIGHLIGHT (Main Feature)

Scott Fosmer- How often do y’all apply for a new credit card? 🤔

• At what point is enough, enough?
• Live Video on Fare Rules with Ed Sanders
• Application Rules

WHAT YOU DIDN'T KNOW

How to burn Hilton Aspire Hotel credits when not staying at a Hilton - Learned this listening to FM On The Air - stop by front desk (at resort property) and open a “House account” before dining or spa and charge to that using your Hilton Aspire

WHERE TO FIND THE AWARD TRAVEL 101 COMMUNITY

For questions, you can join us in the free 93,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. If you want to jump into more intermediate and advanced strategies, our Award Travel 201 community ($89.99 annually) is filled with those who want to dig into the weeds, looking for more outsized value.
2. To book time with our team to discuss how to better your earning and burning strategies, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. If in-person learning is your style, you can check out our next meetup or register now!

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POST OF THE WEEK (from the group)

Christie Berkseth-Rojas - London, Paris, KLM Business Class, Lounges, and incredible experience for her mom, husband, daughter. Very first points booking! Do you remember your first points booking?

NEWS & ENHANCED OFFERS

• Marriott Online Transfer tool
• Citi AA Personal Card 75k
• ANA cuts fuel surcharges by 40%-(Angie not familiar with ANA, Joe?)
• Wyndham Vacation Rental Condos in the US Bookable for Just 7,500 Points Per Night
• 25% Transfer Bonus from Chase Ultimate Rewards to Air France/KLM Flying Blue and 30% Transfer Bonus When Transferring American Express Membership Rewards to Hilton Honors through May 15

WHAT BONUSES DID WE GET?

• Hilton business card bonus posted
• Schwab Plat final charge pending so waiting for those points to post
• Just approved for Marriott Boundless card-wanting the extra 15 EQN nights plus hope to product change to the Ritz card next year.
• Closing an Amex personal Platinum this month so using up remaining credits (Saks and airline)
• Joe - no new cards from last week, but did a one and done day of Chase Ink Cash arrival, and am still working on wife's Minimum Spending Requirement, but will knock that out soon with some upcoming expenses. Looking to get Amex Business Gold next

TRIP UPDATES?

• Switzerland dead, lots of short trips for meetups and P2 meetings, no biggies until Bali in September (but seriously-who does Africa and Bali in the same year?!!?)
• Working on a family trip to the beach, Cleveland Meetup, trip to visit brother, trip with P2, and 6 weeks away from Croatia

HIGHLIGHT (Main Feature) Status Matching

• Angie - Aeroplan
• Joe - Casinos
• Spirit Status Match (BEFORE IT'S GONE) - Notice: The Free Spirit® Status Match offer will end on Sunday 23 April at 11:59pm PST.

WHAT YOU DIDN'T KNOW

• Portals - which ones do we use and why?
• Stacking: what it is, websites to use (cashbackmonitor.com, United Mileage Plus X, Rakuten, Simply Miles).

Where To Find UsFor questions, you can join us in the FREE 92,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. If you want to jump into more intermediate and advanced strategies, our Award Travel 201 community ($89.99 annually) is filled with those who want to dig into the weeds looking for more OUTSIZED value.
2. To book time with our team to discuss how to better your earning and burning strategies, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also Email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. If learning in-person is your style, you can check out our next meetup or REGISTER NOW!

Support Your Award Travel 101 Community when applying for your next rewards card!

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It's my 3-Year Work Anniversary as Award Travel 101 Community Manager

Points for the Win (from the group)!

Laura Nicholson:

To think 3 years ago, I had no clue about the world of travel hacking and now getting great use of my SW companion pass and Hyatt bookings. This is truly making memories. I still have a long way to go to really make my miles/points go further but so far I am pretty pleased. Thanks to all the enablers in this awesome group my travel addiction is in overdrive.

NEWS & ENHANCED OFFERS

• New 5X Chase Co-branded offers
• Transfer bonuses
  • 25% Transfer Bonus Chase Ultimate Rewards to Flying Blue
  • Flying Blue Discounted Monthly Promos
  • 30% Transfer Bonus Amex Membership Rewards to Hilton - MZ to take advantage of this for gymnastics/softball tournaments
• Hyatt/Bilt Fast Track

WHAT BONUSES DID WE GET?

• Joe - two new Inks. 1st Business card (Ink Unlimited) for Joe's P2. Here's how you may qualify too! After 10 days pending I was approved for my 5th Ink card and 4th Ink Cash with recon call. What can you do with 300K UR?
• Mike - Also finally got approved for Ink Unlimited! Initially denied. Called recon and a week later was approved.
• P2 - United Business Card. She is making a few solo trips so having the two club passes and checked bag was key.

TRIP UPDATES?

• Joe - Non-stop for 2/4 using Google Flights and trick I shared in AT201
• Same trick got us all 4 tickets a few days later
• Mike - Las Vegas/Grand Canyon/Phoenix
• 1 night Bellagio - Amex FHR

HIGHLIGHT (Main Feature) Meet the Mods - Mike Zaccheo

1. Introduction to travel rewards/loyalty programs
2. Background
3. Highlights
4. Family Travel
5. Strengths

WHAT YOU DIDN'T KNOW - Mike’s Tips

• Positioning from small/medium non-hub cities (ERI losing another airline)
  • Start with Google Flights, enter ERI, BUF, CLE, PIT as origin
  • Also start in reverse, enter destination and using Wikipedia enter the major hubs that fly to there. Also airline websites or Point.me
  • Don’t fear layovers! That’s why we have lounge access

Where To Find UsFor questions, you can join us in the FREE 92,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. If you want to jump into more intermediate and advanced strategies, our Award Travel 201 community ($89.99 annually) is filled with those who want to dig into the weeds looking for more OUTSIZED value.
2. To book time with our team to discuss how to better your earning and burning strategies, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also Email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. If learning in-person is your style, you can check out our next meetup or REGISTER NOW!

Support Your Award Travel 101 Community when applying for your next rewards card!

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WELCOME

QUESTION OF THE WEEK (from the group)

Jessie Scott asked

Anyone else have a hard time parting with points? I have plenty and the only award option I can find to PPT are overpriced due to peak dates on KLM. Weighing using points for non-ideal redemptions verses earning them on cash tickets stresses me out! The choice is 588k MR (Amex Membership Rewards) or $7500 for 5 economy RT (Round-Trip) LAX-PPT. That’s not a great use of points but my kids are getting older and I’m trying to make as many memories as I can before they leave me. Thoughts or advice?

Do you have a hard time parting with points when it’s a less than optimal redemption?

NEWS & ENHANCED OFFERS

• Enhanced Ink Offers - died early, but I applied
• Are you eligible for a business card?
• What if you're not approved?

WHAT BONUSES DID WE GET?

• How did Angie accidentally earn the Southwest Companion Pass? Do you know ALL of the ways to earn it?
• Amex Biz Banking bonus finally hit
• Working on Charles Schwab Amex Platinum and Hilton Business

TRIP UPDATES?

• Bali
• Traveling throughout Southeast Asia with friends
• Tip for booking the best seat on the longest flight in the world
• Nothing really for Joe - except what 80K AAdvantage miles can book

HIGHLIGHT (Main Feature)

Africa-back from the bush. Highs, lows, things to do differently and how to use points on a $$$$ trip. Here's some of her posts:

• Lounge Hopping
• Flying KLM
• Tarangire National Park
• More from Tanzania
• Ngongoro Crater
• Ndutu Plains
• Game Drive
• Serengeti
• Zanzibar & Bush Plane
• Park Hyatt Zanzibar
• QSuites
• Wrap-up (How everything was booked)

WHAT YOU DIDN'T KNOW

Erin Kilpatrick - more data points for turning a denial into an approval - DON'T GIVE UP!

Where To Find UsFor questions, you can join us in the FREE 92,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

1. If you want to jump into more intermediate and advanced strategies, our Award Travel 201 community ($89.99 annually) is filled with those who want to dig into the weeds looking for more OUTSIZED value.
2. To book time with our team to discuss how to better your earning and burning strategies, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
3. You can also Email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
4. If learning in-person is your style, you can check out our next meetup or REGISTER NOW!

Support Your Award Travel 101 Community when applying for your next rewards card!

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Miles & Points for the Win (from the group)!
Katy Krouth - Polaris Business Class both ways to Thailand. You can share your Award Travel wins too - whether BIG or Small!

Stephanie Staiano - QSuites to South Africa - with AT101’s help she was able to (earn) select the right cards, meet the SUB and (burn) book RT for 190k pp from East Coast figuring out Avios and QA. “Not sure if that's a good CPP and don't really care.” Don’t worry about the CCP police.

NEWS & ENHANCED OFFERS
* Details Of New Chase “Sapphire Experience” At Austin Airport, Opening Next Month * What are the new 5X Freedom categories? * Bask raises Increases interest rate payout on savings accounts again! * Brex Rewards devaluation - most of us were fired anyway, but will others follow suit?

WHAT BONUSES DID WE GET?
* Nothing new for Joe * Jerod - + Citi Premier - are you eligible? + Working on Citi AAdvantage Platinum + Approved for Chase Ink Cash + Approved for Amex Biz Platinum

TRIP UPDATES?
* Joe - Renewed kids passport * Jerod - Cancun (le blanc - not on points) but flights on points * Alila Ventana * Paris - Flying Blue Sweet spots

HIGHLIGHT (Main Feature) Meet the Mods - Jerod Morales & Business Class for SIX
How’d you get introduced to travel rewards/loyalty programs

1. Background - 1st card Chase Sapphire Preferred
2. Family Travel - Expensive and reward programs can help reduce costs
3. Some of your highlights - Singapore 5th Freedom route (Houston to Manchester) in Business class for 6
4. How you like to travel
5. Favorite programs - Ultimate Rewards, World of Hyatt, British Airways, Southwest Rapid Rewards
6. What trips do you have booked now, and what are you most looking forward to?

Jerod's Tips to Save

• T-Mobile
• Clear US customs departing DUB > great with family

Where To Find Us
1. For questions, you can join us in the FREE 91,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community. 2. If you want to jump into more intermediate and advanced strategies, our Award Travel 201 community ($89.99 annually) is filled with those who want to dig into the weeds looking for more OUTSIZED value. 3. To book time with our team to discuss how to better your earning and burning strategies, check out Award Travel 1-on-1. 4. You can also Email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com. 5. If in-person meetups interest you, check out the SAVE-THE-DATE for our next available meetup, or REGISTER NOW!

Support Your Award Travel 101 Community when applying for your next rewards card!

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QUESTION OF THE WEEK (from the group)

Bonnie Meck:

Need to purchase a lot of AirBNB gift cards for an upcoming trip asap. I'm new to the 'stacking' concept. Any tips/tricks to maximize miles/points? I have AA, UA, Citi, CSP, Cap1 Amex cards. TIA!

• Delta Airbnb Portal
• British Airways Portal

NEWS & ENHANCED OFFERS

• Best way to fly lie-flat AA First Class domestically
• 3/1 is reset day for American Airlines status. See how to re-earn AAdvantage status.
• Hyatt category changes - 214 up 158 down. US destinations and AI's hit hard. 7 new category 8. 32 cat 1 going to 2 and 13 cat 2 going to 1. Cat 1-4 certs gain 18 properties worldwide. Lost 7 in US but gained 4.

WHAT BONUSES DID WE GET?

• United Business
• Both AA (Citi & Barclay) cards arrived a few weeks ago. Finished Spend yesterday via Plastiq earned 141 K for $584 (.41 cents each). Number sound familiar?
• Jackie? Citi AA Business & IHG 175K offer

TRIP UPDATES?

• Figuring out how to get home from Andaz Mayakoba - still working on it.
• Booked a weekend trip to Atlanta to visit my brother and got raked over the coals (18K DL miles instead of 8.5K VS for convenience and 12K RR) + luxury suite for 42K vs $1,300+

HIGHLIGHT (Main Feature) Meet the Mods - Jackie Wisniewski

1. Background
2. How’d we meet
3. Some of your highlights
4. How you like to travel
5. Favorite programs
6. Window or Aisle
7. Favorite Booking
8. Strengths
9. What trips do you have booked now, and what are you most looking forward to?

Here’s the IHG propertyHoliday Inn Vanuatu (near Fiji) I was referencing in the episode

Jackie’s Last minute-tip

Build your network

Where To Find Us

For questions, you can join us in the FREE 91,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community. If you want to dig into some of the less discussed strategies, our Award Travel 201 community ($89.99 annually) is filled with those who want to dig into the weeds a little more. To book time with our team to discuss how to better your earning and burning strategies, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.

You can also Email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com. If in-person meetups interest you, check out the SAVE-THE-DATE for our next available meetup, or REGISTER NOW!

Support Your Award Travel 101 Community when applying for your next rewards card!

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Our favorite 90,000 point offer is ending soon. Get yours NOW!

Miles & Points for the Win (from the Community)!

Antarctica Trip Inga KC - shares how to use points for a last-minute cruise experience. Share YOUR Miles/Points win in the Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.

NEWS & ENHANCED OFFERS

• Complete Guide to American Airlines Status - JT LT EXP (JP 1st time) - why might this be important for readers/listeners
• New Etihad Guest Award Chart - up to 3.2X more expensive
• Marriott Drops 10% bonus to United, but… - something better for a change
• Virgin ANA Chart No-notice changes - +/-s - more to come?
• New Bilt earnings on Lyft - why earn 5x when you can earn 12x?
• Stacking LifeMiles - Lufthansa biz 25k + $500

WHAT BONUSES DID WE GET?

Joe

• United Business - never transferred Chase Ultimate Rewards to United?
• What's Next - Amex Business Gold next?
• 2023 Summary - 760K through first 2.5 months of 2023 that will purchase over $20K ($20,489) by my own personal valuations. Is it really worth that much?

JT

• Business checking - 60K completed for Katie too
• Still working on a 75k bonus on Blue Business Plus ($15k spend in 12 months, but foreign transaction fees)
• Getting close to earning 80k on Aviator Business ($2k spend in 90 days)
• Going to use tax payment to finish off 150k bonus on Amex Business Platinum ($15k spend in 3 months)

HIGHLIGHT (Main Feature) Meet AwardWallet Editor-In-Chief JT Genter

• Intro to travel rewards
• Background
• Travel style - what do you love?
• Highlights
• Favorite programs
• Strengths
• What trips do you have booked now, and what are you most looking forward to?

Find out where JT will be next!
2022 travel numbers:

• here
• Socials: @jtgenter

WHAT YOU DIDN'T KNOW

Rob DeCamp - If you're interested in seeing the total eclipse the afternoon of April 8, 2024, and you don't already live on the path, you might want to book your hotels shortly after they become available. Next total eclipse in the lower 48 States will be in 2044.

This article from AwardWallet provides details on when chains open their schedules:

• Hyatt - 394 days 3/10/23
• Hilton - 365 4/8/23
• Marriott - 352 4/21/23
• IHG - 350 days 4/23/23
• Choice - 100 days 12/29/23

Where To Find Us

For questions, you can join us in the Award Travel 101 Community. If you want to dig into some of the less discussed strategies, our Award Travel 201 community ($89.99 annually) is filled with those who want to dig into the weeds a little more. To discuss how to better your earning and burning strategies, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.

You can also Email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com. If in-person meetups interest you, register for our next meetup.

Support Your Award Travel 101 Community when applying for your next rewards card!

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QUESTION OF THE WEEK (from the group)

1. Chris Hick: “ Are there any pros/cons of booking through Avianca vs Air Canada? I don't mind paying a little more if it's a better or easier experience.”

NEWS & ENHANCED OFFERS

• Korean Air - announced & suspended award chart changes in short period - curious what happened
• Etihad Guest - alluded to this last episode - before that happens, AT101 moderator Jerod Morales shares some of the sweet spots
• Citi Transfer Bonus - 62K Virgin Voyage, ANA Business Class for 37K & First for 47K One-way, Delta One at 39K One-way to EU, or flights on Virgin metal starting in Economy at 9K even from places like LAX to LHR for 15K in PE
• Hyatt Promo & Status Hacking- World of Hyatt members can earn 3,000 Bonus Points for every two eligible nights, up to 30 nights

WHAT BONUSES DID WE GET?

• United Business
• Both AA (Citi & Barclay) cards arrived
• Almost done with 60K business checking (now 30K)
• 4/24 P2 2/24 - what should I get next?

Should you be using AwardWallet?

AwardWallet tracks almost 700 popular travel and loyalty programs? They also have a ton of other tools that are helpful too, including:

• Tracking hotel certificates
• A built-in travel itinerary
• Airline change/cancellation notices, often before the airline do, so you can get ahead of the game
• Provides detailed analysis of how you could earn more points based on your unique spending habits
• Individual Transaction Analyzer to show you each transaction and how you did
• As well as the Merchant & Reverse merchant lookup tools that will tell you if a specific retailer will earn you MORE bonus POINTS

YOU should have AwardWallet, BECAUSE IT'S FREE! More advanced features cost $30 annually.

If you think you're ready for that and are interested in the intermediate level Award Travel 201 community for $89.99 annually, AND AW+ is included in your AT201 subscription.

TRIP UPDATES?

• Angie's - positioning flights for Africa and Bali
• booking flights for meetups
• Joe - Figuring out how to get home from Andaz Mayakoba
• Weekend trip to Atlanta - points save how much?

WHAT YOU DIDN'T KNOWMeetups & their importance - did you know how Angie, Allison, and I met?

• Increase your knowledge
• build friendships AND your contact list
• learn some of the secrets that enhance your Award Travel experience

Where To Find Us

For questions, you can join us in the FREE 91,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community. If you want to dig into some of the less discussed strategies, our Award Travel 201 community ($89.99 annually) is filled with those who want to dig into the weeds a little more. To book time with our team to discuss how to better your earning and burning strategies, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.

You can also Email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com. If in-person meetups interest you, check out the SAVE-THE-DATE for our next available meetup, or REGISTER NOW!

Support Your Award Travel 101 Community when applying for your next rewards card!

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QUESTION OF THE WEEK (from the group)
Ginny Irvine - asking about needing points for Singapore-maybe talk about how to get SUB’s with limited spend and income?
What things do you collect on your travels and do you display them?

NEWS & ENHANCED OFFERS

• Virgin Red Cruises for just over One Card Bonus
• Award Travel 101 community member, Ashleigh Sch, booked
• 75K Venture Rewards - who should get this?
• Aeroplan PYB - 1.25 on Trav? Why it matters
• Etihad Guest - negative/positive changes on the horizon? Why it matters
• Marriott Bonvoy - fully variable award pricing is slated to arrive this month. How bad is it going to hurt and we've not been given an actual date for this to go into effect.
• American Airlines - Not only is 3/1 the NEW reset for status and earning Loyalty Points, but there may be more bad news on the horizon as AA is removing the traditional "Saver" award charts

WHAT BONUSES DID WE GET?

• Getting close to 60K MR Business Checking (30K still available)
• Today 2/15 is Rakuten (Membership Rewards) day - Angie received 29,000 Membership Rewards, while Joe earned over 53,000
• Haven’t received either of my Citi Platinum or Barclays Aviator AA cards yet
• Schwab Platinum, another Business Platinum and a Hilton Business card

TRIP UPDATES?

• Canceled Hyatt Regency Coconut Point - no slides, Lazy River, or Big Hickory Island - when will it re-open with all amenities?
• Booked Indian Shores FL - used Voting Day to save P2 a personal day
• Switzerland still booked but may be cancelling-more expenses with safari plus home expenses and Switzerland is $$$$

HIGHLIGHT (Main Feature)
Should you stay married to a credit card forever? When is it time to, "Let it go!"

WHAT YOU DIDN'T KNOW
“I saw a flight for x, didn’t book it and now it’s gone up! Should I have booked it or will it go down in the future?”

Where To Find Us

For questions, you can join us in the FREE 90,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community. If you want to dig into some of the less discussed strategies, our Award Travel 201 community ($89.99 annually) is filled with those who want to dig into the weeds a little more. To book time with our team to discuss how to better your earning and burning strategies, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.

You can also Email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com. If in-person meetups interest you, check out the SAVE-THE-DATE for our next available meetup, or REGISTER NOW!

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QUESTION OF THE WEEK (from the group)

1. Joicee Joyce-P2 asking how much points are "worth"

NEWS & ENHANCED OFFERS

• 30K Points and Companion Pass
• Bask Bank Interest Increases to 4.25% (Is it better than AAdvantage miles)
• Delta co-branded cards 15% off
• Ink LTOs (who knows when that'll expire?)
• 90K Members in AT101

WHAT BONUSES DID WE GET?

• Ink Unlimited - Finished January (100K)
• Amex Gold 90K referral - Finished February (124K)
• Finished Step 2 of Amex Business Checking 60K (30K still available)
• Barclays Aviator 60.5K & Citi AAdvantage Platinum 60K (140K)

TRIP UPDATES?

• Joe - booked a Choice deal (into a Suite) for 12.5K not $327
• Moved Andaz Mayakoba trip one day because (unannounced) United schedule change
• Booked a weekend in Chicago with P2 R/T flights and hotel for $33.40 OOP
• Angie booked Switzerland with a Thrifty Traveler Premium Plus Notice - Use Code AT101 to save $10

HIGHLIGHT (Main Feature)

Who can do it? Steps to Award Travel?

1. BUILD HEALTHY CREDIT
2. TRANSFERABLE OVER FIXED POINTS
3. START WITH CHASE
4. EXPAND TO OTHER BANKS
5. BUSINESS CARDS
6. MAXIMIZE SPEND
7. FINDING AWARD SPACE
8. UTILIZE CARD BENEFITS

WHAT YOU DIDN'T KNOW

Use Virgin Atlantic to Book Delta (and possibly upgrade for a few dollars). I've written before how Overlooking Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Can Be Costly. If you fly non-stop on Delta, not checking Virgin Atlantic could be a serious mistake. Here are just a few of the posts I've shared in the Award Travel 101 community:

• Two people for 15K Virgin Atlantic points - both upgraded to First for $150
• $269, 20.5K Skymiles, or 8.5K Virgin (VS) points?
• Round-trip Delta One to Hawaii for 75K Virgin points vs 187.5K Delta Skymiles
• Round-trip Delta One to Paris for 100K Virgin points vs 298K Delta Skymiles

Where To Find Us

For questions, you can join us in the FREE 90,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community. If you want to dig into some of the less discussed strategies, our Award Travel 201 community is filled with those who want to dig into the weeds a little more. To book time with our team to discuss how to better your earning and burning strategies, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.

You can also Email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com. If in-person meetups interest you, check out the SAVE-THE-DATE for our next available meetup, or REGISTER NOW!

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EPISODE 3 - QUESTION OF THE WEEK (from the Award Travel 101 Community)

Jessica Stanek

NEWS & ENHANCED OFFERS

• Alaska Devalues award program
• Amex Centurion Lounges limited to cardholder -
• IHG 175K Card Offer -
• Ink 90K

WHAT BONUSES DID WE GET?

• Ink Unlimited - Checkout this post on "What You Can Do With Your Chase Ultimate Rewards"
• Amex Gold referral - How I pulled 124,000 Amex Membership Rewards from paying bills I already had to pay

TRIP UPDATES

Angie talked about rebooking her trip (how?) many times last week. Is it still on?

HIGHLIGHT FEATURE - BOOKING TRIPS SMALL OR BIG

1. Joe's recent trip with daughter
2. Joe's Summer trip to Croatia with his almost 80 year old dad
   • United Polaris (CLE-EWR-LHR-ZAG) - Thrifty Traveler Premium Plus subscription notice - use CODE: AT101 to save $10
   • 5 different hotels from Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt - all on points
   • See Erin's "2 weeks in Croatia, Bosnia and Slovenia!" post that has been tucked away in my memory
   • Positioning Flight (DBV-VIE-MXP) - hardest piece to put together
   • Emirates A380 5th Freedom Route (MXP-JFK). Which leads us to...

WHAT YOU DIDN'T KNOW

Choice Hotels - getting 2 Choice points for 1 Citi ThankYou Point AND booking awards (up to suites) all for the price of a standard award.

Where To Find Us

For questions, you can join us in the FREE 90,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community. If you want to dig into some of the less discussed strategies, our Award Travel 201 community is filled with those who want to dig into the weeds a little more. To book time with our team to discuss how to better your earning and burning strategies, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.

You can also Email us or find us on Twitter or Instagram. If in-person meetups interest you, SAVE-THE-DATE for our next available meetup, and keep an eye out for more announcements coming soon!

Let us know what you think of the show so far, and hit us up with questions or topics you'd be more interested in hearing!

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In this episode, we discuss Angie's upcoming trip to South Africa, how she booked (and rebooked), and the 5 Steps we use to find award flights:

1. Google Flights
2. Searching the Airline website
3. Using/checking the AT101 Transfer Matrix
4. Searching partner airlines
5. Searching Credit Card portals

If you haven't joined already, find us in the Award Travel 101 Facebook community! We have free tools, guides, and helpful team and community members who will get you going on your Award Travel journey.

If you have a grasp on travel rewards, but you feel you need some extra one-on-one help with card strategies or how to locate award flights/nights, you can find more information as well as schedule an Award Travel 1-on-1 session with one of our team members. Finally, if you feel like you're ready to take that next step to upgrading your travels, our smaller Award Travel 201 community dives into deals and strategies not discussed in Award Travel 101. Both AT1-on-1 and AT201 are premium (paid) services.

If you want to support the Award Travel 101 Podcast & Community, you can do so when applying for your next Rewards card using the link below:

https://awardwallet.com/blog/support-awardtravel-101/

For your questions you'd like to ask the team, send us an email at contactawardtravel@gmail.com, and we'll help get your questions answered.

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How two regular Award Travel 101 members became community managers of a 90,000 member Facebook community.

Angie and Joe discuss how they got started in Award Travel and how they went from nearly no credit cards to ramping up and building their knowledge and maximization skills.

If you haven't joined already, find us in the Award Travel 101 Facebook community! We have free tools, guides, and helpful team and community members who will get you going on your Award Travel journey.

If you have a grasp on travel rewards, but you feel you need some extra one-on-one help with card strategies or how to locate award flights/nights, you can find more information as well as schedule an Award Travel 1-on-1 session with one of our team members. Finally, if you feel like you're ready to take that next step to upgrading your travels, our smaller Award Travel 201 community dives into deals and strategies not discussed in Award Travel 101. Both AT1-on-1 and AT201 are premium (paid) services.

If you want to support the Award Travel 101 Podcast & Community, you can do so when applying for your next Rewards card using the link below:

https://awardwallet.com/blog/support-awardtravel-101/

For your questions you'd like to ask the team, send us an email at contactawardtravel@gmail.com, and we'll help get your questions answered.

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We're bring the Award Travel 101 Podcast back to life after a lengthy hiatus, and we're looking to share fun stories of how you can win in Travel & Loyalty by helping you do extraordinary things on ordinary money!

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With over 64,000 members, there are lots of posts, comments and questions to sort out in the Facebook group. That's why we're so lucky to have such awesome moderators to help make sure Award Travel 101 is the best it can be. Now's your chance to get to know our moderators a bit better - to learn a little more about them than what you find out just chatting with them in the group.

Today, Jeff chats with Toni Perkins, a moderator who has been with Award Travel 101 since well before he even took over. Among other things, Toni talks about her early days clogging, why she's never had the Southwest Companion Pass, and her extended travels with her four kids.

Our Sponsor:
The Award Travel 101 podcast is brought to you by Fuel Rewards Pro. Drive a company car or rent a car for work? For a limited time only, get a personal sign up bonus of 25 cents per gallon after your first work fill-up. Go to fuelrewards.com/pro to register for a free Fuel Rewards Pro account today.

Links:
Toni's blog - Nachos con Huevos
Toni's Instagram

Paul Borish, MA, is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and long time travel hacker in PA. In his private practice, he specializes in treating fear of flying (aviophobia) and other travel related anxieties. Utilizing a combination of tele-counseling and in person services, Paul works with clients all over the globe.
Travelerspsych.com

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Sam Kemmis joins us today to talk about how NerdWallet is working to build up their travel rewards content and help people not only with their credit cards and finances but also with figuring out how to travel for less. We touch on his professional background which includes some pretty well-known comedy writing, a bit of time working remotely, and an unusual master's degree. Finally, we chat about a couple of our favorite flights and a place we both accidentally ended up flying to. Come join us for the fun!

Our Sponsor:
The Award Travel 101 podcast is brought to you by Fuel Rewards Pro. Drive a company car or rent a car for work? For a limited time only, get a personal sign up bonus of 25 cents per gallon after your first work fill-up. Go to fuelrewards.com/pro to register for a free Fuel Rewards Pro account today.

Links:
NerdWallet
MyTravelNerd.com
The Onion
Woot.com

Twitter: @samsambutdif
Email: skemmis at nerdwallet dot com

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Mark Ostermann from Miles to Memories joins us today to talk about a few recent posts of his that struck a nerve with his audience. FOMO - we all experience it and sometimes it makes us book silly trips. Mark and Jeff Talk about some of the crazy things they've booked and a few they are thinking about. Is it possible that they travel too much? Listen to this episode to find out. Finally, a big announcement about a February meetup in New Orleans. We hope to see some of you there!

Our Sponsor:
The Award Travel 101 podcast is brought to you by Fuel Rewards Pro. Drive a company car or rent a car for work? For a limited time only, get a personal sign up bonus of 25 cents per gallon after your first work fill up. Go to fuelrewards.com/pro to register for a free Fuel Rewards Pro account today.

Links:
Miles to Memories
Bougie Miles
Straight to the Points

MtM’s Miles, Points, Travel & Deals
Miles to Memories Podcast

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Due to popular demand, here's a replay of Jeff's recent chat with Brandon Neth!

Coming to you from FinCon, Jeff is joined this week by Brandon Neth of Finance Buzz. He shares his story of how he and his wife travel the world on points and miles and how he ended up joining FinanceBuzz. As a community manager for their Facebook group, FinanceBuzz Elite, he and Jeff chat about what it's like to put on events and moderate group chats for a living.

Links

FinanceBuzz Elite - Travel and Points   https://www.facebook.com/groups/financebuzzelite/

FinCon Expo - https://finconexpo.com/

CardCon Expo - https://cardconexpo.com/

FlyerTalk - https://www.flyertalk.com//

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-neth-36a89b15a/

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We're "live" from Prague - interviewing friends on the road as Jeff continues his adventures through Europe after Oktoberfest. Tune in to hear about how five folks all booked different ways using points and miles to get to the same place!

Links

https://www.facebook.com/groups/10xtravel/

https://www.facebook.com/60SecondsWithStu/

https://www.instagram.com/youreanyaway

https://bougiemiles.com/

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This week's episode features a conversation with Award Travel 101 group member Kevin Lawler. He and Jeff chat about both growing up as picky eaters and how/what they eat has evolved with age and intertwined with their love of travel. Tune in to hear the story of how someone who was a picky eater ends up becoming a restaurant owner! Let alone, a food and travel blogger! Kevin shares some of his most memorable trips booked with points and miles and how he tracks the best places to eat around the world.

Links

Kevin's Blog: Feasting Flyer

Feasting Flyer on Social Media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

Kevin's Restaurant: Baker & Rose

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With over 62,000 members, there's a lot of posts, comments and questions to sort out. That's why we're so luck to have awesome moderators to help make sure Award Travel 101 is the best it can be! Now's your chance to get to know our moderators a bit better - beside just chatting with them in the group. Today, Jeff chats with Julie Breeze, a moderator who was one of the first few dozen Award Travel 101 group members! Tune in to hear how she got bit by the award travel bug in addition to some exciting stories - one even involving her spending the night in a jail cell...not for the reason you'd think!

Links

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-breeze-1b8488/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/MommaTraveler

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If you've been using points and miles for award flights, you might have learned it's hard enough to find a great redemption, let alone when there's a big cultural event happening where you want to go. An event such as Oktoberfest! Spencer Howard from Straight to the Points is back on the Award Travel 101 podcast this week to chat with Jeff about their upcoming group trip to Germany. Spencer's newsletter is a great resource for not only finding award sweet spots, but options for when you want to book multiple seats.

Links

https://straighttothepoints.co/

https://www.instagram.com/straighttothepoints/

https://twitter.com/spencerformiles

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Coming to you from FinCon, Jeff is joined this week by Brandon Neth of Finance Buzz. He shares his story of how he and his wife travel the world on points and miles and how he ended up joining FinanceBuzz. As a community manager for their Facebook group, FinanceBuzz Elite, he and Jeff chat about what it's like to put on events and moderate group chats for a living.

Links

FinanceBuzz Elite - Travel and Points https://www.facebook.com/groups/financebuzzelite/

FinCon Expo - https://finconexpo.com/

CardCon Expo - https://cardconexpo.com/

FlyerTalk - https://www.flyertalk.com//

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-neth-36a89b15a/

NowBoarding: The Official BoardingArea Podcast

Tune in every Tuesday to NowBoarding for a recap of the week’s latest news, deals and top posts on BoardingArea!

Recent episodes include:

• Plane Sabotage And A Trick To See More Amex Offers
• Last-Minute Summer Award Deals & United Stalks Customers
• Your Flight Canceled? And, We Look At Moxy Hotels!
• Protect Your Privacy: Don’t Get Hacked By The Chinese Government
• 10 Hour Amtrak Delays & Shady OTAs
• Disneyland’s Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge & What is Juice Jacking?

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This week Jeff is joined by Lee Huffman from Bald Thoughts and the We Travel There podcast. They chat about the benefits of attending an award travel/frequent flyer event such as the Chicago Seminars or CardCon. Find other folks to "geek" out with and in the mean time, you never know what you might learn! Tune in to get an exclusive scoop on an upcoming Award Travel 101 event too!

Links

BaldThoughtshttps://twitter.com/BaldThoughts

https://www.instagram.com/baldthoughts/

WeTravelThere

https://twitter.com/WeTravelThere

https://www.instagram.com/wetravelthere/

Chicago Seminars

CardCon

FinCon

NowBoarding: The Official BoardingArea Podcast

Tune in every Tuesday to NowBoarding for a recap of the week’s latest news, deals and top posts on BoardingArea!

Recent episodes include:

• Last-Minute Summer Award Deals & United Stalks Customers
• Your Flight Canceled? And, We Look At Moxy Hotels!
• Protect Your Privacy: Don’t Get Hacked By The Chinese Government
• 10 Hour Amtrak Delays & Shady OTAs
• Disneyland’s Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge & What is Juice Jacking?
• Saving Plenty With Cash Back Offers & New AA International Routes!

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There's usually two kinds of award travelers. Those who earn points and miles through credit card spend and others who do so from being road warriors. It's easy to think the grass is greener - those always on the road dream of a week at home and vice versa. Well, then there's Ray Noriega, a friend of Jeff's, a US Soccer fan, comedian, tv personality and now IT road warrior. Tune in for some hilarious stories from the road, adventures he's had traveling to over 120 countries and how someone goes from being a stand up comedian straight out of high school to hosting a K-pop talk show!

Link

Ray Noriega on Instagram

NowBoarding: The Official BoardingArea Podcast

Tune in every Tuesday to NowBoarding for a recap of the week’s latest news, deals and top posts on BoardingArea!

Recent episodes include:

• Last-Minute Summer Award Deals & United Stalks Customers
• Your Flight Canceled? And, We Look At Moxy Hotels!
• Protect Your Privacy: Don’t Get Hacked By The Chinese Government
• 10 Hour Amtrak Delays & Shady OTAs
• Disneyland’s Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge & What is Juice Jacking?
• Saving Plenty With Cash Back Offers & New AA International Routes!

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How much do you know about Award Travel 101's newest community manager? If you enjoyed learning about Jeff and his wife Chrissy on last week's episode - there's more where that came from! This week Jeff shares 10 unique and interesting facts about him and how he got into this world of points and miles.

NowBoarding: The Official BoardingArea Podcast

Tune in every Tuesday to NowBoarding for a recap of the week’s latest news, deals and top posts on BoardingArea!

Recent episodes include:

• Last-Minute Summer Award Deals & United Stalks Customers
• Your Flight Canceled? And, We Look At Moxy Hotels!
• Protect Your Privacy: Don’t Get Hacked By The Chinese Government
• 10 Hour Amtrak Delays & Shady OTAs
• Disneyland’s Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge & What is Juice Jacking?
• Saving Plenty With Cash Back Offers & New AA International Routes!

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Jeff is back from his Ultimate Africa Trip! Joining him on his first episode piloting the Award Travel 101 podcast is his wife, Chrissy. Or as Jeff says, his "Better Half". They share a the story of how they met and the life changing moment on 9/11 that lead her to become a teacher. Tune in to learn more about how they plan travel with a perfect mix of fun, adventure and education as they recap their most recent family trip to South Africa. When you think of doing all the things, this family group of 8 did it! Swimming with sharks, dune surfing, safari, wine and more!

Thanks to Our Sponsor

Fly smarter by receiving premium flight deal alerts straight to your inbox from Thrifty Traveler Premium. This includes mistake fares, tailored deals from your selected departure city and even Delta SkyMiles Flash Sale alerts. Sign-up today and try it for free.

NowBoarding: The Official BoardingArea Podcast

Tune in every Tuesday to NowBoarding for a recap of the week’s latest news, deals and top posts on BoardingArea!

Recent episodes include:

• Last-Minute Summer Award Deals & United Stalks Customers
• Your Flight Canceled? And, We Look At Moxy Hotels!
• Protect Your Privacy: Don’t Get Hacked By The Chinese Government
• 10 Hour Amtrak Delays & Shady OTAs
• Disneyland’s Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge & What is Juice Jacking?
• Saving Plenty With Cash Back Offers & New AA International Routes!

View Details

Guest Host Ed Pizzarello from Miles to Go is filling in for Jeff while he's on vacation with the family. This week we tackle a on of questions submitted with the Award Travel 101 Facebook Group. Topics include dealing with flight delays, lost luggage and how far in advance to book award travel.

Links
Miles to Go: EC 261 - Passenger Rights in the EUWhat Is EU261 Compensation For A Delayed Or Cancelled Flight?
Filing an EU Flight Delay Claim Was Easier Than I ThoughtGod Save The Points
Thanks to Our Sponsor

Fly smarter by receiving premium flight deal alerts straight to your inbox from Thrifty Traveler Premium. This includes mistake fares, tailored deals from your selected departure city and even Delta SkyMiles Flash Sale alerts. Sign-up today and try it for free.

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We're going deal hunting this week and who better to lead the way than Jen Yellin from Deals We Like! She joins guest host Ed Pizza this week to chat about maximizing bonus miles on back to school shopping, Amex offers and a recent promotion on purchasing Hyatt points.

Today's Guest

Deals We Like was started in January 2011 by Jennifer Yellin. The blog became part of the well known travel network BoardingArea in June 2011 and became a featured blog just a month later. Almost every post is written by Jen with the occasional guest blogger. In just four years, Deals We Like is now read by over 65,000 people a month across 150 different countries.

Links
New Promotion: 40% Bonus on Purchasing Hyatt Points... A Great Way to Save Money!

Earn 8,000 Bonus Miles for Your Back to School Shopping
Many New Amex Offers to Save Money!
Thanks to Our Sponsor

Fly smarter by receiving premium flight deal alerts straight to your inbox from Thrifty Traveler Premium. This includes mistake fares, tailored deals from your selected departure city and even Delta SkyMiles Flash Sale alerts. Sign-up today and try it for free.

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Guest Host Ed Pizzarello fromMiles to Go is filling in for Jeff while he's on vacation with the family. This week we tackle a on of questions submitted with the Award Travel 101 Facebook Group. Touching on elite status, flight bookings, point transfers and the like. Speaking of transfers, Gary Leff from View from the Wing joins us for a special discussion on how to best transfer any Citi ThankYou Rewards points. If you are planning on closing accounts due to their recent cut to card benefits you can't miss Gary's expert tips and advice!

Today's Guest

Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.

Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler(2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty.

Thanks to Our SponsorEarn Instant Gold status when you join Fuel Rewards. Save 5 cents/gallon on every fill-up. Terms and Conditions apply, max 20 gallons per fill-up.

Visit AwardWallet for more info on the Award Travel 101 Podcast!