Award Travel 101

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  (Correction: Under the Canvas propert...

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 Seati...

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 Welc...

 In this week's episode Mike and Angie discuss some of the recent hotel card offers then get into the main feature of handling 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 ref...

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! 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? N...

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...

In this episode, Angie and Joe cover news of the week along with mistakes we’ve made or we’ve seen friends and family make. Links to Topics Discussed 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 Where to Find Us The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community ....

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...

This week Angie talks with newest Award Travel 101 moderator Randy Clinton. Randy talks about his background, what got him started in travel rewards and loyalty programs. Randy talks about 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 topi...

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.  Links to topics discussed: Targeted World of Hyatt Promos The return of a popular welcome offer...

Joe talks with Gunnar Olson of Thrifty Traveler on how award travel has helped enrich his travels with his Player 2), and they've created fond memories flying some incredible products, by way of his work at Thrifty Traveler. Joe and Gunnar also discuss how the past 6 months have probably been more brutal than what we’ve seen in any other past period with award price hikes and no-notice change...

This week Joe and Angie discuss lots of news such as the rebranded Citi Strata Premier, Virgin Red Cruise deal, some SLH properties rejoining World of Hyatt via Mr & Mrs Smith and more. Then then as the summer of travel heats up they discuss the their tips for getting ready for a trip. Something hopefully everyone we be doing soon and often this summer. Where to Find Us The Award Travel 101 Fa...

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, Chris Moss and Marty Paz who share more details on the variety of speakers for each level and what a...

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?...

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. We had a great group of speakers who shared their stories and tips: 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 (...

We came across an interesting diagram ranking the top 20 hotel programs throughout the world.  Do you know which is largest? (Hint: it's not US-based) 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 #3 Marriott - 8,484 properties #6 Choice - 7,500 properties #7 Hilton - 7,165 properties #8 IHG -...

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. Chicago Seminars organizers Jackie and JT join Joe to discuss the next event in Sept...

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 to product change to preserve the credit line to help with utilization ratio If there's no path to product change, consider closing the card a...

One Quarter into 2024 Joe and Angie discuss their trips and progress towards their point and status goals. Well since we know Angie is a status slacker at least Joe talked about his progress there. Links to Topics Discussed 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 Priori...

Mike and Joe discuss their trips to Australia. Mike was there for 8 days in a long anticipated trip to celebrate his 40th birthday while Joe jaunted down for 52 hours. Both flew United and American business class products on their longest routes discuss the pros and cons of each. Their respective stays at the Hyatt Regency, Park Hyatt and Four Seasons in Sydney were also discussed along with attra...

In this episode, Joe interviews 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). Where to Find Us The Award Tra...

Finding award space could be difficult and often a frustrating exercise. Joe and Angie outline the steps and give tips on how to improve your results. 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. Links to Topics Discussed New Rewards comin...

One of the keys in this hobby is maximizing the return on your spend. Joe and Angie talk about the ways to never earn only one point per dollar again. They discuss the idea of building a portfolio/family of cards that return more value. Some good references. Travel Gas Grocery Dining Office Supply & Communications Streaming Everywhere Our friends at CardPointers also provide a fantastic tool t...

In this episode's highlight feature, "Let’s Get Crafty," we explore various strategies to maximize credit card rewards tailored to different situations. Whether you have a "Player Two" or are flying solo, Angie and Joe guide you through evaluating upcoming trips and selecting the best cards in 4 scenarios:  Scenario 1: Two player mode, both people can get business cards   ...

John Ryan is very young and active in the Award Travel 101/201 community and writes for Bougie Miles . He talks with Joe about how his passion for travel began at a very young age. As primarily an economy flyer he discusses the different ways to approach budget travel. Contact info for John: john.ryan@fora.travel @vegasteenager on X Where to Find Us The Award Travel 101 Facebook Community . To boo...