Bougie in a Backpack

It’s just Angel and Mackenzie today, because we’re celebrating our 50th episode!! We are so grateful you are here listening and brining us to 50 episodes! To celebrate, we are recapping our top 5 most listened to episodes, giving some behind the scenes about making this podcast and getting it off the ground, and more! You can get your VIP ticket Goodybag for the March Bougie in a Backpack Virtual...

Today we are chatting with Brittany ( ⁠⁠@teachblogtravel ) who spoke at the Bougie in a Backpack Virtual Travel Summit. In this episode, Brittany shares her journey into travel and how she discovered the benefits of becoming a travel agent. She explains the different paths to becoming a travel agent and the advantages of working with a host agency. Brittany also discusses hosting group trips and h...

Today we are chatting with Geleen (⁠ @geleenonthego ) who spoke at the Bougie in a Backpack Virtual Travel Summit. In this episode, shares her journey of solo travel and how it led her to create a more intentional and meaningful life. She discusses the importance of breaking free from societal expectations and finding compatibility in your choices. Jaleen also talks about the role of therapy in he...

Today we are chatting with Allie Ruhde, one half of @allieandlandon and a speaker at the Bougie in a Backpack Virtual Travel Summit. In this episode, Allie shares her journey into travel and points, starting from her childhood experiences with American Airlines. She discusses how she got her husband interested in travel and points, and the importance of finding ways to make travel fit into your li...

Today we are chatting with Kelsey Habermehl, a speaker at the Bougie in a Backpack Virtual Travel Summit, about her experience with credit card points and miles, specifically with Southwest Airlines. Kelsey shares how she got into points and miles through Southwest and how she discovered the Southwest Companion Pass. She discusses the benefits of the Companion Pass and shares her favorite Southwes...

Today we are chatting with Jordyn Verzera (@themobilehomie), who is a speaker at the Bougie in a Backpack Virtual Travel Summit. Jordan Verzara is a full-time traveler and expert in saving on travel. Jordan shares her journey into travel, starting with a fundraising trip in elementary school. She discusses her introduction to points and miles through a travel blogger and her first trip using trave...

Today we are chatting with Joe Reyes (@joe_reyez), who is a speaker at the Bougie in a Backpack Virtual Travel Summit. Joe is a pro at getting referrals, and constantly maxes out his personal credit card referrals to friends, family, and coworkers, earning over 100,000 points just in referrals last year. He shares his approach to referring friends and family to credit cards and offers tips on star...

Today we are chatting with Noemy Mendoza (@travelwithnoemy), who is a speaker at the Bougie in a Backpack Virtual Travel Summit. Noemi focuses on financial literacy and helping others manage their finance. In this episode, she shares her experience of traveling on a college budget by reselling items she found through dumpster diving and selling on Facebook Marketplace. She discusses the importance...

Today we are chatting with Deborah Dunman (@exploremoredeb), who is a speaker at the Bougie in a Backpack Virtual Travel Summit. Deborah shares her experience of using points and miles to travel on a budget, specifically for attending the Era's Tour. She discusses how she discovered the world of points and miles and the benefits it has provided her. Deborah also provides tips for traveling to...

Today we are chatting with Chloe Runnels (@anotherstamptravel), who is a speaker at the Bougie in a Backpack Virtual Travel Summit. Chloe is the mom of an 18-month-old, and hasn't let that stop her from traveling! In this episode, Angel Trinh interviews Chloe about her experience traveling with a newborn baby. She discusses the logistics of traveling with a newborn, including what to pack and...

Today we are chatting with Ben Komenkul (@bensbigdeal), who is a speaker at the Bougie in a Backpack Virtual Travel Summit. Ben started as a business traveler who got into hotel loyalty programs years ago, and now is a Hyatt loyalist and Globalist. After staying at over 175 Hyatt properties, he will be speaking about BBD Top 10 Hotels (Hyatt Properties). In this episode, we chat about: How Ben got...

Today we are chatting with Allison Tackette (@luckytictac), who is a speaker at the Bougie in a Backpack Virtual Travel Summit. Allison is a points and miles pro, who grew up flying southwest on the same vacation every year and now flies the most amazing business and first class flights all around the world. She will be speaking about how to book Epic Flights on Points and Miles How Allison got st...

Today we are chatting with Ashley Ecker (@pointsandseek), who is a speaker at the Bougie in a Backpack Virtual Travel Summit. Ashley will be talking about how a 20 cent Etsy Listing Led to her first business credit card. In this episode, we discuss: How Ashley began traveling and what got her interested in travel How travel changed once she had kids, and she needed to be more strategic with being...

Today we are chatting with Carrie Vajko (@carrievajko), who is a speaker at the Bougie in a Backpack Virtual Travel Summit. Carrie travels with her husband and two young kids, and is able to make great trips happen on a single income. She is presenting on how to make travel EASY with kids under 5. In this episode, we discuss: How she got started on travel, points, and miles How to stretch the trav...

Today we are chatting with Suzy Spadafora (@suzyspadtravels), who is a speaker at the Bougie in a Backpack Virtual Travel Summit. Suzy is dermatologist and a long time points and miles pro, who is presenting on how to master tricky phone calls to the bank, reducing annual fees, and getting retention offers. In this episode, we discuss: How Suzy got started with points and miles over 20 years ago H...

Today we are chatting with Jackie Swayze from @maximizingmypto, who is a speaker at the Bougie in a Backpack Virtual Travel Summit. Jackie is currently on a journey to travel to all 7 continents in 3 months, and currently in her last continent, Antartica! She is speaking at the travel summit about 7 lessons she's learned from traveling to all seven continents. In this episode we chat about: Ho...

Today we are chatting with Laura Lopez from I Travel with Laura (@i.travel.with.laura), who is a speaker at the Bougie in a Backpack Virtual Travel Summit. Laura is a combat veteran, and mom who loves to travel, and teaches you how to leverage military benefits to travel more. Military active duty and some reserve and guard get many consumer card annual fees waived thanks to the SCRA. In this epsi...

Today we are talking about decisions, decisions, decisions. Do you book flight or hotel first? How do you choose where to travel? What are the best lounges to visit? In this episode, Angel and Mackenzie walk you through their thought processes when it comes to choosing: How to decide where to travel: deal vs. destination, and how to combine the two How to use points for backup plans if you don’t i...

Today we are talking about etiquette when it comes to traveling, and how to get a better experience. Being nice and asking for things can get you far! But there is a way to do it, and a way that is rude or entitled. In this episode, we define that line, and we talk about: How Angel got tons of free things on her recent trip to Europe, including a bouquet on her flight How to get a room upgrade whe...

Today we are talking to Shawna Lum, the founder of Move Overseas Now. Shawna runs two businesses, travels all over the world, and spent 6 years living in Spain. If you are dreaming of living overseas, Shawna teaches you how to navigate the ins and outs of Visas, citizenship, and how to make those dreams a reality. She is also going to be featured in the Bougie in a Backpack Virtual Travel Summit!...

Welcome to 2024! We are bringing in the New Year with some awesome opportunities to take your travel to the next level, first with our free New Year, New Me travel challenge, and with our upcoming Virtual Travel Summit in March! In today's episode, we spill all of the tea... Our free, upcoming New Year, New Me challenge Our upcoming virtual travel summit Strategies for getting the best deals o...

Welcome to another Bougie Mailbag episode! Today we pulling questions our of the Bougie Mailbag (link to submit questions below!). We are getting personal as we explain why you might have gotten denied for a card if a bank says you've "opened too many cards recently", and how you might be able to fix that. We are pulling up our Experian credit scores and showing how many hard pulls w...

In this episode we are talking timeshare presentations! If you receive an offer for a timeshare or vacation club presentation, you can often use it to your advantage to get discounted stays or the equivalent of a sign-up bonus--without having to actually buy a timeshare or open a new credit card. In this episode, Angel and Mackenzie chat about: How Angel recently used a timeshare to get a discount...

This episode is all about flying standby! Flying standby can be kind of scary and risky because you don't have a confirmed ticket, but there are major cost savings (and time saving) opportunities if you can get it to work! Airlines vary on their policies for standby, from fees, to status benefits, and we talk about our experiences and some of the rules of flying standby in this episode. In thi...

This episode, Angel and Mackenzie chat with Alex Jimenez from Travel Fashion Girl! She runs a massive travel platform ( Travel Fashion Girl ), a travel accessory business ( Compass Rose ) as well as Women's Travel Fest, an annual conference Angel and Mackenzie both love to attend every year. How Alex went from a corporate fashion girl to Travel Fashion Girl Actionable tips on how to pack light...