Award Travel 101
Welcome to the Award Travel 101 Podcast! Founded in 2013 with just 20 members, the Award Travel 101 Facebook group teaches members how to travel the world using points and miles. Today, a community of over 100,000+ people from around the world share, teach and learn how to travel anywhere on any budget. Where are you going with Award Travel?
Episodes
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:
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?
News
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. resi...
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 p...
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 ...
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 Thrifty Traveler Premium flight deal alerts by entering promo code FIFTY 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 mon...
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:
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 on the Bonvoy Business...
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 changes from many of our favorite programs...
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.
Send us a text message to share your thoughts about this episo...
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
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
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
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 ...
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...
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...
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
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 attractions such as the Opera H...
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 Tra...
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 go...
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