All Episodes

August 20, 2025 52 mins

In this episode of Revolutionizing Your Journey, DeAndre Coke interviews Brian Mullins, a family travel enthusiast and Southwest Airlines expert, to unpack the evolving landscape of airline rewards. Brian shares his journey into the points and miles world, offering insights on how he balances family travel with maximizing loyalty programs. The discussion covers the recent changes at Southwest Airlines, how these adjustments affect traveler loyalty, and why the Companion Pass remains one of the most powerful tools for cost-effective flying.

Listeners will also discover Brian’s unique “gardening” strategy—a method of patiently monitoring and optimizing travel plans to capture the best opportunities. Beyond strategy and airline changes, Brian emphasizes the importance of flexibility, adaptability, and community knowledge sharing when it comes to rewards travel. This episode not only demystifies the value of Southwest’s offerings but also provides families with actionable tips for creating memorable trips while making the most of points and miles.

Key Highlights:

  • Brian’s expertise: A Southwest Airlines and family travel specialist with deep experience in points and miles.
  • Companion Pass value: One of the most powerful perks in the industry, allowing significant savings for travelers.
  • Airline changes: Recent shifts at Southwest Airlines have affected traveler loyalty and booking habits.
  • Gardening strategy: A proactive approach to monitoring and optimizing travel plans.
  • Flexibility matters: Adapting to new airline policies can create better travel opportunities.
  • Community connection: Travel rewards thrive when knowledge and strategies are shared.
  • Memorable family trips: Points and miles can transform family vacations into unforgettable experiences.
  • Points value depends on goals: Each traveler’s best option varies based on personal circumstances.

Resources:



Interested in Financial Planning?



Some of Our Favorite Tools For Elevating Your Points & Miles Game:

Note: Contains affiliate/sponsored links



Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.

The Joe Rogan Experience

The Joe Rogan Experience

The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.