Award Travel 101

Oct 25 2024 127 ep. 43 mins 211
Award Travel 101 Podcast artwork

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?

  Society & Culture  Education
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Award Travel 101; Who We Are

Oct 25 2024 48 mins  
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 commu

History of Award Travel 101

Oct 18 2024 52 mins  
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

Giving Back

Oct 11 2024 48 mins  
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 t

Meet The Mods - Maria

Oct 04 2024 38 mins  
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

From Award Travel Hobby to Career

Sep 27 2024 44 mins  
Mike and Joe are on the podcast this week with special guest, 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

The Key to Getting the Best Offers... Your Credit Score

Sep 20 2024 54 mins  
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 p

Meet The Mods - Justin Walter

Sep 13 2024 36 mins  
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

Challenging the Norms

Sep 06 2024 52 mins  
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

Chicago Seminars; Second City, but First in Points and Miles

Aug 30 2024 44 mins  
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 th

Out to SEA Meetup

Aug 23 2024 50 mins  
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