Award Travel 101

Episode 115 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosted by Mike Zaccheo, features Joe Petrovic's recent return from his second trip to Japan within a year. The "Post of the Week" highlights Maria, a moderator, who utilized the concierge service of her legacy Ritz Carlton card to secure restaurant reservations in Seoul despite language barriers. This episode underscores leveraging unique credit card benefits for hassle-fr...

In Episode 114 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Angie Sparks and Mike Zaccheo take listeners behind the scenes of what it's like running a large Facebook community dedicated to points and miles travel. They kick things off with a viral post about Tampa International Airport's humorous rebranding inspired by its iconic flamingo statue, Phoebe. The episode covers major updates in the travel and credit card world, including ...

In Episode 113 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Mike Zaccheo is joined by Angie Sparks to cover recent travel news, community highlights, and updates in the points and miles world. The featured post of the week sparked lively discussion in the Facebook group, where members shared their post-travel routines—from immediately unpacking to leaving bags untouched for days or even storing them in the garage to avoid bedbugs. The news seg...

Episode 112 of the Award Travel 101 podcast features host Mike Zaccheo and guest Brandyn Osborne, a passionate traveler, entrepreneur, and board gamer. They first met in the Charlotte (CLT) Centurion Lounge, sparking Brandyn's involvement in the Award Travel 101 community. Brandyn shares how his wife's inspiration led him to discover award travel, culminating in a memorable business-class honeymoon trip to New Zealand and...

Episode 111 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosted by Angie Sparks with guest Joseph Petrovic, covers key updates in the world of points and miles. They discuss a travel hack to avoid costly airline upgrades by using schedule changes instead. In industry news, Southwest has reduced reward rates, Etihad is offering up to a 40% transfer bonus until March 2025, and Singapore Airlines is celebrating 10 million KrisFlyer members with b...

Episode 110 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosted by Angie Sparks with Cameron Laufer, covers a range of travel reward topics, from hotel loyalty programs to new credit card offers and companion pass deals. They highlight a discussion about maximizing hotel points for international stays, with Hyatt standing out for high-tier status benefits and Hilton offering strong resort options. They also review recent promotions, such as Ch...

In Episode 109 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosts Angie Sparks and Mike Zaccheo discuss a variety of travel-related topics. Angie highlights a member's trip report on using AMEX Marriott Bonvoy card rewards to stay at the Westin Bora Bora, while Mike shares exciting news about new Capital One and Chase Sapphire lounges in Las Vegas and Philadelphia respectively. They also cover updates on CapitalOne's partnership with...

In Episode 108 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosts Angie Sparks and Maria Fung discuss a variety of topics related to points and miles. They highlight a Facebook post from Ruby, who used over 1 million points for a family trip to Florida and Legoland, despite acknowledging it wasn't the best redemption value. Angie also shares news about a new Amex transfer bonus to Hilton Honors points, Avianca devaluing its LifeMiles prog...

Episode 107 of the podcast focuses on skiing with points, featuring hosts Cameron, Joe, and April. They kick off the episode with a discussion on an interesting WSJ article about the extreme lengths people go to reserve pool chairs at resorts. The news segment highlights current point transfer bonuses, including Chase’s 30% bonus to Virgin Atlantic and Amex’s 15% bonus to Avianca Lifemiles, as well as a limited-time 100K offer for ...

In Episode 106 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Mike Zaccheo is joined by fellow community member Charlie to discuss how award travel fuels adventure. Fresh off their whirlwind European microstates trip, they recount their experiences visiting some of the smallest and most fascinating countries in the world, including Andorra, Monaco, and Liechtenstein—all made possible through strategic use of points and miles. From lie-flat seats...

In this episode moderators Eric Holly and Maria Fung take over hosting duties where they focus on the challenges and strategies of traveling with teenagers, a topic both moderators are familiar with as parents of teens at home and in college. They discuss how family schedules have changed over the years and how they’ve adapted their travel planning to accommodate busy school calendars and personal preferences.

The episode also cover...

In Episode 104 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosts Mike Zaccheo and Eric Holly discuss the importance of utilizing shopping portals, highlighting a post by a member who earned 50k points through CapitalOne shopping. They also cover news such as United's high buy-up offers for elite status, the shutdown of the Dosh App, and Chase's new bonus promotions for co-branded cards. Additionally, they mention the recent FlyingBl...

In this episode, Angie and Anthony Cave dive into the latest in travel news, personal updates, and tips for making the most of your points and miles. The highlight post of the week is Scott's review of Secrets Papagayo in Costa Rica, a Hyatt all-inclusive, where snorkeling and diverse dining options stood out. Angie and Anthony also discuss the new U.K. Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) requirement starting January 9, Delt...

In this episode hosts Angie and Mike discuss strategies for maximizing rewards in 2025. They highlight a community post from Marc, a member who successfully earned 1.4 million points by patiently following advice to apply for the Chase Freedom Unlimited card. The hosts also share notable updates in the travel rewards world, including changes to Aeroplan’s “Pay Yourself Back” program, Alaska Airlines’ elite status retention challeng...

In Episode 101 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Angie and Cameron discuss the post of the week from member Kelly about card strategies for booking stays with VRBO and Airbnb, highlighting the potential benefits of using cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve and the Ink Business Preferred. They also mention using British Airways, Delta, and Qantas portals for extra rewards, and keeping an eye on airline promotions for bonus points. ...

Mike and Angie recap an exciting year in the world of award travel. This milestone episode kicks off with a look at the lively community debate over a 47-hour Amtrak ride from Chicago to Miami—a no-go for most but sparking dreams of scenic sleeper-car journeys through the mountains. The hosts also dive into current travel deals, including Frontier's GoWild! Pass, IHG's double points promo, and Alaska Airlines' ski ge...

In Episode 99 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Mike Zaccheo and Justin Walter dive into exciting travel updates and tips. Highlights include member Paul’s recommendation to explore European Christmas markets, featuring Vienna’s charm. News about Chase Freedom’s Q1 2025 5x categories, Virgin Red’s link to Virgin Flying Club for bonus points, and status match opportunities for Delta and Hilton elites was discussed. Southwest also ann...

This week Angie talks with our moderator April Rose where they discuss the featured post of a member's frustration over not being able to use their Priority Pass (PP) membership at SFO, prompting them to consider downgrading their CSR card. PP lounge access is often better internationally, sparking a discussion on the potential downgrades by other members.

In the news, AA announced that Citi will be the sole issuer of AA credit...

Mike and Randy Clinton dive into various year-end strategies and travel-related topics. They kick off the episode by discussing a lively debate from the community about the etiquette of bringing ziplock bags or containers into airport lounges to take food onto planes. Mike and Randy highlight how this discussion gained traction and sparked varied opinions among travelers, especially those with kids who might not enjoy plane food. T...