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Award Travel 101

Award Travel 101 Team

184 episodes

1 day ago

Episode 148 of the Award Travel 101 podcast focuses on maximizing points and cashback during Black Friday shopping while also covering the week’s key award-travel news. Angie and Cameron open with a community highlight about stacking rewards on large purchases—using new credit cards for signup bonuses, checking card-linked offers, comparing shopping portals, and leveraging gift-card category bonuses at grocery or office-supply stores. They also touch on programs like Wayfair Professional that...

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Places & Travel

Society & Culture,

Self-Improvement

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Episode 148 of the Award Travel 101 podcast focuses on maximizing points and cashback during Black Friday shopping while also covering the week’s key award-travel news. Angie and Cameron open with a community highlight about stacking rewards on large purchases—using new credit cards for signup bonuses, checking card-linked offers, comparing shopping portals, and leveraging gift-card category bonuses at grocery or office-supply stores. They also touch on programs like Wayfair Professional that...

Show more...

Places & Travel

Society & Culture,

Self-Improvement

Episodes (20/184)

Award Travel 101

Earning Points on Black Friday Shopping

Episode 148 of the Award Travel 101 podcast focuses on maximizing points and cashback during Black Friday shopping while also covering the week’s key award-travel news. Angie and Cameron open with a community highlight about stacking rewards on large purchases—using new credit cards for signup bonuses, checking card-linked offers, comparing shopping portals, and leveraging gift-card category bonuses at grocery or office-supply stores. They also touch on programs like Wayfair Professional that...

1 day ago

52 minutes

Award Travel 101

Episode 147 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosted by Angie Sparks with guest Jake Futerfas, dives into maximizing Aeroplan, Air Canada’s loyalty program. Jake, a long-time community member and Aeroplan expert, shares insights on why Aeroplan stands out, how to accumulate points, and the best redemption strategies. The discussion covers sweet spots, partner redemptions, and benefits of the Chase Aeroplan card, including earning toward elite status and leveraging eUpgrades and Priority Reward...

1 week ago

49 minutes

Award Travel 101

Chicago Seminars 2025 Recap

In Episode 146, Angie Sparks and Joe Petrovic recap their weekend at Chicago Seminars, highlight a timely AT201 post about preparing for phone theft while traveling, and cover key news including IHG’s 100% points bonus, an elevated United Club Card offer, and early hints of a new Hyatt credit card. They also touch on current transfer bonuses, mileage sales, status matches, and the launch of Bilt earnings through Rakuten. The main discussion focuses on Chicago Seminars itself—a volunteer-run, ...

2 weeks ago

48 minutes

Award Travel 101

Credit Card Credit Rundown

This episode features Mike Zaccheo and Angie Sparks diving deep into the world of credit card statement credits and how to maximize them. The episode begins with a highlight post from member Karen, who detailed her inspiring solo round-the-world trip at age 60, showing how miles, points, and determination can unlock life-changing travel. In news, the hosts cover Flying Blue’s November Promo Rewards offering discounted redemptions from North America to Europe, a 20% Capital One transfer bonus ...

3 weeks ago

45 minutes

Award Travel 101

JetBlue 25 for 25

Joe returns to host, joined by first-time guest James He and former moderator Eric Holly. The highlight post covers a member’s lost hotel item and how travelers handle forgotten valuables. In the news: Singapore Airlines’ KrisFlyer devaluation, a new JetBlue–United partnership allowing reciprocal earning and redemptions (with limited premium space), and a rare 25% Chase transfer bonus to Southwest. The team also shares their latest credit card bonuses, milestone progress, and efforts to trim ...

4 weeks ago

55 minutes

Award Travel 101

Deep Dive Into Delta

This week, Mike Zaccheo and moderator Justin Walter dive deep into Delta SkyMiles after highlighting an inspiring post from Karen, a solo traveler in her 60s who completed a 3-week, around-the-world business- and first-class trip using 326K AA and Virgin miles plus $8.2K in cash for a journey valued at ~$22K. Her itinerary spanned NYC, Tel Aviv, Paris, Tokyo, and Phoenix, with smooth connections, Hyatt stays on points, and carry-on-only travel. She earned 38K miles back and proved that with p...

1 month ago

51 minutes

Award Travel 101

Rove Miles with Carissa

Episode 142 of the Award Travel 101 podcast features Angie Sparks joined by guest Carissa Rawson, Director of Travel and Marketing at Rove Miles. The highlight post celebrated member Debbie’s generosity in gifting a Napa Wine Train voucher she couldn’t use, which another member, Lisa, gave to her father-in-law for his 89th birthday. News included Citi Strata Elite’s 100K public offer, elevated cash-back offers on Capital One’s Quicksilver and Savor cards, and a potential new partnership allow...

1 month ago

42 minutes

Award Travel 101

Leaf Peeping in New England

Episode 141 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosted by Mike Zaccheo with Angie Sparks, opens with the “highlight post” about the demise of the popular Red Aviator “Sub for a SUB” card—long favored for its easy single-purchase American Airlines miles bonus. The news roundup covers major developments: the completion of the Hawaiian-Alaska merger and Alaska’s award chart updates, elevated Chase Ink offers and limited-time Hilton Amex bonuses Angie also reviews several active transfer bonuses. In...

1 month ago

39 minutes

Award Travel 101

Destination: Dolomites

In Episode 140 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosts Mike Zaccheo and Cameron Laufer cover a range of topics from heartwarming uses of points to travel industry updates and destination planning. They open with a moving story from a community member who used 18,000 AA miles to fly an old friend across the country for emotional support—highlighting how miles can offer more than just luxury travel. Mike and Cameron then discuss notable credit card updates, including new Capital One transfer par...

1 month ago

1 hour

Award Travel 101

Miami Meetup Recap

Episode 139 of the Award Travel 101 podcast featured Angie Sparks and Joseph Petrovic with a recap of the Miami meetup and the latest travel news. The highlight post centered on whether travelers still need local currency, with most members agreeing that while cards dominate, a small amount of cash is still useful in certain locations. Big news included the refreshed Amex Platinum card with an increased $895 annual fee but a slew of valuable new credits (Resy, Lululemon, FHR, Uber One, Oura, ...

2 months ago

1 hour 3 minutes

Award Travel 101

Program Deep Dive: Hilton Honors

Episode 138 of the Award Travel 101 podcast opens with Angie Sparks and Mike Zaccheo discussing a highlight post from member Luis, who was abruptly shut down by Amex with over two million points at stake. The community debated the best redemption strategy—ranging from Delta (discouraged) to BA, Aeroplan, or spreading across multiple programs including Hilton. News updates included Capital One removing Priority Pass restaurant benefits from Venture X Biz cards, a Chase 20% Flying Blue transfer...

2 months ago

45 minutes

Award Travel 101

Seats.aero with Founder Ian Carroll

Episode 137 of the Award Travel 101 podcast featured guest Ian Carroll, founder of the award search tool Seats.aero. Angie opened with a highlight post from a member who discovered Chase is now more strictly enforcing repeat-sub restrictions, similar to Amex’s lifetime rules. The episode also covered news of elevated welcome offers on IHG credit cards, refreshed Amex Delta card bonuses, and several ongoing mileage sales and hotel promotions. Angie shared her own recent credit card approvals a...

2 months ago

46 minutes

Award Travel 101

Southwest Companion Pass- Now's the Time

In Episode 136 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosts Angie Sparks and Cameron Laufer discuss a variety of travel and points-related topics. They begin with a member highlight, where a listener shares a positive experience using their Saks credit on an Amex Platinum card. The hosts also cover recent travel news, including JetBlue’s new partnership with Condor, which offers redemption opportunities with varied point values depending on the departure location, and Citi’s new transfer relationsh...

2 months ago

49 minutes

Award Travel 101

Episode 135 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosted by Angie Sparks with Mike Zaccheo, opens with a member story about a mortgage broker advising card closures—sparking near-universal advice to simply find a new broker. In news, they cover the launch of the Alaska Airlines premium card, Frontier’s companion certificates tied to spend, a Southwest temporary Companion Pass promo, and the upcoming Singapore KrisFlyer devaluation. Angie shares updates on her app-o-rama (with mixed results), booki...

3 months ago

42 minutes

Award Travel 101

Destination: Italy

In this episode, Angie and April dive into travel hacks, promotions, and their unforgettable Italian adventures. They highlight a clever mileage-earning strategy from a listener who used a Capital One Shopping portal to rack up over 300,000 miles on a reimbursable business expense—underscoring the value of stacking credit card offers and shopping portals. Travel news includes JetBlue’s launch of a full-service travel portal and new Florida routes from Long Island, United’s Mileage Play promo,...

3 months ago

51 minutes

Award Travel 101

I've Got Points, Now What?

This episode hosted by Mike and Angie , opens with a highlight post from Ira asking about easy, at-home ways to use various Amex statement credits. Angie explains that some, like Dunkin’ and office supply store credits, can be used online, while others, like the dining credit, are best used in person or via services like Grubhub. In the news segment, they cover Chase co-branded card multiplier promos, confirmation that Hawaiian Airlines credit cards will remain available, a recently expired U...

3 months ago

40 minutes

Award Travel 101

Ants Marching... On Miles

In Episode 132 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, host Mike Zaccheo is joined by community member Heather Killingbeck to dive into how her passion for the Dave Matthews Band (DMB) intersects with her love of points and miles. Heather shares how a spontaneous trip to a DMB show in Mexico led to meaningful friendships and a realization that she needed to make concert travel more affordable—enter points and miles. She's since used over half a million points, possibly up to a million, to follow the...

3 months ago

44 minutes

Award Travel 101

EU261 Explained

In Episode 131 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosts Angie Sparks, Anthony Cave, and Justin Walter kicked things off with a community discussion where member Antha asked whether to use points for a premium cabin on the outbound or return leg of a trip. The consensus leaned toward upgrading the overnight flight for better rest, with 66% of the poll agreeing. The episode also covered a range of updates: Choice Privileges launched a sweepstakes, Hyatt added more Standard and Bunkhouse propertie...

4 months ago

34 minutes

Award Travel 101

London is Calling

In Episode 130 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Mike Zaccheo and Angie Sparks dive into a range of updates and insights. They kick things off with a community highlight from Chris, who shared a Europe trip report and crowd-sourced suggestions for future destinations—Angie recommended Slovenia. They then covered loyalty program news, including a Flying Blue and Accor giveaway of 1 million points, Bilt’s new Virtuoso-partnered hotel booking platform, a 100k mile welcome offer on the new United ...

4 months ago

56 minutes

Award Travel 101

Comparing Premium Travel Cards

In Episode 129 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Mike and Cameron explore key updates in the points and miles space and take a deep dive into premium travel credit card comparisons. They begin by discussing a community post on whether it’s better to use points or pay cash for travel—highlighting that the decision depends on factors like point balances, ease of replenishing, cents-per-point value, and potential devaluations. News updates include Amex offering a 15% transfer bonus to LifeMiles, ...

4 months ago

1 hour 15 minutes