Is Award Travel Actually Getting … Easier?

16 snips

Jul 10, 2025

Award travel has taken a delightful turn for the better, with exciting new flight options emerging. The hosts explore 'Hot Flight Summer,' highlighting spectacular deals and a dip in cash airfare, including sub-$300 round-trip flights to Europe. They tackle the challenges, like Virgin Atlantic's raised fees, while celebrating the revival of business class award availability. With tips on navigating partner bookings and a playful commentary on travel compared to reality TV, this episode is a must-listen for all travel enthusiasts!

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Award Travel & Cheap Flights Surge

Award travel availability has significantly increased recently, especially in business and first class cabins.
Cash flights to Europe are remarkably cheaper, with some sub $300 roundtrip deals continuing into summer 2024.

INSIGHT

Virgin Atlantic's Costly Fee Hike

Virgin Atlantic doubled taxes and fees on U.S. to London business class award tickets.
This change makes many redemptions financially unfeasible, dampening their previous value.

ADVICE

Use Thrifty Traveler Premium Deals

Sign up for Thrifty Traveler Premium to access exclusive hard-to-book business class and cheap economy deals.
Use promo code TTPOD for $20 off your first year.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

It’s the news every points and miles aficionado has been waiting for: After years of pain, award travel is, in fact, getting easier. Alongside an undeniable trend in red-hot cheap airfare, outstanding deals keep popping up to redeem your points - whether you’re on the hunt for a discounted economy deal or a notoriously hard-to-book lie-flat award ticket.

So Gunnar and Kyle dig into what’s driving this lovely new trend and, most importantly, the dozen or so deals that have us thinking that award travel has finally turned a corner. We’re calling it (working title) “Hot Flight Summer.”

Come for Hot Flight Summer and stay for Gunnar’s hot fireworks take, a revelation about Kyle’s reality TV viewing habits, and why Virgin Atlantic really ticked us off this week.

Watch us on YouTube!

00:00 - Introducing … “Hot Flight Summer”

03:16 - Something Hot: Cash airfare continues to drop (think sub-$300 roundtrip flights to Europe!)

08:45 - Something Cold: Virgin doubled taxes and fees on biz class awards

13:50 - A word from our sponsor (us, and our Thrifty Traveler Premium service that’s finding more deals than ever!)

15:43 - The Extra Mile: Hot Flight Summer, or why we think award travel is (finally) getting easier

21:00 - The rise of the elusive “Unicorn Alert” (even if Emirates hates us)

24:30 - Business class award deals to Australia and across the Pacific are back!

29:15 - Gunnar gushes about the Cathay’s The Pier First Class Lounge

34:45 - Booking partner awards – including the rare Delta One redemptions

36:00 - And don’t forget about economy flights, too!

40:15 - The exceptions: Star Alliance ,Iberia’s biz class devaluation, and Amex transfers to Emirates

43:15 - Listener Questions: How to fly to Australia/New Zealand using points and miles, in biz class or economy

48:45 - On the Spot: A listener checks in from Kyle’s favorite hotel in the world while Kyle taps into his Love Island fandom to couple up with – and dump from the island – two recent deals

Produced by Gunnar Olson & Jackson Newman
Edited by David Strutt
Show music: “All That” by Benjamin Tissot

Support the show by leaving us a rating and a review wherever you get your podcasts!

Have a question you want answered on-air or an idea for the show? Let us know at podcast@thriftytraveler.com

Get 20% off your first year of cheap flights and points and miles deals with Thrifty Traveler Premium - use promo code TTPOD to save even more!

See what we’re all about at https://thriftytraveler.com - or subscribe to our free weekly points and miles newsletter, The Extra Mile!