Award Travel 101

This week as usual Joe and Angie talk trip updates and the bonuses they received or are working on. Additionally in the highlight feature they discuss their favorite loyalty programs in the following categories:Flexible PointAirlineHotelCar RentalAlso Angie talks about the ever important tactic of "gardening" your reservations. Hotels, flights, car rentals - everything in travel is very dynamic (means ever-changing) right now, and you can likely snag deals by periodically checking over your booked trips for lower prices or last minute award availability.Links to latest news and enhanced offersNew Chase Ink Preferred OfferRefer AwardWallet get points - after years of tracking almost 700 other programs AwardWallet now offers a referral program to earn points and transfers to 7 partnersReal data driven info (DL1 on domestic routes) - 30% Transfer Bonus to BA/IB - use GCMap & FlightConnections to see where this could take you. Where to Find Us The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1. You can also email us at 101@award.travel Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025 Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions! Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card! Technical note: Some user experience difficulty streaming the podcast while connected to a VPN. If you have difficulty, disconnect from your VPN.

Joe talks to Angie this week about his trip to Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Italy with his father. Joe has been planning this trip for some time and discussed it extensively in the group.Angie also talks about finalizing her trip to Bali with friends.Finally they discuss the merits and risks of speculatively transferring points.NEWS & ENHANCED OFFERSCurrent Hotel Status Match OpportunitiesWhy I Speculatively Transfer PointsQatar 30% TYP bonus ends 6/308 Steps to Better TravelMini Course in Award TravelWhere to Find Us The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1. You can also email us at 101@award.travel Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025 Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions! Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card! Technical note: Some user experience difficulty streaming the podcast while connected to a VPN. If you have difficulty, disconnect from your VPN.

Allison and Mike are on this week to talk a bit about Taylor Swift and how to earn free night certificates (FNC) from the 4 big hotel brands.Hyatt  Category 1-4 free night from World of Hyatt Card, Brand Explorer or 30-Night Milestone.Category 1-7 or A-D free night from 60-Night MilestoneMarriott35k free night Boundless Card: Business Card50k free night Bountiful Card: Bevy Card85k free night Brilliant Card: Ritz Carlton CardHiltonUncapped Free Night Cerificate from Hilton Aspire Card, Hilton Surpass Card, Hilton Business CardIHGIHG Premier Card and IHG Premier Business CardLinks to additional news and enhanced offersMarriott Bonvoy Increased Card OffersNew AA Upgrade PolicyPlaza Premium Lounges Rejoining Priority PassWyndham Status MatchWe also say goodbye to moderator Jerod Morales who is moving on to a new opportunityWhere to Find Us The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1. You can also email us at 101@award.travel Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025 Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions! Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card! Technical note: Some user experience difficulty streaming the podcast while connected to a VPN. If you have difficulty, disconnect from your VPN.

In this episode, we discuss common mistakes travelers make in the points and miles game. Key pitfalls include buying or transferring points from family members, overusing apps without fully understanding the rules, prioritizing airline or program-specific awards over flexible currencies, incurring late charges by not keeping track of due dates, booking travel without considering program flexibility, and chasing elite status without considering the true and opportunity costs involved.Links to news and offersEnhanced United offer - the good & the badBask Bank (up to) 20K AA Bonus - never before have they offered anything like thisUse AW to track FNA (Free Night Awards) - just a reminderFlying Blue promo - 25% transfer bonus ends 6/17Qatar Privilege Club promo - 30% transfer bonus ends 6/30What you didn't knowHow many times can I change the name for my Companion Pass with Southwest?Where to Find Us The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1. You can also email us at 101@award.travel Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025 Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions! Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card! Technical note: Some user experience difficulty streaming the podcast while connected to a VPN. If you have difficulty, disconnect from your VPN.

In this episode, we start with our "Post of the Week," where Mike Zaccheo shares exciting news about the new Chase Sapphire Lounge in Boston and the upcoming eight lounges, along with the entrance rules for these lounges. This development adds some renewed value to the Chase Sapphire Reserve (CSR) card, which had recently lost some of its appeal.In the news, we discuss reports of Chase shifting credit limits without member approval and Chase Ink cards appearing on personal credit reports, sparking concerns among cardholders.Our main feature highlights the various tools we use to search for award flights, including In-person meetups, Expertflyer, Point.me, Roame.travel, Flight Connections, Straight to the Points, Thrifty Traveler Premium, FlightRadar24, Flightaware, Wikipedia, Google Flights, Open Hotel Alert, Stay With Points, MaxMyPoint, and Awayz.Finally, in "What You Didn't Know," we cover which airlines offer a one-month calendar search for award flights, including United, Delta, Virgin Atlantic, Qantas, and LifeMiles, with a special note on Virgin Atlantic’s partial availability, which is further explained in a video from Award Travel 201.Where to Find Us The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1. You can also email us at 101@award.travel Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025 Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions! Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card! Technical note: Some user experience difficulty streaming the podcast while connected to a VPN. If you have difficulty, disconnect from your VPN.

In this episode we discuss an epic trip from Award Travel 101 member Inga who shared her recent experience visiting Iran, despite a Level 4 travel advisory.In news and offers, we discuss increased Southwest offers with a 30% discount, a 30% transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic, and how to gain Frontier status with a rewards card. For trip updates, Angie is dealing with a termite invasion at home, while Joe recounts his recent travels to Atlanta and Chicago, highlighting the rewards and card benefits he leveraged, including free breakfasts, upgraded flights, and substantial point redemptions.Our "What Bonuses Did We Get?" segment where Joe shares his frustration with not being able to charge a planned travel expense to his Amex Biz Gold. The main feature focuses on credit cards that can help earn status with major airlines and hotel chains like American AAdvantage, Delta Skymiles, United MileagePlus, Southwest Rapid Rewards, Hilton Honors, IHG One Rewards, Hyatt World of Hyatt, and Marriott Bonvoy.Finally, in "What You Didn't Know," we share a tip about saving money by paying international bills in the local currency with a card that doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees, saving over $200 in the process.Links to news and offersIncreased Southwest offers - 30% discount interesting30% Transfer Bonus to Virgin Atlantic - Virgin VoyagesFrontier Status with Rewards CardWhere to Find Us The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1. You can also email us at 101@award.travel Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025 Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions! Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card! Technical note: Some user experience difficulty streaming the podcast while connected to a VPN. If you have difficulty, disconnect from your VPN.

This week's episode dives into a lively discussion from our group post of the week: Reva humorously asks if anyone needs a "free husband" after her own husband cashed in all their points to pay a bill! We explore what you would do in this situation and if there's any way to recover those points. Our main feature dives deep into planning Round-The-World (RTW) trips using carriers like Asia Miles, ANA, Aeroplan, and British Airways, highlighting key rules, segment limitations, and unique program idiosyncrasies. Lastly, in our "What You Didn't Know" segment, we offer a tip on avoiding cancellation fees: check if there’s been a schedule change that allows for a free cancellation or consider changing the ticket to a different date, as all carriers have different policies regarding schedule changes.Links to news and offersCiti 25% transfer bonus to Flying Blue through 6/17Amex Hilton cards all have enhanced offersUnited Increases the cost of AwardsPurchase Lifemiles for 1.32 cents or Aeroplan miles for 1.24 cents each. Is it worth it?Where to Find Us The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1. You can also email us at 101@award.travel Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025 Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions! Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card! Technical note: Some user experience difficulty streaming the podcast while connected to a VPN. If you have difficulty, disconnect from your VPN.

In this podcast episode, Award Travel 101 community manager Allison Caraway shares her journey into travel and loyalty programs, discussing her experiences traveling with family, her favorite programs, and her ongoing plans for a trip to Singapore and Bali with friends she met through the community.The "Question of the Week" comes from Eric, who asks about maximizing bonuses on his Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select card without closing it. The hosts discuss Citi's product change rules and options, such as the AA MileUp, Double Cash, Custom Cash, and Rewards+ cards, each offering different earning strategies. Allison shares her own success using Citi points for a Turkish Business class flight.Trip updates are shared, with Allison's plans including visits to several baseball stadiums, Belize, Minneapolis, Bali, and more. Joe discusses his recent bookings, including a premium suite with Hyatt points, flights with Delta Skymiles and Southwest Rapid Rewards, and using expiring Marriott and Hyatt free night awards for various stays. He also shares tips on booking premium economy seats for less than economy using a trick known within the community.Finally, Allison provides a "Tip of the Day" on using the AA Award Map to optimize award bookings. The episode offers a mix of personal stories, practical tips, and updates on maximizing travel rewards.Links to news and offersAmerican Airlines Now Offering Mileage Discount When Booking Round-Trip AwardsIHG Business 165KMaximize Chase Ultimate RewardsCiti Product Change RulesAA MileUp - can help you earn AAdvantage miles 2x faster through Grocery store spendDouble Cash - 2x on everythingCustom Cash - 5x earnings on top eligible spend category each billing cycleRewards+ - 2x groceries/gas up to $6k annually. See how Allison flew Turkish Business class for 29K ThankYou Points.Citi no-fee optionsWhere to Find Us The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1. You can also email us at 101@award.travel Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025 Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions! Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card! Technical note: Some user experience difficulty streaming the podcast while connected to a VPN. If you have difficulty, disconnect from your VPN.

In this podcast episode, the "Post of the Week" focuses on Award Travel 101 group member Maggie's engaging post asking about best card for Grocery spend. The overwhelming consensus among members favored the American Express Gold Card, but other popular options included the Citi Premier, Chase Freedom Flex (during certain quarters), Citi Custom Cash, Amex Blue Cash Preferred, and more, each offering various rewards rates and benefits.The episode highlights the benefits of attending Award Travel meetups, such as our recent one in Cleveland where you can network, learn new strategies, and discover exclusive tips not widely shared. They also mention Rakuten is having it’s "Big Give Week", a promotion for high shopping portal bonuses, encouraging listeners to stay informed about such deals through their community.Links to news and offersEnhanced Ultimate Reward points on our most recommended beginner cardCapital One Venture One zero annual fee cardHow to earn elite status with credit cardsWhy should one attend an Award Travel meetup?Where to Find Us The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1. You can also email us at 101@award.travel Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025 Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions! Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card! Technical note: Some user experience difficulty streaming the podcast while connected to a VPN. If you have difficulty, disconnect from your VPN.

In this podcast episode, Joe and Mike discuss various topics related to award travel and recent promotions. They feature a trip report by Award Travel 101 member Nicole, who shares how she creatively used expiring Marriott Free Night Awards along with other points and miles for a trip to trip to New Zealand.They also cover news such as Hyatt's acquisition of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, a recent United Polaris booking frenzy which prompted trips to Australia.Additionally, the hosts recap their recent travels, including Mike's family trip to the Grand Canyon, and preview future trips. Lastly Joe details his experience at the results of the Freddie Awards, celebrating standout performers in travel loyalty programs, with Marriott and Aeroplan receiving top honors across several categories. See more in the Award Travel 101 Community. Awards UsedMarriott Free Night Award certificate.55K Alaska miles +$51 per person 65K AA miles + $47.27 per person (one card bonus could net those miles)Links to news and offersMarriott Free Night Award certificate.Hyatt Acquisition of Mr. & Mrs. SmithHyatt Bonus Journeys - 3K points every 2 nights Where to Find Us The Free 110k+ member Award Travel 101 Community. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1. You can also email us at 101@award.travel Tickets are now ON SALE for our next meetup in Miami September 19-21. Secure your spot today at https://award.travel/miami2025 Our partner CardPointers helps us get the most from our cards. We love being able to automatically add all of our offers and quickly seeing the best card to use for every purchase. Signup today at https://cardpointers.com/at101 for a 30% discount on annual and lifetime subscriptions! Lastly, we appreciate your support of the AT101 Podcast/Community when you signup for your next card! Technical note: Some user experience difficulty streaming the podcast while connected to a VPN. If you have difficulty, disconnect from your VPN.