Award Travel 101

If you've been using points and miles for award flights, you might have learned it's hard enough to find a great redemption, let alone when there's a big cultural event happening where you want to go. An event such as Oktoberfest! Spencer Howard from Straight to the Points is back on the Award Travel 101 podcast this week to chat with Jeff about their upcoming group trip to Germany. Spencer's newsletter is a great resource for not only finding award sweet spots, but options for when you want to book multiple seats.Linkshttps://straighttothepoints.co/https://www.instagram.com/straighttothepoints/https://twitter.com/spencerformilesWhere 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.

Coming to you from FinCon, Jeff is joined this week by Brandon Neth of Finance Buzz. He shares his story of how he and his wife travel the world on points and miles and how he ended up joining FinanceBuzz. As a community manager for their Facebook group, FinanceBuzz Elite, he and Jeff chat about what it's like to put on events and moderate group chats for a living.LinksFinanceBuzz Elite - Travel and Points   https://www.facebook.com/groups/financebuzzelite/FinCon Expo - https://finconexpo.com/CardCon Expo - https://cardconexpo.com/FlyerTalk - https://www.flyertalk.com//LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-neth-36a89b15a/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.

This week Jeff is joined by Lee Huffman from Bald Thoughts and the We Travel There podcast. They chat about the benefits of attending an award travel/frequent flyer event such as the Chicago Seminars or CardCon. Find other folks to "geek" out with and in the mean time, you never know what you might learn! Tune in to get an exclusive scoop on an upcoming Award Travel 101 event too!LinksBaldThoughtshttps://twitter.com/BaldThoughtshttps://www.instagram.com/baldthoughts/WeTravelTherehttps://twitter.com/WeTravelTherehttps://www.instagram.com/wetravelthere/Chicago SeminarsCardConFinConWhere 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.

There's usually two kinds of award travelers. Those who earn points and miles through credit card spend and others who do so from being road warriors. It's easy to think the grass is greener - those always on the road dream of a week at home and vice versa. Well, then there's Ray Noriega, a friend of Jeff's, a US Soccer fan, comedian, tv personality and now IT road warrior. Tune in for some hilarious stories from the road, adventures he's had traveling to over 120 countries and how someone goes from being a stand up comedian straight out of high school to hosting a K-pop talk show!LinkRay Noriega on InstagramNowBoarding: The Official BoardingArea PodcastTune in every Tuesday to NowBoarding for a recap of the week’s latest news, deals and top posts on BoardingArea!Recent episodes include:Last-Minute Summer Award Deals & United Stalks CustomersYour Flight Canceled? And, We Look At Moxy Hotels!Protect Your Privacy: Don’t Get Hacked By The Chinese Government10 Hour Amtrak Delays & Shady OTAsDisneyland’s Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge & What is Juice Jacking?Saving Plenty With Cash Back Offers & New AA International Routes!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.

How much do you know about Award Travel 101's newest community manager? If you enjoyed learning about Jeff and his wife Chrissy on last week's episode - there's more where that came from! This week Jeff shares 10 unique and interesting facts about him and how he got into this world of points and miles.NowBoarding: The Official BoardingArea PodcastTune in every Tuesday to NowBoarding for a recap of the week’s latest news, deals and top posts on BoardingArea!Recent episodes include:Last-Minute Summer Award Deals & United Stalks CustomersYour Flight Canceled? And, We Look At Moxy Hotels!Protect Your Privacy: Don’t Get Hacked By The Chinese Government10 Hour Amtrak Delays & Shady OTAsDisneyland’s Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge & What is Juice Jacking?Saving Plenty With Cash Back Offers & New AA International Routes!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.

Jeff is back from his Ultimate Africa Trip! Joining him on his first episode piloting the Award Travel 101 podcast is his wife, Chrissy. Or as Jeff says, his "Better Half". They share a the story of how they met and the life changing moment on 9/11 that lead her to become a teacher. Tune in to learn more about how they plan travel with a perfect mix of fun, adventure and education as they recap their most recent family trip to South Africa. When you think of doing all the things, this family group of 8 did it! Swimming with sharks, dune surfing, safari, wine and more!NowBoarding: The Official BoardingArea PodcastTune in every Tuesday to NowBoarding for a recap of the week’s latest news, deals and top posts on BoardingArea!Recent episodes include:Last-Minute Summer Award Deals & United Stalks CustomersYour Flight Canceled? And, We Look At Moxy Hotels!Protect Your Privacy: Don’t Get Hacked By The Chinese Government10 Hour Amtrak Delays & Shady OTAsDisneyland’s Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge & What is Juice Jacking?Saving Plenty With Cash Back Offers & New AA International Routes!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.

Guest Host Ed Pizzarello from Miles to Go is filling in for Jeff while he's on vacation with the family. This week we tackle a on of questions submitted with the Award Travel 101 Facebook Group. Topics include dealing with flight delays, lost luggage and how far in advance to book award travel.LinksMiles to Go: EC 261 - Passenger Rights in the EUWhat Is EU261 Compensation For A Delayed Or Cancelled Flight?Filing an EU Flight Delay Claim Was Easier Than I ThoughtGod Save The PointsWhere 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.

We're going deal hunting this week and who better to lead the way than Jen Yellin from Deals We Like! She joins guest host Ed Pizza this week to chat about maximizing bonus miles on back to school shopping, Amex offers and a recent promotion on purchasing Hyatt points.Today's GuestDeals We Like was started in January 2011 by Jennifer Yellin. The blog became part of the well known travel network BoardingArea in June 2011 and became a featured blog just a month later. Almost every post is written by Jen with the occasional guest blogger. In just four years, Deals We Like is now read by over 65,000 people a month across 150 different countries.LinksNew Promotion: 40% Bonus on Purchasing Hyatt Points... A Great Way to Save Money!Earn 8,000 Bonus Miles for Your Back to School ShoppingMany New Amex Offers to Save Money!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.

Guest Host Ed Pizzarello fromMiles to Go is filling in for Jeff while he's on vacation with the family. This week we tackle a on of questions submitted with the Award Travel 101 Facebook Group. Touching on elite status, flight bookings, point transfers and the like. Speaking of transfers, Gary Leff from View from the Wing joins us for a special discussion on how to best transfer any Citi ThankYou Rewards points. If you are planning on closing accounts due to their recent cut to card benefits you can't miss Gary's expert tips and advice!Today's GuestGary LeffCo-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com and emcee of the Freddie Awards. Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. 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.

"So, Everybody, I'm not going to say goodbye, but we'll see you next time..."As was announced at the beginning of this week, founder of Award Travel 101, Richard Kerr, is passing the baton to a new community manager. Not leaving the group, but transitioning from a moderator role to being a member, he's starting a full time job with The Points Guy. In this episode, he introduces Jeff Brownson, a points and miles aficionado who will be taking over day to day management of Award Travel 101, Travel Grumps, Award Travel Advanced and more! Today's GuestMiles and points have taken Jeff Brownson, his wife Chrissy, and their two sons, Ryan and Cole, to over 35 countries. They have been seen flying first class, business class, and even in coach on low cost carriers. Whether he’s staying in a hostel dorm, or in a luxury suite at a 5 star resort, Jeff is constantly looking for the best deal to make travel as close to free as possible. A background in math and science provides the analytical basis necessary to manage more than 80 loyalty accounts for his family. 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.