Award Travel 101

This week, Spencer Howard from God Save the Points and the mastermind behind the Straight to the Points Awards Alerts Newsletter joins Richard for a chat about all things award travel. They tackle the breaking news on Marriott getting sued over resort fees, the big changes to Citi credit cards and a whole lot more!Timestamps1:54 - Meet Spencer Howard4:10 - Marriott getting sued over Resort Fees9:45 - Burning is more important than earning14:00 - Resistance to paying for valuable services21:50 - People (trolls) who are loud online are usually quiet in public25:50 - Big changes to benefits for Citi credit cards32:12 - What's coming in the future for points and miles?LinksCiti's Own Goal On Travel Protection Is Great News For ChaseStraight to the Points Awards Alerts NewsletterToday's GuestSpencer Howard is a credit card rewards and award travel expert. He’s living proof that points and miles can unlock many of the greatest travel experiences and uses his skills to tick off new bucket list items and help others do the same. A native of Kentucky and resident of Washington, DC, he’s a fan of fine bourbon, good debate and usually a combination of the two.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.

"Group Think is one of my biggest pet peeves..."What does a near miss with a nuclear submarine and foolishly discounting Delta SkyMiles as "useless" have in common? The concept of "Group Think". While redeeming points and miles aren't necessarily life and death, Richard highlights just some of the ways you're leaving money on the table when you follow "what everyone else says". Following that, Michelle Liu, an AT 101 Facebook Group member, joins Richard to chat about how Shell's new Fuel Rewards Pro program helps you earn on the gas you use if you drive a vehicle for work. Be sure to listen to the end of this week's "Redemption of the Week" and why this member was selected...not for burning points, but for how she earned them!Timestamps2:45 - Group Think...what is it?4:30 - TYPING IN ALL CAPS DOESN'T MAKE YOUR ARGUMENT BETTER9:10 - The Story of the Midnight Sun AKA how Group Think almost killed Richard14:30 - What happens in the AT 101 Facebook Group all...the...time...19:10 - Meet Michelle Liu23:00 - If you drive for work, Fuel Rewards Pro is for you25:30 - Billions...with a B?!?!31:30 - A non grump experience with Marriott Bonvoy?33:26 - This week's "Redemption of the Week"Today's Guest Michelle Liu is the Driver Loyalty Program Manager at Shell Fleet Solutions. She specializes in building loyalty programs and collaborating with brand partners to deliver quality product experiences. At Shell she created Fuel Rewards Pro, the first loyalty program for commercial fleet drivers, developed advertising for 14,000 retail stations, and led the launch of new Pennzoil and Quaker State motor oils with new formulations and innovative packaging.  Sign up for Shell Fuel Rewards ProWhere 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.

"It was just a palace...if you've been to one...I mean, you've been to them all, right?"Tune in this week for a full recap of Richard and Emily's 10th Anniversary trip to Europe! They offer reviews on flying the new British Airways First Class soft product, Lufthansa Business Class on an A350, the Hyatt Andaz in Munich, Sheraton in Salzburg and more! Congrats to Jonathan Wilwayco for his "Redemption of the Week" - Check out his post in the Award Travel 101 Facebook Group to read up on how he used just over 2 MILLION points and miles to book his family a trip that would have cost them over $55,000 out of pocket!Timestamps2:35 - Full recap on trip itinerary5:50 - Air Canada's "deconstructed lasagna"15:30 - Public transportation in Europe19:00 - Learning about The Sound of Music26:30 - Friday night on a party train to Vienna32:50 - Riding a bike...up a mountain38:58 - Why you always need to have change on you when heading to the restroom42:33 - Check out the new British Airways First Class soft product46:20 - Redemption of the Week!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.

"There is nothing greater in this world then walking off a flight, scooping up your bag and skipping that massive line of people waiting to pick up their rental car as you head to pick whatever you want to drive from that elite status row..."Anyone who has rented a car knows that it can be a stressful and confusing process! But, what if if didn't have to be? Richard's got some of the best ways to not only ensure that you're getting the best price, but also how to skip those long lines and save from having to pay for extra insurance. After that, he's joined by Wayne Lin, co-founder of GetUpside an app that scores you unbeatable deals on gas, groceries and restaurants. Learn how to save up to 25¢/gal on filling up, 35% on dining out and 15% on your trip to the market. Last but not least, we wrap up the show with a new segment - "Award Redemption of the Week"! So many Award Travel 101 members share their awesome redemptions in the group that we figured why not offer a shout out here too? Who is the inaugural recipient? You'll have to tune in to find out!Timestamps3:10 - Finding the best price for a rental car8:15 - Why rental car elite status is so good (and easy to get)11:55 - Using credit card benefits for rental car insurance17:24 - Meet Wayne Lin, co-founder of GetUpside31:50 - Can you stack rewards using GetUpside?34:30 - Redemption of the WeekLinksSign up for GetUpsideBest Credit Cards for Rental Car Insurance [2019]How to Get Rental Car Elite Status for FreeToday's GuestWayne Lin is the co-founder and COO of GetUpside, a startup that personalizes brick-and-mortar commerce to help communities thrive. With GetUpside, consumers see their dollar go further on everyday purchases like gas and food, while merchants earn more incremental profit. GetUpside is available at 10,000+ locations in 31 states across the U.S.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.

“An agent informed me she was making an exception and correcting the problem…(by refunding)…me back 65,000 miles and then proceeded to take out 15,000 more.”After Richard's Bonvoy'd anniversary trip battle of wills, it seems like Ed Pizza is set to give him a run for his money. This week's program that is behaving badly is none other than United MileagePlus. Ed recounts all the headaches and hassles from spending 9 hours on the phone for a simple route change request, only to have 170k miles just go missing. Just goes to show that no matter your status level, sometimes you can't get any love. This week the fellas also dish up an intro to manufactured spend. Best case example? Richard spending $10,000 at a Dollar General in one transaction! Tune in to hear the benefits and risks associated with this type of earning strategy.Timestamps2:00 - Richard & Ed = the new Statler and Waldorf3:25 - Spending 9 hours on the phone with United MileagePlus7:45 - Ed is a points hoarder11:00 - Losing options for booking travel when agents give you the wrong info17:55 - What is manufactured spend?19:55 - Who drops $10k at a Dollar General?24:41 - Walking the fine line between legal vs. ethical27:36 - Risks of manufactured spendToday's GuestEd Pizza founded the Pizza In Motion blog on the BoardingArea network. He's considered one of the preeminent voices in the loyalty program space and is a successful entrepreneur. He's also the host of the Miles to Go and NowBoarding podcasts.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.

“I know this is frustrating, I know what we told you was wrong, but there’s nothing we can do about it”Was it just last week we were discussing what to do when loyalty programs behave badly? Sigh. Ed Pizza from Pizza in Motion is back this week to recap with Richard on what has been a very interesting week. Aside from some issues with the Award Travel Advanced Facebook group, Marriott has “Bonvoy’d” the Kerr’s 10th Wedding Anniversary trip to Europe. Tune in to hear an absolutely puzzling story of 12-hr Twitter responses, wrong information and just the totally bizarre inability for Marriott’s customer service team to fix their (self-admitted) mistake.Timestamps2:05 - Updates on Award Travel Advanced Facebook group4:40 - Background on their anniversary trip to Europe9:10 - When you tweet about successful customer service…too soon13:38 - When customer service via Twitter fails17:05 - Hyatt to the rescue23:30 - Keeping perspective & finding a solutionToday's GuestEd Pizza founded the Pizza In Motion blog on the BoardingArea network. He's considered one of the preeminent voices in the loyalty program space and is a successful entrepreneur. He's also the host of the Miles to Go and NowBoarding podcasts.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.

"People are so bad at complaining...I'm complaining about how bad people are at complaining...that's where we are right now."It might come as no surprise that in this world of made up currencies where points don't matter, loyalty programs may not always follow their own rules - or will change them whenever they feel like it. Sure, there are those moments when a considerate customer service representative might take you by surprise and waive a fee, or open up availability. More often than not however, it's easy to feel like the deck is stacked against you.Complaining can only get you so far. Or, more likely the case you may only have so much time to spend complaining (or fighting for what's right). How do you know when programs are actually acting badly? And, when you do find that moment, what are the best ways to plead your case while having an actual chance at finding resolution or receiving compensation?Timestamps2:00 - The feng shui of rooms at Nobu at Caesar's Palace4:38 - What's bothering Richard this week?7:47 - When "the system is down" for more than a month...15:47 - Examples of when loyalty programs behave badly20:48 - When a travel company actually does the right thing24:40 - How to positively use emotion to complain32:30 - What to remember when you need to interact with customer service repsToday's GuestEd Pizza founded the Pizza In Motion blog on the Boarding Area network. He's considered one of the preeminent voices in the loyalty program space and is a successful entrepreneur. He's also the host of the Miles to Go and NowBoarding podcasts.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.

"I can't count the number of times you've come into the room and you're like 'I just found...' or 'This is a once in a lifetime trip!' when you literally say that about everywhere...and just said that yesterday."For the miles and points obsessed, occasionally you'll find couples that are equally into maxing out their earnings and redemptions. More often than not however, there's typically one of the two that's more into it than the other. Less common is when that one who is obsessed decides to turn that obsession into a full time job via a Facebook group. Enter Richard & Emily Kerr. This episode is a one on one interview with Richard's "better half" where she answers some of the Award Travel 101 group's best questions about what it's like being married to a points nerd, how they met and her favorite trips they've taken using points and miles.Today's Episode Timestamps3:30 - How Richard & Emily met10:04 - What's on Emily's Bucket List?13:00 - Their favorite trip as a couple19:15 - Tips for keeping young kids occupied on a plane23:20 - How to help your partner know which credit card to use whereWhere 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.

"If you aren't looking to book those peak holiday dates way ahead of time, then you're gonna be the one who says 'these miles are useless, I can't use them to go see Grandma'."Many people work hard to save points and miles, only to be frustrated by limited availability during peak travel times. Booking award travel during holidays can be challenging, especially with kids. This week, Summer Hull, aka Mommy Points from TPG Family, shares her top tips for maximizing your redemptions during the holiday season.Today's Episode Timestamps3:25 - How can you plan travel a year (or more) in advance?7:40 - Are there "off peak" destinations to travel to on holidays?13:30 - Why you might want to start thinking about holiday 202019:20 - Researching how your vacation house rental codes & a new AwardWallet tool22:25 - How to book award travel "speculatively"Today's Guest - Summer HullWhile studying social work at NYU, she began accumulating frequent flyer miles on trips to visit family in Texas. Her love for miles and points grew, especially after having her two daughters, as she saw how they could help families travel affordably. In 2011, she launched the Mommy Points blog to show that miles and points are for families, not just business travelers. In 2018, Mommy Points was acquired by The Points Guy, where it now continues as part of TPG Family, with Summer leading the content.ResourcesAmerican Airlines Award Map ToolSouthwest Low Fare CalendarWhere 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.

"It's exciting times in the world of miles and points...but I'm not terribly excited...more so nervous as a cat in a room of rocking chairs..."In the past, airlines had fixed award charts, making it easier to know how many miles you'd need for a trip. But now, that’s less predictable. So, how can you plan your next trip when the rules keep changing? Tune in this week for expert insights from Ed Pizzarello on navigating the shifting landscape of points and miles and find out how to best plan your next trip even if it seems like programs keep on moving the finish line.Today's Episode Timestamps4:48 - The shift to "variable redemption values"8:55 - The next airline rumored to drop their award chart14:30 - Why 2x miles on one card and 1x miles isn't a clear comparison21:40 - Why Richard is using a cash back card right now & how he's earning 3.75% back28:20 - Why Ed says not to burn off your balance right awayToday's Guest - Ed Pizza Ed's father introduced him to travel at a young age, sparking a lifelong passion. As an early road warrior, Ed mastered earning points and miles to enjoy global travel in comfort. Now a husband and father of two, he aims to share the world with his family while maintaining his love for comfy seats and nice hotels. A decade ago, he launched Pizza in Motion to share his travel expertise and enthusiasm, and he also hosts the podcast Miles to Go.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.