Award Travel 101

Episode 193 of the Award Travel 101 podcast covers a busy week of points-and-miles news before diving deep into the major revamp of the IHG One Rewards credit card lineup. Cameron and Angie discuss October Flying Blue Promo Rewards, several transfer bonuses from Amex, Capital One, Citi, and Rove, the new Air France/KLM card offer, the United Explorer bonus, and Bilt’s upcoming devaluation of transfers to Hyatt. They also share personal updates, including Angie’s successful Brilliant welcome b...

Episode 191 covers several timely points-and-miles updates, along with practical travel tips and trip-planning updates from Cameron and Mike. The hosts discuss strategies for staying healthy while flying, including wiping down seats, using hand sanitizer and masks, staying hydrated with electrolytes, and taking vitamins or supplements. In the news, they cover upcoming changes to the Chase Sapphire Reserve Business card, Qatar Airways easing restrictions on its friends-and-family booking lists...

Hosts Angie Sparks and Justin Walter open with a member highlight—Lori’s Northern Lights trip to Finland with her son—before diving into a busy news week. Wyndham Rewards is overhauling its award chart to four fixed tiers (5,000–45,000 points/night) starting September 15, 2026, with most hotels expected to stay in the lower tiers. Asiana Airlines will exit Star Alliance on December 16, 2026 as part of its Korean Air merger, though bookings and elite benefits continue as normal until then. One...

Episode 177 of the Award Travel 101 podcast featured Angie Sparks and Cameron Laufer discussing a variety of points-and-miles developments, along with a relatable highlight post from member Melissa about unexpectedly helping a 20-year-old replace a totaled car. While everyone was safe, the experience led to another large purchase charged to a Capital One card, adding to a family history that includes eight vehicle purchases since 2020. The hosts also covered several notable news items, includ...

In this episode, Mike is joined by former moderator Jackie and her P2 Brent to discuss one of the most creative uses of points and miles you'll hear about — the Mother's Ruin Challenge, a single-day bar crawl across four cities (New York, Chicago, Nashville, and Charleston) all completed to earn free drinks for life. Jackie and Brent break down the logistics, the planning, and how points and miles made the whole thing possible — turning what would have been an outrageously expensive last-minu...

In Episode 173 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Angie Sparks and Cameron Laufer covered a wide range of points and miles strategies, starting with two standout community posts. Angie highlighted an important discussion about insuring a complex trip booked across multiple credit cards to maximize welcome bonuses. The group recommended considering a standalone policy through companies like Allianz and using tools such as Squaremouth to compare coverage, while also putting the most expensive tri...

Episode 171 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosted by Angie Sparks and Cameron Laufer, opens with a practical community highlight: a traveler facing a broken in-flight entertainment system on a United Premium Plus flight. The discussion reinforces that while compensation isn’t guaranteed, notifying a flight attendant can often result in goodwill gestures like bonus points. The hosts then run through a packed news segment, including Chase transfer bonuses to Flying Blue and Marriott, an eleva...

Episode 169 of the Award Travel 101 podcast recaps the community’s spring meetup in Phoenix, with hosts Mike Zaccheo and Laura Kofoid reflecting on the experience and easing back into everyday life afterward. The episode opens with a member highlight that reinforces a key points-and-miles lesson: always ask. After a mechanical delay caused a return to JFK, member Cindy successfully requested and received 10,000 American Airlines miles as goodwill compensation—turning an inconvenience into a s...