Sophie and Joe discuss news, their newest cards, trip updates, and how Sophie has transitioned into the travel business. 

Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT101” for $10 off your first year. Head to ThriftyTraveler.com for more details and check out their Google Flights guide. Recent finds include:First class to Hawaii for 31,000 milesBusiness class to London for 61,000 milesFlash Sale for 19,000 miles (Round-Trip) to MexicoYou can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium.

Highlight feature: Meet Sophie KellerBackground - 1st card- Chase Sapphire Preferred/United ExplorerHighlights - Hyatt Zilara Cap Cana right after it opened last year, Park Hyatt New York and Flagship First before award price hike for 25K Amex Membership Rewards JFK-SFO, and multiple Visits to Secrets Impressions and MoxcheTravel style - A mix of budget and Luxury, typically soloFavorite programs - World of Hyatt, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and American AAdvantagePost of the week We received some great feedback on the Podcast NewsMaximizing Hilton Honors 5th Night Free - Joe’s story on mistakePromotions endingEnhanced Alaska Card $95 card offerFrontier Status (actual) Match90K Bonuses are back from ChaseTrip updatesSophie - Getting ready for ZorkFestJoe - Father son tripLie-flat seats for 25K Citi ThankYou PointsCheap Car Rentals plus status upgradesHyatt Free Night Award at Expensive ResortFun Activities & PlanespottingHyatt Free Night Award Plus Suite UpgradeHilton Free Night Award at Expensive Boutique PropertyLounge Passes from Credit CardLots of (Nearly) Free Food What bonuses did we get?Sophie -Chase Ink Preferred bonus hitJoe - Citi AA ExecutiveWhere To Find the Award Travel 101 Community
 
For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.  For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community  To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.  Our next meetup is located in San Antonio, TX on April 26–28, 2024. If you want a waitlisted ticket, see this post in AT101.   Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

Starting in Award Travel - Meet the Mods (Sophie Keller)

Welcome to the Award Travel 101 Podcast! Founded in 2013 with just 20 members, the Award Travel 101 Facebook group teaches members how to travel the world using points and miles. Today, a community of over 100,000+ people from around the world share, teach and learn how to travel anywhere on any budget. Where are you going with Award Travel?

Society & Culture

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Philosophy

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How To

Self-Improvement

The Award Travel 101 Podcast is brought to you in part by Thrifty Traveler Premium. Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Recent finds include:Business Class to Paris for 40KPremium Economy to Taipei for $1,994 R/TBusiness class to Seoul on Korean (Rare find) for 75KYou can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium Post of the week Andrew “Bacon” Goodman - Disney for $375 INCLUDING PARK TICKETS!? NewsHilton/Small Luxury Hotels (Updates)Choice Sweet Spots New Citi AAdvantage Business offerTrip updatesJoeGirl's night & Boy's night without spending $675!What bonuses did we get?AngieTwo Free Hilton NightsJoe20K Referral14X spend Amex Business GoldAlmost done with wife's Citi AAdvantage CardHighlight Feature: 20 Largest Hotel Chains & the Six We're Focusing On We came across an interesting diagram ranking the top 20 hotel programs throughout the world.  Do you know which is largest? Some are less familiar, so we ranked the six we most frequently discuss in the Award Travel 101 Facebook community:#2 Wyndham - 9,280 Properties from Days Inn all the way up to Wyndham Grand. #3 Marriott- One of the largest footprints with 8,484 properties a wide range of price points from Springhill Suites up to Ritz Carlton and St. Regis luxury hotels. #6 Choice - with 7,500 properties domestically, Choice is not known for being great. They start with low level properties like Comfort Inn’s and Quality Inn’s but  their Ascend and Cambria properties look great.#7 Hilton - counting 7,165 properties in their portfolio, Hilton is similar to Marriott with a fairly sizable footprint with a wide range of price points from Hampton Inn to Waldorf Astoria.#8 IHG - With 1,000 less (6,164) properties, another one that families on a budget may opt for is Holiday Inn Express and their tasty cinnamon rolls. IHG starts with Holiday Inn’s and has upper level Kimptons.#16 Hyatt - With 1,200 properties (Hyatt says 1,300+ today), World of Hyatt is markedly smaller. They start at Hyatt Place and their flagship properties fall under Park Hyatt. TIP OF THE WEEK: Have a good backup plan for using your credit cards. Tune in to hear Angie's fail. Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community
 
For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.  For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community  To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.  Our next meetup is located in San Antonio, TX on April 26–28, 2024. If you want a waitlisted ticket, see this post in AT101.   Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

Largest Hotel Chains - Which One's Right for You?

The Award Travel 101 Podcast is brought to you in part by Thrifty Traveler Premium. Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT10” for $10 off your first year. Recent finds include:Business Class to Switzerland for 60KJapan for 55K R/TBusiness Class to Europe starting at 45KYou can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium Post of the week Jennifer Jacobs - A tale of caution - vacation club/time-share presentations NewsAwardWallet’s Roundup of Airline and Hotel Program Sweet SpotsOne Credit Card Issuer Just Increased Its Global Entry Benefit. Will Others Follow?Credit Card Welcome Offers of 100,000 Points (or More!)What bonuses did we get?JackieEnhanced United Business card welcome offerJTSpending toward World of Hyatt card Free Night Award and elite night creditsWyndham Business Card - how will this be maximized (hint: Angie and I discussed this last week)JoeReferral from Amex Business Gold - why is that so important (14X Dining)?Tip for Double dipping this referral in Award Travel 201 (must be a member - $90 per year & includes AwardWallet Plus)Received 2nd Hyatt Cat 1-4 certificate and swapped out a two night stay at a Category 4 peak night pricing (from this card) to get 36,000 points backHighlight Feature: The Most Powerful Tool in Award Travel How does one weed out the noise to find what's most useful for your Award Travel strategies?  In-person events will provide opportunities for attendees to speak with and listen to experts in the field which help fine-tune their strategies. We encourage you to attend, engage, explore, learn, and ask questions. In the podcast, I mentioned that early on, I didn't know how to complete a minimum spend. Here are some tips that might help you avoid that same situation. Had I attended an event back then, I would have understood my options. To learn more:14th Annual Chicago SeminarsTaco 'Bout a FiestaTip of the week Make the most out of schedule changes. Hear how all three of us have used these recently to improve our schedules and/or save in the process. Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community
 
For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.  For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community  To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.  Our next meetup is located in San Antonio, TX on April 26–28, 2024. If you want a waitlisted ticket, see this post in AT101.   Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

The Most Powerful Tool in Award Travel

The Award Travel 101 Podcast is brought to you in part by Thrifty Traveler Premium. Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT10” for $10 off your first year. Recent finds include:Business Class to Europe for 59K pointsBusiness Class to Colombia for 64K miles R/TR/T to St. Kitts for $431You can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium

Post of the week Penina Olar - My husband and I are considering a trip to Asia this summer. When is the best time book with points? My husband wants to fly business class but it’s showing the miles to be at 200K per person for one way. Will the price come down if I book closer to our trip? Most likely going in June. NewsZorkcast Episode of “Yo 11 Minutes” 70 - status matchingComplete Guide to Wells Fargo Transfer PartnersAir India Refreshes it’s Flying Returns ProgramIberia Plus Bonus: New Milestone RewardsApplication Fee Is Going up for Global Entry, NEXUS, and SENTRI, Kids Will Be FreeWhat bonuses did we get?AngieWhere's my 20K point checking account bonus?JoeAlaska Business CardAlaska Consumer CardTrip updatesAngieModified India trip - 3 separate carriers on 3 different ticketsDomestic flights used Business Platinum portal to get 35% points backJoeChicago Seminars flights 7K out & 11.4K back. Hotel (16K WOH) bookedTampa Dad/Son trip using 50K Breeze and 28K Southwest points plus WOHBooked GH Tokyo using 95K + Suite Upgrade Award $1,200 per night ($3,600)Highlight Feature: Strategy - When to Close Cards Thanks to a recommendation from a member, we decided to review when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em.Is there long-term value?Are the benefits enough to offset the annual fee?If not, is there a retention offer?If no offer, is there a path t0 product change to preserve the credit line to help with utilization ratioIf there's no path to product change, consider closing the card as long as it’s not the oldest cardIf no annual fee, no reason to close. However, sometimes it helps if you close some no fee cards with no value. This was something one of our moderators did to get a Capital One card. If you’re not using them though, put a small charge on them periodically.Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community
 
For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.  For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community  To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.  Our next meetup is located in San Antonio, TX on April 26–28, 2024. If you want a waitlisted ticket, see this post in AT101.   Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

When to Hold 'em and When to Fold 'em

The Award Travel 101 Podcast is brought to you in part by Thrifty Traveler Premium. Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT10” for $10 off your first year. Recent finds include:Business Class to Hawaii for 31KFrench Polynesia for 40K R/TOne-way Business class to Paris for 40KYou can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium

Post of the week New Mod, Anthony Cave - fly to Australia for $100 News8 New Airlines Just Joined PreCheck. Here’s A List of All 99 TSA PreCheck Participating Airlines— Iberia is the biggie hereChase Sapphire Reserve and Ritz-Carlton Card Priority Pass Benefit Change: No More Restaurants or MarketsYou Can Now Redeem Choice Privileges Points Online at Preferred HotelsAmex Hilton Honors Business Card Shakeup: Priority Pass Out, Spending Credits In, Higher Annual FeeChicago Seminars 2024 Dates and New Location Just AnnouncedWhat bonuses did we get?AngieHilton Biz cards to get Free Night Award before 6/30JoeCiti AAdvantage 75K welcome offerProduct changed my Citi AAdvantage Platinum to Citi Custom CashMet $15K spend on World of HyattTrip updatesAngieMontana girls golf trip - Companion PassChicago Seminars. Using Hyatt points (8k per night) plus a FNC from brand explorerI’m going to India!JoeCarambola Renaissance Marriott Bonvoy - see my review hereHighlight Feature: How You Doing — Quarter One Review Angie -Free cruises - Wyndham Business CardSpending for all the Free Night CertificatesClosing cards that are causing too much workIn the home stretch of the house process so new cards and trips second quarterWas gifted AA Gold and upgraded Barclay’s Red to SilverBoundless to another Ritz?Joe - AA status - Just 1/10th of the way return to Executive PlatinumHyatt Status - 23/60 nights so far (just 4 from stays)Marriott Status - 54/50 nights via shortcutWyndham points - enough to book Vacasa for 2025Just two welcome offers so far, but I have more planned for Q2Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community
 
For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.  For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community  To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.  Our next meetup is located in San Antonio, TX on April 26–28, 2024. If you want a waitlisted ticket, see this post in AT101.   Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

How You Doing?

Mike returns to discuss his journey down under to skip his 40th birthday. I also share some tips on how I put my trip together to join him for just 52 hours on the ground. The Award Travel 101 Podcast is brought to you in part by Thrifty Traveler Premium. Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT10” for $10 off your first year. Recent finds include:Round-trip to Paris for 38K milesBusiness Class to Vietnam "Nerd Alert" for 40K milesOne-way Business to England/Ireland for 45K pointsYou can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/Premium NewsUnited Mile PoolingUpdated Ink Cash BonusBilt - American & AlaskaTrack Travel Plans with AwardWalletWhat bonuses did we get?Mike -Chase Ink CashAmex Business CheckingTrip updatesJoeRebooked Southwest - saved how many points?Rebooked Car rental in Caribbean to save $130Backup Flights to Protect optionsHighlight Feature: Points Down Under Mike shares how he created a memorable trip to celebrate his 40th turn around the sun. I spent 52 hours there too. Both of us flew American and United's longest routes in opposite directions. Mike - Birthday bucket list trip to AustraliaAA Flagship to LAXGreenwich Lounge JFK (former Flagship)Dream Hollywood (1 night) - Hyatt Cat 1-7 cert1 day National car rental $60Warner Brothers Studio Tour (Viator)AA Flagship to SYDQantas F Lounge (salt & pepper squid, minute steak)Flagship LoungeHyatt Regency Sydney (4 nights)Upgraded to Harbour View Executive SuiteBondi Beach, Ocean Pools, Coastal WalkHunter Valley Wine Tour (Viator)Blue Mountains Tour, Scenic World & Featherdale Animal Park (Viator)
Park Hyatt (4 nights)Harbour View King room Opera House viewBridge ClimbOpera House TourManly BeachSt. Patrick's Day festivitiesUnited Polaris SYD-IAH-CLEJoe - Quick turn to SYD 56 hours of travel and 52 hours on the ground5 lounges in IAHPolaris 80K (now 100K) UA + $26Train $14 each way to CBD and Circular (Key) QuayFour Seasons FHR bookingLots of Lounges
AA - bit of fiasco 65K + $80Tip of the week People/community make the difference (getting my seat back). I shared a more in-depth piece in our Premium/Paid Award Travel 201 Community. Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community
 
For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.  For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community  To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.  Our next meetup is located in San Antonio, TX on April 26–28, 2024. If you want a waitlisted ticket, see this post in AT101.   Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

Starting in Award Travel - Meet the Mods (Sophie Keller)

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