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The Award Travel 101 podcast is back with more Award Travel 101 member questions, offers to help pad your balances and a discussion about our most recent meetup and why you should join the next one. If you want us to air your question, send us an email or reach out to us in the Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
Award Travel 101 Podcast Show Format
We break each show into six sections:
- Question/Win of the Week — asked or shared by members of the community
- News & Enhanced Offers
- What Bonuses Did We Get — which will tell you what credit cards we're working on and why
- Trip Updates
- Highlight Feature
- What You Didn't Know — a feature dedicated to a big or small tip that will help you better maximize the value you receive from your rewards.
How to Listen to the Award Travel 101 Podcast
You can find us anywhere you listen to other fine podcasts including:
Previous Episode Show Notes
- 1 — Meet Award Travel 101 Community Administrators Angie & Joe
- 2 — Booking a Dream (African Safari) Trip
- 3 — Creating Memories Through Big And Small Trips
- 4 — 8 Steps to Better Award Travel
- 5 — Cruise (on Points), Racking and Stacking, and Keep or Kick it to the Curb
- 6 — Transfer Bonuses, Hyatt Bonus Journeys, and Benefits of AwardWallet
- 7 — So Many Program Changes with AwardWallet’s JT Genter
- 8 — Hyatt Changes, AA Domestic First Class Routes, and Meet the Mods (Jackie Wisniewski)
- 9 — Sapphire Lounge Opening, New Bonuses, Meet the Mods (Jerod Morales), and Business Class for Six
- 10 — When to Part with Points and Angie's Safari Trip
- 11 — AvGeeks, Spreadsheets, & Cheatsheets – Meet the Mods (Mike Zaccheo)
- 12 — Status Matching for More Value
- 13 — How Often Do You Get a New Card
- 14 – Incredible Trip to New Zealand on Points, Plus a Trip to the Freddie Awards
Award Travel 101 Podcast Episode 15 Show Notes
Post of the Week (from the Award Travel 101 Group)
Maggie Schwalbach had an engaging post asking about the best card for grocery purchases. Quite a few members chimed in with an overwhelming winner. What cards do we use? The top choice: American Express® Gold Card (see Amex Gold review here).
Others used:
- Citi Premier® Card (see Citi Premier review here) for uncapped 3X earnings in so many places
- Chase Freedom Flex℠ (or old Chase Freedom®) — rotating quarterly categories when its grocery category
- Chase MyBonus on co-branded cards — use this to see if you have any enhanced grocery or gas offers. I've earned as much as 10X points on my The World of Hyatt Credit Card.
- Citi Custom Cash® Card (see Citi Custom Cash review here) — Earn 5% cash back on purchases in your top eligible spend category each billing cycle, up to the first $500 spent, 1% cash back thereafter.
- Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express (see Blue Cash Preferred offer here) for 6% at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $6,000 per year in purchases, then 1%). Cash back is issued as a statement credit.
- Don't forget about the Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card — 3X points at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year (then 1 point per dollar). Plus, use your card 30 or more times on purchases in a billing period and earn 50% extra points on those purchases less returns and credits.
- Any card where we're trying to complete the minimum spend on a welcome offer.
News & Enhanced Offers
- Get 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points on our most recommended beginner card
- Don't stay at hotels a ton but still want the status benefits? Here's how to earn elite status with credit cards.
Trip Updates
- Angie jumped on the United Polaris business class availability a couple of weeks back and is hoping “someone” will provide her with a “Guest of Honor” booking. Will Joe help out?
- Joe booked a flight he hopes to rebook for less. How much does it currently cost and why did he book with miles?
What Bonuses Did We Get?
Angie:
- Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card (read our Ink Unlimited review here)
- Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®: Read more about who's eligible for the bonus on the AA Platinum Select.
Joe:
- Finished Player 2's Ink Unlimited
- Made a dent on American Express® Business Gold Card (see Amex Business Gold review here)
Highlight Feature: Why Attend an Award Travel meetup?
- If you enjoy chatting about these topics without getting the “glassy eye” look
- Learn how others are getting ahead in travel and loyalty
- Make friends and build your network
- Add to your arsenal of tools with tips not shared in the broader communities
What You Didn't Know
- Elizabeth Holmes Hanes shares how to earn some extra Marriott bonus points that Angie didn’t know about. Link your Uber account and earn bonus points with Marriott but if you actually order UberEats and have it sent to a Marriott during a stay you earn an extra bonus! If you order UberEats when traveling, best to pay special attention to this one.
- Rakuten is having its Big Give Week where you earn monster shopping portal bonuses on some online shopping. By the time this episode airs, the 20X offer will be over so follow the group so you know these things when they happen since we post them immediately!
Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community
For questions, you can join us in the free 93,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.
- If you want to jump into more intermediate and advanced strategies, our Award Travel 201 community ($89.99 annually) is filled with those who want to dig into the weeds, looking for more outsized value.
- To book time with our team to discuss how to better your earning and burning strategies, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
- You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com.
- If in-person learning is your style, you can check out our next meetup or register now!
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