AwardWallet receives compensation from advertising partners for links on the blog. Terms Apply to the offers listed on this page. The opinions expressed here are our own and have not been reviewed, provided, or approved by any bank advertiser. Here's our complete list of Advertisers.
The Award Travel 101 podcast is back with Award Travel 101 community moderator Mike Zaccheo LIVE from the Polaris Lounge. If you want us to air your question, send us an email or reach out to us in the Award Travel 101 Facebook Community.
Shoutout to Thrifty Traveler Premium for partnering with this episode of the Award Travel 101 Podcast
Finding award space can be tough. Wouldn't it be amazing to get alerts when lie-flat business class space opens up? Thrifty Traveler Premium does just that.
Thrifty Traveler's army of flight deal analysts are searching 24/7 for flight deals so you don't have to. These deals are bookable with cash or points and miles flying in economy, business, and first class cabins. Never miss another incredible award deal by subscribing to Thrifty Traveler Premium.
Some recent examples include:
- Lie-flat business class seats to Tokyo for 60K each way
- Business Class to Europe for 50K each way
- Or try the new “Nerd Alert” feature that identified Emirates First Class for just $610 where you could shower in the sky
You can even find their guide on “Best Day to Book Flights.” Use the promo code ‘AT101’ for $10 off your first year at thriftytraveler.com/premium
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 Award Travel 101 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
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
- 15 — Best Card for Groceries & Award Travel Community Meetup
- 16 — Citi Product Change Rules and Meet the Team: Allison Caraway
- 17 — Husband Cashes in All Their Points AND Programs To Book Round The World Flights
- 18 — Gorgeous Pictures from Iran and Cards That Earn Status
- 19 — The Tools We Use
- 20 — Mistakes We've Made
- 21 — Crafty Way to See Taylor Swift and Ways to Earn Hotel Free Night Certificates
- 22 — First Class Trip to Croatia and Should You Speculatively Transfer Points
- 23 — Our Favorite Award Programs
Award Travel 101 Podcast Episode 24 Show Notes
Post of the Week (From the Award Travel 101 Group)
Susie Buckwald posts about a New York Times article about packing efficiently. The author laments about overpacking, airlines charging for checked bags, overstuffed carryons, and a chaotic boarding process. For us in the miles & status field, we don’t pay to check bags but that doesn’t mean we need to. We had so much interaction and many great comments on the post. Are you #teamcheck or #teamcarry?
News & Enhanced Offers
We're breaking away from our normal discussion on credit card offers, asking if it's worthwhile to chase or keep top-tier American Airlines status now that benefits that once were only available to Executive Platinum members are now available to all. Is Platinum Pro the new sweet spot?
Trip Updates
Mike:
- Headed to Paris for a meeting then London for two nights (Waldorf Hilton using Hilton Free Night Awards) including a Ted Lasso tour and historic bar crawl.
- Work has an economy-only policy so used an upgrade to Premium Plus and waitlist into United Polaris to Paris (CDG).
- 15k United MileagePlus miles for waitlist to Premium Economy for return from Milan (MXP)
- Two Hilton certs for Waldorf Hilton normally 80k or 500£ per night
- 12.5k AA for British Airways (BA) from London Heathrow (LHR) to Milan (LIN). Access to British Airways First check-in, security, and lounge thanks to Oneworld Emerald status
Joe:
- 19K AA miles for “Player 3” and me for an impromptu NYC trip and was upgraded 20 minutes. What did we end up doing?
- Great weekend with “Player 2” at the Ritz Carlton using a credit card Free Night Award and 11K points
- Getting ready for Mexico. As this episode drops, I’ll be packing up for our trip to the Riviera Maya. Booked using 37.5K United miles per person round-trip (booked in one-way segments).
- What does United 1K status provide, and how will I try to get upgrades (for all)?
- Andaz Mayakoba — how did I get a beach suite with a plunge pool?
What Bonuses Did We Get?
Mike: AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® for 70K (currently 50,000 miles)
Joe: also got 70k bonus on AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® for “Player 2”
Highlight Feature: Airport Lounges
Mike's joining us LIVE from the Polaris Lounge in Newark (EWR), where he discusses the ways to gain lounge access via cards, status, or select airline tickets. What are some of your favorites?
Cards
- The Platinum Card® from American Express — Centurion Lounges, Escape Lounges, Plaza Premium, Delta SkyClubs, Priority Pass – Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits.
- Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card — Capital One Lounge (just DFW for now), Plaza Premium, Priority Pass
- Chase Sapphire Reserve® — Priority Pass
- United Club℠ Infinite Card — United Clubs & Star Alliance business lounges
- Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® — Admirals Clubs plus Alaska Lounges for primary users
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card — access to Delta Sky Clubs… but avoid and get Amex Platinum instead.
(Starting 2/1/25, Reserve Card members get 10 Delta Sky Club visits yearly. Spend $75,000+ on the card between 1/1/24 and 12/31/24 for unlimited visits, and each calendar year thereafter – Learn more.)
Status
- Star Alliance Gold (e.g. United Gold & above) — business class lounges
- OneWorld Sapphire (e.g. AAdvantage Platinum) — business class lounges
- OneWorld Emerald (e.g. AAdvantage Executive Platinum/Platinum Pro) — first class lounges
- SkyTeam Executive Elite (e.g. Delta Gold & above) — business lounges
Only Available Via Premium Ticket
- Polaris Lounges (Business)
- Chelsea Lounge JFK (First)
- Greenwich Lounge JFK (Business)
- British Airways Concorde Room (First)
Airline First Class lounges
- Lufthansa
- Etihad
- Swiss
- Air France La Premiere
- Cathay Pacific
- Emirates
- Singapore
- British Airways
What You Didn't Know
Two new features of our sponsor Thrifty Traveler Premium. Thrifty Traveler Premium has introduced two new features: Never lose notices again and “Nerd Alert”.
Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community
For questions, you can join us in the free 96,000+ 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.
- Meetup sold out, but you can waitlist.
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Hahaha! Definitely signing up for the nerd alert with Emirates. Love it!