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.
Offers for The Ritz-Carlton™ Credit Card are not available through this site. All information has been independently collected by AwardWallet and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. Some offers may have expired. Please see our card marketplace for available offers.
Welcome to the Award Travel 101 Podcast, from the original Facebook community created for miles and points enthusiasts. Our goal for this podcast and our community is to help you learn how to maximize your travel rewards, no matter your destination or budget. In this episode, we discuss some of the new bonus transfer opportunities along with cards that have travel protections and which one we prefer.
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
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
- 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
- 24 — LIVE From a Lounge & Is American Airlines Status Worth Chasing
- 25 — What Are Points Worth
- 26 – All the Upgrades & Traveling With Kids on the Spectrum
Award Travel 101 Podcast Episode 27 Show Notes
News & Enhanced Offers
New month, new offers. A couple of these offers will no longer be valid as the podcast is released, but it's why you should be following the Award Travel 101 Facebook community where we discuss these topics and more every single day:
- Bilt Rent Day August 2023: Virgin Transfer Bonus, Rent Free Game Show, and More
- Get a 50% Off Promo Code With This Southwest Promotion
- 25% Transfer Bonus From Amex Membership Rewards to Hilton Honors
- 15% Transfer Bonus From Amex Membership Rewards to LifeMiles
- 50% Transfer Bonus From Chase Ultimate Rewards Points to Marriott Bonvoy
- Bask Bank Raises Rates on Cash-Interest Savings Account
Trip Updates
- Angie:
- Update to respond to previous podcast comment
- Joe:
- Booked a trip to Orlando Friday night to leave Saturday morning. Discussed how (and why) we booked this short-notice trip and the card perks utilized, car rental details and how we skipped the line in Orlando, the stay at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress for the water park and activities, and how we booked the return flight.
What Bonuses Did We Get?
Angie: still working on the minimum spending requirement to earn 100K Ultimate Rewards with a much lower spending requirement on the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
Joe: Applied for the Ink Preferred (same as Angie above). Was neither approved nor denied, but received a 7-10 day notice. And that's not a good sign.
Highlight Feature: Credit Card Travel Protections & Which is Best?
Our Post of the Week and Highlight Feature come from two members of the Award Travel 101 Facebook Community. The first was inspired by Shane Fortune about his process for documenting when he knows he’s going to have a weather delay. Are all travel protections created equal? Plus, Ivan Dell’Era highlights some differences and why you may want to lean toward one versus another.
This is going to be a brief overview of the three main cards:
- The Platinum Card® from American Express
- Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
- Chase Sapphire Reserve®
In addition to covering travel protections, we'll discuss which one we recommend you use to book airfare. For more details, check out the “Master List” of credit card benefits.
Amex Platinum
Many members think using the Amex Platinum card is best since it earns 5x points on airfare. But not so fast! What do the Trip Cancellation & Interruption Terms & Conditions state?
Key terms: Immediate family includes spouse, domestic partner, and dependent children. That’s it. No in-laws, no siblings, no adult children! You must also charge the full amount of a Covered Trip to your Eligible Card or in combination with your Eligible Card and accumulated points on your Eligible Card or redeemable certificates, vouchers, coupons, or discounts awarded from a frequent flyer program or similar program. However, there is an ample amount of coverage at $10k per trip and $20k per eligible card per 12-consecutive-month period for both delays and cancellations.
One really good thing about the Amex Platinum card is the built-in Emergency Medical Transportation Assistance.
Basically, just for having the card, if you contact the Premium Global Assist hotline emergency medical transportation/evacuation may be provided at no cost if the Premium Global Assist Hotline medical department, after review of the medical information and in consultation with the local medical service provider or facility, determines there is a medical need at the time of the incident for such transport and such transport is advisable due to the inadequacy of local facilities.
Capital One Venture X
When the Capital One Venture X card launched a lot of folks looked at it as a replacement for their Chase Sapphire Reserve® (CSR). It had free authorized user cards (AU), a lower annual fee, good transfer partners, and what appeared to be excellent travel protections. But are they? What do the Capital One Guide to Benefits state?
Key terms:
The definition of immediate family member is much more broad and reasonable. Immediate Family Member means the Insured Person’s: 1) Spouse or Domestic Partner; 2) children including adopted children or stepchildren; 3) legal guardians or wards; 4) siblings or siblings-in-law; 5) parents or parents-in-law; 6) grandparents or grandchildren; 7) aunts or uncles; 8) nieces and nephews. Immediate Family Member also means a Spouse’s or Domestic Partner’s children, including adopted children or stepchildren; legal guardians or wards; siblings or siblings-in-law; parents or parents-inlaw; grandparents or grandchildren; aunts or uncles; nieces or nephews.
However, the depth of protections is not as solid as the Amex Platinum. Trip cancellation is $2,000 per person. Trip delay is $500 per person, but any pre-paid expenses related to Your Covered Trip, such as tour or activity fees associated with Your Covered Trip are excluded from coverage! This means those expensive Taylor Swift tickets will not be covered if you miss the event. Here’s the language that's most concerning though:
“You, Your spouse (or Domestic Partner) and Your Dependent Children are eligible for coverage if You charge the entire cost of the Trip using Your Account, less redeemable certificates, vouchers, or coupons, or rewards program associated with Your covered Account.”
So does that mean paying taxes and fees on a United flight wouldn’t be covered since United isn’t a transfer partner of Capital One?
Chase Sapphire Reserve®
The Sapphire Reserve is the card that revolutionized the field with its incredible welcome offer, best lounge access, and stronger travel protections. Is it still the best in the field? What do the Visa Infinite terms & conditions state?
Key terms:
The definition of “Immediate Family” Member is the same as Capital One Venture X. The limit for trip cancellation is $20k per trip and $40k per year! Trip delay is the same. The language is similar to the Capital One Venture X with regard to rewards:
“…any portion of the cost has been charged to the Cardholder’s Account issued by JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. and/or its affiliates; or any portion of the cost has been paid for with redeemable Rewards that were accumulated by the Cardholder from a Rewards program sponsored by JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. and/or its affiliate.”
Since the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is the number one beginner card, it has very similar protections as the Sapphire Reserve, but it has lower limits ($10k vs $20k) and coverage doesn’t kick in until after 12 hours vs 6 hours on Sapphire Reserve or Capital One Venture X.
Which Card(s) Do Angie & Joe Use
Angie: Sapphire Reserve for travel protections-wider airline partner network, higher dollar limit, and broader family definition. (I will actually use my The Ritz-Carlton™ Credit Card card as it has similar protections as the Sapphire Reserve).
Joe: I hold both Sapphire cards, but generally I use the Sapphire Reserve for the protections that kick in earlier.
Where To Find the Award Travel 101 Community
For questions, you can join us in the free 97,000+ 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.