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The Award Travel 101 by AwardWallet community is celebrating reaching 100,000 members! We are taking this opportunity to look back on our history — and to offer some exciting giveaways.
If you aren't already a member, it's not too late to join the fun. Just head over to Facebook and fill out a short questionnaire to join Award Travel 101.
Page Contents
Award Travel 101 Community History
The founder
Richard Kerr started his Award Travel journey in the Navy stationed in Japan. He realized how expensive close-in holiday travel was and began searching for a better way. Yet, he still wanted to see his family without breaking the bank.
Award Travel 101 began as Travel Hacking 101 in 2014 as a way to communicate with 20 members who signed up for Richard's course to learn new and inventive ways to travel for less. In 2017 as the community was growing, Richard retired from the Navy and went full-time with Award Travel 101 and partnered with AwardWallet. Richard moved on to TPG in 2019 having grown the community to 60,000 members.
When I reached out to Richard about the 100,000-member milestone, here's what he had to share:
“People like to ask founders how much of their success is hard work and skill versus how much was luck. The answer is easy for me: starting AT101 when I did was nearly 100% luck. I had no grand plan or strategic motives. I simply wanted a place for the alumni of my online class I was teaching in 2012 to have a place to continue talking about points and miles.
I had no idea it would develop into the amazing community it is or that it’d be the first large stepping stone into allowing me to make a living doing what I love.
Most importantly, almost 10 years ago Travel Hacking 101 (shoutout to the OGs) began to surround me with incredible people, many of which are still my closest friends and an even larger amount are people who have taken care of me and my family through thick and thin and I have no doubt would be there if I called.
Nothing makes me happier than when I scroll social media and see people who I know met each other through AT101 and our events. Many of you are best friends, travel with each other, celebrate with each other and comfort each other when needed. I get to silently scroll by through the window of my phone and see you all on trips and having a blast. I get a silly smirk on my face and think maybe, just maybe we’ve all done some good by growing and cultivating this community. My best wishes to the current caretakers of this wonderful place and to all its members.”
The transition
With the loss of its founder in 2019, the Award Travel 101 community suffered an identity crisis. In October 2019, I joined the Award Travel 101 team as a moderator. By this point, I had given up most of my hobbies. I was trying to learn and soak up an entirely new one, and Award Travel 101 became my new hobby. My goal was to be able to research and answer any question posed by members within 10 minutes.
The rough days
Early in 2020, AwardWallet reached out and asked if I'd be interested in managing Award Travel 101. My initial response was, “No way,” because I didn't feel I had the necessary experience. Additionally, I have my own business manufacturing specialty safety products for those working within hazardous industries. Furthermore, while social media has the potential to do wonderful things, it's not always great dealing with keyboard warriors. Not only that, but the community was in decline. Then Award Travel 101 ran into its biggest roadblock, the Pandemic.
Travel came to a standstill. Award Travel 101 could have been renamed “Award DO NOT Travel 101” or “Award Cancel 101,” because those were the only questions/posts coming into the group. With the pandemic putting a massive roadblock up and airlines withholding funds from canceled flights, Award Travel 101 continued its downward spiral.
It stopped earning income too. The primary source of income comes from affiliates (credit card signups). Whether earning an income or not, Award Travel 101 is focused on keeping members informed of the best credit card offers.
Despite those challenges, I was convinced to help manage the community alongside former moderators Toni Southam (now an editor at Forbes Advisor) and John Hartnagel — who had to step aside from Award Travel 101 with increased responsibilities at his firm RHG Group and as a new parent.
The revival
It took quite a bit of heart through the first few months of the pandemic, but Award Travel 101 was so important to me that I focused even more on learning new things to share with members. It took six months before we began to see results — and three admin teams to stabilize — but we now have a thriving community that sees 30-40 daily member questions approved. Plus, through our moderated posting and approval process, we don't just allow any posts out into the community giving free access to spammers and bots.
What Award Travel 101 Means to Me
My time in Award Travel 101 began in May 2018 after attending my second-ever rewards conference in Las Vegas and meeting community founder, Richard Kerr. It was at that point I joined and became a member — around the 45,000 member mark. Award Travel 101 is where the rubber really began to hit the road for me, so to speak. It was impossible to think that five years later, I'd be at the helm, managing the Award Travel 101 community.
Award Travel 101 is where I truly grew and flourished. I began to connect with other members of the community daily, so I could soak up as much information as possible. It was my hope that one day I'd be able to learn enough to be able to repeat some of the trips/travels for my family that I'd seen others in the community share. It was never my goal to be the face of the community, nor do I want that today. Some people love the limelight, but that space is not for me. I just enjoy sharing deals I've been able to experience and some I haven't.
I believe that the Award Travel 101 Community needs to stand on its own, and any true community should not be dependent on one person as a “leader.” That's why I brought on long-time community members Allison Caraway and Angie Sparks to educate members. No individual can retain all of the knowledge needed to be successful, and that's why we have a community in Award Travel 101.
I've shared my upbringing and how we travel with a child who has an Autistic Spectrum Disorder. I still pinch myself when I think of the things I'm able to put together today with just a moment's notice. We've had so many incredible experiences over the past year or so, and these are just a few of them:
- Ventana Big Sur (Hyatt)
- First Time in United Polaris
- 8 Different Planes over a Weekend (to earn United 1K Status AND meet with AT101 members)
- American Flagship First for 25K points (per person) to Celebrate a Buddy's Birthday
- Daddy/Daughter Time (so many fun places) + we had so much fun we did it again
- Attending the “Freddie Awards”
- Award Travel “Cleveland” Meetup
- Memories of the Past Five Years
- Chicago Site-seeing (Date night) Plus Harry Mack Concert
- First Class Father's Day Trip (with my Dad) Lufthansa 747 & Emirates A380
- Our First (International) Family Trip
- First time We Split Up & Went Separate Ways
Award Travel 101 100k Member Giveaways
Award Travel 101 is celebrating 100,000 members with some exciting giveaways! We'll be giving away 50 FREE AwardWallet Plus passes, five Award Travel 201 subscriptions ($89.99 each – given in the form of a rebate), three complimentary Award Travel 1-on-1 consults ($100 each), and finally we're giving away A GRAND PRIZE of a Hyatt Guest of Honor booking (experience top-tier elite status with benefits like free breakfast, free valet parking, and suite upgrades if available) along with 100,000 World of Hyatt points to celebrate the achievement*.
*Hyatt is not affiliated with these promotions, but keep an eye out for how to register in the Award Travel 101 Community
Level Up With Award Travel 201
If you wish to level up your Award Travel skills, you should engage with the Award Travel 201 Community. Members are encouraged to explore topics that are more intermediate to advanced in nature and have a place where they can throw out different ideas and expect to get high-level responses. It's also a place to discuss deals and tools not openly discussed in larger communities.
Award Travel 201 members also receive first access to our meetups held twice annually. And that early access is critical as our meetup at the beautiful San Antonio Riverwalk from April 26-28, 2024 has already sold out!
The Bottom Line
I'm so excited to see Award Travel 101 grow to 100,000 members and beyond. Not for me, not for AwardWallet, but for you. Congratulations to you for making the Award Travel 101 community 100,000 times awesome!
What are some of your favorite award travel trips?
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