Award Travel 101
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?
Episodes
174 episodes
Program Deep Dive: Hilton Honors
Episode 138 of the Award Travel 101 podcast opens with Angie Sparks and Mike Zaccheo discussing a highlight post from member Luis, who was abruptly shut down by Amex with over two million points at stake. The community debated the best redempti...
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Season 3
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Episode 138
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45:49
Seats.aero with Founder Ian Carroll
Episode 137 of the Award Travel 101 podcast featured guest Ian Carroll, founder of the award search tool Seats.aero. Angie opened with a highlight post from a member who discovered Chase is now more strictly enforcing repeat-sub restrictions, s...
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Season 3
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Episode 137
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46:16
Southwest Companion Pass- Now's the Time
In Episode 136 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosts Angie Sparks and Cameron Laufer discuss a variety of travel and points-related topics. They begin with a member highlight, where a listener shares a positive experience using their ...
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Season 3
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Episode 136
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49:34
Atmos Rewards
Episode 135 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosted by Angie Sparks with Mike Zaccheo, opens with a member story about a mortgage broker advising card closures—sparking near-universal advice to simply find a new broker. In news, they cover the ...
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Season 3
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Episode 135
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42:08
Destination: Italy
In this episode, Angie and April dive into travel hacks, promotions, and their unforgettable Italian adventures. They highlight a clever mileage-earning strategy from a listener who used a Capital One Shopping portal to rack up over 300,000 mil...
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Season 3
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Episode 134
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51:38
I've Got Points, Now What?
This episode hosted by Mike and Angie , opens with a highlight post from Ira asking about easy, at-home ways to use various Amex statement credits. Angie explains that some, like Dunkin’ and office supply store credits, can be used online, whil...
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Season 3
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Episode 133
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40:53
Ants Marching... On Miles
In Episode 132 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, host Mike Zaccheo is joined by community member Heather Killingbeck to dive into how her passion for the Dave Matthews Band (DMB) intersects with her love of points and miles. Heather shares how a...
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Season 3
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Episode 132
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44:49
EU261 Explained
In Episode 131 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosts Angie Sparks, Anthony Cave, and Justin Walter kicked things off with a community discussion where member Antha asked whether to use points for a premium cabin on the outbound or return leg o...
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Season 3
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Episode 131
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34:14
London is Calling
In Episode 130 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Mike Zaccheo and Angie Sparks dive into a range of updates and insights. They kick things off with a community highlight from Chris, who shared a Europe trip report and crowd-sourced sugg...
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Season 3
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Episode 130
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56:04
Comparing Premium Travel Cards
In Episode 129 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Mike and Cameron explore key updates in the points and miles space and take a deep dive into premium travel credit card comparisons. They begin by discussing a community post on whether it’s bette...
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Season 3
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Episode 129
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1:15:12
Time To Re-Evaluate Our Wallets
In Episode 128 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Angie Sparks and Joseph Petrovic discuss the latest promotions, program changes, and their evolving card strategies. They highlight a popular 50% DoorDash promo that pairs well with Chase credits,...
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Season 3
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Episode 128
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54:57
Program Deep Dive: United MileagePlus
Episode 126 of the Award Travel 101 podcast kicks off with hosts Angie Sparks and Joseph Petrovic diving into a community trip report featuring Switzerland, Austria, and Germany. The post highlights how award travel makes such adventures possib...
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Season 3
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Episode 127
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58:02
Destination: Alaska
In Episode 126 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Angie Sparks welcomes back Mike Zaccheo, who just returned from a two-week Alaska adventure with 18 family members. The trip included a cruise from Vancouver through Glacier Bay and College Fjord,...
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Season 3
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Episode 126
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1:12:39
Iceland With Points & Miles
In Episode 125 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosts Angie Sparks and Cameron Laufer dive into a variety of hot topics in the travel and points world before focusing on a destination deep-dive into Iceland. They discuss recent credit card offe...
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Season 3
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Episode 125
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1:01:00
Chicago Seminars 2025
In Episode 124 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, host Angie Sparks is joined by organizers of the renowned Chicago Seminars, the oldest and largest in-person gathering for the points and miles community. The event, taking place Novembe...
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Season 3
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Episode 124
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46:16
Member Questions
Episode 123 of the Award Travel 101 podcast covers a variety of travel rewards topics, including a debate over using Ultimate Rewards vs. Capital One points for the same flight. The hosts, Angie Sparks and Mike Zaccheo, also discuss ma...
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Season 3
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Episode 123
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54:28
Learning All About CardPointers
In Episode 122 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Cameron Laufer is joined by Emmanuel Crouvisier from CardPointers to discuss the latest news in travel rewards, new credit card offers, and tips for maximizing points. A standout feature ...
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Season 3
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Episode 122
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43:40
A Magnificent Meet Up
In Episode 121 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Angie Sparks and Mike Zaccheo recap a packed week of travel news, personal updates, and a deep dive into the recent "Magnificent Miles Meetup" in Chicago. They highlight a popular Facebook post co...
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Season 3
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Episode 121
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48:10
Trip to Slovenia & Croatia
In Episode 120 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Mike Zaccheo and Angie Sparks cover Angie’s recent trip to Slovenia and Croatia, blending personal travel highlights with timely award travel news. Big community updates include the long-awaited a...
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Season 3
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Episode 120
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42:18
Remaining Sweet Spots
In Episode 119 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Mike and Maria kick things off with a community highlight from Paul, who shared his unique travel ritual of getting haircuts abroad to experience local culture. This sparked a lively discussion, w...
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Season 3
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Episode 119
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50:52
Points After Death
In Episode 118 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, host Mike Zaccheo is joined by moderator April Rose. The episode begins with the "Post of the Week," highlighting a discussion on whether obtaining a Real ID before the May 7 deadline is worthwhil...
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Season 3
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Episode 118
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36:31
Award Travel In Retirement
Angie Sparks is joined by special guest Steve Harms, a seasoned award traveler and recent retiree, to explore how retirement reshapes points and miles strategies. Steve shares his journey into the hobby starting in 2020, diving headfirst into e...
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Season 3
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Episode 117
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54:38
American Airlines Recap
In Episode 116 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Angie and Cameron dive into key travel news and updates, including a lively community discussion sparked by a member seeking solo travel advice for women. Recommendations ranged from safe bets lik...
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Season 3
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Episode 116
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55:27
Destination: Japan
Episode 115 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosted by Mike Zaccheo, features Joe Petrovic's recent return from his second trip to Japan within a year. The "Post of the Week" highlights Maria, a moderator, who utilized the concierge service of ...
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Season 3
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Episode 115
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1:04:47
What's It Like to Run a Facebook Group
In Episode 114 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Angie Sparks and Mike Zaccheo take listeners behind the scenes of what it's like running a large Facebook community dedicated to points and miles travel. They kick things off with a viral...
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Season 3
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Episode 114
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45:39
