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
194 episodes
Destination: Kauai
Episode 158 of the Award Travel 101 Podcast features host Joseph Petrovic and returning guest Steve Harms as they dive into recent award travel news, big credit card bonuses, and trip updates before a deep-dive on Hawaii—especially Steve’s favo...
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Season 3
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Episode 158
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52:10
How Roame Travel Can Help Finding Flights
Episode 157 of the Award Travel 101 podcast features Angie Sparks in conversation with Tim Qin, founder of the award search tool Roame.Travel. The episode opens with a timely highlight from the Award Travel 101 community, where a member used a ...
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Season 3
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Episode 157
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41:30
Bilt 2.0 Reaction
Episode 156 of the Award Travel 101 podcast opens with Cameron Laufer and Mike Zaccheo discussing a strange and unsettling incident shared in the Award Travel 101 Facebook group, where a traveler appeared to be panhandled inside DFW airport usi...
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Season 3
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Episode 156
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1:05:37
This and That -- Travel Quirks
Episode 155 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, “This and That,” features Angie Sparks and Mike Zaccheo covering a wide range of points-and-miles news, personal updates, and community highlights. A standout moment comes from a member post...
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Season 3
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Episode 155
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44:43
Choice Hotels Deep Dive
Episode 154 of the Award Travel 101 podcast features Angie Sparks and moderator Anthony Cave, recorded early due to scheduling, with a lighter news slate and no new card bonuses or trip updates from Angie. The highlight of the week was a reflec...
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Season 3
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Episode 154
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30:38
2026 Points and Travel Strategies
Episode 153 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosted by Angie Sparks with moderator Cameron Laufer, opens with a community “commiseration” post about painful travel mistakes. Member Ray shared losing 38,000 JetBlue points and cash after accident...
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Season 3
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Episode 153
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54:52
What Points Did We Earn & Burn in 2025?
Episode 152 of the Award Travel 101 podcast covers a wide range of timely award travel news, recent booking challenges, and a deep dive into how Angie and Cameron are thinking about points earning as they look ahead to 2026. The hosts open with...
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Season 3
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Episode 152
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34:18
ZorkFest Recap
Episode 151 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosted by Angie Sparks and Joseph Petrovic, covers a wide range of travel and points news before diving into a full recap of ZorkFest. In the news segment, the hosts discuss Mesa unexpectedly shuttin...
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Season 3
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Episode 151
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59:22
Year End Planning Checklist
Episode 150 of the Award Travel 101 Podcast focuses heavily on year-end strategy, with Mike Zaccheo and moderator Cameron Laufer walking through news, bonuses, trip updates, and the annual housekeeping travelers should tackle before December 31...
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Season 3
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Episode 150
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37:50
Program Deep Dive: Marriott Bonvoy
In this episode of Award Travel 101, hosts Angie Sparks and Mike Zaccheo dive deep into the Marriott Bonvoy rewards program. They explore the program's extensive hotel network of over 8,900 properties across 34 brands, ranging from budget-frien...
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Season 3
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Episode 149
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47:00
Earning Points on Black Friday Shopping
Episode 148 of the Award Travel 101 podcast focuses on maximizing points and cashback during Black Friday shopping while also covering the week’s key award-travel news. Angie and Cameron open with a community highlight about stacking rewards on...
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Season 3
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Episode 148
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52:01
Oh Air Canada!
Episode 147 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosted by Angie Sparks with guest Jake Futerfas, dives into maximizing Aeroplan, Air Canada’s loyalty program. Jake, a long-time community member and Aeroplan expert, shares insights on why Aeroplan ...
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Season 3
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Episode 147
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49:28
Chicago Seminars 2025 Recap
In Episode 146, Angie Sparks and Joe Petrovic recap their weekend at Chicago Seminars, highlight a timely AT201 post about preparing for phone theft while traveling, and cover key news including IHG’s 100% points bonus, an elevated United Club ...
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Season 3
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Episode 146
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48:45
Credit Card Credit Rundown
This episode features Mike Zaccheo and Angie Sparks diving deep into the world of credit card statement credits and how to maximize them. The episode begins with a highlight post from member Karen, who detailed her inspiring solo round-the-worl...
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Season 3
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Episode 145
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45:23
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JetBlue 25 for 25
Joe returns to host, joined by first-time guest James He and former moderator Eric Holly. The highlight post covers a member’s lost hotel item and how travelers handle forgotten valuables. In the news: Singapore Airlines’ KrisFlyer devaluation,...
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Season 3
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Episode 144
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55:34
Deep Dive Into Delta
This week, Mike Zaccheo and moderator Justin Walter dive deep into Delta SkyMiles after highlighting an inspiring post from Karen, a solo traveler in her 60s who completed a 3-week, around-the-world business- and first-class trip using 326K AA ...
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Season 3
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Episode 143
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51:36
Rove Miles with Carissa
Episode 142 of the Award Travel 101 podcast features Angie Sparks joined by guest Carissa Rawson, Director of Travel and Marketing at Rove Miles. The highlight post celebrated member Debbie’s generosity in gifting a Napa Wine Train voucher she ...
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Season 3
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Episode 142
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42:28
Leaf Peeping in New England
Episode 141 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosted by Mike Zaccheo with Angie Sparks, opens with the “highlight post” about the demise of the popular Red Aviator “Sub for a SUB” card—long favored for its easy single-purchase American ...
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Season 3
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Episode 141
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39:07
Destination: Dolomites
In Episode 140 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosts Mike Zaccheo and Cameron Laufer cover a range of topics from heartwarming uses of points to travel industry updates and destination planning. They open with a moving story from a community m...
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Season 3
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Episode 140
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1:00:20
Miami Meetup Recap
Episode 139 of the Award Travel 101 podcast featured Angie Sparks and Joseph Petrovic with a recap of the Miami meetup and the latest travel news. The highlight post centered on whether travelers still need local currency, with most members agr...
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Season 3
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Episode 139
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1:03:40
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
