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
208 episodes
You Asked, We Answer
In Episode 172 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Angie Sparks and Cameron Laufer opened with a discussion inspired by member Leena’s safari planning post, where the community shared advice on destinations, timing, and operators for an unforgetta...
Best Hilton Redemptions With Transfer Bonus
Episode 171 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosted by Angie Sparks and Cameron Laufer, opens with a practical community highlight: a traveler facing a broken in-flight entertainment system on a United Premium Plus flight. The discussion reinfo...
Quick Trip Wins
Episode 170 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosted by Cameron Laufer and Joseph Petrovic, blends timely travel news with a deeper discussion on the value of short, points-powered trips. The episode opens with a highlight on luxury hot...
Phoenix Meetup Recap
Episode 169 of the Award Travel 101 podcast recaps the community’s spring meetup in Phoenix, with hosts Mike Zaccheo and Laura Kofoid reflecting on the experience and easing back into everyday life afterward. The episode opens with a member hig...
Using Award Travel to Help Aging Parents
This episode of the Award Travel 101 podcast features Angie Sparks with guests Paul Lanyi and Megan Heister, who share how they’ve used points and miles to support their aging parents while maintaining demanding travel schedules. First they bri...
Best Cash Back Credit Cards
Episode 167 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosted by Angie Sparks and Cameron Laufer, covers recent travel news, credit card updates, and a deep dive into cash back credit cards. They begin with a member question about CLEAR and note that whi...
Meet the Mods- Laura Kofoid
Episode 166 of the Award Travel 101 podcast introduces new team member Laura Kofoid, who joins host Angie Sparks for a casual conversation about her background and entry into the points-and-miles hobby. Laura shares how she discovered travel re...
Unheralded Credit Card Perks
Episode 165 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosted by Angie Sparks and Cameron Laufer, opens with a discussion about booking a safari using points. While some luxury lodge options like the JW Masai Mara and Marriott properties near Kruger were...
Unique P1/P1 Relationships
Episode 164 of the Award Travel 101 podcast features host Mike Zaccheo with guests Tim Kozikowski and Mary Willet, a New Jersey–based couple who are both deeply involved in the points-and-miles hobby. The episode begins with a community questio...
Chile and Patagonia Recap
Episode 163 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosted by Angie Sparks and Cameron Laufer, opens with a lighthearted highlight from the community about surviving timeshare presentations. Members shared strategies for getting through the required 9...
Hyatt-ageddon?
Episode 162 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosted by Cameron Laufer and Mike Zaccheo, opens with a listener question that highlights the difficulty of earning American Airlines miles without access to key transfer partners. The discussion und...
Family Punta Cana Trip Recap
In Episode 161 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Angie Sparks welcomes Justin Walter to share details from his recent family trip to Punta Cana. The episode kicks off with a highlight from member Megan, who creatively paid an $11,000 hospital bi...
Expert Flyer Tool- Deep Dive
In Episode 160 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Angie Sparks welcomes Claudia Corral and Adrian Pagan from ExpertFlyer to discuss the evolution of one of the original tools in the award travel space. Angie reflects on how, before modern award s...
Cruise Recap- And How Points Can Help
In Episode 159 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, Angie Sparks and Mike Zaccheo cover listener tips, loyalty news, and Angie’s recent “actual vacation.” The highlight post addresses how to handle two-factor authentication (2FA) when traveling int...
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...
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 ...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
