With over 64,000 members, there are lots of posts, comments and questions to sort out in the Facebook group. That's why we're so lucky to have such awesome moderators to help make sure Award Travel 101 is the best it can be. Now's your chance to get to know our moderators a bit better - to learn a little more about them than what you find out just chatting with them in the group. Today, Jeff chats with Toni Perkins, a moderator who has been with Award Travel 101 since well before he even took over. Among other things, Toni talks about her early days clogging, why she's never had the Southwest Companion Pass, and her extended travels with her four kids. Our Sponsor:The Award Travel 101 podcast is brought to you by Fuel Rewards Pro. Drive a company car or rent a car for work? For a limited time only, get a personal sign up bonus of 25 cents per gallon after your first work fill-up. Go to fuelrewards.com/pro to register for a free Fuel Rewards Pro account today.Links:Toni's blog - Nachos con HuevosToni's InstagramPaul Borish, MA, is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and long time travel hacker in PA. In his private practice, he specializes in treating fear of flying (aviophobia) and other travel related anxieties. Utilizing a combination of tele-counseling and in person services, Paul works with clients all over the globe. Travelerspsych.com

Award Travel 101

Meet the AT 101 Moderators: Toni Perkins

Sam Kemmis joins us today to talk about how NerdWallet is working to build up their travel rewards content and help people not only with their credit cards and finances but also with figuring out how to travel for less. We touch on his professional background which includes some pretty well-known comedy writing, a bit of time working remotely, and an unusual master's degree. Finally, we chat about a couple of our favorite flights and a place we both accidentally ended up flying to. Come join us for the fun!Our Sponsor:The Award Travel 101 podcast is brought to you by Fuel Rewards Pro. Drive a company car or rent a car for work? For a limited time only, get a personal sign up bonus of 25 cents per gallon after your first work fill-up. Go to fuelrewards.com/pro to register for a free Fuel Rewards Pro account today.Links:NerdWalletMyTravelNerd.comThe OnionWoot.comTwitter: @samsambutdifEmail: skemmis at nerdwallet dot com

Juggling, The Onion, and Award Travel with Sam Kemmis from NerdWallet

Mark Ostermann from Miles to Memories joins us today to talk about a few recent posts of his that struck a nerve with his audience. FOMO - we all experience it and sometimes it makes us book silly trips. Mark and Jeff Talk about some of the crazy things they've booked and a few they are thinking about. Is it possible that they travel too much? Listen to this episode to find out. Finally, a big announcement about a February meetup in New Orleans. We hope to see some of you there!Our Sponsor:The Award Travel 101 podcast is brought to you by Fuel Rewards Pro. Drive a company car or rent a car for work? For a limited time only, get a personal sign up bonus of 25 cents per gallon after your first work fill up. Go to fuelrewards.com/pro to register for a free Fuel Rewards Pro account today.Links:Miles to MemoriesBougie MilesStraight to the PointsMtM’s Miles, Points, Travel & DealsMiles to Memories Podcast

FOMO, Too Much Travel, and a NOLA Meetup with Mark from MTM

Due to popular demand, here's a replay of Jeff's recent chat with Brandon Neth!Coming to you from FinCon, Jeff is joined this week by Brandon Neth of Finance Buzz. He shares his story of how he and his wife travel the world on points and miles and how he ended up joining FinanceBuzz. As a community manager for their Facebook group, FinanceBuzz Elite, he and Jeff chat about what it's like to put on events and moderate group chats for a living.LinksFinanceBuzz Elite - Travel and Points   https://www.facebook.com/groups/financebuzzelite/FinCon Expo - https://finconexpo.com/CardCon Expo - https://cardconexpo.com/FlyerTalk - https://www.flyertalk.com//LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-neth-36a89b15a/

REPLAY: Event Planning, Building Community & Traveling The World with Brandon Neth

We're "live" from Prague - interviewing friends on the road as Jeff continues his adventures through Europe after Oktoberfest. Tune in to hear about how five folks all booked different ways using points and miles to get to the same place!Linkshttps://www.facebook.com/groups/10xtravel/https://www.facebook.com/60SecondsWithStu/https://www.instagram.com/youreanyawayhttps://bougiemiles.com/

Five Different Miles and Points to Great Group Trip

This week's episode features a conversation with Award Travel 101 group member Kevin Lawler. He and Jeff chat about both growing up as picky eaters and how/what they eat has evolved with age and intertwined with their love of travel. Tune in to hear the story of how someone who was a picky eater ends up becoming a restaurant owner! Let alone, a food and travel blogger! Kevin shares some of his most memorable trips booked with points and miles and how he tracks the best places to eat around the world.LinksKevin's Blog: Feasting FlyerFeasting Flyer on Social Media: Twitter | Instagram | FacebookKevin's Restaurant: Baker & Rose 

From Picky Eater to Restaurant Owner: Traveling for Food with Kevin Lawler

With over 62,000 members, there's a lot of posts, comments and questions to sort out. That's why we're so luck to have awesome moderators to help make sure Award Travel 101 is the best it can be! Now's your chance to get to know our moderators a bit better - beside just chatting with them in the group. Today, Jeff chats with Julie Breeze, a moderator who was one of the first few dozen Award Travel 101 group members! Tune in to hear how she got bit by the award travel bug in addition to some exciting stories - one even involving her spending the night in a jail cell...not for the reason you'd think!LinksLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-breeze-1b8488/Twitter - https://twitter.com/MommaTraveler

Meet the AT 101 Moderators: Julie Breeze

If you've been using points and miles for award flights, you might have learned it's hard enough to find a great redemption, let alone when there's a big cultural event happening where you want to go. An event such as Oktoberfest! Spencer Howard from Straight to the Points is back on the Award Travel 101 podcast this week to chat with Jeff about their upcoming group trip to Germany. Spencer's newsletter is a great resource for not only finding award sweet spots, but options for when you want to book multiple seats.Linkshttps://straighttothepoints.co/https://www.instagram.com/straighttothepoints/https://twitter.com/spencerformiles

Oktoberfest & Booking Awards for Big Events with Spencer Howard

Coming to you from FinCon, Jeff is joined this week by Brandon Neth of Finance Buzz. He shares his story of how he and his wife travel the world on points and miles and how he ended up joining FinanceBuzz. As a community manager for their Facebook group, FinanceBuzz Elite, he and Jeff chat about what it's like to put on events and moderate group chats for a living.LinksFinanceBuzz Elite - Travel and Points   https://www.facebook.com/groups/financebuzzelite/FinCon Expo - https://finconexpo.com/CardCon Expo - https://cardconexpo.com/FlyerTalk - https://www.flyertalk.com//LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-neth-36a89b15a/NowBoarding: The Official BoardingArea PodcastTune in every Tuesday to NowBoarding for a recap of the week’s latest news, deals and top posts on BoardingArea!Recent episodes include:Plane Sabotage And A Trick To See More Amex OffersLast-Minute Summer Award Deals & United Stalks CustomersYour Flight Canceled? And, We Look At Moxy Hotels!Protect Your Privacy: Don’t Get Hacked By The Chinese Government10 Hour Amtrak Delays & Shady OTAsDisneyland’s Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge & What is Juice Jacking?

Event Planning, Building Community & Traveling The World with Brandon Neth

This week Jeff is joined by Lee Huffman from Bald Thoughts and the We Travel There podcast. They chat about the benefits of attending an award travel/frequent flyer event such as the Chicago Seminars or CardCon. Find other folks to "geek" out with and in the mean time, you never know what you might learn! Tune in to get an exclusive scoop on an upcoming Award Travel 101 event too!LinksBaldThoughtshttps://twitter.com/BaldThoughtshttps://www.instagram.com/baldthoughts/WeTravelTherehttps://twitter.com/WeTravelTherehttps://www.instagram.com/wetravelthere/Chicago SeminarsCardConFinConNowBoarding: The Official BoardingArea PodcastTune in every Tuesday to NowBoarding for a recap of the week’s latest news, deals and top posts on BoardingArea!Recent episodes include:Last-Minute Summer Award Deals & United Stalks CustomersYour Flight Canceled? And, We Look At Moxy Hotels!Protect Your Privacy: Don’t Get Hacked By The Chinese Government10 Hour Amtrak Delays & Shady OTAsDisneyland’s Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge & What is Juice Jacking?Saving Plenty With Cash Back Offers & New AA International Routes!

How to Master Award Travel By Attending Events

There's usually two kinds of award travelers. Those who earn points and miles through credit card spend and others who do so from being road warriors. It's easy to think the grass is greener - those always on the road dream of a week at home and vice versa. Well, then there's Ray Noriega, a friend of Jeff's, a US Soccer fan, comedian, tv personality and now IT road warrior. Tune in for some hilarious stories from the road, adventures he's had traveling to over 120 countries and how someone goes from being a stand up comedian straight out of high school to hosting a K-pop talk show!LinkRay Noriega on InstagramNowBoarding: The Official BoardingArea PodcastTune in every Tuesday to NowBoarding for a recap of the week’s latest news, deals and top posts on BoardingArea!Recent episodes include:Last-Minute Summer Award Deals & United Stalks CustomersYour Flight Canceled? And, We Look At Moxy Hotels!Protect Your Privacy: Don’t Get Hacked By The Chinese Government10 Hour Amtrak Delays & Shady OTAsDisneyland’s Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge & What is Juice Jacking?Saving Plenty With Cash Back Offers & New AA International Routes!

Stand-up Comedy, K-POP and World Travel with Ray Noriega

How much do you know about Award Travel 101's newest community manager? If you enjoyed learning about Jeff and his wife Chrissy on last week's episode - there's more where that came from! This week Jeff shares 10 unique and interesting facts about him and how he got into this world of points and miles.NowBoarding: The Official BoardingArea PodcastTune in every Tuesday to NowBoarding for a recap of the week’s latest news, deals and top posts on BoardingArea!Recent episodes include:Last-Minute Summer Award Deals & United Stalks CustomersYour Flight Canceled? And, We Look At Moxy Hotels!Protect Your Privacy: Don’t Get Hacked By The Chinese Government10 Hour Amtrak Delays & Shady OTAsDisneyland’s Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge & What is Juice Jacking?Saving Plenty With Cash Back Offers & New AA International Routes!

10 Things You Don't Know About Jeff

Jeff is back from his Ultimate Africa Trip! Joining him on his first episode piloting the Award Travel 101 podcast is his wife, Chrissy. Or as Jeff says, his "Better Half". They share a the story of how they met and the life changing moment on 9/11 that lead her to become a teacher. Tune in to learn more about how they plan travel with a perfect mix of fun, adventure and education as they recap their most recent family trip to South Africa. When you think of doing all the things, this family group of 8 did it! Swimming with sharks, dune surfing, safari, wine and more!Thanks to Our SponsorFly smarter by receiving premium flight deal alerts straight to your inbox from Thrifty Traveler Premium. This includes mistake fares, tailored deals from your selected departure city and even Delta SkyMiles Flash Sale alerts. Sign-up today and try it for free.NowBoarding: The Official BoardingArea PodcastTune in every Tuesday to NowBoarding for a recap of the week’s latest news, deals and top posts on BoardingArea!Recent episodes include:Last-Minute Summer Award Deals & United Stalks CustomersYour Flight Canceled? And, We Look At Moxy Hotels!Protect Your Privacy: Don’t Get Hacked By The Chinese Government10 Hour Amtrak Delays & Shady OTAsDisneyland’s Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge & What is Juice Jacking?Saving Plenty With Cash Back Offers & New AA International Routes!

Getting to Know Jeff’s Better Half + Ultimate Africa Trip

Guest Host Ed Pizzarello from Miles to Go is filling in for Jeff while he's on vacation with the family. This week we tackle a on of questions submitted with the Award Travel 101 Facebook Group. Topics include dealing with flight delays, lost luggage and how far in advance to book award travel.LinksMiles to Go: EC 261 - Passenger Rights in the EUWhat Is EU261 Compensation For A Delayed Or Cancelled Flight?Filing an EU Flight Delay Claim Was Easier Than I ThoughtGod Save The PointsThanks to Our SponsorFly smarter by receiving premium flight deal alerts straight to your inbox from Thrifty Traveler Premium. This includes mistake fares, tailored deals from your selected departure city and even Delta SkyMiles Flash Sale alerts. Sign-up today and try it for free.

Delay Compensation And Protect Your Miles From Being Hacked

We're going deal hunting this week and who better to lead the way than Jen Yellin from Deals We Like! She joins guest host Ed Pizza this week to chat about maximizing bonus miles on back to school shopping, Amex offers and a recent promotion on purchasing Hyatt points.Today's GuestDeals We Like was started in January 2011 by Jennifer Yellin. The blog became part of the well known travel network BoardingArea in June 2011 and became a featured blog just a month later. Almost every post is written by Jen with the occasional guest blogger. In just four years, Deals We Like is now read by over 65,000 people a month across 150 different countries.LinksNew Promotion: 40% Bonus on Purchasing Hyatt Points... A Great Way to Save Money!Earn 8,000 Bonus Miles for Your Back to School ShoppingMany New Amex Offers to Save Money!Thanks to Our SponsorFly smarter by receiving premium flight deal alerts straight to your inbox from Thrifty Traveler Premium. This includes mistake fares, tailored deals from your selected departure city and even Delta SkyMiles Flash Sale alerts. Sign-up today and try it for free.

We're Deal Hunting This Week!

Welcome to the Award Travel 101 Podcast! Founded in 2013, the Award Travel 101 Facebook group teaches members how to travel the world using points and miles. Today, a community of over 60,000 people from around the world share, teach and learn how to travel anywhere on any budget. More than just a recap on award travel news and strategy, the Award Travel 101 Podcast offers a glimpse into the stories and lives of our members.

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Award Travel 101

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