Episode 48: Show Notes What’s the holiday season without a little airing of grievances? Join us for our Festivus 2024 special, where we pull no punches as we dive into the biggest wins and fails of the travel and loyalty program world for 2024. Dia Adams joins us to share her pros and cons of loyalty programs, explain country-specific regulations t…

Episode 47: Show Notes What happens when Thanksgiving travel takes you across the Atlantic and through the heart of Europe? In this episode, Tom and Trevor share their Thanksgiving travel experiences through Budapest, Vienna, and even a nostalgic stop in Bratislava. They provide insightful perspectives on international travel during the holidays, e…

Episode 46: Show Notes. The travel space is constantly evolving, and the way in which airlines handle rewards systems is no different. Today on Travel Stories, we are joined by Thrifty Traveler editor Kyle Potter to discuss the miles and points game, airfare trends, and becoming a premium Thrifty Traveler. Tuning in, you’ll hear all about Kyle’s ca…

0:22 Delta Selling 80+% of First Cabin OMMAT VFTW Value is there--pricing of the upgrade is so low they're selling out elite Upgrades more than ever. Jumping off point for discussing Be Your Own Elite. Don't wait for an airline to give you what you want. Secure it yourself Great flight times are key because your time is valuable. The current state …

Episode 45: Show Notes. We’re always looking to try new things, but our recent trip to Colombia and Spain unlocked new levels of exploring the unknown! We centered the trip around 1 single itinerary, and didn’t have our flights home until more than halfway through the trip. Our exploration of two cities begins in the one with higher altitude than w…

Episode 44: Show Notes. Lufthansa’s First Class is revered as one of the more aspirational airline products to flight; Lufthansa’s First Class Terminal (FCT) is among the top 3 airline lounge experiences, and Trevor and Thomas both agree. Miles and Points expert and writer JT Genter joins us to share about himself, and to discuss his first Lufthans…

Episode 43: Show Notes. As we wave goodbye to summer, Thomas and Trevor walk us through their most recent end-of-season trips: A Carnival cruise and a forgettable Cap Cana experience. We begin with Thomas and his trip aboard the Carnival Mardi Gras, where he explains why he chose Carnival over his trusted Royal Caribbean. Thomas details his itinera…

0:22 Q4 5x Bonus Categories Chase Freedom: PayPal, Pet Stores, McDonalds Discover: Amazon, Target Don’t Forget: BofA Cash Rewards, US Bank Cash+ 03:19 JetBlue News Lounges coming to JFK and BOS late 2025 Premium credit card (from Barclays, ha!) coming “soon” that enables lounge access Markets themselves as having “The East Coast’s Best Leisure Netw…

Episode 42: Show Notes We Welcome Richrd Kerr, VP of Travel at Bilt Rewards. Richard is a miles, points, and travel enthusiast whose vast experience has led him to lead a prominent facebook group (now Award Travel 101), write for The Points Guy, and ultimately to Bilt Rewards – the loyalty program for where you live. Richard is kind enough to share…

I've long been intrigued by the luxury hotel timeshare market, where you get the quality and amenities of a five star hotel combined with the square footage of a residential vacation home. A prime example of this type of property is Four Seasons Aviara in Carlsbad, CA. Back in the day, Four Seasons managed both a hotel here along with a collection …

Episode 41: Show Notes. Note: The video of this podcast can be viewed on Youtube, find it here. Family travel can be just as affordable and rewarding as a solo one. To help us gain a better perspective of traveling the world with kids in tow, we are joined today by the renowned travel expert, author, and Senior Editor at Fortune Recommends, Dia Ada…

Episode 40: Show Notes. We’re heading back to the high seas! During this episode, Tom shares all the details of his recent trip with Virgin Voyages cruise line, from costs, to rooms, drinking, dining, entertainment, and more. Join us as he gets candid about what he loved, tolerated, and disliked during the trip along with tips for you to get the mo…

Episode 39: Show Notes Are you bored of the usual tourist travel tropes and looking for more? Have you ever wondered how to turn a simple trip into an unforgettable adventure? In this episode, we dive into the art of ‘sightDOING’ with travel expert Becky Pokora, who transforms ordinary travel experiences into extraordinary, hands-on journeys. Becky…

0:21 Transfer Bonuses Chase UR to Marriott Bonvoy: 70% (through Aug 14, 2024) EXPIRES SOON Amex MR to Avios: 30% (through Sept 30, 2024) Amex MR to Hawaiian: 20% (through Aug 31, 2024) CapOne to Qantas: 20% (through Aug 31, 2024) 08:24 United Premium Cabin Awards (on United Metal) Gets Even More Expensive (Live and Lets Fly) We’ve talked a lot the …

A Norway Trip Report...on today’s Milenomics² Podcast 01:00 Scope: 2 weeks in Norway. Oslo, Tromso, Lofoten then back to Oslo for a few days. Wanted to get away from people. Love the coast, and Norway has a LOT of coastline Spent most of our time in the arctic Circle (but not considered the arctic) Map: 10:12 Outbound: Air France. LAX-CDG Plus a 4h…

Episode 38: Show Notes Have you ever wondered what it's like to travel the stunning coastlines and towns of the French and Italian Rivieras? In this episode, we dive into Trevor’s recent adventure to these iconic Mediterranean destinations. From the highs and lows of traveling with family to insightful travel recommendations, Trevor provides his ta…

Episode 37: Show Notes In today’s organic, stream-of-consciousness episode, we take a look at some of our recent travel experiences, explore current industry trends, and share our take on what we think may happen in the not-so-distant future. Our menagerie of travel stories begins with Thomas’s experience of the Rio Las Vegas before diving into the…

In this episode, we dive into the adventures of Spencer Howard, the founder of Straight To The Points, as he shares his recent Asia Pacific trip experience. Straight To The Points is a service that helps travelers find and book premium airline award tickets using points and miles, helping save time and money. In our conversation, Spencer shares his…

0:24 Q3 2024 5x Categories Chase Freedom: Gas (and other stuff) Discover: Grocery Stores, Walmart (For the first time in FOREVER!!!) Citi Dividend: Gas Why do banks have these cards? To move our spending onto these cards long after the quarter ends. 04:05 Transfer Bonuses Citi -> Cathay Pacific 15% (7/20) Chase -> Aeroplan 20% (7/31) If the space i…

0:55 Ranking Bank Points for Domestic Airfare We’re talking about deeply discounted airfare, not FREE airfare. Every one of these programs has a cash out path–that’s great 1:45 Overview: Highs and Lows of each Program 1:59 Chase UR Talked about the most online, but not as valuable as Amex to us Much more straightforward than Amex 1 Cent per Ultimat…

While today is all about a long weekend in Madrid, Thomas and Trevor go on their usual tangents to bring you yet another information-drenched and fun-filled episode! We begin with our love for gin and tonic ice cubes and by explaining how today’s episode relates to many of our other Travel Stories. Then, Trevor walks us through his recent airport l…

Chatting with Nick Reyes of FrequentMiler Episode 34: Show Notes. Few things are as exhilarating as a competitive travel challenge among like-minded peers! Speaking of birds of a feather, today we are joined by fellow travel enthusiast and author, Nick Reyes. Nick is a prime example of how to follow your travel dreams even when your wallet says tha…

Are you interested in cruises, and want to capitalize on miles and points, but feel unsure of where to start? Then this episode is for you! Today we sit down with, Debra Schroeder, who first became interested in miles and points back in ’94, when she bought an excess of cereal boxes to capitalize on an American Airlines promotional campaign. Her hi…

A Quick Cairo Trip Episode 32: Show Notes. After a two-plus year-long wait, Tom finally used his Qatar booking credit from the pandemic (just in time before the booking expired!). Even though he wasn’t excited about the trip before departure, his wonderful experience of Cairo made him question his initial reservations. Tom details his airport exper…

Episode 31: Show Notes. When you talk to folks in the community, people have strong opinions about Hyatt’s Baha Mar property, and its not just in one direction. Luckily, today’s guest, Joey Redmond – who has been on the show twice before – is here to tell us all about Baha Mar, a resort in the Bahamas that he has found himself returning to year aft…

A First Time Istanbul Visit with Han Episode 30: Show Notes The Turkish Airlines Devaluation was a big deal. We covered our trip to Istanbul, Turkey, but the reality of the matter is, so many people booked trips to Turkey because of this devaluation and we just felt obligated to bring a second perspective. In this case, Han Chicago joins us to shar…

Episode 29: Show Notes This episode on Travel Stories, we dive deeper into sharing our cruise line experiences, and if you have any of your own, we’d love to hear from you! Today, Tom walks us through his recent 10-day journey on Enchanted Princess, starting with his overall evaluation of the experience before assessing tendering and the embarkatio…

Planning a Disney World vacation can be an overwhelming experience. With four theme parks, over twenty resort hotels, and dozens of restaurants - there's a lot to consider. In this episode I chat with Disney travel agent Joe Cheung and my sister-in-law Kelly to plan her family's Disney World vacation. We discuss hotel options, differences between D…

Tom and Trevor’s annual guys’ trip for 2024 led them to Istanbul, Turkey, and their experience was an absolute Turkish delight! They booked their tickets via Turkish Airlines just before the award chart’s devaluation, and they were relieved to still be able to use their points. In today’s episode, we take a look at Tom and Trevor’s Middle Eastern a…

A Pilot’s Perspective: Finding the Right Approach from Cargo to Commercial Episode 27: Show Notes. We welcome Steven Kriese, a traveler, a commercial airline pilot and friend. In today’s episode, Steve takes us back in time to his first flying experience and how airline technology has steadily evolved since. He walks us through his personal prefere…

Usually I lock up a summer trip as far ahead of time as possible. But due to the current award travel patterns and my need for 4 seats I found myself without a summer booking and a family wanting to travel. Today Robert and I chat about the ups and downs of the search for a summer trip, award space scarcity, alliance and search engine fragmentation…

During this episode, we discuss Malaysia, with a focus on Langkawi. Trevor shares the highlights and disappointments from his recent trip with his wife and young daughter, from Etihad First Class to first-class lounges, luxury amenities, and more. Tune in for a first-hand account of South East Asian travel packed with handy insights of the highs an…

Episode 25: Show Notes In today’s episode of Travel Stories, we talk about the highs and lows of booking Tom’s recent trip to Australia, the cruise that followed, and his trip home. Thomas recounts his exploits in the land “Down Under,” from exploring Sydney's hidden gems to a firsthand encounter with the lavish comforts of the A380 first-class exp…

Festivus: The non-commercial holiday's celebration, as depicted on Seinfeld, occurs on December 23 and includes a Festivus dinner, an unadorned aluminum Festivus pole, practices such as the "airing of grievances" and "feats of strength", and the labeling of easily explainable events as "Festivus miracles" 0:15 Intro, some history about Festivus as …

From the spectacular cockpit views to gaining status at hotels, a pilot’s travel experience is quite different from ours as a commercial traveler. Today, we’re shifting gears and gaining valuable travel insight from a pilot’s perspective. Brandr is a Navy Reservist and commercial pilot, as well as an avid miles and points nerd. We discuss Brandr’s …

Planning a trip to New Zealand and Australia? Are you wanting to craft the perfect blend of flights, hotels, and attractions and create an unforgettable journey? Then don’t miss out on today’s valuable insights from our special guest, Joe Cheung! Joe shares his recent family adventure, covering everything from Air New Zealand flights, the Skycouch,…

We're back with a great talk between Robert and I on the following: 0:22 Follow Up: Alaska Status Match (last discussed Ep 68) 06:13 Amex Churnability and Employee Offers Cards used to be much more churnable Popups abound now. Wish there was a way to get rid of them by force 15k for $4k is the new thing Business Platinum (link) Business Gold (link)…

Travel Stories Episode 21: Travel Banter We’re trying something different today a different format for Travel Stories that we like to call Travel Banter. We start by exploring aviation-themed films and series that have impacted us over the years. From the beloved cult classic The Terminal to Up In the Air, we cover a wide range of air travel themes…

Halloween Episode – Travel Horror StoriesEpisode 20: Show Notes While it may not be horror like Freddy Krueger or Michael Myers, today’s episode will definitely send chills down the spines of travelers as we share our experiences of when travel went horribly wrong. It’s easy to fall victim to scams in foreign countries as your unfamiliarity with th…

Episode 19: Show Notes. This week we talk all about the Maldives. Join the conversation as we take a deep dive into Trevor’s recent family trip to the Maldives, including a detailed look at his flights to and from, his thoughts on Virgin Atlantic food, and hear him tell about the worst mistake (of the entire trip!) he made. With a bit of strategic …

We're doing things a little different with today's episode. You'll notice that at the top of this episode we call out episode 206 (not Episode 68). This conversation took place as the first 20 or so minutes of our subscriber podcast episode 206. Robert and I discussed it after we released that full episode and we're cutting just this conversation i…

Episode 18: Show Notes Summer is drew to a close, but the adventures are far from over. Join us as we finish the summer with two very different trips. From airport lounges to ancient pyramids, from gourmet dining to high-seas adventure, this episode has it all. In our conversation, Trevor recounts his Lima trip. He also gives us the lowdown on the …

Annual Guys Trip to Rio Episode 17: Show Notes. We’ve recently returned from our second annual guys trip, and we’re feeling “Braziliant!” Last year, we headed to Manila, and this time we spent the weekend in Rio de Janeiro. This trip had a few “firsts” for us, including Tom’s first time flying United Polaris and both of our first times flying Air C…

Episode 16: Show Notes. Award booking is often a combination of haphazard gyrations and creative problem-solving to find the fares that you are happy with and that makes it worth traveling! In this week’s episode, we take the time to discuss our personal experiences and share thoughts on some of the awards-booking search tools we’ve explored lately…

Episode 15: Show Notes. Today we have a great summer catch-up, rounding up all the flights we have taken and destinations we have visited recently! We talk flights, hotels, cruise ships, river boat cruises, penguins, and more! Trevor unpacks his Greek Isles cruise, and the highs and lows, to include far, far more than normal travel gaffs! We touch …

We're back with a chat about Sam's 2023 summer trip to Japan. 0:34 Overview: 14 days, spent as follows: 5 nights in Kyoto at Mimaru Apartment hotel. 430 square foot. Not spacious but good for a family of 4. 2 nights in Hiroshima at the Hilton Hiroshima: One bedroom suite booked with points (90k per night). Very new hotel, opened in 2022. 5 Nights I…

A Milestone Trip with Joe Petrovic Episode 14: Show Notes. We welcome Joe Petrovic from Award Travel 101 to the podcast, to talk about how he used his miles and points to take him and his father on a first-class strip to Croatia. Before speaking about his special trip, Joe explains how he got into the rewards game and what he did to become an exper…

Talking All Things with Michael Trager and ZorkFest Episode 13: Show Notes. This week, on our lucky Episode 13, we welcome Michael Trager from TravelZork. We sit down and hear from Michael about his comical, but just as incredible, TWA story, and how he got into revenue luxury travel. We discuss all things related to rewards credit cards, the 5/24 …

Episode 12: Show Notes Mileage runs used to be fun and exciting travel bursts that allowed you to visit many destinations in a short space of time while racking up tons of miles. Today, however, things are a bit different and mileage runs are no longer prevalent. Trevor and TK take a trip down memory lane to the good old days when mileage runs were…

The Changing Landscape of Cruising Episode 11: Show Notes The landscape of cruising has changed drastically since the last time we spoke about it on the podcast, just four months ago. In this episode, we fill you in on the changes, both positive and negative, and discuss the maintained value of cruises, despite the changes. We also give you a detai…