Travel, Points + Miles Podcast
231
June 11, 2025
Top 50 Ways to Upgrade Your Life, Money, and Travel from 200+ Episodes
#231: Chris shares his top 50 learnings and lessons from the past 230 episodes. Learn actionable strategies to level up your travel, wealth, points & miles, productivity, relationships, and so much more! Partner Deals Copilot: Free 2 months access to my favorite personal finance app with code HACKS2 NetSuite: Free KPI checklist to upgrade your business performance Facet: Personalized Financial Planning + $250 enrollment fee waived DeleteMe: 20% off removing your personal info from the web ...
228
May 21, 2025
Deep Dive on Citi Credit Cards and ThankYou Points (Best 2-Card Combo)
#228: A deep dive into Citi’s credit card lineup. I've recently opened up a few Citi cards and am very excited about sharing the best Citi cards, how to maximize ThankYou Points, the best airline and hotel transfer partners, and how Citi’s best two-card combo stacks up against other major issuers. Partner Deals (Advertiser Disclosure) Thrive Market: 30% off your first order of organic groceries + a free $60 gift Facet: Personalized Financial Planning + $250 enrollment fee waived Storywo...
227
May 14, 2025
The Path to Becoming an Expert in Points & Miles with Devon Gimbel
#227: An actionable 4-step framework to master points and miles while maximizing personal value. We cover high-yield earning strategies like paying processing fees, bulk ordering, and leveraging business expenses, plus tactics for scaling award travel for multiple people. We also explore alternate pathways to earn and redeem points without chasing “perfection.” Devon Gimbel is the founder of Point Me to First Class , an educational platform and podcast that teaches people to maximize their sp...
226
May 7, 2025
Optimizing Vacations, New Ways to Earn Points, Airline Changes and More
#226: From optimizing travel and rewards to new ways to earn points, Chris shares some recent tactics he's picked up on upgrades and award travel. He also covers some flight deals, airline changes, Mother's Day gift ideas, and reflects on recent podcast episodes. Partner Deals Gelt: Skip the waitlist on personalized tax guidance to maximize your wealth Trust & Will: Get 20% off personalized, legally binding estate plans MasterClass: Learn from the world's best with 15% off Vuori: 20% off t...
224
April 23, 2025
Airport Lounges: Getting In, Hidden Perks and Expert Tips with Kevin Song
#224: This is the ultimate guide to airport lounges. You'll learn how to access the best lounges without needing to fly first class by using credit cards, memberships, elite status, and more. We’ll also discuss the best lounges, underrated perks, tools to manage access, avoiding crowded lounges and more. Kevin Song is the co-founder of This Lounge, one of the most comprehensive databases of airport lounges around the world. He is a former cybersecurity professional at WeWork, Hyatt, Deloitte,...
220
March 26, 2025
Rethinking Elite Status and Smarter Ways to Earn and Use Points
#220: Is chasing elite status worth it? Chris shares his journey of earning elite status with 8 hotel and airline loyalty programs for 2025, weighing the pros and cons amid recent devaluations. He also highlights listener stories showcasing over $100,000 in combined savings through smart points and miles strategies. Partner Deals (Advertiser Disclosure) Thrive Market: 30% off your first order of organic groceries + a free $60 gift Gelt: Skip the waitlist on personalized tax guidance to ...
219
March 19, 2025
20+ Airport Hacks for Faster Security, Immigration, and Boarding with Leigh Rowan
#219: Learn every way to skip security lines, breeze through immigration, and save time at the airport. We cover the programs like TSA PreCheck, Global Entry, and CLEAR, as well as smart check-in tactics, must-have apps, and insider tricks to save time when you travel. Leigh Rowan is the founder and CEO of Savanti Travel, a full-service travel management company. Prior to that, he was the COO of The Points Guy. Partner Deals Trust & Will: Get 15% off personalized, legally binding estate...
214
Feb. 12, 2025
Best Cash Back Cards and How to Earn up to 20% Back on Everything
#214: Chris reveals the top cash back credit cards in 2025 to maximize your rewards. He also goes deep on leveraging signup bonuses to earn up to 20% back on all your spending. Partner Deals (Advertiser Disclosure) Vuori: 20% off the most comfortable performance apparel I've ever worn Copilot: Free 2 months access to my favorite personal finance app with code HACKS2 LMNT: Free sample pack of my favorite electrolyte drink mix Gelt: Skip the waitlist on personalized tax guidance to maximize ...
201
Nov. 13, 2024
Iceland & Hawaii: Trip Reports and Travel Tips
#201: Chris and Amy recap all the takeaways and planning tactics from two recent trips to Iceland (with All the Hacks listeners and the Big Island of Hawaii. Partner Deals DeleteMe: 20% off removing your personal info from the web Fabric: Affordable term life insurance for you and your family Superhuman: Free month of the fastest and best email with code ALLTHEHACKS Vuori: 20% off the most comfortable performance apparel I've ever worn Bilt Rewards: Earn the most valuable points when you p...
197
Oct. 16, 2024
Navigating Your Money, Points, and Career + More Listener Q&A with Kevin Rose
#197: Together with Kevin Rose, we'll dive into points and miles strategies, credit card optimization, travel tips, and career growth. Specifically, we'll cover everything from underrated credit card tricks, tactics for earning multiple welcome bonuses, navigating the complexities of family travel, staying updated on the best deals, our favorite podcasts, and so much more. Kevin Rose is a partner at True Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm that has invested over $4 billion in a port...
195
Oct. 2, 2024
50+ Ways to Earn More Points and Miles Without Spending More
#195: Learn 50+ tactics to earn points and miles without spending extra money. From shopping portals and card-linked offers to strategies for earning points on groceries, flights, and even rent, discover how to optimize your spending and leverage partnerships between airlines, hotels, and various services to rack up points effortlessly. Partner Deals Vuori: 20% off the most comfortable performance apparel I've ever worn Mint Mobile: $15/mo for unlimited wireless on the nation's largest 5G ...
192
Sept. 11, 2024
How I Saved Over $20K on a Luxury European Vacation
#192: Here's how we saved over $20,000 on our recent Europe trip! Learn how to use award flight tools to score affordable business-class tickets, maximize hotel loyalty programs for luxury stays, and find incredible travel deals. We’ll also review highlights from our trip, including top restaurants, airport experiences, Olympic events, and so much more! Partner Deals (Advertiser Disclosure) NetSuite: Free KPI checklist to upgrade your business performance MasterClass: Learn from the wor...
187
Aug. 7, 2024
42 Travel Planning Tips & Tricks from Travel Pro Leigh Rowan
#187: Learn the art of travel planning to enjoy incredible vacations. Travel pro Leigh and I share over 40 practical tips to create the perfect itinerary, save on flights and hotels, find travel inspiration, experience destinations like a local, and much more. Leigh Rowan is the founder and CEO of Savanti Travel, a full-service travel management company. Prior to that he was the COO of The Points Guy. Partner Deals LMNT: Free sample pack of my favorite electrolyte drink mix Facet: Perso...
182
July 3, 2024
Shortcuts to Elite Travel Status with Greg the Frequent Miler
#182: We share 10+ insider secrets and shortcuts to earning elite status with airlines and hotels. We cover the basics of elite status and how to leverage credit cards, points and miles, and status matches to maximize travel perks. We also explore non-traditional methods like gifting and buying, vacation homes and corporate partnerships to earn and maintain status. Greg Davis-Kean is the founder of Frequent Miler, a blog dedicated to helping people maximize their travel rewards and loyalty pr...
179
June 15, 2024
Travel Wisdom from the World’s Most Traveled Man (Harry Mitsidis)
#179: The world’s most traveled man, Harry Mitsidis shares his wisdom on the transformative benefits of travel. He provides insights on planning trips for the best experiences, shares his favorite destinations and highlights under-appreciated countries and regions. Harry Mitsidis is one of three people in the world to have visited every country twice. He founded NomadMania, a travel community platform that offers tools, information, and resources that empower meaningful adventures around the ...
176
May 29, 2024
Redeeming Points and Miles for Max Value (and What Not To Do!) with Nick Reyes
#176: Chris and Nick share the strategies you need to know to easily get the most value out of your points and miles. They discuss the best and worst redemption options, transferring points, optimal ways to structure a trip, finding availability, tips for hotel and airline programs and more. Nick Reyes is the Senior Author at Frequent Miler and co-host of the Frequent Miler On The Air podcast. He is an avid traveler who's been to 60+ countries and loves collecting points and miles. Part...
175
May 28, 2024
Monday Musings: Latest Deals, Summer Award Travel, Father's Day Gift Ideas, Calling 911 and More
#175: Host Chris Hutchins shares his latest deals, advice on booking summer travel with points, some father’s day gift ideas, a family health update and more. Resources Mentioned Chris's Newsletter Latest Deals Bilt Rewards Toast App for Restaurants Hilton Summer Promo Credit Cards: Citi Strata Premier℠ Great Finds Dr. Attia Video on Exercise Nick's Blind Date Why Car Insurance Rates Are So High Recommendations Tetris Movie Superhuman Email (promo code ALLTHEHACKS) Traffic...
170
May 1, 2024
Cash Back vs. Points: Are We Doing It All Wrong?
#170: Chris makes a case for cash back in your credit card strategy based on some recent changes in the points and miles world. He goes deep on strategies for every spending category and shares his analysis of how to optimize points vs. cash back for the best ROI. Partner Deals (Advertiser Disclosure) Mint Mobile: $15/mo for unlimited wireless on the nation's largest 5G network Vuori: 20% off the most comfortable performance apparel I've ever worn Superhuman: Free month of the fastest a...
167
April 13, 2024
Best Tools for Booking Hotels with Points & Miles with Greg the Frequent Miler
#167: Points and miles experts Greg Davis-Kean and Chris discuss how you can optimize hotel award search tool features to save money and get the best deal for your next hotel booking. They also offer tips to get perks like complimentary breakfast, room upgrades, resort credits, early check-in, late checkout, and more. Greg Davis-Kean is the founder of Frequent Miler, a blog dedicated to helping people maximize their travel rewards and loyalty programs, mostly without flying. He is also the ho...
166
April 10, 2024
Best Award Search Tools for Booking Flights with Points & Miles with Greg the Frequent Miler
#166: Award search pros Greg Davis-Kean and Chris share insider tips to save hundreds (or thousands) of dollars when utilizing points and miles to book flights. They showcase practical use cases to help evaluate the pros and cons of the best award flight tools out there, both free and paid versions. They also discuss the best tools for flight trip monitoring and seat alerts. Greg Davis-Kean is the founder of Frequent Miler, a blog dedicated to helping people maximize their travel rewards and ...
164
March 27, 2024
Earn Points Paying Taxes with a Credit Card (+ Latest Deals/News)
#164: Chris shares a unique way to earn points: using your credit card to pay taxes. He outlines the various options available to help you evaluate whether it’s worth paying taxes on your credit card. Chris also shares the latest news in the world of points and miles, including transfer partners and bonuses, recent devaluations, card-linked offers, and more. Partner Deals (Advertiser Disclosure) MasterClass: Learn from the world's best with 15% off Gelt: Skip the waitlist on personalize...
163
March 23, 2024
My New Routine, Timeshare Pitches, and Podcast Plans for 2024
#163: Chris shares a new daily habit he's adopted and his experience with a timeshare pitch during a recent trip to Mexico. He also shares some results from the podcast survey and some plans for the podcast in 2024. Partner Deals Copilot: Free 2 months access to my favorite personal finance app with code HACKS2 NetSuite: Free KPI checklist to upgrade your business performance DeleteMe: 20% off removing your personal info from the web For all the deals, discounts and promo codes from our pa...
157
Feb. 17, 2024
Costa Rica: A Top Travel Destination for Adventure, Rainforests and Relaxation with Javier Echecopar
#157: Costa Rica expert Javier Echecopar shares the amazing experiences the country has to offer. He provides insider tips for the ideal times to visit, where to find the best beaches, mountains and wildlife, and different adventurous activities like visiting the Arenal volcano. He also offers recommendations for food, unique lodging, the best ways to get around the country, and much more. Javier Echecopar is a co-founder of Journey Costa Rica, a travel company dedicated to creating high-end ...
156
Feb. 14, 2024
Finding the Best Deals on Flights with Zach Resnick
#156: Flight deals expert Zach Resnick and Chris share every way they know to save money booking flights, including hidden city ticketing, VPN arbitrage, travel agents, buddy passes, and more. They also cover their favorite award search tools and share insights into the secret world of buying and selling points and miles. Zach Resnick is the founder of FlyFlat, a luxury concierge platform that offers great deals on long-haul, international, business and first class tickets. Partner Deal...
152
Jan. 17, 2024
Credit Cards: What's in My Wallet for 2024
#152: Chris reviews his credit card lineup, sharing insights on what he currently uses, what's on the back burner, and some new additions for 2024. He also shares the best card strategies to optimize points across major spending categories such as dining, groceries, travel, and more. Partner Deals (Advertiser Disclosure) Copilot: Free 2 months access to my favorite personal finance app with code HACKS2 Netsuite: Free KPI checklist to upgrade your business performance Shopify: $1/month t...