If you don’t already know this, Taylor and I absolutely love to travel. Our main goal is to build enough passive income and a business that lets us build wealth on the road without a 9-5 job. We both currently have two full-time jobs but take advantage of our vacation days and ensure we are spending that time visiting new locations.
With the help of travel hacking, we travel as much as we possibly can without having to worry about draining our bank accounts. We are able to do this by using credit cards to accumulate a massive amount of frequent flier points and miles that allows us to travel for free or heavily discounted.
Post related to Travel Hacking
If you want some evidence related to our travel hacking experiences check out the following post. I hope this helps you realize how valuable this hobby is and how it can greatly change your life.
- How we saved over $32,000 on our honeymoon
- We saved almost $1,200 on our 3-day weekend trip to Seattle
- How to get good seats on Budget Airlines like Frontier and Spirit for Free
I used to have a course together called, Travel For Free – Become a Travel Hacker in 30 Days to teach others how to do it. Instead of wandering around aimlessly through google, I put together the course consisting of over 30+ videos outlining step by step how to earn and redeem award points/miles so you can start traveling for free. Unfortunately, I put the course on hold in March 2020 due to the pandemic. With airline programs now in flux, I wanted to ensure the content was accurate and up to date. Once things start getting back to normal I may start it back up…TBD.
Continuous Education and Learning!
This hobby has become my obsession and I often find myself spending several hours a day educating myself on the latest tips and tricks.
I often listen to podcasts while in my car as a way to turn a non-value activity into a valuable activity. Manly focused on real estate, personal finance, and personal growth podcast shows, I recently stumbled upon travel hacking podcasts and absolutely love them.
Travel hacking podcasts provide another avenue to keep me updated and informed with the latest information in the community.
Below is a list of the best podcasts I found related to travel hacking and award travel for those leveraging frequent flyer programs. If you recommend another travel hacking or award travel podcast please share it below in a comment!
The Best Award Travel / Travel Hacking Podcasts Available Today
I listed the podcasts in alphabetical order since I prefer to keep my opinions and biases out of the initial list.
NOTE: Some of the podcasts listed below are no longer actively publishing, I split the lists in two for your reference.
Although some are no longer active they are still listed because you can still get valuable information from the past episodes.
Active Travel Hacking Podcasts (sorted alphabetically)
- Dots Lines Destinations
- GeoBreeze Travel
- Milenomics
- Miles To Go
- Travel Fanboy
- ZorkCast (Got 9 Minutes)
The Complete List (sorted alphabetically):
- Abroaders Podcasts
- Award Travel 101
- Dots Lines Destinations
- GeoBreeze Travel
- Milenomics
- Miles Away (The Points Guy)
- Miles To Go
- Now Boarding
- The Pursuing Points Podcast
- Saverocity Abroad
- Talking Points (The Points Guy)
- Travel Fanboy
- ZorkCast (Got 9 Minutes)
1. Abroaders Podcasts (no longer publishing)
Abroaders Podcasts is a successful show with over 200 episodes starting before 2016. The show focuses on all things travel hacking, like reviewing changes to a frequent flier and hotel loyalty programs, how to maximize miles with frequent flyer programs, how to use points and miles to get from one continent to another, and more.
Favorite Episode: 229 – Booking Awards to Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific
Average Duration: 40 minutes to 1 hour
2. Award Travel 101 (no longer publishing)
Award Travel 101, started out as a public Facebook group in 2013 by Richard Kerr. Richard recently created the podcast, Award Travel 101, and shares his thoughts on category spending, points and miles, and even fuel/gas rewards.
Favorite Episode: 8 – Life Behind the Keyboard
Average Duration: 30 minutes
3. Dots, Lines, and Destinations
Dots, Lines, and Destinations is a travel podcast covering a mix of topics including airport changes, airline routes, destination itineraries, award charts and more. There are not too many episodes strictly talking points and miles, rather it focuses more on trips and destinations
Favorite Episode: 239 – We don’t need no stinkin’ charts!
Average Duration: 45 minutes
4. Geobreeze Travel
Hosted by Julia Menez, Geobreeze Travel podcast is an interview-style podcast featuring new exciting travel hackers with diverse backgrounds, strategies, and goals.
Julia strives to dig deeper than what’s surfaced from mainstream travel blogs and provides fresh new content with real-world examples and additional resources to further level up your game!
Favorite Episode: 7 – How to Stack Points and Rewards Programs with Angel Trinh
Average Duration: 30 – 45 minutes
5. Milenomics
Hosted by Sam Simon and Robert Dawyer, Milenomics is a show that has both free and paid content. Milenomics (Free version) usually covers 3 main topics, related to award redemptions, credit cards, and more. Their paid podcast is highly recommended for those looking to dive deeper into the travel hacking game!
Favorite Episode: 17 – Chase Closed All My Accounts, Help!
Average Duration: 15 – 30 minutes
6. Miles Away (The Points Guy) (no longer publishing)
Miles Away podcast is part of The Points Guy collection hosted by Zach Honig. It focuses on destinations and how to get there from a points/miles redemption perspective. This could be extremely valuable if you’re trying to figure out how to get to a destination that’s covered on the show and how to use points and miles to get yourself there!
Favorite Episode: 17 – Curating Your Trip with Social Media
Average Duration: 25 Minutes
7. Miles To Go
Started back in 2018, Miles To Go covers all things travel. Ed Pizza is the host of the show as well as another Travel Hacking podcast, Now Boarding. Miles To Go covers everything from destination itineraries, credit card application tips, and more.
Favorite Episode: 43 – 2018’s Critical Points with Richard Kerr
Average Duration: 30 – 40 minutes
8. Now Boarding (no longer publishing)
Now Boarding is also a podcast hosted by Ed Pizza. It conducts interviews with the bloggers of Boarding Area, discussing their journey into blogging, flights, hotels, credit cards, favorite routes, and more.
Favorite Episode: 40 – Your Mileage May Vary
Average Duration: 35 minutes
9. The Pursuing Points Podcasts (no longer publishing)
Hosted by Peter Foti, Pursuing Points discusses Peter’s travel, recent news in the travel hacking world, mile redemption strategies and more.
Favorite Episode: 27 – The End of Credit Card Rewards?
Average Duration: 30 minutes
10. Saverocity Observation Deck (no longer publishing)
Saveroicity Observation Deck, is one of the first travel hacking podcasts on iTunes and the first one I stumbled upon. The show started back in 2015 and is dually hosted by Joe and Trevor. This is an interview-based show that appeals to the experienced travel hacker already in the game. Joe and Trevor focus on travel experiences, how to get to a specific destination, favorite credit cards and more.
Favorite Episode: 104 – Alternate Awards with Spencer Howard
Average Duration: 50 minutes
11. Talking Points (The Points Guy) (no longer publishing)
The original podcast from The Points Guy, Talking Points launched in Q4 of 2018 and is hosted by Brian Kelly. Talking Points is an interview-based podcast show that interviews the top executives and influencers in the industry. It’s nice spin on the typical travel hacking talk when listening to a show that’s interviewing someone who works for an airline or hotel company.
Favorite Episode: 20 – American Airlines VP of Planning: Vasu Raja
Average Duration: 30 – 40 minutes
12. Travel Fanboy
Travel fanboy covers a range of topics from destination guides, points and miles tips, credit cards, deals, and casinos. One of my favorite episodes covers one of the great deals Taylor and I are taking advantage of, a free 4-night stay at Atlantis in the Bahamas.
Favorite Episode: 23 – Is the “Free” Atlantis Stay via Caesars Worth It?
Average Duration: 30 – 50 minutes
13. Zorkcast (Got 9 Minutes)
Zorkcast is a podcast with short and sweet episodes covering travel hacking as well as casino award tips. This podcast is short and sweet and is a great choice if you are looking for valuable information without the fluff of a typical podcast.
Favorite Episode: 65 – Credit Card Manufactured Spend (MS) and Casinos + Casino Spend for Status
Average Duration: 15 minutes
Conclusion
Anyone can become a travel hacker and start traveling more often. It doesn’t happen overnight but with some education and a strategy you can find yourself traveling at a steep discount or if you have enough points or miles, even for free.
There are plenty of resources available at your disposal and I think podcast may be the easiest form of information you can consume. Although it’s not a guide on how to get started it gives insight into the success from others and can be motivational to help you get started.
If you have any questions or recommendations, please leave a comment below!
