Budget Travel with John Ryan

The Award Travel 101 Podcast is brought to you in part by Thrifty Traveler Premium. Get Thrifty Traveler Premium deal/award alerts sent straight to your inbox. Use promo code “AT10” for $10 off your first year. Recent finds include:Starlux Business Class to Taipei for 75K milesBusiness Class to South America for 39K pointsRoundtrip to Hawaii for under $500You can find these at ThriftyTraveler.com/PremiumHow did your passion for travel begin?"I used to watch planes from the airport. I would ask my mom where each plane was going, and she would make up a place. 🤣"Why? Most teens are not into learning about travel rewards programsLike many in the space, it started with saving money.Favorite airline, hotel, credit card programs (and does status play a role in any of your travels)?Amex Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate RewardsWhere are you heading next?Queenstown, NZStudy abroad in JapanTravel Style -Mostly economy. Best deal you’ve received?San Francisco (SFO) to Lisbon (LIS) for $300 round tripSFO to LIS that was only $90Highlight Feature - Different Ways to Approach Budget TravelSchedule changesFrontier 50K/PlatinumSpirit GoldTicket counter bookings Southwest A-ListDelta SkyMilesSouthwestAmericanVirgin AtlanticKLM nonstop and VirginVirgin offers an underrated companion fareBritish AirwaysSolid amount of award space from Vegas - high surcharges. Other Things to KnowFrontier 100K/Diamondfree checked, carry-on bag, early boarding, and other perksJetBlue True Blue Southwest Rapid RewardsUnited Aeroplan awards under 500 miles Lifemiles Turkish - used to be 7.5K, but is now 10K for economy. Business was 12.5K, but is now 15K per personAmerican - last minute awardsBritish Airways - see the updated award chartEtihad Guest - starts at 6K for awards under under 500 milesDelta - CompareVirgin Atlantic - start at 8.5K - see updated chartFlying Blue - Where to Find JohnJohn is active in the Award Travel 101/201 community and writes for Bougie Miles. To reach him:john.ryan@fora.travel@vegasteenager on twitterWhere To Find the Award Travel 101 Community For questions, you can join us in the free 100,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community. For more intermediate and advanced strategies, join Award Travel 201 community To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1. You can also email us at contactawardtravel@gmail.com. Our next meetup is located in San Antonio, TX on April 26–28, 2024. If you want a waitlisted ticket, see this post in AT101. Support the AT101 Podcast/Community