Saverocity Observation Deck

Becky Pokora from sightdoing.net drops by and we chat about our recent trips that hopefully can inspire you as you plan your next ones. How can you enjoy Alaska by land or by sea, what is it like to go to the Women’s World Cup, and how much wildlife can you see in Tasmania? We also talk about how Joe dealt with a grossly overcharged rental car.

Dustin from Waller’s Wallet returns to talk about the baby that was born thanks to his trip to Brno (discussed in Episode 96), why he canceled the American Express Personal Gold (what?), discrepancies he’s noticed studying prices on various travel portals, and a lot more!

Freequent Flyer is back! The man who works for you discusses how he hacked his way through his Hawaii honeymoon, airline partnerships and double dipping opportunities, and we somehow end up discussing the future of ride share services.

Toni Southam Perkins from Nachos con Huevos and Award Travel 101 drops by the podcast to talk finding award space for a family of six (!), why she loves Guatemala, her family travel philosophy and some truly crazy stories about her experiences overseas with the kids.

Stefan Krasowski from Rapid Travel Chai swings by to talk about his loyalty to Delta, how miles and points have brought him to the precipice of completing his visit to every country in the world, dynamic awards, Socotra and one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, and more!

In Final Boarding Call, we discuss how Stefan earns miles and points these days, rant on the state of MS in a very specific region of the country, and talk about how all this consolidation has affected the miles and points blogosphere.

Drew from Travel is Free is back to writing full time and the miles and points community is better off for it. He joins the podcast to chat about what he’s been up to, Eastern Europe, free stopovers using United, and more! We chatted so much we left in some extra banter at the end of the episode. (Note: Obviously we recorded this before United announced they’re getting rid of their award chart. We haven’t seen news about how this affects stopovers yet, maybe it won’t, but it’s still bad news).

Spencer Howard from God Save the Points joins us to chat about some of the more niche alternative mileage currencies to book awards. We dive into some of the nitty gritty of finding value using Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, Iberia Avios, Asia Miles, and much more. He also drops some knowledge about Lifemiles. Plus, what to do in Thailand.

Spencer hangs out for our Patreon only Final Boarding Call segment to chat some specific award routes and some interesting thoughts on the evolution of the miles and points gamers view of buying miles. He also makes Joe’s life and decision making as difficult as possible. Thanks for nothing, Spencer!

On today’s episode we’re joined by a special guest, Shane Rowley, who’s been to Necker Island, Richard Branson’s private island in the British Virgin Islands, twice. We chat about what it’s like to be a guest at such a unique location, how much it costs in money or in miles, the amazing experience that is Necker Island, and what Richard Branson smells like.

Shawn Coomer from Miles to Memories drops by to play a little game: best no, low, and high annual fee credit cards for a “normal” user. We often get caught up in all the hacking but we found it productive to think about what cards to recommend to people who are looking to save money on travel but not go crazy. (Or at least dip their toes in the water besides deciding to get deep into it!). We also chat about planning trips to Asia, mistake fares, renting warehouses, and more!

In our bonus Gold Patreon only segment, Shawn and I chat about buyers clubs which seem to be the hot new thing. I pick Shawn’s reseller perspective brain about the potential pitfalls and breakdowns that could affect buyers clubs.