The hilarious Jason Matheson - host of The Jason Show on FOX and a 20-year veteran of morning talk radio - joins the show to talk all things travel with Kyle and Gunnar. Claiming to be Thrifty Traveler’s #1 fan, Jason tells us what Canadian city sparked his love of travel before diving deep into what he loves about Hawaii and Disney. He also tries to sell the guys on cruising and he even reveals his bougiest travel take. Join us for the funniest episode of the Thrifty Traveler Podcast yet!

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00:00 - Introducing Thrifty Traveler’s #1 Fan

01:02 - We fix CLEAR and put airport speakerphone users on the no-fly list

05:35 - The new Delta One Lounge impresses at LAX … but would you eat the sushi?

13:00 - Who’s fighting back against AI and “surveillance-based” airfare pricing?

18:50 - Jason tells us about the latest flight deal that impressed him and his friends (use promo code TTPOD for $20 off your first year of deals!)

20:00 - Jason’s travel story: how Vancouver (& The Fantastic Four) sparked his love of travel

22:30 - What’s next on Jason’s travel bucket list? And what got taken off the list because of “critters.”

23:20 - His long love affair with Hawaii & why Jason loves Oahu the most

28:30 - Why everyone needs to go see Susan at the Mai Tai Bar

32:15 - Jason’s Delta loyalty – the good, the bad, the ugly, and when he cheats on them with United…

38:00 - Jason pitches the guys on (most) cruises

41:00 - Why his first Disney Cruise blew him away

45:30 - Tips to do Disney for adults

51:00 - Why did Jason get into travel and how he became Thrifty Traveler’s #1 fan

58:45 - Listener Question: Are flexible points worth the pain? Should you just retreat to Delta SkyMiles?

01:02:50 - On the spot: Jason and Kyle’s bougiest travel taste, take, or rule

Produced by Gunnar Olson & Nick Serati

Edited by David Strutt

Show music: “All That” by Benjamin Tissot

Support the show by leaving us a rating and a review wherever you get your podcasts!

Have a question you want answered on-air or an idea for the show? Let us know at podcast@thriftytraveler.com

Get 20% off your first year of cheap flights and points and miles deals with Thrifty Traveler Premium - use promo code TTPOD to save even more!

See what we’re all about at https://thriftytraveler.com - or subscribe to our free weekly points and miles newsletter, The Extra Mile!

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The world of airfare is changing before our eyes. Airlines have jacked up the price of one-way flights and targeted solo passengers with higher fares, too. And, more troublingly, carriers like Delta (and others) are now leaning on AI to set airfare … raising the prospect of personalized pricing. What does it all mean? Kyle and Gunnar break it all down on this week’s episode, telling you how airfare is changing, why, and who’s responsible. Plus, why this is your year to go to Costa Rica … and the airline that both Kyle and Gunnar are embarrassed to have never flown before.

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00:00 - Did AI write this intro?

01:08 - Should we be worried about AI-fueled airfare?

02:43 - Want to go to Costa Rica? Go this year (while deals are white hot)

06:25 - The surprising return of one-way airfare penalties

11:45 - Stay current on the news: Subscribe (for free!) to The Daily Beat email newsletter

13:00 - As AI enters airfare, how does airfare actually work right now?

19:30 - By penalizing one-way travelers and solo travelers, the airlines are shifting strategies…

22:25 - How Delta (& others) are actually starting to use AI to price flights

27:00 - What is Fetcherr? What they’re doing for Delta - and the article they didn’t want you to see

34:40 - What can we do to protect ourselves from AI? Are there any guardrails out there?

41:20 - Listener Question: Done with the Chase Sapphire Reserve card? What to pick up next?

46:10 - On the spot: What airlines have you not flown?

Produced by Gunnar Olson & Jackson Newman
Edited by David Strutt
Show music: “All That” by Benjamin Tissot

Support the show by leaving us a rating and a review wherever you get your podcasts!

Have a question you want answered on-air or an idea for the show? Let us know at podcast@thriftytraveler.com

Get 20% off your first year of cheap flights and points and miles deals with Thrifty Traveler Premium - use promo code TTPOD to save even more!

See what we’re all about at https://thriftytraveler.com - or subscribe to our free weekly points and miles newsletter, The Extra Mile!

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Bluesky

We’re in the heart of the summer travel season, so Gunnar and Kyle put together a Travel Survival Guide to help you grease the wheels of your next trip. The guys dig into the best ways to avoid delays and cancellations (including sharing their own worst delays), plus tell you all the apps, tools, and knowledge you should bring with you on your trip to make it go smoothly this summer or fall. The guys also talk about TSA’s new (and drastically improved) shoe policy and the insane thing CLEAR wants to charge you for now. Stick around for Gunnar’s bougiest travel take.

Watch us on YouTube!

00:00 - Finding something out: What’s your worst flight delay?

04:30 - Something Hot: TSA reverses course on shoes-off policy in all security lanes

08:25 - Something Cold: CLEAR wants to charge you for what, now?

11:55 - A word from our sponsor (us, & how you can sign up for our free flight deal alerts and book roundtrip flights to Ireland under $299!)

13:25 - The Extra Mile: All the best travel tips and tricks to avoid delays & cancellations and be a better traveler this summer

17:00 - Using Google Flight Price Alerts and rebooking your flights for a voucher

19:30 - You need to be using Aerolopa when you pick (or upgrade) your seats

21:40 - Why Kyle and Gunnar use TripIt to organize their reservations

28:20 - Gunnar gushes about his favorite app for dealing with disruptions: Flighty

32:10 - PreCheck saves you from 98% of things you hate about going through the airport

35:30 - Window or aisle?

41:30 - The travel debit card that every member of our team has: Charles Schwab

46:40 - Listener Question: Carry-on or checked bag with a 2-hour layover in Paris

50:45 - On the Spot: Gunnar’s snobbiest travel take

Produced by Gunnar Olson & Erica Kamrowski
Edited by David Strutt
Show music: “All That” by Benjamin Tissot

Support the show by leaving us a rating and a review wherever you get your podcasts!

Have a question you want answered on-air or an idea for the show? Let us know at podcast@thriftytraveler.com

Get 20% off your first year of cheap flights and points and miles deals with Thrifty Traveler Premium - use promo code TTPOD to save even more!

See what we’re all about at https://thriftytraveler.com - or subscribe to our free weekly points and miles newsletter, The Extra Mile!

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Bluesky

It’s the news every points and miles aficionado has been waiting for: After years of pain, award travel is, in fact, getting easier. Alongside an undeniable trend in red-hot cheap airfare, outstanding deals keep popping up to redeem your points - whether you’re on the hunt for a discounted economy deal or a notoriously hard-to-book lie-flat award ticket.

So Gunnar and Kyle dig into what’s driving this lovely new trend and, most importantly, the dozen or so deals that have us thinking that award travel has finally turned a corner. We’re calling it (working title) “Hot Flight Summer.”

Come for Hot Flight Summer and stay for Gunnar’s hot fireworks take, a revelation about Kyle’s reality TV viewing habits, and why Virgin Atlantic really ticked us off this week.

Watch us on YouTube!

00:00 - Introducing … “Hot Flight Summer”

03:16 - Something Hot: Cash airfare continues to drop (think sub-$300 roundtrip flights to Europe!)

08:45 - Something Cold: Virgin doubled taxes and fees on biz class awards

13:50 - A word from our sponsor (us, and our Thrifty Traveler Premium service that’s finding more deals than ever!)

15:43 - The Extra Mile: Hot Flight Summer, or why we think award travel is (finally) getting easier

21:00 - The rise of the elusive “Unicorn Alert” (even if Emirates hates us)

24:30 - Business class award deals to Australia and across the Pacific are back!

29:15 - Gunnar gushes about the Cathay’s The Pier First Class Lounge

34:45 - Booking partner awards – including the rare Delta One redemptions

36:00 - And don’t forget about economy flights, too!

40:15 - The exceptions: Star Alliance ,Iberia’s biz class devaluation, and Amex transfers to Emirates

43:15 - Listener Questions: How to fly to Australia/New Zealand using points and miles, in biz class or economy

48:45 - On the Spot: A listener checks in from Kyle’s favorite hotel in the world while Kyle taps into his Love Island fandom to couple up with – and dump from the island – two recent deals

Produced by Gunnar Olson & Jackson Newman
Edited by David Strutt
Show music: “All That” by Benjamin Tissot

Support the show by leaving us a rating and a review wherever you get your podcasts!

Have a question you want answered on-air or an idea for the show? Let us know at podcast@thriftytraveler.com

Get 20% off your first year of cheap flights and points and miles deals with Thrifty Traveler Premium - use promo code TTPOD to save even more!

See what we’re all about at https://thriftytraveler.com - or subscribe to our free weekly points and miles newsletter, The Extra Mile!

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Bluesky

Higher annual fees. More perks. New lounges. It never stops.

The big banks are going bigger than ever on their “premium” travel credit cards. So, Gunnar (fresh off paternity leave!) and Kyle bring Thrifty Traveler’s co-founder and credit card expert, Nick Serati, on the show to help break down all the recent moves from Chase, Amex, and Capital One. And they ask the $900-plus question: With annual fees approaching $1,000 a year, are we hitting a breaking point?

Watch us on YouTube!

0:00 - Introducing Nick … & our new studio!

1:13 - Catching Gunnar up on all the big travel news he (& you) missed

05:48 - Something Hot: Chase’s huge bonus on the new Sapphire Reserve

10:37 - Something cold: Chase’s messy eligibility rule changes

15:23 - A word from our sponsor (us … and our really cool CardPilot tool that’ll help you pick your next travel card!)

17:00 - The Extra Mile: Diving into the “premium” travel credit cards arm race

19:17 - What’s next for the Amex Platinum Card?

20:13 - Capital One throws down the gauntlet with the best lounge yet

21:49 - A fourth big premium card on the horizon? All eyes on Delta

23:20 - Why “premium” travel is all the rage right now

26:20 - Doing the math on premium cards & big annual fees

29:48 - Why banks are all turning their top cards into glorified coupon books

33:40 - The real value of these top-dollar travel cards

39:50 - Listener Question: The best 4-5 credit cards to get started

44:06 - On the Spot: What do Nick & Gunnar love about being dads?

Produced by Gunnar Olson & Jackson Newman
Edited by David Strutt
Show music: “All That” by Benjamin Tissot

Support the show by leaving us a rating and a review wherever you get your podcasts!

Have a question you want answered on-air or an idea for the show? Let us know at podcast@thriftytraveler.com

Get 20% off your first year of cheap flights and points and miles deals with Thrifty Traveler Premium - use promo code TTPOD to save even more!

See what we’re all about at https://thriftytraveler.com - or subscribe to our free weekly points and miles newsletter, The Extra Mile!

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Bluesky

How can you find the best value for your SkyMiles? Are Delta SkyMiles worthless? Can you book Delta One for cheap? Am I an idiot for caring about SkyMiles? These are the questions we get about the wildly popular (yet maddening) Delta SkyMiles program, so we do our best to answer all of them and more. Whether you want to book quick, cheap flights within the U.S. or fly business class to Asia (and everything in between), we go over all the best ways to earn and burn Delta SkyMiles.

Watch us on YouTube!

(00:00) - What level of Delta status does Kyle have?

(00:45) - What would we do with 200,000 Delta SkyMiles?

(05:00) - Some of the best ways to use SkyMiles

(09:00) - And the worst…

(14:00) - A word from our sponsor (us): Get the Extra Mile Newsletter to earn more miles

(15:00) - Delta SkyMiles 101

(17:00) - Why Delta prices SkyMiles awards differently than other airlines

(20:30) - Inside the infamous “Sad State of SkyMiles” story from 2023

(23:15) - Why SkyMiles Flash Sales are like “Clearance Meat”

(28:45) - The best destinations to target for a good SkyMiles deal

(34:00) - Where can you find a pseudo-Delta SkyMiles “award chart”?

(36:00) - American Express credit cards and what Delta’s strategy with its profitable partner

(39:30) - Delta One SkyMiles deals … are they even possible?

(42:15) - How to find Delta SkyMiles redemptions outside of flash sales

(45:30) - Are Delta SkyMiles worthless?

(47:00) - The #1 key to getting good value from your SkyMiles

(49:15) - Helping a traveler from SLC earn SkyMiles fast

(53:00) - What one change would Gunnar make to the SkyMiles program?

Produced by Gunnar Olson & Long Tran
Edited by David Strutt
Show music: “All That” by Benjamin Tissot

Support the show by leaving us a rating and a review wherever you get your podcasts!

Have a question you want answered on-air or an idea for the show? Let us know at podcast@thriftytraveler.com

Get 20% off your first year of cheap flights and points and miles deals with Thrifty Traveler Premium - use promo code TTPOD to save even more!

See what we’re all about at https://thriftytraveler.com - or subscribe to our free weekly points and miles newsletter, The Extra Mile!

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Bluesky

Gunnar's still enjoying the new life of a girldad, so Kyle brought our first-ever special guest on the show: Max Do - better known as MaxMilesPoints. As one of the biggest and best social media creators covering points and miles, Max is uniquely qualified to explain the rise of travel influencers - both the good and the bad - while sharing his own story of how he left his 9-to-5 job (it involves a $10,000 deal with a hotel brand). Plus, Kyle and Max talk through the big news from Chase and American Express ... and place their bets on just how high the Platinum Card's annual fee may go.

Watch us on YouTube!

0:00 - Introducing our first-ever guest: MaxMilesPoints!

01:43 - Something Hot: The new JFK Capital One Lounge (ft. a cheesemonger and bagel bar)

08:15 - Something Cold(ish): Chase & Amex’s top travel cards are getting even pricier

16:43 - A word from our sponsor (us … and our flight deal service that even Max uses)

18:30 - The Extra Mile: Why Max fell in love with travel and started MaxMilesPoints

22:18 - 10,000 reasons why Max left his full-time job to become a full-time social media creator

24:27 - The positives and negatives behind the explosion of travel influencers

30:30 - Sharing a cocktail & slowing down your travels

33:14 - Rapid fire questions with Max (& the time he went to the wrong airport)

40:02 - Listener question: Which cities to visit in Vietnam?

43:01 - On the spot: The one thing Max would change in award travel

Produced by Kyle Potter & Long Tran
Edited by David Strutt
Show music: “All That” by Benjamin Tissot

Support the show by leaving us a rating and a review wherever you get your podcasts!

Have a question you want answered on-air or an idea for the show? Let us know at podcast@thriftytraveler.com

Get 20% off your first year of cheap flights and points and miles deals with Thrifty Traveler Premium - use promo code TTPOD to save even more!

See what we’re all about at https://thriftytraveler.com - or subscribe to our free weekly points and miles newsletter, The Extra Mile!

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Bluesky

It’s time to talk to the Oz of our flight deal service: Jon Shallbetter, aka Jonny Nonny. Gunnar and Kyle bring Jon on the show to talk about his wizardry of all things Google Flights, finding and sending flight deal alerts, his favorite flight deal ever and worst-ever travel mistake, and more. Oh, and the guys grill Jon on the allegations that he drank Emirates dry … and he does an Admiral Ackbar impression?!

Watch us on YouTube!

0:00 - Did Jon actually cash Emirates’ supply of Dom Perignon?

05:47 - Something Hot: Jon’s favorite deal of all time (it cost $62)

07:52 - Something Cold: Jon’s worst travel mishap

09:18 - Honorable mention: The worst travel pillow ever (ft. Admiral Ackbar)

11:23 - A word from our sponsor (us … and the awesome flight deal service that Jon runs)

13:14 - How Jon got started in travel and finding flight deals for living

16:50 - The art of finding flight deals, mastering Google Flights & expanding into award travel

23:04 - A quick primer on TT lingo (and the Delly nonny to Honny)

25:55 - Lightning round with Jonny Nonny: Google Flights tips, the secrets of MSP & puppies

30:27 - Listener question: Will this be a good year for flight deals?

33:43 - What do Jon & Kyle really think about their coworker?

Produced by Gunnar Olson & Jackson Newman
Edited by David Strutt
Show music: “All That” by Benjamin Tissot

Support the show by leaving us a rating and a review wherever you get your podcasts!

Have a question you want answered on-air or an idea for the show? Let us know at podcast@thriftytraveler.com

Get 20% off your first year of cheap flights and points and miles deals with Thrifty Traveler Premium - use promo code TTPOD to save even more!

See what we’re all about at https://thriftytraveler.com - or subscribe to our free weekly points and miles newsletter, The Extra Mile!

Follow us on…
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Bluesky