Award Travel 101

In Episode 136 of the Award Travel 101 podcast, hosts Angie Sparks and Cameron Laufer discuss a variety of travel and points-related topics. They begin with a member highlight, where a listener shares a positive experience using their Saks credit on an Amex Platinum card. The hosts also cover recent travel news, including JetBlue’s new partnership with Condor, which offers redemption opportunities with varied point values depending on the departure location, and Citi’s new transfer relationship with American Airlines, allowing certain cards to transfer points at a 10:7 ratio. They also touch on Virgin Voyages’ status match offer, which benefits travelers looking to get perks on their first or second Virgin cruise.The main focus of the episode is on Southwest’s Companion Pass (CP). Cameron and Angie outline how the CP works and how to earn it—primarily through accumulating 135K points in a calendar year, with credit card bonuses counting toward that total. They discuss the timing of earning the pass and mentio