The world of all things points and miles is changing rapidly … and often for the worse.
So to dig into where things are at and what’s ahead, Gunnar and Kyle bring in the man they call “St. Peter” – Thrifty Traveler’s Senior Award Analyst and guru of all things award travel, Peter Thornton – to talk about the state of award availability and spell out the best uses of your points and miles as we enter the second half of 2026.
Plus, they recap about some rare business class deals making a comeback, why airlines are throttling award searches … and, for some reason, talk a lot about cycling?
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In This Episode
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- 00:00 – A word from our sponsor: Bellroy!
- 01:17 – Introducing “St. Peter” and his adventure across Iowa
- 04:52 – Rami introduces the show from Emirates First Class!
- 05:52 – Rare business class awards are … back?
- 10:42 – Airlines are blocking award searches
- 16:32 – The Extra Mile: The current state of award availability
- 21:57 – Where to find economy award availability
- 24:47 – Where to find business class deals
- 28:32 – R.I.P. to the deals that got away
- 37:17 – Peter predicts: What’s coming next?
- 41:37 – A listener asks: How to find award space before calling to book
- 45:47 – Peter asks: What state would you bike across?
Produced and edited by Sylvia Thomas
Video editing by Kyle Thomas
Show music: “All That” by Benjamin Tissot
Can I have more info about the vpn to use for getting more points?
Hi Mary, search Rakuten for “Express VPN” or “Nord VPN.” Both regularly offer close to 100% back – 100x points when you have your Rakuten account set up that way – for these purchases. At 100% cash back (100x points), you’re essentially buying points for 1 cent apiece if you don’t plan to use the service. Just don’t forget to cancel before the promo rate expires!