20 Minute Travel

Shawn Coomer & Mark Ostermann
  • 4.8 (58)
  • AVIATION
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
20 Minute Travel

The fun side of miles, points and travel! 20 Minute Travel discusses all of the important things you need to know about miles, points and travel. Hosted by Shawn Coomer and Mark Ostermann, 20 Minute Travel covers the latest happenings in the miles & points space while teaching you how to utilize rewards to travel for pennies on the dollar with some laughs mixed in. Mark & Shawn have a combined 18 years of experience covering these topics on Miles to Memories and Travel on Point(s) and are cohosts of the popular MtM Vegas Youtube Show on the Miles to Memories Vegas channel. Give us 20 minutes of your week and we will give you 20+ years of improved travel! Want to see our show along with all of the visuals? Make sure to check it out on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/@20minutetravel

  1. OCT 30

    Juicy Chase Card Rumor, AA's Cheater Tech, Spirit Frontier Merger & America's Most Insane Pool!

    Twenty Minute Travel News has now joined the MtM Podcast feed! This feed will be ending soon so make sure to subscribe on the MTM Travel Podcast feed or watch both shows on Youtube!  Episode Description This week rumors have been swirling about a potential new premium card offering from Chase. Will a business version of the Chase Sapphire Reserve card be coming and what can we expect from the welcome offer, annual fee and perks? Will this be a popular card for the market?   In other news Frontier & Spirit are talking merger again. It's probably the best move for both airlines. We also discuss: AA's new cheater tech, end of Ink's 90K offer, a Delta employee allegedly stealing and selling merch, Citi's interesting new hotel transfer partner and the most insane hotel pool in the United States.   Episode Guide 0:00 AA’s cool new “cheater” technology 1:20 Delta employee allegedly steals & sells merch 3:10 Frontier & Spirit trying to merge again 5:30 Hyatt taking over a Margaritaville 7:21 Chase Ink Unlimited 90K end is near 8:18 Chase Sapphire Reserve business rumor 11:40 Diving into Citi’s new ThankYou partner Preferred Hotels 14:10 How good are Preferred Hotels properties 15:18 Cool S - Most insane pool in the United States?

    19 min

  2. OCT 23

    Big Alaska Mileage Play, Easy 20K Amex, Travel Trolling, Real Mario Kart & Transfer Bonus Overload!

    Twenty Minute Travel News has now joined the MtM Podcast feed! This feed will be ending soon so make sure to subscribe on the MTM Travel Podcast feed or watch both shows on Youtube!  Episode Description This week the Alaska/Hawaiian merger fallout moves forward as the company is trying to combine loyalty programs. Until that happens there may be an opportunity to double dip with credit cards, but is it a good play and which Hawaiian Airlines cards should you consider before they go away forever?   In other news Amex is back with 20K Pay Over Time offers. These can be the easiest points you'll ever earn if you are targeted. We also discuss: Spark Cash $750, the new United Mile Play offers, all of the many transfer bonuses right now, a hack to score an empty middle seat and where you can play Mario Kart in real life.   Episode Guide 0:00 Viral hack for ensuring an empty middle seat 0:47 Ultimate travel troll - Once in a lifetime experiencial travel 2:03 Mark’s incredible Choice “experience” redemption 4:00 Don’t overlook housesitting - Incredible way to save on travel & pet sitting 7:35 Hawaiian Airlines credit card play before it is too late 9:56 Cap One Spark Cash $750 welcome offer with waived annual fee 11:11 Amex Pay Over Time 20K Offers - Easiest points ever! 12:45 United Mile Play offers - Huge potential depending on your offer 14:30 Most credit card transfer bonuses ever? 17:53 BattleKarts some really cool “s” to seek out on your next trip Enjoying the podcast? Please consider leaving us a positive review on your favorite podcast platform! You can also connect with us anytime at podcast@milestomemories.com.  You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, TuneIn, Pocket Casts, or via RSS. Don't see your favorite podcast platform? Please let us know! Music: Rewind by Jay Someday | https://soundcloud.com/jaysomeday Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License

    20 min

  3. OCT 16

    Huge Hyatt AA Changes, Uber's Pricing Games, Bank Bonus Windfall & Capital One Lounge "Hack"

    Twenty Minute Travel News has now joined the MtM Podcast feed! This feed will eventually be going away. Make sure to subscribe to the MTM Travel podcast feed or you can watch both shows on Youtube!  Episode Description This week American Airlines and Hyatt announced a ton of changes to their ongoing partnership. Points earning from the past is gone, but in its place are a ton of new "milestone rewards" and perks you can choose. Both Hyatt and AA members will be able to choose perks at various milestones plus will be able to purchase status for the day with points and more. Is this an improvement over the old Hyatt American Airlines partnership?   In other news it seems Uber is being sneaky again. Some data points seem to show them charging more for people with Uber Cash, but is it a game and who is winning? In other #news we cover some new card offers, go over three awesome bank bonuses to pursue, discuss a true American castle, show you how to fast track into Capital One lounges and fight over the Wendy's Spongebob popup.   Episode Guide 0:00 Wendy’s Spongebob popup 1:00 More evidence of Uber overcharging 3:46 How to fast track into Capital One lounges 6:32 Best ever AAdvantage Business card 75K offer 7:39 Last chance for Southwest 85K / companion pass timing 8:45 Bilt adds two new transfer partners 10:16 AA/Hyatt announce tons of partnership changes/milestone rewards 12:17 Do these new partnership rewards make sense as a choice? 13:40 AA status for a day - Is this going to be worth it? 15:27 Great bank bonuses for Chase, US Bank & Wells Fargo - Up to $900 19:05 American castles? Hammond Castle in Gloucester, MA Enjoying the podcast? Please consider leaving us a positive review on your favorite podcast platform! You can also connect with us anytime at podcast@milestomemories.com.  You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, TuneIn, Pocket Casts, or via RSS. Don't see your favorite podcast platform? Please let us know! Music: Rewind by Jay Someday | https://soundcloud.com/jaysomeday Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License

    22 min

  4. OCT 9

    2025 Trending Travel, 5 Free Hyatt Nights, Paid Hyatt Place Breakfast, LoungeBuddy Dies & Newark!

    Episode Description: As a reminder you can watch this show as well at: https://www.youtube.com/@20minutetravel - You can also find the show along with our sister show MTM Travel in the combined MTM Travel feed. More info here. This week Chase was in the news a lot for a number of different reasons. To start, they added Air Canada lounge access for Sapphire Reserve cardholders. This is a good perk, but it has a huge downside. Chase also released their Q4 spending offers on cards with targeted deals giving 5-7X back on grocery and more. Finally, Chase also has newly increased offers on Sapphire Preferred and the World of Hyatt credit card. The latter is giving 5 free nights as a welcome offer. Is this better than points? In other news after 5 years of ownership, American Express has announced they are killing off LoungeBuddy. RIP. We also discuss: a fire at Newark airport, the Albuquerque Balloon Festival, 2025 trending travel destinations, Virgin Atlantic going revenue based, the search for Ramada's "CEO" and the new show we are launching on this channel. Episode Guide: 0:00 Newark can’t have nice things 0:36 You can be Ramada’s new “CEO” 3:15 Amex’s 2025 trending travel destinations 5:07 Hyatt Place paid breakfast spreading? 8:17 Sapphire Preferred’s new 60K offer with a twist 9:47 Hyatt’s new 5 free night welcome offer 11:37 Sapphire Reserve adds Air Canada lounge access 13:10 Amex shutting down LoungeBuddy 14:49 Lucrative targeted Chase spending offers for Q4 16:23 Virgin Atlantic revenue based redemptions - Good or bad? 17:58 Mark visiting the Albuquerque Balloon Festival 19:14 Our new show coming to this channel About the Show: We love to travel and love to laugh! 20 Minute Travel is designed to get you all of the info you need to supercharge your travel by utilizing credit cards, travel rewards and other tricks to pay pennies on the dollar.  Shawn Coomer is the founder of Miles to Memories and has traveled all over the world with his family utilizing miles & points. He has been writing and podcasting about miles, points and travel since 2013 and has earned and spent millions of points & miles across dozens of programs. Mark Ostermann is the former Managing Editor of Miles to Memories and is the Managing Editor at Travel on Points. He has been writing about his travel experiences since 2017 and loves to dive into the weeds so you don't have to. He also enjoys a good beer and a laugh or fifty. Each week tens of thousands of people tune into our MtM Vegas news shows at http://www.YouTube.com/milestomemories. If you like this show check it out! Enjoying the podcast? Please consider leaving us a positive review on your favorite podcast platform! You can also connect with us anytime at 20minutetravel@gmail.com.

    21 min

  5. OCT 2

    Amex Kills Popular Cards, China's Insane Drone Show, Alaska Transfer Drama, Tricky Hyatt & New 100K!

    Episode Description: As a reminder you can watch this show as well at: https://www.youtube.com/@20minutetravel This week American Express announced the death of several of their cards including the Cash Magnet and the popular Everyday cards. With the loss of Everyday, is Amex retooling their lineup in preparation of a new card or are they trying to push customers up to their more expensive Gold card? In other news the Alaska/Hawaiian merger drama continued this week as transfers from American Express broke briefly, but then came back again. Some terms leave us a bit worried about the future of transfers, but the big question is whether it makes sense to move points now or not. We also discuss China's insane 10,000 drone show, where to use the Hilton Aspire credit, Aeroplan's new 100K welcome offer, 5% categories for the 4th quarter, Hyatt's fall promotion, a tricky Hyatt property and new Amex Offers you want to know about. Episode Guide: 0:00 Saving money for travel 0:39 Alaska/Hawaiian transfer woes and developments 2:44 Will Amex to Hawaiian transfers remain & should you transfer now? 4:25 One Hyatt’s tricky “mandatory” charge 7:10 Chase Aeroplan’s new 100K welcome offer 8:30 RIP to Amex Everyday cards 10:05 Will Amex replace the Everyday cards in their lineup? 11:20 4th quarter 5% Categories for Chase, Citi and Discover 13:24 Hyatt’s new fall promotion is sort of terrible 14:37 Hilton Aspire Resort Credit - How to use it & where it works 15:56 New Amex Offers for Marriott, Hilton, Lowe’s & Google Pay 17:35 China’s INSANE 10,000 drone show About the Show: We love to travel and love to laugh! 20 Minute Travel is designed to get you all of the info you need to supercharge your travel by utilizing credit cards, travel rewards and other tricks to pay pennies on the dollar.  Shawn Coomer is the founder of Miles to Memories and has traveled all over the world with his family utilizing miles & points. He has been writing and podcasting about miles, points and travel since 2013 and has earned and spent millions of points & miles across dozens of programs. Mark Ostermann is the former Managing Editor of Miles to Memories and is the Managing Editor at Travel on Points. He has been writing about his travel experiences since 2017 and loves to dive into the weeds so you don't have to. He also enjoys a good beer and a laugh or fifty. Each week tens of thousands of people tune into our MtM Vegas news shows at http://www.YouTube.com/milestomemories. If you like this show check it out! Enjoying the podcast? Please consider leaving us a positive review on your favorite podcast platform! You can also connect with us anytime at 20minutetravel@gmail.com.

    21 min

  6. SEP 25

    Alaska Scores Big, Citi Fighting Hard, Free Starbucks from Marriott & Visiting the Top Gun Bar!

    Episode Description: As a reminder you can watch this show as well at: https://www.youtube.com/@20minutetravel This week Alaska Airlines closed on their merger with Hawaiian Airlines. The government laid out a ton of rules for the new airline to follow including keeping the value of points and allowing points to be transferred 1:1 between programs. This has opened up some opportunities to get Alaska miles as Amex is now basically a transfer partner. In other news tons of new increased card offers dropped this week including Southwest, Hilton and Marriott. We also discuss the new way to change your Southwest companion and the best strategy to get two years of the Companion Pass with these new offers. Other topics include: The Top Gun bar in San Diego, a suspended soccer field in China, how Citi is going hard for the AA card business, Jetblue's new lounges and how to get free points or coffee from Starbucks and Marriott Episode Guide: 0:00 Hangovers are temporary travel meme 0:32 Alaska now a defacto Membership Rewards transfer partner 2:15 Government lays down several rules for Alaska merger 4:07 JetBlue announces airport lounges coming to two major airports 5:14 JetBlue’s new premium credit card? 6:03 Visiting the Top Gun bar in San Diego 8:31 Other takeaways from Mark’s San Diego trip 9:41 Southwest increased offers & companion pass strategy 12:03 Increased offers for Hilton cards as well 12:59 Playing the Amex upgrade/downgrade game 13:57 Bonvoy Business 5 free night offer returns 14:45 Citi is going hard for the AA credit card business 16:28 Big payday coming for American Airlines? 17:43 How to change your Southwest Companion online 18:38 Starbucks/Marriott partnership - Free points or coffee! 21:00 Suspended Chinese soccer field 600 feet above the ground About the Show: We love to travel and love to laugh! 20 Minute Travel is designed to get you all of the info you need to supercharge your travel by utilizing credit cards, travel rewards and other tricks to pay pennies on the dollar.  Shawn Coomer is the founder of Miles to Memories and has traveled all over the world with his family utilizing miles & points. He has been writing and podcasting about miles, points and travel since 2013 and has earned and spent millions of points & miles across dozens of programs. Mark Ostermann is the former Managing Editor of Miles to Memories and is the Managing Editor at Travel on Points. He has been writing about his travel experiences since 2017 and loves to dive into the weeds so you don't have to. He also enjoys a good beer and a laugh or fifty. Each week tens of thousands of people tune into our MtM Vegas news shows at http://www.YouTube.com/milestomemories. If you like this show check it out! Enjoying the podcast? Please consider leaving us a positive review on your favorite podcast platform! You can also connect with us anytime at 20minutetravel@gmail.com.

    24 min

  7. SEP 21

    Southwest Airlines Shakeup, Priority Pass Downgrade, Amex Uber Change, MGM/Marriott Quirk & Concorde

    Get an easy $200 from Melio for making your first payment! (Affiliate link. Terms below)  https://affiliates.meliopayments.com/travelonpointsteam Episode Description: As a reminder you can watch this show as well at: https://www.youtube.com/@20minutetravel This week Southwest continued on its path towards huge changes with the announcement of a shakeup on their board. 6 members will leave and the chairman will retire as they move to make more money and change their model. Will this change the Southwest culture forever? In other travel news some very popular benefits with Capital One and American Express are being changed, removed or downgraded. Specifically we are seeing changes with Priority Pass restaurants and Uber credits. Do you use these popular benefits? Other topics discussed include: hotel room oddities, strange room service, Carlsbad Caverns, the Concorde and supersonic jets, Hyatt's Guest of Honor double dipping and the MGM/Marriott transfers are a bit strange. Episode Guide: 0:00 Standing up on an airplane 1:19 Cheetohs destroying Carlsbad Caverns 2:39 Why Carlsbad Caverns and New Mexico are underrated 3:51 Huge shakeup at Southwest - 6 board members leaving 6:18 Hotel room oddities - Strange things left behind 7:33 Room service craziness - Caviar hot dog? 8:30 Venture X Business losing Priority Pass restaurants 10:24 Why AAdvantage business accounts are surprisingly valuable 12:03 Marriott/MGM Rewards transfers are live…with a quirk 12:53 Hyatt Globalist double dipping in 2024 14:40 Changes coming to American Express Uber credits 16:22 Quick RebateKey payment update 17:00  A closer look at the Concorde and its Droop Snoot 18:39 The future of Supersonic travel and why its coming back About the Show: We love to travel and love to laugh! 20 Minute Travel is designed to get you all of the info you need to supercharge your travel by utilizing credit cards, travel rewards and other tricks to pay pennies on the dollar.  Shawn Coomer is the founder of Miles to Memories and has traveled all over the world with his family utilizing miles & points. He has been writing and podcasting about miles, points and travel since 2013 and has earned and spent millions of points & miles across dozens of programs. Mark Ostermann is the former Managing Editor of Miles to Memories and is the Managing Editor at Travel on Points. He has been writing about his travel experiences since 2017 and loves to dive into the weeds so you don't have to. He also enjoys a good beer and a laugh or fifty. Each week tens of thousands of people tune into our MtM Vegas news shows at http://www.YouTube.com/milestomemories. If you like this show check it out! Enjoying the podcast? Please consider leaving us a positive review on your favorite podcast platform! You can also connect with us anytime at 20minutetravel@gmail.com. Melio Offer Terms: This is a business to business payment platform - no personal bills / payments. The offer is for new accounts only. If you sign up using the 20 Minute Travel link new members will get $200 cash back after making a $200+ payment via Melio pay. Gal from Melio will reach out to finalize the details of your payment. That is $6 in processing fees for a $200 bonus! After signing up and making your first payment with a vendor you will want to upload your bank info to your Melio account. Do it as the receiving method so you have a checking account set up to receive payments. You will then receive an email from (Gal) Melio saying you are eligible for the $200 bonus and it will tell you to set up your receiving method, or you can share your bank information if you prefer that.

    21 min

  8. SEP 11

    DOT Investigates Airlines, New Chase 90K, TSA Tik Tok Trend, Gates of Hell & New 4% Cash Back Card!

    Get an easy $200 from Melio for making your first payment! (Affiliate link. Terms below)  https://affiliates.meliopayments.com/travelonpointsteam Episode Description: As a reminder you can watch this show as well at: https://www.youtube.com/@20minutetravel This week the DOT announced they are going to be investigating the major U.S. airlines and their loyalty programs to ensure consumers are being protected. These programs have become huge profit centers for the airlines, but should they be investigated and exactly what will come from it? In other news a new Tik Tok trend is holding up airport security lines. Is it a problem or a fun fad? We also discuss the "Gates of Hell", a new 4% cash back card, Chase's 90K Ink offer, how to save on your cell phone bill, RebateKey issues, redeeming your Dunkin' credit and parents stealing their children's credit to travel. Episode Guide: 0:00 The age old problem of the travel hacker 0:51 Department of Transportation investigating airline loyalty programs 3:07 Are points & miles a form of savings? 4:19 Insane story - Parents opening credit cards in child’s name to travel 5:50 How to protect yourself from others using your credit 7:11 New Tik Tok trend - Organizing your TSA bin? 8:28 Another reason not to participate in this new trend 9:49 Chase Ink Business Unlimited - increased 90K offer 11:16 US Bank’s insane new 4% cash back card 12:45 Why ramping up spending at US Bank is tough 14:04 RebateKey - What is it and a warning about receiving payments 17:03 How to redeem the $7 Dunkin’ credit the right way 18:55 New Chase Offers including T-Mobile, Turo, Marriott and more 20:45 Gates of Hell in Turkmenistan About the Show: We love to travel and love to laugh! 20 Minute Travel is designed to get you all of the info you need to supercharge your travel by utilizing credit cards, travel rewards and other tricks to pay pennies on the dollar.  Shawn Coomer is the founder of Miles to Memories and has traveled all over the world with his family utilizing miles & points. He has been writing and podcasting about miles, points and travel since 2013 and has earned and spent millions of points & miles across dozens of programs. Mark Ostermann is the former Managing Editor of Miles to Memories and is the Managing Editor at Travel on Points. He has been writing about his travel experiences since 2017 and loves to dive into the weeds so you don't have to. He also enjoys a good beer and a laugh or fifty. Each week tens of thousands of people tune into our MtM Vegas news shows at http://www.YouTube.com/milestomemories. If you like this show check it out! Enjoying the podcast? Please consider leaving us a positive review on your favorite podcast platform! You can also connect with us anytime at 20minutetravel@gmail.com. Melio Offer Terms: This is a business to business payment platform - no personal bills / payments. The offer is for new accounts only. If you sign up using the 20 Minute Travel link new members will get $200 cash back after making a $200+ payment via Melio pay. Gal from Melio will reach out to finalize the details of your payment. That is $6 in processing fees for a $200 bonus! After signing up and making your first payment with a vendor you will want to upload your bank info to your Melio account. Do it as the receiving method so you have a checking account set up to receive payments. You will then receive an email from (Gal) Melio saying you are eligible for the $200 bonus and it will tell you to set up your receiving method, or you can share your bank information if you prefer that.

    24 min
See All (28)

4.8
out of 5
58 Ratings

About

The fun side of miles, points and travel! 20 Minute Travel discusses all of the important things you need to know about miles, points and travel. Hosted by Shawn Coomer and Mark Ostermann, 20 Minute Travel covers the latest happenings in the miles & points space while teaching you how to utilize rewards to travel for pennies on the dollar with some laughs mixed in. Mark & Shawn have a combined 18 years of experience covering these topics on Miles to Memories and Travel on Point(s) and are cohosts of the popular MtM Vegas Youtube Show on the Miles to Memories Vegas channel. Give us 20 minutes of your week and we will give you 20+ years of improved travel! Want to see our show along with all of the visuals? Make sure to check it out on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/@20minutetravel

Information

  • Creator
    Shawn Coomer & Mark Ostermann
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    28
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2024
  • Show Website
    20 Minute Travel

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