TravelStories Episode 13: Talking All Things with Michael Trager and ZorkFest

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Talking All Things with Michael Trager and ZorkFest

Episode 13: Show Notes.

This week, on our lucky Episode 13, we welcome Michael Trager from TravelZork. We sit down and hear from Michael about his comical, but just as incredible, TWA story, and how he got into revenue luxury travel. We discuss all things related to rewards credit cards, the 5/24 rule, and what we like and dislike about loyalty points. We also include a quick game, called Guess the Fare and hear about Michael’s best-ever aggressively priced airfare. Michael then tells us, and listeners, all about what they can look forward to for the upcoming ZorkFest 2023, in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. It’s going to be October 13-14, and is a mix of gambling and casino topics, points and miles discussions including featured guests, and their no BS approach that combines practical and expert advice for both travel and casino loyalty, and so much more. Don’t miss out on this great episode, with our knowledgeable guest, Michael Trager.

Key Points From This Episode:

• [00:00:20] An introduction to our guest on this week’s episode.
• [00:01:08] More about Michael Trager; a self-introduction, if you will.
• [00:03:50] His incredible TWA story.
• [00:06:30] Michael tells us about doing revenue luxury travel.
• [00:11:00] He tells us about his new American Airlines AAdvantage credit card.
• [00:13:30] We discuss the 5/24 Rule.
• [00:17:30] The art of calculating points, rewards, and the game of it.
• [00:19:15] What we like about AA loyalty points.
• [00:20:42] A quick tangent on TSA pre-checkpoints.
• [00:21:45] We close the segment with a game: Guess the Fare?
• [00:31:00] Booking an itinerary and thinking outside the fare.
• [00:31:45] Michael’s best ever “aggressively priced” airfare.
• [00:33:28] The problem with people, according to Michael (when booking fares).
• [00:36:30] Why you should ‘let it sit’ for a while.
• [00:39:30] Michael’s spiel on airport lounges.
• [00:42:00] We talk about ZorkFest 2023.
• [00:49:58] A quick tip on flying to ZorkFest 2023.
• [00:50:05] Where to find Travel Zork and Michael Trager.

Tweetables:

“But, remember, if you get a credit card you should always start with Chase, and you should be very aware of 5/24.” — @TravelZork [0:13:12]

“I think AA as a partner is very strong because you have so few paths to accumulate AA miles and I still find AA miles to be quite valuable.” — @TravelZork [0:15:50]

“This is the problem with people [when buying airfare] — they’re impatient.” — @TravelZork [0:33:27]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Michael Trager on LinkedIn

Michael Trager on Twitter

Zorkfest 2023

TravelZork Travel - Inquire & Book - VIP SERVICE

American Advantage

Marriot Bonvoy

La Première Air France

AA Credit Cards

Patreon