For this post, I’d like to share with you some of my favorite blogs, podcasts, and message boards.

Blogs

View from the Wing
This was the first blog I found that talked about miles and points and it’s considered one of the best around.  He is especially good when discussing some of the behind the scenes stuff going on in the travel world.

The Points Guy
It took me awhile to find this blog but since I have, it’s quickly become one of my favorite ones.  Brian has a good mix of trip reviews, news, and tips and has several weekly posts like Wine Wednesday, Destination of the Week Friday, and Sunday Reader Questions.  Plus, he has an adorable traveling puppy.

Milevalue
This is a relatively new blog but is really great.  One of the things I like is that he doesn’t repeat a lot of the news stories that tend to get repeated a dozen times whenever a story comes out.  He also does what I consider to be travel hacking by finding loopholes in the system and sharing the absolute best way to use miles.

Mommy Points
While you might not immediately consider this blog because of the name, it really is a gem.  She does have a focus on travel for families but also has great info and is one of the best at clearly explaining things.

Million Mile Secrets
Daraius gets a lot of flack on FlyerTalk for some of his posts because he walks you through some of the the tricks step by step with pictures and red arrows.  But in the beginning, I really appreciated those steps and I like his idea that everybody should have access to information.

Frequent Miler
This is another good blog that focuses more on the travel hacking side of things.  His specialty gift card churning and buying/selling items for miles.  Notably, he recently did a challenge where he earned a million miles in the month of March – impressive to say the least.

Twenty – Something Travel
This blog doesn’t focus on miles or points at all but has great information on frugal travel written with a great personality and writing style.  Most of her posts are trip reviews rather than travel tips, but they’re still great and the tips she does have come in pretty helpful.

Nomadic Matt
This is another one that doesn’t usually focus on mile and points – though he does get into it every once in a while.  He focuses mostly on frugal travel tips and even has a few books on the topic.  In addition, he’s got great info on many of the popular backpacking countries.

Podcasts

Points Hoarder
I have a love/hate relationship with this podcast but I’ve listened to every one so I must love it more than hate it.  I do like that they are pretty consistent and I always learn new things.  It just celebrated its one year anniversary and usually releases a new 30-40 minute episode every couple of weeks.  However, a lot of the stuff they talk about is very inside baseball and is fairly complex.  They discuss a lot of mileage runs, travel routes, airplane comparisons, and ticketing rules.  They are also at a disadvantage since none of the authors uses hotel points programs, which I am a big fan of.  Another issue is the low sound and production quality.  It’s not so bad that I can’t stand it but all three of the authors voices are at different volumes and I feel like it would be better if they planned the episode out more.  But like I said, I’ve listed to all of their episodes so it must be doing something right and it is enjoyable.  Website and Podcast link.

Extra Pack of Peanuts
This is a relatively new podcast but so far I am a huge fan.  This is exactly what I have been waiting for in a podcast for a long time.  He has great interviews and is doing a great introduction on miles and points.  If you want to get into this game, the easiest thing to do is listen to this podcast on the way to work.  I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.  Website and Podcast link.

Amateur Traveler
This is a great podcast with an equally great author and amazing production quality.  Each episode is an interview with somebody who lives in or recently visited a city or country.  With each episode you truly get a feel for the area and a desire to travel there.  Some of the best parts are the questions he asks to find out the underrated and overrated things to do.  This is way better than a travel book.  The only complaint I have is that it makes me want to travel way more than I have time.  Website and Podcast link.

Message Boards

Flyertalk
Flyertalk is one of the older message boards and has the most information and users which makes it a great source of information.  However, Flyertalk has a reputation for some users that are less than friendly (though a large minority) and the shear amount of knowledge can make it hard to follow.

Milepoint
Milepoint is much newer than Flyertalk and I generally think that the users are nicer.  It’s got less users and therefore a lot less information.  However, it’s still a daily stop for me.