Unpacked by AFAR AFAR

It’s easier than ever to earn travel points and (sometimes) miles through credit cards and loyalty programs. But when it comes to actually using those points to book travel, things can get complicated. While there are people out there who love to geek out about those complications, it’s not for everyone. Enter companies like Award Magic, which uses their expertise to book award travel using your hard-earned points. In this week’s episode, Award Magic owner and CEO shares shares his backstory (shocker: he was a math teacher), his vision for the business (it involves really affordable around-the-world tickets), and why we should all be flying business class more than we do. Plus, he works his magic to book a Japan flight using host Aislyn Greene’s Chase points.

Meet this week’s guests

Brian Cohen, CEO and owner of Award Magic



Resources

Read the full transcript of the episode. 

Check out Brian’s Award Magic services. 

Listen to our episode about the best programs to earn points and miles. 

Explore Point.Me, another award-booking service.


Follow the podcast to ensure you don’t miss an episode. 

Subscribe to Afar’s YouTube channel for a full video of the conversation.


Be sure to subscribe to the show and to sign up for our podcast newsletter, Behind the Mic, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. And explore our second podcast, Travel Tales, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us.

With summer travel on the horizon, it's an excellent time to talk about everyone's favorite subject: Travel insurance. It's not the sexiest subject, is it? And yet, it can play a huge role in saving you money, time, and even sanity. In this replay episode of Unpacked by AFAR, we speak with five experts to help you understand how to decided if and when you need insurance, the different types of policies you can buy, and how to use travel insurance if something goes wrong on your trip.
Meet this week’s guests


Wendy Perrin, travel expert

Christina Tunnah, general manager of marketing and brands for World Nomads

Beth Godlin, President of Aon Affinity Travel Practice


John Gobbels, vice president and COO of Medjet


Nick Cavanaugh, founder and CEO of Sensible Weather



Resources

Read this episode’s show notes, including a full transcript of the episode.

Read our primer on travel insurance. 

Explore Wendy Perrin’s website. 

Use sites like travelinsurance.com or insuremytrip.com to help you decide on the right policy. 

Learn more about World Nomads.

Discover more about Aon Affinity Travel Services.

Learn more about Medjet.

Find out more about Sensible Weather.


Be sure to subscribe to the show and to sign up for our podcast newsletter, Behind the Mic, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. And explore our second podcast, Travel Tales, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us.

Back in February, we interviewed Nell McShane Wulfhart, host of the Decision Coach podcast. She was a fantastic interview—lively, funny, and passionate about helping people make big decisions. She’s also the first one to say she’s really just a “professional bossy boots”—it’s not like you can go to the university of decision-coaching—but over the years, she’s honed her advice-giving skills. And out of all that came her podcast, which features six people who are on the cusp of life-changing decisions and need a little help.
Well, this week, we get to hear one of those episodes. It’s the very first of her show, and in it, she coaches an Australian actor in his mid 40s who wins the United States green card lottery. He’s had a lifetime dream of making it big in Hollywood, but to do so, he’d have to spend his entire savings. Throughout the 30-minute episode, Nell helps him untie the “Gordian knot” of his life and past choices, and figure out how to move forward, all the while offering tips for listeners who may be struggling with their own decisions—maybe even travel decisions.  
Meet this week’s guests
Nell McShane Wulfhart, podcaster and travel writer
Resources

Listen to Nell’s episode on Unpacked. 

Follow the Decision Coach podcast. 

Check out Nell’s work in travel and decision making. 


Follow the podcast to ensure you don’t miss an episode. 

Subscribe to AFAR’s YouTube channel for a full video of the conversation.


Be sure to subscribe to the show and to sign up for our podcast newsletter, Behind the Mic, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. And explore our second podcast, Travel Tales, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us.

Last November, while reporting our “Unpacking Albuquerque” episode, I spent a day at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. It’s this huge complex that takes up a city block, and it serves as the gateway to New Mexico’s 19 pueblos. Part of my tour included an interview with Monique Fragua, the center’s COO (and a woman with great taste in jewelry, as you’ll hear in the episode). 
We talked about why the cultural center exists, beyond just sharing pueblo cultural life (and food—the restaurant is a must-try). Monique explained that many travelers are interested in visiting the pueblos but are either unsure of or unaware of the etiquette around visiting. For example, some pueblos are completely closed to the public and have no interest in developing tourist infrastructure and others have “more formalized experiences like visitors’ center or organized hiking tours,” Monique says. 
So the IPCC serves as a kind of training ground as well, where visitors can ask questions like, “What’s the proper terminology?” and receive guidance around photography, attending cultural events, and more. 
It got me thinking more broadly about Native tourism, which has expanded in recent years. And with the explosive success of True Detective: Night Country, there’s more attention than ever on Native issues. So we put together an episode on why to visit these communities—there are more than 500 tribes in the United States, each with totally different histories, customs, and experiences—and how to do so in a way that’s mutually beneficial. 
There’s one line that’s stuck with me since Monique and I talked: She says that if we remember that we’re experiencing Native life “through a lens of a living community, a breathing culture,” we’re on the right path.
Meet this week’s guests

Sherry Rupert, CEO of the American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association


Garan Coons, communications officer for the Winnebago tribe


Kirby Metoxin, council member for the Oneida nation


Monique Fragua, COO of the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center



Resources

Read this week’s show notes, including a full transcript of the episode.

Listen to the “Unpacking Albuquerque” episode.


Follow the podcast to ensure you don’t miss an episode. 

Subscribe to AFAR’s YouTube channel for a full video of the conversation.


Be sure to subscribe to the show and to sign up for our podcast newsletter, Behind the Mic, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. And explore our second podcast, Travel Tales, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us.

This week on Unpacked, we travel north to Toronto, Ontario, one of the world’s most diverse cities to explore what’s made it that way—and how we as travelers can best engage with it. That includes eating a peameal bacon sandwich (and learning what that is) at the St. Lawrence Market, visiting the city's most unusual museum, exploring its diverse parks and gorgeous waterfront, and eating (and eating and eating).
Meet this week’s guests


Bruce Bell, St. Lawrence Market historian and tour guide


Matthew Jordan, founder of Hidden Rivers walking tours

Elizabeth Semmelhack, curator at the Bata Shoe Museum


Karen Carter, cofounder of BAND



Chef Nuit Regular, founder and co-owner of 11 Thai restaurants 

Jusep Sim, chief epicurean officer of Chopsticks and Forks 


Resources

Read this week’s show notes, including a full transcript of the episode.


Follow the podcast to ensure you don’t miss an episode. 

Subscribe to AFAR’s YouTube channel for a full video of the conversation.


Be sure to subscribe to the show and to sign up for our podcast newsletter, Behind the Mic, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. And explore our second podcast, Travel Tales, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us.

Summer is coming. And while it's not looking like this season will be as insane as summer 2023, it's still best to begin planning now. So on this week’s episode of Unpacked, AFAR's mighty destination teams discusses what's to come. They share the best places to visit this summer—think Southern Hemisphere—and what you need to tackle now to stay ahead of the came. Plus, we unpack the best visa expeditors and the best way to use those points and miles. (Hint: It involves outsourcing.)
Meet this week’s guests


Mark Ellwood, freelance travel writer


Chloe Arrojado, associate destinations editor


Tim Chester, deputy editor


Resources

Read this week’s show notes, including a full transcript of the episode.

Listen to our episode on travel insurance, where we discuss Sensible Weather.

Learn more about Award Magic, the point booking service, and ItsEasy, the visa expediter.


Follow the podcast to ensure you don’t miss an episode. 

Subscribe to AFAR’s YouTube channel for a full video of the conversation.


Be sure to subscribe to the show and to sign up for our podcast newsletter, Behind the Mic, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. And explore our second podcast, Travel Tales, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us.