Adventure Travel Podcast - Big World Made Small
Welcome to the Big World Made Small Adventure Travel Podcast, where we go far beyond the beaches, resort hotels, and cruises to explore the really cool places, people, and activities that adventurous travelers crave. If your idea of a great vacation is sitting on a beach at an all-inclusive resort, you’re in the wrong place. However, if you’re like me, and a beach resort vacation sounds like torture, stick around. You’ve found your tribe.
My name is Jason Elkins, and as an adventure travel marketing consultant and tour operator myself, I am on a mission to impact the lives of adventure travelers, the tour operators they hire, and the communities that host them, creating deeply meaningful experiences that make this big world feel just a bit smaller.
Are you ready to discover your next great adventure, whether that looks something like climbing Mt Kilimanjaro in Africa, SCUBA diving in the South Pacific, or hot air ballooning in Turkey? Then you’ll be happy to know that each episode of the Big World Made Small Podcast features a fascinating interview with an adventure travel expert that has agreed to share, with us, their own personal stories, favorite adventure destinations, and even some incredibly helpful tips and tricks they’ve learned while in the field. I trust that by the end of each episode you’ll feel like booking a ticket to enjoy the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of these amazing places, and getting to know the incredible people that live there.
I’ll be your guide as we explore this amazing planet and its people on the Big World Made Small podcast. I am a former US Army paratrooper, third generation commercial hot air balloon pilot, paramotor pilot, advanced open water SCUBA diver, and ex-Montana fly fishing guide and lodge manager. I have managed boutique adventure tour operation businesses in the Rocky Mountains of Montana, off-shore in Belize, the Adirondacks in New York, and the desert of Arizona. I also spent nearly a decade with Orvis International Travel, leading a talented team of tour operation experts, putting together and hosting amazing fly fishing and adventure travel excursions around the world. I have tapped into my experience and network of travel pros to put together a weekly series of exclusive expert interviews that I am excited to share with you.
For the last couple of years I have lived a fully nomadic lifestyle, feeding my passion for exploration, creating amazing adventures, and meeting some of the most fascinating people along the way. I record every episode while traveling, so in a sense you’ll be joining me on my journey. Let’s discover some great adventures together and make this big world feel just a bit smaller.
And, don’t forget to take a quick trip over to our website at bigworldmadesmall.com and join our adventure travel community, where you’ll benefit from new episode announcements, exclusive adventure travel opportunities, and special access to the experts you’ve met on the show. You can also follow us on social media, using the links in the show notes below. And, if you’re getting value out of the show please help us grow by sharing it with your friends, family, and anyone else you know that wants to get far beyond the beaches, resort hotels, and cruise ships, the next time they travel.
I’ll publish another episode soon. Until then, keep exploring. It’s the best way to make a big world feel just a bit smaller.
https://adventuretravelmarketing.com/podcast
Adventure Travel Podcast - Big World Made Small
Adventure Travel with Julian Kheel - Points Path
Julian Kheel
Founder and CEO
Points Path
Over the last 15 years, Julian Kheel has become one of the world’s top experts on travel rewards. He first learned the ins and outs of travel loyalty programs while flying more than 200,000 miles a year as a TV producer and director for World Wrestling Entertainment (and yes, of course it’s all real). He expanded his expertise on travel topics in the following years, writing about travel for U.S. News and World Report, along with popular weekly columns for the travel rewards websites Frequent Miler and Travel Codex.
Noting Kheel’s growing following, he was recruited in 2016 to work at The Points Guy, the largest website in the world covering travel rewards, where he served as both Editorial Director and Director of Special Projects. He was the creator of the site’s now‐annual “Best and Worst U.S. Airlines” special report, as well as personally authoring its first and second yearly editions, both of which drew attention from hundreds of media outlets across the country.
Following his time at The Points Guy, Kheel became a Senior Editor at CNN covering both travel and finance topics, and launched the company’s first e‐commerce division focused on travel rewards. Battling through the global stoppage in travel from the pandemic, he grew the small section from its infancy to over seven figures of annual revenue in only three years.
In 2023, Kheel left CNN to become the founder and CEO of Points Path, a company that helps people utilize their travel rewards. The company’s browser extension not only shows travelers the cost in points and miles of every flight directly in Google Flights, but also indicates whether using points or miles for each flight is the better deal. In just 8 months, Points Path has grown to over 40,000 users, and has been lauded by numerous travel publications.
Kheel has appeared regularly as an analyst to discuss finance, travel and loyalty programs on national television segments for CNN, Bloomberg News, CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Yahoo Finance and Cheddar TV, as well as on ABC and CBS Radio. He has been quoted in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, and many other print and web outlets on travel-related topics. He has also worked as a consultant for the “Big 3” US airlines, advising them on their frequent flyer programs.
Originally from New York and South Florida, Kheel is a graduate of Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications with a bachelor’s degree in television, radio and film production. His hobbies include managing his ever‐changing personal inventory of 25+ credit cards while maintaining a credit score of over 800.
summary
In this episode of the Big World Made Small podcast, host Jason Elkins interviews Julian Kheel, founder and CEO of Points Path. Julian shares his unique journey from being a reluctant traveler to becoming an expert in travel rewards and frequent flyer miles. He discusses his experience working with WWE, the importance of understanding travel points, and how Points Path simplifies the process of finding the best flight deals. The conversation also covers tips for maximizing travel rewards, the value of credit cards, and the future of Points Path.
takeaways
- Julian Kheel initially disliked travel but overcame his discomfort through frequent flying for work.
- Points Path is a browser extension that helps users find the best flight deals using points or cash.
- Frequent flyer programs are more valuable than airlines themselves, especially post-pandemic.
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Learn more about Big World Made Small Adventure Travel Marketing and join our private community to get episode updates, special access to our guests, and exclusive adventure travel offers on our website.
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