Using Your Credit Cards & Other Methods to Travel Hack Responsibly and Safely

Amit Mehrotra

Assistant Professor at New York City College of Technology

Professor Mehrotra has worked in the hospitality and tourism industry for more than 12 years. He has presented at numerous conferences, most notably in the areas of Hospitality Education Assessment, Technology in Higher Education, and Native American Cuisine and Tourism. He is a member of the International Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education and served as an ACPHA Team Member and Chair conducting site visits to institutions across the United States

Brett Holzhauer, CPFC

Personal Finance Journalist

Brett Holzhauer is a Certified Personal Finance Counselor (CPFC) and a personal finance reporter at MoneyGeek. He has written for several leading publications, including Forbes Advisor, LendingTree, CNBC and ValuePenguin. Holzhauer has a journalism and mass communications degree from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Arizona State University.

Julia Menez

Travel Hacking Coach and Founder of Geobreeze

Julia Menez is a points strategy coach, speaker, and host of the Geobreeze Travel Podcast. After traveling to more than 30 countries before the age of 30 and saving thousands of dollars each year through award travel, Julia distills the strategies from top travel hackers around the world in her Geobreeze Travel podcast, and prepares personalized points and miles plans for her private coaching clients. Through her podcast, Julia features a diverse roster of guests with experiences that are traditionally underrepresented in larger points and miles blogs and media. Her episodes often highlight travel hacking women, immigrants, or people of color.

Linchi Kwok, Ph.D.

Professor at The Collins College of Hospitality Management, California State Polytechnic University Pomona

Linchi Kwok publishes viewpoints and refereed articles in hospitality management and service marketing. His research work won several best paper awards at academic conferences. Linchi is now an associate professor at The Collins College of Hospitality Management at Cal Poly Pomona and a visiting professor at Sun Yat-Sen University. Before moving to Southern California, Linchi worked at Syracuse University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Texas Tech University, and Marriott.

A. Scott Rood

Associate Professor at the School of Community Leadership and Development at Grand Valley State University

Associate Professor Scott Rood has entrepreneurial experience in many facets of the industry. He worked as General Manager, Operating Partner and Area Manager in the commercial recreation sector. He has owned and managed various Big Apple Bagels Cafe locations. Scott has experience in the regulatory side of the industry serving on the State of Michigan's Carnival and Amusement Safety Board, and experience with destination marketing organizations, as Vice President of the Grand Haven Visitor's Bureau. He is a former President of the Resort and Commercial Recreation Association and a former Council Member for the City of Norton Shores, MI.

Jon Miksis

Travel Blogger, Photographer, and the Founder of Global Viewpoint

Jon Miksis is a travel writer and photographer from Boston, MA. He's the founder of Global Viewpoint, one of the world's leading travel blogs, which reaches hundreds of thousands of global citizens each month. He also has over 700,000 subscribers across his blog and social media channels, where he shares in-depth travel guides, itineraries and photo/video content. Jon is passionate about learning, growing and inspiring others through travel.

Dipra Jha

Assistant Director & Scholarly Associate Professor, School of Hospitality Business Management, Washington State University, Carson College of Business

Dipra Jha is a scholarly associate professor in the Carson College of Business and Assistant Director of the School of Hospitality Business Management at Washington State University. He is recognized as an expert in luxury hospitality and tourism strategy, and he currently serves on the Board of Directors of Washington Tourism Alliance. A global scholar and innovative educator he is a recipient of the prestigious John Wiley & Sons Innovation in Teaching Award from the International Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education (ICHRIE), among other honors. At WSU, Professor Jha teaches courses in hospitality management and international business. He frequently collaborates with communities, government entities and private sector organizations in the United States and overseas on training, research, and outreach projects. In 2019, he was conferred a rare and distinguished Doctor Honoris Causa by the Kyiv Cooperative Institute of Business and Law in Ukraine for his outstanding contributions to international education through virtual exchange.

Andrew Coggins, Jr.

Clinical Professor at the Lubin School of Business at Pace University

Dr. Andrew O. Coggins, Jr. is an internationally known cruise industry analyst. He is an annual attendee at Seatrade’s Global and Asia/ Asia Pacific Cruise Conferences. He has spoken at and served as a moderator at numerous past conferences. He is regularly contacted by the media for interviews on cruise industry and travel and tourism industry topics. Past interviews include China International Radio, MSNBC, Voice of America, WPIX-11 NYC, The New York Times, The Miami Herald, The Baltimore Sun, The Houston Chronicle, The Maritime Executive, The Los Angeles Times, The NY Post, NPR, and Bloomberg. Topics ranged from travel and tourism trends to maritime law to the Costa Concordia disaster to the migrant crisis in the Mediterranean.

Ross Jones

Points and Miles Blogger at WeGetToTravel.com

Ross Jones and his partner are newfound empty nesters who previously didn't have much opportunity to travel while their children were growing up. However, since their children moved out, they embarked on a journey of discovering how to travel without spending money. In 2021, they delved into the world of points and miles, and it completely transformed their travel experiences. They now embark on an average of five significant trips each year, enjoying nearly $100,000 worth of free travel.