Posts

Kansas City International Airport (MCI) is gearing up to break ground on a new, $1.5 billion terminal project next week.The largest infrastructure project in Kansas City history to date, the new terminal will be 1 million square feet and consist of 39 new gates, close-in parking and a two-level curbside pickup and drop-off area. Passengers at MCI have almost tripled since 1972, when the current three terminals were opened. This new single terminal will take the place of the existing three....

Indonesia has expanded the search-and-rescue operation for the Lion Air Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft that crashed early Monday morning in the Java Sea. On Tuesday, the search area was widened by 400 nautical miles.The Lion Air plane, registered PK-LQP, lost contact with air traffic controllers and plummeted into the sea just after dawn on Monday. All 189 people on board are presumed dead.Although parts of flight JT610’s aircraft debris have been recovered from the sea, along with passengers’ personal belongings and at least 24 bodies, the main fuselage has yet to be located....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.2011 has been a year for the record books when it comes to credit card sign-up bonuses. In the past, I only dabbled in the credit card game because I was working to get debt free and repair some blemishes on my report, but this year I’ve really taken the plunge and acquired 7 new cards, which have padded my points balances nicely....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.IHG is offering another bonus when purchasing points for its loyalty program, IHG Rewards Club. Right now you can earn up to an 80% bonus when purchasing 15,000 points or more.With the bonus, you should be able to snag bonus points for as little as 0.555 cents apiece, not as good as IHG’s buy points promo in March, but still a decent deal nonetheless....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Continental.com is one of my favorite airline websites when it comes to searching for award seats. They’ve continuously been adding more and more Star Alliance partners and while I was searching for Virgin Atlantic award availability (since they will no longer be a partner after February 13) I noticed that Swiss airlines availability was also showing, which is a first....

The Vatican’s Holy Stairs have been covered by planks of wood for more than 300 years. Now, for roughly the next seven weeks, visitors will be able to walk directly on the marble steps where Jesus is said to have walked on his way to his crucifixion.Just in time for Easter, the steps will be uncovered and exposed thanks to an extensive restoration project. The stairs have been worn down during centuries of kneeling and walking atop them, which is why Pope Innocent XIII decided to protect the important site with wood planks in 1723....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here: Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express, Starwood Preferred Guest Business Credit Card from American Express, The Hyatt Credit Card, Citi HHonors Hilton Reserve Card, Chase Sapphire Preferred CardOne of my foremost pieces of advice to award travelers is to make sure you earn points and miles on every dollar you spend, and the best way to do that is by using the right rewards credit card, or in many cases, cards....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here: The Platinum Card® from American Express, Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express, Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express, The Amex EveryDay® Credit Card from American ExpressAmex Offers are opt-in, limited-time deals for American Express cardholders. If you’ve ever looked through the list of Amex Offers, you know how overwhelming it can be....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Priority Pass lounges provide lounge access regardless of elite status or cabin class — you just need to have a premium credit card that offers Priority Pass membership. There are more than 1,200 lounges worldwide in the network, including dozens of US airport restaurants and a few Minute Suites. While some lounges are little more than a room with snacks and a few chairs, many provide solid services and amenities....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.TPG reader Adam sent me a message on Facebook to ask about using rewards on American Airlines: “With the upcoming devaluation of AAdvantage miles, do you think the Citi Platinum Select Mastercard or Citi Prestige is better for flying American?”A number of updates to the AAdvantage program will go into effect next month, including a general increase in the cost of flight awards....

Have you felt like it took your airplane an especially long time to lift off of the ground? That might seem normal for an A380 or a Boeing 747, both very heavy aircraft, but the phenomenon is noticeable even in smaller aircraft such as the Boeing 737, especially at airports like Denver, Phoenix or Mexico City.What makes these airports unique?Each of these fields are high-altitude and hot temperature airports (or in the case of Phoenix, just hot)....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Throwback Thursday, also known as #tbt on Twitter and Instagram, is when people post old pictures of themselves from the past. Well, I thought I’d do a fun walk down memory lane including pictures from some of my memorable past flights/trips. For me, some of my best trips may not be the best in-flight products, but in my eyes if a flight can deliver me to an unforgettable experience, then it achieved its goal and I’ve achieved mine....

Mosquito-borne diseases, such as Zika, are a very real issue for travelers (and, of course, locals). But for families, Zika has been an especially concerning virus, especially in 2016 when there were a half million suspected cases. Thankfully, those numbers have come way down in the last 12 months.Though Zika symptoms are generally flu-like and mild, women who are pregnant or who plan to become pregnant in the near future need to be extremely cautious when traveling to areas where Zika-carrying mosquitos bite....

Sign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.American Airlines has donated 20,000 American Red Cross hygiene kits to California wildfire victims, the carrier said on Tuesday.Dozens of Arizona based AA team members assembled the amenity kits in the carrier’s Phoenix cargo facility donations serve as the airline’s largest relief effort in history....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Air France and KLM’s joint mileage program Flying Blue just underwent a transformation from a region-based chart to one based on a city-by-city award calculator. And, initial test results show that it’s completely illogical — mostly for the worse.That said, there are two promotions that can be combined now to book round-trip economy flights to Europe starting at 18,000 Membership Rewards points transferred to the updated program....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Want to see the latest flight deals as soon as they’re published? Follow The Points Guy on Facebook and Twitter, and subscribe to text message alerts from our deals feed, @tpg_alerts.Airfare deals are typically only available on limited dates. We recommend you use Google Flights to find dates to fly, then book through an online travel agency such as Orbitz or Expedia, which allows you to cancel flights without penalty by 11pm Eastern Time within one day of booking....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Want to see the latest flight deals as soon as they’re published? Follow The Points Guy on Facebook and Twitter, and subscribe to text message alerts from our deals feed, @tpg_alerts.Airfare deals are typically only available on limited dates. We recommend you use Google Flights to find dates to fly, then book through an online travel agency, such as Orbitz or Expedia, which allows you to cancel flights without penalty by 11pm Eastern Time within one day of booking....

Sign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.Black Friday might be long over, but the holiday deals keep rolling in. On Friday, you can earn bonus miles from four different airlines when making Apple purchases. The bonus elevations can be had at the following rates:American: Earn 5 miles per dollar at Apple (typically 1)Delta: Earn 2 miles per dollar at Apple (typically 1)United: Earn 2 miles per dollar at Apple (typically 1)Alaska: Earn 2 miles per dollar at Apple (typically 1)While purchasing through your portal of choice (AAdvantage Shopping, SkyMiles Shopping, MileagePlus Shopping or Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Shopping), make sure to check the terms and conditions on this one-day offer....

The Federal Aviation Administration made a bold move on Tuesday night, reaffirming its faith in the Boeing 737 MAX and its safety even as aviation authorities all over the world decided to ground the 737 MAX, or even ban it outright from their airspace, in the wake of two fatal accidents.“Our review shows no systemic performance issues and provides no basis to order grounding of the aircraft,” the FAA said in a statement by acting administrator Daniel K....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.At about this time last year, I challenged myself to earn airline elite status for the first time. I’ve since achieved my goal and have status through at least the beginning of 2018. Today I’ll be sharing how I fast-tracked my way to earning AAdvantage Gold and teach you how to do the same — no matter your age....