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Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Back in March of 2017, Hyatt launched its entirely revamped World of Hyatt loyalty program. Ultimately, it became more difficult to earn top-tier elite status, and an unknown number of frequent Hyatt guests began shifting their stays to Marriott, instead — though there were notable exceptions.Elite status became even more valuable for top members, though, so anyone able to meet the new 60-night qualification requirement for the Globalist tier could look forward to expanded suite upgrades, plus a free night each year at any Hyatt hotel in the world....

In an effort to keep drivers operating with Lyft instead of the competition, the ridesharing company has taken to offering new in-app incentives. On Thursday, Lyft announced that it’s added several enhancements to the app for its drivers, all in an effort to make the relationship between corporate and drivers stronger.More specifically, Lyft is improving the driver experience by adding a default tipping option to the passenger interface, in theory, resulting in more tips for drivers....

The Points Guy has rapidly grown from a one-person blog in 2010 to a company with close to 100 employees today. None of it would have happened without the people behind it all. And on this Veterans’ Day, we want to honor and thank the veterans on our staff for their service to the United States.Richard Kerr, NavyImage courtesy of Emily KerrTPG’s Loyalty and Engagement Editor Richard Kerr spent nine years in the Navy as a supply-corps officer, separating as a lieutenant in 2017....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.TPG Contributor Mitch Berman recently took his family from New York (JFK) to London Gatwick (LGW) round-trip on Norwegian Air, an airline he’d never flown before. Here’s his review of his JFK-LGW economy flight experience. Visit Mitch and his son Kofi Lee-Berman’s photo blog here. (Photos are by the author unless otherwise noted.)Norwegian Air is a hot topic in the travel world — we’ve issued more than 15 Deal Alerts for cheap fares on the airline since March 2015, such as this recent $302 round trip from LA to Scandinavia....

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.Officials of the city of Rome just announced that they plan on removing cobblestones from public roads in some high-traffic areas. The change is, according to Lonely Planet, going to include 70 of the busiest thoroughfares in the city like Via Nazionale, Viale Aventino and Via IV Novembre....

Need an extra dose of caffeine while you make your holiday rush to the airport, scramble to finish shopping or deal with the odd branches of your family tree?You’re in luck.Thursday after 3pm, many Starbucks stores across the US are bringing back the chain’s happy hour promotion, with most holiday drinks just $3 (about half the normal price). The offer is exclusive to Starbucks Rewards members, as well as customers who aren’t registered Rewards members but have signed up to receive happy hour email offers....

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.Airplane food: you either love it or hate it. Lufthansa Airlines is trying to get kids to err on the side of loving it by offering meals created by chef Alexander Herrmann of his eponymous Michelin-starred restaurant. You read that right, Michelin-starred quality for the kids’ menu....

United is adding nearly 150 flights between its hubs and popular spring break destinations for the busy travel season. More specifically, it’s adding 31 flights to 12 islands in the Caribbean, 28 flights to seven cities in Mexico and 27 flights to seven destinations in Central America. In addition, it’s using its Denver hub to add five new temporary routes to four destinations in Florida: Destin (VPS), West Palm Beach (PBI), Pensacola (PNS) and Sarasota (SRQ) and one in Texas, South Padre Island (BRO)....

Bad news, United elites: The jig is up. As of Wednesday, October 2, United’s domestic Premium Plus seats will be sold as a separate cabin on flights between Newark and Los Angeles and San Francisco — it’ll no longer be possible for elites to assign these seats for free — meaning you’ll actually need to purchase a Premium Plus fare (in the O, ON, A, R, RN fare classes) in order to sit there....

United’s brand-new 787-10s come equipped with the carrier’s much-improved Polaris business-class seat, with far better privacy plus direct aisle access for everyone in the cabin. The carrier’s older Dreamliners have dated 2-2-2 seating, however — a slightly updated version of the same seat that flew with Continental beginning in 2009.Fortunately, United will soon begin retrofitting its older 787-8 and 787-9 Dreamliners with the new Polaris seats, and a Premium Plus cabin....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here - Citi Prestige CardWe’ve long extolled the benefits of the Citi Prestige Card; in fact, it won our Amex Platinum vs. Visa Black Card vs. Citi Prestige showdown, coming up the winner or runner-up in almost every category. And now there’s even more reason to love this card — because who doesn’t like additional discounts?You can use AAA, AARP and military discounts and still get the 4th night free with Citi Prestige....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.TPG reader John needs to separate his personal expenses from those he incurs from his college alumni club and wants to know what the best business card to do so would be:“I’m looking ahead to my next round of credit card applications and would like to add a Chase Ink or Amex business cards into the mix. I am currently president of my local college alumni club and we were just given a grant from the university to plan an event over the next year....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here – Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite MastercardWhat with credit card sign-up bonuses, promotions, buy miles promotions, and more, there are a lot of ways to build up your points wealth, but knowing when to use your points and miles definitely takes some skill!One of my best friends sent me a text over the weekend asking: Does it makes sense to use 25,000 American Airlines miles for a $600 flight?...

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Delays or cancellations thanks to winter weather are always a danger when flying during the holiday season, and if you’re traveling in the next few days through the Pacific Northwest or Dakotas, you might not want to dream of a White Christmas as it could ruin your holiday travel plans.The next big winter storm is developing and might start affecting flights as early as tonight....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.As the 2016 American presidential election edges ever closer, many politically minded travelers are turning their attention to the upcoming national conventions. Today, TPG Contributor Whitney Magnuson examines how to maximize travel redemptions for the upcoming Democratic National Convention.The Democratic National Convention will take place in Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, from July 25-28, 2016. Like the Republican National Convention happening the week before in Cleveland, more than 50,000 attendees are expected, making flight and hotel availability a challenge....

For those of you who travel regularly, I get it. You’ve seen that safety video a million times. It’s not as funny as the airline thinks it is, you know where the doors are and you know how to put your mask on. You’d really rather be reading a magazine or sending an email and just get this aircraft in the air so you can get to your destination as quickly as possible....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here - Capital One Venture Rewards Credit CardThe sprawling Baha Mar resort complex fronting Nassau’s Cable Beach has been slowly opening in stages since mid-2017. The third and final hotel, Rosewood Baha Mar, finally opened its doors to public reservations on June 1. Naturally, we made reservations for the following week, which had me staying at the hotel the week after it opened....

Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways is set to fly its brand new business- and first-class products to both New York and Frankfurt. On Wednesday, ANA announced the two routes would get its new premium products. They were originally unveiled in July and look to be a huge improvement over the carrier’s existing products — called “The Room” and “The Suite” for business and first, respectively.Beginning in winter 2019, ANA will deploy a retrofitted 777 with the new products on the Tokyo (HND/NRT) to New York (JFK) route, followed by the carrier’s route between Tokyo (HND) and Frankfurt (FRA)....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available – View the current offers here.Update 6/29 4:07pm: This promotion has been extended through July 14, 2017. If you purchase 5,000 or more Starpoints through July 14, you’ll save 35% — a rate of 2.28 cents per point.Starwood just launched a new buy points promotion that makes it a bit cheaper to stock up on points. Now through June 30, you can buy or give Starpoints at up to 35% off....

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 that 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....