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TPG Reader Mirza wrote in and let us know that after months of calling repeatedly and being denied, he was just able to get his card upgraded from the Aviator Red to the Aviator Silver. TPG Readers have also been reporting the ability to upgrade their accounts online, so feel free to comment below if you have this option in your account.The Barclaycard AAdvantage Aviator card comes in four flavors: Aviator, Aviator Blue, Aviator Red and Aviator Silver....

A British Airways Airbus A350 was damaged while being painted, likely delaying its delivery to the airline.Flight Global first reported that the plane sustained surface damage from some of the equipment in the paint shop.Sign up for the free daily TPG newsletter for more travel tips!Airbus confirmed the incident to Flight Global, and British Airways said the manufacturer is working to deliver the aircraft “shortly.“BA has 18 A350s on order, and its route map for the aircraft is slowly expanding....

To round out British Airways’ year of retro liveries, the carrier’s announced the final paint job to adorn one of its Boeing 747s. The fourth and final design of the heritage liveries will feature the so-called Negus design.The Boeing 747 in the Negus livery will take to the skies later this month. British Airways will paint the 747 registered as G-CIVB in the Negus livery in honor of the airline’s 100-year anniversary....

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.A British traveler has died after contracting rabies from a cat while vacationing in Morocco.Public Health England (PHE) stated that the victim was infected after being bitten by a rabid cat, but there is “no risk” to the greater public....

Spirit Airlines is known for low fares. It even writes “Home of the Bare Fare” on its bright-yellow airplanes (although that’s now being removed).It was also known for thorny labor relations, a poor reputation with flyers — and very high profits.About half of those profits come from ancillary fees, for items such as seat assignment, carry-on luggage and food. Spirit makes more money per passenger per flight on those fees than any other airline in the US, with an average of $56....

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.Marriott is offering silver status for elite members of the LAN airlines frequent flyer program. Even if you aren’t elite with LAN, its still worth signing up- many people have been able to take advantage of similar promotions and since its free, it can’t hurt to try....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Update 5/24/17: Good news! DXB-SFO will continue to be operated by an Airbus A380. From Emirates:Emirates can confirm that we will not be changing our operations to/from San Francisco to a Boeing 777. A technical error from a software provider occurred on 23rd May, causing the Emirates service to be displayed as a Boeing 777 operation from November 5 on certain third party websites....

The best thing about earning points and miles is getting to use them, but too often airlines make redeeming for award travel more difficult and costly than it should be. Today TPG Senior Points & Miles Correspondent Jason Steele looks again at several routes where low-level awards are scarce, to see if conditions have improved.Two months ago, I wrote about Award Flights that Don’t Exist at Saver Level, and exposed five flights that had either zero award seats, or so few seats that they were effectively unavailable....

Korean Air is doing away with its first-class cabin on a total of 27 international routes beginning later this year. Effective June 1, 2019, Korean will remove first-class seats on several shorter-haul international routes.When the Seoul-based airline goes about removing the first-class seats, it’ll only have two cabins of seats — economy and Prestige (business) — on 76 of its 111 routes. The move, which is meant to increase the efficiency and maximize the profitability of its flights, will see the first-class product gone from most of its leisure routes....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here - Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit CardWe have a very special episode of Miles Away for you today! My good friend and MSNBC anchor Kendis Gibson came on the show to tell us all about one of his favorite destinations in the world, Cape Town, South Africa.Cape Town (CPT) is about to become far more accessible to US-based visitors, thanks to United’s new nonstop flight from Newark (EWR) launching later this year....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Citibank just launched a new Platinum Select AAdvantage Visa Signature card with a 30,000 mile sign-up bonus and a new set of American Airlines specific perks. However, Citi is also currently offering, though not advertising, 50,000 mile bonuses for the older versions of the same card. Additionally you can apply for both a personal Visa and Amex card on the same day, netting 100,000 AA miles and a single credit inquiry....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Each Saturday, we round up news stories that you may have missed from the week before, including several that already appeared on The Points Guy, and some more that we haven’t covered yet. If you’re an avid TPG reader, scroll down for the new stuff. Here’s the top miles, points and travel news you may have missed this week....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Just a friendly reminder that you have one more week to take advantage of the 40% Amex Membership Rewards transfer bonus to British Airways.I just took advantage of it last night. I am going to Vancouver in June for the 2011 Travel Bloggers Exchange conference and flights were all $500+. Worse, flying Delta would have forced me to connect in Minneapolis or Salt Lake - wiping out nearly two whole days that I’d rather spend exploring Vancouver....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.While low-cost carriers have been dominating transatlantic travel headlines — with both good news and some bad — there’s another new airline that’s still flying a bit under the radar of most consumers: Air Italy.Once known as Meridiana, a carrier with more than 50 years of experience flying Italians and visitors alike under various brand names, Air Italy emerged with a 49% backing from Qatar Airways and some of Qatar’s own A330-200s, enabling Air Italy to boost long-haul operations as it builds out its fleet....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Update 7/10/18: The United food truck was long gone from Union Square at 2:30pm today, and we’re seeing reports in the comments that the team had run through their stock by 1:00pm. Be sure to visit early if you don’t want to walk away disappointed.Planning to be in Manhattan or Brooklyn sometime in the next 10 days? You might be able to grab a free lunch — or snack, depending on the time of day....

A federal appeals court in New York said ultra-low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines must face a lawsuit alleging that it hides fees from passengers who book on third-party websites.Reuters reported that the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with 22 passengers who were suing the airline, claiming they were “blindsided” by the extra charges for carry-on bags. The court held that there was no evidence that the carrier had provided them with any notice about fees beyond the cost of their tickets....

View this post on Instagram A new look outside and in for this Spirit A320neo A post shared by Ned Russell (@airbus777) on Dec 17, 2019 at 12:07pm PST View this post on Instagram View this post on Instagram A new look outside and in for this Spirit A320neo A post shared by Ned Russell (@airbus777) on Dec 17, 2019 at 12:07pm PST

I was born and raised in Atlanta, and while Delta has a certain kind of nostalgia for me, I’ve never been one to let emotions get in the way of solid travel and loyalty strategy. I moved away from Atlanta in 2008, living in Asia and on the West Coast, which allowed me to experience many airlines and multiple elite status programs. After returning to Georgia almost two years ago — and after a stint as an American Executive Platinum elite member for 2016-17 — Delta has once again become the clear choice for me when it comes to domestic travel....

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.Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.One of the best ways to start out your year with regards to qualifying for hotel elite status is with the SPG Amex cards. If you’re a cardholder of either (or both!...