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Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Last year, United offered $1,700 first-class tickets between Boston and Seoul. TPG Editor-in-Chief Zach Honig took advantage of the deal, booking a 10-day trip to Asia. And as luck would have it, when his United flight from Tokyo to Boston was canceled due to snow, the airline booked him in ANA’s new 777-300ER first-class cabin for free.I typically fly United across the Pacific, thanks to my great luck redeeming Global Premier Upgrades (I’ve only missed one segment so far, of the 20 or so I’ve redeemed through Tokyo)....

Airlines will need 800,000 pilots over the next 20 years, according to forecasts. Demand risks outpacing the supply of people trained to fly commercial aircraft.Lufthansa is one airline that has long taken matters into its own hands when it comes to finding, training and hiring pilots. Since the 1960s, the German airline has been training its pilots in a program it owns and operates. Part of that training takes place in a surprising locale: Phoenix, Arizona....

Fellow New Yorkers, we know.We know the last thing you want to do is add yet another MetroCard to the ever-growing graveyard of defunct tickets you’ve somehow managed to accumulate over the past few years or so. We get it, and that’s fine. But, consider this: What if one new MetroCard could get you not only to the lovely Union Square station at 14th street — but a free trip to Hawaii?...

You may want to rethink your summer beach vacation, or at least, postpone it if seaweed is not your thing. Beaches across the Gulf of Mexico, in particular, the beaches along Mexico’s eastern coast, are being inundated with mounds of foul-smelling seaweed in what scientists are saying is the largest seaweed bloom in human history.Scientists recently discovered a mass of sargassum seaweed, the seaweed most commonly found washed ashore on beaches in the Atlantic, spanning from West Africa to the Americas....

Air Arabia is expanding its narrow-body fleet even further. The United Arab Emirates-based low-cost carrier announced Monday at the Dubai Airshow it has signed a firm order for 120 Airbus aircraft, featuring 73 A320neos, 27 A321neos and 20 A321XLRs.The carrier is already an Airbus-only airline, with a fleet consisting of 54 A320neo family aircraft, including the A321LR. With the addition of the aircraft as part of Monday’s order — especially the A321XLR — the airline has the opportunity to further expand its network....

If you were traveling through Chicago Midway Airport (MDW) last Friday, Feb. 22, you might have been exposed to the measles. According to CNN, an infected passenger was on a flight that arrived at Concourse B that evening. The health department has warned that people traveling through the airport between 9pm and midnight might have been exposed.It’s the latest in a rash of measles cases, which have also popped up at Portland International Airport (PDX) in Oregon and at New Jersey’s Newark Airport (EWR) recently....

Outdoor adventurers probably have New Zealand high up on their travel destination wishlists, assuming they haven’t already been. But city lovers might not mind spending most of their time in Auckland, especially on a shorter trip to the South Pacific.TPG’s Global News Editor Emily McNutt joins me to chat all things Auckland on this week’s episode of Miles Away, from when to visit to where to stay what to do on the ground, including a day trip to the wine hotspot of Waiheke....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Please note that www.thepointsguy.com has financial relationships with American Express.Using frequent flyer miles to get to Hawaii is not a new concept. It is an old school use of miles that hasn’t gone out of style so far, and I don’t forsee going out of style in the near future. In fact, fresh out of grad school almost ten years ago it was one of my first “big” mileage redemptions....

TPG Contributor J. Keith van Straaten recently took a one-way Megabus ride during a Tuesday afternoon commute from Las Vegas to Los Angeles — for $27. Read on for his impressions of the Megabus experience. (All photos by the author.)Lots of people fly into Las Vegas with dreams of winning big, only to have to make their way home with little to no money. Whether you’ve planned it that way or not, often the cheapest option in or out of town is taking a bus....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.TPG Contributor Nick Ellis recently celebrated his birthday in Sin City, flying aboard Southwest Airlines’ Boeing 737-800 on a new route between Newark (EWR) and Las Vegas (LAS). Here’s his review. (All photos are by the author).Just after a trip to Las Vegas with some of my co-workers, I returned to Sin City to celebrate my birthday with family and friends....

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.In today’s episode of bizarre reasons for flight delays, stinky fruit pushed back the takeoff time of a flight in Indonesia by an hour.Aboard the domestic Sriwijaya Air flight from Jakarta (CGK) to Bengkulu (BKS) on Monday, passengers revolted against the sharp stench of two tonnes of durian fruit that had been stored in the cargo....

It’s not often that we dedicate an entire post to a particular flight’s ground experience. If I could, I’d rate my Swiss first-class ground experience a 100 out of the allotted 10 points.But I can’t. So instead, here’s some more detail on why this experience should be on every AvGeek’s bucket list. And if you haven’t had a chance to check out my review on the overall Swiss first-class experience, head here to read about this top-notch product....

We’re partnering with Capital One on our Purposeful Travel Hub. If you have unique ways you like to give back when you travel or just love exploring new places with family and friends, we want to hear about it. Share your most treasured travel moments and purposeful travel tips with us using #MeaningfulMoments.In 2019, it’s never been easier to be a conscientious traveler, particularly those of an environmentally-conscious bent. Jetsetters are now able put their money where their mouth is and choose to stay at eco-friendly hotels, scuba dive in eco-friendly spots and opt to fly on airplanes powered by carbon-footprint-reducing biofuels....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.United is offering a sale on award flights on select international routes. Right now you can receive 20% off saver economy awards when flying from the continental US or Alaska (sorry, Hawaii residents) to the following destinations:Porto, Portugal (OPO) for 48,000 miles + taxes and fees from $75 round-tripReykjavik, Iceland (KEF) for 48,000 miles + taxes and fees from $60 round-tripSingapore (SIN) for 64,000 award miles + taxes and fees from $55 round-tripSydney, Australia (SYD) for 64,000 award miles + taxes and fees from $125 round-tripYou’ll have book your flight by March 2, and it must be a round-trip itinerary to qualify for the discount....

The family whose dog died in a United Airlines overhead bin has reached a settlement with the airline.“We are deeply sorry for this tragic accident, and have worked with the Robledo family to reach a resolution,” said Charles Hobart, a spokesperson for United. Both the airline and the owners of Kokito, the 10-month-old French bulldog puppy, are keeping the agreement terms confidential.The Robledo family originally planned to sue United after a flight attendant insisted they put the dog in the overhead bin, and the incident also led district attorneys in New York and Texas to consider criminal charges of animal cruelty against the airline....

Friday brought major news for the future of Virgin Atlantic, as it completed its $1.5 billion rescue plan. However, the good news in securing funding comes amid the announcement that the airline is making further cuts to operations in order to preserve cash.The airline said on Friday that while it had completed its rescue deal to secure its future for the next 18 months, it would be cutting 1,150 more jobs....

Fred Finn is often called the most traveled man in the world, and he’s got the miles to prove it: He’s racked up 16 million miles, flew on the Concorde 718 times — he’s the only person to have flown it three times in a single day— and visited 150 countries, along with surviving an attempted hijacking and a airplane bomb scare. He’s also been certified by Guinness World Records, who tallied him at 714 Concorde flights just a few months before the aircraft was grounded for good, and was United’s first million miler....

With little kids, I can think of no easier and more enjoyable short weekend getaway destination than to head to a nice points-friendly resort. Everyone has their own favorite traveling style, but right now playing at a nice and family friendly resort for a few days is one of my favorite ways to go all-in on fun with my girls. Our typical go-to resort within driving distance is Hyatt Lost Pines near Austin, but since we hadn’t been to the similar, but yet different, Hyatt Hill Country Resort in San Antonio in several years, we recently opted for that destination to kick off our summer travels....

If you’ve been following TPG for a while now, then you’ve probably seen (and maybe even used) TPG To Go, our mobile app for iOS devices. This tool allowed our users to track their progress toward valuable sign-up bonuses and keep tabs on spending to maximize rewards with every purchase.However, we have decided to let the sun set on this app to make room for new and exciting developments in 2019....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here – Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite MastercardWhat’s better than earning status? Getting it for free. It appears that American Airlines is giving out complimentary Platinum status to select AAdvantage members for a few months in 2016. A TPG reader recently shared an email he received, which indicates he’ll have all the benefits of Platinum status through May 31, 2016, and he’ll even receive 20 500-mile upgrades on top of those perks....