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Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.TO THE POINT: I didn’t know what my first-ever stay at a Protea Hotel would be like, but my experience at the North Wharf property in Cape Town was so enjoyable I’m already looking forward to my next trip back to the country just so I can test out another one. The pros: huge rooms with a great layout, friendly staff, fantastic room amenities and an expansive breakfast spread....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.As I mentioned in a previous post, I was going to be flying from Doha, Qatar, (DOH) to Larnaca, Cyprus, (LCA) since the route was directly affected by the recent airspace bans from Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries. The flight was operated by an A320, with a slightly longer flight time — due to an airspace detour we now had to make to avoid flying over Saudi Arabia — meaning there was plenty of time to sample Qatar Airways’ mid-haul business class....

Room service at the Hotel Trio in the heart of California wine country is a social media-friendly futuristic spectacle.The experience starts out typical: You check an in-room menu, call the front desk and place your order with the friendly staff member on the other end of the phone. But from that point on, everything about it is like something out of a sci-fi movie.When your order arrives, your phone rings with a computerized message that tells you to open the door....

Seldom does an entirely new commercial airport – runways, terminal and all – open. It’s even rarer for one to do so in the U.S.Williston Basin International Airport (XWA) in North Dakota became the fourth new commercial airport to open in the U.S. in the past decade today. It welcomed Delta Air Lines flight DL4007 from Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP) at 11:34am local time.United Airlines flight UA4643 from Denver (DEN) was due to be the first flight with a scheduled arrival of 10:50am local time....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Winter storms and volcanoes, oh my! The next few days are going to be rough for flying in the US as the latest winter storm sweeps across the nation. Meanwhile, down in Costa Rica, the Turrialba Volcano is active and threatening to mess up flight plans. Thankfully, many airlines have already issued travel change fee waivers, allowing you to reschedule your flights if your flights are threatened by these extreme conditions....

An airline that you’ve (probably) never heard of took flight for the first time in January. But if it’s able to realize its ambitious plans, you’ll be hearing a lot more about it soon. Well-funded by one of the country’s richest men, Vietnam-based Bamboo Airways has aggressive plans to expand well beyond its initial network of intra-Vietnam flights.If you’ve heard of Bamboo Airways, it’s likely from its blockbuster order of 20 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners in June 2018 to complement its already-large initial aircraft order of 24 Airbus A321neo....

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 ExpressUS credit card offers have been pretty lucrative the past couple of years. With several major issuers like American Express, Chase, Citi, Barclays, and tons of airlines and hotels wanting to get in on the action, competition has been fierce....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.There’s no shortage of ways to get to Hawaii if you live on the West Coast of the United States. Things are a little different if you’re an East Coaster, though — you can get to the islands with just one connection from pretty much anywhere, but since it’s such a long trip from the East, it’s especially convenient to be able to hop on a nonstop flight....

Just like an airplane, music has the ability to transport you to a totally different time and place: Shut your eyes. Take a breath. And off you go.This year, TPG is celebrating the confluence of travel and music with the release of The 2018 Points Guy Sound Tracks, focused on artists from global destinations where TPG hopes to make a difference with charitable works and content programming this year.We’re launching our new initiative with a private party in New York on January 23, the week of the Grammy Awards....

When an Air Canada flight was stuck on a tarmac for hours due to snowy weather, the pilot tried to make the best out of the situation.According to CNN, Air Canada Flight 608 was originally bound for Halifax, Nova Scotia (YHZ), from Toronto (YYZ) when bad weather conditions caused a diversion to Fredericton International Airport (YFC) in New Brunswick. “As several other aircraft had also landed in Fredericton at the same time, the airport was very busy trying to help and accommodate all these aircraft and passengers,” said an Air Canada spokesperson in an email to TPG....

On Monday, President Emmanuel Macron of France promised in a press conference that “starting tomorrow” they would begin plans for reconstruction on Notre Dame following the devastating fire that ravaged through the iconic Parisian landmark.The fire, though eventually contained, claimed the church’s spire and severely damaged part of the roof. Details on how the blaze began are currently unknown, however, investigators speculate that it might have to do with the restoration project Notre Dame had already been undergoing....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Offer expired on May 9th, 2013:Although the current public offer on the Amex Business Gold Rewards card has been 50,000 points for a few weeks now, it looks as though my affiliate link is actually generating an offer for 75K Membership Rewards points for the same $5,000 spend in 3 months and the annual fee of $175 is waived the first year....

Despite being the world’s largest airline by passengers carried, American Airlines as a company isn’t the most valuable airline. Actually, it doesn’t even crack the top three in the US.The market capitalization of Delta Air Lines Inc (DAL), Southwest Airlines Co (LUV) and United Continental Holdings Inc (UAL) all are higher than American Airlines Group (AAL), and it’s not even close. Delta’s market cap neared triple that of American Airlines recently as AA stock – and the airline itself – has under-performed the competition....

The current grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX has stretched for months already, and airlines like American, United and Southwest continue to push back the date they expect these planes to be carrying passengers again. While Boeing says it’s confident that it can resolve the problem with the aircraft’s MCAS, the suspected root of the issue, there is no set timetable for when the company expects the plane to receive its certification to fly again....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.TPG reader Brock emailed me to ask about upgrading a credit card:“I currently have an Amex EveryDay card and use it a ton on groceries and other purchases, but I’m interested in the Everyday Preferred card. Could I call American Express and convert from one to the other? If so, will they run another credit check, and will I have the same credit limit?...

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Combining three loyalty programs into one, as Marriott is in process of doing with SPG and Ritz-Carlton, involves fitting a lot of different puzzle pieces together to see the entire picture. But with the new program launching just around the corner in August, the final pieces are beginning to fall into place. As part of the unified program, the credit cards from all three existing loyalty programs needed to be updated as well, and Chase has now shared more information on that front in regards to The Ritz-Carlton Rewards Credit Card and the Marriott Rewards Premier Business Credit Card....

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.Another day, another Delta SkyMiles deal — this time to Korea! You can fly from across the US to Seoul (ICN) for just 50,000 miles round-trip in economy or 70,000 miles roundtrip in premium economy....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.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, which allows you to cancel flights without penalty by 11pm Eastern Time within one day of booking. Remember: Fares may disappear quickly, so book right away and take advantage of Orbitz’s courtesy cancellation if you’re unable to travel....

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....

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.Update 12/26/16: JetBlue has now matched American Airlines’ fares from JFK to Cancun for flights departing between now and the end of May.Airfare deals are typically only available on limited dates....