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Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Today, I want to share a story from TPG reader Conner, who was unable to work around a non-refundable hotel stay:I booked a trip from Atlanta (ATL) to New Haven using points from my Chase Freedom Unlimited, including an American Airlines flight and an Omni Hotel stay. I booked it months in advance, so there was no way I could have foreseen the weather, but Hurricane Michael was ripping through the Southeast the weekend I was to travel....

Pour one out for your happy hour on your Spanish vacation — if you’re traveling to Mallorca or Ibiza, that is.The popular party and tourist destinations (specifically the areas of Arenal and Magaluf, Mallorca, and San Antonio’s West End on Ibiza) just passed new restrictions on parties and alcohol in a first-of-its-kind ruling. Pub crawls have been completely banned, as have advertisements that promote the consumption of alcohol, free bars and happy hours....

A passenger is suing British Airways seeking £10,000 (about $12,825 USD) in damages because he became injured after being seated next to an “extremely large” man on a 2016 flight from Bangkok to London Heathrow.The man, 51-year-old Stephen Prosser, says that sitting next to the “huge man” on the 12-hour flight caused him to suffer personal injury and loss of earnings. Prosser said in court on Friday that flight attendants ignored his warnings that he would be injured if he was forced to sit next to the obese passenger, who he claims was 6"4’ tall and weighed more than 300 lbs....

Tails are wagging at half-mast across the US this week in honor of Piper, the wildlife-control dog and viral sensation who died Wednesday.Known for wearing reflective goggles, the border collie became a social-media darling in 2015, when photos emerged of him chasing geese and other animals off the runway at Traverse City’s Cherry Capital Airport (TVC), in northern Michigan.“Piper passed away tonight peacefully in my arms after fighting a yearlong battle with prostate cancer,” Brian Edwards, Piper’s owner and an airport operations supervisor, wrote on Piper’s Instagram page....

Southwest Airlines is about to launch its first flights to Hawaii, a development that travelers have been eagerly awaiting. It would be the airline’s first foray into a big leisure market, expected to come in 2019 even though flights aren’t for sale on the airline’s website yet. In fact, many had been expecting the flights to begin this year. With less than two weeks left in 2018, that isn’t happening. What’s the holdup?...

Travel hacks: We thought we knew them all. From how to best use Google Flights to find cheap airfare to redeeming your miles for the most value to finding award availability — even when it doesn’t seem to be there — we love bringing you our favorite tips and tricks for (an even better) life on the road or up in the air.Now, there’s a thread of Twitter users sharing some lesser known hotel room hacks that has the internet abuzz and we have to admit: some of the tips are pretty great....

If there’s a moment in life more clarifying than a funeral, I haven’t found it. (Yes, you’re still reading The Points Guy. Stay with me here.)An old friend died a few weeks ago. I’ll call him Steve. Steve was married to my best friend since my teens. I’ll call her Lori. Lori and Steve were fixtures in my life for a number of years when I was the age that I still consider myself to be – until I look in the mirror....

Look at this map of world air traffic, taken this week from flight-tracking site FlightRadar24.While the skies over the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans are buzzing with aircraft, and busy air corridors link Latin America, Australia and Africa to points north, the Southern Hemisphere is pretty much a desert. Almost nobody is seen flying between the Earth’s southern continents.But why is intercontinental air traffic within the Southern Hemisphere so thin?First of all, the Southern Hemisphere accounts for a much smaller share of the Earth’s landmass and population than the Northern one....

In this week’s weird news about airports, not one but two different airport bathrooms are up for a very prestigious award.According to View From the Wing, a new restroom at Seattle-Tacoma International (SEA) and a bathroom at New York-LGA’s Terminal B have been nominated as finalists in the 2019 America’s Best Restroom contest, which is hosted by the business-support company, Cintas Corporation. The contest is now in its 18th year.Yes, seriously....

Athens is in the midst of a renaissance, with a slew of trendy restaurants and bars livening up the city center, giving the capital a much-needed Grecian gastronomic element despite the recession. Yet Greece’s capital — and largest city — is often seen as a stopover en route to the islands in the summertime with most tourists overlooking one of the world’s oldest cities and birthplace of democracy in favor of flashy beach clubs on the islands....

The holiday season is always a busy time for the travel industry. People are flying home to see family members, taking advantage of holiday time off to travel and escaping the cold weather to more tropical destinations. As one of the largest U.S. airlines, American Airlines is no exception to this time of year’s hustle and bustle.From Nov. 22 through Nov. 28, American Airlines and regional partners transported more than 4....

If you had your eye on booking award travel using your MileagePlus miles on a Star Alliance member flight you might be out of luck.There have been a number of reports circulating today that three Star Alliance members can’t currently be booked for award travel through United. The airlines in question include Singapore, Thai and TAP. This seems to be true if you try to book via United’s website or over the phone with customer service....

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.Through March 16, 2018, Hilton is offering a bonus when you purchase Honors points. There are two versions of this promotion: all Honors members are eligible for 80% bonus points, and Amex co-branded cardholders are eligible for a 100% bonus....

British authorities want to make it easier for new competitors to fly routes between London and the U.S.The United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which is charged with promoting competition to benefit consumers in the U.K. announced Thursday that British Airways and American Airlines will be giving up some slots at Heathrow or Gatwick in response to concerns that the airlines’ transatlantic joint venture has become too dominant in certain markets....

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 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.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.Delta has shared the details of a flash sale on award flights to and from New York City (LGA) when you book by tomorrow (October 12) at 11:59pm....

Hawaiian Airlines announced on Tuesday its new business-class product, to be installed on its 10 forthcoming Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners arriving in the fleet from 2021.Only two pictures of the seat have so far been revealed, but show a 1-2-1 configuration with middle seats that turn into a double bed, in a similar way to Qatar Airways award winning QSuites. Hawaii is a popular destination especially for honeymoons, and this would be a great option for couples traveling together....

IHG, which doesn’t use categories like you find with other reward programs, has released its annual update to its award chart for 2019. Points required to book rewards are set on an annual basis based on a range of factors for each property, which include average daily rate and occupancy. This year, around 700 properties have had a change to their award pricing level. With IHG having around 5,000 properties worldwide, this represents a change at about 14% of the portfolio....