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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 Garrett, who maximized his return after weighing a few different hotel award options. Here’s what he had to say:I recently returned from a wonderful four-night stay at the brand new Grand Hyatt Baha Mar resort in the Bahamas. The resort was on my wish list since it opened last year, and I wanted to take my fiancée for her birthday....

The first Boeing 787-10 for British Airways will begin service in February next year, becoming the newest aircraft to enter the fleet as part of the airline’s plan to renew its long-haul offering. British Airways said in a statement on Tuesday the 787-10 Dreamliner will be delivered in January, and will debut on the London Heathrow to Atlanta route the following month.Most importantly for passengers, it will feature British Airways’ newest business-class seat, the Club Suite, which is a major improvement over the biz-class product currently offered to Atlanta and to other US destinations except New York JFK....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.While TPG puts Delta SkyMiles lower on the valuation totem pole, we’ve seen some pretty incredible Delta award sales recently, including 22,000 SkyMiles round-trip to Europe and 30,000 SkyMiles round-trip to Hong Kong.Today we’re seeing more deals, with award flights to Mexico and the Caribbean from 12,000 miles round-trip:While Delta has only advertised a handful of cities, it appears that discounted rates are available from airports all over the US....

A business class award flight to Europe will typically require between 50,000 and 80,000 frequent flyer miles each way. However, there are exceptions to this rule of thumb. Turkish Airlines is usually one of them, offering these tickets to Europe for as little as 45,000 miles each way. But by combining two separate promotions, you can now drop this even further and snag round-trip business class awards to Europe through the end of February for just 51,000 Citi ThankYou points, round-trip!...

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.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. However, if you’re using The Platinum Card® from American Express, you’ll need to book directly with the airline or through the Amex Travel portal to get 5x MR points....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here – The Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express, Premier Rewards Gold Card from American ExpressUpdate: The consultations sold out quickly! Thanks to all for supporting Points for Peace.I’ve been using Membership Rewards points since the ’90s when I used to book my dad’s work travel and use his points for family vacations. Now, they’re my top points balance because I put a huge amount of business spend on my Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN and all of our company flights on the Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Recently, on the tail end of a whirlwind trip around Thailand, TPG Contributor Leigh Rowan stayed overnight at the Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok with his wife and toddler son. Hot on the heels of yesterday’s $600 airfare deal to Bangkok, here’s his take on the property.After our quick tour across Thai cities and beaches, my wife and I were looking for one night of luxury in the big city of Bangkok before our long flight home the next day....

What are some ways to fly first class on Delta? You could purchase a ticket the conventional way, or upgrade yourself using points, mileage upgrades or certificates. Elite travelers may get a complimentary upgrade, although it’s getting harder these days. You could even get lucky and end up in Delta first class on a $19 rebooking through Freebird.Then there’s another route, which is what happened Wednesday for nine travelers departing Atlanta (ATL) to Orlando (MCO)....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico on Wednesday morning, pummeling the island with Category 4 winds and rain. Images coming out of Puerto Rico and surrounding islands that have already been affected by the hurricane show the devastation left in its wake.Now, Hurricane Maria is expected to continue its movement to the northwest before curving along the Atlantic coast of the US....

During my time as airports/security editor for Aviation Daily between 2006 and 2011, I spent a lot of time writing about how the how the Transportation Security Administration was testing checkpoint technology to help get passengers through the process as quickly as possible.So something felt very familiar when I read TPG’s aviation writer Zach Wichter’s story, “The TSA Is Testing Ways to Eventually Keep Laptops in Bags for Everybody.” TSA is testing what it calls the Advancing the Checkpoint Environment program or ACE, at a new facility located on the lower level of Terminal 3 at Las Vegas’ McCarran International Airport....

“Reader Questions” are answered twice a week by TPG Associate Editor Brendan Dorsey.Booking award flights can be a complicated process. TPG reader Ashley wants to know if there’s any benefit when booking two one-way awards…[pullquote source=“TPG Reader Ashley”]Assuming the number of miles is the same, is there any reason not to book two one-way award tickets vs a round-trip award ticket.[/pullquote]One-way flights purchased with cash can sometimes be prohibitively expensive compared to round-trip itineraries — making the option of booking two one-ways with miles more attractive if the situation calls for it....

Mexican officials have scrapped a $13 billion plan for a brand new airport on the outskirts of Mexico City after 70% of voters rejected the project in a national referendum.The infrastructure project was one of Mexico’s largest ever and had been underway since 2015. Sitting in Mexico City’s northeastern suburb of Texcoco on a drained lakebed, the site was more than one third completed with $5 billion already sunk into construction when voters struck it down over the weekend....

Each Saturday, we round up the top miles, points and travel news that you might have missed on TPG this week. Here’s what you need to know.Image courtesy of Universal OrlandoA New Theme Park Is Officially Coming to Orlando: Universal’s Epic UniverseAn entire new theme park — Universal’s Epic Universe — is officially coming to Orlando.Photo courtesy of TPG StaffAmex Cuts Priority Pass Restaurant Access — Here’s What You Can DoAmerican Express has cut complimentary airport restaurant access for its cards that include a Priority Pass membership, but the perk remains for other cards that include Priority Pass....

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.Less than two months after canceling a flight, stranding an entire planeload of passengers in Mexico, Sun Country is in the news again for failing an entire flight’s worth of customers....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.2017 has seen more than its fair share of highly destructive natural disasters, with neither the Atlantic or Pacific cyclone regions out of the woods yet. Currently brewing in the Eastern Pacific is Super Typhoon Lan, which could make landfall in Japan as early as October 22.Packing sustained winds of 130 knots (150 mph) — with gusts up to 160 knots (184 mph) — Super Typhoon Lan is forecasted to make a direct hit on Tokyo around 8am local time Monday morning....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.This week’s Thursday Giveaway is the chance to win 27,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles. With just a few weeks left before the impending devaluation of the AAdvantage program, be sure to book before the deadline to get the lowest rates on award tickets if you have plans to travel soon.Even after the devaluation kicks in, 27,000 miles will still get you a one-way economy flight to Europe (with miles to spare), or you can use them to book a round-trip flight within the contiguous 48 states....

“Yess!” exclaimed one American Airlines Shuttle passenger when she found out they could disembark via stairs from the rear door of an Airbus A319 after a recent flight.The American Shuttle is the last shuttle operator to continue the tradition of convenient, and in some cases passenger-pleasing, rear-door deplaning at select airports. The practice continues at New York LaGuardia (LGA) and Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA) – where the recent traveler was excited to exit through the back – and will resume at Boston Logan (BOS) by early next year....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Ever dreamed of sleeping in a Cadillac Coupe de Ville at the drive-in movies? Well, now you can, at Germany’s V8 Hotel, a spot designed to host both car and aviation lovers.The Drive-In Cinema Room. Image courtesy of the V8 Hotel.Located on what used to be an airport in Stuttgart, the V8 Hotel seems fairly simple on the outside, but once you’re inside, classic-car fanatics can expect a full-on auto paradise....

If you’ve been itching to spend a day at one of the nation’s more than 400 national parks, you’re in luck: All National Park Service (NPS) sites will offer free admission on Veteran’s Day, Monday, Nov. 11. Yes, even the ones that usually charge an entrance fee (we see you, Acadia).In fact, this only happens five days a year. If you missed the free national park days for Martin Luther King Jr....