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Following a record-breaking summer of high airport traffic during the Thanksgiving travel season, Sunday, Nov. 25, marks the busiest travel day ever in Transportation Security Administration history.According to data collected by the TSA, from Friday, Nov. 16, through Monday, Nov. 26, approximately 25,652,287 passengers and crew were screened at airport checkpoints throughout the US. On Sunday alone, 2.7 million travelers passed through security – the most since 2004 and a 6% increase from last years numbers....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Three days into a recent road trip along the Costa Brava region of northeastern Spain, my boyfriend and I stopped in the seaside town of Sant Feliu de Guíxols for dinner. After grabbing a quick bite, we returned to the parking lot where we left our rental car and found a brick thrown through the window. All of our belongings had been stolen from the trunk....

Most people love visiting new places, but let’s face it: The actual process of traveling can be pretty stressful. Sifting through email confirmations to find the right terminal for your connecting flight isn’t the most ideal thing to do en route to your dream vacation in Paris. Fortunately, TripIt — a travel organizing app — serves as a handy digital companion by combining travel confirmations into itineraries, telling you when to leave for the airport and, starting Wednesday, providing directions within airports....

“Reader Questions” are answered twice a week by TPG Senior Points & Miles Contributor Ethan Steinberg.There are many factors that play a role in determining airfare pricing, including historical demand, available fare classes (or “buckets”) and daily/seasonal/holiday variations in travel. TPG reader Mona wants to know why it seems that one-way tickets are often more expensive than round-trip tickets …[pullquote source=“TPG READER MONA”]Why is it that one-way tickets are always so much more expensive than round-trip tickets?...

Some 115 years ago Monday, a powered aircraft took flight along North Carolina’s coast. The Wright Brothers made four flights in total on Dec. 17, 1903, with the first lasting just a dozen seconds and the final taking just under a minute. As Flightradar24 aptly points out, there are more than 15,000 powered aircraft in flight right this very moment.A lot has changed in the nearly six score since that remarkable day, with the anniversary stirring up conversation here at TPG on some of the current and impending aviation advancements that Wilbur and Orville Wright never saw coming....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.United Visa card holders have the opportunity to earn 1,000 United Miles without spending a single cent with this new promotion. United Airlines recently revamped its MileagePlus X mobile app, and as an incentive to get MileagePlus members to download it, United is offering select members 1,000 miles free of charge.The only requirement to take advantage of this promotion is that you must be an eligible United Chase Visa card holder....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.I often discuss how helpful credit card sign-up bonuses and spending can be for earning award travel, but some readers are intimidated by the idea of opening too many new accounts. So today, TPG Senior Points & Miles Correspondent Nick Ewen demonstrates how even a single card can give you access to free flights, hotel nights and more....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Hilton is now offering the opportunity to purchase Hilton Honors points for just 0.5 cents each with a 100% bonus through June 3. In the past, Hilton has offered similar promotions when you buy points, but the deal has never been as good as this.You can purchase Hilton Honors points with this bonus here, and there is a limit to the number of points you can purchase per calendar year at 80,000 points....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Tourism Vancouver’s hotel booking site, beVancouver, is currently offering some great deals on cheap Vancouver hotels stays when you book by November 16, 2014 and check-in before or on February 28, 2015. Book a stay at one of beVancouver’s participating properties, and upon check-in you’ll receive an American Express pre-paid gift card worth between $50- $125 dollars, which can bring the net cost of the hotel to $25 at some properties....

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.For the fourth year running, Delta’s pulling out all the stops to put its stamp on Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA). The airline has announced that its 12status fan program will return for another football season.The battle for SeaTac supremacy has been waging for years, with many suggesting that Delta’s decision to create a hub at SEA was the move that pushed Alaska Airlines to disintegrate its partnership with the carrier....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.This page includes information about the Discover it Business Card that is not currently available on The Points Guy and may be out of date.Several years after it stopped issuing business credit cards, Discover is back in the small business game. On Wednesday, the issuer launched the Discover it Business Card, which is now available for applications at Discover’s website....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Here’s a great opportunity to earn some Starpoints while sharing the program with someone new. The hotel chain recently launched a refer-a-friend program that rewards members with 1,000 bonus Starpoints if your referred friend completes a stay within 60 days — they’ll also score 1,000 Starpoints for joining.Earn 1,000 Starpoints for referring a friend.Unfortunately, Starwood is limiting this promotion to one friend, so you’re only allowed to earn the 1,000 points once....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.I recently came across a deal on a nonstop economy flight from Madrid (MAD) to Hong Kong (HKG) on Cathay Pacific — 497 euros, or about $528 at the time — and I knew I couldn’t pass it up. The day of the flight, I was mentally prepared to spend 12.5 long hours in a small economy seat, but much to my surprise, I found out at check-in that I’d been upgraded to premium economy thanks to my Oneworld Ruby status (via my American Airlines Gold status)....

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.Berlin-based budget airline Germania has filed for bankruptcy, citing the rising cost of fuel and currency fluctuations as two main factors in its demise.“We ultimately failed to successfully complete our financing efforts to meet short-term liquidity needs,” managing director Karsten Balke said in a statement....

Question: What’s better than turkey, stuffing and apple pie? Answer: Not much.What’s worse than running into everyone you went to high school with when you return to your hometown for aforementioned turkey, stuffing and apple pie? Also not much.The good news, though, is there’s a way to avoid those awkward encounters.Google Maps is great for showing travelers how to reach a destination. But you can also use the Popular Times feature to see when grocery stores, shopping malls, movie theaters and bakeries are busiest....

An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX crashed on Sunday, killing all 157 passengers and crew on board. The incident marked the second fatal crash in the short commercial history of the 737 MAX, following a Lion Air crash in October 2018. The two incidents had a lot in common. Both were brand new 737 MAX aircraft that crashed shortly after takeoff, when pilots failed to maintain a steady climb. In both cases, weather did not seem to be a contributing factor, suggesting that something else was responsible....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.The Starwood Preferred Guest® American Express Luxury Card has been offering a 100,000-point welcome bonus since it launched in August, but that offer will end next week, on Oct. 31.To earn the 100,000 points, you need to spend $5,000 in the first three months. That’s a considerable minimum spending requirement for a personal credit card, but this elevated offer is worth a very solid $900 based on TPG’s valuations....

Following the news that Ukrainian’s Boeing 737 that crashed in Tehran was likely shot down by an Iranian military anti-aircraft missile, most airlines are avoiding Iranian airspace.The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has actually banned U.S. airlines from flying over Iran, as well as Iraq and the waters between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula, following the Iranian missile attack on a U.S. base in Iraq on Tuesday. The tense situation that followed the killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in a U....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Each year I like to take inventory of my credit card portfolio by weighing the benefits of each card and weeding out the ones that aren’t providing enough value. There’s no shortage of new sign-up bonuses to earn, like the recently extended offer for the IHG Rewards Club Select Credit Card, or the big targeted offers for the The Platinum Card from American Express available through the CardMatch tool....