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[tpg_rating tpg-rating-score=“57” ground-experience=“6” cabin-seat=“17” amens-ife=“9” food-bev=“11” service=“14” pros=“Great price and good legroom” cons=“Mediocre, unappetizing food; lackluster service; no Wi-Fi” /]China Southern Airlines’ premium economy seat on the Boeing 777 is, on paper, a pretty good product. With 38 inches of legroom and 18.5 inches of width, it’s the same as most domestic first classes in the US and worlds better than regular coach.But how would it fare on a punishing 15-hour, 8,000-mile trek from New York to China?...

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Starwood regularly offered elite challenges in the past — most recently, new customers had an opportunity to earn either Gold or Platinum status after staying at least 9 or 18 nights in three months, respectively.Now, Marriott has introduced its first status challenge after launching the combined loyalty program on August 18. And the requirements are a bit easier to meet than they had been in the past....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Silvercar is expanding again — though this time around it’s making its fleet bigger instead of adding cities to its network. Beginning on Monday, Silvercar is adding Audi Q5 SUVs to its fleet.Traditionally, Silvercar has offered only Audi A4 sedans for riders to utilize. However, beginning at nine locations on Monday, riders are able to book the Q5 SUV....

From Amanpulo to the Park Hyatt Paris, I’ve stayed at some pretty incredible hotels over my years at TPG. Nothing comes close to the St. Regis Maldives, though, when it comes to the suites, service and scenery.But there’s just one problem: While the St. Regis Maldives is far and away my favorite hotel to date, it’s also the most expensive, with base villas costing well over $2,000 on some nights.Fortunately, there’s a workaround — at least for a few more weeks....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Many people have reported being targeted for the 100,000 point offer for The Platinum Card from American Express through the CardMatch Tool. Be sure to check for yourself to see what offers are available to you (there is no credit check)! Offer subject at change at any time.TPG Twitter follower Wildcat1 asked:“Now that Amex Platinum gives you SPG Gold Status, do I then only need 25 nights to get to Platinum Status - or do I have to start from zero nights?...

The Trump Administration announced Friday Jan. 31 that it is adding six new countries to a partial travel ban restricting the flow of immigrants and visitors into the United States.According to The Wall Street Journal, citizens of Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar and Nigeria will not be allowed to apply for visas to immigrate to the United States. Additionally, citizens of Sudan and Tanzania will no longer be eligible for the visa lottery, which gives green cards to those selected from a random drawing....

America, we need to talk.We got news that US credit card debt closed in 2018 at an all-time high — $870 billion, to be exact. I’m sorry, what?! It’s time for a little tough love.While we’re always here to tell you which credit card — or cards — to get, we’ve also said this time and time again: Don’t get a credit card if you cannot afford to pay your bills, on time, in full, every single month....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Alaska has been getting a lot more of my attention lately thanks to bold moves like expanding elite-qualifying mileage earning to all its airline partners, aggressive mileage bonus promos on West Coast travel, and the fact that it has amazing partners in Oneworld and SkyTeam like Cathay Pacific and Korean Air, as well as non-alliance partners including Emirates that I love to use my miles to fly....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Reports indicate that the American Express Centurion Lounge network is expanding yet again! With nine lounges currently open and additional lounges coming soon to New York’s Kennedy (JFK) and Denver (DEN), the Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) Board of Airport Commissioners has reportedly approved a lease for the next Amex Centurion Lounge:According to details of the agreement, the lounge will be in LAX’s Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT)....

Southwest Airlines issued a ground stop across the country early Friday morning due to technical issues with the computer system. As of around 6:30am ET, the system was back up and running and flights had resumed.Passengers took to social media to vent frustrations about the morning’s events:Southwest confirmed in a statement to TPG that the airline “briefly suspended operations (for approximately 50 min) as teams worked to ensure performance of some of the airline’s software systems that were upgraded overnight....

Canada’s flagship carrier, Air Canada, announced Thursday that it has agreed to purchase Air Transat, another Canadian airline. The exclusive agreement calls for Air Canada to purchase all issued and outstanding shares of Air Transat, valued at just under $387 million USD ($520 million CAD), or approximately $9.67 USD per share ($13 CAD) on a fully-diluted basis. The agreement is not a final deal, however.The merger would keep allow the Canadian carriers to establish a stronger base of travel operations out of Montréal, a strategic hub for Air Canada and one of the largest airport hubs in North America....

Oneworld, SkyTeam and Star Alliance – the three airline alliances – are calling on governments worldwide to “alleviate the unprecedented challenges” faced by the COVID-19 outbreak.Sign up for the daily TPG newsletter for the latest travel information“The human and financial impact that the COVID-19 outbreak is having on the aviation industry is unprecedented," SkyTeam CEO and Managing Director Kristin Colvile said in the statement.“SkyTeam, with its alliance partners, and on behalf of member airlines, is urging all involved institutions and industry stakeholders to face these extraordinary times with exceptional measures....

American Airlines has added the airline’s Airbus A321T on flights between Los Angeles and Miami this winter, as reported by One Mile At A Time. From December 18, 2019 through January 6, 2020, American will operate two of the airline’s up to nine daily flights between Los Angeles and Miami using the Airbus A321T, which is configured for American’s premium transcontinental routes. During this same period, American will reduce the number of flights the airline offers between San Francisco and New York-JFK, a route operated solely with the Airbus A321T....

Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg personally called President Donald Trump on Tuesday to guarantee the airworthiness of the Boeing 737 MAX, according to the New York Times.The Times reported that Muilenburg and Trump were already scheduled to speak Monday after the president tweeted about aviation technology compromising passenger safety. “Airplanes are becoming far too complex to fly," Trump tweeted. “…The complexity creates danger.“As airlines and countries around the world scramble to ground the 737 MAX after two fata crashes in five months, the United States stands out in stark contrast as the only major aviation country still allowing 737 MAX aircraft to operate within their airspace....

Most of us are working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. And most of us have meetings on Zoom. So why not have some fun with those hours of meetings, and be reminded of what awaits us when we can travel again?We’re happy to help you do that by bringing travel right into Zoom.For more TPG news delivered each morning to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.We have selected dozens of pictures taken by our staff and other sources to use as Zoom backgrounds....

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....

TripAdvisor is known for being a great resource for travelers, since the travel site compiles ratings on all sorts of things to do, places to stay, and where to eat in almost every place in the world — yes, even North Korea — and each country has a section featuring its “Top Things to Do.” Recently, the folks over at Vouchercloud took things one step further and created a beautiful map indicating all the number-one rated tourist attractions in each country....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available – View the current offers here.TO THE POINT: American Airlines’ 787-9 premium economy seats effectively bridge the growing gap between international economy and business-class cabins. The pros: much more legroom, wider seats, larger IFE screens and improved recline. The cons: disappointing footrests for two-thirds of the cabin, tricky tray tables and poorly placed IFE remotes.On October 6, American Airlines launched its brand new 787-9 Dreamliner between Dallas (DFW) and Los Angeles (LAX), the first in its fleet to feature a premium economy cabin....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Ever since La Compagnie launched its affordable all-business-class service between Newark (EWR) and Paris’ Charles De Gaulle Airport (CDG) last summer, I’ve been curious to experience it first-hand — particularly since the airline’s now disrupting the lucrative business-class market even further by offering seemingly too-good-to-be true buy one, get one free fares along with cheap last-minute tickets.For my recent trip to Paris, I booked a non-stop flight between EWR and CDG for $863....