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Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Everyone hates the idea of seeing roaming charges on your phone bill after a trip abroad. We’ve all been there, but the good news is it doesn’t have to be this way — TPG International Contributor Lori Zaino explains how you can stay connected on the cheap without much effort.While we sometimes travel with the hope of spending as much time “off the grid” as possible, if you’re running a small business or taking an extended trip, it’s often necessary to have daily access to email, not to mention social sharing sites like Twitter and Facebook....

Remember 2008? We had a different president, slower (clunkier) cell phones, Michael Phelps won eight gold medals in Beijing — and two guys in the Bay Area inflated a few airbeds in their San Francisco apartment and launched a little business called Airbnb.Ten years later, Airbnb is one of the world’s largest accommodation platforms with 4.5 million places to stay in 81,000 cities. During the past decade, Airbnb hosts have earned more than $41 billion (with a b) and guests have checked into an Airbnb more than 300 million times....

Japan’s All Nippon Airways made history on Wednesday for itself, its home country and Airbus. For ANA, Wednesday marked the first time a Japanese carrier has taken delivery of an A380. And for Airbus, it marked the last time it’ll make a first A380 delivery to a customer — at least, as the orders stand now. No one else has ordered the jet, and Airbus has already announced it will stop building the biggest passenger jet in the world in 2021....

American Airlines took delivery of its first Airbus A321neo Friday. The newest member of the AA family departed Hamburg, Germany, Friday morning and landed in Pittsburgh, where the airline’s team will get it ready for its first passengers.The plane — the first of what will be 100 A321neo aircraft joining the AA fleet — had its originally scheduled inaugural flight pushed back. American hasn’t given any indication as to why that’s the case....

Next time you fly in the main cabin on American Airlines, you’ll likely see a new menu in your seatback pocket.Starting Saturday, American will begin offering updated food options that can be purchased on flights within the U.S., Central America, Canada and the Caribbean that are longer than 1,100 miles, or approximately three hours.Sign up for the free daily TPG newsletter for more airline news.The new dishes cost between $8 and $11, and include a chicken lentil salad shaker jar, a raspberry chipotle turkey sandwich, an egg salad breakfast sandwich and a yogurt and berry box....

Three Bahamasair Boeing 737-500 jets have been banned from entering U.S. airspace after the airline missed a January 1, 2020, deadline to install surveillance technology required by the Federal Aviation Administration.In 2010, the FAA required airlines to install technology that improves safety and efficiency in the air and on runways, according to a report from Tribune242. Bahamasair reportedly inked a deal in June 2019 to have the required ADS-B avionics kit delivered in September, nearly ten years after the FAA’s mandate....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.For the second night of a two-night stay in Sydney in December, I decided to move across Darling Harbour from the Hyatt Regency Sydney to one of the city’s other new landmark hotels, the Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour, which officially opened in November 2017.The gleaming tower — the first new-build luxury hotel to open in the city since the 2000 Olympics — was constructed at a cost of nearly $500 million AUD (roughly $395 million USD)....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here – Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite MastercardTPG reader Bjorn tweeted me to ask:@thepointsguy—“What will happen to the US Airways Companion tickets after the merger? My wife and I still have one each.“In just a couple months, US Airways and American Airlines will finally merge their frequent flyer programs. This step has a lot of implications for both programs, as well as their co-branded credit cards....

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.“Reader Questions” are answered three days a week — Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays — by TPG Senior Writer Julian Mark Kheel.TPG reader Tony is concerned about American’s new Elite Qualifying Dollars (EQD) requirement, and sent us a Facebook message asking if his Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard can help…[pullquote source=“TPG Reader Tony”]I’m trying to reach Gold status on American, but you now have to spend $3,000 in EQD’s....

World of Hyatt is launching a new promotion to allow members to earn bonus points when staying at any Hyatt House hotel around the world.Beginning Nov. 1, 2018, World of Hyatt is allowing its members to earn 2,000 bonus points when staying four or more consecutive qualifying nights at any eligible Hyatt House hotel in the world. The catch is that you must register in advance for the promotion and must checkout of the hotel by Dec....

As 2019 comes to a close, many TPG readers and staff have been busy doing last-minute mileage runs to hit that next level of elite status.I luckily already obtained for 2020 Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Platinum, Delta Diamond Medallion and — thanks to my Hyatt status — I was gifted (to my surprise and delight) American Airlines Executive Platinum. In other words, no need for a mileage or mattress run for me....

Each fall, half a million music lovers congregate in downtown Austin’s Zilker Park to attend the Austin City Limits Music Festival.This year’s headliners include rising megastars Lil Nas X and SZA as well as more established artists such as Pink, Red Hot Chili Peppers and The Chicks. There are dozens of additional acts sprinkled across seven main stages and two side stages as well.With American Express sponsoring the event for the fifth time, having an Amex credit card will make it easier for you to enjoy the festival....

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.I’ve been all around the world including Easter Island and Seychelles, but I’ve never been to New Orleans. However, this week a friend who is working there on a project got some time off and convinced me (with little actual convincing) to come down and spend a couple days....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.On a recent trip to Georgia, I decided to check out the ultra-modern, 151-room Andaz Savannah. Located in the heart of the Historic District, this urban escape promised a unique stay in the Southern city, but its small size didn’t necessarily bode well. Here’s what it was like to stay there.BookingThe Andaz Savannah is a Category 4 property requiring 15,000 World of Hyatt points per night for a standard room redemption....

I grew up an Eastern Air Lines boy.Living in northern New Jersey, we had Newark as our home airport. My dad had elite status in the early days of frequent flyer programs.Then Eastern got folded into Continental and that became our go-to airline.For the latest travel news, deals and points and miles tips please subscribe to The Points Guy daily email newsletter.By the time United and Continental merged, I was no longer living in New Jersey....

International Airlines Group, the parent company of British Airways and Iberia, among others, has added another airline to its portfolio. Monday morning, the group announced that it had reached a deal to purchase Air Europa, strengthening the group’s presence in Madrid with goals of making the airport the next European hub.According to a press release, IAG’s wholly owned subsidiary Iberia has acquired Air Europa under the IAG umbrella. The cash deal, worth 1 billion euro ($1....

It was bound to happen anyway, but the COVID-19 pandemic has made it happen a lot sooner, and unexpectedly. Two major operators of the Boeing 747 have grounded the Queen of the Skies for good on Sunday. KLM and Qantas both flew their last scheduled passenger flights with the 747 on the same day, retiring the legendary airplanes before the planned date. The Dutch flag carrier expected to phase out the 747 in 2021, while the Australian one was going to retire its Jumbo Jets by the end of the year....

Arne Sorensen, CEO of Marriott, told LinkedIn Editor-in-Chief Dan Roth in a recent interview that Marriott is ready to face the pending lawsuit concerning resort fees filed by DC Attorney General Karl Racine head on. Racine announced Tuesday that he is suing the world’s largest hotel chain for “charging consumers deceptive resort fees when booking hotel rooms.”In response, Sorensen said in the interview, “We’ll obviously fight it. We think it’s wrong....