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Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View other current offers here.TPG reader Tom wrote in to ask about using a partner’s lounge access even when traveling alone:“Are there any credit cards that allow a secondary cardholder to access lounges for no charge when the primary cardholder is not present?“The short answer? No — at least none that do it for free.Credit card companies pay the airlines a lot of money for that lounge access, so in order to give access to secondary cardholders as well, there’s going to be some sort of fee....

It’s no secret that banks tighten their approval standards when the economy is in a recession, as well as taking steps like lowering customers’ credit limits to reduce their overall risk and exposure.(Photo by bernie_photo/Getty Images)While the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has pushed the U.S. into its third recession of the millenium (following the dot com crash in the early 2000s and the mortgage crisis of 2008), the speed at which things turned south and the sheer number of people affected make this time different....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.After dropping ice and snow through Texas and the Midwest, a winter storm is raging south and eastward, leaving a trail of flight delays, flight cancellations and airport closures in its path. After over 1,600 cancellations on Tuesday, there have already been more than 1,000 before noon Wednesday.As of 11am, the Federal Aviation Administration reports that 46 airports are currently closed due to weather....

The Beijing Daxing International airport is set to be the world’s largest single terminal airport when it opens later this year outside Beijing. Daxing will be Beijing’s second international airport. The massive airport comes with a massive price tag of $14 billion. The airport is set to open in September and is expected to see as many as 79 million travelers by 2025 with a final target of 100 million when fully completed....

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.As part of Delta’s Choice Benefits, the carrier gives Diamond Medallion members the choice of which kind of upgrades they want — four Global, eight Regional OR two Global and four Regional....

Take advantage of the strong US dollar and start planning your trip to Australia. Here, TPG Special Correspondent John Walton takes us on a delightfully delicious journey from Sydney to Melbourne, stopping at local wineries along the way.As the third busiest air route in the world, you’ll be one of about eight million passengers flying between Sydney and Melbourne, but driving between the two cities is another option if you’ve got the time — the trip takes less than nine hours on good roads through some of Australia’s most beautiful landscapes and charming small towns....

Back on Dec. 16, American Airlines loaded its inaugural Airbus A321neo flights into its schedule. However, it’s been an interesting period in aviation since then: a 35-day shutdown delayed plane registrations and led unions for air traffic control, pilots and flight attendants to release a statement voicing their concern over the safety of US aviation.Meanwhile, Delta delayed its Airbus A220 inaugural flights, which were originally scheduled for Jan. 31, due to the shutdown and warned that the shutdown could also delay to its Airbus A330neo flights....

Some Amtrak ticket holders might soon find themselves riding the bus.Struggling to meet a congressional deadline that mandates rail companies install new safety technology by January 1, 2019, Amtrak has suggested that it might swap out its train lines for buses — and rural passengers and local officials aren’t happy about it.The safety system stirring the controversy is known as positive train control (PTC), which, according to Bloomberg, “automatically prevents trains from colliding with each other and prevents engineers from accidentally going too fast....

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 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....

Alaska Airlines is pretty generous when it comes to elite status. It requires fewer elite-qualifying miles to earn status than most other airlines, it’s one of the few airlines that still awards miles based on distance flown rather than money spent and is one of the few that grants full-on status matches to elites from other airlines without having to complete any challenges. Now, it’s going to be even easier for residents of certain states to earn elite status with the airline....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Here’s a great way to earn some bonus miles when shopping online. Right now, you can earn up to 19 miles per dollar (or even 22 in some cases) when shopping at Saks Fifth Avenue.Both the American and United shopping portals are offering 15 miles per dollar spent at Saks.com. However, both portals have additional promotions that can stack with the elevated offers....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Azerbaijan Airlines isn’t historically known for its extensive route network, premium product, state-of-the art fleet and stellar service. Or even known, period — its namesake nation in its current form didn’t even exist until 1991, when the Republic of Azerbaijan declared independence from the dissolving Soviet Union.Until a couple of years ago, the Azeri flag carrier operated a handful of Boeing 767-300 and A340-500 aircraft on its long-haul routes....

Two American tourists were killed on Wednesday when their scenic helicopter ride crashed at a coral-viewing site on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.The Whitsunday Air Services-operated helicopter with four American tourists on board was en route to a popular sightseeing pontoon about 40 miles north of the Whitsunday Islands. According to the New York Times, witnesses who were already on the Hardy Reef viewing pontoon watched as the incoming helicopter, a Eurocopter EC120 Colibri, crashed into the water and the pilot tried desperately to pull a passenger from the crashed aircraft....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Berlin — during those trips, I also wandered off to smaller European stops like Prague, and Krakow. Somehow I’d stayed (and eaten well) in Barcelona, too, but never set foot in Madrid — the capital of Spain, third largest city in the EU with 3.2 million people and the host of some of the world’s best museums and restaurants....

117 years after the Wright brothers’ first flight, aviation is a part of daily life and comparatively a very safe mode of transportation. Airplanes take off, cruise and land without a hiccup in the most demanding conditions.But how exactly planes fly is still mysterious to many—even after so much time has passed since that first flight.“When a relatively thin, flat lifting surface such as a wing, a sailboat sail or a shark’s fin moves through air or water, it can produce a force perpendicular to its direction of motion....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.If you already have the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or know about its benefits, you can skip this post. However, if you’re looking to get in on one of the best all-around travel rewards credit cards then feel free to read on.If you’ve read this blog for any period of time, you know that the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is one of my go-to credit cards for points....

More than one year after J.D. Power released its 2018 survey results, it turns out that nearly half of all frequent flyers still have no idea how to earn or redeem their points and miles.We’re betting the TPG audience is much better educated, but keep reading if you need help. It’s one of our primary missions at The Points Guy … to get you value for your hard-earned currency (of all kinds)....