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Editor’s Note: As the travel industry reopens following COVID-19 shutdowns, TPG suggests that you talk to your doctor, follow health officials’ guidance and research local travel restrictions before booking that next trip. We will be here to help you prepare, whether it is next month or next year.Earlier this week, American Airlines added Royal Air Maroc award bookings to AA.com, finally giving award travelers a simple way to find Royal Air Maroc award space online....

It’s a big week for small jets. Within the span of 48 hours, United announced a new aircraft layout to bring premium accoutrements to regional markets and Delta began passenger service aboard the newest jet in the United States. Both airlines are looking to address the same issue — regional business flyers want premium products — but are doing so in distinctly different manners.While United is taking the fuselage of a CRJ700 and installing just 50 seats in it instead of the usual 70 to create the CRJ550, Delta is bringing the 109-seater A220 to markets historically served by much smaller birds....

Most 18-year-olds spend their time trying to figure out which college or profession would best match their goals and interests. In contrast, 18-year-old Jack Santos spent half of 2018 looking for a bone marrow donor match.The Charlotte, NC, teen was diagnosed with aplastic anemia in March 2018, a life-threatening blood disease which causes the body to stop producing enough new blood cells. Aplastic anemia causes extreme fatigue and uncontrollable bleeding, and treatment required finding a donor whose bone marrow could replace Jack’s diseased marrow — a difficult feat at best....

Google Flights is great for general airfare searches, but sometimes you need a more powerful flight search engine. Maybe you want to route through a particular city, fly on a particular aircraft or extend a layover to spend it in a particular lounge. In these cases, many of us turn to ITA Matrix to find the perfect itinerary.The problem with ITA Matrix is that — once you find that perfect itinerary — you can’t book it on the site!...

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.Just when we thought we’d seen it all… A report from The New York Times surfaced this week that people, particularly social media influencers, are flocking to a strikingly blue “beach” in Siberia.That on its own wouldn’t be anything out of the ordinary, except for the fact that the “beach” is actually a “lake,” and more specifically, is a man-made waste dump for power plant Heating and Electrical Station Number 5....

Australian flag carrier Qantas is moving one step closer to its goal of operating the world’s first commercial nonstop flights from both London (LHR) and New York (JFK) to Sydney (SYD). The carrier announced on Thursday that it was set to commence three test flights on these routes — albeit, without paying passengers.Qantas is set to receive three more 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft from Boeing’s Seattle production line this year in October, November and December....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.On the heels of a few disappointing changes to Chase credit cards last month (the bank suddenly and silently removed some benefits of United co-branded cards) and rumors that the price protection and return protection perks could be removed from the entire Chase credit card portfolio, there’s more bad news for Chase cardholders.According to a document obtained by Doctor of Credit, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card will undergo a significant devaluation on August 26 — just over two years after the card first debuted....

Southwest Airlines has agreed to pay $15 million to flyers who claim that the airline and three of its competitors illegally teamed up to keep airfares high. Despite the settlement, Southwest maintains that it’s innocent of the accusations.Once a Washington, DC, federal judge gave her preliminary OK to the settlement agreement on Jan. 3, Southwest became the first of the four airlines named in the class-action suit to agree to cooperate with the plaintiffs against the others — Delta, American and United....

New York City and parts of New Jersey and Long Island will be treated on Tuesday to an overflight by the aerobatic teams of the U.S. Air Force and Navy, in a rare joint appearance as part of a nationwide tour meant to honor first responders and essential workers during the coronavirus pandemic.The Air Force’s Thunderbirds and the Navy’s Blue Angels will begin the tour on April 28 over New York and New Jersey, followed by Philadelphia on the same day....

A handful of water fountains were shut down at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE) on Tuesday after six passengers on a Frontier Airlines flight fell ill while on board the plane.The passengers, heading to Tampa (TPA) on Frontier Flight 1397, were not traveling as a group but all began throwing up by the time the plane landed in Florida, a spokesperson for the Tampa airport told CNN. Health officials reportedly boarded the plane when it landed and removed the sick passengers....

The flight was over.It was a hop to somewhere in the deep South: the Golden Triangle in Mississippi, or perhaps Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Claudia Zapata - Cardone was starting out, working as a pilot for a regional airline, flying small Bombardier jets carrying 50 to 70 people from smaller cities to the big hubs.She was standing at the door of her flight deck, saying goodbye to the passengers as they exited the airplane....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available – View the current offers here.If the past year has taught award travelers anything, it’s that points and miles don’t make very good long-term investments. Still, as some loyalty currencies falter, others become more valuable. Today TPG Senior Points & Miles Correspondent Jason Steele discusses some positive changes you can look forward to in the coming year.Hardly a week goes by without news that one airline or another has devalued its award chart, either by increasing the mileage requirements or by tightening routing rules for award travel....

It’s been three years since “Downton Abbey” left our TV screens — oh, how we’ve missed the drama of the Crawley family and the intriguing antics of the staff. But the feature film was worth the wait, as we’re absolutely swooning over the stunning filming locations.Without giving away any spoilers, the film is set in breathtakingly beautiful areas around the country as the main storyline is about a royal visit to the Crawley household, which creator Julian Fellowes based off the real-life tour of England by King George V and Queen Mary....

A former KLM queen of the skies, which was most recently painted in a Corendon Hotels livery, will make her final journey this week as she moves from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS) to a nearby hotel. The plane, formerly known as “City of Bangkok” when it was flying with KLM, will be turned into what Corendon Hotels is calling a “Corendon Boeing 747 Experience.” The details of exactly what that is going to be have yet to be released, but it’s scheduled to open sometime in the middle of 2019....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Some of the most exciting features of the new to the American Express® Gold Card are the 4x bonus categories, valid on dining and US supermarkets (up to $25,000 a year for the latter category; then 1x). Based on TPG’s valuation of Membership Rewards points at 2 cents each, this works out to an 8% return and really puts the squeeze on cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve, which used to be the default pick for dining purchases (with 3x points or a 6% return)....

Amtrak announced this weekend that it would temporarily suspend Acela service on the Northeast Corridor between Boston and Washington, citing a significant reduction in demand for service as a result of coronavirus.Only slower, Northeast Regional trains will continue operating on the popular route for business travelers, and even those will only cover about 40% of the usual schedule, according to the railroad.Sign up for the free daily TPG newsletter for more travel news....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card and Sapphire Reserve are favorites of many award travel enthusiasts. The Sapphire Preferred has been popular for some time by offering double points on all travel and dining purchases, while the new Sapphire Reserve Card ups the ante by offering a 100,000-point sign-up bonus (after spending $4,000 in three months), 3x points on travel and dining, a $300 annual travel credit and Priority Pass Select membership....

TPG reader Jeff emailed me to ask about upgrading flights booked through a third party:“If I book a flight through Citi ThankYou Rewards, can I then use my airline miles to upgrade my ticket?“One nice aspect of credit card loyalty programs (including Citi) is that you can use points to book flights and still earn rewards in the process. Since you’re seen by the airline as a paying customer, you can accrue both redeemable miles and elite credits like normal....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.A fixed rate for cash back and points earning was once the norm for credit cards — now, category bonuses are all the rage. And the new kid on the block, Capital One’s Savor card is an appealing option for foodies who want to score a bigger return on dining out and grocery purchases without the hassle of dealing with travel portals and transfer partners....

Delta, Virgin Atlantic and Air France–KLM are one step closer to an expanded joint venture. Considering the parties involved, applying the term déjà vu here feels especially apt. Some 10 months ago, the four airlines pushed out details that affirmed their continued intentions to strengthen bonds. This week, they’re doing it all over again while giving us a date stamp to hold onto.Additionally, Virgin Atlantic, Air France and KLM have today announced their first codeshare agreement, which creates new transatlantic travel options to and from North America, and provides more opportunities to earn frequent flyer miles....