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Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available – View the current offers here"Reader Questions" are answered twice a week — Mondays and Fridays — by TPG Senior Writer Julian Mark Kheel.SPG Platinum status remains one of the more popular and valuable hotel elite status levels, and you can get it with just 25 stays or 50 nights at SPG properties within a calendar year. But TPG reader Marland wants to know if you can combine two shortcuts to earn that status faster…[pullquote source=“TPG Reader Marland”]I’m aware the SPG Amex gives night credits towards status for Starwood....

Need to get out of the city and into the wild? That’s exactly what I did when I visited Nairobi, Kenya, and decided to go on safari. A flight from the city center to the middle of nowhere didn’t take long, but provided plenty of unbelievable sights — including a tower of giraffes on one of the runways — and I got to see it all for myself on what would turn out to be one of the most spectacular flights I’ve ever taken....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.The battle between Uber and Lyft and each company’s stamp on cities across the country — and the world — continues to develop. It seems as though the two are constantly coming up with new ways to partner with other companies in an effort to attract a larger, more loyal following. Uber, however, remains far ahead of Lyft in terms of its reach....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.It isn’t every day that a prestigious global brand like Hyatt opens a hotel in Greece, so when a property like the Grand Hyatt Athens debuts, it generates a buzz you can hear.That’s especially so in this case because it occupies the building of the fortress-like former Athens Ledra Hotel, which originally opened in 1983, went through brand reiterations and is now a new animal altogether....

British Airways has its home base – and largest hub – at London’s Heathrow Airport, so it’s logical that the airline offers its most premium passenger experience there.But though BA has business- and first-class lounges at Heathrow (LHR), it also offers an even more exclusive lounge in Terminal 5: the Concorde Room. This lounge is reserved for first-class passengers flying on a British Airways flight and holders of BA’s highest-tier elite status who earn over 5,000 Tier Points in a given year....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.On a recent trip to Texas with her family, TPG Points & Miles Editor Sarah Silbert enjoyed a two-night stay at The Westin Austin Downtown. Read on for details about the experience. (All photos are by the author.)After a lovely stay at the St. Anthony, a Luxury Collection hotel in San Antonio, my family and I headed to Austin to take in the capital city and its many attractions....

Since news broke of Marriott’s massive data breach on Friday, the world’s largest hotel chain has been backtracking to help offer safeguards to travelers who may have been affected. Just on Monday, New York Senator Chuck Schumer said that the chain should pay for new passports for those affected, and now, Marriott has conceded and will reimburse travelers who have to get a new travel document as a result of the breach....

TPG contributor Jason Steele takes us on a tour of the benefits and limitations of two more prepaid debit card products today - the RushCard and RushCard Live - and how you can use them to maximize your points earning using them in combination with Green Dot MoneyPaks.Green Dot MoneyPaks appear to be the most widely available funding source for checking and debit card alternatives these days. MoneyPaks can be purchased at thousands of retail locations, and used to fund about 200 different prepaid cards....

New passenger protections for air travel to, from and within Canada are set to take effect this week. Beginning July 15, passengers may be entitled to new compensation in the event that they are denied boarding or if an airline misplaces or damages their luggage. The new passenger protections are the first of two rounds of new regulations going into effect this year.According to a report by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), “Large airlines, those that have serviced two million passengers or more in the last two years, will have a slightly different regulatory regime than smaller airlines in some cases....

Four U.S. airlines are among the safest in the world, according to a new report.Of the top 20 safest airlines, according to Airline Ratings, just two U.S. carriers cracked the list. Alaska Airlines came in at No. 8 while Hawaiian Airlines was No. 11. The world’s safest? According to the website, it was Australia’s Qantas.Airline Ratings says it judges an airline’s safety from “audits from aviation’s governing and industry bodies, government audits, airline’s crash and serious incident record, profitability, industry-leading safety initiatives, and fleet age....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Legacy airlines such as Delta, United and American have been doing an impressive job of filling cabins – frustratingly so, in fact, for passengers on the lookout for an empty seat to create added breathing room. According to research from Routesonline, it’s not the Old Guard segment that’s growing like a weed. Rather, it’s the burgeoning universe of low-cost carriers like Frontier Airlines, Wizz Air and Eurowings....

COVID-19 has disrupted the way we think about travel. Traditional hotels are quickly adapting to give customers confidence in their product, but millions of Americans are turning to different lodging options for their next trip. On this week’s TPG Talks webinar, we took a close look at these great alternatives to a traditional property — including short-term home and apartment rentals along with timeshare resellers.Joining us was Mike Kennedy, Cofounder and CEO of KOALA, a new online marketplace that connects travelers to timeshare owners....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.For our second post in the Travel Tuesday Top 10 List series, we’ve rounded up a list of the top 10 benefits conferred upon members of various hotel loyalty programs, including several available not just to top-tier members but to mid- and intro-level members as well.As always, feel free to share your thoughts and whether I missed any good ones (also chime in with future lists you’d like to see us do)....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Great news, travelers! The US-Turkey visa spat that began in early October seems to now be fully resolved. The US embassy in Turkey announced Thursday morning a “Full Resumption of U.S. Visa Services in Turkey.” Shortly thereafter, Turkey resumed e-visa services for Americans.Before the spat began in October, Americans could get a $30 cash visa on arrival, or buy a Turkish visa for $20 before their trip using Turkey’s online e-visa system....

They’re chest high on the average person: the Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s tires are a whopping 54 inches high and 20 inches wide. And they have to be. They, and the landing gear, carry as much as 255 metric tons of weight and roll at around 155 miles per hour at takeoff, or about 170 on landing. There’s a good reason you see a huge plume of burnt rubber on landing, smell it if you’re near the runway, and why the runway itself is covered in black rubber....

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.An engagement ring is one of the most expensive retail purchases many people will make in their lifetimes. So TPG reader Joseph wants to know how he can maximize both credit card rewards and interest payments on the investment…[pullquote source=“TPG Reader Joseph”]I’m buying an engagement ring for about $26,000....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.TPG reader Dan emailed me to ask:“In several blog posts, you mention that you get more value from Ultimate Rewards points if you use them with Hyatt, but it seems like points transfer 1:1. Can you please explain?“I don’t mean to say that you actually get more points by transferring to Hyatt then you do with any other transfer partner....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Have you recently been approved for the Chase Sapphire Reserve, or are you considering applying? Due to higher-than-anticipated demand, Chase actually ran out of its signature metal cards, and some applicants have reported delays in receiving their card in the mail. If you find yourself in that boat, there are still several ways you can use your Reserve account before you actually receive a card in the mail....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Planning your first cruise can seem really intimidating, especially with so many options to choose from — where to sail, which cruise line to travel on and how to get the biggest bang for your buck. TPG Senior Points & Miles Contributor Richard Kerr offers his best tips, from the best credit cards to use to picking the perfect ports....

Do you wish you could visit your favorite resort all the time? TPG Content and Community Manager Ryan Gaines explains how you can, by joining a resort that offers a pool and spa membership.Many resorts across the country have started to offer resort memberships for locals who want to live the resort lifestyle year round. This means members have full access to the resort every day of the year for use of the resort’s swimming pools, gyms, spas and tennis courts....