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Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.It’s already December! And that means that tomorrow is the last first Friday of the month for earning 3X points per $1 on dining when you use your Chase Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire cards at restaurants, where they would normally only earn 2-2.14X points per $1. The bonus works at any restaurant you’d normally earn 2X points at - so internationally as well as within the US....

Clues left behind in the Marriott data breach suggest that the hackers might be intelligence officers backed by the Chinese government.According to a new report by Reuters, officials investigating the vast breach of customer data say the the Marriott hackers used “tools, techniques and procedures previously used in attacks attributed to Chinese hackers.” Marriott disclosed the massive data breach on Friday, estimating that up to 500 million customers could have had their personal information copied and encrypted into a database by the hackers over the course of four years....

A passenger on a WestJet flight between Toronto, Canada, and Havana, Cuba, was removed from the aircraft prior to departure last month for “medical reasons” after he took a sleep-aid and was deemed unfit to fly by a flight attendant.The BBC is reporting that passenger Stephen Bennett, a resident of British Columbia, was headed to Havana for vacation with his family when the crew on his flight between Toronto and Havana requested medical assistance and asked that he be removed from the flight....

Family-friendly airline Southwest is beloved by many for the most flexible change policies in the industry, which allow you to change your flights at any point before the time of travel with absolutely no fees. You’ll simply pay the price difference in cash or points – or even better, you’ll receive a refund (if paying with points) or travel credit (if paying with cash) if the new price is lower than what you originally paid....

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.A Turkish Airlines crew was attacked as they were returning from dinner in central Johannesburg. According to a report, the armed thieves managed to stop the shared van the crew members were taking back to their hotel on Jan 13....

United Airlines will bring its Boeing 767-300ERs with extra Polaris business class seats to Switzerland next year, giving flyers almost 50% more chances of an upgrade to business.The Star Alliance carrier plans to operate the aircraft, which have 46 Polaris business class seats instead of the standard 30 seats, to Switzerland from Newark (EWR) beginning in 2020, United chief commercial officer Andrew Nocella said during a quarterly earnings call on July 17....

Hong Kong and Buenos Aires may be two of the world’s most appealing travel destinations, but with ongoing political unrest in the former and an uncertain economic outlook in the latter, there’s understandably been a drop in demand.In response, United Airlines has taken the rare step of suspending select flights to both cities — just as the carrier recently did with flights to India (which are due to resume next month)....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Given the long wait times travelers have grown accustomed to, especially during the summer, airlines are using their own resources in an attempt to improve TSA wait times. Delta recently tested out new TSA automated screening lanes at its hub in Atlanta (ATL), increasing efficiency by 30% at each lane, while American Airlines recently announced it would follow suit at Phoenix (PHX), Chicago O’Hare (ORD), Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), Los Angeles (LAX) and Miami (MIA) by the end of this year....

[tpg_rating ticket-class=“business” tpg-rating-score=“73” ground-experience=“14” cabin-seat=“21” amens-ife=“11” food-bev=“13” service=“14” pros=“Friendly service aboard a new aircraft.” cons=“Haphazard meal service, no gate-to-gate IFE and minimal storage at an otherwise comfortable seat.” /]Vietnam Airlines offers a modern fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners and Airbus A350s on its long-haul routes. The airline is a member of SkyTeam, the alliance that includes among its members Delta Air Lines, Air France, KLM and Korean Air, among others. It has grown into a player with international clout, serving destinations as far as Europe....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.You’ve studied credit cards to recognize which sign-up bonus offers are best. You’ve taken extra care to understand which time of year will deliver additional points in certain spending categories. You’ve researched hotels and airlines to know where you can make the most of the stockpile of points in your account. But have you spent time comparing the small details of credit cards?...

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Like a bag of shiny gelt (gold-wrapped chocolate coins), it’s a treat to gather with your extended mishpachah (family) for the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, which this year spans December 16-24. Based on the eight U.S. cities with the largest Jewish populations, TPG Assistant Editor Melanie Wynne suggests a menorah’s worth of hotels to inspire celebrating the Festival of Lights with out-of-town loved ones....

When booking an award flight, points and miles gurus know not to automatically redeem miles on the airline operating the flight. There’s usually a cheaper way to book through a partner program. For example, instead of paying 12,500 United miles for a domestic United flight, you can pay as little as 6,500 LifeMiles (or even fewer if you snag a discounted award). Or, you can book AA awards to Hawaii for just 13,000 British Airways Avios instead of paying 22,500 AA miles....

Choice Hotels, the loyalty program of budget hotels like Quality Inn and Comfort Suites, recently became a 1:1 transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards. In general, I don’t see huge value in transferring Amex points to hotels and this goes for Choice as well. The main reason being that Choice’s hotels by nature can be had pretty cheaply so spending 6,000 - 75,000 Amex points for a free night doesn’t make a whole lot of sense....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Chase, American Express and Citibank have all made changes to their ultra-premium credit cards in the last several months, so it’s a great time to compare the bonus categories and direct redemption options amongst all three.To be clear, a credit card isn’t only about points. Although that’s often the primary focus, there are tons of additional benefits that come with each of these cards, such as the broad $300 travel credit on the Chase Sapphire Reserve, Centurion lounge access on The Platinum Card from American Express and the 4th Night Free perk of the Citi Prestige Card....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here: Chase Sapphire ReserveWe go a little overboard at times with Christmas presents in my family, but thankfully going overboard with a “big” present doesn’t have to mean spending a ton of money. This year I wanted to give a big gift to my mom and finally take her to a Christmas Market in Europe as that is a trip we have been talking about for years....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.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, which allows you to cancel flights without penalty by 11pm Eastern Time within one day of booking. Remember: Fares may disappear quickly, so book right away and take advantage of Orbitz’s courtesy cancellation if you’re unable to travel....

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....

So far in our Elite Status Series, we’ve covered American, Delta, Southwest and United. Today, TPG contributor Nick Ewen tackles US Airways Preferred status starting with Silver – how you can qualify for it and maximize the benefits once you earn it.For the past year (or at least since February and the official announcement), the frequent flyer community (not to mention the air travel industry in general) has been a buzz with the ups and downs up the American and US Airways merger....

Note: This article was updated on September 19, 2020, with new information. It was originally published on June 23, 2020.The world’s biggest international airline has resumed flying the biggest passenger airplane. Emirates, which carries more passengers between different countries than any other airline, restarted service with the Airbus A380 on July 15, according to a tweet on its official account. The first destination served by the A380 from the Emirates base in Dubai was London’s Heathrow airport and Paris CDG....

So long, snickerdoodle. Make way for chocolate chunk.American Airlines introduced a new chocolate chunk cookie earlier this month for passengers flying domestic first class.The new cookies are produced by Best Maid Cookie Company and were first loaded onto flights on Sept. 11, American spokeswoman Leah Rubertino told TPG.Rubertino said that the new cookies replace the previous chocolate chunk option — baked by Christie’s Cookies — that had been offered alongside the snickerdoodle option....