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This January, I joined a very special flight, traveling from Frankfurt, Germany to Bogota, Colombia, with three fellow aviation geeks. Gino Bertuccio and Cherag Dubash flew on the port side of Lufthansa’s Airbus A340-600 first-class cabin, in 1A and 2A, with Buenos Aires-based travel agent Agustin Aguero seated with me on the starboard side.I had plenty of time to chat with Agustin during the 12-hour journey. I learned about his adventures, including self-funded travels around the world....

Everyone hates a delay. Passengers are late for connecting flights, airlines get fined and pilots miss yet another family event. There are no winners – except for maybe the retail outlets in the terminal. It’s even more frustrating when the delay is due to a technical problem with the aircraft.Airliners are machines and machines break. They are complicated structures comprising of hundreds of intricate systems. The more systems and components you have, the more there is to go wrong and fixing them can take hours or even days....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Citi is a TPG advertising partnerOne of the top sign-up bonuses out there right now is on the Citi Prestige Card, which was recently updated with a bonus of 75,000 ThankYou Rewards points after $7,500 in purchases within three months of account opening. I’ve already provided suggestions of how to use this haul for both business and first-class flights as well as some more off-the-beaten-path redemptions through the program’s 14 transfer partners....

JetBlue says it will test a new ultraviolet disinfecting tool as the airline industry continues its battle to convince the traveling public that it’s safe to fly.JetBlue will deploy eight of the beverage cart-sized machines that can cover the length of an airplane in 10 minutes or less. They feature folding arms equipped with a germ-fighting, ultraviolet-light cleaning system that can help disinfect cabin surfaces – including seats, lavatories and galleys....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.The HotelAfter our great Air Seychelles flight and quick Hertz car pick up, we drove up the windy mountain road in our stick shift Diahatsu jeep in order to get to our hotel, Le Meridien Barbarons.We chose Le Meridien Barbarons for a couple reasons, but mainly because they had Starwood Cash and Points availability, which is my preferred method of redeeming Starwood points....

One day after the tragic crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, more airlines and countries are suspending operations of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. On Monday, both Ethiopian Airlines and the Indonesian government have announced the grounding of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.Ethiopian Airlines issued the following bulletin at 7:08am local time (12:08am ET):“Following the Tragic accident of ET 302/10 March B-737-8 MAX (ET-AVJ), Ethiopian Airlines has decided to ground all B-737-8 MAX fleet effective yesterday, March 10, 2019 until further notice....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.I’ve been pretty opposed to the American Airlines/US Airways merger since it was originally announced. I hoped the Department of Justice would have put the kibosh on the deal, but secretly knew that US/AA would up their lobbying game and twist enough arms behind the scenes to get their injunction overturned. That eventually happened and the two carriers merged in December, though it will be several years until they are finally integrated as one operating carrier operating under one brand....

Singapore Airlines has adjusted some of its global operations as a result of the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 virus, also known as the coronavirus.Airlines around the world have reduced frequencies and completely cut routes to China and other Asian destinations as a result of the outbreak. Singapore has elected to reduce and sometimes even cut completely routes to Mainland China. However, as of Tuesday, the airline is also set to cancel specific flights to other destinations in its network....

Portuguese carrier TAP Air Portugal is making it easier for those who like to fly in comfort to snag an upgrade to business class.The airline partnered with the tech company SeatBoost and last week introduced an app-based auction that lets passengers bid for a seat in the pointy end of the plane. Flyers can submit bids starting 24 hours before departure.In order to bid, passengers will need both the TAP and SeatBoost apps....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Update: You can no longer purchase Vanilla Reload cards with a credit card.The Bluebird from American Express is a checking account/debit card alternative with a lot of great features that can save you money and earn points in the process, and for all you new readers out there, I thought it was about time for a quick refresher post on Bluebird and all the ways it can help you maximize your points - especially as tax season approaches....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.While your wallet could be thick on a day-to-day basis, stuffing in your Priority Pass card can be the final knockout in making your wallet too heavy to carry. Luckily, for some cardholders, you can download the Priority Pass app and display your membership card directly from your screen — no more worrying about having your card at check-in....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.While many airlines, including some of the major ones in the US, are cutting back on their first-class cabins, other carriers around the world are doubling down with bigger, newer and better products to keep their premium flyers happy. Here, TPG Special Contributor Eric Rosen rounds up some of the best ways to fly first class to Asia, including tips and strategies on booking those seats using your points and miles....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Last week, TPG and I were invited to attend the delivery of Korean Air’s first 787-9 Dreamliner at Boeing’s plant in Charleston, South Carolina — which, with the rollout of the extended-length 787-10, has been thrust into the spotlight as the company’s latest and greatest assembly (and, now, aircraft delivery) facility.I’m a big fan of the Dreamliner myself — I actually flew more than 10,000 miles on three 787-9s on my way to this event, traveling on Scoot from Taipei to Singapore, then on United from Singapore to San Francisco and SFO to Houston (and finally on to CHS on an Embraer 145)....

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.First-time business-class flyers typically want to be wined and dined, sampling the wines and partaking in each course in the hope of making the most of their premium-cabin redemption. But, for regulars, maximizing sleep is the top priority, especially on a short redeye from the East Coast to Europe....

The largest cruise ship in the world will be making its first appearance in the US tomorrow morning at Port Canaveral before sailing to its new, permanent home in Miami.The ship, Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas, made its maiden voyage on April 7, 2018, and was based in Barcelona, Spain. Symphony spent the first months in existence taking passengers on 7-night trips throughout the Mediterranean Sea, but will now be relocated to Royal Caribbean’s new terminal at the of Port Miami....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Each Saturday, we round up news stories that you may have missed from the week before, including several that already appeared on The Points Guy, and some more that we haven’t covered yet. If you’re an avid TPG reader, scroll down for the new stuff. Here’s the top miles, points and travel news you may have missed this week:TPG visited Grand Cayman on his first points and miles trip....

As the editor at TPG responsible for United and Star Alliance coverage, I fly the carrier quite a bit. I’ve also been a member of its loyalty program since before I began my journalism career — dating back to the days of Continental OnePass (and then some).I even managed to earn 1,000,000 Lifetime Miles, which means my status will never fall below Premier Gold, even if I never buy a single United flight ever again....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.I’m a firm believer that points and miles can be used for much more than just traveling in luxurious first-class products at 35,000 feet. Here at The Points Guy, we’ve been donating points and miles for some time, whether it’s to save LGBT lives or to make it possible for kids with life-threatening medical conditions to have their travel-related wishes come true via the Make-A-Wish foundation....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Last week, American Airlines nearly doubled its number of basic economy routes. Today, the airline is going international with these new bare-bones fares, which brings the total number of routes ‘featuring’ basic economy to 69. One peculiarity of this extension — all 25 new routes are between US and four Canadian cities: Calgary (YYC), Montreal (YUL), Toronto (YYZ) and Vancouver (YVR)....

By 2023, California hotels will have to pay a fine of up to $2,000 for distributing single-use amenities to hotel guests.Governor Gavin Newsom signed the law into effect Wednesday, Oct. 9, which will be implemented in 2023 for hotels with more than 50 rooms, and by 2024 for boutique hotels with less than 50 rooms.Assembly Bill 1162, which requires that hotels, motels, resorts, bed & breakfasts, and vacation rentals replace small single-use bottles of less than 12 ounces with bulk dispensers that could be used by multiple people, passed the Natural Resources committee back in April of this year....