Posts

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.They may call the Boeing 747 the “Queen of the Skies,” but beauty is in the eye of the beholder.In this week’s episode of “Being The Points Guy,” Brian talks about his all-time favorite aircraft — the famously massive, unfortunately discontinued, but undeniably unique Airbus A380....

Today I want to share a story from TPG reader Saibal, whose persistence in searching for premium award availability paid off:I had to plan a trip from Singapore to New York. I wanted to try Qatar, and I was able to find QSuite availability using AAdvantage miles from Singapore (SIN) to Doha (DOH). However, I couldn’t find any premium seats with miles from DOH to New York-JFK. I was violating one basic rule of award travel: my schedule was not flexible because my return date was fixed....

Families had reason to celebrate when Canada announced its Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR). Government officials noted how the proposed legislation would hold airlines accountable and provide a better travel experience for all passengers. The APPR caught the attention of TPG Family because it seems family-friendly, especially in light of the lack of progress on similar protections in the US.In 2016, the US attempted to make family travel friendlier with the FAA Reauthorization Bill....

If you’ve got an interest in corporate travel, travel tech, or if you just want to see me in San Francisco on Oct 2. to Oct. 3, visit our TPG Lounge on Facebook for a chance to win one of four tickets to TRAVERSE — The Travel + Tech Conference by TripActions in San Francisco.As the head of a miles-and-points site, I get asked a lot of questions, but most are based on an individual traveler’s needs....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.The NBA season is set to tip off later this month, so nobody’s going to give you the side eye if you’re already wearing your favorite player’s jersey. But what move are you going to make if your basketball hero suddenly switches teams?That may happen with Minnesota Timberwolves guard Jimmy Butler, who could be traded soon, possibly to either the Miami Heat or the Houston Rockets....

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 Orbitzor 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.Every so often Delta offers an award “flash sale,” such as flights to Asia from 50,000 SkyMiles round-trip or South America from 36,000 SkyMiles round-trip. The latest version of this promotion is offering award flights to Europe starting at just 48,000 SkyMiles round-trip. This is a pretty great rate when you consider a standard low-level award flight between the US and Europe is typically 30,000 miles one-way....

Delta’s been making small steps to improve its SkyMiles program, and recently introduced the ability to upgrade with miles. On Wednesday it rolled out the ability to upgrade with miles via its mobile app, but what’s even more intriguing is a significant improvement to the upgrade process the carrier has quietly been testing since September.A common complaint of many Delta elite passengers is the the way the upgrade process currently works....

Airlines around the world launch and announce dozens of new flight routes and service changes every month. Today, we’ll share just a few of the latest flights that will take to the skies this month or in the near future. Keep in mind that exact flight details (like schedules and aircraft, among other things) may change.NEW ROUTES LAUNCHED IN MAY 2019New Flights to Hawaii on Southwest and Sun Country (launched May 5, 12, 18 and 26)Sunset along Ali’i Drive in Kailua-Kona on Hawaii’s Big Island....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.It’s been a busy month for American Express’ lounge team — the card issuer just opened its first international Centurion Lounge, at Hong Kong International Airport, and now it’s gearing up to welcome guests to its eighth US location, at Philadelphia’s PHL.Once the Philadelphia location opens its doors by the end of October, Amex’s full roster will include:Dallas (DFW)Hong Kong (HKG)Houston (IAH)Las Vegas (LAS)Miami (MIA)New York (LGA)Philadelphia (PHL)San Francisco (SFO)Seattle (SEA)Access to Amex’s Centurion Lounges is now limited to cardmembers with a Centurion Card, The Platinum Card® from American Express or The Business Platinum Card® from American Express....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers hereWith the massive Hilton HHonors program devaluation coming our way starting March 28, I shared some ideas of how you could burn through Hilton points at the current rates for some amazing hotel redemptions - but in order to do so, you’ve got to have the Hilton HHonors points ready to redeem, so here are some ideas and tips on topping up your HHonors account fast before the dreaded ax falls and we all start paying double for our Hilton award nights....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.[tpg_rating tpg-rating-score=“62” ground-experience=“4” cabin-seat=“12” amens-ife=“11” food-bev=“17” service=“18” pros=“Comfortable seats and seatback IFE” cons=“Worn cabin, tight seat pitch and unusable Wi-Fi for much of the flight” /]United operates around 14 flights daily between its hubs in Newark and San Francisco. This United route is operated mostly by 757-200 aircraft — the particular plane for my flight, N14118, has been a workhorse in United’s fleet....

Midwest was purchased by Frontier, so by this fall, their frequent flyer programs will have merged. It may be a bit pointless for me to do this analysis, but I’m a sucker for history, so I might as well document the Midwest Miles program for the frequent flyer time capsule :-)Milwaukee based Midwest is known for its mid-western customer care and fresh baked cookies served in flight. Midwest has never been a part of the major alliances, but they did have a frequent flyer relationship with Delta, which ended in June of 2010....

Doha-based carrier Qatar Airways has bought a 5% stake in China’s largest airline, China Southern, the companies announced Wednesday.According to Qatar, the acquisition became official on Dec. 28, 2018, but it did not disclose how much the stake in Guangzhou-based China Southern cost.The new purchase is not out of the ordinary for Qatar, a carrier that holds many stakes in other airlines and aviation ventures, including a 20% share in British Airways’ owner IAG aviation group, a 10% stake in Cathay Pacific, a 10% stake in South American airline LATAM and a “minority stake” in private jet charter firm JetSuiteX....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.My experience on this week’s Star Mega Do 3 has been a whirlwind - a one day trip to Munich, which ended up being filled with airline delays and rushing through airports to events - but overall it’s been a great experience. I’ll write a summary post once I have time to breathe next week.We were delayed flying to Chicago on Lufthansa and when we arrived, we were met with insanely long lines for customs and immigration....

Each week in his column “The Critical Points,” TPG Loyalty and Engagement Editor Richard Kerr presents his opinion on a loyalty program, card product or recent news that he believes is overlooked, unsung or the result of groupthink taking mass opinion in a direction with which he doesn’t agree. His goal is not necessarily to convince you to agree with his position but rather to induce critical thought for each of the topics and positions he covers....

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.The Unclaimed Baggage Center is basically a lost luggage abyss of everything that was never claimed at the baggage carousel. This 40,000-square-foot store located in Scottsboro, Alabama, which sells, showcases and donates misplaced luggage from all over the world, receives more than one million items each year....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Since a new year is a great opportunity to get serious about meeting travel goals, we’re following TPG readers as they set and work toward travel resolutions in 2018.So far, we’ve highlighted Heather P., who’s weighing options for her first travel rewards card; Bryan O., who’s in the early stages of planning an around-the-world award trip; Kim C....

As the days go by, more and more cities across the U.S. are issuing “shelter in place” orders in response to the rapid spread of COVID-19. This order requires that people stay indoors and isolate themselves with the exception of leaving for essential activities. Some countries have even gone as far as instituting nationwide lockdowns. TPG Senior Writer, Lori Zaino, shared her firsthand experience under mandatory quarantine in Spain.The coronavirus outbreak has now been going on for nearly three months, although cases in U....