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With billions of dollars at stake, each tweak to an airline loyalty program brings significant risk. How will consumers react? How will the changes trickle down to partners? How many program members will swear off the program, declaring that the loyalty has become a one-way relationship? How many will actually follow through on those threats?United Airlines will be the next airline to answer these questions thanks to changes recently announced for its MileagePlus program....

Now that Uber is a global company, it has heaps of data on how people move all over the world. It’s using that data to help urban planners, but has also been caught in some sticky situations with tracking riders and drivers after they’ve closed out of the app.However, it’s lead to some interesting findings about the way people use the service, which the ride-hailing company released in its key global trends from 2018 as well as predictions for 2019....

It’s been nearly three years since United announced the update to its hard and soft business class product, rebranding as “Polaris.” It’s now making a big adjustment to one aspect of the soft product by rolling out new amenity kits later this month filled with products from Sunday Riley, a cult beauty brand. Sunday Riley products will be featured on board, in United Polaris lounges and at United Club locations with shower facilities....

Today, I want to share a story from TPG reader Heidi, who was unprepared for an oversold flight:Our family of five got a great deal on a spring break trip to Athens, Greece. We checked in 23 hours prior to our Lufthansa flights, and arrived at the airport two hours before departure. As we were dropping our bags at the ticketing counter, the agent spoke the words that a part of me had been waiting to hear my whole life, yet struck a strange terror in my heart as they hung over me: “We are oversold this evening and looking for volunteers to give up their seats....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.“Reader Questions” are answered twice a week by TPG Associate Editor Brendan Dorsey.Stretching points and miles can be an important priority for many travelers. Fortunately, many hotel programs have introduced the option to use a combination of points and miles when redeeming for an award night, which can sometimes deliver outsized value. But TPG reader Michaela wants to know if airline mileage programs offer a similar redemption choice …[pullquote source=“TPG Reader Michaela”]Do either United or American do like a cash plus miles thing?...

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.Following the collapse of Iceland-based ultra low-cost airline WOW air earlier this year, a former executive of the now defunct airline has announced plans to launch an all-new Icelandic airline called PLAY, with ticket sales to apparently commence later this month, and operations next year....

The Deck is Cathay Pacific’s newest lounge in Hong Kong. It opened last year, and I’ve been eager to visit ever since. The lounge was designed to mimic a living room and has an open-air terrace that overlooks the airport’s north runway.I can say now that it’s clear that Cathay Pacific did a great job with this lounge. I was so impressed that The Deck may just be my favorite business-class lounge in Hong Kong....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Travel is being brought to a standstill up and down the East Coast as the bomb cyclone continues its path. Blizzard warnings are posted from North Carolina all the way up to Maine, as up to 14 inches of snow are expected in parts of the east coast. The National Weather Service is calling travel “very dangerous to impossible” throughout much of the Northeast....

It’s been quite the wild ride for Air Belgium since it emerged 10 months ago. In April 2018, the airline came out of nowhere to start booking flights between Hong Kong (HKG) and Brussels’ secondary airport South Charleroi Airport (CRL).Inaugural flights were originally set for Apr. 30 – a very aggressive launch window considering it started selling tickets just weeks before. Sure enough, the inaugural was pushed back to June 3 just days before the first flight was supposed to take off....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Since they launched, the family of Chase Ink cards for small businesses, including the Ink Plus and Ink Bold as well as the Ink Business Cash Credit Card and Ink Classic, have been World MasterCards, but over the past few days, several readers have written in and commented on posts that when they recently applied for the cards, both were now Visa Signature products....

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.China Airlines is sporting a new look – at least for its newest Airbus A350-900.The latest bird to join Taiwan’s flag carrier fleet features a unique, custom livery hybrid blending the airline’s plum blossom logo with the exclusive Airbus A350 XWB carbon fiber pattern....

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 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. However, if you’re using The Platinum Card® from American Express, you’ll need to book directly with the airline or through the Amex Travel portal to get 5x MR points....

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....

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....

We’ve all been there: You dash onto your flight just as the gate agent is ready to close the door. There’s a rush of relief until you remember that you still need to find overhead bin space. More panic, especially if you’re Giora Schmidt, an award-winning violinist, on a recent Delta flight to Cincinnati.A graduate of the Juilliard School, Schmidt plays an 1803 Giuseppe Rocca violin. Instruments from this Italian maker can sell for more than $250,000....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.I’m pretty optimistic. I hold out hope for improvements and I don’t enjoy breaking bad news. But today there’s bad news in the points world for family travelers.Let’s cut right to this unfortunate development — you can no longer use Chase Ultimate Rewards points at all to book Disney resorts, Disney cruises or basically anything that has to do with Mickey Mouse....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.TPG reader Michael tweeted me to ask about the travel category on the Chase Sapphire Preferred card:@thepointsguy– “Does Uber count as 2X travel for the Chase Sapphire Preferred?“It’s no secret that I love Uber. It has fundamentally changed the way I travel; I can’t even tell you the last time I rented a car. There are plenty of other great rideshare apps out there like Lyft, Sidecar and more, but in my experience Uber is the most reliable....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.For a limited time, Southwest and Chase are offering an increased sign-up bonus on two of the airline’s co-branded credit cards. If you sign up for either the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card or the Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card, you’ll earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $2,000 on purchases in the first three months....

Delta has made a big push recently to install seatback entertainment screens in more than 700 of its aircraft. (Of course, not everyone is enamored with seatback entertainment. TPG’s own Richard Kerr makes the case for getting rid of the concept entirely.) Still, the initiative for seatback entertainment is an important one for Delta and its customers.And this week, the airline inked an exclusive partnership with Disney+ to offer its passengers a range of Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic movies and television shows while in the air....

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.Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.I’m in St. Augustine this weekend for my sister’s wedding, so I’m in a particularly good mood - the weather is sunny and I am surrounded by family and friends....