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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.If you have a Global Entry interview scheduled for the near future, you might want to check your email. Though the U.S. State Department is still processing passports, it appears that the shutdown of the federal government has caused the shuttering of all Global Entry offices, meaning if you’re applying for or renewing your membership in this expedited customs clearance program, you could be out of luck for the time being....

Each Saturday, we round up the top miles, points and travel news that you might have missed on TPG this week. Here’s what you need to know.A220 main cabin. Photo courtesy of Delta Air Lines.That Delta Passenger Who Got a Plane to Himself? Didn’t Quite Happen That WayA story about a passenger flying alone on a Delta plane went viral earlier this week. Turns out, it didn’t actually go down that way all....

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.One of the valuable perks of American Airlines co-branded credit cards is the 10% rebate on any miles you redeem, up to 10,000 miles each year. But what are the rules with multiple AA credit cards, as TPG reader Mendel asked us in an email…[pullquote source=“TPG Reader Mendel”]I have a Citi AAdvantage card and a Barclaycard Aviator card....

Enjoy your €5 mojito on Playa de Palma while you can — because, after April 1, the Mallorcan government is instating a new, strict drinking policy on the island.The new rules affect specific areas in and around the island’s capital city, Palma including Cala Major, Center, Paseo Maritimo and the entirety of Playa de Palma. The policies will also focus primarily on the “incitement” of alcohol consumption. Meaning that bars, restaurants and hotels will have to nix any and all of their drinking deals including happy hour or any two-for-one deals....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.It’s always nice to earn a little extra from hotel stays you’re already going to do. And, if you have some upcoming Hilton stays — or could potentially have some upcoming Hilton stays — it’s worth checking if you’re targeted for a new bonus points promotion.Targeted members can earn up to 5,000 bonus Hilton points for stays now through July 29, 2018....

In the middle of Midtown Manhattan, a new hotel has just opened. For some, it’s the ultimate harbinger of cooler times in a decidedly uncool neighborhood: The Times Square Edition.Ian Schrager, nightlife-purveyor-turned-corporate-hotelier, said he isn’t bothered by skeptics who scoff at the idea that a Times Square hotel can be a place that attracts in-the-know New Yorkers."[If you] build something special, people will come," he said Wednesday during a press conference in the hotel’s indoor garden....

Update 4/5/19: United has clarified that these changes will kick in on, not after November 15. This post has been updated to reflect that revision.You know that sinking feeling in your stomach when you have to say goodbye to a beloved pet, or your favorite restaurant decides to exclude you from their delivery zone? I’ve got that today — and this time, United Airlines is to blame.Luc Bondar, United’s vice president of loyalty and head of the MileagePlus program just detailed some changes I find heartbreaking, which have already kicked in for travel beginning November 15....

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 – Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit CardI’ve written about the Chase Southwest card and I think its a pretty good card for those who fly Southwest....

On Thursday, the US State Department issued a new travel advisory for Spain. In the advisory, the US warns travelers that “terrorist groups continue plotting possible attacks” in the country and that:Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, local government facilities, hotels, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, parks, major sporting and cultural events, educational institutions, airports, and other public areas.This advisory places Spain in the “yellow” category of the State Department’s new four-level color-coded system — classifying the country’s risk as “Level 2: Exercise increased caution....

Looking to elevate your travel experience, before you even step on board the plane? If you’re flying through Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), there’s a service that lets you bypass the passenger terminal entirely, making it possible for high-profile travelers to avoid unwanted encounters, and wait for their flight with amenities you won’t find at any other lounge at LAX.You’ll get a rare look behind the facility’s heavily fortified walls in the second episode of our new YouTube series, Airplane Mode, following my inside look at New York City’s completely redesigned LaGuardia Airport (LGA)....

Seeing fire shoot from the engine of a plane you’re currently seated on, as happened recently on board a Utair Boeing 737 on its way from Moscow’s Vnukovo International Airport (VKO) to the city of Makhachkala, is not something anyone wants to witness. However, in emergency situations like these, it’s important for passengers to follow proper protocol — which in most cases does not involve exiting onto a plane’s wing without any way of getting down, as the blog Live and Let Fly points out....

We’re partnering with Capital One to launch our new Purposeful Travel Hub. If you have unique ways you like to give back when you travel or just love exploring new places with family and friends, we want to hear about it. Share your most treasured travel moments and purposeful travel tips with us using #MeaningfulMoments.Each year, I seem to ponder the concept of purposeful travel more and more. Travel is powerful....

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.One of the keys to starting off in the world of points and miles is accumulating enough of them to make worthwhile redemptions. So TPG reader Megan wants to know what to do if you don’t earn a ton of points from traveling…[pullquote source=“TPG Reader Megan”]What’s the best credit card for people who want to gather lots of points but don’t travel often?...

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Citi is a TPG advertising partnerTPG reader Tony messaged me to ask a question about Citi ThankYou Rewards:“Do you know if the hotel nights booked using Citi ThankYou points are eligible for elite night accrual in hotel programs?“Using Citi ThankYou points for hotels can be a good value, especially if you have the Citi Prestige card, which offers the fourth night free benefit that you can even pair with AAA or AARP rates....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Loyalists of the Starwood Preferred Guest and Marriott Rewards programs know that some of the most appealing parts of those programs are that they’re not just limited to redemptions at hotels. Members also have the option to use their points for SPG Moments or Marriott Experiences, which gives them access to special experiential events. Now, there’s a similar option for World of Hyatt members....

Beverly Hills may be known for outlandish celebrity homes, but in San Simeon on the Central Coast, a Jazz Age mansion to rival that of the Great Gatsby is opening up its two pools for select dates this summer — for anyone willing to pay $950 and become a member of the Foundation at Hearst Castle, that is.Hearst Castle was commissioned by publishing tycoon William Randolph Hearst — whose empire, though diminished, still publishes Cosmopolitan, Harper’s Bazaar and Town & Country, among other titles — and took more than 20 years to complete....

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.Citi is a TPG advertising partnerCiti just launched a special feature on its app that allows cardholders to activate a new card simply by taking a picture of it....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Citi is a TPG advertising partnerCiti’s Thank You points program isn’t the most lucrative points program on the market (my main gripe is that you cannot transfer those points to any airlines or hotels), but the points are still valuable because they can be used to buy any airfare and hotel and they earn miles and elite status....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Monday marked the biggest Marriott Rewards/SPG news blast to date following Marriott’s acquisition of Starwood Hotels in 2016. A major question when two travel companies merge is what will happen with the co-branded credit cards. In this case, the situation is complicated by the fact that Marriott’s credit card issuer is Chase, while SPG uses American Express.Watch David Flueck, SVP of Global Loyalty for Marriott International, answer TPG’s questions about the combined program:We’ve known that the combined Marriott program would continue to utilize both issuers and that new cards offered by both, but we didn’t know what the details of the new cards would be, or what sort of changes we’d see in the old cards....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.One of the smartest things I’ve done as an international traveler is to join the US’s Global Entry program (which I got for free thanks to the $100 rebate my Amex Platinum gives me as one of the cardholder perks) for Trusted Travelers since it allows me to skip the sometimes hours-long lines at immigration and customs when reentering the States....