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On Monday, Carnival Corp. reached a settlement in federal court in which the cruise juggernaut pleaded guilty to polluting the oceans and violating probation on a previous conviction. The plea comes after a federal judge threatened to block Carnival’s ships from US ports as a punishment for violating a court-supervised environmental compliance program. The massive cruise liner agreed to pay a $20 million penalty.“The company pleads guilty,” Carnival CEO Arnold Donald said (six times — according to CBS News) in court....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Citi is a TPG Advertising Partner.Determining if you’re eligible to enter a lounge can seem like an arcane task, especially with all of the stresses and distractions of air travel. Sometimes your elite status will get you in, while other times it’ll be your credit card — and often only the primary cardholder on the account has access....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.New York’s JFK is one of the busiest airports in the world, hosting airlines and cargo operations to and from all around the globe. But, starting next week, one of the airport’s coveted landing slots will go to a commercial flight with just nine seats on-board.That’s right, the airport that’s better known for Airbus A380s up to 516 seats (Air France) will soon also handle daily operations from a piston-driven Cessna 402C....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Welcome to the final week of Daily Getaways — the annual five-week-long travel discount extravaganza hosted by the US Travel Association. Offers this week include discounted Caesars Entertainment stays and Hyatt points. Plus, there’s still some good deals on IHG and Wyndham points still available.Each deal will go live at 1:00pm ET, so make sure that you set your alarm a few minutes earlier than that if you’re really interested in snagging a deal....

The premium transcontinental travel market is a competitive one, with highly regarded products like JetBlue Mint and Delta One offering differentiated service from the typical domestic flight. American Airlines even offers first class on the flagship A321T aircraft it operates from New York (JFK) to Los Angeles (LAX) and San Francisco (SFO). The A321T will expand to the carrier’s flights from Boston (BOS) to LAX starting April 2, 2019, and this has opened up an interesting redemption opportunity....

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....

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 - British Airways Visa Signature CardBritish Airways has been trimming both its flight operations as well as its in-flight amenities. However, the airline is offering a lucrative promotion for those flying across the Atlantic in the next few months....

During the COVID-19 crisis, our team has temporarily ceased taking review trips and we are not publishing new flight or hotel reviews. While bringing our readers unbiased, detailed reviews of travel experiences is one of our core missions, now is not the time. We all love to travel and know you do too. So, to help keep you entertained — and maybe inspire you — we are republishing a selection of the most popular reviews on our site, including the one below....

Editor’s note: This post has been updated with new information on when this new tech will roll out. It was originally published on June 11, 2019.Forbes is reporting the government of the United Kingdom has instructed all major British airports to install new technology by 2022 allowing passengers to leave liquids in their bags during security screenings.The Points Guy previously reported that London Heathrow Airport is investing £50 million in new CT baggage scanners to make the security checkpoint much easier....

The Four Seasons private jet has long been a top item on aspirational travel bucket lists, and there will soon be a new one to take up the mantle from the current Four Seasons jet. The luxury hotel brand has been offering private jet tours aboard a Boeing 757 painted in a elegant black livery since 2015. The twinjet is used for round-the-world tours that last weeks, shuttling travel groups from one of its five-star hotel locations to another....

It’s the busiest day of the travel year, and at one major airport terminal, there isn’t a a single passenger to be seen. Instead, the terminal is bustling with construction workers and a cacophony of drilling, welding, and banging.But that’s all about to change. On May 15, 2019, New Orleans is about to finally fling open the gates to its new world-class terminal.We took an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of Louis Armstrong International Airport’s new North Terminal that will take over all scheduled passenger flights from the current facility that first opened in in 1959....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Citi is a TPG advertising partnerLast July, Citi announced some major changes to one of our favorite cards, the Citi Prestige. The changes include modifications to card’s signature benefit, 4th Night free. Thankfully, this perk isn’t going away completely — like some of the other benefits. But, there are actions you can take now to get the most out of the card, both before and after the change....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Delta offers a number of co-branded credit cards with American Express, all of which can be good choices if you frequently fly the airline. Now could be an especially good time to apply for one of these options if you haven’t already, since four of them are currently offering elevated welcome bonuses until July 6, 2016 — in fact, they’re identical to the ones we posted about on this same date last year....

MSC Cruises will soon join three other major cruise companies in a pledge to finance a proper pier in the Cayman Islands in lieu of a tender port. The islands are convinced that the addition of MSC Cruises will contribute to the longevity of the enticing spot’s reputation as a cruise destination.MSC Cruises officials signed a letter of intent with the Cayman government providing that the cruise port project will receive $15 million in funding from the cruise line....

Just feet from Aruba’s Queen Beatrix International Airport (AUA) sits one of the region’s hottest — and most exclusive — attractions: Renaissance Island. This private paradise is accessible exclusively to guests of Marriott’s Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino, including the Marina Hotel and superior Ocean Suites (as I’ll explain in a separate review).While the hotel itself left a bit to be desired, having access to Renaissance Island makes it worth considering, especially if you’re an aviation geek....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available – View the current offers hereI can’t believe it’s already October and Halloween is right around the corner! It seems like much of the country is enjoying an Indian summer of gorgeous weather, so hopefully many of you are taking advantage by getting out and about, but don’t forget that wherever you are, Friday, October 4, is the first Friday of the month, and that means 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....

From Aer Lingus to JAL, Seattle’s been getting a lot of long-haul love recently — and the international-carrier announcements keep rolling in.Come Sept. 3, 2019, Seattle-Tacoma (SEA) will become Singapore Airlines’ sixth US airport, joining nonstop service between Changi Airport (SIN) and Los Angeles (LAX), Newark (EWR) and San Francisco (SFO), in addition to one-stop flights from Houston (IAH) and New York-JFK.Initially, the airline will fly to SEA every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, with a Sunday flight joining the lineup in October 2019....

If you’ve traveled through New York’s LaGuardia recently, you were probably left with a rather negative impression of the airport. Aside from the fact that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the airport, is essentially building new terminals on the site of the existing ones, passenger amenities are scarce — and have been for years. And there hasn’t been much in the way of passenger-centric development recently because of space and structural limitations....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.American Express Platinum and Centurion cardholders have access to a plethora of airport lounges around the world, including Centurion Lounges, Priority Pass lounges and Delta Sky Clubs (when flying Delta). However, airport lounges aren’t the only places that Platinum and Centurion cardholders can sneak away to while in transit.Access to Eurostar Business Premier Lounges located at four major train terminals in Europe is a benefit of the European version of the Amex Platinum card, but multiple reports from TPG readers and others indicate that Platinum cards from other countries, including The Platinum Card® from American Express and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express can also sometimes (though not always) get you in....

It’s universally accepted that wearing a mask reduces the spread of viruses. As I continue to visit countries around the world, it has become an anomaly when you see people not wearing masks.On an aircraft, the ventilation and airflow are better than any other enclosed spaces, on a par with an operating theatre. This, as well as the wearing of masks by passengers and crew, has resulted in a study by Harvard University declaring that there is a greater risk of transmission when out grocery shopping....