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Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.TPG Reader Tim tweeted me to ask:“‪@thepointsguy: Does American Airlines offer alternatives to obtain Executive Platinum status? If so, who do I call? I am currently an AAdvantage Platinum member.“We’re more than halfway through 2014, and I know that many elite travelers (myself included) are looking at their elite status qualification requirements, as we only have until December 31, 2014 to re-qualify for next year....

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 inaugural TPG Awards were held on Tuesday Dec. 4, and we couldn’t have asked for a better night. From the setting (the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum) to the special awards (to Captain “Sully” Sullenberger and Leymah Gbowee) to the musical performance (by Bebe Rexha), the evening was a great way to celebrate the best of the best in the credit card, travel and loyalty spaces....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.The Chase Hyatt Visa card has a pretty incredible sign-up bonus: Two free nights at any Hyatt property in the world after $1,000 spend within the first 3 months- including showstoppers like the Park Hyatt Maldives ($1000+ a night) and the Park Hyatt Paris Vendome (which, as I write this post in the wee hours of August 5, has rooms available using points or credit card nights and the rate for a basic room is 600 euros/ $847)....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Whether American travelers like it or not, basic economy fares are here to stay. All three legacy carriers — Delta, United and American (in that order) — have announced their own take on this bare-bones fare type. As a result, flyers face a new conundrum: Do they prioritize getting to their destination for a low price (with more restrictions), or do they pay more for amenities, such as carry-on baggage, that were once complimentary?...

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information.Best Western has just unveiled its newest promotion, valid between Feb. 18 and April 20, 2020. Members who register will receive a free night after staying just two eligible nights at Best Western hotels in the U.S., Canada or the Caribbean.This is a fairly generous promotion and one we’ve seen several times from Best Western. Though you won’t find too many luxury properties within Best Western’s portfolio, it should be fairly simple for you to find cheap stays....

On April 10, American Airlines flight 300 rolled sharply to the left side during takeoff from New York’s JFK airport, causing the wing to come in contact with a sign on the ground. The plane, bound for Los Angeles, climbed to 20,000 feet before pilots radioed air traffic control to request a return to JFK to “have it checked out.” The flight landed safely 29 minutes after takeoff.The incident received little attention at the time, but the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced Wednesday afternoon that it’s launching an investigation into the “accident....

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.A Pakistan International Airlines flight was severely delayed leaving Manchester, England, on June 8, but not because of poor weather or aircraft maintenance. Instead, PIA has stated that a passenger opened an emergency exit while the flight was on the tarmac....

For the frequent flier, even the slightest bit of disorganization can quickly turn any normal airport experience into a nightmare. Which pocket did I put my passport in? There’s a baby behind me, did I remember to charge my noise-cancelling headphones? Is this overstuffed carry-on really going to fit under the seat? Travelers, and especially anxious travelers, can have hundreds of these thoughts racing through their minds during the course of a single flight....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Here’s a recap of the interesting points and miles news from this week:Enter to win 25,000 Rapid Rewards points.Enter To Win This Week’s 25,000 Southwest Points Thursday Giveaway: This week’s Thursday Giveaway is for 25,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards points. I just reached 25,000 Twitter followers – so thank you to all of you who already follow me – and to celebrate, I’m going to give away 25,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards points....

It certainly qualifies as a cliché at this point, but the coronavirus pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on airlines.Revenues have plummeted — at one point, U.S. carriers were burning as much as $100 million a day. At the same time, public health experts have suggested expensive precautions, like enhanced cleaning, and, for carriers that choose to take the extra step, limited capacity.Airlines have implemented a number of precautions to improve safety within airport terminals and onboard their planes....

This question came in from TPG reader Mark:“I have a Starwood Amex, and am also considering getting a Amex Premier Rewards Gold card. With both cards, there are ample opportunity to transfer points to partner airlines for flights.Being a bit new to this, my general question is about whether transferring small batches of points is allowed. To be more clear, let me give an example: Let’s say I have 75,000 miles in my United MileagePlus Account and I’m seeking an additional 25,000 miles to reach enough points for a 100,000-mile business class award ticket....

I started my career as an aviation journalist in 1992. At that time, Bombardier and Embraer were developing aircraft they were betting would revolutionize the airline industry: the 50-seat regional jet. My beat was covering the regional aviation industry, which included the two manufacturers, along with the smaller carriers that flew to markets eschewed by the major airlines.The Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ), based on the popular Challenger 600 series business jet, was already flying for launch customer Lufthansa, which had ordered 15 jets plus 20 options....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.One of the keys to earning lots of travel points and miles is through credit cards, both by maximizing lucrative sign-up bonuses and by tracking what you earn for purchases. But that doesn’t mean you should sign up for every single credit card, or that you’ll always make the right choice on which card to apply for next....

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.A United Airlines plane partially skidded off a runway at Denver International Airport (DEN) on Saturday night.United flight 1941 from Tucson, Arizona (TUS), landed in Denver at 6:18pm, according to flight tracking site FlightRadar 24. The Boeing 737-800 “was taxiing when the aircraft partially went off the taxiway,” a spokesperson for the airline told TPG in an emailed statement....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.As we announced yesterday, we’re giving away a slew of prizes over the next several days for readers who cast their votes for the inaugural TPG Awards. The “10 Days of Travel” contest runs through Thursday November 1, and all you need to do to enter is vote! Once you complete our secure Google poll, you’ll automatically be entered to win that day’s prize and all future prizes....

View this post on Instagram Have I mentioned I’m really enjoying this nature thing? Escaping from city life with a few days of checking out from the world and sleeping in a van (more on that last part to come). Oh, and many cups of hot coffee while staring at waves, mountains and trees (with the occasional passing plane here and there). A post shared by Chris Dong (@thechrisflyer) on Sep 30, 2020 at 4:34pm PDT...

Weary frequent flyers might think airline executives have it easy. They can jump on any flight they want, relax in first class and be whisked through airports by waiting staff.Some of that is true. But W. Douglas Parker, the chief executive of American Airlines, says his flying life isn’t as cushy as you might suspect.TPG asked Parker about how he flies, how he handles issues that he spots during his trips and what he talks about with passengers sitting next to him....

The last florist at Amsterdam’s floating flower market is shutting its doors, according to Dutch newspaper, De Trouw. And overtourism is to blame.A colorful and fragrant fixture on Amsterdam’s Singel Canal, the Bloemenmarkt claims the distinction of being the world’s only floating flower market. But sadly, it’s not what it used to be. Though the stalls are now on fixed barges, the market dates back to 1862, when gardeners from the surrounding countryside would sell their flowers on boats floating in the Amstel River....

View this post on Instagram ???????????? ???????????????????????????????? ???????????? ???????????????????? ???????????????????? ???????????????????? ???????????????????????????? ???????????????? ???????????? ????????????????????????????????⁣ ⁣ I mentioned this on last night’s IG Live but, yesterday, I was searching for award space (just for fun) and noticed that the carrier-imposed surcharges on ANA (All Nippon Airways) flights were gone.⁣ ⁣ I checked ITA Matrix to see what was going on with the surcharges. ⁣ ⁣ ????’???????? ???????? ???????????????????????????? ???????????????? ?...

When it rains, it pours. Bad things come in threes. There’s a litany of sayings out there that could apply, so pick your favorite because United eliminating published award charts for travel on its own flights after Nov. 15 isn’t all that is happening right now in the frequent flyer world.Bad news, or at the very least, big changes, are brewing in the American Airlines AAdvantage world, too.While American Airlines has not announced any formal changes or pulled its award charts, all evidence points to AAdvantage utilizing dynamic award pricing in a similar vein to its main competitors Delta SkyMiles and United MileagePlus....