Each Saturday, we round up news stories that you might have missed from the week before, plus a few new stories. If you’re an avid TPG reader, you’ll want to skip ahead to the new stuff. Here’s the top miles, points and travel news you might have missed on TPG this weekPlanes, Travel and Other Ideas for the $970 Million Mega Millions JackpotHow could you ever spend all of that money?...
An organ donor services organization is re-evaluating its protocols after a human heart being flown to Seattle on Southwest Airlines was left on board the plane.Instead of being removed from the cargo hold in Seattle, its final destination, the donated heart valve tissue was left on the plane by accident. It’s a situation many frustrated flyers have faced with lost baggage, but a minor inconvenience escalates to a grave situation when it happens with donated organs....
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.Delta’s refurbished Boeing 767-400, slated to begin service in November, instead debuted early, filling in for a service from New York JFK to Los Angeles on Thursday. The updated plane features Delta’s flagship interior, with Delta One in business class, as well as the new Premium Select product for premium economy....
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.In a sudden but not unexpected move, the opening of Istanbul New Airport has been delayed yet again. According to Turkish news agency T24, the airport, which was most recently supposed to open at the end of December 2018, will now open in March 2019....
Throughout June, New York City has been honoring the LGBTQ community for Pride month with a series of events and festivals. But for travelers in town next week for the official kick-off of the first-ever WorldPride in the US and the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, you don’t have to splurge on VIP tickets to experience the citywide celebration.All around the city, tourists will discover a range of rainbow-colored tributes....
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Earlier this year, TPG Associate Editor Emily McNutt found a great fare on a round-trip flight between Dallas and Hong Kong and took off on a mileage run to earn Platinum status with American Airlines. Read on for her comparison of two preferred seats in the economy cabin of the 777-300ER.A few months ago, I signed up for a status challenge with American Airlines around the same time I signed up for a subscription with the “unlimited flying” app, OneGo....
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.TPG reader Trevor sent me a message on Facebook to ask about combining Ultimate Rewards points:“I was about to transfer all the points from my Chase Freedom card over to my Sapphire Preferred account. I don’t necessarily need them now; is there any reason to wait?”One nice aspect of the Ultimate Rewards program is that you can easily combine points earned on separate cards....
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 our most popular reviews from 2019 and 2020, including the one below....
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.This week’s Thursday Giveaway offers a chance to win 20,000 United miles. This fall, United is running a buy miles promotion, where MileagePlus Members can earn up to 85% bonus miles with purchase. The exact bonus varies between members, so visit United’s website for more information. Keep in mind that you can also earn bonus miles on hotel stays and flights this month with Marriott and United’s Double Stay, Double Go partnership....
If you’re an Airbnb member, you can refer your friends and family to the site using a referral link and get credit in return. Once one of your referrals stays at an Airbnb property, you’ll get up to $35 in travel credit (this amount can fluctuate from $20-$35 depending on your currency, location, certain promotions and Airbnb’s terms), which you can then redeem for future stays.Plus, those you are referring will also get up to $35 toward their first qualifying stay....
United Airlines has decided to cover all cameras installed in seatback entertainment systems on the airline’s Premium Plus seats.Cameras in inflight entertainment systems had been stirring up heated internet conversation for quite a while now. Following a viral tweet in which a passenger spotted a camera on a Singapore Airlines flight in February, some of the world’s largest carriers including American Airlines, Delta, and of course, United, have also come out and said that they too have cameras installed on some of their seatback systems....
Nov. 15 marked the sad-but-expected end of United’s published award charts for its own operated flights with one positive change: the elimination of the close-in cash booking fee. When we ran a number of United.com award pricing searches in the mid- to late-afternoon on the 15th, pricing looked roughly as it did before — just minus the $75 close-in booking fee.But then, as laptops were being closed for the day, something happened....
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.Hilton offers loyalists a wide variety of options to redeem their Hilton Honors points on — from private concerts to exclusive culinary experiences, and now the opportunity to drive a luxury sports car while staying at a glamorous Waldorf Astoria property....
Set your alarms if you want to take advantage of this incredible offer from Flying Blue, via its monthly promo awards, which offer discounted redemption rates for award tickets.The website is not currently live, but the link brings up a special edition page showing that these fares are bookable from October 16 - 20. There are a number of good deals:Seattle to Europe for 36,000 miles in businessToronto to Europe for 32,000 miles in businessNew York to Europe for 11,000 miles in economyLos Angeles to Europe for 28,000 miles in premium economyLos Angeles to Europe for 14,000 miles in economyMexico City to Europe for 36,000 miles in businessThere are also a number of flights available within Europe, such as Paris to Edinburgh for only 4k miles and Paris to Stockholm for 4....
The hits keep coming for airlines as they continue to reel from the effects of the global coronavirus pandemic. Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett announced that he was dumping his stocks in American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines during the company’s annual meeting streamed online by Yahoo Finance on May 2.For more updates about how coronavirus is affecting travelers and credit cardholders, sign up for our daily newsletter and bookmark our dedicated coronavirus news hub....
We’re partnering with Capital One on our 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.For me, the decision to travel the world alone was never a question.The first time I left the US was to study abroad for fourth months at Harlaxton College, in the east midlands of England....
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.It seems that every industry these days is focused on investing in mobile technology. I now do most of my banking from my iPhone and aloft hotels is piloting a program where you can get your room key automatically downloaded on your mobile phone so you can skip the front check in desk (sign- me up for that!...
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Finding award availability to fly Etihad’s First Apartment on the carrier’s one US route with the product — New York (JFK) to Abu Dhabi (AUH) — is often difficult to come by. After all, it’s among the most luxurious products in the sky, behind the carrier’s own Residence experience, Emirates’ new first-class suites and Singapore Airlines’ new A380 suites — and starting October 1, there’ll be only one A380 operating on the route instead of two per day....
The public is finally getting a date for the first commercial flight of ANA’s long awaited Airbus A380. The Japanese airline will start flying the super jumbo from Tokyo-Narita (NRT) to Honolulu (HNL) on May 24, 2019.The aircraft will fly from Japan to Hawaii three times a week on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays and ANA will increase service to 10x weekly starting July 1 when the second A380 enters service.The A380 completed its first test flight in September, and ANA says it will be painted in mid-December in the Flying Honu turtle-inspired livery....
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Today I was reading through the updated Membership Rewards terms and conditions that came with my Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express to see if anything new caught my eye and thought it would be good to do a refresher post on how you can actually buy Membership Rewards points and if it’s really worth it at 2....
