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Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.it’s 2015, and a lot has changed in the world of travel rewards, airlines and online travel agencies, so i thought i’d offer a refresher on how to maximize your points and miles on airfare purchases this year. there are a number of different options for where to buy and how to pay; in this post i’ll explain which ones offer the best prices and the greatest overall return for your spending....

TPG reader Aaron sent me a message on Facebook to ask about how to prioritize earning rewards:“To what extent would you try to maximize rewards even if it means sacrificing some comfort or convenience in your travel arrangements?”You have to earn travel rewards before you can spend them, and learning to maximize the points and miles you get from flights, hotel stays and other purchases is an important step. When all else is equal, I go for the airline or hotel that offers me the best return on my spending....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.This one is short and sweet from TPG reader Adam:“Do you know if there is a better time of year when credit card companies/airlines are offering the most bonus sign-up miles?“Big card bonuses are not seasonal - at least not in my experience. The 100,000 mile BA bonus kicked off in November 2009 and they ran it again in April of 2011....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Here at TPG, we’re always looking for new ways to save money and earn more points to take the trip of a lifetime. After doing some poking around on our American Express accounts, we came across a way to visit Las Vegas this summer and rack up 20,000 Membership Rewards points, all while spending just $1,000 on hotel costs....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.I got the British Airways Visa 100,000 mile offer last year and since have used some of those miles for friends and family members for short-haul flights. Without fail, each time these people, who don’t have elite status with American, are given Priority AAccess (boarding and seat assignment) for these flights. This is not a published benefit, but is a nice little perk for those who like to redeem their BA miles for American Airlines awards - made even better since short- and mid-haul flights can be huge bargains - plus there are no last minute ticketing fees and only $2....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.While summer award availability to Europe tends to be tight, you can still find some great seats with a little flexibility and creativity. As a follow-up to his post on the Top 5 Ways to Fly to Europe in First Class, TPG Special Contributor Eric Rosen covers six great options for flying in business class across the Atlantic....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available.While we typically focus on excellent credit card offers, we don’t want you to miss out on other great deals that we find, such as these new publicly available Chase checking and savings bonuses that can earn you up to $500 cash back. (And no, unfortunately there’s no option to take the bonuses in Ultimate Reward points.)Here’s the deal: Now through November 15, open a new checking ($300) and/or savings ($200) account to earn up to $500 in bonuses....

Airplanes should not do this. But sometimes it happens, and when it does, it’s a problem.A Delta 737 with some weight and balance issues.In the clip above, a Delta Airlines Boeing 737 tilts backward on its tail while parked at the gate. If you look closely, you can see bags being off-loaded from the forward cargo hold. What happened is that too many bags, and passengers, were offloaded from the front of the plane compared to the back....

Recently, tourists have been caught intentionally approaching active volcano sites to encounter the rare phenomenon of a hot lava eruption. Now, a report from the Royal Geographical Society is warning against volcano tourism, as it has dangerous effects.The tourists traveling to active volcano sites have been coined volcanophiles, and geographer Amy Donovan, who conducted the study on volcano tourism, said that they’re, “fascinated by the elemental power of volcanoes and are attracted by such an intense experience....

There are a few fun travel contests and sweepstakes going on around the web this week. Here are some of my top picks to win great travel prizes!Win up to 100,000 Starpoints for submitting an action vacation shot.Win Up to 100,000 Starpoints for your Vacation Action Photos: Send Starwood your best vacation action shot and win Starpoints. Participants must first register on the Action Shots Vacation Photo Contest website prior to submitting a photo....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Our “10 Photos” essays include tips on exploring destinations, redeeming for hotels and flights and more. After a week-long trip island hopping in Croatia this summer, France-based TPG Contributor Lane Nieset takes us for a tour of the country’s food, wine and beach scene starting in the coastal city of Dubrovnik. (All photos by the author.)I’m not sure if it’s the popularity of HBO’s Game of Thrones or the strength of the dollar against the Croatian kuna, but this summer my Facebook newsfeed was filled with friends’ photos from Croatia....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Citi is a TPG advertising partnerAs we first reported earlier this month, Citi recently updated the points and perks of the Citi Prestige Card, and one of the most intriguing features is a 75,000-point sign-up bonus after $7,500 in purchases within three months of account opening. This bonus alone is worth $1,200 based on TPG’s most recent valuations, and that doesn’t even take into account the other benefits on the card like the 4th Night Free perk and $250 air travel credit....

Alaska, Delta, JetBlue and Southwest continue to block middle seats (or their equivalent) from sale, limiting the number of passengers on each and every flight. While the practice is aimed at helping customers feel more comfortable when it comes time to return to the sky, it can also become incredibly costly, with — in many cases — at least 33% of seats held back from sale.While United Airlines isn’t withholding seats, earlier this month the carrier began notifying passengers booked on a flight where at least 70% of passengers have checked in, giving customers the opportunity to move to a different flight without paying a fare difference or change fee....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Credit card sign-up bonuses are the quickest and easiest way to rack up a lot of points. One method that’s widely accepted amongst those that maximize their miles and points - myself included - is to apply in batches, where you apply for multiple credit cards in one day. The benefit of this is that the issuers generally won’t see the applications to other issuers on that same day, increasing your chances of approvals and making it easier in the long run to track how long credit card inquiries remain on your credit report....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Each Saturday, we round up news stories that you may have missed from the week before, including several that already appeared on The Points Guy, and some more that we haven’t covered yet. If you’re an avid TPG reader, scroll down for the new stuff. Here’s the top miles, points and travel news you may have missed this week:You can fly to several international destinations on Southwest....

Cambodia is banning elephant rides at Angkor Wat, the country’s most popular tourist attraction. A handful of the 14 elephants at the Angkor Wat complex have already been moved to nearby Bos Tham forest.(Photo by Education Images/Colaborador/Getty.)Previously, the animals were used daily to transport visitors around the famed temple complex, which welcomes more than 2.6 million tourists a year. But back in 2016, a female elephant named Sambo collapsed and died after ferrying tourists around Angkor during intense heat....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.We devote a lot of time to discussing travel rewards credit cards here at TPG. Opening cards to earn top sign-up bonuses and then using those cards strategically at various merchants can open up fantastic redemptions like premium-class flights and luxurious hotel rooms. However, there are a number of misconceptions out there when it comes to credit cards, so today I’ll continue our new series that debunks these myths and allows you to begin planning for your next vacation....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.TPG Contributor Candice Abraham may be from Toronto, but she’s a veritable Hawaii expert having covered the islands for years in her career as a travel writer, so we asked her to write today’s Destination of the Week on this perennially popular winter destination as we check out the island of Oahu.A shot of world-famous Waikiki Beach.It’s that time of year again when most of us are fantasizing about sun and sand, umbrella drinks and nights that don’t include multiple layers, scarves and mittens....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Our weekend series, “Favorite Places,” features beloved travel destinations, attractions, restaurants, hotels and more from different members of the TPG team. Today, TPG Contributor Danielle Truglio gives us a glimpse of the memorable ABC Kitchen in New York City.ABC Kitchen is located in downtown New York City in the ever-so-popular Union Square area. It is one of the most difficult places to get a reservation in NYC for a reason; this restaurant is the perfect combination of refined and trendy....

Nick and Greg over at the Frequent Miler have been doing some excellent work covering the new sweet spot within the Turkish Miles & Smiles program. Hawaii used to be a part of the Oceania region but has recently been updated to be included within the North America region, the same region as the contiguous United States.One-way, economy-class tickets within the US on Star Alliance partner United Airlines cost just 7,500 miles, while United domestic first class — which Turkish counts as business class — requires 12,500 miles....