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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.Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.JetBlue has shared the details of a lucrative promotion aimed at encouraging people to sign up for its TrueBlue loyalty program. If you’re not yet a member, you can earn 5,000 bonus points simply by registering for the program and then booking (and traveling on) a JetBlue flight by April 16, 2017....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Yesterday, United operated a special “preview flight” on its 777-300ER, which enters passenger service this Thursday. TPG and I had a chance to fly on this charter (along with 60 or so employees and guests) from Chicago to San Francisco, giving us four hours to experience the full long-haul Polaris service (including amenities like mid-flight snacks and pajamas), chat with United execs and explore the plane....

Healthcare workers, first responders and essential workers have been on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic. By day (or night), they work with patients or perform other essential jobs to keep the economy running.For more travel tips and news, sign up for our daily newsletter.But life after their shifts can be as equally perilous. Many first responders have decided to self-quarantine at Airbnbs or hotels to avoid possibly infecting loved ones....

Want a couple hundred Starbucks Stars and two months of free music via Spotify?If so, consider yourself lucky, as people in the United States who are new to Spotify (excluding those who have already used a seven-day trial) can get a 60-days of Spotify Premium and 250 free Starbucks Stars for trialing the music service. Not familiar with Starbucks’ loyalty program? Those 250 Starbucks Stars are worth two complimentary food or beverage items for Gold Starbucks members....

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.Dream job alert: Royal Caribbean is looking to hire someone as its new Shore Explorer Apprentice-ship – a role in which one lucky traveler will get to travel the world to scout offshore “extraordinary” experiences all while receiving the equivalent of a £100,000 ($130,710 USD) salary....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here – IHG Rewards Club Select Credit CardWhile many hotels affiliated with major loyalty programs can seem cookie-cutter, not all properties were cast from the same mold. TPG Senior Points & Miles Contributor Jason Steele takes a look at some historic properties within the IHG brand, all of which can be booked using points.Today I’ll continue my series of posts on unique properties that belong to a hotel loyalty program with a look at some options for IHG Rewards Club members....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.I got a great fare to London for June and needed a place to stay. I rarely splurge for luxury rooms, but I also like to see what’s out there, so I searched for fancy hotels in town. I suffered sticker shock when I saw a property on Marriott’s site for nearly $900 per night, followed by a happy realization that I could have it for free....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.TPG reader David sent me a message on Facebook to ask about transferring points:“I was thinking of closing my Citi Premier and Amex Premier Rewards Gold cards, but I’m not sure what to do with the points. My initial thought was to transfer to Singapore Airlines, but I don’t have a specific redemption in mind. Where should I park my rewards for future use?...

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’re a big rugby fan, you can use points to experience the upcoming England versus Ireland Six Nations rugby match on Feb. 23, 2020 — and meet a rugby legend at the same time.Marriott’s Bonvoy loyalty program offers a number of unique experiences as part of its Moments platform....

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.To celebrate the kick-off of football season, JetBlue revealed a refreshed and updated special aircraft dedicated to the New York Jets team. The Queens-based carrier introduced the new and improved Jets livery on September 26 during a tailgate-themed event at JetBlue’s hangar at JFK airport....

If you’ve traveled abroad lately and used a credit card (or even if you’ve just charged something from a company outside the US on PayPal) you’ve probably noticed the increasing prevalence of something called “dynamic currency conversion.” Basically, instead of just charging the amount in Euros or pounds or whatever currency the purchase is in, merchants give you the choice of “paying in dollars” and will show you the amount you will owe....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Choice Hotels introduced a Points Plus Cash option last year that allows you to “buy” Choice points at a discount. Today, TPG Contributor Cindy Gossett looks at how to maximize this option for cheap hotel stays abroad.With aspirational properties in bigger hotel chains like Starwood and Hyatt, it’s easy to overlook Choice Privileges as a program to earn and redeem points for hotel stays....

My number one piece of advice for booking airfare is to always search for only one ticket, even if you need three or four seats.Airlines have odd pricing systems. Let’s say there are two seats left at $99 and then the next cheapest ticket is $120. If you search for four seats, all four will price at the higher $120 cost.This is all about how many tickets are left in a fare class or “bucket....

TO THE POINT: Etihad opened its brand new First and Business Class Lounge at LAX this week. The pros: excellent food, attentive staff and a very comprehensive cocktail menu. The cons: access is very limited.Etihad Airways has made a name for itself when it comes to top-of-the-line travel experiences. This is the airline that operates the world’s most decked-out Airbus A380, with its $32,000 Residence (between NYC and Abu Dhabi), the Apartment (the best first class you can book with miles) and a very respectable business-class cabin....

Each week in his column “The Critical Points,” TPG Loyalty and Engagement Editor Richard Kerr presents his opinion on a loyalty program, card product or recent news that he believes is overlooked, unsung or the result of groupthink taking mass opinion in a direction with which he doesn’t agree. His goal is not necessarily to convince you to agree with his position but rather to induce critical thought for each of the topics and positions he covers....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Cash-back rewards are often passed over by award travel enthusiasts for more glamorous airline and hotel points, but they can play an important role in your overall earning strategy. Today TPG Contributor Nick Ewen looks at one of the stronger cash-back credit card options, and discusses whether it should have a place in your wallet.When it comes to earning points, whether through credit cards, bonuses, or actual travel, TPG and I agree on one basic strategy: diversification!...

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here: United Explorer CardIn today’s United Airlines quarterly earnings conference call, much attention was understandably focused on the horrifying incident on-board United Flight 3411. Each member of United’s management team expressed their concern about the Bumpgate situation. United said it was too early to see if the incident has caused a drop in bookings, which are historically lower before the Easter holiday....

About 500 people are killed in hippopotamus attacks each year. On Saturday, Kristen Yaldor was almost one of them.The 37-year-old American woman was on a river safari tour with her husband, Ryan, when she was suddenly attacked by a hippo that was said to be protecting her calf.The couple was on a guided canoe safari on Zimbabwe’s Zambezi River. Led by tour operator Wild Horizons, the safari group had three guests and two guides....

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.We may have found the perfect home base for Carnival 2019.In this episode of “Being The Points Guy,” Brian takes a look at the Emiliano Hotel in Rio de Janeiro. While it certainly has its quirks — i....

On the heels of British Airways’ unveiling of its new Club Suite business-class product, cross-town rival Virgin Atlantic is also preparing to make a similar announcement.Monday, April 8, Virgin Atlantic will unveil the cabins on its soon-to-be-delivered Airbus A350-1000 aircraft. The event will come just three weeks to the day after British Airways unveiled the Club Suite on its also soon-to-be-delivered A350-1000s.Virgin Atlantic expects to take delivery of the first of its 12 A350s on order later this year — all of which will be delivered with the new Upper Class seat....