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Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Earlier this week I wrote about trip delay and cancellation coverage that is available as a built-in protection via many (but not all) premium rewards credit cards. One of the questions that came up in that post was how this automatic coverage applies when you use an eligible credit card to pay for the taxes/fees associated with an award trip where you paid the bulk of the purchase price using airline miles or credit card points....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available – View the current offers here.One of the things I love most about being The Points Guy is getting to hear stories from readers about how award travel has affected their lives — the exotic vacations they’ve planned, the trips they’ve made to be with family and friends, the premium seats and suites they’ve experienced and so much more, all made possible by points and miles....

Reader Questions are answered twice a week by TPG Senior Points & Miles Contributor Ethan Steinberg.Earning lifetime elite status with a major airline requires flying a million miles, which is no small feat, even for the most serious of road warriors. After decades of commitment, you’d expect people to stay loyal to that airline for life, but programs change, people move and you may find yourself wanting or needing a new carrier....

It’s been a rough few weeks for Hong Kong and its flag carrier airline, Cathay Pacific.First, CEO Rupert Hogg abruptly resigned last month, according to Reuters, as part of the fallout over the involvement of its Cathay’s employees in anti-government protests that have rocked the city.Now the airline’s chairman, John Slosar, is also leaving, according to a statement from Cathay on Wednesday. Slosar will retire after the airline’s board meeting on November 6....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Want to see the latest flight deals as soon as they’re published? Follow The Points Guy on Facebook and Twitter, and subscribe to text message alerts from our deals feed, @tpg_alerts.Airfare deals are typically only available on limited dates. We recommend that 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....

After testing fingerprint boarding at Washington’s Reagan National Airport (DCA) and facial recognition boarding in Atlanta (ATL), Detroit (DTW) and New York (JFK), Delta is pushing its biometric endeavors into the stratosphere by launching the “first biometric terminal in the United States.” Starting later in 2018, international customers can use facial recognition technology from curb to gate at ATL’s Terminal F — a bit of wizardry that, in addition to its other biometric experiences, DL is dubbing “Delta Biometrics....

Delta Air Lines started serving LaGuardia Airport 50 years ago with six DC-9s. On Tuesday, the airline began its next chapter at the airport, as its CEO joined officials in opening its new concourse at LGA.The pier has seven gates, numbered 92 through 98, and is part of the airport’s $8 billion renovation that will see all new terminals and roadways constructed in the coming years.(Photo by Zach Wichter/The Points Guy)The Delta facility is the second of the airport’s new concourses to open as part of the project....

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.Ethiopian Airlines is terminating its 4x weekly service between Los Angeles and Addis Ababa, first launched in June 2015. The last flight will depart on December 14.The LAX-ADD route is best known amongst AvGeeks for its stop in Dublin with pick-up privileges, which allows passengers to travel between California and Ireland on one of TPG’s favorite fifth freedom routes (No....

If you’re unfamiliar with ExpertFlyer, you might want to get acquainted — especially if you’re loyal to SkyTeam. ExpertFlyer is a online service that — in addition to a long list of other features — can help you find award availability and/or notify you when award availability opens up.Historically, there have been some limitations to the site, but it seems ExpertFlyer has been working hard to add more and more functionality....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.One of the foundational elements of the points and miles hobby is that you should maximize every online purchases by going through a shopping portal. This doesn’t just apply when buying stuff online; you also can score bonus points, miles or cash back on hotel reservations and flight purchases by using these shopping portals.A new offer popped up this weekend that makes it especially valuable to book through a portal....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.TPG contributor Nick Ewen recently stayed at the luxurious St. Regis Bal Harbour in Miami. Here’s his review of the property.The rain was coming down in buckets as my wife and I pulled up to the St. Regis Bal Harbour, the first stop on our “stay-cation babymoon” in South Florida. Little did I know that the torrential downpour would be one of the only setbacks during a fantastic–albeit too short–one-night stay at the property, which further cemented our love of the St....

Editor’s note: This post has been updated with the latest information.Your credit score is a critical metric for your ability to receive a credit card and score a lucrative sign-up bonus. Knowing your score — and how to improve it — is a fundamental of the points-and-miles hobby.Before 2005, you would have probably had to pay to check your credit score. But since then, you can check your credit score for free from each credit reporting agency once every 12 months....

We’re more than halfway through the year, and it’s safe to say most of us badly need a relaxing beach day right now — a socially distanced one, of course.Only, this is 2020.And apparently, that means a day at the beach may be anything but. In fact, in some parts of the country, it’s entirely possible your dreamy stretch of sand may be surrounded by an impromptu political rally – or worse....

The city of Los Angeles has passed new regulations on Airbnb and other short-term rental platforms in an effort to crack down on “bad” hosts and alleviate the ongoing housing crisis.The ordinance, unanimously passed by the City Council on Wednesday, Dec. 12, has been in the works since 2016. Host Compliance LLC reported that only 10,000 of the 23,000 homes and units listed as short-term rental units for rent in LA....

Another airline has seen the end of its days as a result of the coronavirus crisis. On Tuesday, Lufthansa Group announced that Germanwings, its low-cost subsidiary, would cease operations.In the group’s first restructuring package unveiled on Tuesday, it said that it would ground Germanwings operations as part of a broader overhaul that would also see operations cut across other parts of the business. The group said that the decision was part of its evaluation that the post-coronavirus recovery would take years....

Qatar Airways’ Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker doubled down on his word that the airline could leave the Oneworld Alliance. And, the final decision could come sooner than expected.During a press conference at ITB Berlin on Wednesday following the unveiling of Qatar’s new economy seat, Al Baker said that the carrier will make its final decision on whether or not to leave the alliance within the next two months.“In the matter of a month or two, we will give you the news if we are going to stay or withdraw [from Oneworld],” Al Baker said....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Japanese carrier ANA’s loyalty program is a great option for redemptions, especially for premium award travel, but its fuel surcharges have long limited Mileage Club’s appeal. Fortunately, as TPG Points & Miles Contributor Richard Kerr explains, those fees are about to get much more manageable.Thanks to new planes, tremendous Japanese service, great food and fantastic premium-cabin travel, Japan-based All Nippon Airways (ANA) is one of the best rides in the sky....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Last Sunday, Chase announced limited-time higher sign-up bonuses on all four Ink cards. The sign-up bonus on the Ink Bold and Ink Plus cards to 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points when you spend $5,000 in 3 months and the $95 annual fee is waived the first year. The normal offer is 50,000 points. The sign-up bonus on the no-annual fee cards is also getting a nice 25% increase - Ink Cash and Ink Classic cards increase from 20,000 to 25,000 points when you spent $3,000 within the first three months....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.TPG Senior Editor Kaeli Conforti recently set sail on Fathom’s inaugural cruise to Cuba aboard the MV Adonia, where she spent the week participating in various cultural exchange tours designed to bring Americans and Cubans closer together. Read on for her review of the Fathom Adonia experience.As a huge history buff, I was thrilled to be covering the inaugural sailing of the first cruise ship allowed to sail to Cuba from the US in more than 50 years....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.TPG reader Raji sent me a tweet to ask about a credit card loyalty program that doesn’t get a lot of ink:@ThePointsGuy — “How do you rate the Bank of America® Travel Rewards card for traveling and earning points?“Cash-back and fixed-value rewards aren’t a focus of my personal award travel strategy, because I generally get better value out of airline and hotel loyalty programs, or transferable points programs like Chase Ultimate Rewards....