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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.Watch TPG Talk Points, Miles and More on the ‘Today Show’TPG sat down with NBC’s Megyn Kelly on the ‘Today Show’ to share his best tips for using your points and miles as well as saving as much cash as possible in the new 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.There’s no doubt that Uber has helped change the way we get around. Having the ability to seamlessly request a ride right at your fingertips is a game-changer, especially for the frequent traveler. But there’s a new issue over user privacy with recent updates to the Uber app....

Virgin Galactic is one step closer to offering commercial space flights to its customers. On Thursday, the British spaceflight company unveiled the interior of two of three levels at its Gateway to Space building at its spaceport in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The Gateway to Space building will consist of a pre-departure lounge, mission control and pre-flight lounge exclusively for astronauts.Virgin Galactic’s Spaceflight System prepares for Flight at Spaceport America (Image courtesy of Virgin Galactic)Level One: GaiaThe first level is home to a pre-departure lounge named Gaia and will host the astronauts, their family and friends, and members of the Virgin Galactic team....

Flying in a luxurious premium cabin on a long-haul flight can make the journey as exciting as the destination. These trips are plenty of fun to take solo (especially if you’re flying on an airline with a good inflight entertainment system and onboard amenities like a bar and shower), but it’s much more fun to share these experiences with a companion, whether it’s a spouse or family member or a colleague on a business trip....

Following one of Mount Everest’s most deadly seasons to date, Nepali officials may now require aspiring mountaineers to provide proof of physical fitness prior to climbing.In the 2019 hiking season, there have so far been 11 deaths reported on the slopes of the world’s highest peak — nine of which were caused specifically by “traffic jams” on the summit due to overcrowding. Ralf Dujmovits, a German climber who reached the summit in 1992 and has ascended more than 26,000 feet up the 29,029-ft mountain on six other occasions, told the BBC that long lines on the mountain can be dangerous....

Need more proof that hotel brand development may be getting out of hand? Enter Tribe, the just-revealed new lifestyle brand from AccorHotels.Since many of the AccorHotels chain properties fall into either the high-end or budget realm — Raffles, Fairmont and Ibis to name a few — the new brand will try to hit that sweet spot of midrange luxe. The goal, according to a spokesperson from the company, is to offer travelers an, “affordable, luxury design-driven brand....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Update 2 (5/21/16): TPG Associate Editor Emily McNutt is once again able to transfer points, so it seems likely that American Express has unfrozen these accounts.Update (5/21/16): According to reader reports (and this Reddit thread), it appears that Amex has already begun unfreezing member accounts.For a short time last week, American Express was offering 100,000 Membership Rewards points with the Amex Platinum card....

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.Did you even go to Amsterdam if you didn’t post a photo in front of the iconic “I amsterdam” sign? The 6-foot high, 77-foot long attraction is known for tourists climbing in, around and on top of its famous letters for the perfect picture....

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 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....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Best Western and US Airways are running a promotion until November 30, 2013, where you can earn 1,000 Dividend Miles per $100 Best Western Travel Card you purchase. In order to be eligible for this promotion you must reside in the US or Canada, be enrolled in Best Western Rewards and have selected US Airways Dividend Miles as your earning preference in your Best Western Rewards profile....

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.U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) just approved Emirates to use biometric boarding on flights to any of its 12 U.S. cities from its hub in Dubai. This makes the UAE carrier the first non-U.S. airline to be approved to use this technology on in-bound flights....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.I have to admit I get a kick out of booking an international trip while I’m away on another international trip. Since I never know when a good deal will pop up, I always keep my eyes open, even when I’m traveling. That’s how I came across a pretty good fare to Bogotá while I was in Singapore....

If you want to earn or use Hilton, Wyndham or IHG hotel points while still enjoying many perks of staying at a Walt Disney World Resort, staying at one of the seven hotels within Disney Springs may be the perfect way to enjoy some Disney Resort benefits on a budget.Buy discounted Disney tickets here through MickeyVisit.com(Photo courtesy of Wyndham Lake Buena Vista)Disney Springs, formerly known as Downtown Disney, is an entertainment and shopping district located on the eastern edge of the Walt Disney World Resort....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.[tpg_rating tpg-rating-score=“78” ground-experience=“8” cabin-seat=“18” amens-ife=“14” food-bev=“22” service=“16” pros=“Delicious food, plentiful IFE options and fast Wi-Fi” cons=“Underwhelming service and a middling hard product” /]Competition on transcontinental US routes is fierce, with five airlines vying for lucrative business traffic between the Northeast metropolises and California. The prize is the routes from New York to Los Angeles and San Francisco — American, Delta, United, JetBlue and Alaska all fight for it....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.I’ve been a fan of the Starwood Preferred Guest program for a long time, but it looks like I just moved on up from being a fan. In fact, I just received a package from SPG confirming that I’m officially a SPG Lifetime Platinum member.My favorite part of this package — other than the actual card, which might be the heaviest metal card I’ve ever received — is the map on the front of the welcome materials....

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 points and miles have helped them get where they want to go. If you’re interested in sharing your own award travel success story, email it to info@thepointsguy.com; be sure to include details about how you earned and redeemed your rewards, and put “Reader Success Story” in the subject line....

Southwest Airlines and American Airlines each blamed the Federal Aviation Administration’s grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX for an increase in involuntarily “bumped” passengers during the first quarter of 2019, according to a monthly report by the US Department of Transportation.Bumping —“involuntary denied boardings,” in the DOT’s vernacular — previously had been on the decline.During the last quarter of 2018, the rate of involuntary denied boardings from oversold flights had dropped to a third of what it had been during the previous quarter....

Call it a sign of the times.As a condition of receiving federal money under the CARES Act, airlines must maintain “a minimum level of service” between city pairs that were served before the coronavirus pandemic broke out, reducing the demand for air travel to practically nothing.For more TPG news delivered each morning to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.JetBlue, instead of maintaining nonstop service between its major hubs and other cities on its route map, will fly flights with “tag” segments connecting the origin to the final destination, according to Paxex....

A wave of sudden deaths, illnesses and accidents among tourists in the Dominican Republic has raised questions surrounding the safety of Caribbean nation. So much so that the US State Department has had a Level 2 travel advisory on the country since April, encouraging tourists to exercise increased caution.Fortunately, you’ve got options if you have travel booked there — even if you didn’t book the trip with a credit card that provides trip cancellation and interruption protection....

This week on Miles Away, TPG’s credit cards editor Sarah Silbert transports listeners to one of the most beautiful destinations in the world, the Hawaiian island of Kauai.Although the former St. Regis Princeville has left Marriott, rewards hopefuls still have a handful of redemption options throughout the island, including The Westin Princeville in the north, the Kauai Marriott near Lihue Airport (LIH) and Koloa Landing in Poipu. All three locations offer loads of opportunities to explore the island’s revered surfing spots, hiking trails and endless opportunities to get up close and personal with Hawaii’s magnificent Garden Isle....