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Each Saturday, we round up the top miles, points and travel news that you might have missed on TPG this week. Here’s what you need to know:JetBlue Launches New Buy Points Promotion Offering Up to a 50% BonusThis points purchase might make sense if you’re a few points shy of a good redemption.Emirates’ New 777 First Class Begins Flying to the USWhile it might be a while before this cabin is featured, you’ll love a glimpse inside....

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 haven’t already done so — we highly recommend downloading the myTSA app.Since Dec. 22, the partial shutdown of the US government (which has now become the longest in US history) has been taking a toll on airports throughout the country, particularly affecting the employees....

Think you can’t afford a ride in a flying taxi? Uber says that likely won’t be the case once its airborne taxis take to the skies. Executives at the ride-hailing company said Tuesday that when the program launches, prices for flights will be about the same as a regular Uber ride in a car.“Today, helicopters are only affordable for the fairly wealthy,” Eric Allison, the head of Uber’s helicopter and flying taxi division, said Tuesday at the company’s third annual Uber Elevate conference in Washington, DC....

Air Canada Aeroplan is running a promotion which entices people to transfer their hotel points to Aeroplan. Aeroplan does this because the hotel companies actually pay Aeroplan for the miles if you decide to transfer your hard earned hotel points for airline miles. Register here.Details: Transfer by April 30, 2011.1,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles for hotel transfers that amount to at least 5,000 Aeroplan Miles2,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles for hotel transfers that amount to at least 10,000 Aeroplan Miles5,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles for hotel transfers that amount to at least 25,000 Aeroplan MilesParticipating hotel programs:Best Western International® - Best Western Rewards®Carlson(SM) Hotels Worldwide - Goldpoints PlusSMChoice Hotels® - Choice Privileges®Coast Hotels & Resorts - Coast RewardsHilton Worldwide® - Hilton HHonorsâ„¢Hyatt Hotels & Resorts® - Hyatt Gold Passportâ„¢InterContinental® Hotels Group - Priority Club® RewardsSign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions....

It looks like Virgin Voyages is going all-in with the music theming on its first ship.The start-up line backed by Richard Branson’s Virgin Group announced on Wednesday that its 2,770-passenger debut vessel, Scarlet Lady, will have its very own vinyl record store — an homage to Virgin Group’s early days as a record-selling business.To be called Voyage Vinyl, the record shop on Scarlet Lady will feature listening stations where “sailors” (what the line calls its passengers) can sample music before buying....

Uber has gained notoriety as the go-to ride-hailing app for many travelers. While it’s known for cars, Uber’s added a number of other modes of transit in recent years, like electric bikes and scooters.It’s also launched service with helicopters and boats, flying from New York City to the Hamptons in the summer, or over the gridlock traffic of Mumbai. On Thursday, Uber launched its first permanent air transit route, opening to the public weekday flights between downtown Manhattan’s Wall Street Heliport and New York JFK airport....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.TPG reader Michelle asked me a fun question:“What was the first travel credit card you had? I was just curious how you started out understanding how to maximize rewards with cards, and I wanted to know what was your first card and why.“I had to think about this one for a bit, but I finally remembered: It was the US Airways card issued by Juniper Bank (which was eventually bought by Barclays)....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Two years ago, Singapore Airlines restarted nonstop service between Changi Airport (SIN) and the United States, flying daily to San Francisco (SFO) with the Airbus A350-900.While that long-haul jet can handle the 8,500-mile trip to SFO, it isn’t quite capable of reaching two of SQ’s other top US markets: New York (EWR) and Los Angeles (LAX). Thanks to a new Ultra-Long-Range model, the A350-900ULR, that changed this week — Singapore has just relaunched the world’s longest flight, flying daily between SIN and EWR....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here – Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express, Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American ExpressTPG follower Eric is weighing his hotel credit card options and wants to know:“‪@thepointsguy‬ would you recommend the Starwood Preferred Guest 30,000 point American Express card or the Club Carlson 85,000 point Visa?“I think both these cards are really valuable, which is why I have both of them....

Perks and welcome bonuses aside — none of which are insignificant, of course — your credit card is only as useful as the merchants that accept it. That’s one area where Amex has historically lagged behind other card issuers such as Visa and Mastercard, which are accepted at many more retailers both in the US and abroad.Five years ago, Amex started to heavily focus on increasing acceptance so that you can use your card where you want to....

View this post on Instagram ???? we are overwhelmed to stand side by side with all these awesome people. Each one on the mission to remove trash from the water ! @lise_vestergaard @emilielilja @carlsbergdanmark @kayakbar @kayak_republic #greenkayak #miljøkajakken #carlsberg #danmark #copenhagen #kayakbar #summertime #thankyou #kayakrepublic ??‍♂️ . ??‍♂️ . #kayaking #nature #naturefriendly #environment #launch #noplanetb #nogo #kayak #oceanpollution #planet #beachcleanup #plasticpollution #climatechange #inspiration #yes #urban #inspiration #solution #globalnetwork #miljø #press #high5 A post shared by GreenKayak (@greenkayak....

United’s new Premium Plus seats — akin to newer first-class seats you’ll find on flights within the US — have been available on some of the carrier’s 777s as the airline works to retrofit its Boeing 777-200ER and 777-300ER fleets.Since they’re only available on select aircraft — and not assigned to specific routes — seats in the Premium Plus cabin have been up for grabs for the same price as Economy Plus, making them free for elites....

If you’re in despair that the Trump administration dashed your lifelong dreams of drinking daiquiris at La Floridita and finding true love — at least for the week — along the Malecón, then wipe away your tears. Because there’s still a way you can make it to the long-forbidden Caribbean island that’s perfectly legal. (For now.)The adventure tour company Intrepid Travel is tweaking its Hola Cuba trip so that it stays within the bounds of the recent ban on most US travel to Cuba, which effectively ended the majority of trips by Americans, stopped cruise visits and upended the plans of countless businesses — both US and Cuban — that had counted on the thawing of relations between Washington and Havana....

Saab may have been born from jets, but your next automobile may actually be constructed using aerospace-grade composite material from nearly a dozen Boeing airplane manufacturing sites. Boeing has teamed up with ELG Carbon Fibre to recycle excess carbon fiber used at Boeing facilities.In addition to reducing solid waste by more than one million pounds a year, it’ll inject a dose of AvGeekery into everything from cars to laptop cases and beyond....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.This week TPG reader Steven asks for advice on how best to redeem his American Express Membership Rewards points:“I currently have about 110,000 points in Amex. I am deciding between paying for a trip to Orlando with points or getting Amex Travelers Cheques. What is the best option, or are their other options that I am missing?“Before I go into the various options Steve has, I’m just going to start by saying that redeeming Amex Membership Rewards points for Travelers Cheques is a terrible redemption - you only get 0....

The TPG team tends to spend a considerable amount of time on the road, so, naturally, we have some very frequent flyers in our midst. And, since we love to strategize when it comes to every possible aspect of travel, frequent-flyer status is not only achievable but for many of our writers and editors an absolute must — the driving force behind airline loyalty.Today, I invited three TPGers to join me for a very special edition of the Miles Away podcast: a full-fledged battle to defend their preferred airline, with:JT Genter (American Airlines)Scott Mayerowitz (Delta)Benet Wilson (Southwest)And me, Zach Honig (United)We debate the in-flight product (things like the seats, fleet, catering and service), airports and lounges, frequent-flyer perks, and more....

Each Saturday, we round up the top miles, points and travel news that you might have missed on TPG this week. Here’s what you need to know:Disneyland visitors may have been exposed to measles — again(Photo credit: Disneyland Resort.)This isn’t the first time this has happened. Here’s how you can protect yourself and your family while traveling.AA tweaks dynamic award pricing even more(Photo by Ryan Patterson.)American Airlines is making a ton of adjustments to its award-redemption charts....

Milan-based Air Italy has pushed the launch of its route to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD) off to 2020. The flight is considered to be an important US outpost for the nascent European carrier.It remains to be seen if these are innocuous growing pains for the rapidly expanding airline, which is hardly a year old, or if the carrier is biting off more than it can chew. During the past month, Air Italy has axed several of its new routes....

The travel world — and the world as a whole — would look entirely different if it weren’t for our feathered flying friend, the bird. Wilbur and Orville Wright drew inspiration from birds, and nature aided their understanding of essential concepts, like airflow and lift.Even today, aircraft manufacturers continue to fall back on ornithology in an attempt to further improve efficiency, to reduce carbon emissions, increase aircraft range and — of course — curb fuel costs to save airlines money....

UPDATE: Selene Saavedra Roman has been freed. Read the story here.A dream job has turned into a nightmare for a Texas flight attendant who is now sitting in an immigration detention center and facing deportation to South America.“It really boggles my mind why the government would want to seek to continue to detain someone with no criminal history who was a graduate of Texas A&M and who was approved and on her way to citizenship but was held for what was obviously a mistake,” the woman’s attorney, Belinda Arroyo, said in a telephone interview....