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When the Starwood-Marriott merger finalized late last year, the (obvious) first question from SPG and Marriott Rewards members alike was what was going to happen to their beloved program? On the day the merger finalized, TPG hosted Thom Kozik, VP of global loyalty at Marriott, and David Flueck, then-SVP of revenue management of SPG, for a Facebook Live to discuss the future of both programs.Since the merger was finalized that day (and members were able to immediately link their accounts and match their status), the company has taken steps to bring the two programs inline....

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.If you’re a T-Mobile customer and are planning a European vacation this summer, you’re in luck. While other carriers have been slowly eliminating some roaming fees in select countries, T-Mobile has decided to blow the door wide open....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.We already know that paying with the right credit card is the best way to maximize your purchases. But Visa wants to make paying with a credit card your only option with a select group of 50 restaurants. This fall, Visa is offering the restaurants up to $10,000 each in free technology and/or marketing expenses if the restaurant agrees to stop accepting cash....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available – View the current offers here.TPG reader Robbie tweeted me to ask about the best card for a unique situation:@thepointsguy – “Should I get SPG Amex, Citi Premier or Sapphire Preferred? I travel a lot for work and fly AA exclusively, but don’t have a preferred hotel chain.“This is an interesting question, because these three cards have unique benefits.If you’re only flying American Airlines and you want a credit card that helps you rack up AAdvantage miles, your best bet is the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express....

Most frequent flyers — including the TPG team — get pretty excited about inflight beverages, whether it’s Brian’s go-to Dom Pérignon or the classic ginger ale. But there’s one beverage that you might want to reconsider ordering next time the cart parks in your row: Diet Coke.Apparently, Diet Coke can slow down the process of distributing drinks throughout the entire plane. And it all comes down to carbonation. The cabin pressure of planes increases the carbonation of sodas, forcing flight attendants to wait for the soda to defizz until the cup is filled....

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 its three year anniversary, the Ace Hotel New Orleans will be having a flash sale on March 14. The sale is good for 30% off any three-night stay between March and August of 2019.If you were looking for an excuse to get to the Big Easy, this flash sale could save you some serious cash....

In the latest round of hotel Monopoly, French brand AccorHotels has announced its plans to acquire three new brands — Fairmont, Raffles and Swissôtel (collectively, FHRI) — in a deal expected to close later this year. TPG Contributor Lane Nieset has gone through the 155 hotels in FHRI’s global portfolio to handpick five favorites that will soon fall under the AccorHotels umbrella.Earlier this month, AccorHotels shared its plans to acquire Fairmont, Raffles and Swissôtel by mid-2016....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.TPG Contributor Vikram Birring traveled to Istanbul earlier this year and had a wonderful time. Here’s why he says you should plan a trip to this fabulous city this fall, when shoulder season prices are king and the crowds are few.Istanbul, the only city in the world that spans both Europe and Asia, is an ancient wonderland of history and culture....

Alaska Airlines has become the latest U.S. carrier to require that passengers verify their health before going on a flight.Starting June 30, passengers will be required to complete a health checklist during check-in that asks them to verify that they have not exhibited any COVID-19 symptoms in the 72 hours prior to flying. They’ll also have to confirm that they’ve not come into contact with a symptomatic individual during that same time frame....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Creditcards.com has a Card Match tool that allows you to see if you have any special credit card offers targeted towards you. I just went on and saw four offers that that beat any public offers out there with points bonuses that are 50-100% higher - including 50,000 Membership Rewards points for the Premier Rewards Gold after only $1,000 spent within the first 3 months with the $175 annual fee waived the first year (vs....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Back in March 2017, Amex added two notable perks to The Platinum Card® from American Express — up to $200 in Uber credits each year and 5x points on hotels booked through Amex Travel. At the same time, the issuer increased the card’s annual fee by more than 20%, from $450 to $550 per cardmember year (See Rates & Fees)....

When Delta announced this week that it would be buying a 20% stake in LATAM, it sent shockwaves through the aviation world, and rattled frequent flyers. Almost immediately, American Airlines suspended the ability for customers to book codeshare flights.Although a spokesperson for American says the airline has not “heard of any customers being denied travel,” American is providing some additional information on its website to help its customers understand what to expect over the next few months since “a lot of inaccurate information is circulating....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.American Express Membership Rewards points just got a little more valuable for transfers to Cathay Pacific’s Asia Miles program — but what that value is will depend. Amex has launched a limited-time offer that awards a bonus when transferring Membership Rewards points to Asia Miles.Unlike other bonuses, this one is varied and can range from 10% to 30% when transferring points into the mileage program....

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.Capital One just announced that The Dave Matthews Band will headline this year’s Capital One Beach Bash on Dec. 28, with WALK THE MOON as the opening band. The free South Beach concert kicks off the college football playoffs semifinals at the Capital One Orange Bowl, which takes place on Dec....

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.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, which allows you to cancel flights without penalty by 11pm Eastern Time within one day of booking. Remember: Fares may disappear quickly, so book right away and take advantage of Orbitz’s courtesy cancellation if you’re unable to travel....

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....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.(The Chase Freedom is no longer open to new applicants)Chase has really been outdoing itself with the Chase Freedom card recently. The issuer recently extended its generous 5% cash back (or 5x Ultimate Rewards points) on wholesale club purchases through the end of 2016, and now Chase is offering an extra incentive for booking travel through its online portal, giving you a total of 10% cash back (or 10x Ultimate Rewards points) on hotel and car rental bookings of up to $2,500 made through ChaseUltimateRewards....

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’ve been following along this summer, you know that we’ve periodically offered flash sweepstakes to augment our Prizeo fundraiser for Rainbow Railroad — the nonprofit that helps LGBTQ individuals escape places where their safety is threatened. Anyone who donates today, August 27, will be entered into a separate giveaway for our last and final bonus: $1,500 worth of Lyft rideshare credit....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Anything that’s considered to be off-the-beaten-path for tourists — at least for American travelers — is usually something that piques my interest, so when a friend asked if I wanted to go to Lebanon this summer, I jumped at the opportunity to visit the “Paris of the Middle East.” I still had to figure out how to get to Beirut, though....