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Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Here’s a credit card perk for you to keep an eye out for, besides points: access to new, exclusive events for cardholders of the Marriott Bonvoy American Express credit cards.What kind of events, you ask? For example, events related to American Express and Marriott Bonvoy’s partnership with Grammy Award-winning producer and art collector Swizz Beatz. Since 2017, Amex, Marriott and Swizz Beats have been churning out exclusive, once-in-a-lifetime events with special access available only to Bonvoy Amex cardholders....

India’s Ministry of Home Affairs has made it easier for tourists to visit the south Asian nation.Many people don’t know that foreign tourists using the country’s e-visa service are able to stay for 60 days, rather than 30 days. Under the regulations, people with tourist or business e-visas are also allowed double entries, while people with medical e-visas can enter up to three times on a single visa.The changes were a bid to boost tourism and hospitality in India, where the services industry has an estimated value of $270 billion....

Reader Questions are answered twice a week by TPG Senior Points & Miles Contributor Ethan Steinberg.As the coronavirus continues to wreak havoc on all forms of travel, airlines have been canceling flights, downgrading to smaller planes and making significant cuts to onboard service to help reduce in-flight interactions and keep everyone healthy. TPG reader Michael wants to know if it’s still worth flying domestic first class with the reduced service …[pullquote source=“TPG READER MICHAEL”]Is it worth traveling in first class domestically during this coronavirus pandemic?...

Travel gives lots of opportunities to be thankful. We can be thankful for the health to travel, the resources and knowledge to go beyond our neighborhoods and so much more. But not everyone is that lucky. Some people — some kids — in fact, don’t necessarily have the resources, health or time to travel. They are battling serious illness in the literal fight for their lives.Don’t worry. This isn’t an (overly) sad story; it is one of hope....

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.Adding to the long list of strange and or disturbing things travelers have tried to sneak by airport security, we have a new entry that ranks in the higher end of the group: 5,000 live leeches.The creepy crawlers were found at Toronto Pearson International Airport in the luggage of a Canadian man who had just returned from a trip to Russia....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Opinions of the British Airways Executive Club and its loyalty currency, Avios, tend to be extreme — you either love it or hate it. Many frequent flyers are fans of the currency, while just as many remain staunchly opposed to the program, seeing Avios as effectively worthless. Today, I’ll show you how to get maximum value from the program in 2017, hopefully bringing those of you with polarized opinions back toward the middle of the spectrum....

Here’s a recap of the interesting points and miles news from this week:Take a quick survey and win an iPad Mini.Win An iPad Mini From Wallaby Financial: You can win an iPad Mini with Retina Display for answering a quick, 15 question survey about Wallaby Financial that runs through November. Wallaby is a company that created an app that you can load with your credit card information to help you choose which of your credit cards – that you must still carry – to use for each transaction based on the available category spending bonuses, etc....

China Eastern Airlines this week took delivery of its first Airbus A350-900. Before you brush this off as an airline you aren’t likely to fly, it’s worth noting that China Eastern is a SkyTeam partner that oftentimes offers bargain prices on business class seats. In other words, this may well be your best shot to affordably fly up front on one of the world’s most acclaimed widebody jets while still earning miles on your airline of choice....

In a reversal from what they had said as recently as Tuesday night, US aviation regulators have just grounded all Boeing 737 MAX airplanes. On Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced that “all of those planes are grounded effective immediately,” according to several White House correspondents.Any aircraft currently in the air will reach its destination, the president said.The US grounding effectively stops all 737 MAX operations worldwide, and affects both the MAX 8 and the larger MAX 9 models....

Want to access most of the special airplane treats you’ll read about on TPG — inflight bars, first-class showers, suites with separate beds? You’ll likely need a premium-cabin ticket. For this particular onboard surprise, however, you only need to get yourself on the right plane.I’m talking about the bank of “lower-deck” lavatories, available on Lufthansa’s longest Airbus, the A340-600 (yup, it’s even a hair longer than the superjumbo A380!).https://www.instagram.com/p/B7dwyQCJUff/In addition to a bank of five lavatories, which are noticeably larger than what you’ll find in coach on most planes, the lower section of Lufthansa’s A340-600 sports a dedicated crew rest, with room for seven off-duty flight attendants....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Looking to set sail in style this summer and beyond? TPG Contributor Adam Erace shares his picks for some of the most luxurious cruises around the world.The World Floating Residence: It’s not just a boat, it’s a lifestyle.The WorldDon’t call it a cruise ship. No, seriously, don’t — the World’s publicists think it’s confusing to refer to the luxurious colony of floating residences they represent as such....

Virgin Australia is preparing to enter voluntary administration. According to sources close to the matter, the airline has been unable to cope with the financial strain caused by the ongoing coronavirus crisis, coupled with its history of financial woes.According to sources reported by the Sydney Morning Herald, the airline’s board of directors met on Monday, and the announcement of it going into administration was “imminent.“Previously, the airline had appointed accounting firm Deloitte to look at restructuring options....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.The Chase Ink Bold and Ink Plus cards currently offer 50,000 points after $5,000 spent within the first 3 months. At a minimum you will have 55,000 points after meeting the minimum spend and could potentially earn over 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points if you max out the bonus categories which include 5x on the first $50,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on cellular phone, landline, internet and cable TV services and 2x on the first $50,000 spent annually at gas stations and for hotel accommodations when purchased directly with the hotel....

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.Talk about a Wednesday pick-me-up: Until the end of the today, March 27, you can earn double stars on almost all of your Starbucks purchases.If you’re already a loyal Starbucks customer (Gold anyone?), this is a good opportunity to inch your way closer to one more free beverage or food item before the award prices change on April 16....

Some rewards credit cards have annual fees that can make it hard to justify keeping the card in your wallet year after year. However, some have built-in anniversary perks that more than make up for the annual fees. One of those such cards is the IHG® Rewards Club Select Credit Card. The sign-up bonus for this card is attractive at 70,000 points after spending $1,000 in the first three months, but the perks don’t stop there....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.While not as exciting as recent 50% transfer bonuses, Amex Membership Rewards will be launching a 30% transfer bonus to British Airways Avios from December 3, 2012 - January 14, 2013. No need to register as the bonus will, as usual, be hard coded into the transfer page at Membership Rewards.The bonus will automatically register on the transfer page....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.With so many airline, hotel and credit card loyalty programs to keep track of, it takes time to become a true award travel expert. But even if you’re just getting started with earning miles and points, a few key tips can help you reach your goal in no time. Below, TPG Points & Miles Editor Sarah Silbert outlines five great beginner tips....

Air Senegal will get its first and only nonstop route to the United Kingdom. This summer, the airline plans to launch a new nonstop seasonal route between Dakar and London.The airline will utilise one of its soon-to-be-delivered A321 aircraft on the new route as of June 26, 2020. Given that slots at London’s two largest airports — Heathrow and Gatwick — are hard to come by, Air Senegal will instead fly between London Stansted Airport (STN) and Dakar (DSS)....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Here’s a roundup of the week’s points, miles and travel industry news you may have missed:Holiday Inn Club vacation resort in Myrtle Beach, SC.IHG Rewards Club Credit Cardholders Can Earn Bonus PointsIHG Rewards Club cardholders can earn 10,000 points for a stay at a Holiday Inn Club Vacation resort between now and December 31, 2015. You can earn an additional 10,000 points by booking the 10,000 Bonus Point Package....

Despite the fact that the Brexit departure yet to take place, select British citizens who recently renewed their passport are getting a surprise in the mail: a non-European Union passport. Though the UK is still a part of the EU — for now anyway — the words ‘European Union’ have been removed from some covers of the burgundy booklet.One Twitter user posted a picture of her new passport along with her old one to show off the change, along with her feeling on the matter....