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Of the 787s American Airlines currently flies to China, some routes are served by the -8 variant, while others have the -9. But what a difference that last digit makes, especially for business-class passengers.The business-class cabin on AA’s 788s have rocking Zodiac Concept D seats, while the 789s have B/E Aerospace Super Diamond seats. Although I know a few passengers who prefer the privacy and forward-facing service provided by the Zodiac Concept D seats, I prefer the spaciousness and stability of the B/E Aerospace Super Diamond seats....

We’re really excited to announce two more great hires who are joining our team at The Points Guy.Tom Grahsler, an award-winning digital video producer, will be overseeing video operations and strategy for TPG. And Clint Henderson, who has worked for ABC News, Fox and MSNBC, is our new senior news editor, running our newsroom and covering breaking stories.“Tom and Clint are just the latest examples of TPG looking for the best and brightest folks in the travel world,” said TPG founder and CEO Brian Kelly....

After a first few days marred by teething problems, the newly-opened TWA Hotel at New York’s JFK airport has just encountered another issue. The hotel’s food court, inspired by New York’s street-food vendors, was recently ordered to shut down after the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene discovered numerous violations related to food prep and storage.After a two-day closure, the food court reopened on Friday, the Queens Patch reported.According to the Department, the food court racked up five violations including storing hot food at below 140 degrees, serving food from unknown or unapproved sources, a lack of facilities to wash or sanitize equipment and utensils, a lack of protection for food storage, and improperly constructed surfaces....

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information.From waived change fees to complimentary upgrades to a VIP customer service line, we’ve shared our thoughts on maximizing the many perks of elite status with Delta Air Lines. In our tier-by-tier evaluation of Delta’s Medallion status program, it’s clear that the top two levels — Platinum and Diamond — are in a class of their own.For more TPG news delivered each morning to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter....

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.Australia has a notoriously strict policy on bringing specific things like food, plants or animal items in. But the country’s government is now cracking down on travelers themselves, recently amending its visa rules so that no one with domestic violence convictions will be allowed in....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Last year, I wrote about how US Airways were now bookable using British Airways Avios, and how you could take advantage of their distance based awards when flying US Airways.Over the past several days there has been a known issue with booking US Airways on British Airways site, since US Airways recently aligned their fare codes with American Airlines this past weekend....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.It’s been my wife Katie’s dream since childhood to visit French Polynesia. Although we’ve traveled the world extensively over the past few years, we’ve still yet to take the opportunity to head down to the South Pacific. But, with IHG capping the free anniversary nights earned after May 1, 2019 through the IHG Rewards Club Select Card, we’re making this dream a reality by flying to French Polynesia to use our free IHG nights at a couple of awesome properties there....

Global airlines are increasingly isolating China as the coronavirus spreads with flight cancellations now stretching into April, idling dozens of wide-body jets around the world.That means all those Airbus A350s, Boeing 787s and 777s and other planes due to fly airlines’ normally robust schedules to Beijing, Shanghai and other points have, in effect, received their furlough notice — expiry unknown. What are they to do now? The answer is tricky.Airlines can park the jets at a base where they will be ready for a quick-return-to-service in the hopes the virus soon disappears, though the likelihood of this appears low as the coronavirus nears pandemic status....

Air New Zealand is a tiny player in the European market, with just one daily flight to London Heathrow, and a small player in the U.S. market, with just five destinations. The airline has only 30 wide-body aircraft, compared with British Airways, which has 133 wide-body aircraft, and Air Canada, which has 74.You may have never flown Air New Zealand before, but you may have seen its safety videos. Despite the airline’s small size and limited budget, it spends a huge amount on safety videos....

One time I was walking through the concourse when I passed a Lufthansa jet parked at the gate. There on the nose was a single word. “Worms,” it said.What in the world?, I thought. Worms? Worms? Then it dawned on me. Ah, that’s right, Lufthansa names most of its jets after German cities. Worms is the historic, nearly 2,000-year-old town in the Upper Rhineland where, in 1521, Martin Luther was declared a heretic....

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information.Getting Global Entry is a fairly simple process, but you may encounter delays (weeks or even months) when it comes to scheduling an interview.The Enrollment on Arrival service, which is rapidly expanding, may be the perfect alternative to long interview waits. The service allows you to complete your Global Entry interview as part of the immigration process when arriving at the airport after an international trip, so you don’t need to worry about scheduling it at a later date....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.The following Sunday reader question comes from TPG reader Jason:I’m fairly new to serious point collecting and just finished my first app-o-rama. I got lots of great cards from Amex, Chase, & a few other banks. From what I’ve read on your site, it seems Chase is really giving Amex a run for their money with their fairly new Ultimate Rewards program, especially since United & Southwest are both partners now....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.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....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.It’s official: As of 11am ET Monday we have our seventh hurricane of the 2018 hurricane season. Although it just formed as a tropical storm on Sunday afternoon, Michael has quickly strengthened and has now reached hurricane status. Further strengthening is forecast over the next 48 hours ahead of Hurricane Michael’s expected landfall on the Florida Panhandle on Wednesday afternoon, as what the National Hurricane Center is predicting to be a “dangerous major hurricane....

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.Unable to get a seat on the final flight of American’s MD-80? While the flight is still fully booked, fans of the McDonnell Douglass MD-80 can celebrate the end of an era with their own personalized retro boarding pass....

Update 2/21/19: AA has confirmed that its two DFW flights would be operated by the 777-200, while the airline would use its 787-8 Dreamliner for the LAX and LAS flights.United was first out of the gate with its proposed Tokyo Haneda (HND) routes on Thursday, but American Airlines confirmed its own suggested routes just minutes later with TPG, including one we weren’t expecting at all: nonstop service between Tokyo and Las Vegas....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.American Express is currently targeting select card holders with a $40 statement credit or 4,000 bonus points for staying with Hampton by Hilton or Hilton Garden Inn. The offer is a $40 statement credit or 4,000 points — depending on the offer — for spending $175 or more at Hampton by Hilton or Hilton Garden Inn by Jan....

A new report says Boeing and Japan’s All Nippon Airways are close to inking a $3.5 billion deal for 30 737 MAX aircraft, according to Reuters, who quoted anonymous sources on the matter.The deal would mean the first-ever of the MAX generation planes for a Japanese carrier.Sources told Reuters that a formal announcement of the deal could come as early as Tuesday. It wasn’t clear what variant of 737 MAX the airline would be ordering....

Japanese airline ANA is making negative changes to its seat selection and online reservation process, introducing the option to pay for seat selection in select fare classes.Starting May 29 passengers purchasing tickets in V, W, S, L and K fare classes will have to pay additional fees to select certain seats for flights departing from August 19th and onward.Image courtesy of ANA.The seats to be selected for a fee are marked in yellow and red in the image below....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.The latest aircraft pick from Crystal AirCruises isn’t your average Boeing 777-200LR. Rather, it’s a modern luxury cruise liner for the sky — emphasis on luxury. In fall 2017, Crystal, which is known for its super-luxe cruises, will launch its exclusive AirCruise for passengers to use as their mode of transportation between remote destinations.A rendering of Crystal AirCruises’ Boeing 777....