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“Reader Questions” are answered twice a week by TPG Senior Points & Miles Contributor Ethan Steinberg.While it often makes more sense to book the flight you want outright (in the cabin you want), it’s also possible to use miles or elite benefits to upgrade flights. Maybe you spotted a great cash fare, or someone else like an employer booked the ticket for you. Almost all upgrades bump you into “the next class of service,” and TPG reader Jim wants to know how the rollout of premium economy on many airlines affects this:[pullquote source=“TPG READER JIM”]If I want to upgrade an American Airlines flight to London to business class, do I need to buy a premium economy ticket or can I just buy a regular economy ticket?...

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Now through Monday, May 22, you’ll receive up to 50,000 bonus miles when you purchase miles through United. This is a tiered promotion: You’ll get a 25% bonus (up to 8,500 extra miles) when you buy 5,000 to 34,000 miles, and you’ll get a 50% bonus (up to 50,000 extra miles) when you purchase 35,000 to 100,000 miles....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.On the final stop of a trip that took her to Sydney, the Maldives and the Middle East, TPG contributor Sarah Silbert stayed at the St. Regis Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi. Read on for her impressions, and for a look at the pros and cons of traveling to the UAE during the sweltering summer. (All photos by Zach Honig....

Six years ago, the US Department of Transportation announced new rules to regulate flight delays. The rules stated that airlines couldn’t let aircraft remain on the tarmac at US airports for more than three hours — four hours for international flights — without deplaning passengers.Furthermore, the rules required airlines “to provide adequate food and potable drinking water for passengers within two hours of the aircraft being delayed on the tarmac and to maintain operable lavatories and, if necessary, provide medical attention....

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.As they say, all good things must come to an end — and that holds true even for credit cards. As you’ve heard by now, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card is ending its historic 100,000-point online sign-up bonus later this week — Wednesday, January 11. If you apply online after that date, you’ll get 50,000 points — half of what’s currently offered....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Beginning August 18, the Starwood Preferred Guest program as we know it will be no more, as Marriott launches its own combined loyalty program.Some changes kick in tomorrow, though, when new reduced earning rates begin for Amex’s co-branded cards — the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express and the Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express....

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.The lights on the Las Vegas Strip have gone dark before, but it’s usually only for a few minutes in recognition of the passing of a president, a key figure in Las Vegas history or a movement such as Earth Day....

Yes, we know the last Harry Potter movie came out in 2011. Sure, we know that was nearly a decade ago. And yes — we, too, feel super old saying that out loud.But with that age (and the inability to let Harry Potter go, of course) comes some pretty cool perks. Specifically, a boozy Harry Potter-themed dining event that’s coming to New York City this summer.“The Wizard’s Brunch” is an Australian-born traveling dinner theater company that provides immersive, magic-packed dining experiences in different cities around the world....

When it comes to flying, money can buy you unparalleled levels of comfort and convenience, but even the deepest pockets can’t be of much help if you want to fly significantly faster than the average traveller.Etihad’s The Residence, or the new first class suites on Emirates, or Delta One suites. Private jets, or even private jumbo jets. If you want to fly in style, you have many choices — but they all have the same limitation: speed....

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We’ve partnered with American Express to bring you personal finance insights, advice and more. Check out Credit Intel, Amex’s financial education center, for more personal finance content.Any offers or benefits mentioned below are subject to change at any time, and may no longer be available.Your honeymoon will not be just your first trip together as a married couple, it could also be the greatest vacation that you’ve ever taken. Yet when you combine the cost of taking an amazing trip with that of your wedding itself, the total price can be overwhelming....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Y’all, we did it. We found premium cabin award space to and from Australia for next spring for our family without going through Asia, splitting up the group, taking crazy routings, paying fuel surcharges, or really doing anything fancy at all (other than flying to/from Australia in business class which by itself is insanely fancy). After three years or more of wanting to book this trip, I’m just in some kind of shock that we did it....

We’ve all fantasized about it before. You know, ditching the rat race and relocating to a remote, picturesque European island in the middle of nowhere.Well, it turns out, it might be easier to make like Diane Lane in “Under the Tuscan Sun” than you thought, because Arranmore — a small island off the coast of County Donegal, Ireland — wants you to move there.Occupancy on the island has been, according to CNN, waning since the 19th century....

If you’re a college student looking to travel for free this summer and still tell your parents you got a paid internship, apply here.TPG, the travel-savvy website that tells people how to jet around the world in high style at minimal cost, is now accepting applications for a luxury, one-of-a-kind dream travel internship.This ultimate summer job will go to one lucky college student, 21 or older. Job description: Fly around the world reviewing flights, hotels, trains and more for our global audience....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Tropical Storm Gordon is expected to become Hurricane Gordon as it moves toward the Alabama and Mississippi coasts. The storm has been bringing heavy winds with it as it soaks south Florida, and it’s pushing its way into the Gulf of Mexico, according to the most recent updates from the National Hurricane Center.The agency has now issued a hurricane warning from the mouth of the Pearl River, Mississippi, to the border between Alabama and Florida, as Gordon is expected to be a Category 1 hurricane by the time it reaches the area, meaning winds as dangerous as 74+ miles per hour could rip into these areas beginning late Tuesday or Tuesday night....

As with their counterparts around the world, U.S. airlines are in serious financial trouble following a severe drop in demand due to the coronavirus pandemic, despite essential support provided by the CARES Act.United Airlines alone lost more than $2 billion in the first quarter of the year, even with passenger numbers remaining somewhat consistent until March. As a result, we’re likely to see even more significant losses for the second quarter, including unprecedented year-over-year passenger drops for April, May and almost certainly June....

Running late and potentially missing a flight can cause passengers to pull some crazy acts.Just ask this woman who missed her plane departing Bali on Sunday.The woman showed up late for her flight with Citilink, a low-cost Indonesian carrier, heading from Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS) to Jakarta (CGK). She the proceeded to chase after the plane on the tarmac. Channel News Asia reported that the woman, identified as Hana, checked in for her Citilink flight QG193 at 6:27am and was told boarding started at 6:50am....

Now you can show the world just how passionate you are about the country’s national parks with every email you send.The iconic font carved into wooden signs at national parks across the country has just made its way out of nature and onto your computer screen. Quite simply called the National Park typeface, it was created by designer and professor Jeremy Shellhorn’s Design Outside Studio — a summer design course held in Rocky Mountain National Park....

Today, I want to share a story from TPG reader Amy, who was unable to book her group on a single award reservation:We were excited to finally book an awesome trip to Hawaii using our Chase Ultimate Rewards points. We have a family of five, and invited my sister and her husband to join us. Thanks to TPG, we knew to take advantage of the KrisFlyer program to book our flights on United....