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Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.One of the best parts about having a Priority Pass membership is that it’s constantly expanding. Priority Pass continually adds new lounges and perks to its portfolio. Now, Priority Pass is adding two additional restaurants at Miami International Airport (MIA).As Doctor of Credit reports, Priority Pass has added Viena and Air Margaritaville to its portfolio of options at MIA....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.British Airways just announced a new promotion for using British Airways Avios to offset part of the cost of British Airways bookings. Rather than getting the standard 1 cent per Avios savings, now through May 17, you’ll save 1.5 cents per Avios.Save more and have the option to apply more Avios than the standard Avios Part Payment option....

Airlines around the world are already dealing with a global pilot shortage, and as the demand for more aircraft grows each year, the issue is only going to get worse.One proposed solution that seems to be picking up steam, according to this CNBC report, is the concept of a “single-pilot cockpit” — airliners that can be flown by one pilot instead of two. The industry has already made great strides since the early jet age, when as many as four pilots worked simultaneously to get an aircraft to its destination, but the move from two pilots to one increases the workload tremendously, while also removing a key redundancy — should the one and only operator lose consciousness, an aircraft would obviously be imperiled....

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.Southwest Airlines Flight 718 safely landed in Kansas City Wednesday evening after the cockpit windshield cracked mid-air.According to the airline, the left outer windowpane of the cockpit cracked as the plane descended into Kansas City International Airport (MCI) just after 6:30pm....

Southwest frequent flyers can breathe a sigh of relief.The budget carrier’s CEO has promised that Southwest will not be rolling out the widely dreaded basic economy class to its flights any time soon.Almost every other US airline, including most recently JetBlue, has introduced basic economy to stay financially competitive. The service is the lowest level of economy aimed at budget flyers and used to up-sell other fare classes, like regular or premium economy....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.While in NYC for the TPG Awards this week I was buzzing around the city a bit and took a few trips using Uber. Along the way, I started to rack up several Starbucks buy one, get one free coupons from Uber in my inbox. Turns out, this is Uber’s “Week of Cheers” that runs from Dec. 3 - 9....

At airports across the world the control tower is one of the most easily recognized buildings. Taller than any other building normally — and often beautiful in design — control towers are one of the airport’s most visual symbols. These towers are used to house Air Traffic Control officers high off the ground, providing them a bird’s eye view of the airport. Perched well above the hustle and bustle the rest of us have to deal with, the ATC are our eyes in the sky to keep the constant shuffle of inbound and outbound aircraft orderly and safe....

So this is a bit of a departure from our typical, flight review format.Rather than reviewing a good ol’ commercial aircraft, we decided to trade in our lie-flat Polaris seats for something a little more … rustic. And by rustic we mean standing in a floating wicker basket a kilometer above the ground in Israel. Or a hot air balloon, to put it simply. While there was some pretty hardcore turbulence upon landing, we have to admit that there is probably no better way to view Holy Land than from a hot air balloon surrounded by friends....

With demand for air travel expanding but airports facing limits to where they can physically grow, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is looking inward to improve its capacity and the passenger experience.LAX is preparing to open a remote concourse located in the proximity of the current Tom Bradley International Terminal. With opening slated for this summer, passengers using the new Midfield Satellite Concourse will experience a shopping mall-like atmosphere, reminiscent of the city’s many neighborhoods....

What Greek island pairs the romantic palace ruins of Europe’s earliest civilization with some of its most spectacular beaches? If you answered Crete, you’re correct.The fifth-largest island in the Mediterranean, Crete is much more than just a spot to party — and its vaunted reputation as a repository of Minoan ruins at sites like Knossos make it a cultural contender with no peer in the region. Despite all this, many Americans still tend to conflate Crete with other Greek Islands, like the also-fabulous Santorini which, while smaller by leaps and bounds, still attracts bigger profiles....

Modern air travel is a marvel of technology and innovation, with powerful computer systems performing millions of calculations per second to keep it all airborne. But most of us only think of commercial airline reservation systems when something goes wrong, as they seemingly do at the most inopportune times. For adults, seat assignment changes fall somewhere on the spectrum of mildly amusing to irritating. But when flying with young children, seat assignment changes can become a serious source of stress as very young kids need to fly next to a parent or guardian....

Today, I want to share a story from TPG reader Kevin, who made a costly assumption before a family trip to Mexico:Several years ago, I was taking a spring break trip to Cancun with my wife, daughter (22), son (20) and son’s friend. On the morning of the trip, we pulled out of our driveway in Wisconsin at 9:00 am for the three-hour drive to Chicago-O’Hare (ORD) and our 1:30 pm flight....

On Wednesday, Aer Lingus revealed its fresh new look for cabin and ground crew. From Feb. 10, Irish designer Louise Kennedy’s uniforms will take to the skies on more than 4,000 crew. Most notably, the airline is allowing female crew to wear pants for the first time.The airline’s signature green remains as the core color of the uniform, however, with a slight variation called ‘Kenmare Green.’ The uniform refresh also includes a ‘Midnight’ navy....

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.An Airbus A380 landed at Denver International Airport (DEN) for the first time ever on Sunday.Though the landing wasn’t planned (Air France had to divert the plane to DEN due to a medical emergency on board), it was still a historic moment for the airport....

Last month we wrote about United adding special point-to-point routes for the college football season, and it appears American Airlines is following suit. The carrier announced five special routes for big games in the upcoming season to court fans into traveling to support their favorite teams, and will expand service on four existing routes to increase capacity.American released a video along with the announcement outlining the expanded service, and highlighting some pretty unusual routes....

This morning, American Airlines announced changes to its AAdvantage program for 2019. The most-notable changes include increasing the Elite Qualifying Dollar (EQD) requirements for top-tier Executive Platinum elite status and adding benefits for extremely-frequent flyers. Meanwhile, the Special Fares shortcut to earning elite status was decimated.The fourth element that AA announced were changes to the “amount of EQMs members will earn when flying on one of our transatlantic or transpacific joint business partners — British Airways, Iberia, Finnair and Japan Airlines....

An American traveling in India as part of a missionary trip was shot with arrows and killed by an indigenous tribe on an island that is closed to visitors and tourists.India’s North Sentinel Island is home to the isolated and hostile Sentinelese tribe, known for resisting contact from any outsiders by shooting arrows at unwelcome visitors who approach. Visitors are also prohibited by the Indian government from traveling to the small, tree-laden island....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.The Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express was at the top of the rewards card list in the early 2010s until its big brother, the Platinum Card® from American Express, upgraded its earning category to 5x on airfare. That came after the Chase Sapphire Reserve swooped in with 3x on all travel and dining, which took the cape from other categories....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Offer expired October 29, 2012:While 25,000 points isn’t the most earth shattering sign-up bonus, for most of 2011 American Express’ didn’t even have a public sign-up bonus for the Business Platinum card. It’s been 25,000 points after $5,000 spent within the first 3 months since February, but I just got an email that the current offer expires on October 29, 2012 and my gut tells me that it won’t be increasing....

Reader Questions are answered twice a week by TPG Senior Points & Miles Contributor Ethan Steinberg.Holding an upgrade certificate (often awarded to upper-tier elite members) is like having a golden ticket, but you have to use it wisely. You don’t want to waste it on a short flight, but you also don’t want to hold out for a long, premium route where your upgrade might not clear. TPG reader Felix wants to know if he absolutely needs upgrade inventory for his upgrade to clear …[pullquote source=“TPG READER FELIX”]Is PZ availability absolutely required for a United GPU to clear?...