Posts

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.If you’ve been putting off the application for the Starwood Preferred Guest Business Credit Card from American Express, you’re almost out of time. In order to get the special 35,000 sign-up bonus, you must apply for the card by Wednesday, November 1.BonusHere’s how the limited-time offer is structured: You’ll earn 25,000 Starpoints after you spend $6,000 on the card in the first three months from account opening....

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.London may soon have an upgraded skyline, embellished with a giant flower. Architecture company Foster + Partners have designed a new observation tower called The Tulip, that would be one of London’s tallest buildings if completed. The Tulip would rise to a height of 1,001 feet, just missing the title of London’s tallest building (currently held by the Shard) by just three feet....

Sure, low-cost carriers such as Ryanair and easyJet offer tons of cheap flights throughout Europe. But train travel still has a lot of advantages.Train stations are usually centrally located in major cities, and thus easier to reach than airports, and you rarely have to worry about baggage limits or slogging through security. Best of all, you can actually enjoy the scenery, whether you’re whizzing across the French countryside or chugging through the Swiss Alps....

Qatar Airways made headlines last month when it launched the first A350 flight from the US. This week, the airline’s CEO, Akbar Al Baker, is in Los Angeles to promote the carrier’s new service to LAX, and as usual, he was outspoken against his US-based rivals when addressing questions from journalists at the event. The problem is that one of Qatar’s “rivals” is American Airlines, a fellow Oneworld alliance member.Naturally, that complicates the situation — AA and Qatar have a formal partnership, offering codeshares and the ability to earn and redeem miles on one another’s flights....

On Thursday, British Airways unveiled its latest promotion for members of the British Airways Executive Club. Members who register, book and travel can take advantage of double Avios on up to 10 flight bookings. The offer also extends to British Airways holidays for those members who live in the U.K. and in the U.S.To be eligible, all you have to do is be a member of the British Airways Executive Club and register for the offer....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Marriott Autograph Collection hotels are known to be top-notch, and this property is no exception. The building Boscolo Venezia resides in was originally built in the 1500s and thanks to a renovation in 2011, has been perfectly preserved. Here’s what it was like to stay in the most historic hotel I’ve ever visited.BookingWhen I first started scouting out hotels for my three-night stay in Venice, rates at this hotel were going for 460 euros per night (~$544), which was higher than I was willing to pay at the time....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.As the month of June winds down, several deals and bonuses are coming to an end, so I thought I’d put together a quick recap of some of the deals that are ending the end of the month:Chase 2nd Quarter 5x Category Bonuses: The current categories for Q2 of 2013, which apply to purchases, through June 30, are restaurants, movie theaters and Lowe’s, so if you haven’t already, it’s time to check in and see if you’re near hitting the $1,500 quarterly cap on the category spending bonus, and if you haven’t yet, consider stocking up on gift cards at Lowe’s that you can then use the rest of the year....

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.Rap superfan Zemarcuis Scott of Texarkana, Arkansas, pleaded guilty on Thursday for attempting to steal an airplane to go to a rap concert.Scott was spotted by airport security personnel on July 4 when they noticed the 18-year-old jump a fence onto the Texarkana Regional Airport (TXK) tarmac at 2:30am....

Asia is a natural destination for adventurous family travelers. It’s generally safe, the people are welcoming of children, there are rich cultures and cuisines to explore, and there’s a diversity of experiences, from relaxing beaches to pumped-up cities. But Asia is such a huge place that it can be hard to figure out where is best suited to your family’s needs. We’ve identified our favorite destinations in Asia for families to help you with your trip planning....

Everyone is sick and tired of seeing pets masquerading as emotional support animals on a plane. Who can forget the dog that stole a seat in first class or the woman who tried to bring her emotional support squirrel on a plane? This is a horse that has been, quite frankly, beaten.These are the barriers to entry that owners of service dogs and legitimate emotional support animals are facing due to the influx of pets on parade....

Although Canada legalized cannabis on October 17, traveling across the Canadian border with pot is still illegal — even if you’re headed to a pot-friendly state like California or Colorado. Indeed, the legislation specifically states: “It’s illegal to take cannabis across the Canadian border, whether you’re coming into Canada, or leaving.“Canadian airports have been scrambling to help educate travelers about these new laws. Vancouver Airport has designated cannabis smoking areas for those looking to use the last of their stash before leaving the now-even-friendlier country....

Each Saturday, we round up the top miles, points and travel news that you might have missed on TPG this week. Here’s what you need to know:We’re calling it: The 20 hottest destinations of 2020Here are TPG’s best predictions for the new decade’s top destinations. Are any of them on your bucket list?Nightmare: We caught bed bugs staying at a nice hotelTPG’s Summer Hull and her family stayed at a nice hotel this summer that left them with some very nasty souvenirs — for months....

It’s the season of giving thanks and here at TPG we have a lot to be thankful for — with the number one thing being you, our readers. In the spirit of giving, we want to encourage you to #givethanks this week to employees within the travel and hospitality industry.This is one of the most wonderful times of the year, but it’s also especially stressful for those in the industry with some of the busiest days of travel quickly approaching....

Once close partners, American Airlines and Alaska announced in early October that the two airlines are ending their mileage partnership in March 2020 after years of cutbacks.Now, Alaska is taking a step back from AA’s Oneworld partner and new joint venture business partner Qantas. As reported by Loyalty Lobby, Alaska has issued a new partner earning chart for Qantas flights starting January 1, 2020 that slashes earnings on some flights by up to 75%:The negative changes are solely for flights booked in economy....

In an apparent bid to spur spring bookings, British Airways has just announced an appealing new promotion. All BA Executive Club members are being encouraged to sign up for its Double Avios offer, which will enable passengers to collect 2x the standard Avios on their next six flights flown in 2019.You’ll need to both book travel by April 19 and fly by Dec. 31, 2019, to have these flights count. Your double Avios award will be calculated on your base Avios, while your cabin and tier bonus will apply as normal....

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....

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.Delta Air Lines is expanding its use of facial recognition cameras for boarding in Terminal 2 at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Currently the camera is installed at a single gate, but the airline will be expanding their use in the near future....

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.Delta has been on a tear of late with SkyMiles award sales, tossing in alluring rates for far-flung locales like South Africa and Australia. In an effort to appease those looking for a flight closer to home, the carrier has launched a Flyaway Deals section that includes domestic round-trip awards for less than 10,000 SkyMiles....

Delta Air Lines officially moved all of its shuttle flights to its new concourse at New York’s LaGuardia airport on Nov. 16. TPG got a preview of the building before it opened, but — now that it’s up and running — we wanted to see what it was like as a passenger.In the next few years, LaGuardia (LGA) will have an entirely new slate of terminal buildings (aside from the landmark Marine Air Terminal, which currently houses JetBlue’s operations at the airport)....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.TPG reader Ric sent me a tweet to ask about booking hotels internationally:“Will I get charged a foreign transaction fee for booking a room at the Hilton Dubai on Hilton’s US website?”Foreign transaction fees are a nuisance to international travelers. It’s pretty disappointing to come home from a trip abroad and find 3% tacked on to all your credit card transactions....