Posts

I’ve always been a proponent of looking past the most popular programs and routes for booking with points and miles. There is plenty of value hidden in the partner notes or award charts of transfer partner programs of Citi, American Express and Chase. Let’s review four sweet spots you may know about, may have forgotten or may have never heard about before today.Royal Air Maroc with Iberia AviosWe’ve written several times about booking Royal Air Maroc from New York or Washington, D....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.United’s MileagePlus Club Card doesn’t offer a sign-up bonus and it usually comes along with a $450 annual fee, yet it still made our list of 7 Premium Travel Cards You Should Consider in 2016. The reason? The card includes a full United Club membership, allowing unrestricted access whenever you’re flying through an airport with a United-operated lounge....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.There have been phenomenal business-class airfare sales from Europe to the US in recent months, including from Berlin (TXL) to New York (JFK) on SkyTeam carriers. I was able to purchase a ticket for $1,400 round-trip that aligned perfectly with the dates of the end of one trip and the start of another to Europe. That’s how I found myself with a free night to spend in the German capital, so I started looking around for hotels....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Today, I want to share a story from TPG reader Josh, who waited too long to complete his Global Entry application. Here’s what he had to say:After about a year of using a cash-back credit card, I decided to join in on the travel rewards fun. As such, I got the Chase Sapphire Reserve to maximize earnings and take advantage of the card’s other perks....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Back in March, two Hilton co-branded cards launched elevated sign-up bonuses, and while these limited-time offers have had a good run, they’re soon coming to an end. You only have until next Wednesday, May 31, to sign up for the Hilton Honors Surpass Card from American Express and earn 100,000 points after you spend $3,000 in the first three months, plus a free weekend night after your first anniversary of cardmembership....

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.Just a day after news broke that Ethiopian Airlines was ending its fifth freedom route between Los Angeles (LAX) and Addis Ababa (ADD) via Dublin (DUB), the airline has decided to reopen the route.As reported by Routes Online, Ethiopian reopened reservations for the LAX-DUB-ADD route for travel on and after Dec....

According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the partial government shutdown has caused 87 accident investigations to go unexamined, some of which included casualties.The NTSB’s usual protocol is to investigate aircraft, automotive, marine and rail accidents as a safety measure. “We are missing prevention opportunities,” Dolline Hatchett, an NTSB spokeswoman, told CNN. “Important evidence is being lost that we would normally examine following an accident. And this evidence could potentially support safety recommendations, that once adopted, could prevent future accidents and save countless lives....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Monday evening I attended the Yellow Ball, an event hosted by American Express and the issuer’s Platinum Card Creative Director Pharrell Williams to raise awareness and support for Young Audiences Arts for Learning, the nation’s largest arts-in-education network whose work strives to inspire young people and expand their learning through the arts. Amex also gifted $1M to the organization....

Every year, AirlineRatings.com, the world’s only safety- and product-rating website, announces its safest airlines and low-cost carriers from the 407 total airlines it monitors. For the past two years, Qantas came out on top for the site’s world’s safest airline award, and this year was no different.In today’s announcement, AirlineRatings.com awarded the Australian carrier as the world’s safest airline for the third year in a row. As the world’s oldest continuously operating airline, it’s now accepted as the industry’s most experienced carrier, as it has amassed an extraordinary record including no fatalities in the jet era....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.If you currently hold the Starwood Preferred Guest Business Credit Card from American Express, you could be targeted for a bonus offer of up to 10,000 Starpoints.Today, various members of Team TPG who hold this card received an email inviting them to register for this current promotion to earn either 5,000 or 10,000 Starpoints by meeting certain spending thresholds on the card....

The onboard experience on most long-haul flights follows a similar routine.After settling in and taking off, flight attendants typically come through the aisles with a meal and drink service. Once the first service is complete, the overhead lights are typically dimmed. Passengers then either doze off, catch up on work or watch a movie or TV show.But what exactly does the crew do when the lights are out?Many long-haul flights are staffed with ten or more flight attendants, as well as extra relief pilots....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.A new year means more exciting hotels are opening across the globe, and 2017 looks to be a bumper crop. Here’s a list of the 18 most exciting hotel openings to look out for in the year ahead, including many where you can earn and redeem points, presented below in order of opening date.1. Wyndham Grand AthensLocation: Athens, GreeceWhy You Should Go: While Wyndham might not be known for having a huge portfolio full of fancy hotels, this one looks like it’ll be among the brand’s nicer options, with 273 rooms and suites, a restaurant, bar, spa and roof garden with a pool....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Credit cards offer loads of rewards, but a new report from Bankrate.com highlights that many consumers don’t understand how to navigate the world of points. The survey of more than 1,000 American adults revealed that 31% of credit cardholders have never redeemed their reward points. Why are so many cardholders hoarding their points? While the research didn’t offer insights into why so many respondents aren’t bothering to actually use the rewards they’ve earned, many of them are sitting on points that can power their way to vacations, gift cards, statement credits and a range of other pretty awesome perks....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Hyatt first announced its two all-inclusive brands back in November 2013. Hyatt Ziva is geared more for families, while Hyatt Zilara is for adults. The chain has since opened in Mexico and the Caribbean, though the footprint is still quite small.The four Hyatt Ziva resorts include Montego Bay in Jamaica, Cancún, Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta in Mexico....

There are airports around the world where hundreds of aircraft sit quietly, wind whistling over wings that have safely carried passengers over millions of miles.Airliners fly in from around the world to airports in places like Marana, Arizona; Victorville, California; and Teruel, Spain. Some planes will spend just a short time basking in the sun before heading back into service for another airline, while others may have reached the point where required extensive and expensive maintenance doesn’t make financial sense for their owners....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Link to make donations to UNICEF which will be matched by American AirlinesIt’s been a horrible past few months of disasters across North America past few months, including Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Maria and a catastrophic earthquake in Mexico City.While financially damaged by each disaster, US airlines have stepped up to provide assistance to travelers. In addition to issuing travel waivers and flying into the path of a hurricane (not once, not twice, but three times), airlines have continued to provide support in the aftermath....

Bank of America will be continuing its “Museums on Us” program in 2019. The program, which allows Bank of America, Merrill Lynch and U.S. Trust credit and debit cardholders free access to over 200 institutions, is entering its 22nd year.Cardholders will receive free admission on the first full weekend of each month. Cardholders need only present their card and a photo ID to gain a free general admission. The promotion doesn’t include access to special exhibits, ticketed shows, or fundraising events....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.The Arrival, Cathay Pacific’s arrivals lounge in Hong Kong (HKG), is small and perhaps somewhat underwhelming after flying long-haul in Cathay business or first. But, it provides welcome shower suites, a buffet bar and at some times of the day an a la carte dining menu.So, it was sad to hear when South China Morning Post Aviation Reporter Danny Lee noted that The Arrival is closing....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Chase is reportedly extending sign-up bonus spending period deadlines for three months — but only for select cardholders who opened accounts earlier this year. Originally reported by Miles to Memories, Chase is only giving this extension to cardholders who opened accounts between Jan. 1, 2020, and Mar. 31, 2020. I was able to confirm the extension with Chase....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.There’s something compelling about train travel, especially when through remote lands and beautiful scenery. So I was set on taking a trans-Mongolian train from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, as soon as my husband, TPG Points & Miles writer JT and I, had booked a couple of United’s old stopover awards that ended in Mongolia.Sure, we could have taken a flight from Ulaanbaatar....