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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 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.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. However, if you’re using The Platinum Card® from American Express, you’ll need to book directly with the airline or through the Amex Travel portal to get 5x MR points....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Today I want to share a story from TPG reader Vladimir, who found a clever way to maintain his Hilton Diamond benefits. Here’s what he had to say:I’m a European expat working and living in Turkey. For years I traveled extensively for work and stayed mostly at Hilton properties worldwide, so I was a Diamond member dating back to 2013....

London City Airport will refuse entry to its terminal for the rest of the week for anyone without a valid boarding pass. That’s meant to prevent a climate-change activist group that’s been particularly active in London recently, Extinction Rebellion, from carrying through an announced plan to shut down the airport for at least three days from 9am this Thursday.The airport is the latest target of the group, which has already caused mass disruptions across the city all week, with at least 300 people arrested in just two days....

Istanbul is gearing up to open its new airport, which intends to become, one day, the largest in the world. For now, though, it doesn’t have a real name: It’s called simply Istanbul New Airport, and it’s also using a temporary three-letter code, ISL. Yet the airport, which is still under construction, is set to open for a soft launch on Monday, Oct. 29 — not, however, the grand opening that had been originally planned, with the closing of the current IST airport at the same time....

Lost luggage can put a damper on your trip, so today TPG Senior Points & Miles Correspondent Jason Steele offers tips on how to make sure your bags stay with you.As long as airlines have carried bags, they have lost them. And while there’s little you can do once you’ve surrendered your luggage, there are actually many useful steps you can take beforehand to help prevent your bags from being lost in the first place....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available – View the current offers here.There’s just one week left to take advantage of Flying Blue’s latest buy miles promotion where you can get a 100% bonus on purchased miles, with a maximum of 75,000 bonus miles. The promotion lasts through September 25, 2017, at 6:59pm ET, and you can buy Flying Blue miles for 1.38 euro cents per point (or 1....

The first word most people think about in relation to an ultra low-cost carrier (ULCC) like Sun Country Airlines is “cheap,” as in cheap flights. For many years, the general assumption was that the loyalty programs for these airlines weren’t worth a lot of time to participate in. After all, with tickets that cheap, how could they give us outsized benefits? But Frontier Airlines started changing that philosophy when it revamped its program earlier this year, and now Sun Country is rolling out a significant revamp to its loyalty program....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.TPG reader Don writes:“I plan on buying a lot of Apple products as gifts this year. What is the best way to maximize points since the Apple Store earning is most portals is only 1 point per dollar spent?“With the iPhone 5, new iPad mini and MacBook Pro Retina Displays, Apple products are bound to be among the top sellers this holiday season, so I wanted to do a post on maximizing your Apple purchases to earn the most points....

In a quiet nod to a better aircraft experience, Panasonic recently introduced its newest Active Noise Control technology, which can reduce cabin noise without the need for headphones.TPG was among the first to test the new technology at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, Germany. Panasonic built a special sound booth complete with full-size, business-class seats to show how they are using sound and light technology to help passengers achieve the optimal rest environment at 35,000 feet....

We’re really excited to announce another great hire joining our team at The Points Guy.Laura Motta is coming on as Editorial Director and will help me run our newsroom as our team continues to grow.TPG has seen explosive growth, and now has more than 100 employees. In 2019, we saw a 27% increase in visitors and published more than 8,000 posts. We also saw a 32% year-over-year increase in new visitors (more than 80 million unique visitors)....

National parks are as built into the fabric of American society and culture as baseball and road trips down Route 66. The National Parks Service (NPS), the government organization charged with preserving America’s natural resources, currently looks after 417 sites that cover more than 84 million acres of protected lands in every US state and territory. And people are flocking to them. The NPS recently reported it received more than 331 million visits in 2016 — breaking all previous records — during its centennial year....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.One of the most overlooked mileage programs is Avianca LifeMiles. With opportunities to book domestic United awards starting at just 7,500 miles and business class flights to Europe from 63,000 miles, LifeMiles certainly earns its place on TPG’s list of undervalued mileage programs.In addition to favorable award rates, LifeMiles also provides opportunities to buy miles for cheap and was recently added as a transfer partner of Citi ThankYou Rewards....

Following in the footsteps of American and Delta, United flight attendants, pilots, ramp workers and customer service agents will soon get brand-new uniforms — whether they like it or not (and, as you’ll see, some most certainly don’t).The airline will begin testing a variety of new uniforms with select employees soon, with a full rollout scheduled for 2020. Overall, the design is a very significant departure from what customers are used to seeing today:United flight attendants pose in their current uniforms ahead of the 787-10 launch....

Modern aircraft are some of the most automated machines in the world. Pilots rarely hand-fly commercial aircraft and rely on the flight management system (FMS) to deal with things like navigation in conjunction with onboard Autopilot systems.When it’s time to put the wheels back on the ground, other ground-based systems help pilots find the runway and put the plane down safely. Instrument Landing System, or ILS, is used to guide commercial aircraft to the start of the runway....

The long-awaited arrival of Virgin Voyages is coming soon. And with the excitement surrounding the introduction of its first ship, Scarlet Lady, in March 2020 (when it welcomes its so-called sailors for teaser itineraries), the cruise line is now looking forward to its second ship. On Tuesday, the cruise line announced it will introduce its second ship, Valiant Lady, in 2021.According to Virgin Voyages, Valiant Lady will debut in May 2021 and will sail on seven-night Mediterranean itineraries out of Barcelona, Spain....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.TPG reader Christina tweeted me to ask about how to avoid blackout dates with travel rewards:@thepointsguy — “Your thoughts please: I want a card that lets me use points anytime with no blackouts. Chase Sapphire Preferred or Capital One Venture?“Flexibility is key these days; with airlines and hotels changing the rules, you need to have points that you can use for the travel you want, when you want it....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Last year saw exciting hotel openings take place across the globe, and 2016 looks to be even more impressive. TPG Special Contributor Eric Rosen takes a look at the hottest properties slated to open in the coming year.Despite turmoil in various parts of the globe, travel advisories and a slew of other concerns, the travel industry still seems to be doing well thanks to low oil prices, a strong dollar and more airline and hotel options than ever....

View this post on Instagram Hopped off the plane at LAX to this view. One of my favorite things to do is just sit back and watch some planes. With amenities and service stripped back at most airline lounges — including the @americanair Admirals Club — it’s good to know you’ll still have this awesome view of Tom Bradley International. More to come on the AA ground experience on @thepointsguy soon!...

Airfare for passengers leaving the UK may become cheaper, if a group of Members of Parliament and airline executives have their way. The group has urged the UK government to reduce the country’s tax on airfare, known as Air Passenger Duty (APD) fees.The across-party group of MPs, called the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Air Passenger Duty Reform, made the request, saying that in order for the UK economy to flourish after Brexit, it must cut the tax....