We hate to be the ones to tell you this, but the most extra-looking Emirates plane you keep seeing on social media is… well, not real.The plane itself is a real live Boeing 777, but those diamonds? Yeah — not a thing. As bling-y as Emirates is, the chance they would shell out millions of dollars on Swarovski crystals or Cartier diamonds is smaller than an having a luxurious first-class experience on Spirit Airlines....
Each week in his column “The Critical Points,” TPG Senior Points and Miles Contributor Richard Kerr presents his opinion on a loyalty program, card product or recent news that he believes is overlooked, unsung or the result of groupthink taking mass opinion in a direction with which he doesn’t agree. His goal is not necessarily to convince you to agree with his position but rather to induce critical thought for each of the topics and positions he covers....
I recently experienced my first Philippine Airlines flight, just a few short weeks after TPG managing editor Alberto Riva reviewed the same airline in business class. The flag carrier of the Philippines carries the ICAO code abbreviation PAL — an apt moniker for one of the friendliest nations I’ve ever been in. The in-flight experience, as you’ll see, was solid, but a near-total disregard for timeliness, coupled with an intense amount of chaos surrounding the airport experience, left a bittersweet impression....
Beer connoisseurs, mark your calendars. On February 21, 2019, BrewDog’s chartered Boeing 767 is taking flight, and holding what they have dubbed, “the world’s highest ever beer tasting,” according to the brewery’s website.BrewDog is a Scottish brewery, which will charter the flight to show appreciation to its shareholders – along with 10 lucky beer enthusiasts who win tickets. The flight will depart from London Stansted Airport (STN) and arrive in Columbus, Ohio (CMH), where BrewDog’s US brewery is located....
Out of the 50 busiest airports in the US, 23 are named after a person – pilots, politicians and actors. All of them are named for men.One woman, Tiffany Miller, is trying to change that.This week, CNN reported that Miller, whose grandmother was a pilot during World War II, is campaigning to rename Oakland International Airport (OAK) in California as Maggie Gee Oakland International Airport. Her online petition to honor Gee went live last October and has since gained nearly 9,000 signatures....
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.I don’t know about you guys, but my vacations are more or less based on where I’m going to eat. If I’m going to Italy, you better believe I’m having pasta and pizza for every single meal, and in Spain I will be sipping sangria all day.So if you’re anything like me, you’ll be happy to know that TripAdvisor just released its list of the “10 best foodie vacations in the US....
Amid heavy decontamination efforts in Okuma, Japan (one of the many towns affected by the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster in 2011), city officials are planning to partially open the town back up to the public in 2019.The Fukushima Dai-ichi, or No. 1, was a plant that contained four nuclear reactors. The disaster was initially triggered by a deadly earthquake and tsunami that killed over 18,000 people. When the tremors hit the plant, three of the reactors had meltdowns while one had severe structural damage....
Here at The Points Guy, we’ve got Marriott Bonvoy on the brain. We recently asked our esteemed TPG Lounge members how they would redeem 100,000 Marriott points, and as usual, received a flurry of responses. Here’s a look at some of our favorites, including several success stories by readers who have already used Marriott points to plan memorable trips in the US and around the world. (Some responses have been lightly edited for style and clarity)....
Imagine this. You’re sitting on a plane at a congested airport hub when the pilot announces “We’ve missed our slot,” which in turn leads to a delay until air traffic control is able to facilitate a departure outside of the original slot time. If you travel frequently, sure enough you’ve been there.But why does it happen? Simply put, it’s because commercial airline jets are unable to depart or arrive as and when they please....
For most frequent flyers, hitting a million miles flown is a once-in-a-lifetime travel achievement. Tom Stuker has now managed to do it 22 times, all with United Airlines.In a normal year, Stuker racks up well over a million flown miles, including frequent trips on United’s longest flights, such as Los Angeles (LAX) to Sydney (SYD) — for example, his recent jump from 20 million to 21 took less than nine months....
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here – Chase Sapphire Preferred CardWere you busy traveling to exciting locations yesterday (on points or miles, of course)? Never fear — we’ve got your back with a recap of the previous day’s top stories, including news, reviews and more.Business Class to Europe from Just 30,000 Avios + $446 Round-Trip!You have until midnight tonight to take advantage of a great deal from British Airways: $2,015 round-trip for business-class travel to European destinations through August 2016....
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....
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....
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 bo ok 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 12pm Jan. 23, 2019: After almost 14 hours of closure, Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW) reopened Wednesday morning at 10am local time, the airport confirmed on Twitter. “Weather conditions have improved enough to allow the deicing fluid to be effective. At this time, one runway, the surrounding taxiways and deice pads are open,” Erica Donerson, director of Government & External Affairs told The Detroit Free Press.Detroit Metropolitan Airport remains closed into Wednesday morning due to winter weather....
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Here’s a roundup of the week’s points, miles and travel industry news you may have missed:Earn 4x Avios points for London Hilton stays at properties such as the Hilton London Park Lane.Earn 3x/4x British Airways Avios for Hilton StaysEarn 4x Avios for stays at participating London Hilton hotels and 3x Avios for stays at participating Hilton properties in the rest of Europe, the Middle East and Africa....
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.Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Yesterday, ridesharing serving Lyft and New York-based airline JetBlue announced a partnership that will reward customers of both companies with unique discounts, travel perks and additional points....
How many times have you had a “Network” moment where you just can’t take it anymore?It turns out, that feeling of being utterly exhausted by overwork is a severe problem for which people can and do seek professional help. Last week, the World Health Organization just updated and expanded its definition of “burn-out” in the 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases, calling it a “syndrome” tied to “chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed....
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.I found a great fare to Nice (NCE) from my home in Los Angeles (LAX). The outbound put me on Lufthansa through Munich, a solid economy-class experience on an Airbus A340-600. The return had me on Swiss through Zurich (ZRH). How would the long flights over the Atlantic compare?I’d heard great things about flying with Swiss and I was eager to fly the airline for my first time....
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.We’ve seen some solid promotions recently from American Airlines Vacations — including the ongoing opportunity to score 20,000 bonus American Airlines miles for booking a package to Asia, Australia or New Zealand. TPG contributor Katie Genter just returned from one of those promo bookings, scoring almost 36,000 total AA miles from a $581 mileage run from San Francisco (SFO) to Beijing (PEK) through Los Angeles (LAX):And it looks like American Airlines Cruises also wants to drum up interest....
