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Marriott International said Friday the data of up to 500 million of its guests has been stolen from its Starwood guest reservation database. The data breach is likely one of the largest ever in US history.The hotel chain, which is the world’s largest, said in a release on Friday that it was first alerted to the hack in September after receiving notification from an internal security tool that there was an attempt to access customers’ data....

Today, I want to share a story from TPG reader David, who missed boarding after a series of schedule changes. Here’s what he had to say:To preface this story, I’m a very punctual person. One of my pet peeves is showing up late, so I’m usually the first to arrive when meeting friends. Similarly, I like to arrive at the airport at least an hour before my departure, and I had never missed a flight in my life....

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.This video is part of our weekly YouTube series: To The Point. On this episode, senior credit cards editor Sarah Silbert breaks down all the new features with the Capital One Venture Card....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.As I reported the week before last, Starwood announced an SPG “Better By The Night” promo where members can earn double points on two-night stays and triple points on stays of three or more nights between now and April 8, 2012. It went down for a while, but Starwood put the registration link back up here.In my opinion, it’s a decent promotion, but nothing spectacular....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.TPG reader Aaron sent me a message on Facebook to ask about credit card applications:“As someone new to the points game, would it make sense to target Chase cards first given the more stringent application restrictions?”The major credit card issuers often limit how many accounts you can have open and how frequently you can apply for new ones....

Last week it was reported that an A319 just airborne out of Chicago O’Hare had to make an emergency return to land after the flight deck windscreen was smashed by hail. Whilst images in the media portrayed a dramatic event for those on board, how serious really was the event?Dealing with thunderstorms and severe weather is an integral part of the job of an airline pilot. In addition, dealing with non-normal events such as smashed windshields is also a key part of ensuring that all on board the aircraft are kept safe....

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 mechanics’ operational disruptions are costing the carrier “millions” per week, CEO Gary Kelly said Tuesday.Speaking at a JP Morgan conference in New York, Kelly said the losses were due to lost revenues and other costs associated with flight delays and cancellations, Reuters reports....

Major news today in the travel industry and for The Points Guy.TPG parent company Red Ventures announced Tuesday morning that it is buying the storied travel company Lonely Planet from NC2 Media. Terms of the deal between the two private companies were not disclosed.For more TPG news, deals and points and miles tips delivered each morning to your inbox, subscribe to our daily newsletter.The purchase is a major investment by Red Ventures in another travel brand that will add a ton of incredible destination content, a rich library of guides, digital tools and new ways to research travel for TPG readers and the public at large....

If you’re interested in making some extra cash as an Uber driver but don’t own a car there’s good news: Getaround — a carsharing service — has announced they are expanding their partnership with rideshare giant Uber.The program, which launched in 2017 in San Francisco, allows Uber drivers to use “peer-to-peer” vehicles on the platform to provide Uber rides. For Uber drivers, there is a flat fee of $5 per hour to use the vehicle to pick up and transport passengers for Uber....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.You’re not going to start flossing. It’s best to just admit that to yourself now. But instead of committing to the same boring resolutions you try (and ultimately fail at) every year, why not embrace this optimistic month and overhaul your travel plans? Here are nine resolutions that every frequent flier should steal for the New Year.1. Plan Travel Like It’s Your JobIf you regretted spending more time in 2017 on your couch than in Croatia — or whatever country you wanted to tick off your list — your issue might be a lack of planning....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Capitalizing on lucrative credit card offers is the foundation to any robust points strategy. In the past two months I’ve banked over 350,000 points from leveraging my credit- 100,000 points for the Amex Platinum, 100,000 for the British Airways Visa, 150,000 for Citi AAdvantage cards and today that number will increase to 400,000 since Chase just announced another showstopping offer of 50,000 points for the Sapphire Preferred Card when you spend $3,000 within the first three months....

American Airlines will layoff 19,000 workers in October as federal payroll aid expires.American announced the move Tuesday in a memo to employees from CEO Doug Parker and president Robert Isom. The move will affect about 17,500 frontline workers and another 1,500 — previously announced — from the company’s management.“We have come to you many times throughout the pandemic, often with sobering updates on a world none of us could have imagined,” Parker and Isom said in the memo....

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, updated with new information.We’re now about eight months into the coronavirus pandemic that has changed the world as we know it forever.There’s been much upheaval in the industry we love so much, and things are still uncertain. It was startling to see a near-total collapse of the airline industry in March and April, and then encouraging to see the TSA screen more than 1 million passengers on a single day a few weeks ago (though that number is still down massively from 2019 figures)....

On Jan. 7, 2019, United will begin flying its first Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner on the Newark (EWR)-Los Angeles (LAX) route. With no upgrade or saver award space, business-class seats on this very first flight did not go cheap — still, they’re almost completely sold out.The inaugural is scheduled to depart LAX at 8:15am on Jan. 7, arriving in Newark at 4:19pm — if you don’t mind ponying up the cash or miles, you can still book a lie-flat seat for the princely sum of $3,151 or 60,000 miles for the one-way flight....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Today, I want to share a story from TPG reader Jessica, who missed out on some valuable SPG perks. Here’s what she had to say:I made a classic mistake of not reading the fine print and wanted to share my story so other readers don’t have the same issue. In 2017 I reached 50 eligible nights with Starwood Preferred Guest and qualified for SPG Platinum status....

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 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.Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Here’s some incentive to use your Platinum Card from American Express on your next Hilton stay: 7,500 bonus points. Amex Platinum, Business Platinum Card® from American Express and Corporate Platinum Card holders in the US are eligible to earn the bonus points on stays of at least two nights after registering for the promotion on the Hilton website as well as enrolling in the complimentary Honors Gold status that comes with the Platinum card....

Virgin Voyages, a new Sir Richard Branson-backed adults-only cruise line, is set to launch its first ship in 2020. The ship, named Scarlet Lady, is set to roam the Caribbean with ports of call that will include Havana, Cuba, and Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. If you were hoping for a stop at Branson’s Necker Island, no such luck as of now.On Thursday, Virgin Voyages released some additional details about the ship, including the first look at guests’ cabins....

Everyone knows Air Force One is the iconic Boeing 747 that the President of The United States uses for air transportation, right? Well, that’s actually incorrect. A common misconception is that the physical aircraft — that iconic blue and white modified Boeing 747 also known as VC-25A — is Air Force One. But Air Force One isn’t actually an aircraft; rather, it’s the unique call sign or designator used to identify any aircraft with the sitting President of The United States on board....