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Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.This is an installment in my Maximizing Elite Status series. Articles include; The Basics and Why People Mileage Run, Using ITA Matrix to Find Cheap Flights, How Much is Elite Status Worth?, Comparing Top Tier Status, Comparing Mid-Tier Status, Comparing Low Level Status, How to Get Elite Miles Without Flying, Understanding Elite Status Bump Thresholds, The Lowdown on Soft Landings, How to Cope with Losing Elite Status....

Update 6/10/20: Icelandair has added four round-trip flights between Boston and Iceland during the second half of June — on June 17, 20, 24 and 27 — however, tourists from countries outside of Europe’s Schengen zone, including the United States, will not be permitted entry in June. Connecting passengers can book these four Boston flights, assuming they’re eligible to enter their destination of choice in Europe. As of now, Iceland is planning to welcome a broader group of visitors beginning July 1, but that plan remains subject to change....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.If you’re a Delta flyer, now could be a great time to apply for these two business credit cards from Amex, as they’re offering higher than usual welcome bonuses. Currently, you can earn 50,000 miles after spending $2,000 in the first three months with the Gold Delta SkyMiles Business Credit Card from American Express and 70,000 miles and 10,000 MQMs after spending $5,000 in the first three months with the Platinum Delta SkyMiles Business Credit Card from American Express....

Each Saturday, we round up news stories that you might have missed from the week before. Here’s the top miles, points and travel news you might have missed on TPG this week.This Is the Plane That Will Take JetBlue to LondonIt’s an A321LR — emphasis on long-range.Virgin Atlantic Unveils Swanky New Upper Class Suite for Its A350This suite is sweet!Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party Starts Nov. 8 — Tickets Now On SaleThere’s no better way to spend the holiday than at the happiest place on earth....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.One of the things I love most about being The Points Guy is getting to hear stories from readers about all the positive ways award travel has affected their lives. That being said, while I love hearing about your successes, I think there’s also a lot we can learn by sharing our mistakes, and I’m calling on readers to send in your most egregious and woeful travel failures....

After months of anticipation, All Nippon Airways finally took delivery of its very first Airbus A380 in March, which will be used exclusively for flights between Tokyo and Honolulu. It was a bittersweet moment for the manufacturer — with no new orders on the books, as of now, it was the very last time Airbus delivered a superjumbo jet to a new customer.And, in an unusual move, ANA didn’t welcome journalists onboard for a tour — in fact, the first time any member of the public has had a chance to share photographs of the interior appears to be this week, when my buddy Sam Chui got to explore the new double-decker jet in Japan....

Signing up for a free trial to test a product is a great way to see if something is a good fit for you. Think Birchbox, Barkbox, Loot Crate, Bespoke Post, or Dollar Shave Club. These types of subscription services for physical products is a booming industry. The free trial is great if the product turns out to be something you want. However, we have all run into the issue of forgetting to cancel those free trials before they get converted to a subscription....

Just this Tuesday morning, I was listening to Richard Branson tell TPG about a handful of new ventures, ranging from a new loyalty program to Virgin Voyages, where the first ship is expected to be delivered to the Virgin-branded cruise line in 2020.While we’ve already gotten a first look at renderings of Virgin’s inaugural “adults only” ship, the Scarlet Lady, on Wednesday morning Branson decided to unveil the line’s new terminal design as well, which will be located at the PortMiami seaport in Florida’s Biscayne Bay....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.TPG reader Kenny emailed me to ask:“I have both the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Barclaycard Arrival Plus. I’ve already met the minimum spending requirements to get the bonuses. For all of my travel and dining, I use Sapphire Preferred on top of the Chase Freedom bonus categories. For all my other spending, where I’m only earning 1pt/$1 with Chase, should I use my Barclaycard Arrival Plus to take advantage of the 2 points per dollar, or should I just stick with Ultimate Rewards ?...

South African Airways, the country’s beleaguered flag carrier, has entered into a new phase of government rescue.The airline has received a new government-backed cash infusion of 2 billion rand (about $137 million) from its existing lenders, the latest in a series of government bailouts the struggling company has received in recent years.The South African treasury matched that loan as part of the government’s business rescue plan for the airline.Pravin Gordhan, South Africa’s public enterprises minister, announced the plan in a statement Friday....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Although the future of Starwood and its beloved SPG program is still unknown as the bidding war between Marriott and Anbang continues, the company is continuing to expand its portfolio. Starwood recently added two new brands, Design Hotels and Tribute Portfolio — now the company is expanding its reach in the Caribbean to Cuba.On Saturday, Starwood became the first US hotel company to sign a deal with Cuba since the 1959 revolution....

Last week, United shared some of the first images captured inside its new 777-300ER, which was still in Boeing’s possession. Well, today airline reps made their way to Everett, Washington to officially take delivery of UA’s first plane with the new Polaris business-class seats. United sent along some much higher-quality pictures as well — while we won’t be able to get on board until February, we at least have a pretty good idea of what to expect....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.One of the keys for integrating a successful miles and points strategy into family travel is not putting all of your eggs — er, points — into one basket. It’s totally fine, and probably even advantageous, to have a primary loyalty program or two that gets the bulk of your attention. That said, you want to at least being aware of some additional loyalty programs beyond your numero uno, because eventually, having a diversified line-up of points and loyalty programs in your back pocket will make the difference between being able to book the award you need, and coming up empty-handed....

This savings is worth anywhere from $30 up to $900 based on TPG’s most recent valuations and gets even higher if you book a 10-, 15- or 20-night stay. However, you probably won’t earn enough points as a Silver member to utilize this very frequently, so we’ll assume a conservative value at the low end of that spectrum. Unfortunately, this perk is the only way to gain access to the Executive Lounge as a Gold member at applicable properties, as you’d need to be upgraded to a room with lounge access to enter....

Most people book flights with the assumption that they know which airline they will fly, which aircraft type will operate the flight, and often which onboard product the aircraft will feature. Many airlines have different types of cabin, seats and configurations on various aircraft in the fleet, and this is particularly important when flying Business or First Class, as an airline’s product may differ substantially, depending on the aircraft type.But a variety of factors, both internal to an airline and external, can lead to situations where passengers are booked to fly on Airline A, yet end up boarding an aircraft belonging to another airline we’ll call Airline B, completely unrelated to Airline A....

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.Qantas is usually close to the top of our list to fly, thanks to cabin upgrades on the 787 and its simple rewards program (and no, you don’t have to be traveling to Australia to take advantage of it)....

Mexico’s beach destinations are taking a break. Or so the airlines would have us believe.Since the middle of 2018 and into the new year, a number of airlines have been trimming routes to destinations like Cancún in favor of flights to Mexico’s less-frequented inland destinations, adding airlift to cities that many travelers may not know (think: Guanajuato, León, Querétaro and San Luis Potosí).Last year, a handful of airlines announced they’d be cutting back on routes to popular Mexican beach destinations....

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.British Airways tweeted a picture of its much anticipated newest member to the fleet: the Airbus A350-1000. It’s hard to deny that she looks stunning in BA’s colors. This is the first of 18 Airbus A350-1000 aircraft that the airline has on order to replace some of its aging and less fuel-efficient aircraft....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Full review: Thai Airways 747 first classEarlier this week, I posted about an incredible award redemption I booked: a 9-hour flight in Thai Airways first class for just 40,000 United miles. That’s less than the current sign-up bonus for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card (and points transfer instantly to United), so you can book a similar experience after meeting the minimum spend for a single credit card — with thousands of points to spare....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Update 1/12/17 8:55am: American Express has confirmed that there are four dates for Hamilton Chicago shows available exclusively to Amex Platinum and Centurion cardholders cardholders — January 21, February 7, February 25 and March 14. According to multiple concierge agents, there are more than 1,200 tickets left to the March 14 show, starting at the $65 price point....