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Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.American Airlines continues to offer great business class award availability on flights to Europe. Last week we saw unreal business availability on AA flights all over Europe, which comes after American pledged to offer better saver award availability in September.Now, we are seeing plenty of saver availability for flights from the US to Barcelona (BCN) on AA in business....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here – Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite MastercardTPG reader Sherry tweeted me to ask about using AAdvantage miles:@thepointsguy – “I have about 100,000 American Airlines miles expiring next year and I’d like to book a trip to Jamaica for my family. When I call AA to book, they are very unhelpful. What should I do?“Sherry, this is a great example of why you should become an expert AA....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Today, I want to share a story from reader Lauren, who missed out on a premium flight experience when her points took too long to transfer. Here’s what she had to say:I recently tried to use Korean Air SkyPass to book an award in Etihad first class, flying from JFK to Abu Dhabi (en route to Cape Town)....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.If you got in on the 50,000-point sign-up bonus offers for the Citi Premier® Card and the Citi Prestige Card — or if you simply have plenty of ThankYou points in your account, you may be wondering how to maximize your travel rewards. Below, TPG Senior Points & Miles Contributor Nick Ewen walks you through some of the best redemption options....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Citi is a TPG Advertising Partner.The Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard has been offering an elevated sign-up bonus of 75,000 miles for the last several months, but it ends tomorrow, Oct. 18. The offer that replaces it will almost certainly award you fewer points, so you should strongly consider applying today if you’ve been eyeing this premium card....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Normally if you’re trying to book Lufthansa First Class through a Star Alliance partner, you can only book 15 days in advance, as the airline reserves its most elite product for its own Lufthansa Miles and More members when booking before those 15 days. But at the moment, a few limited Lufthansa first class routes are easier to book, as some partners are showing availability far out into the calendar....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.In August, Chase introduced a fantastic new credit card that quickly became a sensation: the Chase Sapphire Reserve. The card is currently offering a sign-up bonus of 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. This sign-up bonus is worth at least $1,500 when you redeem the points directly for travel, but you can get even more value by transferring them to partners like Hyatt and United....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Although spring was supposed to have sprung March 20, it seems this winter has a couple more snowstorm left in it. Storms in Colorado and the Northeast are prompting airlines to release change fee waivers to help passengers avoid delayed and cancelled flights.Upstate New York, New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts are likely to get the most snow from this storm....

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.Paine Field – Snohomish County Airport (PAE) in Everett, Washington, has been given the green light to launch passenger flights in early March.The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) gave its approval on Wednesday for the airport to launch its operations....

Add Qantas to the list.The Australian carrier become the latest major airline to announce drastic cuts to its schedule in response to the coronavirus pandemic.Qantas’ cuts will be major. All international flying will be halted at least until June 1 and the company will temporarily ground more than 150 aircraft, including all of its Airbus A380s, Boeing 747s and Boeing 787s – including those operated by subsidiary JetStar.“The efforts to contain the spread of Coronavirus have led to a huge drop in travel demand, the likes of which we have never seen before....

Salt Lake City International Airport is set to reopen after a 5.7 magnitude earthquake that struck west of the city Wednesday morning caused the airfield to close for about four hours.On its website, the airport said that it was closed earlier in the day following the quake. Cargo and general aviation flights were able to resume a few hours ahead of commercial passenger operations.The Salt Lake City Tribune reported the quake caused damage to the airport and buildings in the city’s downtown, including the Salt Lake Temple....

Update 4/23: United has shifted course — the airline now plans to add a 787-8 Dreamliner to one of its daily Newark-San Francisco round-trips, currently scheduled to be operated by a Boeing 737-800. With this change, business-class travelers will have an opportunity to book a lie-flat seat between Newark and the West Coast on one flight each day.Over the last few years, United has offered lie-flat business-class seats on every single premium transcontinental flight, with flights between Newark and Los Angeles and San Francisco operated by a mix of Boeing 757s, 777s and 787 Dreamliners, including the 787-10....

Over the last two months, TPG has been closely following the developments in Hong Kong, as protests continue against legislation that would allow for accused criminals to be extradited to mainland China for prosecution.On Friday, CNBC reported that “several hundreds of protesters” dressed in black handed out anti-government leaflets at Hong Kong International (HKG) while The New York Times added those involved in the sit-in “were careful to leave a path clear for travelers....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.TPG reader Mark messaged me to ask a question about getting the Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express card:“With the new perks recently announced for the Amex Premier Rewards Gold card, is now a good time to get it? I currently have the Chase Sapphire Preferred card.“It’s always refreshing when credit cards add benefits instead of taking them away, and Amex just did that with the Premier Rewards Gold card, adding a $100 airfare rebate as well as double points on all dining, which is clearly a swipe at the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card....

This is an updated version of a story originally published in September 2017.Many countries have in their air force’s inventory one or more airplanes used to transport their leaders and other government figures. They are, typically, modified versions of the passenger jets you’re familiar with from your own flights. Besides VIP interior cabins, they feature secure communications and often anti-missile defense systems too. Not only are they not subject to the schedules and cancellations of commercial airlines, but they can function as command centers in a crisis....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.This Thursday, United launched service with its first batch of Boeing 737 MAX 9s. These planes offer an interior very similar — though not identical — to the carrier’s most recent 737-900ERs, but there are loads of efficiency improvements, ranging from reduced fuel consumption to a significant drop in engine noise.The MAX can also travel farther than its predecessor, making flights from Houston (IAH) to Anchorage (ANC) — which re-launched Thursday with the MAX 9 — financially viable, too....

AccorHotel’s Le Club loyalty program has always been a bit of niche program, especially for US-based travelers, as there are just 31 properties across the country. However, it does have some interesting elements, including flat redemption rates of 2,000 points (40 euros) off your stay. On Thursday, the program announced a “disruptive and dramatic shift” (Accor’s phrasing), though details are scant for the time being.Let’s start with the name, which will change to “ALL” at some future date....

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....

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.On the heels of increased offers for the Premier Rewards Gold and Delta Amex, American Express is upping the signup bonus on the Business Platinum Card to 25,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $5,000 in the first three months of cardmembership- up from the most recent bonus of 0 points....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.For years, a good way to earn some occasional bonus miles or points was to refer your friends and family to credit cards that you personally had. Several banks offer refer-a-friend bonuses when your friend or relative (or internet stranger) uses your referral link to get approved for a specific credit card. Typically, you had to personally have the exact card that you wanted to refer others to apply for in order to receive bonus points....