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At the start of the year, we found out that IHG is changing categories at 691 hotels worldwide. Award nights at 184 hotels are jumping by 10,000 points per night, with another 315 hotel award rates going up by 5,000 points per night. There’s one bit of good news as 192 hotels are dropping by 5,000 points per night.While it was unclear at the time of the announcement when these changes would go into effect, we now know that the new award rates will be live this Tuesday, January 16....

The world is a dangerous place. You could die in a car crash. Or a natural disaster. Or even as a result of an accidental fall in your own home.But the one way you almost certainly won’t die is in a plane crash.For the seventh year in a row, 2016 saw absolutely zero deaths in airplane crashes on United States commercial passenger carriers anywhere in the world.This sounds like an extremely impressive statistic, and it is....

Another day, another bizarre airline story. This one comes to us from over the Atlantic Ocean aboard United Flight 914 from Paris CDG to Washington IAD. WJLA is reporting that a man was arrested by an onboard air marshal after repeatedly trying to open the aircraft’s emergency exit door.On September 30, a United Boeing 787-9 took off from CDG at 12:25pm local en route to Dulles.Alex Croft, a passenger in row 40 in Economy class, had been drinking, and according to an FBI affidavit, a flight attendant said Croft’s “eyes appeared to be medicated” and that he was “slow to comprehend information....

British Airways has announced that Executive Club members who purchase Avios now through June 13, 2013, will receive a bonus of up to 7,000 Avios. The amount of bonus Avios you receive will be based on the amount you purchase.Purchase 2,000 - 6,000 Avios and receive 100 bonus AviosPurchase 7,000 - 12,000 Avios and receive 1,000 bonus AviosPurchase 13,000 - 18,000 Avios and receive 2,000 bonus AviosPurchase 19,000 - 23,000 Avios and receive 4,000 bonus AviosPurchase 24,000 Avios (your full annual allowance) and get 7,000 bonus AviosThe bonus is hard-coded into the britishairways....

Delta Airlines will open a new Sky Club at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) in Spring 2019.Erik Snell, Delta’s VP of Operations and Customer Center, made the announcement Tuesday, February 6, at the annual Austin Chamber of Commerce meeting.“From our strong operational performance to adding new routes, Delta is committed to serving the residents and business community of Austin,” Snell said. “As a part of the airline’s efforts to enhancing customers’ experience in Austin, this Club will give guests a new space where they can relax during their travel....

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.Let’s be honest, in the midst of our busy work and social lives, we forget to call home and visit our moms and dads a little too often. Delta wants to make that easier by providing long-distance moms with an advertising campaign to help remind and persuade their children living in Seattle to visit more often....

Being a royal is a job that comes with many public duties — from military service to charity events to foreign diplomacy. But one royal, Dutch King Willem-Alexander, pursued another career during his reign — commercial airline pilot.The Dutch king revealed to De Telegraaf newspaper that he has worked as a KLM pilot twice a month for the past 21 years. Willem-Alexander acceded to power in 2013 when Queen Beatrix abdicated the Dutch throne, but didn’t quit his day job....

The government of Tunisia has banned all flights into and out of the country by Emirates.“The Ministry of Transport has decided to suspend the flights of Emirates Airlines to and from Tunisia until the company is able to find a suitable solution to operate its flights in accordance with international laws and treaties,” the Tunisian ministry announced on Sunday.The airline said it will suspend its routes between Dubai International Airport (DXB) and Tunis-Carthage International Airport (TUN) starting today, December 25....

Whatever you do, don’t look down… That is, if you’re lounging around at the Hanging Gardens in Bali.Set in the heart of the Balinese jungle, this exotic property gives travelers a true escape. Its intoxicating surroundings and dream-worthy private villas provide guests the perfect balance of luxury and nature. In fact, it’s so special that it’s earned the title of the World’s First 7-star Boutique Hotel.Even better, staying a few nights here won’t cost you your life’s savings — in fact, some rates are cheaper than some American hotels....

Sometimes another blogger has a fun idea for a guest post on this site that sounds interesting. This was very much one of those times! The site Fishing4Deals has a fun post they want to share on how to have a birthday party for your kiddo in an airport or flight museum. What better way to celebrate a birthday for a child aviation enthusiast than surrounded by airplanes?! Kids’ Airport Birthday Parties Take FlightIf you’ve been to one too many bowling birthday parties…If the thought of Chuck E Cheese makes your head swim…If your kid is crazy about airplanes and fire trucks…Have you ever considered an Airport Birthday Party?...

Boeing’s latest narrow-body jet is now flying with a handful of airlines, from Norwegian to FlyDubai, but the 737 MAX made its public debut just two years ago, at the 2016 Farnborough Air Show.Since then, the mid-range MAX 8 has carried countless passengers around the world, as Boeing has continued to roll out other variants — from the longer 737 MAX 9, which debuted at the Paris Air Show and is now flying with United Airlines within the US, to the smaller MAX 7, which popped up for the first time at Farnborough just last week....

The Farnborough Air Show welcomed a very special guest Thursday morning: the world’s first used Airbus A380. The aircraft, which flew for a decade with Singapore Airlines, has now made its way to wet-lease operator Hi Fly.You can’t book a ticket directly through Hi Fly. Instead, this second-hand superjumbo will fly on behalf of a handful of international carriers, whenever duty calls.Typically, wet-leased planes sub in when an airline doesn’t have enough aircraft to operate all of its scheduled flights — either because new planes have missed their delivery schedule, or because older aircraft are grounded as they undergo maintenance....

Cruising at Mach 0.85 — 650 miles per hour, or 85% of the speed of sound — Gulfstream’s G500 can fly 6,000 miles without a refueling stop. But the company’s latest private jet recently completed an outrageously long 150,000-mile world tour, where stopping was the name of the game.On a tour that brought the plane to 18 countries on six continents in seven months, the G500 stopped at a total of 44 cities, where customers had an opportunity to come onboard and tour the cabin you see here....

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.Click here to donate to our fellow citizens in Puerto Rico who desperately need our help.Last week, Hurricane Maria left the island of Puerto Rico completely devastated — the storm knocked out the island’s fragile power grid, and electricity has not come back for the vast majority of people....

Today TPG Contributor Nick Ewen continues his series The Weekly Wish, looking at flaws, shortcomings, and room for improvement in the world of travel and loyalty programs. Today’s wish: include calorie counts in airline and airport menus.Eating healthy on the road isn’t easy. Sometimes your only option is the drive-thru of a local fast food joint in between meetings, and crossing time zones can wreak havoc on your internal clock and destroy your carefully planned eating habits....

National Car Rental is bringing back the same lucrative promotion that they had last summer where you can earn one free rental day with every two rentals of two or more days between August 20, 2012, and January 31, 2013. So it’s basically buy four get one free. This is in addition to your standard Emerald Club rewards.In order to qualify, you must first register. It does not look like there is any limit to the number of free days you can earn– just that you can only use 3 free days per rental when it comes time to redeem and that the free rental day credits must be used by June 16, 2013....

What happens at an airline’s maintenance facility? I had only a vague idea before I toured “the world’s largest commercial aviation maintenance base”: American Airlines’ Maintenance Base in Tulsa, Oklahoma. But I learned quickly when TPG Points and Miles writer JT Genter and I spent an entire morning walking the maintenance base with AA spokespeople and maintenance facility managers. During our tour, we walked through planes and saw components that were in various stages of repair and refurbishment....

A Sichuan Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Chengdu, China (CTU) on Monday after one of the windshields broke off the aircraft mid-flight.Sichuan Airlines Flight 8633 was traveling from Chongqing (CKG) to Lhasa (LXA) on board an Airbus A319, registration B-6419. According to flight-tracking website FlightRadar24, after the aircraft was in the air for about 40 minutes, it reportedly experienced windshield separation at just more than 32,000 feet, causing sudden decompression....

Passengers aboard a Spirit Airlines flight from Detroit (DTW) to Orlando (MCO) were credited for saving a man’s life Tuesday after he collapsed on a plane prior to take off.According to Click on Orlando, passenger Jeff Kruger was sitting behind the unidentified passenger on flight 802 when he noticed that he was completely unresponsive and not breathing properly.Katherine Yombik, a nurse from Michigan was one of the first passengers to answer the call for help....

Summer is finally upon us, and Google Maps is trying to help its users squeeze in the most sightseeing possible before Labor Day. On Wednesday, Google Maps introduced a feature to track the most popular tourist destinations across the US using its trend data.Google Maps is listing its suggestions to fit the interests of most travelers, so whether you’re looking for a beach vacation under the sun or a more history-oriented trip, Google Maps has you covered....