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American Airlines is notorious for offering little to no business saver awards. Usually you’ll find nothing but AAnytime rates, which are almost double what you’d pay for MileSAAver awards. But on Saturday, it looks like American has opened up lots of premium-cabin saver award seats on flights from the US to Europe.Even better, AAdvantage charges just 57,500 miles one-way in business class to/from Europe. And, since it’s on American Airlines metal, you won’t get saddled with the terrible British Airways fuel surcharges that are commonplace for AAdvantage awards to Europe....

TPG reader Karen sent me an email to ask about award booking services:I read your post about not using brokers, but what do you think about paying someone to help me figure out how to use my own points? I’ve learned a lot about award travel, but I’m still a newbie, and I think it’s worth the price to be confident I’m not making any mistakes.“Earlier this year I wrote about the risks involved with using mileage brokers to sell travel rewards or buy discounted flights....

In the past couple months there have been some limited-time low fare deals to South America, and today, some great business class fares on American Airlines and Aerolineas Argentinas popped up for flights from New York JFK for as low as $1,510, and from Miami as low as $1,675 roundtrip. That’s still pricy for some, but considering fares on these routes usually go for around $4,000-$5,000, this is practically a steal....

Uber is one of the best ways to get around — especially when you’re visiting a new city. The convenience of being able to order a ride on demand to get you from Point A to Point B has helped to revolutionize travel. However, there’s no doubt that the ride-hailing service has its flaws — especially when it comes to scams.In recent months, an Uber scam that has been around for a while has started to resurface in certain cities — “vomit fraud....

Each month, airlines around the world launch and announce dozens of new flight routes and service changes — and today, TPG Senior Editor Kaeli Conforti shares just a few of the latest flights that will take to the skies this month or in the near future. Keep in mind that exact flight details (e.g., flight schedules, aircraft and more) may change based on travel dates.NEW ROUTES LAUNCHED IN JUNE 2016Fly from LA to Auckland, New Zealand, on American Airlines....

Today I want to share a story from TPG reader Javi, who got a discount for upgrading an international award flight. Here’s what he had to say:Last year my family and I decided to book a summer vacation to Spain using AAdvantage miles accumulated throughout the years. For five people the award availability was definitely slim pickings, but I managed to snag MileSAAver awards at 30,000 miles per person for our flight from Miami to Barcelona....

Between the unveiling of its newest aircraft type, the A220, and the announcement of JetBlue’s massive order for the new plane, it’s been a big week for Airbus. Journalists from around the world, including TPG’s own JT Genter, were at Airbus’ delivery center in Toulouse, France for a ceremony to present the new jet — but the A220 wasn’t the only aircraft that caught their eyes.Reuters reports that there were at least six A330s painted in the flame-red liveries of HNA Group airlines parked at the delivery center....

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.Etihad Airways has said that it’s going to allow economy passengers to bid for the luxury of having open seats next to them. The new option, which the Abu Dhabi-based carrier is calling “Neighbour-Free Seat,” gives economy passengers the option to bid for up to three empty seats around them....

Nothing screams “aspirational vacation” like an overwater villa. Despite the current political climate, the Maldives remains my go-to — the new St. Regis in particular — but this high-end trend recently made its Caribbean debut, and now an expansion of sorts is underway at Royal Caribbean’s private island known as CocoCay.The cruise giant introduced its new Overwater Cabanas at an event at New York City’s South Street Seaport on Wednesday night....

Social media is increasingly becoming the method airlines, hotels, credit cards and consumers get in touch with one another about the latest news, deals and promotions. Here’s a look at the latest interesting trending topics and more on social media from the week.Every week, Team TPG combs through Facebook posts, Tweets, Instagram pics and more to find the most interesting things going on during any given week, but if we miss something you’d like to discuss feel free to:-Post on my Facebook wall-Tweet me @thepointsguy-Instagram me @thepointsguyHere are some of the biggest news stories and promotions that everyone has been tweeting about this week....

You’ve seen them.Whether you’ve flown three times in your life or 30 legs in the past year alone, you’ve likely come across seat mates of all stripes. Something about flying can bring out the best (or sometimes worst) in people. When you’re strapped to a seat 30,000 feet in the air, quirky habits are bound to surface. How many of these fellow passengers do you recognize?1. The HoneymoonersYou don’t have to be flying to Hawaii to spot lovebirds....

The life of a flight attendant is somewhat mysterious — and so intriguing. They’re the people who make sure we get from destination A to destination B without any incident. There are so many questions most travelers have for FAs that are unknown, and when, really, while in-flight do they have a chance to answer all of those burning questions? Thankfully, an insider’s perspective isn’t so out of reach.United Airlines’ latest video series gives viewers an inside look at the daily operations of the carrier....

Ah, Paris! Even in the dead of winter, the City of Lights shines brightly, so though the days may be gray, there’s still plenty to see and do in the French capital. US Airways is offering discounts of up to 20% off flights booked by January 8, 2013, for travel between January 28-February 28, 2013 when you use CDG20PCT at checkout at usairways.com. Just in time for Valentine’s Day.Just note (as I’ll include in the terms and conditions below) that the discount is only available on roundtrip travel on US Airways-operated flights and only for non-refundable tickets that are not in Envoy class, so you’re pretty much stuck buying a regular old discounted coach ticket....

Any traveler’s worst nightmare likely involves showing up to the airport and finding out that you won’t be able to fly out. Usually, that’s because of a cancellation. Far more rare is that a traveler can’t fly because the airline doesn’t exist.That’s what happened to one traveler attempting to fly from New York (EWR) to Paris (ORY) with Level, IAG’s newest low-cost carrier.Erin Levi booked a one-way flight from Newark to Paris for a wedding for $179 with Level....

Hainan Airlines is a fairly new carrier to the US market — the airline operates Dreamliner flights from several US cities to a few destinations in China, including a brand new route from Los Angeles to Changsha (which we recently reviewed). Paid business-class fares can actually be quite reasonable, but as of today there’s another booking option to consider: Alaska Airlines.Alaska’s award chart for travel on Hainan.Award space is now bookable via Alaska’s website....

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: Deal is dead!As part of their 30th Anniversary, American is now giving away $100 off coupons when you book a flight that costs $250 or more on AA.com from now until September 5, 2011.Registration link to get your coupon code....

While Greece is experiencing a banner year for tourism, with 32 million tourists projected to visit the country by year’s end, a crippling two-day ferry strike this month is just the latest visible dent in what is — statistically speaking — a success story.The country recently exited a three-year international bailout program for its debt-ridden finances, but besides that apparent success story, there are multiple signs of strain on the vital tourism sector....

Like most travel bloggers, I am addicted to my smart phone (IPhone). So much so, that when in Europe several times this summer, I’ve irrationally turned OFF airplane mode when I couldn’t find a free WiFi connection, so I could download my latest tweets, feeds and emails. These quick gulps of data seemed like a good idea at the time, but reality came knocking when I received my AT&T bill this month… $180 in roaming for turning my data on TWICE in London....

I’ve come to the conclusion that Alaska Airlines really likes to paint people onto their aircraft. Every one of their planes has the face of a native Alaskan Inuit on the tail (except for ex-Virgin and some Horizon planes), and the airline recently put a 560-square-foot decal of NBA star Kevin Durant onto a Boeing 737.Now, Alaska has debuted another aircraft that’s emblazoned with a sports champion who’s important to the airline’s headquarters in Seattle....

The Wall Street Journal published an article back in July about American Airlines’ upcoming attempts to approach possible merger partners in the wake of its bankruptcy late last year.According to the article, the airline was sending non-disclosure papers both to other airlines as well as possibly private equity firms as it starts private talks with a host of potential partners. In a letter to AMR (the airline’s parent company) employees, CEO Tom Horton said: ““It now makes sense to carefully evaluate a range of strategic options, including potential mergers, which could make the new American even stronger....