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Resident Hilton HHonors TPG contributor Nick filled us in on Hilton’s October sweepstakes yesterday - the same day Hilton finally announced what their fourth quarter promotion would be, so here he gives us the details on what Hilton HHonors members can expect this fall…and why he’s not thrilled.Well, the same day that I bemoan the lack of an announced fourth quarter promo from Hilton HHonors, they go ahead and release details, and as expected, it is just about as underwhelming as they get....

If anyone has heard the story of how, when, and why I went ‘all-in’ on airline miles, you may remember that it was precipitated by becoming a mom. Once this happened, I realized that the only way to keep my new daughter as connected to family as I wanted, given geography and my social work salary, was to be creative about how to manage the costs of travel.Of course, I also wanted to continue to travel and explore outside of family visits, and with the added financial and time stressors of a baby, the need to visit extended family more regularly, and having to purchase even more seats than ever, airline miles became the one and only viable solution to make all of that a reality....

The next time you go through security in a California airport, you might be surprised by what you find in the bottom of your plastic bin. New “CANNABIS IS LEGAL” ads are now running in TSA security lines in Ontario Airport (ONT) outside Los Angeles, California.After years of broad use under medical marijuana laws, recreational cannabis will be wholly legal in California for those 21 years of age and older starting January 1, 2018....

From low-budget to ultra-luxury, there’s a Hilton property for just about everyone. The global Hilton portfolio includes 18 brands and over 7,000 hotels.When it comes to cobranded credit cards, American Express offers Hilton travelers a variety of choices in that arena, too. There are four Amex Hilton credit cards, each offering a solid welcome offer for new cardholders — along with an array of perks to make your next stay more rewarding and enjoyable....

Since January, Norwegian Air Shuttle has been grounding planes to replace the engines on its fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. The 21 Dreamliners — 13 787-9s and eight 787-8s — all feature the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engine, which has been creating problems for carriers across the board, including British Airways, ANA, and Virgin Atlantic, among others.So, while the Dreamliners are rotating being grounded, Norwegian contracted wet-lease operators — EuroAtlantic, Privilege Style and Hi Fly — to take over some of the long-haul routes its Dreamliners were flying....

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.I’m about to head out of my year-end vacation. I’ll be hitting up Rio de Janeiro for New Years Eve and then heading on to Uruguay (Montevideo, Punta del Este) and ending in Buenos Aires. I’ll be blogging from down south, but you may have to forgive the frequency....

Every points and miles enthusiast has his or her own dream itinerary, but few routes are as unique as United’s Island Hopper, which travels from Honolulu to Guam with stops at several small islands in between. Here’s TPG Contributor Michael Spelfogel’s review of the Island Hopper flight experience.As an aviation enthusiast, United Airlines Flight 154 (aka the Island Hopper) is the holy grail of flight routes: HNL-MAJ-KWA-KSA-PNI-TKK-GUM, or Honolulu-Marshall Islands-Kwajalein Atoll-Pohnpei Island-Micronesia-Guam....

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.So far, the Starwood-Marriott merger has been a positive move overall — at least in the eyes of the consumer. Right after the merger was finalized, SPG and Marriott Rewards members were able to link their accounts, and since then, the two have announced that you’re now able to earn bonus Starpoints at Marriott properties and vice versa....

A reader from Italy named Terry writes in this week asking:“I am based in Rome and now have 335,000 Avios in my British Airways Executive Club account. I already know that it is not a very good idea to route anything through London due to fees. I found some interesting deals to other destinations and on other carriers - Cathay Pacific business class from Rome to Hong Kong direct for 120,000 Avios plus $300 per person for example....

With daylight saving time comes mixed emotions — an hour of sleep lost, an hour of sleep gained; who can keep up? Someone has finally spoken up: More than 3.5 million citizens of the European Union are tired of switching their clocks twice a year.European Commission President Jean-Clause Juncker shared that 84 percent of the 4.5 million EU citizens polled were in favor of kicking Daylight Saving to the curb in a recent survey....

Tsukiji (pronounced skee-jee) Fish Market is the largest fish market in the world and one of Tokyo’s top tourist destinations - especially for sushi lovers. Many of you recommended visiting when I requested Tokyo tips, so it was high on my list of “must do” things. I was disappointed, however, to find out after I arrived in Tokyo that the inner market (and tuna auction) is now closed to tourists. I still planned to go and explore the outer market shops and restaurants until I got an interesting email from TPG reader Erin....

Today, we’re sharing a TPG reader’s (ultimately negative) experience with the private jet service JetSmarter. Keep in mind that this post only reflects this reader’s views — if you love JetSmarter, we’d love to hear your perspective.As the saying goes, sometimes things are too good to be true. That has been my experience as a member of JetSmarter.When it first launched, JetSmarter offered its members a program which was centered on three key offerings:Unlimited and free shuttle flights — Shuttle flights were marketed as “regularly scheduled” by JetSmarter and offered to members free of charge....

Before I started The Points Guy, I was in recruiting at a major investment bank. So, I guess you could say that recruitment is in my blood. It was actually that job that allowed me to travel a ton to college campuses across North America and rake in tons of miles and points, eventually starting TPG while I was still working there.Since then, I never would have dreamed that TPG would turn into what it is....

Virgin Atlantic just launched Sky High Rewards, which offers 50% bonus miles and 4 bonus Tier (elite-qualifying) Points after your first round-trip flight and a 100% bonus miles and 8 bonus Tier Points when you fly a second time between now and February 28, 2013. If you’re not a member of Flying Club yet, you can join here.To put the Tier Points-earning in perspective here’s how many points you normally earn depending on your fare class on one-way Virgin Atlantic flights:CABINTIER POINTS EACH WAYUpper Class (J,C,D class)6Upper Class (I,Z class)5Premium Economy (W,S class)4Premium Economy (K,H class)3Economy (Y,B,R,L,U,M class)3Economy (V,E,Q,X,N,O class)2Virgin Atlantic silver status requires 15 Tier Points and once you achieve it, you get an additional 50% miles on flights as well as premium check-in and waitlist priority....

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.During his nationally televised address to a joint session of Congress Tuesday night, President Trump unveiled a $1 trillion plan to improve and boost US infrastructure. “Crumbling infrastructure will be replaced with new roads, bridges, tunnels, airports and railways gleaming across our beautiful land,” President Trump said, though no concrete details were offered....

We already know that 1 in 2,000 flights are impacted by a birdstrike, but what would be the odds of a simultaneous bird and rabbit strike? We’re guessing pretty slim. But, that’s reportedly what happened Friday to a Virgin Australia flight.According to a report from The Aviation Herald — an excellent source for aviation incident and accident news — here’s what happened: Virgin Australia flight 319 departed Melbourne (MEL) for Brisbane (BNE) and was on its initial climb when the aircraft made contact with an object....

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.Many of us don’t need an extra incentive to begin our online retail adventure at a loyalty program shopping portal. I racked up nearly 10,000 United miles on a recent MacBook purchase, for example, in addition to the points (and progress toward minimum spend) I earned when paying with a rewards credit card....

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.Spirit airlines just launched a “million mile” giveaway and to celebrate they are giving away 5,000 miles to everyone who fills out this form. Once you sign up you’ll get a confirmation email that states that the 5,000 mile certificate will be sent via email by June 15, 2011....

If you’re looking for an Airbnb in Japan, you may have a bit more trouble finding one. Last weekend, Airbnb removed over 40,000 Japenese listings from the homesharing site.According to Japanese newspaper Nikkei Asian Review, the number of Airbnbs “plummeted nearly 80% to about 13,800.” Before the drastic measure, there were more than 62,000 listings in the country.In an effort to comply with Japan’s new homesharing law that goes into effect on June 15, Airbnb decided to remove listings that didn’t have a government permit....

What a busy few days it’s been for Alaska Airlines! Last Wednesday, Alaska Airlines finalized its merger with Virgin America — answering many of our questions in the process. Today, Alaska Airlines announced a slew of flyer-friendly changes to its Mileage Plan — both for earning and redeeming miles. Finally, unwilling to be the third wheel of the Alaska and Virgin America marriage, Delta has now announced its breakup from the new Alaska Airlines....