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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’ll be speaking about maximizing miles and points at several upcoming events, so I wanted to personally invite TPG readers to each. I am speaking for free at all of these events, so my main goal is making sure the room isn’t empty when I start extolling the benefits of transferable points and how to get the most bang for your point!...

New Zealand’s Waitomo Caves are a little different than your average cavern. Formed by limestone with a maze of underground rivers and sinkholes, the caves are filled with thousands of glowworms that dangle from the ceiling and sides. They radiate a warm glow that illuminates the the whole cave.This particular glowworm species can’t be spotted just anywhere — the Arachnocampa luminosa only exists in New Zealand.A guided visit to the cave starts with a stop at the Visitor’s Center, followed by a walk through the Catacombs and the Tomo — a 50-foot shaft of limestone — and then down to the Banquet Chamber, where you may be able to see a towering limestone formation called the Pipe Organ (this is sometimes closed to the public because of carbon monoxide buildup)....

As I wrote about earlier this week, I’m currently on a 6 day whirlwind trip to 4 cities in 3 countries as a part of the Star Mega Do 3.Day 1 was a light send-off party in the JFK Terminal 1 Lufthansa Senators lounge. After a couple Spaten beers and meeting up with some old and new frequent flyer friends from Flyertalk and Milepoint, we boarded the A380 and were on our way to Frankfurt....

TPG reader Ann asks:“Can British Airways Avios points be transferred to American Airlines AAdvantage miles since the airliens are code share partners? Or the reverse?For example, if one opens the BA card, could those bonus miles earned then be transferred to AA at any time? Or could an existing small AA balance be sent to the BA account?“In short, no, you generally cannot transfer miles from one airline frequent flyer program into another- even if they are alliance or codeshare partners....

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.Over the past few years, Uber has been on a seemingly unstoppable march to change the way millions of people move about their cities. The platform has been praised for its simplicity and convenience, but has also found itself wrapped up in high-profile legal challenges, from being forced to shut down in Austin to setting off a debate over tipping....

When you head to the airport, are you dressed in an impeccably matched business suit and wingtips? Or are you more likely to be racing to the gate in unlaundered sweats and flip-flops?Either way, you may want to rethink your flight wardrobe, because your in-air sartorial sensibilities are telling your fellow passengers who you are.“The image that a person wants to present has to do with their unmet needs and how they want others to see them,” said Seth Meyers, a psychologist in Los Angeles....

On Monday, October 30, 2017, Delta will begin flying paying passengers on its brand-new Airbus A350-900, which will initially be used for flights from Detroit to Asia, followed later by Atlanta to Seoul and Detroit to Amsterdam. I had an opportunity to tour and fly the airline’s new flagship at a special event last week, where I tried out seats in all three cabins.The A350 replaces Delta’s soon-to-be-retired 747-400s, and it’s the first plane to offer the airline’s new Delta One Suites in the business-class cabin....

TPG reader Brian sent me a message on Facebook to ask about earning miles:“If I use American Airlines gift cards to cover part (or all) of my fare, will I still earn AAdvantage miles on my flight?”In order to maximize your flight rewards, it’s important to know which fares are eligible to earn miles. Generally, any flight paid for with cash will qualify, but airlines offer a variety of payment alternatives (like Delta’s Miles + Cash option), and it’s not always clear how fares purchased through these methods are classified....

Today, I want to share a story from TPG reader John, who missed out on rewards entirely during an extended hotel stay. Here’s what he had to say:Our home was flooded during Hurricane Harvey, so my family and I stayed at the Magnolia Hotel in Houston until we could move back. We got a fantastic long-term rate of $109 per night for a one-bedroom suite with a kitchen. Taxes were waived after the first 30 days, and the hotel gave us free breakfast on the go each morning as we ran out to work and school....

Ready to play hard this summer at Toy Story Land? The latest addition to Walt Disney World — an 11-acre section of Hollywood Studios dubbed “Andy’s Backyard” — is opening to the public on June 30. And we got inside early, on June 28, for a first look.Three years in the making, Toy Story Land is an immersive adventure through the Pixar classic. Everything in the park is oversized, and designed to make guests feel small again (one might say toy-sized)....

Forming just Saturday morning, Hurricane Maria has rapidly developed from a cluster of storms into a potentially catastrophic Category 5 hurricane with 160 mph top sustained winds. Monday, the storm hit hard the small island of Dominica, leaving “widespread devastation.“Tuesday, the storm is going to graze the Leeward Islands, already battered by Irma two weeks ago; thankfully, the hurricane’s powerful core is expected to remain offshore. However, the vicious storm has St....

A bankrupt country has purchased two wide-body jets for a bankrupt airline. On Wednesday, Zimbabwe’s finance minister announced it purchased two Boeing 777s meant for Air Zimbabwe, the country’s national carrier.It plans on purchasing two more from an “unidentified Malaysian firm” according to Reuters, but it has yet to put up the cash for the two other aircraft. The deal cost a total of $70 million and reports indicate the wide-body’s were previously owned by Malaysia Airlines....

The popular wallet-friendly hotel chain, Best Western Hotel & Resorts has recently debuted its third collection of independent properties, the BW Signature Collection by Best Western, says WBIR.This latest launch (which is the company’s 11th brand in total) follows the premiere of two other “soft brands:” SureStay Collection and BW Premier Collection.According to WBIR, SureStay Collection by Best Western represents “upper economy and midscale brands” and the BW Premier Collection encompasses “upper upscale hotels....

If Delta and Alaska Airlines had a Facebook relationship status, it’d certainly be “It’s Complicated.” The two airlines are partners — allowing members to earn and redeem miles on one another and reciprocating elite benefits. However, the relationship has soured over the past couple of years. The carriers have gone from working cooperatively to competing hard against each other. The battle between the two frenemies has been especially fierce at Seattle (SEA)....

TPG reader Alyssa messaged me to ask about Delta upgrades:“What’s the deal with Delta upgrades on transcontinental flights? Do Diamond or Platinum Medallions get upgraded anymore?“Sadly, the official answer is no. As of December 2013, Delta no longer offers complimentary upgrades to Diamond or Platinum Medallion members on premium transcontinental Delta One flights.Unfortunately, you can’t get complimentary Delta transcon upgrades anymore. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.I typically rag on United for copying Delta, but in this case, Delta copied United....

TPG Contributor Max Bloom explains how planning meetings can earn you points and elite status at the major hotel chains. In his previous posts he gave introductions on planning meetings and how the major chains award elite status for meetings.Last week I talked about deciding which program will give you the highest status the fastest by considering the amount of money you spend per meeting and the number of meetings you hold per year....

The New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene has confirmed strains of “common viruses such as influenza and the common cold” in sick passengers from Wednesday’s quarantined Emirates Flight EK203 from Dubai (DXB) to New York (JFK). The plane, which carried 549 people according to CNN, was not permitted to dock at the terminal upon arrival. Instead, response teams from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the Port Authority police met the aircraft at a hard stand area, where passengers (including rapper Vanilla Ice, who tweeted from the tarmac), were individually screened for symptoms....

Last week I had to book a last-minute trip to New York City, which was right in the middle Fashion Week so I knew hotels were going to be expensive…if available at all. The cheapest SPG option I could find was the Element Times Square which was a whopping $507 per night with all taxes included, which I wasn’t about to pay for a non-luxury hotel. Since the Element Times Square is only a Category 5 (most NYC properties are now Category 6 or 7), it was only 12,000 points per night and there was a standard room available for the two nights I needed, so 24,000 points later I saved myself $1,014 - or 4....

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 just booked several weekend trips to Copenhagen for around $170 TOTAL roundtrip on Delta.com. I’m going April 1-3 and looking at several other dates. This is an incredible deal and won’t last long. Check for your departure city....

If you follow me on Twitter, you’ll know that recently I was disaapointed with getting the old British Airways first class (#firstclassproblems, I know). While it wasn’t the end of the world, it made me think that getting the “old” product was a much worse deal than “new” first class, which is the same price, but a much better experience. Sadly, British Airways is not the only airline with stark differences between their old and new products....