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The fourth Star Alliance Megado is coming up in November, and even though it sold out within minutes, as a sponsor of the event I managed to snag an extra ticket for the domestic portion - and I want to take a lucky reader along with me for the ride like I’ve done in the past.What the heck is a Mega Do?Basically, it’s when the frequent flyer community teams up with airline alliances to create the ultimate travel event that includes amazing access to airline facilities and executives along with chartered planes....

A man from Syria who had been living in a Malaysian Airport for almost seven months has been removed by police, authorities say.Hassan al-Kontar was placed in police custody after having lived in the Kuala Lumpur (KUL) airport since March. Kontar originally left Syria to avoid compulsory military service and refused to return after the nation’s civil war ignited in 2011. He became stranded in the Malaysian airport months ago while trying to seek asylum, and he could not leave the airport or go to a different country due to travel restrictions placed on Syrian citizens....

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.In today’s dose of weird travel news, The Eagles are suing a hotel in Todos Santos, Mexico, named Hotel California after the band’s massive 1977 hit, accusing the owners of illegally affiliating it with the famous song. The iconic American rock band, who filed a suit in a US district court in Los Angeles earlier this month, claims that the hotel is tricking guests into thinking it’s associated with the band and its signature song to help promote the property and sell merchandise....

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.American Airlines is making it easier to earn bonus miles for your Apple purchases — for one day only. On Monday, February 5, 2018, you can earn 5 miles per dollar spent on select Apple purchases made through the AAdvantage shopping portal....

As of today I have 19,965 Twitter followers and need you to help me reach 20,000!PrizesThis time I’ve upped the ante on giveaways. There will be 20 winners in total: 19 who will each get a choice of $20 retailer e-gift cards of their choice from Staples.com (so I can max out the Ink Bold 5x points on the purchase!) and one very lucky winner will get 20,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points transferred to the partner of their choice (United, Southwest, Korean, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Hyatt, Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, Priority Club or Amtrak)....

Airlines and passengers alike are constantly trying to streamline the headache otherwise known as the boarding process, sometimes with science, and other times with psychology. In 2014, popular TV show Mythbusters tested out the WILMA (Window, Middle, Aisle) method, among several others. The overall consensus seems to be that the most efficient boarding process also happens to be the one we all hate the most.Just one year after American Airlines overhauled its boarding processes (with a fair amount of pushback), United is making its own attempt to improve the process by testing out a new boarding method at a handful of select airports....

Just behind Etihad’s own Residence experience, the First Apartment on the carrier’s A380 aircraft is often considered the best product in the sky. Your own enclosed suite holds both a comfortable recliner chair and a bench that turns in to a lie-flat bed. The space, privacy and service that come with an Etihad First Apartment flight have made it so popular that booking the seats on award tickets is no longer an easy feat....

TPG reader Ahmed Tweeted me the following question this week:“Deciding between United 1K and American Executive Platinum. Which has a better award?“The 2014 elite-qualifying year is still young and we’re still in a time where you can be flexible when strategizing which airlines to fly as you think about 2015. It’s the perfect time to think about changing alliances, it’s better to do it earlier in the year so you have all year to achieve that top-tier status....

Update 2/2/17: WOW Air has clarified with TravelSkills that the new “Big Seat” will be the Avianor 5810, however that manufacturer doesn’t offer a model 5810. Zodiac does, however — that company’s 5810 is apparently marketed as a premium economy seat for wide-body planes (which would make sense here). If this is in fact the model WOW plans to install, it’ll clearly be a big step up from the airline’s standard seating....

Our “Your Layover Guide” series features airports and destinations where you’re likely to be stuck between flights, offering tips on navigating and spending time in the airport, as well as some things to do if you find yourself with time to explore the nearby city. Today, TPG Contributor Michele Herrmann guides us through Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport.The “Water Feature” art installation is the centerpiece of DTW’s McNamara Terminal. Photo courtesy of NATCA....

Frontier Airlines (yea, the one that just announced fees for carry-on bags) is making a big push for the Washington, DC market and just announced 14 non-stop routes from Washington Dulles airport.Ft. Lauderdale for roughly the price of a movie ticket? Sure!To celebrate, they’re offering a limited number of $15 fares for flights through November 19, 2014 but purchased by 11:59pm Eastern tonight, May 13, 2014. However, their website appears to have crashed, because I haven’t been able to price any of these out and they just Tweeted they are having technical difficulties....

Drinking coffee is one thing, but learning the entire history of the world’s favorite drink is another task. The new Museo Lavazza in Turin, Italy, is what the museum’s curators are calling a “circular journey,” bringing visitors through the story of the Lavazza company and the coffee production process.Upon entering, each guest gets their own espresso cup. Visitors will then be transported through five different sections: Casa Lavazzo, focusing on the company’s archive; the Fabbrica, which digs into the coffee-making process; the Piazza, a deeper dive into the social and ritualistic act of enjoying coffee; La’Atleier, serving as a media archive; and L’Universo, an immersive experience that ends with a very special coffee tasting....

Competition was fierce this year and the votes were razor close. In fact, as of 11:59pm EST, there were two people tied for third place, so I ended up considering four finalists for the top prize:Ethan the Magician (20%, 427 Votes)Points Rapper (17%, 363 Votes)Bad Teacher (16%, 342 Votes)The “Other” Brian (16%, 342 Votes)As I stated in the original post on the giveaway, I understand that online polls are by no means scientific (and this one was a Wordpress plug-in, so hardly foolproof from those who wanted to manipulate the results), so the final winner would be selected by me....

TPG Contributor JT Genter takes a look at the best options for using American’s new award level for flights under 500 miles in length.While most of the changes to the AAdvantage program on March 22 were negative, there were also some positive updates. One of these is certainly the addition of the 7,500-mile award level for one-way, nonstop award flights under 500 miles.However, the usefulness of this award chart level is highly dependent on where you’re based....

If you were planning to hoist a refreshing beer this summer at a pub in the UK it might prove to be more difficult than you expected.Pubs across the UK are on the brink of a serious beer shortage in the coming summer months due to a lack of carbon dioxide.Planned shutdowns of CO₂ plants and other unexpected equipment failures have driven the shortage. There is now only one large plant in the UK producing CO₂ for the entire country’s beer supply....

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’ve been getting a lot of emails asking whether Delta’s current promotion to buy miles with a 75% bonus between now and March 31, 2012, is a good deal.The short answer is: no. Certainly not in comparison to past bonus offers....

Check out the week in travel contests and sweepstakes for your chance to dine in the Bahamas, get $5,000 towards your own personal dream vacation, a luxury stay in Turks & Caicos, a theater weekend in London or a trip around the world to four special cities: New York, London, Hong Kong and Auckland. Eat your way through the BahamasWin a Culinary Escape to the Bahamas From Cooking.comYou could win a food-filled getaway to the Bahamas courtesy of Cooking....

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.McDonald’s has partnered with Uber’s food delivery service UberEATS to offer McNuggets (or anything else on the menu) on demand in four more US cities. 1,000 McDonald’s restaurants in Los Angeles, Chicago, Columbus and Phoenix will join several locations in Florida that already offer delivery through UberEATS....

Flights were grounded on Monday night at three major northeastern airports for significant weather-related concerns. Low visibility at New York’s John F. Kennedy (JFK) airport required a ground stop, while thunderstorms brought operations to a halt at Chicago O’Hare (ORD) and Washington Reagan (DCA).Meanwhile, an active tornado warning was issued for Washington Dulles (IAD) airport and surrounding regions of Washington, DC. As a result, passengers in transit were directed into the underground train station tunnels of the airport until the warning expired at 6:45 pm Eastern....

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.Accor Hotel Group is a 2,000 hotel (twice as many as Starwood) international chain that includes brands like Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery, Novotel, Suite Novotel, Mercure, Adagio, ibis, all seasons and Thalassa sea & spa. While their North American presence is limited, they have a huge amount of European properties, so if you are staying at one of their hotels, you might as well sign up for for their loyalty program A-Club....