As many of you know, I am a big fan of Flyertalk, which is probably the most extensive online frequent traveler community out there. I’ve learned a ton over the years and I’ve had the opportunity to give back as well. I’ve met so many interesting people and I continue to get great deals and scoops, the best of which I post about here so you all can take advantage of them....
More than 100 people, including five children, died Friday after a Boeing 737-200 crashed shortly after takeoff from Jose Marti International Airport (HAV) in Havana, Cuba.Flight DMJ0972, bound for Holguin, Cuba (HOG), was only six miles from the Havana runway when the aircraft “suffered a failure and crashed,” according to the Mexican Civil Aviation Authority. The impact caused an explosion and sent thick, dark plumes of smoke billowing from the crash site, visible to passengers from within the Havana airport....
With many 787 Dreamliners grounded to have their Rolls-Royce Trent engines fixed, Norwegian’s been wet-leasing planes from various charter companies in order to keep flying with as little disruption to its schedule as possible. For most of August, Norwegian replaced one of its daily London Gatwick (LGW) to New York (JFK) flights with Hi Fly’s “new” Airbus A380 that used to belong to Singapore Airlines. Overall, the equipment swap represented a massive upgrade for passengers since the plane sports its original interior with first-class suites....
When you make the decision to fly a budget airline, you do it with the full realization that you won’t be drinking Dom Perignon and noshing on Beluga caviar in a sumptuous lie-flat seat. At least, most of us do. But, as Fortune reports, Quebecer Daniel Macduff had a very different vision in mind of what his Sunwing Airlines flight to Cuba would be like when he was promised “Champagne service” as part of his on-board adventure....
The March and April PointBreaks list is now live and while it’s not very exciting, I think it’s a little bit better than the last round which had no InterContinental properties. This time there are three: San Jose Costa Rica, Merida Mexico, and Aqaba Jordan. Not the hottest destinations, but not bad for only 5,000 Priority Club points a night. Book and stay by April 30, 2011.Full list of propertiesEuropean participating properties:AUSTRIAHOLIDAY INN FELDKIRCHCZECH REPUBLICHOLIDAY INN PRAGUE AIRPORTFRANCEHOLIDAY INN EXPRESS PARIS-PORTE D’ITALIEHOLIDAY INN BLOIS-LOIRE VALLEYGERMANYCROWNE PLAZA WIESBADENHOLIDAY INN FRANKFURT AIRPORT-NEU-ISENBURGHOLIDAY INN LEIPZIG-GÃœNTHERSDORFSPAINHOLIDAY INN ELCHEHOLIDAY INN EXPRESS MADRID-LEGANESSign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions....
For the next entry in our Award Redemption of the Week series, I want to share a story from TPG reader Brian, who used points to avoid a lengthy bus ride in Jordan:My husband and I normally don’t take busy, whirlwind trips, but since my husband is only getting one week off between January and Thanksgiving this year, we decided to “whirl” a bit on our last trip. We were heading to Warsaw for a friend’s big birthday party, and we managed to score two of those sub-$2,000 New York-Frankfurt Business Class seats on Singapore Airlines that we read about on TPG....
Ryanair, the European low-cost carrier notorious for charging for basic amenities, will start imposing a fee for early online check-in as of November 1, 2016.Previously, Ryanair allowed free check-in up to seven days before a flight. Now that time window has been shortened to between four days and two hours before a flight. If you want to check in ahead of time, you’ll be charged a 6-euro (~$7) fee.Ryanair will start charging for early online check-in November 1....
Each month in his column “The Critical Points,” TPG Senior Points and Miles Contributor Richard Kerr presents his opinion on a loyalty program, card product or recent news that he believes is overlooked, unsung or the result of groupthink taking mass opinion in a direction with which he doesn’t agree. His goal is not necessarily to convince you to agree with his position, but rather to induce critical thought for each of the topics and positions he covers....
Peak summer travel season is officially in full swing, which unfortunately means long lines at airport security are inevitable.The Transportation Security Administration, on the front lines of the crush of summer travelers, announced earlier this summer it would be hiring at least 1,600 new officers to help mitigate the massive influx of flyers. Now, the security agency is looking to beef up its employee rosters with thousands of additional officers and canine handlers, as well as other positions, as lines at US airports snake into hours-long waits....
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.Former United CEO Jeff Smisek was fired last September, and since then, it’s been a very interesting few months for the airline’s executive team. United selected Oscar Munoz to replace Smisek, but shortly after taking the reigns, Munoz suffered a significant heart attack, and the airline replaced him with an interim CEO....
Unless you’re flying out of Singapore Changi (SIN) — which has its own cinemas, butterfly and cactus gardens, nature trails and even a giant slide — you can’t expect too much from an airport. If you’re lucky, you might find a decent lounge or restaurant where you can kill some time before your flight. Or maybe all you want is decent infrastructure, like a tram or bus that takes you between terminals, or automated kiosks to help make the check-in process go by faster....
Virgin Atlantic has launched a Reward Seat Sale where for the next 2 weeks, you can book select economy reward flights for 25% fewer miles.So for instance instead of paying 37,000 miles to fly from New York to London roundtrip, you’d only need 26,250 miles or from Los Angeles to London for 35,625 (plus $700 in taxes and fees!).The offer is available from today until February 5, 2013 and only on economy fares, unfortunately....
If it takes a village to raise a child, then imagine what it takes to raise 3,000 Olympians? With the 2018 Winter Games wrapping up in PyeongChang, athletes had been hunkering down in the Olympic Village, a mythical place that somehow houses, feeds and keeps sane some of the most talented — and certainly the fittest — people on earth.But while you probably don’t care to mimic an Olympian’s daily routine — so much oatmeal, so many hours at the gym — you might be curious to discover exactly how they lived in between competing in one (or more) of the 102 events on tap....
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.Through August 31, 2012 Accor Hotels, the loyalty program of Europe’s largest hotel chain with brands like Sofitel and Ibis, is offering 500 free SkyMiles when you sign up for a free LeClub account here and choose to bank Delta SkyMiles as your preferred currency....
It’s been 12 days since Germany’s second-largest airline, Air Berlin, declared bankruptcy. While it is still flying thanks to a loan from the German government, negotiations continue to determine the future of the airline. Its most likely fate is being bought in separate pieces by competitors interested in its fleet or airport slots, although Ryanair has expressed interest in purchasing the entire airline. Meanwhile, Air Berlin’s Topbonus mileage program has also gone bankrupt....
It’s June, and if you haven’t already booked your family’s summer travel plans you might be behind the curve, but you haven’t run out of time. In fact, you are just in time for the extension of the American Airlines Reduced Mileage Award list. This list of destinations that you can book for fewer American Airlines miles was just extended through August and September 2018!These discounted award flights are available to those who hold one of the Citi or Barclays issued co-branded American Airlines credit cards....
When it comes to rewards credit cards, I believe that the more competition- the better. With more players in the marketplace competing for the same crowd of creditworthy consumers, we’ve seen sign-up bonuses and promotions increase drastically over the last 5 years. There could be another player in the mix soon: Wells Fargo. This week American Express and Wells Fargo announced that they would be launching a partnership to bring Amex credit cards to Wells Fargo’s 70 million customers....
Alaska Airlines has launched a pretty lucrative promo for flyers from one of its West Coast hubs in San Diego. When you register and fly four qualifying non-stops between San Diego and any of 13 cities from now through November 20, 2013, you will get a discount code valid for a free roundtrip from San Diego - you will just be responsible for the taxes, starting at $19 depending on the destination....
Sexual harassment has been a hot-button topic during an already-heated election year — and with one swift passenger removal, Alaska Airlines has shown that the carrier won’t stand for it.According to a recent article by Business Insider, an Alaska Airlines flight getting ready to depart from Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA) last Sunday was interrupted when a male passenger verbally harassed a female flight attendant during her safety presentation.Amber Nelson, a fellow passenger on the flight, wrote about the incident on her Facebook page in a post that has since gone viral....
We’ve known for quite some time now that Singapore Airlines is refreshing its A380s. On November 2, the carrier will show off its new Suites, business class, premium economy and economy seats in Singapore. And while it’s still unclear what the refreshed cabin will look like, we now know where the new seats will be flying first. Singapore announced Thursday that it’s debuting the new A380 aircraft on its Singapore (SIN) to Sydney (SYD) route in December 2017....
