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It’s going to be harder to qualify for United Premier 1K status beginning in 2019. And, to add insult to injury, the airline’s top elite tier will be getting less rewarding, too.First and foremost (and, in my opinion, the most difficult change to swallow), the airline is adding a higher spend requirement to earn 1K. Starting next year, you’ll need to earn $15,000 Premier Qualifying Dollars, up from the $12,000 PQDs required today....

TPG reader Dan tweets:“I’m in Philly where most flights are US Airways. When is the best time to sign up for US Airways credit card before the merger?“First off, the merger hasn’t been approved by the government yet. Per the AP, currently 19 states are reviewing the merger for antitrust review. While most experts believe that the merger will get final approval, anything can happen at this point. So until the merger is 100% approved and scheduled to go ahead, I wouldn’t rush to get the US Airways Mastercard....

Each Saturday, we round up news stories that you might have missed from the week before, including several that already appeared on The Points Guy and some more that we haven’t covered yet. If you’re an avid TPG reader, scroll down for the new stuff. Here’s the top miles, points and travel news you might have missed this week.How the Airline Industry Has Changed One Year After #BumpGateRead about how the airline industry has changed one year after #BumpGate....

Airlines love to add new routes — especially profitable ones, like New York (JFK) to London (LHR) — but occasionally, they run into delays acquiring new aircraft, or planes already in their fleets need to be grounded for extensive repairs.When all else fails, carriers call on a wet-lease operator like Hi Fly to swoop in and save the day, transporting passengers on behalf of the airline selling the ticket. In the case of Norwegian’s recent Dreamliner engine issues, that meant ringing up Hi Fly, which carried Norwegian passengers earlier this year an A330....

A Delta aircraft’s landing gear caught fire on Thursday after a mechanical issue forced it to return to its origin airport. Delta Flight 673 was departing for Quito, Ecuador (UIO) from Atlanta (ATL) on Thursday when the crew realized there was something wrong with the aircraft.Upon landing back at ATL, the aircraft’s brakes locked up, which caused one of its landing gears to catch, said the Federal Aviation Administration. The fire caused Runway 27 Right to shutdown, which is one of five runways at the world’s busiest airport....

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.While I wish it would have been more creative, double points or miles isn’t so bad. Sign up here and stay from July 1-Sept 30, 2011. Once you sign up for either points or miles, you cannot switch, so choose wisely!...

In case you missed the news, it’s more likely than not that Equifax lost your data to unknown hackers between May and July of this year. As of the last count, over 145 million Americans had their most sensitive financial data compromised. As confirmed by the company, this was in part to this information not being encrypted on the Equifax servers.With the extensive data breach, banks and credit card companies are now looking into how else they can verify identities....

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced Tuesday that it will require additional, more stringent inspection of fan blades in engines that are similar to the one that exploded on Boeing 737-700 Southwest Flight 1380.An “unsafe condition exists that requires the immediate adoption” of the rule, the FAA said without further elaboration.The new inspection requirements follow an emergency airworthiness directive (AD) issued by the FAA and by European regulators after Southwest’s deadly incident, which called for the inspection of nearly 700 CFM56-7B engines on Boeing 737-700s worldwide....

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.Buy discounted Disney tickets here through MickeyVisit.comThere’s no doubt the Zika virus is what’s on most travelers’ minds these days, especially when they’re heading to impacted areas. As the amount of cases continues to grow, airlines have offered refunds while the CDC went so far as to issue a special travel warning for Miami....

Since we are expecting our second tiny traveler this summer, I am writing a few posts about the realities of travel and pregnancy since it is a topic I am living every day right now.I wrote about Tips While Traveling in the First Trimester here, and I expect to write a similar post about the second trimester very soon. However, this particular post is actually about how travel can be impacted before you (or your partner) actually becomes pregnant....

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.Overnight Friday, an Iberia flight from Miami (MIA) to Madrid (MAD) squawked 7700 — indicating an emergency — and diverted to a Portuguese Air Force base in the Azores.According to FlightRadar24’s tracking of the flight, the pilots began to gradually descend and turn toward Lajes Field on Terceira Island as the flight neared the Azores....

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: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here – The Ritz-Carlton Rewards Credit CardSince launching the Ritz-Carlton card in 2011, Chase has kept the sign-up bonus steady at 50,000 points, with a couple recent reports of targeted 70,000 point offers....

I’m a sucker for a good character meal at Disney World, especially when princesses are involved. My youngest daughter is currently all about fancy dresses and princesses, so you can sign our family up for a marked-up meal with a side of visiting princesses on each and every Disney visit. While we love dinner at iconic Cinderella Castle, on our next trip to Disney World, there will be new way to dine with not only a princess, but an evil queen....

(Note- this post is based on US airlines and regulations. For information on EU regulations, visit the EU site)For many people, the thought of an oversold flight is stress inducing. However, for many frequent flyers, including myself, it is an opportunity to gain valuable currency (airline dollars) and a host of other fringe benefits like confirmed first class seats and bonus miles. If your schedule is flexible and you know how to play the game, taking bumps can be quite lucrative....

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 like staying at points hotels, but when far superior options exist, I won’t sacrifice convenience, location or security for points, which is why I love staying at the Mövenpick Ambassador in Accra. The property is basically an oasis inside the loud and hectic city of Accra — and the pool is extraordinary....

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.I’ll be combing through Facebook posts, Tweets, Instagram pics and more to find the most interesting things going on during any given week, but if I 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....

Forget PreCheck — some US airports already don’t require TSA screening at all.Last week, word spread that security screeners might be on the chopping block at 150 more small airports around the country, though agency reps quickly squashed those rumors, saying that “There has been no decision to eliminate passenger screening at any federalized U.S. airport.“Still, you might be surprised to learn that many commercial flights are already allowed to operate without passengers going through any type of physical screening....

Albuquerque banking executive Jennifer Riordan, 43, died Tuesday from injuries sustained during Southwest Flight 1380’s engine failure and emergency landing.Jennifer Riordan with her husband Michael and their two children. Photo by Cinnamon Wolfe, courtesy of the Riordan family.“It is with great sadness that I confirm there was a passenger fatality on Flight 1380,” said Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly. “This is a sad day, and on behalf of the entire Southwest family, I want to extend my deepest sympathies for the family, and the loved ones of our deceased customer....

TPG Creative Director Adam Daniel Weiss and TPG Content and Community Manager Ryan Gaines sat down with Starwood Hotels and Resorts CEO Frits van Paasschen and Senior Vice President, Starwood Preferred Guest & Digital, Chris Holdren yesterday at the W New York Downtown to discuss SPG Keyless, the new keyless RFID-based entry system rolling out through SPG properties starting this afternoon. Here’s their report:When you’ve been traveling all day, the last thing you want to do is wait in a long line and deal with checking in to your hotel....

The Thanks Again network sent out emails to members earlier this week offering a 500-point bonus when you register your phone and Visa card for text offers based on the use of your credit card.The Thanks Again NetworkFor those of you who haven’t heard of it, the Thanks Again Network is kind of like a combination of shopping portal and dining network where people who register their credit card can earn a variety of reward options including miles on Alaska, Delta, United/Continental and US Airways, or 2% cashback rewards when shopping at select merchants and restaurants, many of whom are at over 100 airports, though there are also merchants and tourist attractions in various cities....