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The joys of traveling with a lap infant…limited space, keeping a good hold on them, wondering if you will be able to secure a bassinet seat, oh and a “surprise” $1,800 fee for the right to hold your lap infant in your own seat on an international premium cabin trip. Kids are expensive, and I totally understand the desire to fly with a lap infant to save miles or money, but I’m not personally a huge fan of the practice of flying with a lap infant for many reasons (especially once they are mobile)....

This is a guest post from my dad, Grandpa Points. He and my mom are in their 60’s, are (mostly) retired,and are ticking off “bucket list” destinations quicker than they ever thought possible thanks to miles, points, and travel deals. They have an intense love of this country, of its National Parks and treasures, and have no problem with a clean budget hotel room and an economy airline seat on a budget airline as long as it gets them where they want to be....

Say what you want about Uber and its business tactics, it can be extremely convenient when you’re in towns with awful taxi systems (I’m looking at you Miami). Beyond convenience, I also firmly believe that the proliferation of ride sharing apps has been positive on the whole by saving lives — making it easy for even the drunkest person to click a few buttons and get a safe ride home. In high school I was hit by a drunk driver (I was luckily okay, but the other four cars in the wreck were not so fortunate), so drunk driving is something close to my heart....

Back in December, the Supreme Court of the US finally heard the arguments in the case of Rabbi S. Binyomin Ginsberg versus Northwest Airlines (now Delta), and today the Court finally released its decision.Rabbi Ginsberg outside the SCOTUS after the hearing. Photo by Jonathan Ernst for Reuters.To give you a bit of background, the rabbi was a Platinum elite with Northwest, but back in 2008, the airline shut down his frequent flyer account, revoked his status and canceled hundreds of thousands of frequent flyer miles he had accumulated, claiming Ginsberg abused the terms of its frequent flyer program by complaining too much about issues like delayed baggage (24 over the 6-month period from December 2007-June 2008), and intentionally booking himself on full flights in the hopes of getting lucrative bump opportunities....

I recently stayed at the original St. Regis in New York and although I loved the location and the Old World style of the iconic hotel, I was disappointed by how much negotiating I had to do in order to get upgraded to a suite, as well as by the high room rate - $550! The next night I headed over to one of my go-to NYC hotels: the Andaz Fifth Avenue....

I’d wager to guess that many TPG readers would like the chance to book some of the most luxurious Marriott properties in the world for as little as 48,000 points per night (when getting the fifth night free). This first became realistically possible on September 6, but the process has been anything but seamless. Bookings for many of these properties are still only available via the Marriott app, and award space has been difficult to find....

Check out the week in travel contests and sweepstakes for your chance to win two Delta gift cards, a winter getaway to Vermont, a fashion weekend in NYC, or a chance to wine and dine in Charleston, SC or Miami, Florida. Win two Delta gift cardsWin Two Delta Gift Cards From From You FlowersYou can win a grand prize of two two Delta gift cards at $500 each for a total of $1,000 worth of Delta air travel....

From now until Sepember 30, 2010, receive a 20% bonus on any Membership Rewards transfers to Delta. You must first register here and then transfer the points.Amex to Delta transfers happen instantaneously, but the bonus points may take up to 8 weeks to post- or they most post instantly. In my experience, I’ve had it go both ways. What I have generally noticed is that if you register and then transfer on the first couple days of the promotion, it takes about a month to get the bonus points, which is really annoying if you are trying to book an award and need the bonus points to put you over the edge....

From now through March 30, 2013, Club Carlson members can book award stays at six Radisson Blu resort properties in Europe for 50% of the points normally required on stays from November 1, 2012 – March 31, 2013.Use promotional code 50REDEEM when making the booking to ensure you receive the offer. The special redemption rate is valid for standard room Award Nights only and is subject to availability. Points + Cash bookings are not eligible for this Offer....

These days, fashion designers aren’t about just the runway — they’ve also delved into hotel decor. Travelers can add a little couture to their trips by staying in a hotel or room designed or inspired by a famous fashion house or designer. As you may imagine, these rooms are not only beautiful, but impeccably styled to represent an iconic aesthetic. In other words, now traveling fashion hounds have another reason to sleep in!...

Earlier this week, Airbnb abruptly pulled 80% of its listings in Japan off its website. The country is about to implement a new homesharing law that requires government permission to list an apartment or room on a homesharing site. After the government said that it would be implementing the regulations sooner than expected, on June 15, Airbnb proactively took down listings that didn’t have proper documentation.But this also left the many travelers in the wind....

Yesterday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) issued an emergency security directive banning large electronic devices from carry-on luggage on flights from select airports in the Middle East and Africa to the US. (The UK has also implemented a similar policy.) In all, the electronics ban affects 10 airports across eight countries, which impacts nine airlines.The electronics ban has spurred outrage among some, especially business travelers who make the trek from the Middle East and Africa to the US and will not be allowed to use laptops during the flight....

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.Before my first visit to Ski Dubai, I thought an indoor ski resort sounded like a gimmick of mountainous proportions. Snow in the middle of a 115-degree desert, with a (very) expensive “chalet” overlooking the slopes? Nah, I’m not spending any hard-earned money on that....

Embraer and Uber executives shared upcoming plans for autonomous flying rideshare transportation at SXSW 2018 this morning during a panel titled: “Where We’re Going, We Don’t Need Roads: Fly eVTOLs.” (eVTOLs are electronic Vertical Take Off and Landing vehicles)Embraer’s Director of Innovation Antonio Campello and Uber’s Director of Engineering & Aviation Mark Moore discussed the companies’ collaborative vision for the future with Kym McNicholas, host of The Innovators’ Network.“We’re… expediting the ecosystem [of autonomous transport] right now,” Campello said....

It’s that time of year again - the valuable perks that top-tier elites have earned with airlines and hotels are starting to expire, and if you haven’t gotten around to using some of your systemwide upgrade or suite upgrades yet, rather than losing them, think about helping fellow members of the points community out by either exchanging them or just giving them away (hey, there’s nothing like a little good points karma)....

At the Farnborough Air Show this summer, I had a chance to check out two pretty slick Qatar Airways private jets: a Gulfstream G650 and an Airbus A319, with just 40 seats in an all-business 2-2 configuration. Generally, you’ll need to have a very wealthy friend (or have some deep pockets yourself) to get a chance to fly this A319, but for a limited time Qatar is operating that aircraft on scheduled service between Doha and Dubai....

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.Need a rental car on your next trip? You could be in luck. Hertz is giving away a free three-day rental to one TPG reader. If you win, you’ll get the reward in the form of points. So, you can either choose to redeem them for one three-day rental or three separate one-day rentals....

Hawaiian Airlines already had one of the longest domestic flights in the US with its nonstop service between New York (JFK) and Honolulu (HNL). Now, the airline has announced its launching a flight that goes even further –and that’s all within the United States.Hawaiian will begin flying between Boston Logan (BOS) and Honolulu on April 4, 2019, operating an Airbus A330-200 on the new route. The flight clocks in at nearly 5,100 miles each way — about 100 miles longer than its New York flight....

TPG reader Frank sent me a message on Facebook looking for advice on what to do with miles he doesn’t plan to use:“I have about 4,700 Delta miles and 3,800 American miles, but I only ever fly United or JetBlue. I was told my miles will expire in the next few months. What should I do with them?”My loyalty account balances go up and down, and I typically earn rewards in my favorite programs at roughly the same rate as I redeem them....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here – Chase Sapphire Preferred CardOne of the benefits of the Chase Sapphire Preferred card - apart from the 2X spending bonus on travel and dining, and no foreign transaction fees - is the 7% annual dividend you get on all the points you earned during the previous calendar year. You earn 7% based on all the points you earn in the calendar year excluding a sign-up bonus and any points transferred between Ultimate Rewards accounts - so if you have the Ink Plus and/or Ink Bold, there’s no point putting all your points into your Sapphire Preferred UR account and hoping that you’ll get the bonus on all of it....