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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.The Atlantic hurricane season just kicked off on June 1 — not that Subtropical Storm Alberto minded that start date. Unsurprisingly, this hurricane season in general is expected to be busy, and now there’s a major hurricane churning in the Pacific: The forecast is calling for Hurricane Bud to strike Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, on Thursday evening....

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 – Chase Sapphire ReserveAll-business-class carrier La Compagnie will soon be changing service on its Newark (EWR) to Paris (CDG) route from one to two flights per day....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here – Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card, Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit CardChase has been offering 50,000 points on the Southwest Visa products for a couple weeks now and I just got confirmation that the offers will end August 6, 2013. To get the 50,000 points you need to spend $2,000 in the first 3 months of opening your account and there is a $99 fee on the Premier card and $69 fee on the Plus card....

Last week, I reviewed the business-class experience on Air China’s new fifth-freedom route between Houston (IAH) and Panama City (PTY). After the inaugural run to Panama City, I turned right around and flew on the same plane right back to Houston — this time in economy. Here’s a full review of the experience.IntroductionAs mentioned in my business-class review of the reciprocal flight, China and Panama will begin negotiations for a free trade deal this upcoming June....

TPG reader Vishal tweeted this week asking:"@thepointsguy is it worth purchasing airline accelerator miles? United offered me 3,000 miles for $63. Are such offers worth it?“I generally don’t recommend buying frequent flyer miles unless there’s a valuable promotion going on. At regular prices, you’re looking at spending 3-4 cents per mile or point, when generally you’re going to get a lot less than that when you redeem. If you need points or miles right away to top up your balance for a specific redemption, then purchasing is acceptable....

TPG reader Brian sent me a message on Facebook to ask about how to deal with a bad hotel experience:“I was recently staying at an IHG property when the fire alarm went off at 1:00am. What would you do in that situation to account for the disturbance: Should I ask for points or a discount, or should I do nothing at all and just accept that these things happen? (If it matters, I have Spire Elite status and was on a paid stay....

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....

I’ve had a few posts recently that have mentioned going for hotel elite status, and as a result I have been getting emails and comments with questions about stays versus nights in terms of hotel elite status. This is one of those concepts that is second nature for those who have been in the miles and points world for a while, but is a totally new and foreign concept for those newer to this great hobby, so I am happy to try and help clear up some questions....

The entire Caribbean is no longer under threat of a tsunami the day after a 7.6-magnitude earthquake east of Honduras.Puerto Rico, Honduras, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, Jamaica, parts of Mexico and other areas in the Caribbean had been warned that they might see waters rise one to three feet above tide level after the quake, which struck around 10:00pm EST Tuesday. The surges didn’t appear, and the warning was eventually canceled for the region by Wednesday morning....

After my glorious 10 hours of sleep, I awoke at 6am to an absolutely stunning, sunny day in Tokyo. For breakfast I had the option of going to Girandole or getting room service, but since I had some work to do I opted for the latter. While my meal was comped as part of my stay, I would have had it for free anyway as a Hyatt Diamond, which is one of the six reasons why I love being a Hyatt Diamond....

The world’s biggest ride-hailing company is doubling down on what it sees as the future of its business. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi is investing heavily in bike and scooter share systems throughout the world and thinks that its better suited for inner city travel.“During rush hour, it is very inefficient for a one-tonne hulk of metal to take one person 10 blocks,” Khosrowshahi told the Financial Times.The leader of the $62 billion company initiated the purchase of Jump Bikes in April and invested $335 million in Lime, a scooter and bike sharing company....

Representatives from the US government and the European Union will meet Wednesday to discuss airline security and the potential expansion of the electronics ban on aircraft headed from Europe to the US.“The Commission will host high-level talks at a political and technical level with the U.S. authorities this Wednesday afternoon May 17 in order to jointly assess any new threats and work towards a common approach to address them,” European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas said at an EU news conference on Monday....

Virgin Atlantic is trying to ease the tension as passengers wait in hours-long lines to have their passports processed at London’s Heathrow Airport by supplying water and snacks.The airline has 23 international flights arrive at LHR each day. The airline says it has seen the number of US passengers increase by 20%. Virgin Atlantic hopes its “Greet and Treat” trolly will extend a “warm welcome” as passengers wait in the two-hour immigration queues, however, passengers are still expressing their frustrations....

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 has said on more than one occasion that its path to a longterm successful business model is focusing on international and premium traffic. This strategy seems to be paying off, considering that international revenue has been up in 2012 and they are starting to see a greater demand for premium seats....

The Dreamliner is one of the comfiest ways to get from A to B. It’s always a bonus when a carrier announces that it will begin flying a Dreamliner on a route that isn’t typically serviced by a 787 — especially when both the origin and destination are within the US.Well, Dreamliner lovers rejoice: American Airlines will be flying the 787-8 Dreamliner between Los Angeles (LAX) and Chicago (ORD) daily from June 2 until (at least) April 11, 2017....

Hurricane season runs from June through November and with the season beginning less than two months away, Colorado State University released its initial seasonal forecast this week. Forecasters are predicting an above-average season with 14 named tropical storms; seven are expected to become hurricanes and three are expected to be major hurricanes.The 2018 forecast is above the long-term average of 12 named storms, but it’s still predicted to be quieter than 2017, which had 17 named storms and six major hurricanes....

An Israeli man on his honeymoon in Honduras was killed Thursday when he collided with his wife on a treetop zip-line. The wife was flown to Fort Lauderdale for treatment for serious injuries.The accident, which took place on Roatan, a popular island for shore excursions, is only the latest in a string of incidents in recent years involving cruise-based zip-lining.Zip lines are a quickly growing and often unregulated segment of the tourism industry that is spawning more and more horror stories about badly designed lines, incompetent owners, failed safety checks and plain bad luck that have broken tourists’ bones and blinded, crippled and killed them....

The ultimate question, window or aisle, may soon be irrelevant for those traveling on Emirates. The Dubai-based airline was the first to introduce virtual windows on its aircraft, but the feature was reserved for its incredible new first-class suite. Now, Emirates President Sir Tim Clark is considering installing the virtual windows on every aircraft, eliminating passenger windows all together.“The quality of the imagery is so good, it’s better than with the natural eye,” Clark told the BBC....

Nothing is more important when selecting the best lodging for your family’s ski vacation than location…except for maybe a really comfy bed to ensure a good night’s sleep. Or on-site heated pools and hot tubs for your tired post-ski muscles. Or a fun lodge-style hangout room with a view for your apres ski libations. Or the perfect evening s’mores roasting opportunity. You get the idea, and our recent stay at the newly reopened Hotel Talisa, a Starwood Luxury Collection Hotel in Vail, checked all those boxes and more....

Even in the era of GPS and Google Maps, good old paper maps are thriving in at least one place: inflight magazines.The humble airline map is pretty much as old as the airline industry itselfm and it’s one of the places where airlines get the most creative. The oldest airlines in existence are about a century old — KLM, the oldest in the world, turns 99 this year — and their maps, with distinctive styles throughout the decades, are as good a lens as any to look at their evolution....