In Daraa, Syria, Tarek al Shbli was a teacher.“We were just honest and [hardworking] people,” he said in a recent interview.But when the Syrian conflict, then in its second year, came to al Shbli’s doorstep in 2013, there was no question about whether he and his wife and three children could stay.“It’s a crazy war in Syria, and day by day it became more difficult to do everything,” the 36-year-old said by phone from Sweden....
Japan Airlines is known for having some of the world’s best seats and service in international business class. So, when I was determining which airline I would take on a recent trip to China, I immediately thought of JAL. While it wouldn’t be first class, which I flew a few months ago, I still knew it would be a great experience — and it lived up to my expectations.BookingI had to attend a work event in Shanghai that included the purchase of a round-trip business-class ticket to the city....
Each Saturday, we round up news stories that you might have missed from the week before 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 on TPG this week.What Are Points and Miles Worth? September ValuationsSee how various points and miles stack up when it comes to value....
With less than a week to go until Christmas, meteorologists are getting a clearer picture of the weather patterns that’ll be in place for the holiday. But, will you end up with a White Christmas? Let’s take a look at where things stand.A ridge of high pressure is going to force the jet stream north into the Arctic before allowing it to plunge south down the West Coast. This weather pattern is going to create a “cold-air pipeline” of very cold Arctic air, which will blow into the continental United States starting Tuesday....
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.Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is offering frequent flyers of other programs the chance to give its elite status a try. If you have top-tier status in a number of airline loyalty programs, you’re eligible to partake in Virgin Atlantic’s latest status match....
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.Super Bowl LII is quickly approaching and the festivities are heating up. On Sunday, the Eagles arrived in Minneapolis on an American Airlines charter flight. The next day, the reigning super bowl champs, the New England Patriots, also touched down in Minnesota....
Update: As a Thursday evening around 7pm, all tickets for travel after July 21, 2012 have been canceled by United. If you had enough miles in your account, they may still show, but United pulled the correct amount of miles, so if you want to cancel and redeposit, you can do so with no fee. I’ll update more when I have more details. In the meantime, check out United’s post on Flyertalk here....
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.Infuriated customers are rallying forces to boycott beleaguered budget carrier Ryanair after the latest employee strike led to 190 flight cancellations, representing 8% of the airline’s total operations and stranding more than 35,000 of travelers across Europe.The Daily Star reports that some customers say that Ryanair has “ruined [their] lives” after nearly a dozen total strikes in 2018 have forced them to abandon travel plans and forfeit prepaid accommodation and other vacation bookings....
A three-hour train ride from Vienna’s grand palaces is Budapest, the equally wondrous yet delightfully scruffy capital of Hungary. The sounds of Magyar, a beautiful but seemingly inscrutable language, fill the charming streets, as do the lively bars, where locals are smitten with craft beer. It’s a compact, strollable city, but to maximize your days exploring here, consider these 10 insider tips from someone who lives in this magical metropolis.1. Buda Is a Worthwhile HangoutPest is far buzzier than sleepy Buda on the other side of the Danube, so some tourists only amble across the Chain Bridge in order to explore the obligatory Castle District....
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.There’s nothing like visiting countries that are “off the beaten path,” especially within Africa. After going gorilla trekking in Rwanda, sandboarding in Cape Town, doing a safari in Tanzania and boxing with the locals in Ghana, the urge to explore even more of this fascinating continent has just about consumed me....
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.After several reports of smartphones catching fire — including the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 on a Southwest flight earlier this month — some carriers are now stocking “fire-containment bags” on their flights. Alaska Airlines and Virgin America have the bags on their entire fleet, and Delta recently announced it will start stocking the bags on its aircraft as well....
Over the last two years, American Airlines has worked to revolutionize its fleet — for good and bad. One of the positive developments has been the quick installation of premium economy on its long-haul aircraft. Before United’s first premium economy seat took flight in June, AA had 85 aircraft with a total of 2,030 premium economy seats already flying.So far, the premium economy retrofits have been positive for flyers. While business class seats were pulled from some 777-200s to simplify the fleet, the airline has otherwise maintained the business class cabin and pulled space from economy to install premium economy....
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 was just named the Airline of the Year by Air Transport World. And to celebrate, the Texas-based carrier is giving its more than 120,000 employees something to get especially excited about — two free plane tickets....
While I tend to save up my miles for business and first-class award flights, many road warriors travel so frequently for work that the last thing they want to do is step foot on another plane. Instead, they’ll redeem miles for gift cards, or experiences through programs like United’s MileagePlus Exclusives.Some of those redemptions would appeal to those who love to travel, too, such as a recent weekend with United’s retired 747s and this latest auction, which includes a trip to London and the chance to appear as extras in the upcoming film, Spider-Man: Homecoming 2....
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.Hilton and Delta just launched a new promotion offering 250 MQMs (elite qualifying miles) per stay of two nights or more when you select Delta as your double dip partner. These MQMs are in addition to the 10 Hilton points per dollar spent plus the variable regular Delta miles that you earn as a double dip partner, which varies based on the type of Hilton property....
Typically it’s very difficult — if not impossible — to find decent award availability on flights between the US and Australia or New Zealand, but we’re seeing a solid amount of Polaris First availability on United’s nonstop flight between San Francisco (SFO) and Auckland (AKL) in November and December of this year — including over the Thanksgiving holiday.United normally operates a 2-class Boeing 787 Dreamliner on this nonstop flight but has swapped in a Boeing 777-200 outfitted with a Polaris First cabin as well, which has opened up quite a bit of space up front....
It’s been a crazy week for Southern California residents, and even those of us just passing through. Wildfires not far from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) have caused thousands of locals to flee their homes while wreaking havoc on large areas of the city.Closed freeways and soot-covered lawns are minor nuisances compared to the devastation experienced by people who have lost their homes, but the situation has had everyone on edge over the past few days....
Everyone likes to be treated like royalty, especially when traveling. And while getting hooked up with a room upgrade or complimentary stocked mini bar is great, getting a pillow fort upon request is even better. We asked members of the TPG Lounge how hotels have really wowed them in the past, and here’s what they had to say:Fortress of SolitudeNate Lundquist casually — and somewhat jokingly, it seems — requested a pillow fort upon arrival at the Courtyard by Marriott in Gulf Shores, Ala....
TPG reader Nathan tweeted tweeted me @thepointsguy with a question about expiring miles:“Is it worth it to get a US Airways credit card to reinstate 25K Dividend Miles cancelled for not flying them? I do fly United a lot too.“First off, yes it is worth it - and shame on you for letting them expire! You don’t need to fly an airline to keep miles active. Keeping miles active is super simple - you can transfer a couple of points through a transfer partner like Starwood, or exchange other miles on Points....
We always hear travel horror stories so from time to time I like to detail days when travel goes as planned (or better).I was in Miami earlier in the week and had to be in Tampa for a quick media appearance on Daytime TV before heading back to NYC. So I booked Miami-Tampa (one of Delta’s newer routes) with a 6 hour layover, then Tampa to LaGuardia.Day of travelThat day early in the morning I got from South Beach to MIA airport in about 15 minutes....
