Here at TPG, we’re all self-proclaimed foodies and, of course, avid travelers. After all, cuisine is a huge part of travel and an active (and delicious) way to participating in the local culture. Plus, we’re all about using credit cards that offer bonus points on dining purchases — an excuse to eat more and spend more, right? Here are five apps that will help you conquer the local food scene when traveling or even in your home city too....
Earlier this week I wrote about the differences between the US and Canadian versions of the American Express Membership Rewards programs and in general, the US version is more generous when it comes to standard transfer ratios and transfer bonuses. There are only two airline transfer partners at the 1:1 ratio: Air Canada Aeroplan and British Airways Executive Club.Amex just announced a 50% transfer bonus to British Airways until May 31, 2012....
In June, a Victoria’s Secret model filed a lawsuit against the Embassy Suites by Hilton Palm Desert in Palm Springs, California. Her complaint?She was “massacred" by bed bugs in the hotel room.According to the local Desert Sun, the incident occurred two years ago, but the story has resurfaced now that the Brazilian model, Sabrina Jales St. Pierre, is taking legal action.Her attorney, Brian Virag of My Bed Bug Lawyer, Inc. (yes, seriously) stated that Jales St....
Cathay Pacific announced significant changes to its Asia Miles frequent flyer program on Thursday morning, overhauling how points are both earned and redeemed. The changes will take effect on June 22, 2018.While US-based travelers may not be intimately familiar with the program from the Hong Kong-based airline, Asia Miles is a transfer partner with Citi ThankYou Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest, and has been a solid option for booking Oneworld award itineraries....
When Delta acquired Northwest Airlines, they touted a frequent flyer program program that would be a “best in class” mix of both programs. One of these enhancements to the Delta program would be the implementation of first class upgrades on award tickets, which was a unique aspect of the Northwest elite program.Due to IT difficulties, this benefit has been delayed numerous times. However, on Flyertalk today, there were several unofficial and official announcements resulting in a lot of confusion (which still is not resolved 150 posts later)....
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.A drunk IndiGo Airlines passenger whose phone apparently needed to be charged attempted to enter the plane’s cockpit to plug in the device on Monday.Authorities say the odd incident occurred before the aircraft took off for Kolkata (CCU), allowing the flight crew to escort the drunk man off the flight and to the police station for questioning....
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available – IHG Rewards Club Select Credit CardEach quarter, IHG offers its Rewards Club members an individualized slate of “Accelerate” challenges. Challenges include staying a certain number of nights, at a certain number of brands or using a certain type of rate plan (i.e., Points and Cash).Today, the Q1 2017 Accelerate promotion has been released for stays between January 1 and April 15, 2017....
Beginning at 4pm Central Time and extending until just before midnight, the Federal Aviation Administration has instituted a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) within a 34.5 mile radius of NRG Stadium in Houston, where today’s Super Bowl is being played. The TFR prohibits certain aircraft operations — including drones — from operating within the flight area during the proscribed times.Super Bowl flight restrictions aren’t unusual and the FAA has had other special procedures in place for the last several days leading up to the big game and continuing into tomorrow....
With all the excitement over the current 30,000-point bonus for the Starwood American Express card - I thought I’d share my review of a recent stay at the W Leicester Square in London.A couple weeks ago, I took a trip to Scandinavia, but as I mentioned in my review of Lufthansa’s new first class, I actually flew there using 62,500 American miles and $352 for British Airways First Class from Miami to London and spent a night there before continuing on to Copenhagen where I met up with a group of friends....
Hyatt announced the details of its second quarter “More Possibilities, More Points” promotion, and online registration is now open.Per the terms of the promotion, Gold Passport members can earn 3,000 Hyatt Gold Passport bonus points after every three eligible nights at any Hyatt hotel worldwide from March 1 – May 31, 2013, up to a total of 45,000 possible bonus points.Hyatt Visa cardmembers get an extra 20% point bonus on top of that – so 600 more bonus points after every three nights and a total possible points haul of 54,000 bonus points total....
Here’s a recap of the interesting points and miles news from this week:73% of Americans with airline miles don’t know how many they have.TPG Spring Cleaning Contest And National Survey Results: Earlier this week, I announced the results from a national survey that I commissioned The Princeton Group to conduct to find out how much people know about and are using their miles. It turns out that 73% of Americans who have frequent flyer miles don’t know how many they have and 59% said they don’t know how frequent flyer programs work....
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....
Southwest Airlines has completed the inspection of 35,000 engine fan blades mandated by the Federal Aviation Administration after a broken fan blade caused a fatal injury on Southwest Flight 1380 in April.The carrier said it found no structural flaws with the engine fan blades in its Boeing 737s, but Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said Wednesday at the company’s annual meeting that several dozen blades were sent back to the engine manufacturer out of “an abundance of caution....
TPG contributor Jason Steele returns today to dish on the ins and outs of how hotels work with one of his friends who has experience working with several national hotel chains.Why do some guests get upgraded rooms, while others get assigned terrible ones? How can you get fees waived like parking and Internet service, even if you don’t have elite status?I sat down for a Q&A with a friend of mine who has worked at several properties belonging to major hotel chains to get the inside scoop on answers to these burning questions and more:Front desk: where the action (sometimes) is....
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.If you’re pregnant or hoping to become pregnant, the rapid spread of the Zika virus is truly a frightening situation. Any newly formulated cure or vaccine would need to go through a lengthy approval process. Even fast-tracked, it could take years to find and approve a vaccine....
Red Fleet State Park is having an issue and needs your help: If you are visiting the Utah state park and you see an imprinted rock, please leave it alone. Tourists at Red Fleet State Park have been removing dinosaur tracks imprinted in sandstone and throwing the pieces into a nearby reservoir, AP reports.Red Fleet State Park is home to hundreds of dinosaur tracks that are believed to be more than 200 million years old....
Update: Apparently it may be possible to request a match from AA Executive Platinum to United 1K. The same 90-day trial applies, with a requirement to earn 35,000 PQMs or 40 segments during that period.Last month we reported that United’s status match program was ending — fortunately, that’s no longer the case. United has just extended its status match/challenge program, allowing you to register up until June 30, 2016. You’ll have higher status for a 90-day period, during which you must meet certain terms for the match to stick....
Senator John McCain, who recently died at age 81 from a form of brain cancer called glioblastoma, was known for — among other great things — being as a man of his word. And one example of that was his resolve to take the long way home so to speak when traveling between his “office” for more than 30 years in Washington, DC, and his home base of Phoenix, AZ.It all began when a federal law, known as the Perimeter Rule, was passed in 1966 that prevented planes from flying more than 1,250 miles to and from Reagan National Airport....
Due to scheduling or positioning needs, American Airlines will periodically fly internationally configured aircraft on domestic routes. Since most of the airline’s international aircraft only have two cabins, AA will sell the international business class cabin as domestic first class — leaving the economy cabin as economy.Update 10/6/16: In addition to the two flights already listed, below are all of the available flights where American Airlines is selling the 777-300ER business-class cabin as part of Main Cabin Extra:ToFromFlight #DateDepartArriveDFWMIA14124-Nov15:2019:01MIADFW96911-Nov11:0513:18DFWMIA141211-Nov15:2019:01DFWMIA142520-Nov16:2520:10MIADFW230521-Nov7:059:20DFWLAX247726-Nov19:1520:42DFWMIA233626-Nov6:2510:05MIAORD24226-Nov12:1314:27ORDDFW233926-Nov16:3019:02LAXDFW240627-Nov0:225:24DFWLAX247724-Dec19:1520:42Most of AA’s internationally configured three-cabin aircraft are flown on transcontinental routes, where it’s logical for AA to sell three distinct cabins....
If you’ve been off the grid for the last three-and-a-half weeks, Saturday, August 18 marked the official launch of the combined Marriott, Ritz-Carlton and SPG program. This was a long time coming: The merger between the companies was approved by shareholders in April 2016, full details on the combined program were released in April 2018 and roughly four months later, the integration started.Unfortunately, it hasn’t been smooth sailing since then. So what happened?...
