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We already know that almost everything we do is being collected about our digital habits — from our smartphones to our laptops and smart TVs. But did you think that something as innocuous as your headphones could also be capable of spying on you and collecting data?According to a lawsuit filed yesterday in a federal court in Chicago, Bose has been spying on its wireless headphone customers. Kyle Zak, who filed the lawsuit, claims the company uses the Bose Connect app to track wireless customers’ music, podcasts and other audio habits, then sells the information gathered — without permission — therefore violating the user’s privacy rights....

Nine commercial flights ground to a halt Thursday, including several that were forced to make emergency landings, after a Chilean traveler made anonymous bomb threats in frustration over lost luggage.Franco Sepulveda Robles placed a series of anonymous phone calls to a ticket counter, a LATAM operations center in Colombia and to civil aviation authorities, according to Victor Villalobos Callao, the director of Chile’s Civilian Aviation Authority. Callao said a total of 11 threats were received, two of which were directed at flights that “did not exist”, while “a procedure” was carried out for the remaining nine to check for explosives....

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: This offer is no longer available.It looks like this offer, which I wrote about a couple weeks ago, is live again until 12/31/10. As I’ve said before, 45,000 miles is generous for the Gold card, since it comes with no fee the first year ....

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.Audience Rewards has been ramping up this year and I first became aware of it during my quest to score 100,000 US Airways miles in the Grand Slam Promotion. They just announced a partnership with Starwood, which can earn you a bunch of points for purchasing theater tickets, including Broadway and other theaters across the US....

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: You can no longer purchase Vanilla Reload cards using a credit card and Vanilla Reloads are no longer available in Office Depot.There’s currently a shortage of Vanilla reloadable cards on the market- many TPG readers are reporting their Office Depots are either sold out or no longer offering the card....

Marriott recently announced some new changes to their lifetime elite status program on the Marriott Rewards Insider blog, including reduced night requirements for all three levels and signalling a new era in which they’ll be promoting these benefits rather than leaving them largely unpublished.MARRIOTTThe new requirements for earning Lifetime Status with Marriott are as follows:Lifetime Silver:250 nights at Marriott properties (previously 600 nights)1,200,000 Marriott Rewards points earnedLifetime Gold:500 nights at Marriott properties (previously 800 nights)1,600,000 Marriott Rewards points earnedLifetime Platinum:750 nights at Marriott properties (previously 1,100 nights)2,000,000 Marriott Rewards points earnedMarriott also used to require that you have elite status for at least 12 years in order to earn lifetime status, no matter how many nights or points you had racked up, but that requirement is gone too....

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.Grandpa and Grandma Points!To start this long Memorial Day Weekend off I’m going to not share a travel deal (just yet), but instead share some images that symbolize the transition from spring to summer, at least around here....

Until this week, it had been a little while since I personally flew on an American Airlines flight that was booked using British Airways Avios. I have heard plenty of anecdotal and second-hand information about how the process worked (and have booked plenty for family members), but none of that is exactly the same as doing it yourself. If you are brand new to the concept of booking flights on British Airways’ partner American Airlines using Avios, then I recommend starting with this post for the basics....

For this month’s installment of our “Sail Away” series, TPG Contributor (and experienced sailor) Shayne Benowitz explores the latest arrivals to the sharing economy arena: websites and apps for on-demand boat charters.Today’s tech-savvy travelers have grown accustomed to the near-instant gratification of on-demand services such as Uber, SilverCar, HotelTonight and Airbnb, which provide what we want, when we want it with the mere swipe of an app on our smartphones.Recently, a number of startups have jumped into the water with this same tech-forward approach to boat rentals and charters....

Kansas City is getting its first-ever nonstop transatlantic route. Icelandair announced on Tuesday that it’s set to begin nonstop seasonal service between Kansas City International Airport (MCI) and Iceland’s capital of Reykjavik (KEF).The service will begin on May 25, 2018, from KEF to MCI, with the first operation from MCI to depart on May 26. Icelandair will offer 3x weekly seasonal service on the route, operating the nonstop flights to Iceland on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, before it ends in September....

As a reminder, currently both US Airways and American Airlines are running similar buy miles promotions, where you can buy either US Airways Divdened Miles or American Airlines AAdvantage miles for as little as 1.88 cent (plus taxes and fees) per mile through January 2, 2015.Both American Airlines and US Airways are offering the same Buy Miles offer.With this offer, you’ll earn either up to 45,000 AAdvantage bonus miles, or up to 45,000 US Airways Dividend Miles when you buy miles for yourself, or when you gift miles to a friend or family member....

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: An American Airlines spokesperson reached out to TPG at 5:30 pm ET regarding the leaked policy referenced below, saying, “A proposed draft policy, which would permit customers with nut allergies to pre-board flights to wipe down surfaces, was shared prematurely with American’s flight attendant workgroup earlier this week....

Airbnb, the world’s leader in private home rentals, has partnered with WeWork, the world’s leader in shared work spaces, to make it easier for business travelers to book lodging and business accommodations with a click of the mouse.Back in 2015, Airbnb launched Airbnb for Business, a product suite that made it easier for companies to book vacation rentals, giving them access to a range of features that support business trips. Today, the company launched a partnership with WeWork in an effort to expand this rapidly growing venture....

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.Just when you thought this viral dance craze was over, a pilot and flight attendant duo took the In My Feelings/Keke/Shiggy (whatever the kids are calling it) Dance Challenge to the next level. The challenge was created when a comedian named Shiggy posted a video of himself dancing along to Drake’s new hit, “In My Feelings,” on Instagram....

This week, Etihad launched its first A380 flight from the United States, flying daily from New York (JFK) to Abu Dhabi. TPG was in The Residence on the inaugural flight, and even had a chance to enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner en-route to Abu Dhabi. On this route, The Residence will run you a whopping $32,000, but it’s possible to have a similar experience in The Apartment for just 90,000 American AAdvantage miles each way (for the time being, at least)....

On our spring break trip to Spain we had three generations of travelers together with my mom, my daughter, and myself all making the journey. This meant we not only required the space for the three generations, but we had to also tailor our activities to keep everyone’s interest. I am personally a big fan of multi-generational travel, but when you are talking about hotel rooms in Europe, it can be tricky to make it work so everyone can stay in one room rather than have the added expense of multiple rooms unless absolutely necessary....

With the possible exception of jumbo jets like the Airbus A380 and Boeing 747, most planes look the same to non-AvGeeks. To stand out and catch as many eyes as possible, many airlines add character to some of their planes through special liveries. For instance, China Eastern has a Toy Story themed A330, Qantas has a colorful 787-9 Dreamliner inspired by Aboriginal art and ANA is getting A380s that show a family of turtles....

One of the deadly sins of frequent flyer miles is letting them expire . That word alone makes me shiver. However, we are all busy these days and if you stop flying an airline, its easy to forget about expiration dates and keeping the account active.In reality, most airlines have shopping malls, so buying a single ITunes song can extend the expiration date of your miles for years. However, let’s analyze each program’s fees for getting back your hard earned miles once they expire....

Family travel, especially that with young kids, is nothing if not a roller coaster of adventures and mis-adventures. The highest of highs, the lowest of lows, the craziest of crazy. At times you feel like you are living some sort of bad family comedic sitcom where simple things like getting through a line at the airport become absolute three ring circuses of insanity with kids passed out being dragged on the floor, babies spitting up, people staring, tears happening, etc....

The next time you complain about the bill the next time you eat out, how much you pay in rent or how much the tourists have ruined your hometown for the locals, cast an eye toward the North Atlantic, because the people of Hamilton, Bermuda, have it worse.The tiny capital of the island nation — population 1,000 — is the most expensive place in the world for the fourth year in a row, according to the midyear Numbeo Cost of Living Index....