Posts

We know the end date for the Starwood Preferred Guest program as we know will be July 31, 2018. After that date, the SPG program will be combined with Marriott Rewards. From that day forward, the new combined award chart and program rules will kick in and SPG as we know it will be no more. We recently saw the end of a discounted SPG points promotion, and I wasn’t sure if the promotion would return again before the end of the SPG program....

TPG reader Andrew asks a question about fuel surcharges, a topic that’s a top priority for budget-minded miles users:“I am going to transfer Starwood points to an airline (or a couple airlines) within a year. I’d like to transfer them to frequent flyer plans that do not charge fuel surcharges, or at least ones that are reasonable. Do you have any recommendations?”It’s good you bring up the subject of fuel surcharges, because Starwood points are generally very valuable, but if you mistakenly transfer them to a frequent flyer program with huge fuel surcharges, you could be in for a rude awakening when you go to book your award 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.British Airways and American Airlines are teaming up in a new promotion to promote Oneworld’s transatlantic route network. The Wanderlust campaign (BA link, AA link) shows that BA and AA can cure wanderlust. Hmm, okay.In any case you get 20,000 BA or AA miles every time you fly full fare economy, business or first class transatlantic on American, British Airways or Iberia from now until June 30, 2011....

March 1 brought some mixed news for those of us who are fans of the Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer program. Effective for bookings starting March 23, the carrier is implementing a mileage devaluation while also eliminating fuel surcharges on award flights operated by SilkAir and Singapore Airlines.These changes might be welcome for those who are miles-rich but cash-poor; the elimination of fuel surcharges on Singapore Airlines itineraries is going to make these flights cheaper out of pocket....

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.Mypoints is a shopping portal that allows members to earn Mypoints currency which can be redeemed for a number of different things, such as travel and merchandise. While I personally don’t use Mypoints (I prefer using airline affiliated shopping malls which are much more reliable about posting miles and points) and think the site is a little disorganized, they are offering a pretty nice sign-up bonus of 750 United miles for first time members....

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.What a way to kick off the biggest week in music! On Tuesday night, The Points Guy teamed up with Starwood Preferred Guest to throw a truly memorable night celebrating both travel and music, capped off with a performance by GRAMMY-nominated artist Lil Uzi Vert....

American Airlines has been expanding its international routes and premium services with a fleet of new planes that’s starting to come online as part of its strategy for a new long-term business model, and it seems to be paying off since the airline’s international services revenue was up in 2012 and there has been greater demand for premium seats as the economy continues to pick up speed.I personally had the opportunity to try out American’s new first and business class products back in April when I flew their new first class aboard the 777-300ER from JFK-Sao Paulo and then flew the new business class back and I was impressed by both classes of service....

On Monday I announced my Club Carlson Golden Giveaway contest where I asked readers to tell me their favorite feature of the Club Carlson Visa, besides the bonus award night benefit, for the chance to win one of two $500 Visa gift cards and Club Carlson Gold Status for a year. People submitted their entries through comments on the post, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram..After reading through hundreds of submissions, I found that most of you value immediate Gold Status and the annual 40,000 point bonus on card renewal as the best benefits of these cards....

August 18 is just around the corner, and with it comes the official integration of the Marriott and Starwood Preferred Guest programs. One of the big outstanding questions is how Marriott will handle outstanding certificates issued as part of its Hotel + Air travel packages. The current iteration of this redemption option can offer some terrific value (well, for the next week anyway), while the new version that will go live on August 18 is almost universally terrible....

Delta is currently offering sub $700 total roundtrip fares to Singapore from Newark and Los Angeles per this FlyerTalk thread. Most people have been finding the cheapest fares for March-April and then again for October-December.Pricing It OutI just priced out a couple itineraries in March to see if it might be worth it and found some good deals. Delta.com makes it easy to search for flexible weekend travel (Thursday-Tuesday) and a +/- 3 day range....

Thursday morning, Delta announced the implementation of a brand new boarding process, making it more orderly by directing passengers into boarding groups with pillar-style markers within its gate area rather than having crowds of passengers spilling out into the main walkways of the concourse.In the press release, Delta’s Senior Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer Tim Mapes explained that the carrier is working to enhance the overall customer experience, with easy boarding and less crowding and confusion at the gate leading to a more positive transition to the plane....

Both the Walt Disney World Swan and the Walt Disney World Dolphin resort hotels are Starwood Preferred Guest properties within Walt Disney World in Orlando. The Swan is technically a Westin and the Dolphin is technically a Sheraton, but you wouldn’t really know that if you weren’t told it specifically. The two properties are connected by a covered walkway and share amenities like a pool complex, beach, etc.These are very large properties with a combined total of over 2,200 rooms and suites, but even with that massive inventory they still sell out on peak dates....

Now through October 15, 2015, you can make a tax-deductible contribution of $100 or more to the National Foundation for Cancer Research (NFCR) and receive up to 15 miles per dollar! That’s what we here at TPG call a win-win.Image courtesy of Shutterstock.The NFCR “Fly to Find a Cure” program has partnered with with American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines to secure additional funds for an important cause: cancer research....

Glenn Beck, a (former) superstar in the conservative media world, is putting up his private jet for sale. And it’s not just any jet: It’s the oldest civilian jet flying today.According to a listing on Controller, Beck is selling his 1966 McDonnell Douglas DC-9.The Federal Aviation Administration database shows that the plane, bearing the US registration N8860, was built in 1966 and is owned by one of Beck’s companies, Mercury Radio Arts....

Though they might not be as well-publicized as mistake airline fares, mistake hotel rates can offer a great opportunity for a getaway on the cheap. However, as TPG Senior Points & Miles Contributor Nick Ewen explains, properties aren’t always eager to honor these rates, so it pays to have some strategies in mind.Using your hard-earned points and miles for award flights and hotel rooms is a great way to see the world without breaking the bank....

One of the perks I enjoy most about my Diamond elite status, is the ability to Same Day Confirm for free to other flights when traveling domestically. Knowing how to use Same Day Flight changes with your airline is critical to traveling “smarter,” even if you aren’t a frequent flyer. I have personally used SDC to increase my upgrade percentage, get home earlier when meetings wrap up ahead of schedule, accrue more frequent flyer miles (including elite miles), and save money on fares....

I’ve been doing a lot of press around all these recent airline incidents, and the question is why is this happening? It seems like there’s been an increase in these crazy incidents, and certainly the severity level of them.If you ask the union chief of American Airlines’ flight attendants, there are a lot of factors at play, including shrinking overhead bins and increased flight attendant schedules. After the United incident, I wrote a post about 4 Ways We Can Bring Humanity Back to American Aviation and the solutions are complex....

If you’d prefer to put your IRA toward limoncello and a charming Italian casa di campagna rather than taxes, you might be in luck. A new proposal from the League — Italy’s nationalist, far-right party — hopes to attract retirees to southern Italy for a decade of tax-free retirement.“We’re trying to provide an incentive for the transfer of older people [toward the south],” Alberto Brambilla, economic advisor to deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini, told La Repubblica....

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.Marriott allows their Platinum elites to take advantage of Buy One, Get One (BOGO) weekend nights and half-off dining options at various properties throughout the year. These promotions usually happen from March to June, June to October, and October to January - participating properties vary throughout the 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.Qatar Airways just took delivery of the very first A350-1000 — the first for Airbus and the airline alike — in Toulouse, France, on Tuesday afternoon. In addition, airline CEO Akbar Al Baker announced that the new Qsuite-equipped Airbus will soon launch on routes to the East Coast of the United States, in addition to the inaugural airport of London Heathrow (LHR), which will get the first A350-1000 scheduled flight this Saturday....