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There’s no question about it: Etihad’s in pretty bad shape. The airline’s been posting monster losses, and it’s even struggling to fill its flagship plane on its flagship route, despite the introduction of some promising products, like the ultra-exclusive (and exorbitantly priced) A380 Residence.As a result, some awards are in abundant supply — including the exact flight I needed to get me from Shanghai (PVG) to Abu Dhabi (AUH) after my final journey in United’s international first class....

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.Air India recently completed a round-the-world trip with an entirely female crew. Flight AI 174 left New Delhi (DEL) on a Boeing 777, flying over the Pacific Ocean to reach San Francisco. After a mandatory rest period in SFO, the crew flew back to New Delhi over the Atlantic, completing the trip around the globe....

For a while, American Airlines had been updating its 777-200 fleet, removing the first-class cabin and replacing the 2-3-2 angle-flat business seats with a fancy 1-2-1 pick. Things were really looking up, until AA pulled the plug on the upgrades roughly seven months ago.The Zodiac seat AA’s replacing, as seen on the 787-8.While the retrofitted 777-200 was a huge step up from the previous version, the new Zodiac biz seats fell a bit short of what AA offers on the 777-300ER, and — more importantly — Zodiac was far behind schedule, holding up the rollout of new American planes....

UPDATE: The Presidential Plus Continental card is no longer available.This fall, Continental introduced their Onepass/Elite Maximizer program, which allows flyers to purchase extra Onepass miles and Elite Qualifying Miles with paid itineraries. If you purchase the extra Onepass miles (for roughly 3.5 cents each), you can then also purchase Elite Qualifying Miles, which are priced on a sliding scale.The 3.5 cent Onepass miles are not a bargain, considering you can purchase them regularly for the same price....

Check out this week’s travel contests and sweepstakes to try your hand at winning a family trip to Hawaii, a weekend escape to New Mexico, a foodie getaway to Mexico, a family weekend in Dallas or a spa getaway in Phoenix, Arizona.Win a trip to Honolulu, Hawaii. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.Win A Family Trip To Hawaii From BonaYou can win a family trip for four to Honolulu, Hawaii, including:Round trip, coach-class air transportation for four from a major airport near winner’s home to Honolulu, HawaiiFive nights’ accommodations at a hotel (single room, quad occupancy)$800 spending money$1,000 to cover taxesTravel agent servicesBona Prize Pack including Bona cleaning productsThe contest is open only to legal residents of the 50 United States (including District of Columbia) who are at least eighteen 18 years old at the time of entry....

It looks like there’s a fun little mileage run possibility going on courtesy of Delta, KLM and Swiss to Istanbul this winter, as well as another Delta fare sale from London to certain US cities that just came up today.Noted on this Flyertalk thread, there are some low fares from Chicago to Istanbul for travel between January 21 and February 28, 2013 if you book before October 26.The thread noted fares as low as $523, but the lowest I could find was for about $528....

Walt Disney World Resort’s Epcot Theme Park is going through a major overhaul and closing down one of the park’s most iconic rides.According to the Walt Disney World News Today (WDWNT) blog, new details about the overhaul revealed that the Spaceship Earth ride inside Epcot’s geodesic sphere will close for more than two years. Reports claim that the ride will be closed from early 2020 and reopen in time for the park’s 40th anniversary in the second half of 2022....

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.On Tuesday, Terminal 5 at New York’s JFK was transformed from a terminal to a talk show stage in honor of National Business Traveler Day (NBTD), an event by Upside. JetBlue opened up its terminal to promote NBTD, a day that honors the two million business people who travel for business every workday....

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.Europe’s third-largest airport — Amsterdam’s Schiphol (AMS) — is experiencing a power outage which has resulted in many KLM flights being grounded Wednesday evening. This outage is affecting not only airport operations, but also took the airline’s service centers offline....

In the hotel industry, being known as an establishment that rents rooms by the hour has never been a good thing — until recently.In 2015, Recharge Labs Inc. launched Recharge, a mobile app that allows harried travelers and anyone in need of a quick shower or nap the chance to book a high-end hotel room in San Francisco (where the company is based) by the minute. Now, with the support of JetBlue Technology Ventures — the airline’s technology-meets-travel incubator, which is also behind Zunum Aero’s new fleet of hybrid planes — the app is offering the same by-the-minute deals in New York City....

The Thomas Fire continued to grow Sunday as firefighters battled the strong Santa Ana winds to get control over the massive blaze before it reaches Santa Barbara. Reportedly, the city has become a ghost town from the widespread evacuations.According to the latest California fire assessment at 8:58am Pacific Time, the monster wildfire has grown to 269,000 acres (420 square miles) and has destroyed 1,020 structures while damaging another 242 structures. Yet despite the efforts of 8,529 firefighters and 972 fire engines, the wildfire is currently only 40% contained....

Officials in Santa Barbara County are advising citizens in parts of the city to evacuate before a winter storm hits the area on Thursday.Residents of Goleta, Santa Barbara, Montecito, Summerland and Carpinteria were urged by the Sheriff’s Office to evacuate by 8 a.m. Wednesday, the Los Angeles Times reports.The Santa Barbara area is still recovering from the extreme wildfires that recently ripped through the city in December and early January, so the region is prone to mudslides following storms....

Tall passengers and premium cabin travelers rejoice! While Google Flights is already great for searching flights and finding new destinations, there’s now an easy Google Chrome extension that makes searching Google Flights even easier.Users of Google Flights know that the website displays helpful information about different flight options such as flight number, duration, legroom or business-class recline (lie-flat, angle-flat, recliner), Wi-Fi, power and in-flight entertainment options:However, these options are only displayed once you select a particular flight option....

I love my Starwood Preferrred Guest points because of the phenomenal value I can get out of redemption options like Cash & Points. But redeeming for top-tier properties - like two of my hometown favorites, the W South Beach and the St. Regis Bal Harbour (review here) - can be expensive at 15,000 points + $275 per night for C&P, or 30,000 points outright for a free night redemption. However, there’s a new SPG promo called Redeem & Reward, where you can save between 30-50% of the Starpoints you redeem for award nights at a group of 21 different resorts in the U....

(Almost) no one likes being stuck in the middle seat. And, if you’re traveling with family or a significant other, having an empty middle seat between you can be an ever-so-sweet victory.Over the past few days, American Airlines, United, Southwest, Delta and JetBlue have been reporting their full-year 2016 traffic results. While many of these reports might be a bore for the average traveler, one aspect is especially interesting to see: load factors, a measurement of just how full the airlines’ flights were in a given period....

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.Move to Vermont, work remotely and get paid $10,000 over the course of two years. Doesn’t sound too bad, does it?The governor of Vermont, Phil Scott, is making this happen on January 1, 2019, through the Remote Worker Grant....

Approximately 1,200 miles from the West African shoreline, in the middle of the South Atlantic, lies Saint Helena island. This British overseas territory is best known for being the final homeland of Napoleon. It’s also one of the most remote destinations in the world; the island is currently only serviced by the mail ship RMS Saint Helena from Cape Town.In 2005, the British government announced plans to build an airport on the island and begin regular commercial flight to connect St....

Just about 100 miles east of traffic-tangled Los Angeles, Palm Springs beckons as Southern California’s ultimate sun-kissed oasis. Hollywood royalty started making their dash to the desert as early as the 1920s, and in dodging the limelight for a few days these movie stars helped put Palm Springs on the map. They still come, but now it’s for the wealth of mid-century modern architecture, hip resorts and, for much of the year, the best weather in the country....

The American Airlines AAdvantage program has a new look — at least on its website.On Thursday morning, American Airlines AAdvantage members noticed a new look when logging in to their account. Now, members can see their account information in three separate tabs: Account Summary, Promotions and Wallet. Upon logging in, you’ll see a ton of information on first glance: status, award miles, 500-mile upgrade and systemwide upgrades (if applicable) and progress to elite status....

Alaska is a fantastic destination for sightseeing and outdoor recreation, but it’s a long flight from what Alaskans call “the lower 48,” and it’s truly vast. At twice the size of Texas, Alaska is by far our largest state. It’s also an interesting award travel destination, since some airlines include Alaska as part of the continental United States, while others create a separate zone like they often do for Hawaii.The size of Alaska compared to the continental United States....