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Lithium batteries continue to cause serious issues in the aviation industry with another incident occurring yesterday aboard a Delta flight.A lithium-ion battery exploded on SkyWest flight 4449 operating as Delta Connection. Skywest 4449 was getting loaded up with cargo when crew members smelled smoke in the cargo hold. Delta ground crew searched the aircraft’s hold, unloaded bags and found a smoking battery that had exploded.A flight attendant came aboard before takeoff and showed passengers the item that had exploded....

High school senior (and TED Talk contributor) Raymond Wang has invented a device that can significantly improve air quality on airplanes — and recently won $75,000 for his efforts. New TPG Contributor Ellen Boomer interviewed Wang to get the lowdown on his plans to make you feel healthier at 35,000 feet.Air travelers may soon breathe easier, thanks to 17-year-old Raymond Wang. This high school senior and avid traveler who hails from Vancouver was struck by reports of how diseases, such as SARS, spread on commercial aircraft....

This is a post in my new Transcontinental Series aimed at helping flyers choose the best options while flying coast-to-coast, as well as strategies on leveraging elite status and miles to get the most valuable upgrades possible. Other posts include: American Airlines, United and Virgin America. Today I’ll be talking about Delta’s transcontinental routes and the best ways for you to get upgraded on them.Delta flies 757-200 aircraft between JFK-LAX/SFO.Delta is making a big push to “Win NY” and have upped their flight frequencies between New York JFK and Los Angeles and San Francisco....

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.Our friends over at Allied Passport let us know about a change coming to Turkey’s visa up on arrival process. Right now you can simply fly to Turkey, deplane and queue up at the visa window on the way to customs and immigration and buy a visa upon arrival for $20 in cash for a 90-day tourist entry then simply be on your way....

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.The German version of lastminute.com is offering 50 Euros (just about $70) off 3 night hotel stays when you enter code 50uprjxqLMN08 in the box Gutschein-Code (on the first page before you search). This code seems to work everywhere- I pulled up a 3 night stay in Bangkok for a grand total of 9 Euros!...

If your New Year’s resolution for 2018 is to reduce stress or get in shape, you’re not alone. Losing weight and becoming healthier are among the top goals for Americans in 2018.But the team here at TPG knows it can be hard to find time for fitness — especially if you’re a frequent traveler. Rather than hitting the hotel gym or toting along yoga mats and stretchy bands in your suitcase, why not dedicate an entire vacation to your health and well-being?...

Buy discounted Disney tickets here through MickeyVisit.comHere at TPG, we spotlight stories from our readers — fantastic travel made possible with some savvy tips and tricks. In our new lounge on Facebook, TPG Lounge member Serenity Forbes shared some insights on navigating Disneyland in California. Do you have any tips to share? If your story catches TPG’s eye and we publish it, we’ll send you a gift to jump-start your next adventure....

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.Trevor Davis, a wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers, was arrested at LAX for making “criminal threats” after he made a joke about carrying a bomb at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Sunday.“Yesterday, Trevor Davis checked in at the Hawaiian Airlines ticket counter and was asked the usual questions about whether he was carrying any aerosol cans, knives, weapons or explosives,” Rob Pedregon, public information officer for LAX Police told ESPN....

A couple weeks ago, I reported that Delta announced that upgrades on award tickets were coming soon.Well, the official email came today, and effective immediately, Delta elites (Medallions) will get automatically upgraded on award tickets (including Pay With Miles tickets) within the U.S. (except Hawaii), Canada, the Caribbean, Bermuda, Mexico and Central and Northern South America.The great thing is that the upgrades will be processed at your Medallion window, after all Medallions of your level who are on paid fares....

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.Heading to Disneyland anytime soon? Well, we hope you’ve been training. In an effort to clear up some of the congested areas, the theme park giant has made it nearly impossible for park-goers to be lazy by removing benches and planters from around the park....

Who wants to go to Hawaii? To…morrow. As TPG reader Peter H. discovered, United’s flying its brand-new 777-300ER from Chicago (ORD) to Honolulu (HNL) and back, giving passengers an opportunity to experience the new plane on a long domestic flight.At 9 hours on the westbound leg, ORD-HNL is roughly the length of Tokyo (NRT)-San Francisco (SFO), but since this is a flight from the mainland to Hawaii, you’ll need to redeem just 40,000 MileagePlus miles for the Polaris cabin, vs....

Today TPG Contributor Nick Ewen continues his series The Weekly Wish, looking at flaws, shortcomings, and room for improvement in the world of travel and loyalty programs. Today’s wish: free breakfast for SPG Platinum elites.Two years ago, Starwood Preferred Guest announced some significant positive changes to their program. In addition to creating different levels of Platinum, the new program also offered complimentary continental breakfast as a new Platinum amenity. This new benefit brought the program closer in line with others like Hyatt and Hilton, who already offered their top tier elites free breakfast (and had done so for years)....

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.Imagine you’re looking to book your dream trip and see an advertised fare that’s too good to pass up — only to realize that it’s just the base fare and doesn’t include any taxes. So, that cheap ticket doesn’t turn out to be so affordable at all....

Mint-aholics, rejoice. JetBlue announced that it’s flying its beloved Mint product between New York (JFK) and Palm Springs (PSP) for a limited-time only this winter.Between December 21, 2017, and January 3, 2018, you can purchase a seat in the carrier’s lie-flat Mint cabin on the transcon route.We’re seeing availability on some of the flights, with one-way fares from JFK to PSP for as little as $558 on Saturday, December 30. If you want to pay with TrueBlue points, the same one-way flight will cost you 42,200 points + $5....

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.Living Social posted a decent little deal today where if you spend $25, you get a $75 voucher toward purchasing a roundtrip flight on JetBlue taking off from New York (JFK) to San Francisco (SFO). Tickets must be purchased before 11:59 pm ET on April 6, 2012 for flights between February 21-May 23 (both departure and return flights must be before 11:59 pm local time on May 23)....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available – JetBlue Card, JetBlue Plus CardWhether you earn JetBlue Mosaic status through flying or through spending with products like the JetBlue Plus Card, there are various tricks to getting the most out of your points. Below, TPG Senior Points & Miles Contributor Jason Steele walks through the basics of earning, redeeming and more.JetBlue and Barclaycard recently announced three new credit cards that are quite compelling for flyers....

The iconic baby blue and white of arguably the most famous aircraft in the world will be going away and will be replaced with a coat of red, white and blue, President Donald Trump said in an interview aired Tuesday.Reports had been circulating for a while that Trump was considering the “more American” color scheme, but his comments to CBS confirmed it. The new version of the presidential vessel will debut in 2021 when the new Air Force Ones, two Boeing 747-8i four-engine jets, debut....

Last year, we told you how both Air Canada and Qantas are now offering elite status holds for new parents. With the added benefit, elite members and new parents from the respective frequent flyer programs can put their status on hold while they take time off from traveling to spend it with their kids. Now, British Airways is the latest carrier to offer such a program.BA announced the new benefit on its website....

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.The next time you crack open a cold one with the boys (or girls!) consider doing it in the Empire State. That’s what New York Governor Andrew Cuomo wants you to do, at least. Since taking office in 2011, Cuomo has backed a number of initiatives aimed at expanding New York’s once fledgling craft beer industry....

It’s one thing to have your father teach you to drive or coach your sports team, but a whole other experience to work with the man who likely changed your diapers at one point in time. This Father’s Day, we reached out to three pilots who’ve done just that — and lived to tell about it.In fact, as you’ll read below, it turns out working with a parent is a unique experience that not only brings with it many special memories but also life lessons — especially when those careers involve aviation, a field that many go into out of sheer love for it....