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For the second week of “Catch The Points Guy” on the Chase Sapphire Facebook page, I headed to one of my favorite international destinations: Madrid.Calle de Alcalá with a view of the Metropolis Building in Madrid.As you’ll see in the posts over on the campaign page, to get from Miami to Madrid, I transferred Chase Ultimate Rewards points to my British Airways Executive Club account and booked a last-minute one-way Club World (business class) ticket – which ordinarily would have cost around $5,000!...

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available – Citi Hilton HHonors Visa Signature Card, Citi Hilton HHonors Reserve CardIf you don’t have the Citi Hilton HHonors Visa Signature Card, now’s a great time to apply. For a limited time, the card’s offering an increased sign-up bonus of 75,000 HHonors points after you make $2,000 in purchases in the first three months of account opening.This limited-time offer is a significant step up from the card’s usual sign-up bonus of 40,000 HHonors points (after making $1,000 in purchases in the first three months)....

Police in Mexico City have detained at least two men after a deadly shooting Friday night in the capital city’s popular historic Plaza Garibaldi left five people dead and several others injured.Officials say a group of men dressed as mariachi musicians opened fire on a crowd of locals and tourists who roamed the plaza and celebrated Mexico’s Independence Day. Reports say dozens of mariachi bands were on the Plaza Garibaldi — a popular spot for the city’s denizens and visitors alike to see the traditional players — on Friday when the gunmen disguised in mariachi garb sprayed the crowd with bullets, leaving three people dead at the scene....

No one’s knocking St. Moritz, Gstaad, Zermatt, or Saas-Fee. Hey, if you’re looking for spectacular, pricey, high-mountain skiing and huge, international apres-ski parties, these are your go-to places. The problem is that they’ve become everyone’s go-to places, and the lift lines can be long, the ski runs crowded, the tab hefty, and the parties so loud and boozy you may not want to get out of bed the next morning.But it doesn’t have to be that way if you want to ski the spectacular mountains of Switzerland....

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.Think you’ve got what it takes to be a flight attendant? If you’re job-hunting to take on a flight attendant role, one of India’s largest airlines is hiring — but applicants have to fit a very specific set of qualifications....

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.When I visited American’s headquarters in Dallas as part of the Oneworld Megado event in January, one of the things promised was better Oneworld partner award availability on AA.com. The plan was for British Airways and Hawaiian to be added first (which happened in April) and then Qantas, which went into effect this past weekend....

Here’s a quick recap of the interesting points and miles news from the week.40% Discount on Purchased United Miles: Like last week’s discount on purchased United miles, the airline is offering up to an extended 40% discount on purchased miles now through October 31. You save 20% on purchases up to 30,000 miles and 40% off the regular price of miles when you buy 30,000 or more. That breaks down to 2....

Today only, you can buy discounted Marriott Hotel electronic gift cards through the Daily Getaways, an assortment of daily discounts and deals with various travel brands and loyalty programs sponsored by the US Travel Association.Today’s deal goes live at 1 pm ET. Here’s what’s being offered:$100 Marriott eGiftCard for $80 — 410 available (maximum purchase limit 5)$500 Marriott eGiftCard for $400 — 308 available (maximum purchase limit 2)$1,000 Marriott eGiftCard for $900 — 75 available (maximum purchase limit 1)Each of these deals offers a discount of 20% on Marriott eGiftCards, which you can use like cash at over 4,000 participating properties, including Ritz-Carlton hotels....

Tens of thousands of people are protesting Hyatt hotels after the chain said it would allow a controversial political group to hold a convention at one of its properties beginning Tuesday.Think Progress reports that the Hyatt Regency Crystal City confirmed last week it will be the venue for the ACT for America conference. The group is classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center for anti-Muslim rhetoric. According to SPLC, with “750,000 members and more than 1,000 chapters, the group has undoubtedly grown to become the largest anti-Muslim group in America....

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.For this week’s Thursday Giveaway, in celebration of Delta and Virgin Atlantic Announcing their new Summer Schedule, we are giving away a $500 Delta Air Lines Gift Card that can be used anywhere Delta flies including Europe!Enter to win a $500 Delta Air Lines Gift Card!...

From now until August 2, 2012 you can get a $50 MasterCard gift card for each 2 night stay between Monday and Thursday at IHG Hotels (Intercontinental, Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, etc) up to $200 total. This promo is in addition to any other IHG promos, so if you have any weekday 2+ night stays, you might as well snag these gift cards. The only thing I don’t like is that you have to fill out paperwork and send it in- something I often forget to do....

With the impending merger of the Starwood and Marriott loyalty programs on August 1st, I have been getting a large number of questions related to the best ways to use Marriott Rewards or Starwood Preferred Guest points under the existing terms and award charts. One somewhat unique form of these questions recently came from a family of five who can no longer reasonably stay in one standard hotel room.Secure multiple bedrooms using points at a Marriott Vacation Club propertyThey are looking for opportunities to use their approximately 60,000 SPG points in a way that meets the needs of their family of five and gives them the biggest bang for their points....

In the second season of having its own Michelin Guide, Washington, DC, just added two more one-star restaurants — Komi and Métier. Its list of nine other one-star restaurants and three two-star restaurants remains intact, for a total of 14 starred restaurants in the nation’s capital and nearby areas. No DC restaurant, however, has yet cracked the Guide’s vaunted three-star category.Komi — led by chef-owner Johnny Monis and his wife, Ann Marler — specializes in a Mediterranean tasting menu, while Métier — owned by chef Eric Ziebold and partner Célia Laurent — features locally sourced menu items....

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 live in NY, LA, San Francisco or Miami and been meaning to sign up for Crunch gyms, you can now get 1,500 Virgin America Elevate points with a new membership.I did a program score card on the Virgin America Elevate Program this past summer and 1,500 points are worth between $24 and $30....

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.Saint Patrick’s Day brings out the Irish in all of us. Lucky for international travelers, that culture is easy to encounter just about anywhere across the globe. (Guinness, for example — the Emerald Isle’s touchstone tipple — is currently brewed in 50 separate countries and sold in three times as many national markets....

We live in a tech-driven age with an endlessly growing supply of personal technology to carry around: iPhones, USB cables, portable power supplies, you name it. When traveling, the list grows larger; add a camera, smartwatch or fitness tracker, or perhaps a portable Wi-Fi device. And all these devices, of course, need their own chargers, which adds even more to what we have to lug around.Enter the travel pouch. This small accessory has become popular for men over the past few years, as showcased in men’s magazines and during fashion weeks across the globe....

The biggest night in music did not disappoint. The world watched as Beyoncé graced us with some “Lemonade,” Bruno Mars honored Prince, and Adele walked away with Record, Song and Album of the Year awards. And, as you may have already heard, I was there for it all.A couple of weeks ago, I told you about how TPG was hosting a GRAMMYs weekend in conjunction with Hilton Honors. On Thursday night, we hosted a party that was the perfect way to kick off the GRAMMYs weekend, complete with a performance from Lukas Graham, who was nominated for three GRAMMYs, and the venue was filled with TPG readers....

The weather is starting to cool off in parts of the US, leading some of us to give our ski clothing a wistful look. In the coming months, winter sport enthusiasts will soon open ski slopes throughout North America. And, if you’ve got to fly to a ski resort, Delta wants to be the airline to take you there.Following a month and a half after United did the same, Delta has announced its winter sports season flight schedule for flights to eleven resort areas (plus Denver) from December 21 to April 2....

In yet another step that signals Club Carlson’s increasing presence in the loyalty points world, the hotel chain has teamed up with US Bank to launch three new Visa credit cards.Club Carlson is now offering three new Visas from US Bank.Here are the terms of each:Club Carlson Premier Rewards Visa SignatureUp to 85,000 Bonus Gold Points to start. Receive 50,000 Gold Points after your first purchase, plus 35,000 points after you spend $2,500 on your card within the first 90 days10 points per dollar on eligible purchases at participating Carlson Rezidor hotels worldwide and 5 points per dollar everywhere else Visa is accepted40,000 bonus points each year after you renew your card and pay the annual feeBonus Award Nights – when Gold Points are redeemed for two or more consecutive award nights, the last night is free – exclusively for cardmembersAutomatic Gold Elite Status once the card is used....

Wednesday morning, Etihad emailed frequent flyers with an opportunity to “enhance your economy class journey.” Oh, intriguing! Could the airline be introducing fancier new meals, perhaps? Or, maybe there’s a new premium economy product on the way?Nope… the product adjustment here is simply a new requirement to pay for something you currently get for free: standard seat selection. Some “enhancement.” Ugh.This change is not to be confused with the carrier’s existing “Neighbour-Free Seat” option, which lets you bid for up to three extra seats in your row — if your bid is successful, you can secure an entire row of seats for yourself....