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TPG reader Faysal sent me a message on Facebook to ask about maximizing transfer partners:“I’ve been stockpiling Starpoints to redeem for an Emirates First Class award (via Alaska Airlines). Should I transfer from Starwood to Alaska directly, or should I transfer to Marriott for a Hotel + Air package?”The merger between Starwood Preferred Guest and Marriott Rewards has been one of this year’s biggest award travel stories for good reason. You can get a lot of value out of the newly linked programs by transferring points between them, and Marriott’s Hotel + Air packages offer a particularly lucrative way to redeem Starpoints....

Combining some of today’s most popular lifestyle trends — tiny houses, off-the-grid living, disconnecting from your devices and embracing the beauty of Mother Nature — PurePods offers quiet-seeking travelers a truly unique opportunity to commune with nature in the New Zealand wilderness.Hello, isolation! PurePod’s Kaikoura-Manakau outpost is located 2.5-hours from Christchurch. Image courtesy of PurePods.The company, founded with the goal of totally engaging its clients’ five senses, has set up a series of small, all-glass cabins — yes, that means the floors are see-through, too — in three different locations in New Zealand that, quite literally, let you sleep under the stars....

Over the course of last week, I got nearly 400 responses to my $250 Best Western gift card giveaway, and the time has come to announce the winner.As you remember, to enter my contest, you had to leave a comment telling me which Best Western Premier property you’d use the $250 Travel Card at and why.The Best Western Premier Ivy Hotel in Napa was one of the most popular reader choices....

You’ve wrapped up your business meetings sooner than you thought, and now you have just enough time to catch an earlier flight. It used to be that the airlines would gladly let you stand by for free, eager to free up a seat on a later flight that they could potentially sell. But today, they’re much more likely to demand payment for the privilege of taking that empty seat.Today, let’s look at the same-day change policies by airline, and see how you can make that earlier flight without feeling like you’re being extorted....

It’s been a very US Airways-centric week here at TPG, with the announcement on Tuesday that you are able to use US Airways miles on British Airways without incurring the huge fuel surcharges, and then yesterday I wrote about the current best sign-up bonus offer of 40,000 miles on the US Airways Premier World Mastercard.US Airways gives 40,000 Miles after your first purchase…what would you use them for?US Airways has been on my mind a lot this week, and especially since I am planning on my first trip to Mykonos this summer....

The US Embassy in Mexico ordered the closure of its consular agency in Playa del Carmen last week and issued travel warnings for the region due to a security threat. Now, the US is reopening the consular and lifting some of the travel restrictions for US government employees.Playa del Carmen is home to dozens of resorts and is a popular tourist destination. The US Embassy in Mexico issued a statement saying that the consular would reopen for normal operations yesterday....

Last week, European low-cost carrier Norwegian Air took delivery of its first two Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft. Norwegian is the second airline to fly the new plane (following Malaysia’s Malindo Air), and will be the first to offer MAX 8 service in the US beginning later this summer. With four more aircraft to be delivered this year and 100 total already on order, Norwegian hopes to continue developing its model for inexpensive transatlantic and other long-haul travel....

There are a few fun travel contests and sweepstakes going on around the web this week. Here are my top picks to win some great travel prizes!Win 100,000 Hilton HHonors points.Win 100,000 Hilton HHonors Points: Each time you stay at a participating Hilton properties in China, you’ll be entered to win 100,000 HHonors points, in addition to receiving 2X or 3X miles for China Eastern frequent flyer stays until September 30, 2014....

That dreaded four-letter word, Zika, has been wreaking havoc on travelers’ plans all year, particularly those who are pregnant or hoping to become so. And sadly, the threat of catching this virus has made most of the usual places you’d turn to for a beach break — like Miami, Mexico, Central America and nearly all of the Caribbean — out of the question.“Zika is a risk anywhere that Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes can be found, including throughout the tropics and subtropics,” said Gary Brunette, MD, Branch Chief, Travelers’ Health, of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)....

Alaska Airlines is terminating its short-lived Cuba service. The carrier announced on Tuesday that it’s ending its daily flight between Los Angeles (LAX) and Havana (HAV) in 2018.Alaska’s last planned service to Cuba is scheduled for January 22, 2018. The carrier said that given last week’s government-imposed restrictions on Cuba travel for American citizens, it will end its one route. Alaska says that it “will redeploy aircraft used to serve Havana to markets with higher demand....

Commercial aviation is incredibly safe. We are almost to the end of an eighth straight year with zero deaths from accidents on a US-flagged airline, an incredible record when these airlines carry more than 2.2 million passengers per day on average.This isn’t a fluke. Airlines and aviation authorities in the US and across the world work tirelessly to ensure that air travel is safe. An accident doesn’t just mean a possible loss of the passengers, crew, cargo and aircraft, but can degrade travelers’ trust in the system and lead to a significant drop in revenue and profits....

Country singer-songwriter Miranda Lambert, who is now on the road touring behind her latest album, ‘The Weight of These Wings,’ reveals what she can’t leave home without and the one thing she wishes she could do more of when traveling.What’s the best trip you’ve ever taken?I do like to travel — my job requires it! I love seeing this entire country. It’s beautiful. I love going from town to town. I just wish I had more time to explore these towns....

Airlines around the world launch and announce dozens of new flight routes and service changes every month. Today, we’ll share just a few of the latest flights that will take to the skies this month or in the near future. Keep in mind that exact flight details (like schedules and aircraft, among other things) may change.NEW ROUTES LAUNCHED IN OCTOBER 2017Hainan Introduces New Nonstop from Chongqing and Chengdu to New York (launched October 20)Hainan’s 787 business class cabin, which you can sit in on its new routes between China and New York....

My family is planning a trip to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City this year, and as a result I’ve been thinking through some different ways to actually see the parade. By far the most likely scenario is that we will line up at too-early-o’clock and simply stand outside and hopefully get lucky with the weather and the almost-five-year-old’s stamina just like 95% of the rest of the parade attendees....

Late last week, Flying Blue, the frequent flyer program of Air France, KLM and Air Europa quietly rolled out some changes to award redemptions that will affect intercontinental award tickets including that starting in June 2013, it will be raising the number of miles for premium awards on Premium Economy, Business and First Class awards while also reducing surcharges on Economy and Premium Economy awards.This spells mostly bad news, though not for everyone....

In the past, we’ve hosted reader events at cities throughout the U.S. — San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin and others. But, there are a few cities that we haven’t been able to visit yet, and we always get requests for meet-ups in cities across the country. So, I’m so excited to announce that we’ll be offering more reader meet-up events in the coming months — and, yes, in cities that have eluded us....

What can you do if you need to take an earlier flight to get to your destination on time? Can you switch from an international connecting flight to a non-stop to your destination? Standby rules are pretty clear for domestic flights, but can get murky when traveling internationally. Read on to learn more about the policies of major domestic airlines for international standby travel.Image courtesy of Shutterstock.AmericanAccording to their page on Same-day Flight Change and Standby Options, these options are only available for flights in the U....

Every week, the TSA blogs about items (mostly weapons) that agents have confiscated at airports around the country, and the agency posts some of the crazier ones on its Instagram page. Below are the five most ridiculous items that were confiscated this month — at least according to us at Team TPG. As always, we’re grateful that the TSA remains diligent in preventing passengers from boarding aircraft with such dangerous weapons....

Marriott Rewards has nine hotel categories that range from 7,500 - 45,000 Marriott points per night (and that’s not even counting the Ritz Carlton tiers), but it is only the first five Marriott hotel categories that come into play for those with the very common Marriott Category 1-5 award certificates. These certificates come into play due to the Marriott credit cards, Marriott bonus promotions, and more. Because of the prevalence of the category limitations on these awards, finding the best Category 1-5 Marriott hotel has been an issue for quite a while....

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.My friend and fellow blogger Ric from Loyalty Traveler is currently participating in a charity drive by travel bloggers to raise money to build libraries in Zambia. Tomorrow, December 16 is the last day to donate to be eligible to win a prize....