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TPG reader Theresa tweeted me to ask:@thepointsguy– “Why does American Airlines charge more than US Airways for the exact same flight?“To the common eye, airline fares don’t make any sense. Why would three flights connecting be cheaper than one of those segments alone? Why do shorter flights cost more than longer flights? Airline pricing usually is the way it is because of competition between routes. Different airlines also have different fare structures, and when airlines merge, they generally try to merge into one set of fares....

One of the new features of the Citi American Airlines AAdvantage credit cards is a 10% rebate in redeemed AA miles, up to 10,000 per year. I received my rebate in May of last year, but unbeknownst to me I got an additional 1,250 AA miles credited to my account in July as well.My original 10k bonus, which more than pays for the annual fee on my AA cardAt the time I probably just scanned my account and thought they were regular AA credit card miles and didn’t think twice about it....

Update: Deal is dead!Shopping malls are lucrative business for the airlines. They don’t run these sites, but instead sell miles to these third party companies who then offer special amounts to incentivize frequent-flyer mile obsessed people to shop through their portals. Every time you click through their portal, they get a certain kickback from the retailer that more than covers the cost of the miles they gives you. Everybody wins, right?...

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.Today, United and American Airlines have rolled out state-of-the-art automated security checkpoints at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD). United opened a redesigned TSA Precheck security checkpoint as well as three automated lanes in O’Hare’s Terminal 1, while American opened two automated lanes in Terminal 3....

American Airlines is finally launching service from Los Angeles (LAX) to Beijing (PEK), almost two years after it first signaled its intention to fly the route. According to One Mile At A Time, the carrier is commencing its daily Beijing service on November 5, with the following schedule:Los Angeles (LAX) 11:10am Departure ⇒ Beijing (PEK) 4:20pm (+1) ArrivalBeijing (PEK) 6:30pm Departure ⇒ Los Angeles (LAX) 3:15pm ArrivalWhile the aircraft type operating this route has yet to be announced, the airline has previously said that it will use its 289-seater Boeing 777-200 aircraft, which features either the “rocking” Zodiac or B/E Aerospace Super Diamond seats....

Under a newly approved information collection procedure, some foreigners applying for US visas will be asked for extensive background information, including biographical data for the previous 15 years and social media handles going back as far as five years.The new set of supplemental questions (warning: this form is a downloadable PDF document), which were proposed by the State Department and approved last month by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), asks applicants to provide details about all employers in the last 15 years, as well as every trip taken outside of the country of residence during that time, including locations visited, date visited, source of funds and length of stay....

While you might not be able to feel your fingers or toes thanks to the extreme cold hitting the US at the moment, the dire straits of winter do come with one perk: The Colonnade Hotel in Boston is offering room rates to match the temperature outside as part of its Frosty Fridays offer.That’s right: Even if it’s zero out. (No mention of compensation or additional refunds for temperatures below zero, however....

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.Art lovers who don’t mind getting a little wet now have a new destination to add to their travel bucket lists: Europe’s first underwater museum, Museo Atlántico, (the Atlantic Museum), located just off the coast of Lanzarote Island in Spain’s Canary Islands....

In what Starbucks is calling a 35-year-old dream, the company will finally open its first Italian store in Milan on Friday morning.A Starbucks in Italy — the espresso capital of the world — marks the company’s 78th global market, but it looks nothing like any of the coffee shops you’d see in neighboring European cities and the US. The Reserve Roastery in Milan is located in the former historic post office in Palazzo delle Poste....

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 better way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day than with The Points Guy at an Irish pub? Join TPG and other readers in Washington, D.C. next Thursday (March 16) to enjoy a happy hour complete with Guinness, Bailey’s and plenty of points and miles talk....

Marriott Vacations Worldwide has announced that it’s buying ILG Inc. for about $4.7 billion. The purchase will create one of the world’s largest luxury brands for timeshare vacation rentals, a purchase that is expected to save $75 million annually within two years.According to The Orlando Sentinel, ILG has 40 properties and more than 250,000 owners between Vistana Signature Experiences and Hyatt Vacation Ownership portfolios.Bloomberg says the combined firm will have about 100 resort properties around the world and 650,000 owners....

As a super frequent traveler, you need to learn to roll with the punches. Flights will be delayed. Turbulence will occur unexpectedly. People will be cranky in airports. However, as an SPG Lifetime Platinum and Ambassador and a Marriott Platinum member (due to reciprocity), when I pay full rate for a suite directly at Marriott.com, the last thing I expect at check-in is to be told the hotel wouldn’t honor my reservation....

A passenger on board an Alaska Airlines flight was detained after allegedly running down the aisle of the aircraft and yelling while completely naked.Johnny Ellis, a former state senator from Alaska, was a passenger on board Alaska Flight 107 from Seattle (SEA) to Anchorage (ANC) on Monday night. According to Ellis’ Twitter, the unidentified man ran “from front of plane to back, yelling and waving,” while naked. Ellis recounts that two “big guys” tackled the man and locked him in the lavatory....

The low-cost carrier Norwegian is on an expansion tear and shows no signs of letting up anytime soon. The airline announced today it plans to launch new routes from several additional US cities to London Gatwick (LGW) and Paris (CDG) in the spring of 2018. The new routes include two brand new US gateways for Norwegian — Chicago (ORD) and Austin (AUS).The new routes and city pairs bring the airline up to a total of 57 transatlantic routes from 15 US cities....

Passenger Anne Dowling filed a claim against United Airlines on July 5, alleging that the airline failed to protect her from repeated sexual assault from another passenger during a flight from Hong Kong (HKG) to San Francisco (SFO) on July 9, 2016. The alleged assailant, Monte Wedl, is listed as a co-defendant on the lawsuit, which alleges that the airline offered Wedl three or four cocktails on board. Wedl allegedly had also consumed a dose of Ambien....

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.An American Airlines 767 burst into flames after blowing a tire as it was attempting to take off from Chicago’s O’Hare airport (ORD). AA flight 383 was bound for Miami International Airport (MIA), but the takeoff was aborted and all passengers had to evacuate....

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.Like collecting rocks? Lalaria Beach on the Greek island of Skiathos is not the place to acquire your next find.Described by Travel+Leisure as “one of the most idyllic beaches in the world” in part for its clear waters, this special beach is also renowned for the distinctive smooth, white pebbles that comprise its shoreline....

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.Aircraft production is an ever-changing and tricky game that requires a lot of hedge betting on both the part of the manufacturer and its airline customers, and it’s typical for both parties to experience successes and setbacks. Boeing is now losing sales to competitor Airbus after ending production of its popular and successful 757 — a single-aisle, twin-engined jet that holds close to 200 people — several years ago....

Take a step back into the big-haired, John-Hughes-colored past with this ‘80s inspired Airbnb in Greenville, Texas. The McFly is a house in Dallas that owners Jeremy and Kelsey Turner have transformed into a retro time-warp.The home features some of the ‘80s most iconic staples, including a boombox on the mantel, neon signs and a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game. In the morning, guests can sink their spoons into offerings from the McFly’s cereal bar, featuring a bout of childhood favorites....

This scientifically proven summer hack is making us completely reevaluate what we thought we knew about staying cool in the heat. Apparently, hot + hot = cool in this strange universe.In some instances, a hot drink will cool you down quicker than a cool drink, a new study says. The counterintuitive logic was put to the test and proven by researcher Ollie Jay from the University of Ottawa’s School of Human Kinetics....