Virgin Hyperloop One, the leading company when it comes to Hyperloop production, released an app today that shows what it would be like to book a ride on the high-speed system.Hyperloop One partnered with mapping company HERE to develop the concept app, which was revealed at CES on Monday. Although it’s just a concept right now, the public can plan on seeing the app in action later this year, according to TechCrunch....
Over the last few years, the transatlantic market has become saturated with low-cost carrier’s like Norwegian, WOW and Level. Earlier this year, Primera Air became the newest player in town when it commenced operations with flights from the Northeastern US to London (STN) and Paris (CDG). After announcing flights to Brussels (BRU), Berlin (TXL) and Frankfurt (FRA) over the last few weeks, the carrier will add even more routes to its roster....
TPG reader Lee sent me a message on Facebook to ask about transferring points:“I know I can transfer some hotel points to Southwest for the Companion Pass. Do the names on the accounts have to match, or could I transfer from my hotel account to my spouse’s Rapid Rewards account?”Transferring points between hotel and airline loyalty programs generally isn’t a good idea because you sacrifice a lot of value in the process....
Daily Getaways is a travel promotion sponsored by American Express and U.S Travel Association, which sells travel packages and even points/miles at a discount. This time around, the promotion runs from April 9-May 11 and before you get too excited, the deals they’ve announced so far are somewhat boring. These deals will go live every Monday-Friday at 1:00 pm EDT, though some will have a pre-sale beginning at 12pm EDT that you can get access to by liking a particular offer on Facebook (more on that below)....
After a long 137 days, my wait to hold my own Chase Sapphire Reserve card is finally over! Okay that is a bit overly dramatic, but I have wanted this card, its 100,000 sign-up bonus points, its 3x earning on travel and dining, its $300 annual travel credit, and more pretty much every day since it first came out last August. I was unable to get it for the first few months after the initial release because I had too many new credit card accounts in the previous 24 months, but thankfully I recently got back under the magic number of five new accounts in the last 24 months and was approved for my own Chase Sapphire Reserve....
Update 1/30/17 1:20pm: This quarter’s PointBreaks hotels are now available to book. Head to this page to select the property you’d like to redeem for.Today, IHG released the new list of PointBreaks hotels for stays from January 30 to April 30. But, don’t scramble to book hotels quite yet. While the full list has been released, the discount won’t be applied until sometime on Monday, January 30.If you’re unfamiliar, IHG PointBreaks are reduced-rate award redemptions at IHG hotels (InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo and Holiday Inn) that require just 5,000 Rewards Club points per award night....
Domestic airport club lounges rarely get me excited, however I was interested to learn that American Express had opened a lounge at Las Vegas’s McCarran International Airport on February 26, which is free for Amex Centurion (Black Card) and Platinum cardholders and $50 for anyone with a valid American Express Credit or Charge card.Is it worth it? TPG reader Dave White was one of the first people to get in there for a free tour, and he sent us his thoughts as well as a gallery’s worth of photos, so I’ll let his pictures do the talking....
In this second installment of her new column, “Carrie’s Galley Gossip,” TPG Insider Carrie A. Trey — a flight attendant for a major airline — shares some of her favorite stories about life at 35,000 feet.First of all, if you haven’t read the first installment of my column, you can check that out here. Then, dig in to part two.Breast is BestI was getting the aft galley in economy ready for our midnight departure from Lagos, Nigeria (LOS) back to Dubai (DXB) when a 20-something-year-old Englishman came flying into the galley, breathing heavily, pointing frantically and generally giving me the impression that someone was having a heart attack....
London Heathrow airport has been fined $160,000 for losing a USB memory drive containing highly sensitive information last October.The USB memory stick had been found on a London street October 17 by a passerby, who then viewed the contents on a computer at the local library before passing along the flash drive to the UK newspaper the Sunday Mirror. Heathrow, however, did not report the lost device until October 26, and the first media report about the data breach was published on October 29....
After the Maldivian government declared a state of emergency earlier this month, tourists around the world are canceling their beachfront vacations in droves.The blow to the Maldives’ tourism industry is significant, as it accounts for over 30% of the country’s gross domestic product, reaching $3.5 billion in 2017. Ratings agency Moody’s has said it will lower its 4.5% growth forecast for 2018 if tourists avoid the island nation for a prolonged 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.IHG Rewards PointBreaks are reduced-level award redemptions at IHGhotels (Intercontinental, Crowne Plaza, Indigo, Holiday Inn, etc.) that require just 5,000 points for a free night and change every two months. The current list can be found here, and IHG has just announced that the next list for stays from March 24-May 31 will be released on Monday....
Update: This offer is no longer available.I’m officially green with envy if you live in California as the insane offer to earn a Southwest Companion Pass valid through the end of 2018 with just one purchase on your new Southwest card is reportedly now open to all California residents instead of just those who were lucky enough to be targeted the first time around.With this crazy offer, not only do you get the Companion Pass until the end of 2018 with card approval and just one purchase on the card, but you also still get 40,000 sign-up bonus Rapid Reward points after spending $1,000 in the first three months....
Here’s a recap of the interesting points and miles news from this week:US Airways is offering a 100% bonus when sharing miles.US Airways 100% Share Miles Bonus Ends Tuesday: Last week, US Airways launched their 100% share miles bonus that runs now through Tuesday, October 15, 2013. Through the promo, Members may receive a maximum of 50,000 bonus miles during the offer period, but you can send as many miles as you’d like to other accounts and each is eligible to earn up to 50,000 bonus miles....
There may not be two other words that carry the same weight among aviation geeks as “Kai Tak.” Speak the name of Hong Kong’s old airport to anybody who fancies themselves a commercial aviation expert, and you’ll inevitably hear back some version of “Oh, that landing!“Closed in 1998 to make way for a bigger — and way easier to land at — airport, Kai Tak was famous for a fiendishly difficult approach to a runway in the middle of Kowloon Bay that forced pilots to maneuver steeply, just above the roofs of a heavily populated city, before hitting the brakes hard to avoid ending up in the water....
Airbus Corporate Jets (ACJ) has created a new cabin design concept for its long-haul aircraft, and it’s stunning, to say the least. Dubbed Harmony, the new cabin combines benefits like the space and quietness of Airbus wide-body aircraft to “produce a consistently harmonious customer experience.“The new cabin design is based on the Airspace cabin brand from the Airbus airliner family and was initially designed for the ACJ330neo, but can be adapted to fit other Airbus wide-bodies, like the Airbus ACJ350XWB....
The fallout continues for United in the wake of Flight 3411. While the airline won’t fire anyone for the incident, United is facing a potentially costly lawsuit from Dr. David Dao and is working on a full investigation on the incident. The report — and policy changes it may contain — is expected April 30.But it’s not just the courts and the court of public opinion that United is still facing potential backlash from....
A commercial flight with no front wheels made an emergency landing in Lima, Peru, Sunday evening, causing the nose of the aircraft to spark against the runway.LC Peru flight 1323 was scheduled to land in Ayacucho, a city in south-central Peru, when it made the emergency landing in Lima. The aircraft, reportedly a Bombardier Dash-8 Q400, was forced into a belly-landing because the front landing gear wheels did not release as it reached the runway....
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.In a recent interview with Forbes magazine , Sir Richard Branson stated that Virgin would be joining an alliance in the near future. As a London based carrier, they’d obviously be competing with British Airways, so Oneworld is out - but that leaves Star Alliance and Skyteam....
While we mostly cover chain hotel programs, we certainly recognize the value of independent properties. They can provide unique and/or boutique experiences, sometimes in fascinating locations where chain hotels couldn’t or wouldn’t go.But, if you’re used to chain hotels, it might be strange to book a stay at an independent one, where you might not be sure what to expect. Will you get free internet? How about free breakfast? Will you be able to get early check-in or late check-out?...
Dubai is known as a shopper’s paradise, and its airports are no exception. Now, Emirates and Dubai Duty Free have teamed up to allow passengers to redeem Emirates Skywards miles for products sold at the stores, including electronics, clothing and cosmetics. When you’re ready to check out, you simply present your Skywards membership card (or recite your membership number if you have it memorized) along with your passport and boarding pass, and the store will redeem miles for your purchase....
