Buyer beware: Tourists trying to save a few dollars purchasing knockoff souvenirs along Italy’s beaches could end up with fines that cost them dearly.New penalties, which are being pushed by an Italian trade lobby called Confesercenti, are expected to be in place by the end of June for an existing law that makes it illegal to purchase counterfeit goods. The fines for shoppers who get caught can be up to €7,000, or $8,194....
This March, Emirates launched a fourth business-class product. The carrier’s Boeing 777s offer three varieties, while the Airbus A380 has a more consistent 1-2-1 arrangement throughout the fleet.Although the 777-300ER just got a major makeover at the Dubai Air Show last November, the airline’s older 777-200LRs now sport the best Triple-7 biz, with a 2-2-2 arrangement, compared to 2-3-2 on the new -300ER.Emirates’ new 2-2-2 business class on the 777-200LR. Photo by Zach Honig....
After my 5 day stint in Madrid, I had 4 days before my next commitment with friends (and Flyertalkers), which would be a 3 day weekend in beach town, Sitges. I toyed with doing Rioja or San Sebastian, but after talking to a very close friend who recently visited the Costa Brava, I was sold.The Costa Brava is the coastal region north of Barcelona, which is popular with tourists, but has retained an “authentic” charm....
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available – Citi Hilton HHonors Visa Signature CardUpdate 12/21/16: The 5,000 bonus points per stay promo has been extended through January 31, 2017, so you still have a few weeks to earn.One of the best parts of the Hilton HHonors program is the variety of promotions the company runs for its members — and, more specifically, how often they’re available. Right now, there are a couple of pretty nice promotions going on....
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.Yesterday, we told you about a great deal where you could earn 130 Avios per dollar spent at eHarmony.com. However, dating sites aren’t the only places where you can earn a ton of bonus Avios with this promo....
Now through September 30, 2013, Gogo Inflight WiFi has teamed up with American Airlines to offer flyers a free in-flight movie on select American Airlines flights including transcontinental flights between Los Angeles to New York’s John F. Kennedy. You can choose your free inflight movie by entering promo code FREESHOW at check-out.Receive a complimentary in-flight movie.The free movie code is meant to promote Gogo’s new service which allows passengers to stream movies directly from Gogo while in-flight (and you can actually finish the movie on the ground if you don’t watch the whole thing on your flight)....
American Airlines is offering pretty amazing first class fares between JFK and San Francisco and vice versa - as low as $437 each way. These fares are only offered on the 763 aircraft, which is a two-cabin plane and features the airline’s standard angled business class seats.I checked United and Delta and they don’t seem to be matching - on the days where American has $437 fares, their business class prices out to $1,700 or more and I checked JFK-Los Angeles and a couple other cities, but none seems to be as cheap as this- or even close....
TPG Editor-in-Chief Zach Honig recently returned from a fantastic family trip to Southeast Asia, but he arrived to a nasty surprise in Bali.Earlier this summer I signed up for Google’s Project Fi. I’m perfectly happy with my iPhone and Verizon service at home, but Google’s offer of very cheap international data was too good to pass up. To use Project Fi, you need to have a Nexus 6 Android smartphone. Basic Fi service costs $20 per month, then you pay $10 per 1GB of data you use (you’ll receive a refund for any data you don’t use in any given month, down to the megabyte)....
Today, I want to share a story from TPG reader Jerry, whose strategy for maximizing his Rapid Rewards points backfired. Here’s what he had to say:I was able to obtain a Southwest Companion Pass a year ago, and have used it a number of times. I always check to see if award rates have gone down after I book, but Southwest makes you first cancel your companion before you can change the original ticket....
One of my favorite things about going to frequent flyer events, like the MegaDo’s, is the opportunity to meet other families who also enjoy traveling around the world with their kiddos. One of those such travelers I had the chance to meet is my new friend Michael, better known as jetsetr in online miles and points forums. He and his wife have had some pretty extensive travel experiences with their now four and eight year old children....
I have a confession to make: I haven’t always been a good boy when it comes to credit.In college, I discovered the seemingly wonderful world of credit when MBNA (now owned by Bank of America) issued me a nifty University of Pittsburgh MasterCard with a whopping $5,000 credit limit. Spring break anyone? In fact I did go to Dublin, Ireland that year on spring break (to be fair, I got a $330 roundtrip airfare from PIT-PHL-MAN-DUB which sealed my Gold status at the time), and not surprisingly I ended up racking up several thousand dollars on the card, which I carried with me upon graduation when “surely I’ll be making the big bucks in no time and this balance will be nothing....
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.Openskies is an all-business class airline that flies from NY and Washington, DC to Paris. To celebrate one year of service from DC, they are offering rock-bottom fares. I priced out a Memorial Day trip DC - Paris and it came to $1,527 total, roundtrip which is a pretty incredible deal....
The slumping sales of A380 aircraft could mean the loss of thousands of Airbus jobs across Europe.Airbus announced Wednesday that due to lagging orders of its superjumbo A380 jet, it would have to move or cut 3,700 jobs as it deals with reduced production rates. Workers’ positions in France, Germany, Spain and the UK are at risk.Airbus is cutting its superjumbo output to only six A380s per year starting in 2020, according to Bloomberg....
If you’ve noticed a lot of long faces in the office today — even longer than on a typical Monday — it might have a little something to do with a magical kingdom known as Westeros. Sunday night marked the end of Game of Thrones’ thrilling penultimate season and now fans of the pop culture juggernaut may be forced to wait as long as 18 months to find out how it will all end....
After a two-week delay due to technical issues, yesterday Norwegian Air took delivery of two Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft — the first of 100 already on order. Billed as more efficient than both its 737 predecessors and competitors like the A321neo, the MAX 8 is a perfect fit for the airline as it continues to add service to the US and elsewhere. Starting later this summer, these planes (along with four more to be delivered in 2017) will fly between northern Europe and Norwegian’s new bases on the East Coast....
2017 was a banner year for tension in airline-passenger relationships. But opportunities for conflict can run high among passengers themselves, whether from people who attempt to self-upgrade, vomit attacks, or stricter and stricter guidelines.In a social environment that’s become increasingly difficult to navigate, TPG Lounge member Russell S asked:“What’s your opinion on deplaning etiquette? Does it slow down the process if people from the back rush the front? What if you have a super tight connection?...
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.On Friday, United announced to its employees that it would be changing the quarterly bonus structure. Rather than most United employees earning up to $375 per quarter when the airline hit performance metrics, the new plan would enter all qualifying United employees who had perfect attendance that quarter into a lottery....
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.Ellen Degeneres has been known to host some spectacular giveaways on her show — in addition to poking a little fun at the airline industry. On today’s episode, the comedian was pondering some odd pairings — sauna pants and a flask built into a sports bra — before she stopped at what she described as a successful pairing: Virgin America and Alaska Airlines....
Update 7/5/2018: American Airlines has confirmed that the “tech glitch” that was improperly routing callers has now been fixed.We are getting multiple reports from TPG readers this weekend of an issue with American Airlines’ phone system. When some AAdvantage elite members are calling their elite help desk phone number, they’re being told that AAdvantage Customer Service is “closed at this time.” The message directs members to call back “during business hours” before the call is disconnected....
Lan is the premier Oneworld carrier servicing South America with multiple hubs, such as Lima, Guayaquil and Santiago, Chile. Their frequent flyer program Lanpass is giving away 1,000 kilometers just for signing up (it takes less than a minute). I just did it and didn’t see the 1,000 kms, so I assume they will take some time to post.Even if you have no plans to fly Lan, you should familiarize yourself with their frequent flyer program, because it can be very generous for Oneworld awards - especially if you have Starwood Preferred Guest points since they transfer at a 1:2 ratio with a 10,000 Lanpass point bonus for every 20,000 Starwood points transferred (20k Starwood = 50k Lanpass Kms)....
