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Hi everyone. I wanted to introduce you to a friend and colleague whom you’ll be seeing more frequently around The Points Guy, Eric Rosen.I’ll still be the one giving you the daily news and my best picks for promos, deals, specials and credit cards, but you’re going to notice some great changes as The Points Guy grows. We’re going to refresh the blog format so you can find all the valuable information you need easier, as well as bringing you a lot of new content with more posts from expert contributors....

Update 12/8/16 3:11pm: A deals site has shared a leaked list of JetBlue’s upcoming promos, including:30% off some vacation packages4x TrueBlue points (for flights booked on one day only)$32 fares to the Dominican Republic and Puerto RicoUp to 75% bonus on purchased TrueBlue points50% off a Lyft ride (new customers only)$25 fares to New York and Boston$50 off international faresUp to 50% off an air + hotel packageJetBlue is running a fun promotion called A December to Adventure to help get us all into the holiday spirit....

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.Lufthansa operates a very diverse long-haul fleet, but despite the great variety of aircraft, the airline is fantastic about offering a consistent product from one plane to the next. So you can fly an A340-600 from JFK to Frankfurt, spend some time at Lufthansa’s fantastic lounges and then catch a connecting 747-8 flight to Asia with the exact same seat on both planes....

The Transportation Security Administration confiscated another loaded gun from a US airport security checkpoint over the weekend, this time at Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI).According to the TSA, a Maryland man entered the line at the security checkpoint on Saturday and put his carry-on bag through the X-ray machine. Officers noticed that the bag contained a handgun and paged the Maryland Transportation Authority Police, who confiscated the firearm and arrested the man on weapons charges....

In September, United matched my American Airlines Executive Platinum to Platinum Premier status, good until February 2014. My plan was to try and requalify for Premier 1K this year, since I fly a lot of transcontinental flights and generally enjoy their p.s. service- and I think United miles are the most valuable airline currency. However, things haven’t been so smooth- in September I redeemed for a business class one-way Miami-Zurich-Nice award on Swiss Airlines and was told the ticket was invalid and was denied boarding....

Qantas has announced the next route for its newest Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft — the same aircraft that will soon operate the world’s longest flight. On Monday, the carrier announced that it’s set to begin Dreamliner operations on its route between Brisbane (BNE) and Los Angeles (LAX), continuing on to New York (JFK).The Dreamliner’s business-class cabin.Beginning September 1, 2018, Qantas will offer daily Dreamliner service between BNE and LAX, then continuing on to JFK....

For most passengers, flying business class means having a few pre-flight drinks in the lounge, eating too many courses on a plane and then getting a little sleep on lie-flat seats. Turkish Airlines, with its flying-chefs service in business class, wants you to have something else on your flight: a little romance. On flights of eight hours or more, upper-class flyers can now enjoy their dining experience — alone or with a loved one — by candlelight....

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.Happy Friday to everyone! This morning Southwest has been sending out 20% off codes via email that are unique and good for one use only on Wanna Get Away fares. The reservation can be good for up to eight people, so your whole family should be able to benefit from the 20% discount if they are traveling together....

Update, 9/15: After indicating that it would retire the Sukhoi Superjet, Interjet has backtracked, issuing a press release to say that “we will continue to operate this aircraft” – and then issuing another statement indicating that at least some of the airplanes will be phased out.There is only one Russian-made jet in commercial service in North America outside Cuba — and this rare bird is going to disappear soon. Mexico’s low-fare airline Interjet is getting rid of the Sukhoi Superjet 100, a 100-seat airliner, after operating it for just five years....

Update 6/21/17: An earlier version of this post referenced 3-3-3 seating in economy, however with this 777 retrofit, Qatar has added a seat to most rows, with 10-abreast seating now the norm.At the last Paris Air Show, way back in 2015, Qatar Airways stole the show with its then-new Airbus A350, complete with 1-2-1 business-class seats and a refreshed economy cabin. This time around, the airline’s back in the spotlight, showing off its retrofitted 777-300ER for the very first time....

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.Another day, another video of airline employees handling luggage like they’re competing in an Olympic hammer-throwing contest. The culprit this time is Cathay Pacific, when handlers were caught red-handed in Hong Kong via passenger video shared on Facebook....

Everyone has seen the video of the man being dragged off the United Airlines flight. The loop ran continuously on all the major news outlets. United settled the claim for an undisclosed amount most likely because of the virality of the video. The airlines’ response to such publicity was not exclusively to change its policies to be more passenger friendly. In the event that this happens again, airlines are trying to make sure that there is no leaked footage which can be more damaging than any potential lawsuit....

Until today, United’s much-improved Polaris business-class seats have been available on just 14 of the airline’s new 777-300ERs, which are currently assigned to a small selection of United’s longest international routes. With the exception of San Francisco to Frankfurt (which launches next month), the 777 doesn’t operate any transatlantic service, which means premium-cabin passengers traveling to Europe fly a variety of the carrier’s older seats — some perfectly serviceable, others not so much....

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 the competition to improve the passenger experience, cabin developer Zodiac Aerospace is appealing to your sense of smell. Speaking to Runway Girl Network, the aviation manufacturer announced the launch of FIVE, a cabin diffusion system designed to deliver custom fragrance to passengers....

Travelers are using their smartphones more now than ever. Trip inspiration, planning, booking, maps and logistics have never been easier, thanks to helpful apps. Everyone knows about Kayak or Google Maps, but there’s actually a bunch of quirkier travel apps to download that could make your vacation just a little more exciting. Check out these apps to spice up your next vacation and look for other posts in this series on useful apps for travel planning, travel logistics and getting around town....

SPG Moments are one of the most unique aspects — and best parts — of the Starwood Preferred Guest program. The option to spend your Starpoints on amazing experiences instead of flights or free hotel nights is what helps to set the SPG program apart from its competitors. And one of the hottest tickets in the SPG Moments portfolio only comes around once a year — VIP access at the US Open....

The Democratic Republic of the Congo declared a new outbreak of the Ebola virus on Tuesday, after two people in the country were confirmed to be infected, according to World Health Organization.The current outbreak is in Bikoro, on the shores of Lake Tumba, in Congo. Congo’s Health Ministry said that two of five samples sent to the National Institute of Biological Research came back positive for Ebola in the country’s Equateur province....

The captain and first officer of an Air China 737 that plunged 25,000 feet after one of them starting vaping in the cockpit will be fired, the carrier said Friday.“After an investigation to verify the incident, the decision is to suspend the related crew from flying and terminate the contracts in accordance with the law," Air China said in a statement. “The crew members who are responsible for the incident have been seriously dealt with....

Update 2/15/18: Alaska has clarified its policy since it was first announced. It will not block last-minute partner awards on bookings from from North America — the restrictions will only apply to intra-Asia award tickets only.Alaska Airlines has made a large and negative change to its MileagePlan award program. On February 8th, the airline updated three of its partner pages saying that award flights must be booked at least 72 hours before the departure time....

This post was scheduled to run today prior to getting news of the terrible school shooting in Connecticut today, but everyone on The Points Guy team is thinking of the victims and their loved ones affected by the tragedy.Thanks to all who entered my “Rad Giveaway” this week where I offered the chance for four TPG readers to win a free night each at any North American Radisson or Radisson Blu....