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.A group of cheeky Brits decided to have a bit of fun with the staff at London Stansted Airport (STN) on their way to a bachelor party — and lucky for us, it was all captured on camera....
An American Airlines passenger was arrested on Sunday after he allegedly touched one passenger inappropriately and fought with another passenger before resisting arrest from several police officers who boarded the aircraft.American Airlines Flight 2446 was preparing to depart from Miami (MIA) to Chicago (ORD) when the airline said a “disagreement occurred between two passengers.” NBC News reports that one passenger began touching a female passenger inappropriately before the boyfriend of the female passenger alerted authorities about the incident....
A Mega Do is an event set up by frequent flyers and the airlines, where we charter a jet and fly around to different cities and the airlines/hotels set up really interesting events that provide access to places few people ever get to see. On past Mega Dos I have gotten to use a United Airlines pilot training simulator, toured the Frankfurt LSG SkyChef facility and even gotten to participate in flight attendant training at the American Airlines flight attendant training facility....
After flying over the ocean in British Airways business class, spending a few great days in London at the Hyatt Regency Churchill, playing in Hyde Park, taking the tour inside Buckingham Palace, eating in the Disney Cafe at Harrods, and more, we headed to King’s Cross Station to catch our train to Scotland.It was really a toss-up from a price standpoint between flying or taking the train from London to Edinburgh, but we opted for the train to eliminate some of the stress and hassles of going through Heathrow....
Each Saturday, we round up news stories that you may have missed from the week before, including several that already appeared on The Points Guy, and some more that we haven’t covered yet. If you’re an avid TPG reader, scroll down for the new stuff. Here’s the top miles, points and travel news you may have missed this week:It’s been a long time coming, but Marriott and Starwood are finally merging....
A recent study published by Agoda revealed the most annoying travel habits, as reported by 10 different countries, spanning three different continents. Which habits did over 10,000 travelers find report as most annoying?The worst offenders were noisy travelers (57%), then travelers glued to their phones (47%) and those insensitive to cultural nuances (46%) were the biggest pet peeves. Mass tour groups (36%) and selfie-takers (21%) were the other two major annoyances....
Weather can throw a major wrench in travel plans, like its doing to thousands of people around the world, due to the snow “storms” in Europe this past week. So what do you do when you airline says you can’t fly for another, oh say, 6 days? Get creative.Don’t take their answer as the final authority. From an agents view, they are trying to accommodate tons of people, so they aren’t going to look into every single routing option for every passenger....
Per this CBS News report, US Airways filed preliminary Securities and Exchange Commission filings to begin a takeover of American Airlines. This does not mean a takeover/merger has been agreed upon, but simply that US Airways has discussed the possibility with the key labor unions involved and they’ve come up with an agreed upon plan if this all comes to fruition. Of course, we have no idea what is currently (or has been) discussed between US Airways and American and while American has stated it would like to come out of bankruptcy as a stand-alone carrier, they’ve got a lot to do - especially since they just posted a staggering 1....
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.There are plenty of reasons to visit St. Maarten — crystal clear waters, beautiful beaches, relaxed Caribbean lifestyle and…plane spotting? Yes, plane spotting. The Caribbean island holds a special place in the hearts of aviation enthusiasts everywhere because its main airport, Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) is located adjacent to Maho Beach, a sun drenched beach where plane spotters can ditch the sneakers and binoculars for flip-flops and bathing suits to experience airplanes taking off from a front row seat....
Check out this week’s travel contests and sweepstakes to try your hand at winning a dream trip to Mexico, a week in St. Martin, a city break in Austin, a family trip to Orlando or a winter getaway to sunny South Beach in Miami, FL.Win a trip to MexicoWin a Beach Trip to Mexico From Travel + Leisure, Food52, InStyle & PannaYou can win a trip to Mexico, including:Four night hotel stay at the Mahekal Beach Resort in Playa del Carmen, MexicoMAP meal plan including breakfast and lunch or dinner at resort restaurants onlyA $2000 AMEX gift card$200 to Food52’s online shopA one-year subscription to Travel + Leisure, InStyle, and PannaThe contest is open to legal residents of the 50 United States and District of Columbia who are at least 21 years old as of the date of entry....
Mardi Gras — aka Fat Tuesday, Carnival, Shrove Tuesday — is the celebration leading up to the traditional lenten fasting season that takes place in the Catholic community. New Orleans was the first city in the country to celebrate — although Mobile, Alabama residents may disagree — and Mardi Gras celebrations have become major holidays in cities and countries around the world, from Brazil to Australia. Each city recognizes and celebrates Mardi Gras or Carnival in its own unique way, but they all have one thing in common: lots and lots of partying and dancing....
Bomb threats should never be taken lightly, and yesterday morning United flight 4941 operated by CommutAir from Albany (ALB) to Newark (EWR) was the latest to experience a scare. The flight was evacuated when a man uttered the word “bomb” while on board the flight before it had departed the gate. Luckily, everyone on board was safe, no bomb was found and the flight took off about two hours after its scheduled departure (without the passenger in question)....
A bus caught fire outside a terminal at London’s Stansted Airport (STN) on Friday, forcing parts of the airport to be evacuated. At 4:40pm local time, Stansted Airport tweeted that a “car park shuttle bus” was on fire and that “parts of the terminal building are being evacuated due to smoke.“Videos and pictures shared on social media show the severity of the flames.https://www.instagram.com/p/Bg8974DB6lI/?taken-by=idontdoarttInside the terminal, a massive inferno appeared to be raging outside....
T.J. Miller, better known as Erlich Bachman on the HBO hit series “Silicon Valley,” travels more than most actors; it’s woven into the stand-up comic life. Here, the quirky, cerebral humorist, who will star in Steven Spielberg’s forthcoming film “Ready Player One” (now filming), offers advice about toiletries, carry-ons and his need to always pack an abundance of socks.What’s the most exotic locale you’ve hit so far?Appelton, Wisconsin, hands down. I know where to go for the giant Chinese buffet....
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.Phone booking charges are one of the most annoying fees airlines charge customers. In some cases, the fees can’t be avoided because the airlines make it impossible to redeem award flights or find flight availability on their websites, although some carriers like AA now waive fees for awards that can’t be booked online....
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.A series of Northern California wildfires continues its devastating push through the region. As of Wednesday morning, more than 17 people have been confirmed dead and more than 2,000 buildings have been completely destroyed. The lush vineyards and rolling hills of Sonoma and Napa counties now look like an apocalyptic scene....
For the second installment of our new TPG weekend series, “Favorite Places,” I’m sharing a couple of hotspots in the huge, stylish city of São Paulo, Brazil. My recent trip there was inspired by amFAR’s Inspiration Gala, but I also managed to squeeze in some local nightlife—a popular restaurant called SPOT, and the ultra-cool Skye Bar at the Hotel Unique.I was thrilled to meet two Brazilian TPG readers, Alexandre Zylberstajn and Maria Pia Garcia, at SPOT in Sao Paulo—totally out of the blue!...
Today I want to share a story from TPG reader Brooks, who avoided expensive award change fees on a recent trip. Here’s what he had to say:One benefit of my Delta Platinum Medallion status is that the normal $150 per ticket mileage redeposit fee is waived for canceled award travel. This benefit paid off surprisingly well for me recently, when I used it for the first time.Back in June, my family decided we wanted to spend next spring break in Orlando, so I started monitoring for the lowest cost non-stop flights and award options....
Loyal readers know how important Points for Peace is to me — and I’m always coming up with creative ways to help achieve our goals of flying Nobel Peace Prize laureates around the world to teach the world’s youth about peace. At the same time, I’ve been a strong supporter of Housing Works, an organization that gives housing and legal support to some of the most underserved New Yorkers — those homeless and living with HIV/AIDS....
Any time you’re shopping online without going through a shopping portal, you’re leaving valuable airline miles, hotel points or cashback on the table. It’s such a fundamental part of earning points and miles that “use a shopping portal” is listed at #6 in The Points Guy’s beginner’s guide:https://player.vimeo.com/video/213121085Southwest wants to make sure that you never accidentally forget to use its shopping portal. It just released a new “Rapid Rewards Shopping button” as a Chrome extension....
