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Each Saturday, we round up news stories that you might have missed from the week before. Here’s the top miles, points and travel news you might have missed on TPG this week.Watch a Comedian Hilariously Say What Every Parent Thinks at Disney WorldA family trip to Walt Disney World is magical… and exhausting. Comedian John Crist says what every parent visiting Disney World thinks but may not always say.I Wish It Never Ended: Lufthansa First Class From Chicago to Frankfurt on the 747-8Spectacular food, stellar service, a great seat, the allure of the Boeing 747 and even a Porsche Cayenne to top it all off....

Four weeks after a deadly helicopter crash in NYC that’s led to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ban of doors-off helicopter flights, shocking details have emerged from internal company emails about the safety of these flights.According to a detailed NYTimes report, helicopter pilots repeatedly expressed concerns about the safety of harnesses used by passengers in these doors-off FlyNYON flights. However, executives at the company dismissed concerns about the very harnesses that would end up trapping the passengers in their seats....

The head of the Transportation Security Administration said that airport security needs to expand beyond just checkpoints and into other public areas of airports.“We can no longer focus only on preventing the bad guys from getting into the secure area of an airport,” David Pekoske, the TSA administrator, said.Pekoske became TSA Administrator seven months ago after serving as US Coast Guard vice admiral. The remarks come from the first “State of the TSA” address on Wednesday....

Lately I’ve been really impressed with United’s Twitter Deals a.k.a Twares. This week, they’ve been even more impressive as United celebrated their 100,000th Twitter follower- not bad (though still sorely lagging JetBlue’s 1.5 million + followers).To celebrate the big 100k, they announced $100/$200 fares in many popular markets:Chicago to/from: Jacksonville, FL $100Tampa, FL $100Denver to/from:Phoenix, AZ $100San Francisco to/from: Phoenix, AZ $100Washington Dulles to/from: Jacksonville, FL $100New Orleans, LA $100Pensacola, FL $100Phoenix, AZ $200Tampa, FL $100So how do you get in on these deals?...

TPG reader Hillary sent me a message on Facebook to ask about airline fees:“Which airlines nickel-and-dime you the most on fees? I vote United, but I’d like to hear your take.”Airline fees have skyrocketed over the past few years, ranging from relatively mundane charges like baggage fees to truly ridiculous add-ons like the fee just to sign up for the Qantas Frequent Flyer program. These fees have become a significant revenue stream for airlines, and while you’ll occasionally see them dropped (like Delta’s phone booking fee), I don’t think they’re likely to go away in general....

Here are my top picks for travel contests circulating the web this week.One million airline miles: upgrade to pilot class?Join Points.com to Win One Million Airline Miles: You could win one million airline miles by registering for the contest here and then joining Points.com. You can only enter if you are not already a registered user of Points.com, and you must be a legal resident of the US or Canada and over 18 years of age....

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.I don’t think I’ve ever created an Airtran frequent flyer account, or even helped a client use their points. Airtran operates a very simple program for which I did a program score card last year.I think the most unique thing about the program is the companion pass, which allows free companion flights for a year....

Residents of a tiny volcanic island 600 miles south of Tokyo are taking increased seismic activity detected on Mount Shindake by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) seriously. Kuchierabujima’s 100 residents have been asked to prepare for evacuation in response to volcanic earthquakes and sulfur emissions; it’s been recommended that the disabled “leave the island immediately,” according to Newsweek.A Level 4 warning — the second highest — has been issued for the area, only three miles wide, as of Wednesday....

Update: Aeroplan increased their award charts July 15, 2011Air Canada is known for having a pretty flexible frequent flyer program, Aeroplan (which is actually a separately operating company). Some of the things I love about Aeroplan are:1) 80,000 mile business class awards from North America to most of Western Europe2) 100,000 mile business class awards from North America to Asia 1 (China, Hong Kong, Japan, North Korea, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam)3) The ability to do a “Round the World” trip for 100,000 miles....

I’ve always thought that American Airlines is one of the more reasonable airlines when it comes to award ticket fees. Sure, they charge last minute booking fees, but they are flexible with changes to awards (free as long as the routing remains the same) and they never used to charge high fuel surcharges.A lot of this is changing on August 25, 2011 when they increase the 20-7 day late booking fee from $50 to $75....

One of the great perks of American Airlines co-branded credit cards are Reduced Mileage Awards. This discount program allows cardholders to book American Airlines flights for as little as 6,500 miles one-way — and that’s before factoring in the 10% rebate that many of these cards offer.This program has gotten even more valuable recently, since rather than discounting as few as 13 airports per month, the latest version has over 100 airports available each of the next four months, with 152 US airports included for at least one month between February and May....

“Reader Questions” are answered twice a week — Mondays and Fridays — by TPG Senior Writer Julian Mark Kheel.One of the more popular perks that come with Delta Platinum or Diamond elite status are the regional and global upgrade certificates. But if you don’t use your certificates before your status expires, do you lose them? That’s what TPG reader James asked us in an email…[pullquote source=“TPG Reader James”]I do not anticipate qualifying for 2018 status with Delta, but I had 2017 Delta Platinum status and the regional upgrade certificates that came with it....

Fifteen-year-old Darian Lipscomb of Prospect, Virginia, was surprised Tuesday night when he answered his door to find his name on the side of a truck next to a picture of Carnival Cruise’s “Chief Fun Officer,” Shaquille O’Neal.Carnival Cruise Line traveled to Virginia in search of Darian whose Snapchat handle is @CarnivalCruise. To find Darian, though, the cruise liner put signs all over his hometown that read, “Hey Prospect, does anyone know Darian?...

A Delta Air Lines pilot has been grounded after making false statements regarding his mental health. Adam Asleson, 39, of Peachtree, GA, was indicted on August 28 for falsely reporting to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that he did not suffer from any mental health disorders, including depression and anxiety.Asleson, who had previously been a US Air Force Pilot before joining Delta, had received help from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for a major depressive disorder....

Today’s installment of Daily Getaways are discounted Omni Hotels stay certificates. I personally don’t think these are an amazing deal, but they might save you money based on your stay plans. Remember, you get 10% off when you pay with an American Express card.A 1 Night Weekend Stay Certificate for the Omni NY Berkshire for $275. Use by December 30, 2011.A 2 Weekend Night Stay Certificate for $190. Must be redeemed by December 30, 2011 at one of the following hotels:CTBack to topThe Omni New Haven Hotel at YaleNew Haven, CTFLBack to topThe Omni Jacksonville HotelJacksonville, FLINBack to topThe Omni Severin Hotel Indianapolis, INMOBack to topThe Omni Majestic HotelSt....

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.Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here – Citi Hilton HHonors Visa Signature Card, Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express, Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American ExpressTypically, Delta elite members can earn one SkyMile per dollar spent at virtually all of Starwood’s hotels....

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.South Florida-based flyers will soon have a quicker means of getting to Israel. El Al Israel Airlines announced that it’s going to resume its route between Miami (MIA) and Tel Aviv (TLV). The route, which is set to launch in November, will resume El Al’s service on the route, which was terminated in September 2008....

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.The world’s largest long-haul carrier, Emirates, said Wednesday that a pilot shortage is forcing the airline to cut some flights heading into the peak season for global travel.Dubai-based Emirates is seeing its recent lagging sales now boosted by rising oil prices in Gulf economies — meaning more demand for local travel — and increased demand in the US market bouncing back from since-ended restrictions placed by President Donald Trump....

“Reader Questions” are answered twice a week — Mondays and Fridays — by TPG Senior Writer Julian Mark Kheel.With the end of the year now less than 60 days away, people are busy calculating how many more elite miles, segments or dollars they’ll need to make it to their elite status goal. But TPG reader Erica isn’t sure how to calculate the elite dollars on a ticket that starts this year and returns next year…[pullquote source=“TPG Reader Erica”]I have a round-trip Delta flight that leaves December 28, 2017, but returns January 7th, 2018....

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.TPG reader Matthew asks:“Most airline credit cards I see say, “Please allow 6 to 8 weeks for Credits to post to your account” for their sign-up bonuses. If I want to travel within those 6-8 weeks (i.e. go home for Thanksgiving), is there any way to expedite that process, or specific cards that don’t have that mandatory hold period?...