This is a guest post from my dad, Grandpa Points. He and my mom are in their mid-60’s, are (mostly) retired,and are ticking off “bucket list” destinations quicker than they ever thought possible thanks to miles, points, and travel deals. They have an intense love of this country, of its National Parks and treasures, and have no problem with a clean budget hotel room and an economy airline seat on a budget airline as long as it gets them where they want to be....
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.Here’s a quick recap of the interesting points and miles news from the week.Earn up to 10,000 American miles with Budget.10,000 American miles with Budget:American and Budget are partnering on a promotion that can earn travelers up to 10,000 bonus American miles and a 30% discount on car rentals at airport locations in the US and Canada between now and September 30, 2012....
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here - Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express, Starwood Preferred Guest Business Credit Card from American ExpressNow through December 13, 2013, Starwood is offering discounts of up to 25% on purchased points when you buy 5,000 points or more. Here’s how it breaks down:Buy 500-4,500 Starpoints: No discountBuy 5,000-12,500 Starpoints: 20% discountBuy 13,000-20,000 Starpoints: 25% discountNormally Starpoints cost 3....
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 recently had the honor of attending the inaugural Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Goalkeepers event, which aims to do good both domestically and abroad by expanding educational opportunities, enhancing worldwide healthcare and reducing extreme poverty. The organization is teaming up with some of the world’s most influential people to help advance progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals — otherwise known as the Global Goals — which 193 countries committed to achieving two years ago....
A strong passport is a blessing when it comes to seamless international travel. Being able to go in and out of various foreign countries without the hassle of applying for a visa, for example, can make a huge difference. But, for us Americans, our passports may not be as valuable as we think.The Nomad Passport Index, which ranks 199 countries’ “value of citizenship,” released its findings for 2017 (PDF). The Index uses a weighted approach that considers a variety of factors in order to come up with its rankings....
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.Cinco De Mayo weekend is almost here, and for many people the holiday includes the celebratory drink of choice: tequila. It’s no secret that travelers from all over the world go to Tequila, Jalisco Mexico (The Tequila capital of the world), to discover of all things tequila....
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 New Year’s from all of us at TPG! We’re starting the year off with a bang as we give away a $500 American Express Gift Card that can be used anywhere that accepts American Express for this week’s Thursday Giveaway....
365 days ago, I walked into this weird, crazy and amazing place with my debit card in my wallet and a confused look on my face. My coworkers were throwing around terms like “award redemptions,” “transfer ratios” and “bonus categories” like they were talking about the weather. I’m sorry, what? Could you say that a little louder for the people in the back?(That’s me. I’m the person in the back).I admittedly didn’t know much (read: anything) about the points and miles game before I started working here, but somehow convinced them to hire me… and as you would expect, I’ve learned a TON....
Even though Uber is blocked from setting up its own ride-sharing operations in Japan, that isn’t stopping the global startup from expanding in the country with a taxi-hailing pilot service that connects riders with other available taxi services.Uber plans to set up the program in the next few months on the Japanese island of Awaji and run the service through March 2019. The app’s test run will allow passengers to hail taxis from more than 20 local car services through Uber....
First-time visitors to Africa tend to gravitate toward well-known destinations such as South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania, but in this new travel series, TPG Special Contributor Eric Rosen sheds light on five of southern Africa’s other great safari destinations. The first four posts covered Zambia, Rwanda, Namibia and Malawi. For the final installment of this series, we visit one of Africa’s best-known but still uncrowded safari destinations: Botswana.As inspiration for travelers looking to experience something new, this series shares each country’s major safari areas and what wildlife you’re likely to see, as well as suggesting some places to stay....
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 just wanted to let everyone know that I’ve updated the Holiday Gift Guide for Travelers (which you can also find at the tab on the top right side of the site) with new suggestions from TPG readers, as well as a few gifts I’ve been searching out myself over the past couple weeks since it went live....
A passenger helicopter crash-landed in New York City’s East River near Roosevelt Island on Sunday evening around 7:15pm Eastern. The pilot survived but five passengers who were aboard the tourist helicopter were killed as a result of the crash, according to The New York Fire Department.The dramatic moment of the crash-landing was caught on video:The Federal Aviation Administration has already released a statement on the matter, confirming that the helicopter was a Eurocopter AS350:Shortly after the accident, additional videos appeared on social media showing the rescue efforts:After an impressively safe year of aviation in 2017, this year has been abruptly eventful with aviation accidents....
Update 4/5/17: Today, Emirates released a video showing the gate-side electronics checking and claim process — which is much better than what I was able to shoot with my cellphone. See the video embedded below.In case you missed it, there’s now a large carry-on electronics ban impacting flights from 10 Middle Eastern and African airports. To recap, no US-based airlines operate flights on these routes and the nine foreign carriers that are affected had to scramble to put procedures in place by the 96-hour deadline, which ended Saturday morning at 3:00am....
TPG reader @OogbieBoogie tweeted me to ask about rewards left behind by a loved one:@ThePointsGuy — “My father-in-law passed away. He has 46,000 Southwest points; Is it worth spending $460 to transfer them to one of our accounts?“First, please let me offer my condolences. Dealing with death is not an easy thing — and unfortunately, airlines don’t make it much easier. Some airlines will charge you a fee to transfer points, but most will close out the account, as is the case with Southwest:“Points may not be transferred to a Member’s estate or as part of a settlement, inheritance, or will....
In the 19th century, Nice was seen as a holiday retreat for the European elite. Not much has changed since then, as today this seaside village in the South of France draws five million visitors each year. It’s also home to one of the country’s busiest airports, with more than 12 million passengers flying on 57 airlines from 103 destinations around the globe. Here’s what you need to know about the city that serves as the gateway to the French Riviera, and how to holiday like the jet-set crowd without having to spend a cent....
Vous avez du feu? (Got a light?) Non? Well, you don’t have to park a cigarette between your lips or master the ultimate French pickup line to channel the atmosphere of the most classic Parisian cafés and their prized sidewalk terraces — you just need to have your camera ready. Whiling away an entire morning or afternoon in a Paris café is something the French have elevated to an art form that — with all due respect to le Starbucks — is, frankly, growing rarer and more necessary by the day....
From now through November 23, 2014, when you book a round-trip flight through Orbitz using Visa Checkout as your payment method, you’ll receive a promo code for a $100 discount on an Orbitz hotel stay completed between now and June 30, 2015.Orbitz is offering a $100 hotel promo code when you book a round-trip flight using Visa Checkout.To participate in this promotion, you’ll have to sign up through Orbitz for Visa Checkout, an encrypted digital wallet service that stores your credit card information in order to facilitate online payments....
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.Register here for double miles when you fly to Honolulu from Sept 14- Nov 1- with no limit or fare class restriction. This would be a great promo to stack with their double EQMs and bonus miles promo for flights from PIT/STL/RDU/BNA....
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 Club and Apple have a partnership that allows customers to earn four IHG® Rewards Club Points per dollar spend on qualifying Apple purchases. What better way to show your special someone that you love them by purchasing a brand-new Apple Watch Series 3 or iPhone X for them?...
On what would have been her 125th birthday, an aviation pioneer who broke both color and gender barriers is honored with her own Google Doodle. Bessie Coleman, credited as the first African-American woman to be granted a pilot’s license, is the subject of the iconic logo takeover, being seen in 14 countries around the world.According to a biography written by PBS, Coleman was repeatedly refused from aviation schools in the United States after World War I, on the grounds of being an African-American woman....
