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Update: Marriott has updated its Guaranteed Late Checkout policy to truly be guaranteed (at least for Gold and Platinum members):Guaranteed Late Checkout — Gold and Platinum members may checkout as late as 4pm if they ask. This benefit is guaranteed at all participating Marriott Rewards hotels, except at resort and convention hotels, where it is based upon availability. Marriott Vacation Club is excluded. Guaranteed late checkout launches globally on May 16....

In October 2016, Singapore Airlines (SQ) began flying a fifth freedom flight from George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston to Manchester Airport (MAN) in the UK — before that point, it had connected through Moscow — and in January, the carrier switched the aircraft type from a 777-300ER to an A350-900. My friends and I are massive Liverpool FC supporters and against all odds, our schedules, match tickets and finances aligned recently, allowing us to go to a Champions League match versus Sevilla....

With the retirement of the last 747 in regular passenger service by a major US airline, the era of big four-engined, twin-aisle passenger jetliners in America comes to a close. While the Jumbo Jet still flies elsewhere and will still be found at US airports in the colors of airlines from overseas, or of domestic cargo operators, it’s gone as a passenger transport in the country that built it.It’s the end of a 48-year history that began on February 9, 1969, with the first flight of the first 747 built....

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 recent years, women have been making waves in the highly male-dominated profession that is aviation. Just last year, Kate McWilliams of EasyJet made news for being the world’s youngest commercial airline captain. Today, the spotlight is on 30-year old Air India Captain Anny Divya, who became the world’s youngest female to command a Boeing 777 aircraft....

How would you like to walk across a suspension bridge 165 feet high above the lush, green jungles of Nyungwe National Park? Those fearless enough can do so via the Canopy Walk, a special bridge about 300 feet in length. That may not seem far, but 300 feet is long distance to walk at such a dizzying height. The bridge will sway and move as you walk, so hang on tight and don’t look down!...

United recently began flying the first of its entirely refurbished 767-300s, which will be assigned to the airline’s shorter transatlantic flights, as well as nonstop flights from Newark to Honolulu. By the end of 2018, all 14 of UA’s 3-cabin 767s will have the new interior — until then, you might not know if you’ve ended up with the refreshed plane until just before departure.The highlight of this updated 767 is clearly the brand-new Polaris business-class cabin, but Economy Plus and coach got a major facelift as well....

Check out the week in travel contests and sweepstakes for your chance to win a chance to see the TreeFort Music Festival in Idaho, your dream trip from KLM, a $1,000 airfare travel voucher, a Minnesota ski trip or a luxury getaway to Puerto Rico.Win a festival trip to Idaho on Alaska AirlinesWin a Trip to the TreeFort Music Festival in Idaho From Alaska AirlinesYou can win round-trip air travel for two on Alaska Airlines to Boise, Idaho, from anywhere Alaska flies as well as two Treefort Music Fest General Admission Passes....

There are a few fun travel contests and sweepstakes going on around the web this week. Here are my top picks to win some great travel prizes!Win one million Qantas PointsWin One Million Qantas Points: In order to win these points, you must be a Qantas Frequent Flyer member and earn Qantas Points in an icon you’ve not yet earned in within the last 12 months. These points must then be credited to your Qantas Frequent Flyer account before November 3, 2014....

Update 8/23/17: You can see a customized Tumi amenity kit in the image below.Delta’s SkyMiles program might be an ongoing source of frustration for frequent flyers and credit card holders alike, but there’s no question that the carrier continues to make strides when it comes to offering a solid product. The airline’s also gearing up to launch its refreshed business product, the Delta One suite, which debuts between Detroit (DTW) and Tokyo (NRT) on October 30, followed by DTW to Seoul (ICN) on November 18 and DTW to Beijing (PEK) on January 17, 2018....

Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) has a solid long-haul business product on its fleet of 16 Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft, based around Scandinavia and operating nonstop flights to Asia, the Middle East and the US. Arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration featuring the Thompson Vantage XL seat, a favorite of many frequent flyers, it offers direct aisle access from each lie-flat seat. The seats are fitted with Octaspring technology, which are essentially springs that add to the comfort and padding....

The $500 fine levied on a woman who brought an apple through US Customs and Border Protection after deplaning from an international flight in April has been dropped.Crystal Tadlock was offered an apple as a snack on board her US-bound Delta flight from Paris (CDG) on April 22. Tadlock had placed the apple in her purse and failed to throw it out before going through the airport customs checkpoint. A US Customs agent discovered the apple in Tadlock’s bag, charged her $500 and revoked her Global Entry status....

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.Simply register your OnePass number here by June 30, 2011 for 100 free miles. These are targeted towards Continental Debit and Credit cardholders, but it can’t hurt to try.Not a huge payday, but every mile counts!

The Delta SkyMall is offering a whopping 25,000 bonus SkyMiles for any $500 purchase by this Sunday September 18, 2011. Make sure you log-in and make your purchase from this link. Also, beware - if you were logged into the US Airways SkyMall for Grand Slam, that will default, so clear cookies or use a new browser if possible.To be honest, I thought I would do this, but when I searched through the merchandise I couldn’t find $500 worth of stuff that I actually wanted....

On Tuesday, Delta’s Queen of the Skies flew regular passengers for the very last time. The airline’s 747s will continue flying through early January, with the jumbo jet operating several NFL and college football charters, but come January 3, when captain Paul Gallaher flies the very last plane to Pinal Airpark near Tucson, Arizona, Delta’s entire 747 fleet will be no more.On Monday, I had the privilege of joining Delta employees and SkyMiles auction winners on a one-of-a-kind flight from Detroit (DTW) to Seattle (SEA), with a stop at Boeing’s Everett, Washington facility at Paine Field (PAE)....

Airlines are known for devaluing their frequent flyer programs all the time. They do this by increasing award rates, requiring you to pay more miles to book an award flight. However, sometimes award prices reach a rate that’s simply unreasonable, as I discovered while searching flights on American Airlines’ website for an upcoming trip to Australia.While there are only three official levels of awards between the US and Australia (MileSAAver, AAnytime Level 1 and AAnytime Level 2), American Airlines unofficially has up six award rates between these regions:US-Australia One-WayCoachBusinessFirstMileSAAver40,00080,000110,000AAnytime Award Level 170,000175,000220,000AAnytime Award Level 290,000195,000260,000AAnytime Award Level 3120,000250,000300,000AAnytime Award Level 4 150,000325,000370,000AAnytime Award Level 5 N/A 375,000420,000Usually, you’ll see award rates somewhere in the MileSAAver to Level 2 range, but I stumbled across AA selling flights for 420,000 miles, at the AAnytime Award Level 5....

Update: We’ve updated this post to include photos of the actual 757 seats provided by American Airlines. AA has confirmed that it will be updating a total of 24 Boeing 757s between now and the end of 2017.In an overdue move, American Airlines is finally retrofitting its old 757s used on some transatlantic flights — swapping out its sub-par angle-flat seats and installing fully lie-flat business-class seats. AA has opted to use the same B/E Diamond seats its uses on its transcontinental A321T aircraft....

Amtrak recently ended its discount for students and AAA members, and now the train operator is making more negative changes. This time to its cancellation and refund policies.Amtrak was quite generous with cancellations in the past, offering a refund in the form of a voucher that was good for a year or sometimes even a full refund to the original form of payment.Now, Travel with Grant reports that tickets issued on March 20, 2018, or after will be subject to more fees when trying to cancel or refund a ticket....

The Bombardier CSeries is the newest plane in service in the world, and as of Monday, it has a new owner. Airbus just agreed to acquire a 50.01% stake in the CSeries program, a move that caught aviation observers by surprise. The world’s second-largest aircraft manufacturer is buying a majority stake in the world’s third-largest civil aircraft manufacturer’s signature new commercial aircraft program.Montreal, Canada-based Bombardier will continue to own 31% while Investissement Québec, an investment arm of the government of the province of Quebec, will own 19%....

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.Half a century ago, young Farrokh Bulsara (better known by his stage name Freddie Mercury) worked as a baggage handler for British Airways at London Heathrow International Airport (LHR). His career eventually took him in another direction as the legendary frontman for Queen, but the airline honored his legacy Wednesday with a tribute performance from his successors....

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.We’re used to seeing elevators transport people or smaller cargo items from one level to another — but a mid-dam elevator for cargo ships is a first. On China’s Yangtze River, the controversial Three Gorges Dam is home to the latest engineering marvel, which cuts the time for cargo ships to get past the dam from three hours to 40 minutes....