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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’m currently in Cambodia where I’ve wandered the ancient temples of Angkor Wat and am embarking today to experience the newly revitalized Phnom Penh. It’s such a beautiful country and I know there is so much more to explore here—I’ll just have to come back one day and hit up Kep and Sihanoukville....

Our “Layover Lowdown” series features airports and destinations around the world where you’re likely to be stuck between flights, offering tips on navigating and spending time in the airport, as well as some things to do if you find yourself with time to explore the nearby city. TPG Contributor Katie Hammel guides us through Berlin Tegel Airport.Tegel Airport (photo courtesy of Maciej Bledowski via Shutterstock)Berlin’s main international hub, Tegel Airport (TXL) was built in a hurry in 1948, during the Berlin Airlift....

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.Earlier today, Marriott announced it’s invested in PlacePass, a service that specializes in curating activities for travelers, meaning you’ll soon have access to more than 100,000 local experiences in 800 destinations around the world when you book through Marriott....

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 passenger plane bound for Thailand was escorted by two Singaporean F-15SG fighter jets back to its airport of origin on Thursday after a passenger on board made a bomb threat that turned out to be a hoax....

It’s hard to keep up with American Airlines’ upgrade rules. Anyone who knew the system prior to May 2017 had to learn a whole new system when the upgrade system was revamped then. That system still generally remains in place, rewarding elite status and Elite Qualifying Dollars (EQD) earned in the past 12 months. While airport upgrade lists generally will clear in order, there are some quirks that might look like you’ve been skipped — even when the system is working as it should....

The US State Department has issued a do not travel advisory for five Mexican states on Wednesday, one of which is a border state.The five states — which include Tamaulipas on the US border and Sinaloa, Colima, Michoacán and Guerrero on the Pacific coast — are placed on a level 4 warning, which groups them with war-torn countries like Syria, Yemen and Somalia. The advisory cites an increase in criminal and gang activities like homicide, kidnapping and robbery in these states....

Check out this week’s travel contests and sweepstakes to try your hand at winning Marriott stays & Marriott bedding, a Tuscan getaway to Florence, a trip to Hawaii’s big island, a free car rental at Silvercar or a long weekend in Miami.Win a Marriott stay & a Marriott bedWin Marriott Stays and Marriott Bedding From ShopMarriottYou can win several prizes from ShopMarriott, like a grand prize of either a Marriott foam bed or a five night stay for the winner and guest at ANY Marriott location....

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.Today’s installment of Discover America: Daily Getaways are discounted Loews stay certificates. I’ve never actually stayed at a Loews hotel, but they seem pretty nice. Today at noon, there will be a limited number of packages of pre-paid room nights, some in suites, that can save you a lot of money....

If you’re a United elite member, there’s a fairly good chance you’re familiar with the airline’s “Expert Mode,” which lets you access fare class availability when searching on United.com. Expert Mode will return a flight’s full availability broken out by fare class, so you can easily see if the flight you want has award or upgrade availability (whereas Expert Flyer can only display award availability for United and partner flights).This takes the guess work out of whether or not an upgrade will clear — if you see any number other than 0 following “R” when searching with Expert Mode, you’ll know it’s possible to instantly upgrade your flight to business class (or two-cabin first class within the US)....

What bugs you about traveling? How are airlines messing up the baggage process? Do you prefer built-in IFE or do you BYOD — Bring Your Own Device? Want to use your fingerprint as your boarding pass? These are just a few of the topics addressed in the International Air Transport Association (IATA) 2017 Global Passenger Survey.This wide-reaching survey collected 10,675 responses from passengers hailing from more than 152 countries across the world....

Welcome to Disney Week at The Points Guy! All week we’ll be covering everything there is to know about Disney parks all around the world. After you’ve read this guide to riding all 48 rides at Walt Disney World, make sure to check out our other Disney stories — the list is at the bottom of this page.With 40 square miles of fun, Walt Disney World can easily keep a family of all ages entertained for a week or longer....

Following a recent trend of carriers adding premium economy cabins to long-haul aircraft — a process American Airlines recently began — Iberia just announced that it’s going to begin offering the new cabin on most of its long-haul planes beginning in summer 2017. The new premium economy cabins will be available on the airline’s A330 and A340-600 aircraft, which also feature a business-class cabin with flat-bed seats, in addition to regular economy....

Today I headed to the Houston Galleria with my parents and Little C to do some shopping/browsing, ice skate, and get some United Club passes that were being given away at the Chase VIP Lounge at the Galleria. I have written about this temporary lounge here, but had yet to visit myself. To access the lounge you need to have any of the Chase United credit cards.The Chase VIP Lounge is open from November 23–December 24, 2012 for Chase Continental and United cardholders and their guests....

In January I flew American Airlines 777 First Class from Buenos Aires to JFK and I was wholly unimpressed - terrible lounge, tasteless food, and careless service. The sole redeeming feature was the ultralong lie-flat bed, which allowed me to get 7+ hours of restful sleep. Sure, it was a whole heck of a lot better than flying in coach, but their first class product is nowhere in the realm of their competitors, like Oneworld alliance partner British Airways New First Class product, which I absolutely love....

SpaceX officially has its first space tourist, ready and waiting to take flight.The futuristic company announced on Thursday that the world’s first private passenger to take a trip around the moon has signed on with the company. Just who that person is hasn’t been revealed yet. But, SpaceX plans to announce the person at an event on Monday.Thursday’s announcement comes after a string of delays for SpaceX. However, the signing on of its first passenger is an indication that the company’s plans to launch a crewed mission into space in 2019 are back on track....

Yes, you read that headline right. The Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions are bracing for the fourth winter storm in just more than three weeks. This time, the storm is expected to hit just in time for the first day of spring.This storm is expected to have the greatest impact on the mid-Atlantic region and potentially into the New York City area. Forecasters are predicting both rain and wet, heavy snow, as well as strong winds across the region — much like the same impact the previous three storms have had....

A week ago, most Americans had never heard of an insurance company called Anbang — now the Chinese firm could very well be the next owner of Starwood Hotels.According to CNBC, Starwood has accepted Anbang’s bid of $78 per share, or a total of $13.2 billion (which is a hair higher than Anbang’s initial bid of $76 per share). The CNBC article states that “Hotel operator Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide will be acquired by Chinese insurer Anbang,” but it’s not quite as simple as that....

In addition to the slew of new elite benefits that Starwood unveiled in February, there was apparently an additional little-known one that allows Starwood Preferred Guest members to earn night and stay credits for multiple rooms at once—making elite-status requalification potentially much faster. This benefit supposedly went into effect in March, but it was only confirmed earlier this week.The specific section from the SPG terms and conditions states:“During a stay at an SPG Participating Hotel, “Eligible Charges” are charges incurred by an SPG Member on his/her folio for up to three rooms: Eligible rates, food and beverage (excluding alcoholic beverage purchases where prohibited by law), direct dialed in-room telephone and direct-dialed in-room fax, laundry/valet; an, in-room movies and video games, provided that the SPG Member provides his/her SPG Member number at the time of reservation or at check-in and stays in one of the reserved guest rooms....

In the very near future, we head off on a much awaited return trip to Hawaii. Hawaii is a super interesting destination for many reasons, one of which is that even though for most of us is pretty far away spot, the majority of the planes that fly to Hawaii don’t have the fancy lie-flat seats that you would find if you were heading the opposite direction to Europe. However, from here in Houston it can easily take us longer to get to Hawaii than to many points in Europe....

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.The World’s Best Airport Food, According to PilotsThese airports have the most appetizing cuisine to the people who dine there the most.How to Fly Delta’s Best Business Class Seats DomesticallyNormally, these Delta aircrafts are reserved for long-haul international flights, but you can take advantage of the select domestic routes that they’re being used for....