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Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club program is the latest frequent flyer program to undergo some changes that are generally not all that consumer-friendly. As of November 13, 2016, the Flying Club program will switch to a system that’s more rewarding for those who spend a lot of money with the carrier and less rewarding for travelers looking to fly for as little cost as possible.Here’s a breakdown of the largest changes in the devaluation:You’ll earn fewer miles from flying in the lowest economy classes, and more miles for flying in Upper Class or the highest (flexible) Premium Economy fares....

When British Airway’s parent group IAG acquired rival bmi (British Midland Airways) there was a lot of concern over anti-competition since British Airways essentially gobbled up one of the only competing UK airlines. Its most formidable UK competitor, Virgin Atlantic is mostly an international airline so a lot of questions arose relating to the future of intra-UK travel.Well, today Virgin Atlantic announced in an ebullient all-caps email subject:VIRGIN ATLANTIC WINS ALL SHORT HAUL FLYINGWhich goes on to state:“We have fought hard for the right to fly short haul and take a strong challenge to British Airways within these shores....

In October 2016, American Airlines become the first major US-based airline to offer true premium-economy seating. After taking delivery of more aircraft, AA launched premium economy in May 2017.Since then, Delta (in October 2017) and United (in June 2018) also introduced true premium economy, as US airlines began to realize that flyers desire something between the cramped conditions in economy and the pricey lie-flat options up front. And AA is at the forefront, with over 2,000 premium-economy seats installed on 85 aircraft by the end of May....

Pilots on a Malaysia Airlines flight from Brisbane, Australia (BNE) to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (KUL), didn’t know how fast the aircraft was traveling during takeoff because neither they nor the ground crew removed the covers from the aircraft’s external speed probes before leaving the gate.According to the Australian Transportation Safety Bureau, the pilots forgot to remove the covers — which are designed to keep insects away from the flight tools — before the Airbus A330-300 took off from BNE on July 18....

At 1,188 feet long and 226,963 gross tons, Royal Caribbean’s newest cruise ship, Harmony of the Seas, is now officially the largest in the world. With a whopping 18 decks, 2,747 staterooms, 20 dining venues and seven “neighborhoods” to check out, there’s plenty to keep you busy while you’re at sea. Consider this post the ultimate cheat sheet for everything that makes this ship so special.For starters, there are seven different “neighborhoods” to explore — The Royal Promenade (where you’ll find a bunch of shops, entertainment venues and restaurants), The Pool and Sports Zone, the Vitality Spa & Fitness Center, the Youth Zone, Entertainment Place (more music and entertainment venues), The Boardwalk and my favorite, Central Park....

Now under normal circumstances an airline program electing not to change at all would be “non-news,” but given recent shifts from Delta SkyMiles, United MileagePlus and now American AAdvantage, it’s quite a relief to hear that Alaska’s Mileage Plan program will be maintain the status quo for a while longer.According to aviation journalist Brian Sumers, during a conference last week, Alaska executives shared their plans to keep the Mileage Plan program intact for the time being....

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.Operators of Airbus A350 aircraft are now aware of a new mandate in place to prevent overheating and even explosions on the aircraft. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said in an emergency airworthiness directive, which took effect on Thursday, that if A350-900 operators don’t fix a software malfunction, the issue could cause a fire or explosion....

The social media firm Klout and American Airlines have teamed up to offer “influencers” with high enough Klout scores free prizes including One-Day Passes to the Admirals Club and a free one-year Admirals Club Membership.Klout measures a person’s “influence” based on their Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, FourSquare and Google+ profiles and activity, and then assigns them a score between 1-100 based on the amount of influence they have. Klout comes up with this number based on a user’s number of contacts or followers, their activity on each site, and whether their followers/friends pay attention to and re-post/tweet/react to the user’s posts....

Update #1: United Airlines and Frontier Airlines have now joined American Airlines in stating that they do not want their airlines to be used to transport children who have been separated from their parents at the border.Update #2: In response, the Department of Homeland Security states:It’s unfortunate that American Airlines, United, and Frontier Airlines no longer want to partner with the brave men and women of DHS to protect the traveling public, combat human trafficking, and to swiftly reunite unaccompanied illegal immigrant children with their families....

In a season of lackluster hotel promos, Marriott’s Megabonus is pretty decent with offers of up to 50,000 hotel points, free nights after just 2 stays and more. Offers are specifically tailored to individuals, so in order to see what you’re being offered, you have to log into your Marriott Rewards account.The current Megabonus runs February 1-April 30, and you must register by March 31. While I haven’t been wowed by a lot of the offers readers have written in about, I actually received a different offer for new Marriott Rewards members who sign up and stay that I think is actually pretty lucrative in conjunction with one of Marriott’s airline partners, Virgin America (though it looks like you can select any of their airline partners once you join)....

Burglars at the Ritz Hotel in Paris reportedly absconded with nearly $1 million worth of jewelry on Friday afternoon. The jewels were stolen from a guest of the hotel, who reports say is an unidentified Saudi princess.Paris police told Reuters on Monday that at least $930,000 in jewelry had been stolen from the woman’s suite in the hotel. She told prosecutors that the jewelry wasn’t in the room’s safe, and there were no signs of forced entry....

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.Qatar Airways is an official sponsor of Formula E. So, in honor of the race coming back to Brooklyn, the carrier is celebrating with New Yorkers and those visiting the city.This Thursday, July 12, Qatar Airways is organizing a scavenger hunt in New York City with chances to win big — like two round-trip economy tickets to any of Qatar’s destinations big....

Luxury German automaker Audi has shared that they will be acquiring Silvercar, the startup car rental company that has disrupted the industry as of late. Audi currently owns 20% of the company after investing $28 million in the startup last year. But after the deal goes through, they will own 100% of Silvercar, which was founded in 2012 with the goal of improving the typically lousy experience customers have with traditional rental car companies....

How do mass flight cancellations affect the number of flights on a radar? We saw this impact during Hurricane Irma when airlines evacuated all aircraft from Florida, and again when the skies cleared out after Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico.Now today, we are getting a chance to see how it looks when a blizzard cancels over 3,300 flights on Thursday — including more than half of all flights from major airports Newark (EWR), Boston (BOS) and New York’s LaGuardia (LGA)....

Every week, the TSA blogs about items (mostly weapons) that agents have confiscated at airports around the country, and the agency posts some of the crazier ones on its Instagram page. To help inform travelers, TSA has created an “Ask TSA” twitter account where curious travelers can ask if they’re allowed to carry on certain items. Below are the five most ridiculous questions asked this month — at least according to us at Team TPG....

The United Kingdom and Ireland are facing fierce weather conditions brought on by storm Emma, which has now combined with strong winds from Siberia and has been dubbed the “Beast from the East”. Airports in Glasgow and Edinburgh were closed yesterday but have since reopened.Ireland is expected to get its heaviest snowfall in decades, the BBC reports, and more than 55 have died across Europe due to the severity of the storm....

With the recent terror attacks in Berlin, international safety is front and center in the conversation about travel. While these events are infrequent and of limited scope, it’s important to be vigilant and aware of current situations while traveling. We reached out to Beth Finan, a press officer from the US State Department, to find out what travelers can do to stay safe abroad. Here’s a look at some of the tools and resources available to help traveling Americans, and some tips for what to do before you go — or if emergencies happen on the road....

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.Dogs are man’s best friend — and have been trained to do a wide variety of things, from being hunting companions to acting as seeing-eyes for the blind. But this particular pooch is known for something quite unique....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here – Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite MastercardEvery time I visit Paris, I fall more and more in love with it. There is an energy to this city and a magique in the air that is unparalleled and just walking down the avenues it hits you immediately. I have been here multiple times and the moment I leave I am already planning my next trip back....

Update 11/17/16: Hawaiian Airlines has announced that it will be adding its new lie-flat configuration on the New York-JFK route in February 2017. The new seats appear to be bookable now for flights departing Honolulu beginning February 18 and flights departing NYC beginning February 19. If your flight has the below seatmap you should end up with the new configuration:As TPG discovered on a 2014 trip from Sydney to Honolulu, Hawaiian’s long-haul A330s were very much in need of an upgrade....