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“Reader Questions” are answered twice a week — Mondays and Fridays — by TPG Senior Writer Julian Mark Kheel.Global Entry is a great program that gives regular international travelers access to a fast-lane through customs and immigration when returning to the US from a trip abroad. But TPG reader Neurosci wants to know whether you have to apply for Global Entry again if you lose your passport or it’s stolen…[pullquote source=“TPG Reader Neurosci”]Do you know if I need to re-apply for Global Entry if my passport was stolen and I was issued a new passport with a different passport number?...

As I’ve discussed in the past, brokerage accounts can be a great way to rack up a ton of miles on money you’d be investing anyway. I personally was able to earn 50,000 Delta and 50,000 United miles with Fidelity earlier this year for opening non-retirement brokerage accounts.I am not eligible for this other offer of 50,000 American miles because according to the Promotional Offer Rules, promotional offers are limited to one per individual per rolling 12 months and this one is not transferable or valid in conjunction with any other Fidelity promotional offer....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available – Citi Hilton HHonors Reserve CardClub Carlson is currently offering a double points promotion when you book a Double Gold Points eligible rate at participating Carlson Rezidor hotels.Earn Club Carlson Double Gold Points.The offer is only available on new reservations booked through the promo page at specific locations for stays Sunday - Thursday, now through December 31, 2013. Advance reservations are required and bookings are subject to availability and restricted by blackout dates....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here – United MileagePlus Explorer CardUnited’s MileagePlus X app is running a Back to School promotion and offering double miles on purchases at certain stores. The end date isn’t posted for this promotion, so it might not last for long. For now, the following merchants are participating in the double-miles promotion:AMC Theatres — 10 miles per dollar spent (normally 5x)Banana Republic — 10xDell....

This is a big day for Singapore Airlines. The carrier’s brand-new Dreamliner just landed at Changi Airport (SIN) — it’s the world’s first extended-length 787-10, and it’s the first plane to offer Singapore’s new regional business-class product, which, by the way, looks pretty fantastic.While SQ has offered lie-flat business-class seats for more than a decade, the carrier’s older regional planes — namely its Boeing 777-200s and Airbus A330s — have dated angle-flat seats in a 2-2-2 configuration....

After two days of plane spotting at West Coast mega-hubs SFO and LAX, I had a modest understanding of a few spotters’ secrets. I knew, for example, that a single exit door was the difference between a 777-200 and 777-300 and that an A350’s cockpit windows look like a bandit mask. I had learned to distinguish the largest Boeings from the largest Airbuses, seen up close the enormous A380, watched my fair share of 747s come and go....

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.JetBlue has had its eyes set on flights from the US to Europe for quite some time now. The carrier’s CEO Robin Hayes has hinted at a transatlantic expansion the past, and now Hayes is saying that the carrier will take aim at competing in the premium transatlantic market....

A New York congresswoman has introduced legislation to expand consumer credit card protections to small business credit cards.Widespread protections adopted by the Credit CARD Act of 2009 that, among other things, placed restrictions on when issuers can increase cardholders’ interest rates, do not apply to business credit cards.The legislation sponsored by US Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY) would, according to Patch.com:prevent issuers from raising interest rates on small businesses without proper noticeprohibit interest rate increases on existing balancesprohibit interest charges on debt paid on timerequire any payment over the minimum apply to the balance with the highest interest rate....

A male Spirit Airlines passenger has been convicted of sexual abuse for undressing and fondling a woman flying next to him on an overnight flight from Las Vegas to Detroit in January.A federal jury convicted 35-year-old Prabhu Ramamoorthy on Thursday of sexual abuse on board an aircraft for digitally penetrating the victim, the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan says. He could face up to a lifetime in prison after he’s sentenced on December 12....

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.Hilton Honors members will soon have another option for redeeming points in Southern California. The Hotel Del Coronado, one of the city’s most iconic properties, will be joining the Curio Collection by Hilton as of July 31, 2017....

When I saw the poster, I felt a lump in my throat: Farewell to the Queen, it said, in an oddly cheerful typeface. The Queen herself appeared at the top, wearing her crown, her unmistakable face familiar to millions.But I was not in a funeral procession for a beloved monarch, and my fellow mourners were not her subjects. I was in a neon-lit hallway at the United Airlines maintenance center in San Francisco, with a few thousand other aviation lovers, and the queen we were there to see wasn’t even, strictly speaking, a real one....

TripAdvisor recently released its list of the best beaches in the world, part of its 2017 Travelers’ Choice Awards. Unlike other travel websites, where similar lists are curated by a team of editors and travel experts, these rankings were based strictly on the reviews and ratings of TripAdvisor’s users.While the top 25 beaches were located all around the world, many of them were in the Caribbean. Here’s a handy Google Map so you can get a better idea of where to find them:TripAdvisors chose Baía do Sancho as the #1 beach in the world — it’s located 220 miles off the coast of Brazil on the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha....

Update 7/14/17: Initial reports indicated that the departing plane was operated by American Airlines, however it appears that a Caribbean Airlines 737 was the aircraft involved.A 57-year-old female tourist from New Zealand was severely injured by the blast of a departing airliner Wednesday evening at St. Maarten’s Princess Juliana Airport (SXM) around 6:00pm, and later died after being admitted to St. Maarten Medical Center. The incident was first reported Wednesday evening by SXM Talks....

It’s no secret that we at TPG are fans of first class. Sure, we still get a thrill from the wonder of flight, but flying first-class makes that experience even better. How else can you shower in the sky or sleep in a double bed in a private suite sailing over the Pacific?Domestic first class doesn’t bring nearly the perks of international first class. However, a more-comfortable chair, a refreshing “PDB” (pre-departure beverage) and a tasty snack or meal sure makes the trip more pleasant than economy....

Alaska Airlines already has an popular incentive for wine drinkers who participate in the airline’s frequent flyer program, Mileage Plan; travelers can check a case of wine for free from select West Coast cities. Now, the airline is extending the program to include more cities in California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington State. To help ring in the launch of the new locales, Alaska Airlines is offering a free glass of wine to passengers (21 and older) on select flights this Sunday, February 18 — which also happens to be National Drink Wine Day....

Anthony Bourdain is a hard core road warrior — the adventurous host of CNN’s acclaimed and consistently entertaining hit, ‘Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown,’ is on the road a whopping 250 days per year. Here, the travel guru reveals his favorite destination, what he won’t eat and what it’s like to to slurp noodles in Vietnam with President Obama.What’s the best trip you’ve ever taken?It’s always the same thing with Vietnam. I know we’ll have a good time and I’ll be happy....

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.Chase Increases Sapphire Bonus Waiting Period From 24 to 48 MonthsIf you’ve been waiting to get a bonus on the Chase Sapphire Reserve, you now have to wait twice as long, and the Sapphire Preferred likely isn’t far behind.Who’s Being Grandfathered into Marriott’s Lifetime Premier Platinum 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.At noon EST today you can snag deeply discounted Fairmont hotels stay certificates. The only issue is that there are only 25 total packages for sale, but I’m confident savvy TPG readers will be able to get some of them....

Back in February 2017, American Airlines first launched basic economy. Since then, the world’s largest airline has expanded the no-frills ticket option nationwide and even into Canada. First presented as providing customers a “lower cost option,” it was marketed by AA as a customer-friendly move.Throughout the rollout, we’ve seen that this isn’t the case. Fares haven’t dropped. Instead, customers are having to pay more for the same “Main Cabin” experience than they used to....

A United Boeing 777-200 was parked at Gate D5 at Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) on Monday when a fuel truck crashed into one of the plane’s engines, delaying the flight until another aircraft replaced it.Thankfully, no one was on the plane when the incident occurred. According to airport officials, only “minor damage to the left aircraft engine casing” resulted from the crash. No one was injured.United released the following statement in response to the incident at Dulles:“The vehicle of a vendor servicing United 915 from Washington Dulles to Paris accidentally made contact with the Boeing 777 aircraft....