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Today is Day 4 of the Marriott and SPG integration, and while lots of progress was made by the end of Day 3, as of early Monday evening, you still couldn’t book the high-end all-suites properties at the new (lower) rates of 60,000 Marriott points per night.However, this morning brought with it a new day, and it was time to try again. Calling Marriott to book legacy SPG properties was stillmet with an immediate dead-end, but calling SPG directly was much more successful....

Feeling the pressure from low-cost carriers like Norwegian, Primera Air and WOW, United has quietly introduced a new stripped down fare option for flights to Europe that doesn’t include a free checked bag and doesn’t allow changes or upgrades. Unlike domestic basic economy, this new fare option comes with advance seat assignments, one standard carry-on bag plus one personal item and usual PQM/PQS/PQD earnings — in addition to the usual on board amenities like complimentary food and drinks....

Now through October 15, 2013, Virgin America is offering Elevate members the opportunity to earn up to a 50% bonus on purchased or gifted Elevate points. The bonus is tiered bonus, meaning the more points you buy, the higher bonus percentage you’ll receive.Earn up to a 50% bonus on purchased Elevate points.Here’s how the bonus is set up:Buy 2,500 - 5,000 points to get a 30% bonusBuy 5,500 - 10,000 points to get a 40% bonusBuy 10,500+ points to get a 50% bonusYou can buy or receive up to 20,000 Elevate points per calendar year, in increments of 500 points....

Southwest recently unveiled a brand new reservation system that most in the industry would agree is long overdue. But with a new system comes new quirks, and the site Deals We Like has noticed one that could greatly affect the flexibility you’re supposed to get with one of Southwest’s refundable fares.While Wanna Get Away fares can be cancelled without penalty up until 10 minutes before departure, the refund comes in the form of a Southwest travel voucher....

Ruelala.com, which is one of my favorite discounted high-end shopping sites, is selling $499 OpenSkies vouchers for $99 - essentially giving $400 off any roundtrip OpenSkies flight from August 29, 2011 through March 31, 2012.“Within 24 hours you will receive an e-certificate confirming your purchase of a $499 travel voucher to be used toward a roundtrip OpenSkies business-class flight to Paris, and more information on the redemption process. Limit of one voucher per person, per booking....

Tampa is taking off with its Riverwalk, a seemingly endless array of restaurants and tempting watering holes. The onetime sleepy Florida town, which not long ago only boasted the sun and its proximity to both the Gulf beaches and Disney World, has upped the ante so much that it’s one of Florida’s top destinations.1. You Can Take a Step Back Into the Roaring ‘20sCiro’s Speakeasy and Supper Club is difficult to find, but perhaps that’s the point of such a joint....

Hilton HHonors and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club launched a joint promo this week where members of HHonors can earn up to a maximum 15,000 bonus Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles on stays until December 31, 2012. Only stays completed after registration will be eligible for Flying Club Miles award. Points cannot be retrospectively applied.To participate in the offer, you must be a Hilton HHonors member (you can sign up here if you’re not one already) and then register for the promo here....

It’s not uncommon for people to have travel-related aspirations on their bucket lists. For instance, flying Lufthansa first class is a common one among points and miles enthusiasts. But they’re often a lot more far-fetched than that and only a select few actually achieve them.Meet James Asquith. Growing up, Asquith has always wanted to travel and see the world. After years of saving his money, he decided at 18 years old to take a gap year before starting university to travel to Southeast Asia with friends....

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.Following news of passengers delaying flights — most notably, the United dragging incident — airlines around the world are taking notice. While some here at home have begun changing their policies about compensation and overbooking, one international carrier is planning on going another route....

This is so cool that had it been April 1, I would have assumed it were some sort of cruel April Fools’ joke. But nope, this is May, so it’s gotta be legit.United just launched a mileage auction to spend a weekend with its retired 747-400s, at the Universal Asset Management (UAM) Aircraft Disassembly Center in Tupelo, Mississippi (TUP). That’s where several of the carrier’s former flagship planes have been sent to begin their next chapter, following a stint in the desert at Victorville (VCV)....

One of the things I love most about being The Points Guy is getting to hear stories from readers about all the positive ways award travel has affected their lives. That being said, while I love hearing about your successes, I think there’s also a lot we can learn by sharing our mistakes, and I’m calling on readers to send in your most egregious and woeful travel failures.From time to time I’ll pick one that catches my eye and post it for everybody to enjoy (and commiserate with)....

Per this Flyertalk thread there are cheap fares on many airlines from New York and Boston to Ireland.Star Alliance: United/Lufthansa/Air Canada have many routings- both nonstop and connecting via Frankfurt and Toronto/Montreal.There are many ways to search for these fares, the easiest probably being Travelocity’s Flexible Date tool.Travelocity.com -> NYC - DUB -> Flexible Dates -> Now through MarchYou’ll see results for Air Canada (but they have higher taxes and route via Canada and London so they end up being more expensive), Continental, Lufthansa and Delta....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here – The Platinum Card® from American Express, Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express, Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express, Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American ExpressAmerican Express and the US Travel Association (a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting US travel) have partnered to offer discounts and deals with various travel brands and loyalty programs during the next month, including hotel packages, points/miles purchase promos, rental car discounts and more....

A Delta Air Lines flight was evacuated on Tuesday night after it had landed at Denver International Airport (DEN) when smoke filled the cabin as the aircraft was taxiing to its gate.Delta Flight 1854 took off from Detroit (DTW) at 7:26pm, according to flight-tracking website FlightRadar24 — more than three hours delayed from its original departure time of 3:58pm. The 2.5-hour flight, which was operated by a McDonnell Douglas MD-90 (registration N960DN), landed at DEN just after 8:00pm local time....

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.Major Key Alert! DJ Khaled recently announced he will be hosting his very own cruise this summer. The Summerfest Cruise will set sail from Miami on June 30 aboard the Norwegian Sky — stopping in Nassau and Grand Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas before returning to Miami on July 3rd — and will feature events highlighting music, fashion, sports, gaming and interactive technology....

Save up to 20% on JetBlue Flights: JetBlue is having a one-day sale where customers can save up to 20% off flights. Customers can save 20% off their flights when they travel from 5/1-5/23/13 by entering promo code SPRING20. For travel from 5/28-6/19/13, customers will receive 15% off their flights by entering promo code SPRING15. To qualify, these flights must be booked by 11:59 PM ET on February 20, 2013. These discounts are only valid from U....

In December I was fortunate enough to spend roughly 24 hours in Maui. Clearly that is not anywhere remotely near enough time to really experience the island, but I made the most of the time that I had. In Part 1 of my review, I covered the room, Regency Club, and basics of the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa. In this post I am going to cover the on-site spa, the beautiful pools, the on-site Japengo restaurant, another nearby restaurant where I ate, and some snorkeling that is within walking distance of the hotel....

TPG Insider “Marty McFly” is a pilot for a major US-based airline. Today, he gives us a little insight into what an average day is like on the job.In a previous article, I explained everything the cockpit crew does to make sure your plane is ready for an on-time departure — ensuring everything is functioning properly and the flight is planned correctly goes a long way in reducing workload down the road....

What an interesting place! I’ll be doing a full report once I get some time to upload pictures, but just wanted to check-in and give some initial thoughts. To say the least, I’m loving it so far.First off, the flights went off without a hitch. There will be a detailed trip report on them, but beyond the in-flight service and experience, I was happy that my JFK-LAX pushed back from the gate 5 minutes prior to scheduled departure and we were rolling down the runway at 9:04pm for my 9pm departure- a rarity for JFK....

Southwest is known for its customer-friendly approach to flying, and its most loyal members of the Rapid Rewards program — A-List and A-List Preferred members — are used to priority check-in. This perk is arguably the most valuable for Southwest flyers because the carrier doesn’t assign seats, but rather allows passengers to board the aircraft based on the time they check-in.However, in the past couple of days, Southwest elites have been experiencing some major issues with their priority check-in benefit, which automatically checks them in 36 hours in advance....