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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.Low level elites have seen a lot of their benefits trimmed back this year - starting with United’s watering down of their Premier Silver program which included only allowing premium seat selection at check-in and decreasing the amount of free checked bags to one....

Update 2/16/17: Vietnam has introduced a new e-visa option, which lets you know within 3 days whether or not you’re approved. You must be a citizen of one of 40 countries, and the US is one of them. There’s a flat $25 fee for a single entry, 30-day visa. To apply, go to the Vietnam e-visa page.Update 10/7/16: Allied Passport reports that the Vietnamese government has reversed its decision to only offer one-year multiple entry visas to US passport holders at a cost of $200....

Air Berlin’s 2017 demise was calculated and swift — unlike bankrupt Alitalia, which has been kept afloat by the Italian government time and time again, Germany’s carrier was all but abandoned immediately after declaring insolvency. It was at the same time impressive and painful to watch, given that customers were left stranded and many of the airline’s employees lost their jobs.The carrier’s A330s haven’t been grounded for long, though — four have now made their way to Virgin Atlantic’s fleet, and the first just underwent a livery overhaul, emerging in Virgin Atlantic’s colors:Virgin sent out a press release to celebrate its new acquisition, positioning the A330-200s as a new product, complete with “new seat styles” — which are really just the old Air Berlin seats with a bit of marketing magic....

Flying back to New York from Las Vegas for a work trip a few years ago, Yannick Benjamin hoped he could make a seamless transition from the tarmac to the office as soon as he touched ground, like any other business traveler.But things didn’t go as planned.“As I was waiting outside of the plane in LaGuardia, sitting on the aisle chair, I could see this commotion, could see people running with walkie-talkies,” Benjamin, now 40, says....

Pokémon Go fans, rejoice! While many businesses and public venues, from mom-and-pop shops to local libraries, have been getting involved with the worldwide app craze, hotels and resorts, we’re proud to report, have as well. Here’s a look at how properties have been getting in on the game, and how you can turn your next vacation into a Pokémon Go player’s paradise.1. Welcoming Onsite Pokéstops and “Gyms"Major cities and destinations are now hotspots for the augmented reality app game, as much as they already have been for tourism in actual reality....

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 addition to regularly being cited as one of the world’s best carriers, Turkish Airlines has been lauded for its in-flight cuisine and spectacular airport lounges. But if the bulk of your travel with the airline tends to be domestic, you’ve been missing out on the full Turkish Airlines experience… until now....

Visitors to the UK have been growing increasingly frustrated with London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR). Throughout the summer, the line for immigration at the busiest airport in Europe has been hours long (including one day when the border officers “abandoned” their posts to watch the World Cup).British Airways CEO Alex Cruz also finds that the typical two-hour wait for passengers to get their passports checked is unacceptable, calling the checkpoint a “border farce” in a letter to the editor of the Times of London on Monday....

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.Delta just announced double miles on select flights to the Caribbean and Latin America. These are not Medallion Qualifying Miles so they won’t help with elite status, but extra miles are always welcome.Register here by November 1st, then book your ticket and complete your travel between September 15 and November 15, 2011, to earn your double flown bonus miles....

For me, the best type of vacation is often one that provides a nice mix of both family time and adult time. Adults-only trips are great on occasion and trips that are nothing but family time 24/7 can also be great, but after a few days of either extreme, you can yearn for a little bit of balance. Whether you accomplish this balance by bringing grandparents, a nanny or babysitter from home, using a resort kid’s club, or hiring a local babysitter, there are usually costs involved that can make you think twice....

National Aviation Day falls each year on August 19, commemorating Orville Wright’s birthday. To celebrate, you could go fly, or go plane spotting at your favorite viewpoint – or you could spend the day geeking out with the world’s largest airline.AirlineGeeks.com celebrated, a couple days in advance, by partnering with American Airlines to offer a select few AvGeeks rare behind-the-scenes tours of airports, maintenance hangars, operations centers and more at 13 hubs and facilities across the United States as well as at London Heathrow (LHR)....

This is an installment in my Istanbul: End of Year Mileage Run with Dad series. Posts include; Cheap Istanbul Flights: From $576 Total Roundtrip on Delta from JFK, Help Plan My Long Weekend in Istanbul,Flight Review: Alitalia JFK-Rome in Coach, Hotel Review: Westin Excelsior Rome, Hotel Review: Park Hyatt Istanbul Spa Room, Istanbul Eats and Excursions.The next stop on my European adventure with Dad was Amsterdam, where we stayed at a Starwood Luxury Collection property called the Hotel Pulitzer (hey, I have to keep racking up those SPG points and status!...

On Friday, Courtney Duffy — a bridesmaid who was asked “to relinquish” her wedding duties — tweeted to JetBlue for help with airfare fees after the bride dismissed Duffy from the wedding party.“SOS @JetBlue,” Duffy said. “I am laughing and crying and must avoid this wedding at all costs.“According to Duffy, reportedly an MBA student at Dartmouth Business School in New Hampshire, the bride even asked her to mail back the outfit (specifically, a jumpsuit) so another girl could take Duffy’s place at the wedding....

Just a friendly reminder that you have until Tuesday at 11:59 EDT to enter the Great Seatmate contest (details here).Each time you Tweet me and tell me why you’d be a great seatmate (and hashtag with #greatseatmate) counts as 1 entry. 5 max per day.Each time you write on my Facebook wall and tell me why you’d be a great seatmate counts as 1 entry. 5 max per day.10 max entries per day total (5+5)....

Say ciao to Italian carrier Meridiana, which rebranded as Air Italy on February 19, under new shareholder Qatar Airways. And soon you’ll be able to say hi to Air Italy in the US too: the airline plans to fly to New York as soon as this summer.The airline formerly known as Meridiana, founded as Alisarda in the 1960s to serve the island of Sardinia, isn’t actually the first Air Italy; the original namesake was a small, northern Italian airline that Meridiana purchased in 2011....

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.It’s about to get much easier for American citizens to get their Brazilian visa. Back in October, Brazil announced that it would soon allow travelers from certain countries to apply for an e-visa, making it easier to get to the country without having to apply for a visa in person at an embassy or visa center abroad....

Star Alliance is celebrating it’s 20th anniversary in a big way. The airline alliance has announced that it will be giving away 21 million airline miles in a new contest.Each of the 21 Star Alliance frequent flyer programs will be giving away one million miles (or an equivalent) in their respective programs. So United will give away one million MileagePlus miles, Avianca will give away one million LifeMiles, etc. Although, Scandinavian Airlines is giving away 4 SAS Round The World Business Class Tickets and Air New Zealand is giving away 20,000 Airpoints Dollars....

You can now float around on lily pads in Taipei, just like your local pond’s bullfrog. This August, the Shuangxi Park and Chinese Garden in Taipei, Taiwan, is offering a special exhibition that allows visitors to sit on top of giant Victoria water lily pads.Taipei City’s Parks and Street Lights Office (PSLO) is organizing six morning and six afternoon sessions where adults and children who weigh up to 140 pounds can sit on these giant water lilies....

What happens in-flight to Vegas stays in…Oh, never mind. It is surprising a version of that joke hasn’t shown up in the first two episodes of the new FOX sitcom LA to Vegas — hokey cliches about the destination city abound. But there are also a few inside jokes that frequent fliers might appreciate in this workplace comedy that takes place on the fictional Jackpot Airlines’ hourlong trip from Los Angeles to Las Vegas....

Nestled between Italy and Croatia, two of Europe’s most popular destinations, lies the understated-yet-stunning country of Slovenia. While this tiny nation might not be on every traveler’s radar, following these 10 tips and tidbits — which you probably won’t find in a guidebook — will help you fit in like a local whenever you do make your first trip over.1. Conquer the Capital ConnotationLjubljana, like many of its fellow cities in the former Yugoslavia, has not only existed within the boundaries of several countries throughout time, but has gone by many other names as well....

Good news for Star Alliance members who want to upgrade on Air Canada- they can now redeem miles for upgrades through the Star Alliance upgrade program. This is somewhat of a surprise, because they are one of the hardest airlines to upgrade on. They don’t hand out free upgrades to top tier elites, like the legacy US airlines, instead making their frequent flyers pay for them with high fare classes and limited system-wide upgrades....