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It’s tough out there in the terminals. In this week’s very first installment of a new series titled “Airlines Behaving Badly,” we examine the unruly side of air travel. From airline employees issuing biting insults to stealing luggage and beyond, sometimes airlines just don’t behave like they should.Let’s get to this week’s news:Ryanair Employee Calls Passenger a “Fat Slob"The last thing David Bookbinder needed after his horrendous boarding experience on a Ryanair flight was to be cyberbullied....

American Airlines basic economy is expanding again. Since launching in February on just ten routes, American Airlines has only made one large expansion since. Before today, there were only 25 affected routes…Now there are 44. This afternoon, American Airlines posted an update to its website adding 19 new routes to basic economy.For the first time, we have a western city added to what was previously an East Coast issue: Los Vegas (LAS) has the honor of getting five basic economy routes....

Update 11/7/16: AA has confirmed that Platinum Pro status will not be awarded upon reaching a Million Miler threshold. Previously, members speculated that (very) frequent flyers would earn this status after earning 3,000,000 lifetime miles, however Million Miler status will continue to be available only through the Platinum level.It’s another big day for AA’s AAdvantage program, and as with the airline’s last major announcement, most of the changes here aren’t so great for the majority of American Airlines flyers....

Talk about a travel nightmare coming true. Merry Cannon, her husband and their two children, ages 1 and 5, were trying to fly from their home in Arkansas to Europe on American Airlines for her husband’s business trip. The group endured several travel obstacles: a canceled flight because of a cracked windshield, missed connecting flights and delays and luggage that the airline lost for five days.The Cannons thought their complicated trip was over when they landed back in Arkansas and finally retrieved their luggage....

At least two unlucky people looking for rest and relaxation at the beach have been injured by rogue beach umbrellas blowing in the wind this summer.The latest case occurred on Sunday at Ocean City Beach in Maryland. The wooden pole of an unattended beach umbrella pierced the chest of a 46-year-old Pennsylvania woman, USA Today reports. According to the Ocean City Beach Patrol, lifeguards were able to secure the umbrella so it wouldn’t move until firefighters came to cut the pole....

Cape Town, South Africa, is known for its stunning natural beauty, with tourists flocking here all year long to take in all that the Western Cape has to offer. Now, it turns out the city is in a dire situation. Of all the water in Cape Town’s dams, only 18.6% of it is drinkable, which translates to about 100 days worth for the city, which uses about 750 million liters of water per day....

Airlines seem to be on a never-ending quest to outdo each other with perks for their most profitable customers. But since no one has invented teleportation yet, it looks like Delta — with its new upgrade to an entirely different plane that’s all your own — is the newest airline to beat.You’re gonna want a whole new wardrobe for this upgrade. Photo courtesy of ShutterstockOne of the more interesting aspects of this upgrade is that it’s actually working in the favor of Delta — or at least Delta Private Jets (DPJ), its wholly owned subsidiary....

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, Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express, Starwood Preferred Guest® 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....

Update: This code no longer worksOne of the reasons why I fly Delta is because I can count on there being wifi on pretty much every flight - including regional jets. As a full-time blogger, I feel isolated without internet and I’m unusually productive in the air - probably because I don’t have the distractions of working from home or the road, including bothersome phone calls.While this deal does me no good because I just bought a $39....

In Part 1 of his series on Green Dot MoneyPaks, TPG contributor Jason Steele introduced us to Green Dot and covered the basics of prepaid reloadable cards. In today’s post, he compares Green Dot to the other popular product in this class, Vanilla Reloads.Why Green Dot MoneyPak over Vanilla Reloads?Vanilla Reloads were an incredibly easy way to generate credit card spending…until they became hard to purchase using a points-earning credit card....

The FIFA World Cup is inching its way toward the final championship game.And England’s team, which is in the semifinals of the tournament for the first time in 28 years, is seeing a new level of dedication from its fans.In fact, London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) just sent out a warning to its border officers saying that the desks at airport immigration should not be abandoned during the country’s semifinal match against Croatia on Wednesday....

This is an installment in my Maximizing Elite Status series. Articles include; The Basics and Why People Mileage Run, Using ITA Matrix to Find Cheap Flights, How Much is Elite Status Worth?, Comparing Top Tier Status, Comparing Mid-Tier Status, Comparing Low Level Status, How to Get Elite Miles Without Flying, Understanding Elite Status Bump Thresholds, The Lowdown on Soft Landings, How to Cope with Losing Elite Status.I’ve been enjoying the fruits of my hard earned Delta Diamond elite status lately - from 100% domestic first class upgrades (on the cheapest fares) to super friendly agents who bend the rules to make me happy - traveling with top tier status is a whole different ball game than what most people are used to when they think of domestic travel....

Editor’s note about our Insider Series: TPG Contributor Carrie A. Trey shares some of her most interesting stories and perspectives in this Insider Series article. Please remember that Ms. Trey’s opinions and statements here are her’s and her’s only, and they do not reflect the opinions of the TPG Team. Disclaimer out of the way… please enjoy this installment from the one and only Carrie A. Trey!Just in time for Valentine’s Day, TPG’s flight attendant insider Carrie A....

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.Lyft’s newest app update, released Monday, is giving riders convenient pickup location suggestions — potentially cutting back on total ride times for both driver and passenger. The app will automatically calculate if a nearby location, perhaps a street corner, for example, is more optimal than the initial pickup spot, giving riders the option to relocate if it is....

TO THE POINT: Air Serbia recently launched nonstop service from New York to Belgrade with a retrofitted two-cabin aircraft. The pros: wonderful service, a luxurious lounge, and 18 cozy lie-flat seats. The cons: low-quality bedding and pillows, plus a quirky seat that only lets the tray table come up when it’s in the upright position.After barely recuperating from my American Airlines mileage run, I was off and running again, this time to a part of Europe I never pictured myself traveling to: Belgrade, Serbia....

There has been a lot of airline alliance-related news lately, including the departure of TAM and US Airways from Star Alliance to join Oneworld, Garuda Indonesia joining SkyTeam, and the announcement last month that SriLankan Airlines would be joining Oneworld May 1. Well, it’s May 1, and it’s official - SriLankan is part of the Oneworld alliance.It’s official - SriLankan is in Oneworld.Per the Oneworld release on the entry, this marks the following milestones:First carrier from Indian subcontinent to join any global airline allianceCompletes biggest expansion of world’s premier alliance since its launch 15 years agoKey government ministers witness unveiling of first SriLankan aircraft in oneworld livery at joining ceremony at Asia’s newest airport, Hambantota’s Mattala Rajapaksa InternationalBonus miles/points for frequent flyers to celebrateNew Visit South Asian Sub-Continent pass added to leading range of alliance faresSriLankan to code-share with two more oneworld partners – Finnair and S7 AirlinesSriLankan provides access to 34 destinations in more than 22 countries across Asia, Europe and the Middle East, adding two new destinations – Hambantota in Sri Lanka and Tiruchirappalli in India to the Oneworld route network....

Sometimes getting away with the one you love doesn’t take a flight across the Atlantic or a trek to the Maldives. In fact, some of the most romantic destinations happen to be in our own back yard. US News & World Report released its rankings of the country’s most romantic getaways on Thursday. US News gathered user votes and expert opinions to come up with its list of the 12 most romantic US destinations, taking into account ambiance, privacy and access to couple-friendly activities....

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.Hollywood can keep its Oscars — this year’s award season is going to the dogs. As the canine-loving world looked on this week, nearly 3,000 of the world’s most pristine show dogs were whittled down to one finalist as a German Shepherd named Rumor (full name: GCh....

Starting Tuesday, Uber drivers in Los Angeles and Atlanta will have better control over their earning opportunities.Uber launched its redesigned app on April 10, which adds or enhances a number of key features within the app, including:A real-time “Earnings Tracker” shows drivers how much they earned on their last trip, and tracks progress toward their earnings goals. Drivers concerned about passengers seeing these statistics have the option of keeping this tracker hidden....

As the guardian of an unaccompanied minor, the last thing you want to hear is that your relative was kicked off their flight. But that’s what happened to one family when Logan O’Connor, a 13-year-old from Virginia, was booted from his United Express flight from Albany (ALB) to Washington Dulles (IAD).UA 4968, which was operated by CommutAir, was scheduled to depart at 7:20pm on Tuesday night, however, due to a weight-balance issue, United Airlines decided it needed to remove some people from the flight....