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Indonesia’s Mount Sinabung erupted on Monday, causing havoc and confusion on the island of Sumatra. No deaths have been reported in the eruption although smoke and hot ash have reached 23,000 feet in the air.Indonesia has raised flight warnings for the area and the regional volcanic ash advisory center in Darwin, Australia, issued a “red notice” to airlines, its highest alert. Mount Sinabung last erupted in 2016 and killed seven people....

Thanks to a study by business research firm Expert Market, we can now quantify the adage, “work hard, play hard,” and point workers in the right direction to find cities where people earn more but work less.The study looked at the average pay, working hours and paid vacation taken by workers in 69 cities around the world to reveal what the study calls the “millennial Holy Grail.” The study cross-references data from average monthly salary to annual working hours and paid holiday taken; the results were analyzed to list, in order, the cities that offer the best reward for the least amount of work....

Finally, Scotland saw some sun. The sun, of course, being Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who capture attention — and hordes of screaming fans — wherever they go.The couple visited Edinburgh for the first time together on February 13, stopping at Edinburgh Castle for a visit, where they even got to hang out with an adorable Shetland pony named Cruachan, who attempted to nibble Harry’s outstretched hand. And I ask: Can these two get any luckier?...

Update 2/23/18: The Stewart International Airport finally has a new name: New York Stewart International Airport. The name change is a move made in the hope of luring travelers to/from the airport, which is near Newburgh, NY, when considering NYC flight options.On February 15, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey authorized a $30 million expansion to Stewart International Airport (SWF), which would add nearly 20,000 square-feet of space to the existing terminal, including a new US Custom and Border Protection facility....

Southwest Airlines captain Tammie Jo Shults catapulted to the forefront of the world’s attention Monday for her calm, controlled handling of Flight 1380. After the Boeing 737-700’s left engine exploded mid-air on April 16, the captain calmly navigated the damaged aircraft to a safe emergency landing at Philadelphia Airport (PHL) amidst a rapid decompression as well as a medical emergency onboard.Shults also drew the attention of fellow “hero pilot” Captain Chesley B....

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.United’s Polaris Lounge is fan-tastic. It’s so much better than the carrier’s other airport hangouts that customers go far out of their way to try to get in. One such not-so-under-the-radar method was to book a cheap business-class fare on Air Canada for $300 just for a chance to try out the lounge....

Imagine you board your flight and get to your seat only to realize that it’s got a urine stain on it — and the smell confirms it’s not water. That’s what happened to a 39-year-old British Airways passenger from London who was flying to South Africa, according to what he told a British newspaper. And not only was the seat covered in urine, but the flight attendant reportedly made him clean it up himself and wouldn’t allow him to change seats....

Your SkyMiles may soon take you farther across the globe than ever before. This week, Delta announced that it’s expanding its partnership with Jet Airways. While the changes have yet to be put in place, you’ll soon be able to both earn and redeem SkyMiles for Jet Airways flights.Unfamiliar with Jet Airways? Not surprising. Currently, Jet Airways operates just one flight to North America — between Toronto (YYZ) and Amsterdam (AMS)....

JetBlue announced a limited-time promotion where, when you redeem TrueBlue points for an award flight by 11:59pm EST tonight (August 1) for travel between September 4-October 31, you’ll save 25% on the points necessary down to a lower limit of 5,000 points for any redemption.You can find details here, but departures must be Monday-Thursday or Saturday, and this is valid for new bookings only.To take a couple example cities mentioned on the promo page, I priced out a roundtrip between Boston and Fort Lauderdale in August and my total came to $240....

Priority Club is running a 50% bonus on purchased points through November 22, 2012. This means that essentially you are purchasing each point for as low as .77 cents apiece - which can be a great value if you know how to maximize Priority Club points.Priority Club “sells” points normally at .8 cents apiece when you do cash & points redemptions (for every $40 in cash outlay, you save 5,000 points) and those points don’t count towards status while the official purchase promotion does....

In 2015, American Airlines rolled out a program to incentivize business and first class travel by offering between 250-12,000 bonus points per segment. Good news! AA has extended the program into 2016 and will keep it in place “until the changes to earning award miles go into effect in the second half of 2016” — the exact date of which still hasn’t been announced.Earning RatesEarning rates depend on your elite status, booking class and distance of flight....

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.Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here – The Platinum Card from American ExpressUpdate: Beginning March 22, 2014, American Express Card Members will no longer have access to American Airlines Admiral Club and US Airways Club airport lounges through Airport Club Access / Airport Lounge Program....

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.Airplanes and decent meals have had a long and very complicated relationship. But that didn’t stop businessman Li Yang from dropping roughly $5.2 million to turn a retired Boeing 737 into what he hopes will become a culinary hotspot in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China....

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....

Both guests and staff members were accidentally poisoned at a Disneyland Paris hotel when employees mixed the wrong chemicals together in the property’s swimming pool on Friday.At least 22 people at the New York hotel were treated for breathing problems and nausea after the incident, which occurred when sulphuric acid and bleach were mixed in the swimming pool and created chlorine gas. The chemicals were incorrectly mixed by a member of the hotel staff....

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.For years you’ve been following Brian Kelly’s luxurious travels on Instagram. But now that The Points Guy has grown from one man into a full-blown, trusted media brand, covering everything from breaking travel news to must-have credit cards, we’re adding another piece to the TPG family: A brand Instagram account @ThePointsGuy....

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.Gogo and Facebook are teaming up to provide free access to Facebook on all Gogo equipped flights during the month of February. I actually noticed that Facebook was working before I logged into my Gogo account on a flight last Friday, January 28th....

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 announced a double points or miles promotion (registration required) for their “Q3” (July 1- September 30, 2011) promotion. While this is better than nothing, its hardly a blockbuster promotion. Choose wisely when you register because once you make your selection, it cannot be changed....

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.Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here – The Hyatt Credit CardWhen I first reported on Hyatt’s April 1- June 30, 2011 promo “Possibilities,” I wasn’t blown away, but I wasn’t completely bored with it either....

Yet another labor action is going to impact European flights. An Air France strike is set to ground an unknown number of Air France flights on May 7 and 8. And now Italy’s Air Traffic Control union is also calling for a strike on May 8.The Italian labor action, which is actually a combination of two national strikes and a series of strikes by local unions, is expected to affect travel in much of the country from 10am through 6pm local time....