Posts

The trend of airlines tightening rules on emotional support animals has reached Spirit. Starting Oct. 15, the budget airline will be adding a wealth of new regulations to its service pet policy.The new policies were posted recently on Spirit Airlines’ website and require significantly more paperwork than their original, single letter from a licensed mental health professional. Now, travelers must submit an additional two forms including the mental health professional form, a veterinary health form and a passenger liability form....

For this week’s Thursday Giveaway, we are giving one lucky TPG reader $500 in Uber Credits, which can redeemed directly into your account, in honor the recent Uber and SPG partnership. I’m a huge Uber fan, if you haven’t already signed-up, you can join here and you’ll get your first ride free (up to $20).Enter to win a $500 Uber Gift Card this week!To enter to win, visit our Facebook Page (from your computer)....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here – Marriott Rewards Premier Credit CardThis week’s Thursday Giveaway is a $500 Marriott gift card for your next trip to one of the chain’s properties worldwide. The gift card is valid for stays, dining and more at any participating property, including Edition, JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels. You can use the $500 to book a stay with one of Marriott’s new members-only rates....

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.I can’t believe it, but today marks the six-year anniversary of The Points Guy. On June 7, 2010, I took off on an epic journey that changed my life forever. You’ve followed along as I wrote my first post while working in a cubicle at Morgan Stanley, left that cubicle to become fully employed as The Points Guy, shared some amazing deal alerts, and much more....

Riding in an Uber, sometimes it’s easy to forget one major part of the ride — the rating system. After every trip, both riders and drivers are prompted to rate each other. The ratings are averaged out and each rider and driver is then assigned a score. As a rider, if your rating gets too low, you could be kicked off the app. And if you’re a driver, well, if your rating goes below a certain threshold, you won’t be driving for much longer....

Later this year, United will take delivery of its first extended-length Dreamliner, the Boeing 787-10. With a maximum range of 7,400 miles, the larger -10 isn’t capable of operating the airline’s longest international flights, so it’s a better pick for hops to Europe, and even some premium routes within the US.On Monday, United shared plans to launch its first 787-10 on January 7, 2019. And rather than introduce the plane on long-haul routes, the -10 will initially fly between Newark (EWR) and Los Angeles (LAX), followed by Newark and San Francisco (SFO)....

In case you haven’t heard, United’s retiring its 747s. Today. Yes, it’s really, really happening. To celebrate the airline’s long history with the Queen of the Skies, it’s throwing a retro-themed party on Tuesday at the San Francisco airport to send the aircraft off in style, on flight UA747 (yes, that’s intentional) to Honolulu.Both myself and TPG Editor-at-Large Zach Honig are here at SFO to bring you all the details. We’ll be boarding the flight soon, but now let’s take a look at how United pulled out all the stops to celebrate the last flight of its iconic jumbo jet....

Purchasing miles from a frequent flyer program is usually a high-price/ low-value way to add some miles to your account, and is generally only a last resort if you need to top up your account for a particular award. But every so often there are some purchased-mile bonuses that might be worth it to some travelers.Earlier this week, US Airways Dividend Miles and Points.com announced a joint promotion that could earn you up to a 100% bonus on purchased miles if you join points....

Now that California has legalized recreational marijuana sales and consumption, the floodgates have opened to tourists wanting to indulge in some of the sticky green leaf.While California has been long known for its thriving (underground) cannabis industry, it’s also a mecca for wine growers. Northern California’s Sonoma and Napa counties have nearly 1000 wineries between them — many of them among the best in the world.A savvy tour company has decided to combine the two vices into one is now offering a Weed and Wine Tour....

TPG reader Brandon sent me a message on Facebook to ask about jet lag:“My wife and I are flying from San Francisco to Hong Kong this fall. What’s easier on the body: arriving in the morning or evening?”There are entire books on the subject of how to avoid jet lag, and you can find all kinds of strategies for keeping your body in rhythm after a long-haul flight. Personally, I feel much better if I can just sleep on the plane, stay hydrated and avoid alcohol (sometimes challenging when the good stuff is readily available), but one of the easiest ways to minimize the effects of jet lag is to plan an itinerary that preserves your routine as much as possible....

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.If you passed on the $4.5 million HondaJet Elite, perhaps moving the comma to the right and adding another zero will make you reconsider private jet ownership. Following a global strutting tour, Gulfstream Aerospace has just delivered the all-new Gulfstream G500 to its very first North American customer....

Known as the Eternal City, Rome is one of the most popular travel destinations in Europe. With ancient ruins dating back more than 2,500 years, over 900 churches and some of the world’s most delectable pizza and pasta, it’s no wonder this Italian capital city sees over 10 million tourists per year. Because Rome can often feel overcrowded with tourists, finding peaceful spots or off-the-beaten path activities can be trying at times, but it is possible....

If you have a March birthday and book a flight and fly by April 30th, Delta will give you 2,500 extra miles as a “gift.” I just successfully registered, so look forward to banking those miles later this month on a trip to Boston. Registration link. Asia Pac registration link.Full details:GET READY TO GET AWAYYOUR BIRTHDAY GIFTS MAKE IT POSSIBLE.It’s time to start the celebration!Our birthday gifts to you are waiting: You can get 2,500 bonus miles on your next round-trip flight and a $100 e-certificate toward a Delta Vacations® getaway....

After decades of financial trouble, Alitalia’s shareholders unanimously voted today to enter bankruptcy procedures. This comes in the wake of the airline’s crew rejecting a $2.2 billion recapitalization plan that would have kept the carrier afloat — but would have also meant a pay cut to crewmembers, with 1,600 workers being laid off.Sound familiar? Well, this isn’t Alitalia’s first time in bankruptcy. In 2008, the carrier entered bankruptcy, but turned around with help from an investment from Air France KLM in 2009....

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.Chase is offering new business checking account holders the opportunity to receive $500 after opening a Chase Performance Business Checking, Chase Performance Business Checking with Interest or Chase Platinum Business Checking account. In order to be eligible, you’ll need to open the account with an initial deposit of $500 within the first 10 business days of account opening and maintain that balance for 60 days....

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.To compete with DFW’s newest airline, the venerable Virgin America, American is offering double elite and redeemable miles Dallas (DFW) to Los Angeles and San Francisco. Additionally “starting December 1, our ‘15 Days of Giveaways’ promotion will surprise customers on select mystery flights between Dallas/Fort Worth and San Francisco and between Dallas/Fort Worth and Los Angeles....

On Sunday, Emirates blew my mind with an out-of-this-world first-class product. The new 777-300ER Suite is, in a word, incredible. I can’t wait to take it for a spin on the December 1 inaugural flight.At the same time, I’ll be avoiding business class on this plane. Why’s that? Bizarrely, while Emirates completely redesigned the seats, executives decided to maintain a 2-3-2 arrangement — as a result, not only do many passengers not have direct aisle access, there are even middle seats in every row....

Tens of thousands of travelers flying through Europe on July 25 and 26 will see their flights canceled as Ryanair’s cabin crews go on strike for that two-day stretch.The Dublin-based carrier canceled 600 flights in Belgium, Spain and Portugal due to staffers’ planned strikes over pay and work conditions in those countries. Up to 50,000 passengers of the low-cost airline will be affected each day, about 12% of Ryanair’s total daily flyer capacity, a major logistical blow during the peak summer travel period....

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.Like with any rocket launch, there was a bit of risk surrounding last night’s mission, when ViaSat’s brand-new high-capacity satellite, ViaSat-2, made its way from a South American town just north of the equator to its new home in space....

This weekend the entire TPG team will be heading to Illinois for the 2012 Chicago Seminars which I am co-hosting along with The Frugal Travel Guy, Rick Ingersoll. There will be about 500 frequent flyer enthusiasts in attendance and several informative sessions for both beginner and advanced mileage junkies, as well as some fun cocktail hours thrown into the mix.Throughout the weekend, the TPG team will be live tweeting from The Points Guy Twitter feed @thepointsguy....