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‘Tis the season for holiday cheer and busy travel. As the Christmas season rolls in, airports around the world are creating unforgettable holiday experiences for travelers. From London to Singapore, these airports help ease the stress of flying by recreating remarkable displays and hosting exciting holiday-themed events. Going beyond illuminating Christmas trees and Santa Claus appearances, these airport terminals stand out with their impressive holiday setting. No matter your destination this season, a trip through one of these nine airports will surely put you in the spirit....

Starwood Preferred Guest has been mum on their new promotion, which begins on May 1, 2012 - simply stating that we will have a “choice” on benefits to earn during the promotion. However, last night they slipped a couple promotion hints on their Facebook page:1) There will be 11 different options2) Options will include bonus points, free nights, merchandise, elite credits3) One option will be double points after the first stay4) All participating SPG properties will take part in this promotion, which is a huge improvement over the most recent promotions that excluded entire regionsDouble points doesn’t jazz me up that much, because I was getting double and triple points during their last promotion, but I’m curious to see the elite status and other benefits....

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.Unless you’re tucking into a Marimekko plate of food aboard a Finnair flight, chances are you can’t recall what the serviceware that came with your last in-flight meal looked like. But it doesn’t have to be that way....

After taking a young Kodiak bear out to the local Dairy Queen for ice cream, a zoo in Canada is under fire from wildlife officials.Discovery Wildlife Park — a private zoo in Innisfail, Alberta that houses orphaned animals — has been charged with “failing to notify the provincial government prior to the bear leaving the zoo,” explained a statement from Alberta Fish and Wildlife.According to the Guardian, news of Berkley the bear’s field trip first emerged in January, after the zoo posted a video on Twitter....

A year after a white-nationalist rally turned deadly in Charlottesville, Virginia, the same group is holding a similar rally in Washington, DC, on Sunday.Ride-hailing giants Uber and Lyft and homesharing company Airbnb have all stated that they may refuse service to people they suspect are attending the Unite The Right rally. Rally organizer Jason Kessler chose Washington, DC, as the rally location after he was denied a permit to hold a repeat event in Charlottesville....

There have been a rash of free point social media campaigns lately and many have come to an ugly or disgraceful end, so I feel it is my duty to write a letter to anyone who is considering a free points social media campaign.Dear hotels, airlines and other companies who want to give out free points via Facebook, Twitter or any other social media outlet,People love free stuff - especially points....

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 get emails all the time from my friendly northern neighbors about how much they wish they could get in on the super-lucrative US credit card bonuses. I would feel the same way! Lately the 50,000 and 100,000 bonuses have been mind-blowing and it must be such a tease to be so close, yet so far from the action....

For some frequent flyers, nothing but nonstop will do. But there’s another segment of the traveling population that basks in the excitement of a mid-journey pit stop — and the savings that can accompany a more roundabout route to get to one’s final destination. That’s where Cleverlayover comes in.Founded in 2015 by a quintet of Harvard Business School students, the, well, clever travel meta-search engine helps its customers save money by patching together a series of flights — many through ultra-low-budget carriers that aren’t part of any major airline alliance and likely won’t show up when you search on a mega site like Expedia — to get you to your final destination at the best price possible, even if it takes a couple of days to get you there....

This year’s ski season is not yet in the history books, but it will begin wrapping up with closing dates at many mountains scheduled as soon as this weekend. I hate packing away my ski gear for the year, but as they say, there’s always next season. Believe it or not, the best time to purchase a ski pass at the lowest price is in the spring, as in right now....

Of the many things that could go wrong on a luxury cruise, a potential pirate attack doesn’t come to mind. But for the 1,900 passengers sailing from Sydney to Dubai aboard the Sea Princess, that impossibility seemed all too real as their ocean liner became a “ghost ship” for 10 nights.The captain-mandated blackout — recounted on news.com.au by passenger and writer Carolyne Jasinski — prohibited nighttime outdoor pool access, movies and deck parties, among other things, as the liner sailed through a section of the Indian Ocean....

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.The country we used to know as Macedonia — or, officially, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia — is changing. Its boundaries will remain the same, but it may now change its name to Northern Macedonia.In 1991, the country then known as Macedonia gained independence from Yugoslavia....

Today the FAA officially approved a measure to allow passengers to use more electronic devices during taxi, takeoff and landing, though each airline will need to follow guidelines and roll the changes out once they are fully prepared. Devices like iPhones, iPads, Kindles, DVD players and headphones may remain on during taxi, takeoff and landing as long as they are in airplane mode. Wi-Fi will still be turned off below 10,000 feet....

On my recent trip to Ireland and Scotland, I stayed at the Sheraton Grand Hotel and Spa, Edinburgh (where I hit my SPG 100-night platinum threshold). The hotel underwent a complete renovation not long ago and features 269 newly renovated guestrooms and suites, a Sheraton Club lounge, fitness center and One Spa.This is a Category 4 property where free nights are normally 10,000 SPG points per night. However, I checked and there was cash and points availability so I was able to redeem 4,000 points and $60 per night....

Today I want to share a story from TPG reader Dmitry, who got a huge discount on a hotel stay in Croatia. Here’s what he had to say:The things I’ve learned from TPG have helped me keep a long distance relationship strong by letting us fill the relationship with lots of travel together. This year we’re heading to Hungary and Croatia. We booked our flights using United miles transferred from Chase Ultimate Rewards....

JetBlue’s Mint business-class product is widely regarded as one of the best flying in the domestic skies. Between its small cabin, comfortable lie-flat seat, premium food options by Saxon + Parole and reasonable price, it’s a passenger favorite. The product, which has generally been reserved for transcon flights and some Caribbean seasonal routes, is now expanding.Photo by Benji Stawski.On Thursday, JetBlue announced a Mint route expansion — this time, to more Latin America and Caribbean destinations....

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.Just a quick reminder that you can get up to 3,000 AA miles just for signing up for their emails. This deal ends next week, so I thought I’d remind any of you procrastinators!See full details here. The miles won’t post for a couple months, but it’s a pretty easy/free way to get some miles, so you shouldn’t complain :-) Let’s just hope they post before AA changes their Million Miler Program on December 1, 2011....

Here’s a recap of the interesting points and miles news from this week:The Park Hyatt Maldives is my dream Hyatt destination.Enter To Win This Week’s 100,000 Hyatt Points Thursday Giveaway: This week’s Thursday Giveaway is for 100,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points in honor of th Hyatt’s “Discover New Possibilities” fall promo. There are four methods to enter, and you can enter once per method for a total of four entries. In each one, you’ll tell me about a different kind of Hyatt experience....

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 been a rough couple of weeks for the airline industry between the electronics ban, “leggings-gate,” Delta’s massive cancellations and of course, the United situation. So this bit of comic relief, served up by a quick-witted Southwest customer service rep comes at a good time....

TAP Portugal has been expanding its service this year, including launching flights from Lisbon (LIS) to Boston (BOS) and New York (JFK). And now the carrier has more good news to share: It will begin replacing the dated angle-flat seats on seven A330s in its fleet, opting for a much-improved lie-flat seat instead.To support its growth, TAP has been leasing two planes from Brazilian carrier Azul. But while Azul features fully lie-fat staggered business-class seats, TAP’s own A330s are outfitted with angle-flat seats in the business cabin....

On November 1, American Airlines abruptly suspended its catering relationship with Gate Gourmet in Los Angeles (LAX) after routine testing found listeria in the catering facility. Gate Gourmet confirmed that “traces of listeria in non-food contact areas, primarily floor drains” and that “all floor drains and surrounding areas were immediately and aggressively treated.” No sicknesses have been reported from Gate Gourmet catering since this discovery, though other airlines have followed suit by altering their relationships with the caterer....