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TPG reader Victoria tweeted me to ask:@thepointsguy–“Are there pros/cons to purchasing tickets directly from an airline versus an online travel agency like Expedia or Travelocity?“I spend a lot of money on airfare, whether it’s for me or for my employees, so it’s extremely important that I maximize every dollar.Booking through an online travel agency can often earn you more points than booking through an airline website. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.When deciding where to book your ticket, in most cases it’s better to book through an online travel agency for a couple different reasons:You get more points!...

TPG reader David emailed me this week with a question about using US Airways miles to get to Asia:“I’m looking to do a 10-day trip from Miami to Hong Kong and Phuket next year using US Airways miles. I currently have 127,000 miles my wife has 81,000. We are looking to go at least in business class. I know it’s 90,000 roundtrip to Hong Kong and 120,000 to Thailand. If we arrive into HKG and depart from PKT do we only need 105K each?...

There are a wealth of travel photos floating around the Instagram ethers — just search for #beach and your feed will overflow with pictures taken by amateur photographers from around the world. But sometimes, it pays to follow a professional.The lensmen and women listed below are at the top of their game, shooting the world in ways that will challenge the way you look at it — and probably convince you to move ahead in planning that next trip....

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.Major issues continued on Sunday night at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL), as the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported that Atlanta police were planning to evacuate the airport in its entirety after the airport lost most of its power around 1pm Eastern Time, causing thousands of flights to be delayed, diverted or canceled....

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 one thing to travel to exotic lands and meeting interesting people. And quite another to hang out with a Nobel Peace Prize winner and experience a PeaceJam conference.You heard that right: I’m teaming up with CharityBuzz to offer one reader and a guest the chance to bid on an incredible weekend of peace with Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchú Tum in Guatemala....

Cathay Pacific, one of the premier Asian carriers that’s known for its luxe first and business-class products, is about to cram even more passengers into the economy cabin. We’ve known that the carrier has been thinking about it since at least last year, but now we have more details. Cathay Pacific announced that it’s going to join the likes of other carriers that feature 10-across seating in economy, reducing seat width for each of its passengers....

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.You’ll soon be able to step foot on the Titanic — well, at least a replica of the doomed ship. Oh, and it’ll be located in a river in a landlocked Chinese province. This week, Chinese workers began building a life-size replica of the RMS Titanic, which began construction in 1909 and sunk in 1912....

Today is the day that Marriott Rewards has released the full line-up of award chart costs for all 6,500 worldwide SPG and Marriott hotels and resorts. There are some huge winners on the award chart, especially at the luxury end of the scale. However, there are some real losers, too. You can lock in properties at the current prices until August 2018, for travel through the end of the booking window, which should be into mid-July 2019 on the final day of the current SPG and Marriott award charts....

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 call Ires Alves Pereira “the Biter From Brazil.“The inebriated 40-year-old dual Brazilian-American citizen was on a flight from Sao Paulo (GRU) to New York (JFK) on Monday when she suddenly punched her seatmate in the face, then took the brawl into the aisle of the plane....

With the constant push for more, and longer, long-haul flights, pilots and other aircraft crew are possibly at risk for increased levels of radiation.In fact, airline employees are among the most susceptible groups for work-related radiation exposure. They have higher levels of hazardous exposure than radiology workers or even nuclear power plant engineers, according to research from National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements.The increasing number of ultra long-haul and polar routes might be worsening this exposure, a report from Bloomberg says....

A journey on the high seas on a very large boat may not seem as fraught with danger as it was in the days of schooners and Spanish galleons. But the ocean is still not something you want to fall into from the deck of a ship.Statistically speaking, the instances of passengers falling overboard are extremely low. According to a 2017 report compiled for the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), a cruise industry trade group, only about 19 souls fall into the water from cruise ships annually....

An often-overlooked aspect of hotel loyalty programs is the ability to earn airline miles instead of hotel points from a stay. And, in many cases, that’s not a bad thing. Usually, mileage earning rates are set low enough that it’s more valuable to earn hotel points instead of airline miles.But, there’s a new promotion that’s temporarily making it lucrative to earn AAdvantage miles instead of IHG points. For stays from May 15 to July 31, you can earn up to 4x the standard number of miles for IHG hotel stays....

Since becoming the first US airline to launch the aircraft type in 2012, the Boeing 777-300ER has been American Airlines’ flagship aircraft. As the only long-haul aircraft in the fleet still with a first class product, this “77W” aircraft is used on American Airlines’ most prestigious routes — including Los Angeles to London; Dallas to Hong Kong and New York to Sao Paulo.AA is still working through the premium economy retrofit of its 777-200s and A330-200s, but now it’s time for the 777-300ER to go under the knife....

With American Airlines’ massive AAdvantage devaluation now just two months away, it’s a fantastic time to redeem any outstanding miles. The airline is currently making it very easy to do just that, with excellent business-class award availability on all of its flights to London.You can currently book nonstop flights from Charlotte, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York or Philadelphia to London in business class for just 50,000 miles each way plus modest taxes and fees — because these flights are operated by AA, you don’t need to pay British Airways’ outrageous surcharges, although you do still need to pay the UK Air Passenger Duty....

The Grammy award-winning group Kings of Leon is back on the road again, touring behind their seventh album, Walls. Here, lead guitarist Matthew Followill reveals his favorite hotel in Austin and why it’s always a bad idea to overpack.What’s the best trip you’ve ever taken?I’ve experienced some really memorable stuff since the beginning of our career. But I would have to say that the best experience was when we did the Big Day Out festival in Australia....

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 August, Hipmunk put out when it thought travelers should be booking their flights home for Thanksgiving and the December holidays. Now, Hopper, a company that uses data to predict flight and hotel prices and notifies people when it’s the best time to book, has its own holiday travel recommendations....

Summer travel is on the rise, according to TripAdvisor’s Summer Vacation Value Report, released early Tuesday morning.Of the 3,300 US travelers surveyed, 87% are planning to take a summer vacation — and 91% of those respondents will keep their travel within the US.With Summer Fridays fast approaching, it’s time to get serious about booking your summer travel (if you haven’t already). And fortunately, it’s not too late to find solid savings....

Hyatt Points + Cash award redemptions are a great way to mix points and money on a hotel booking. But another way to look at them is that you’re “buying” Hyatt points when you redeem for a Points + Cash award — you’re substituting a prescribed amount of cash in lieu of booking the award entirely with points using the standard award rate, thereby paying money to spend fewer points. There’s a sweet spot at category 2-6 hotels where you can effectively “buy” Hyatt points this way for 1....

Iberia ordered 16 A350 aircraft to add to its fleet during 2014 and 2015. On Thursday, the Spanish carrier released some of the first renderings of its new A350, as well as its first destination — New York (JFK).In June, Iberia’s expecting to take delivery of its first A350-900, all of which will be equipped with Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-84 engines. According to its Twitter account, once Iberia takes delivery of the A359, it will first fly to London (LHR) to acclimate pilots before launching with service to New York....

Timothy Hochstedler, of Colon, Michigan, is redefining the frontier of ride-sharing with what is being hailed as the “Amish Uber.“With a population of approximately 1,200 people, ride-sharing apps aren’t really practical in the “magic capital of the world.” (Colon, as it happens, is famous for manufacturing equipment for magicians.) As a result, Uber and similar services are not offered within the city limits.Now, however, if you’re traveling in St. Joseph’s county, you may be able to hitch a ride with Hochstedler and his horse and buggy....