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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.Four counties in North Bay, California are in the direct path of massive wildfires. Thus far, thousands of residents, tourists, business owners and more in Napa, Sonoma, Lake and Mendocino counties have been forced to evacuate. As windy and dry conditions fuel the fires, emergency services are likely to call for more to evacuate the area....

As Puerto Rico continues to deal with the destruction that Hurricane Maria dealt to the island, airlines have started relief flights to help its people.Friday morning, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo flew to Puerto Rico on a special JetBlue charter flight, one of two A321 aircraft — one with Cuomo and other government and emergency response workers aboard and the other full of emergency supplies. According to CBS News the provisions include 34,000 bottles of water, 9,600 ready-to-eat meals, 3,000 canned goods, 500 flashlights, 1,400 cots, 1,400 blankets, 1,400 pillows and 10 generators....

Today, I want to share a story from TPG reader Pam, who wishes she had booked an extra night at her hotel in Tokyo. Here’s what she had to say:Over the summer, my son and I traveled to Tokyo from Anchorage via Los Angeles. Our ANA flight left LA around 11:00 p.m. and arrived at 5:00 a.m. Tokyo time. I had overestimated how much sleep we’d get on our flight and how much energy we’d have upon arrival, not to mention that there isn’t really much to do that early in the morning!...

As we reported last October, Delta has been testing an “Early Valet” service at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport’s (ATL) Concourse T. As far as we could tell, it involved gate agents working a specific flight to look around the gate area for passengers with carry-on bags, asking them if they were interested in having their carry-on bags pre-loaded, and taking it from there.Although not the most scientific means of testing a service, it must have worked; starting this summer, Delta Air Lines will be rolling out the Early Valet specifically for flights that tend to be popular with the vacationing set....

When you think of hotel swimming pools, tropical destinations with fruity drinks usually come to mind first. There’s nothing better than cooling off beneath the swaying palm trees, right? That is, until you’re smack dab in the middle of the Swiss Alps or Tuscan wine country.Thanks to a spate of stunning hotel indoor pools, travelers to Europe this winter don’t need to skip their dip. Below, 10 of the most luxurious:1....

Unless you have the luxury of traveling first and business class for every flight, you know the pains of sitting in a cramped airplane seat with little wiggle room, a too-close-for-comfort distance from your neighbor.The debate about whether airplane seats are too small and if the Federal Aviation Administration has the power to change that has been on-going for years. But the FAA is less concerned with how you fit in the seat and more concerned with whether or not you can evacuate a plane in 90 seconds in the case of an emergency....

Last Tuesday, both American Airlines and United Airlines began selling Basic Economy fares. In their announcements and promotion of these products, both airlines put the focus solely on price. United’s Basic Economy is targeted toward “customers who may be more price-sensitive,” while American Airlines is focusing on those who “don’t fly very often and … care more about price than about features.” So, now that these Basic Economy fares are on sale, how are these airlines doing at competitively pricing this new bare-bones form of their tickets?...

UPDATE: Continental is now part of United.Of all the US legacy carriers, I think Continental.com is the best when searching for award tickets. It’s a pretty shrewd engine that smartly searches award availability on United and US Airways as well as a host of other Star Alliance carriers like Lufthansa, Air Canada, LOT, TAP, BMI and Virgin Atlantic (note: Virgin Atlantic isn’t a Star Alliance partner, but a special Continental Onepass partner)....

As I mentioned last week, I’m a brand-spanking-new Intercontinental Royal Ambassador, due to a very generous TPG reader. Being very anxious to try out my new status, I decided to split my 5 days in Madrid to 1 night at the Intercontinental, 3 at the Westin Palace (my Madrid go-to property) and one more at the Intercontinental. In case you are scratching your head at the switch, I’ve extolled the benefits of hotel hopping in this post....

Despite landing safely in Volgograd, Russia yesterday, passengers onboard an Aeroflot flight from Moscow experienced a smokey arrival. As they waited to deplane, a portable phone charger caught fire while plugged into the seat’s power outlet.Based off the video below, passengers remained calm and passed bottles of water to help extinguish the fire. The small blaze was put out quickly but the economy cabin was filled with smoke; you can hear people coughing during the duration of the video clip....

Another day, another post about the 747’s imminent retirement. Yeah, we’re starting to feel the fatigue, too, but this one’s for a good cause — and, assuming you have the miles to burn, could land you some pretty fantastic memorabilia.United just launched a number of opportunities to redeem miles for 747 components, including economy seats, windows and livery panels. All proceeds will be donated to Air Camp. As the airline explains:100% of the profits will support Air Camp, a hands-on, educational adventure in aviation and aeronautics....

A couple weeks ago, I wrote about Starwood’s Fall “Better By The Night” promo, which runs October 1-December 20. Registration wasn’t open at that time, but it opened today, so sign up now and you can start earning double or triple points as soon as the promo period begins.Time to register for SPG’s fall “Better by the Night” promo so you can start earning double/triple points starting October 1.As a reminder, here are the details of the promotion:-Earn double Starpoints on stays of 1 or 2 nights....

Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena is not happy with the nation’s flag carrier. His misgivings aren’t about Sri Lankan Airlines’ numerous issues, like its widespread allegations of corruption or the fact that it’s racked up at least $1 billion in debt.Rather, Sirisena is upset about several cashew nuts he was served on a flight from Kathmandu, Nepal (KTM), to Colombo, Sri Lanka (CMB).According to the BBC, the president became irate when he was served the in-flight snack, stating that the nuts were not even fit for dogs....

Thousands of flights grace the skies around the world on a daily basis, taking off from every airport under the sun and carrying passengers on every type of plane imaginable. But at the end of the day, when all of the tourists and business travelers have disembarked, which routes generate the most revenue for airlines?According to OAG, the highest revenue-producing route in the world is British Airways’ route between New York’s Kennedy (JFK) and London’s Heathrow (LHR) airports....

If you’re lucky, you can manage to watch an entire movie — beginning to end — over the course of a two-hour flight. On the other hand, if you’re Vienna-based couple Jürgen Bogner and Nathaly Eiche, you can get engaged, say “I do” and be on the ground and ready to start your Grecian honeymoon in the same amount of time.Last week, the couple boarded an Austrian Airlines flight from Vienna to Athens for what Eiche understood to be just a normal vacation....

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.Ruelala.com is one of my favorite discount online sites and they just launched a Tumi sale that lasts until Sunday, but you need to act fast because the good stuff sells out quick. If you aren’t a member, you can sign-up here to get in on their offers (this is my referral link so I get a credit if you make a purchase)....

Last year Uber agreed to a legal settlement of a class action suit brought by the National Federation of the Blind, which had accused the ride-sharing service of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by allowing its drivers to discriminate against riders with service animals. As part of the settlement, Uber agreed to establish a service animal policy, pay the group for an ongoing testing program and send periodic reminders to drivers of their obligation to accept service animals in their vehicles....

With massive Winter Storm Juno bearing down on the East Coast, I wanted to provide you with a handy consolidated resource of the current travel advisories and flight change/refund policies of the major airlines so that you don’t get stranded this week.Winter Storm Juno is going to strike, with as much as 2-3 feet of snow in some places.If you have upcoming travel anywhere in the affected zone (from Downeast Maine to the Jersey shore, including New York City, Boston, Providence, Hartford and Portland) and your schedule is flexible, I would try to change your plans as soon as possible....

Budget travelers, rejoice. WOW Air is bringing back its $69 one-way flights to Reykjavik, Iceland, for a limited-time only — including parts of summer and early fall travel.As part of its latest promotion, WOW Air is offering $69 one-way flights from select US cities to Reykjavik (KEF). To book as part of this sale at reduced fares, you must be originating in any of the following cities: Baltimore (BWI), Chicago (ORD), Cleveland (CLE), Cincinnati (CVG), Detroit (DTW), New York (EWR and JFK), Dallas (DFW), St....

Update 8/31/17: Singapore Airlines has confirmed that all flights originating in the US are eligible for mileage accrual — the below referenced exception had been posted on Alaska’s site in error.Come this time next month, you’ll be able to credit your Singapore Airlines (SQ) flights to Alaska’s Mileage Plan program, earning redeemable miles for most first class, business, premium economy and coach travel. Miles earned on Singapore flights will also count towards elite status on Alaska, which makes this partnership even more appealing if you’re working toward MVP or above....