Posts

Female Cathay Pacific flight attendants no longer have to don skirts for duty… starting three years from now.The airline’s flight attendants association first challenged the airline’s 70-year-old regulation in 2014, complaining that the required skirts were too revealing when lifting passengers’ luggage into overhead bins or when commuting to the airport via public transportation.“We welcome and appreciate the company’s decision on giving us an option in choosing uniforms," the flight attendants’ union said in a statement....

In yet another move to accommodate its ongoing pilot shortage, Emirates is reportedly reducing the number of pilots on some of its ultra long-haul routes.The Dubai-based carrier has cut several routes due to its shortage of pilots, which it says will be fixed by September or October. Now, reports from a pilots’ industry forum say that beginning July 1, Emirates will be reducing its pilot team on some ultra long-haul routes from a team of four down to just three....

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 just checked in for my first JetBlue flight tomorrow and I’m a little bit nervous. I am used to being a Platinum on Delta, so almost all of my flights are in first class and always in an exit row when in coach....

For our jaunt to Dublin last weekend, my family and I decided to stay at the Westin Dublin. We scored a pretty good room rate of 165 euros (US$220), which included breakfast, so we went ahead and pulled the trigger - especially since our 3 night stay would qualify for Starwood’s current triple points promotion.The HotelI love hotels with a bit of history, and this one is a cool example. The 19th-century building used to be the Allied Irish Bank, and is right in the heart of the historic city center, making it a great place to stay during a quick visit when you want to see the sights and get a lot done....

Today, I want to share a story posted in the the TPG Lounge by reader Jack, who missed out on Delta Platinum status due to a mix-up over an award redemption. Here’s what he had to say:Some of the co-branded Delta Amex cards offer a feature called Pay with Miles, which allows you to discount the price of a Delta ticket by redeeming a mix of cash and SkyMiles. The nice part is that you still earn Medallion Qualifying Miles and regular SkyMiles for the cash portion of your fare....

You’ll see a lot of fake posts around the blogosphere today (Amex 1 million point Platinum card sign-up bonus today only - fee waived!), but I personally hate them. So if you’re looking to be fooled today, you won’t find it in one of my posts.However, you may be surprised by the topic of this post; I’m changing the way I think about economy award redemptions. I think people think I’m a snob when it comes to travel - only to the finest hotels in first class or most cutting-edge business class (angled lie-flat seats - the horror!...

TPG reader Stephen sent me a message on Facebook to ask about a new rewards program from Amex:“Hi! I’ve been enjoying your postings. What are your thoughts about Plenti?“Earlier this year, Amex launched a new loyalty program called Plenti, which offers rewards across a coalition of merchant and retail partners. The roster is still small, feauturing 11 brand partners that vary pretty widely from Direct Energy to Hulu to Exxon/Mobil. Each partner has its own earning structure (like 1 point per dollar spent on your AT&T bill, or 1 point for every $3 on insurance premiums from Nationwide)....

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: Amex has strongly cracked down on these bonus IDs, so I no longer recommend applying if you only want the increased bonusAs I’ve written about in the past, one of my favorite ways to earn points is simply by asking....

Dr. Sij Hemal’s flight from Paris (CDG) back to New York (JFK) began with the expectation of Champagne and then maybe some jet lag upon landing. Hemal turned on a movie and settled in to what he thought would be a quiet flight back home. Little did he know that the journey would be one he’d never forget.About halfway through the flight, a flight attendant made an announcement over the intercom asking if there were any doctors on board the aircraft because a woman had just gone into labor....

… another Pan Am review comes to us from Danielle …After a four-week hiatus, Pan Am returned with episode 10: “Secrets and Lies.” From the title I expected a titillating 60 minutes to usher loyal fans back into the season, but instead what followed was a series of rather bland, soap opera-esque storylines that barely took flight.In the forefront are Colette and Dean. The two have been presumably hot and heavy since the barn floor until Bridgette suddenly arrives back on deck after shedding her spy ties....

The intelligence unit of Russia’s military attempted to hack into the official investigation of the Malaysia Airlines flight 17 crash, investigators said Thursday.Dutch Defense Minister Ank Bijleveld said that Kremlin-backed hackers attempted to stage cyberattacks on several different international targets, including investigation files regarding the downing of MH17 in 2014. Dutch authorities were able to thwart the attack, Bijleveld said. “We have been aware of the interest of Russian intelligence services in this investigation and have taken appropriate measures,” she said on Thursday....

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.Whether we want to admit it or not, we’ve all fallen victim to it at one point or another.No, we’re not talking about paying more in miles than what the value of a flight is worth — we mean taking advantage of your well-deserved vacation days....

In recent years, many airlines have woken up to the truth that our gay brothers and sisters are here, they’re queer and they love to travel. As we wrap up National LGBT Pride Month — and celebrate SCOTUS’ momentous ruling for gay marriage —I’m taking an in-depth look at which airlines are showing their true rainbow colors. While we can never top the always-hilarious Pam Ann’s A-to-Z Airline Guide, here’s a look at the gay-friendliest airlines in the skies....

A couple weeks ago, when registration for Hyatt’s “Discover New Possibilities” fall promo opened, I held a giveaway for 50,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points for readers who shared their travel inspiration, but today, I’m back with an even bigger giveaway of 100,000 Hyatt points!What will you do with 100,000 Hyatt points?One of the great things about Hyatt is that they have a truly diverse portfolio of really great properties all over the spectrum, from business-friendly Hyatt Places to trendy, contemporary Andaz hotels, to the creme de la creme Park Hyatts all over the world....

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.This one may seem obvious, but it’s extremely important to check your documents to make sure you can actually take that trip you’ve planned for months. That’s not just limited to checking if the country you’re visiting requires a visa....

If you’re still trying to figure out your Labor Day weekend travel plans, Kayak.com has been watching ticket sales, travel search trends and airline news to come up with some of the hottest Labor Day Weekend destinations for 2014. Amongst their findings, they’ve identified six cities with the lowest average hotel rates, as well as a few destinations where airfare search rates have decreased for the holiday weekend. They also discovered that Atlanta is one of the hottest destinations this year with average hotel room rates up 43 percent....

I’m a sucker for brand-new planes. Sure, I’m an AvGeek in the traditional sense, but I also “geek out” over fancy seats and amenities, especially when it comes to overcoming engineering hurdles by successfully implementing imaginative design.Emirates blew us all away when it introduced first-class suites and onboard showers nearly a decade ago, and, believe it or not, that exact same product continues to roll off the factory line today — albeit with some relatively minor modifications....

Update: If you donated miles yesterday and attempted to send an email to donatemiles@thepointsguy.com with a screenshot, it may not have gone through. That email is now working. If you donate miles, be sure to send a screenshot of your donation to donatemiles@thepointsguy.com in order to be entered to win one of five consultations with me.It’s easy to get caught up in the mindset that points and miles are for premium travel experiences only....

Last Wednesday a lot of us got in on a silly Facebook Hilton promo, where we were promised 10,000 HHonors points for simply signing up for a Boston area Hampton Inn’s “text club.” It was clearly a marketing campaign designed for a small population of people, but once it was posted on the hotel’s own Facebook site, word spread rapidly.I was able to sign up for the text club and received confirmation of the 10,000 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.Earlier this week, a TSA agent found a 20-pound lobster in a traveler’s checked bag. While that was just days ago, a different story about another crustacean aviation sensation is being resurrected thanks to the internet, so now a 2014 Facebook video of crabs overrunning a luggage carousel at a Caribbean airport is here for everyone’s #TBT pleasure....