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When United MileagePlus changed its award routing and booking rules a few weeks agomany of us were sad at the loss of the “free one way” flight that was possible if you maximized United’s zones, stopovers, and open-jaw award booking rules. We knew that United would be introducing a new “Excursionist Perk” instead of the old stopover and open-jaw rules, but we didn’t know exactly what that would translate to in practice…in other words, we didn’t yet know how to push the boundaries and maximize our miles to the fullest extent of the rules and United computers....

Prior to take off on Emirates’ A380 on Monday, I posted a picture of myself enjoying a glass of Dom Pérignon in my First Class suite announcing that I would be giving away Emirates Skywards miles while in flight.Ready for 14+ hours of pure Emirates first class bliss on the A380. Stay tuned for a 25k Skywards miles giveaway during my flight once I connect to inflight wifi!Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get linked up to the wireless internet once we were airborne, so instead I will be awarding one lucky winner with 25,000 Skywards miles as this week’s Thursday Giveaway....

I’m a digital nomad — so my luggage is my home. After one fateful trip dragging a rolling suitcase around Turkey, I quickly learned that rolling suitcases don’t fit my travel style. I’ve tried many duffle bags and backpacks since, but rejected each for various reasons and have been using the Osprey Farpoint 70 for the last eight months. Here’s my take on this popular travel backpack.The SpecsThe Osprey Farpoint comes in four capacities: 40 liters, 55 liters, 70 liters and 80 liters....

As US president, people are watching you all the time no matter where you go and at what time of day. So there’s little room for gaffes.Yesterday, US President Donald had an embarrassing moment when boarding Air Force One. After attending a rally in Minneapolis, President Trump was headed to another event in Rochester, Minnesota. Upon exiting the presidential limo at Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) airport, Trump ascended the stairs of the Boeing C-32 with an extra addition to his outfit....

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.JetBlue is offering a hearty discount of up to 30% on award redemptions through the end of today, May 14. To take part, simply redeem your TrueBlue points for an award flight by 11:59 pm EST for itineraries taking place between May 27 and June 27, 2014....

You might recognize this desert landscape from films such “The Martian,” “Transformers,” “The Red Planet” and “Prometheus,” just to name a few. Now you can get a glimpse of the “Mars on Earth” experience firsthand at the Sun City Camp hotel in Jordan.Located in the heart of Jordan’s Wadi Rum desert, the Sun City Camp hotel offers its guests a stay in a “martian dome”— spaceship-like tents made of glass walls....

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.Quora.com is a question-and-answer site where content is written and edited by its community of users. Occasionally we syndicate content from the site if we think it will interest TPG readers. This article originally appeared on Quora.com in response to the question, Why Is Room Service So Ridiculously Expensive?...

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.While the Easter Bunny is supposed to bring joy and delicious, chocolate bunnies to children each year on Easter, the image of the legendary, human-sized bunny may sometimes end up being creepier than it should. But whether you find the chocolate-toting bunny charming or chilling, you can take your Easter egg hunt to a whole new level this year....

WOW Air is bringing back its famous $69 one-way flights to Iceland. As part of this promotion, you can find one-way fares from select US cities to Reykjavik, Iceland (KEF) from $69.99 one-way, and to a number of European destinations from $89.99 one-way.To book as part of this sale at reduced fares, you must be originating in any of the following US cities: Baltimore (BWI), Pittsburgh (PIT), Newark (EWR), Boston (BOS), San Francisco (SFO) or Chicago (ORD)....

While you can’t bring your emotional support peacock on a plane, the TSA is here to tell you that yes, you can bring your emotional support casserole. Praise be.Your favorite AvGeek and mine, Chrissy Teigen (OK, maybe just mine — I see you, lovely creatures of the Internet) is back with another tweet storm, this time involving American Airlines and the TSA.These are the questions that keep me up at night....

China is notorious for extremely high levels of pollution in most of its major cities — but it has a plan to begin tackling the issue. One component involves the construction of the recently unveiled Nanjing Green Towers, two ‘vertical forests’ that will work to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions in the Pukou District of Nanjing. China has been dealing with a dangerous smog problem stemming from its coal plants, factories and traffic that have left many cities under a blanket of dirty air....

Remember a couple of weeks ago when ANA flew an 8-hour “flight to nowhere” from LAX to LAX? Well, not to be outdone, Delta operated two back-to-back flights from ATL to ATL Tuesday evening.The original Delta flight 284 from ATL to London’s Heathrow (LHR) pushed back 35 minutes late from ATL’s international terminal and took off 15 minutes later. However, around Greenville, South Carolina, the flight leveled out at 29,000 feet....

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.Delta Air Lines announced Thursday an order for 100 Airbus A321neo aircraft, a deal valued at $12.7 billion. The addition of these aircraft, which will be delivered beginning in 2020 until 2023, will continue a recent trend of the Atlanta-based carrier ordering Airbus aircraft including the A350, A321 and A330....

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.A couple weeks ago, I implored everyone to link all of their credit and debit cards to an I-dine program. For those of you who participate in American’s program, you can now earn double miles on your next five dines as long as you complete surveys....

Israel’s flag carrier El Al has had a lot to celebrate in recent months. In October 2017, it launched service of its new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, in January it announced that it’ll launch nonstop flights between Tel Aviv (TLV) and San Francisco (SFO) and in July it began offering free high-speed Wi-Fi on board. Above all, the airline is turning 70 in September. And to celebrate, it’s going retro.In honor of the anniversary, El Al painted its newest Dreamliner with the same livery its Boeing 707s had in the 1960s....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here – Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite MastercardAs I wrote about in August, starting December 1, 2011 (tomorrow) miles earned from American Airlines co-branded credit cards will not count towards million miler status.EXCEPT, if you get the Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard, which comes with a hefty $450 annual fee, but also grants lounge access and the ability to earn up to 10,000 elite miles every year with $40,000 in spend....

Lufthansa has an excellent reputation for its first-class service and cabin, but its current business-class seat is a little closer to average. It’s a good lie-flat product, but slightly behind the times with a dense 2x2x2 configuration.However, on Thursday Lufthansa teased us with a small glimpse of the future. It released on social media a pair of renderings of its brand new business-class seat and cabin:Every seat in the new Lufthansa business class will have direct aisle access, a major improvement over the current cabin....

This is an installment in my series on my January 2012 trip to China. Posts include: Help Me Plan My Trip To China, Flight Review: American Airlines 777 International Business Class to Beijing, Hotel Review: St. Regis Beijing, Beijing Overview: Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City and Peking Deck, A Great Day at the Great Wall of China, Flight Review: Air China 777 Domestic Business Class, Hotel Review: Andaz Shanghai, Trip Report: Terra Cotta Warriors and a Wild Goose Pagoda in Xian, Hotel Review: Sheraton Xian, and My China Trip Wrap Up: China Eastern, Hainan Airlines and the Westin Beijing....

Update 4/21: United has adjusted the retrofitted plane’s schedule, following the initial 4/20 leg from San Francisco (SFO) to London (LHR). The updated schedule is below. Unfortunately business-class awards are not available at this time, but they are available in first class on some flights. If you book a first-class award and you fly in business class, you can request a refund of the difference in miles. Note that the flights listed below are still subject to change....

Today, 515 days since United opened their first Polaris Lounge in Chicago, their second United Polaris lounge is ready for business in San Francisco. These Polaris lounges are an essential component of the rebranded and reimagined United Polaris experience for long-haul premium cabin travel. The only real complaints I’ve heard about the Polaris lounge is simply how long it has taken to get them up and running. Until today, the sole functioning Polaris lounge was in Chicago....