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Four new affordable hotels are coming to the western region of Walt Disney World at Flamingo Crossings. The hotels provide options for points gurus looking to gain status or redeem points without having to leave the Disney region for their vacation.Disney has said for about a decade now that Flamingo Crossings was going to be constructed. Two hotels actually opened in 2016 in Flamingo Crossings – a SpringHill Suites and a TownePlace Suites....

A Delta Air Lines flight made an emergency landing on Wednesday after smoke could be seen coming out of its right engine.Delta Flight 30, from Atlanta (ATL) to London (LHR), returned to ATL shortly after takeoff after experiencing “an issue with its No. 2 engine.” The A330-300 — registration N822NW — departed from ATL at 6:08pm before circling around the airport for nearly 30 minutes and landing at 6:34pm.Upon its arrival at ATL, the aircraft was met by emergency crews....

This week, Starwood Preferred Guest began emailing select members about a targeted promotion, inviting them to register by December 31, 2014 for the opportunity to earn bonus Starpoints or up to two free nights on points-earning stays completed between November 3, 2014 and January 31, 2015. Though I’m an SPG Platinum, I unfortunately didn’t receive an offer via this promotion, but if you receive one of these email invites, it couldn’t hurt to register and see what you might be offered....

When planning a vacation, figuring out your destination is the first step — and sometimes the most agonizing part of all, especially when you’re traveling with at least one other person whose idea of “the perfect vacation” isn’t exactly the same as yours. If you’re game for surprises and letting someone else do all the planning, meet Jubel, a new travel site that operates a like a dating site, matching travelers up with their dream getaways....

In February, we launched the TPG Maximizer, which is an all a new tool that takes our expert points knowledge, the best sign-up offers, and big data to recommend the best new card for you, personally. It is still in Beta, but it has helped hundreds of TPG readers analyze their spend and choose the best card that aligns with it.TPG Maximizer, the best tool for you!The TPG Maximizer can help you maximize what you’re spending in your wallet, so we thought it would be fun to give away a chic “Laltiro" wallet from luxury goods maker Bally....

For this week’s Thursday Giveaway, we are giving away five $100 iTunes Gift Cards, in celebration of the new Apple Watch, which is available for purchase Friday, April 24th. With these iTunes gift cards, you’ll be able to purchase tons of exciting apps for the watch.We’ve written about How the Apple Watch Can Earn You Extra Points and Miles, and I personally pre-ordered mine and can’t wait to receive itTo enter to win, visit our Facebook Page....

Voting is now closed. Congrats to TravelHackerr for winning!This week I’ve been running a contest for readers to submit how they’d use 100,000 Starwood Preferred Guest Starpoints. Amex gave me these points to give away as part of a promotion around their 30,000 point sign-up bonus on their Starwood Preferred Guest card (which ends on Tuesday, by the way). Update: 30k bonus expired 8/22/11When all was said and done, there were over 300 entries and most of them were very strong....

As they did right around this time last year, United and Gilt Groupe (an online luxury retailer that discounts brand-name designer products) have teamed up to offer MileagePlus members who join Gilt 1,500 bonus 1500 United award miles with their first purchase of $50 or more, and 5 miles for every $1 spent during the first 6 months of membership.Though it says the offer is only valid for new Gilt Groupe members, I was able to join with an email address that I don’t already use with them and entered my United MileagePlus number without an issue, so we’ll see if the miles post, but can’t hurt to try!...

It’s the most wonderful time of the year: when we recap on all the absurd, over-the-top things that happened in travel. From airline scandals of epic proportions to travel bans to geopolitical circumstances that changed the industry, here are TPG’s most memorable news events of 2017 — so far.JanuaryJan. 4: Southwest mistakenly sends out companion-pass confirmations to a number of Rapid Rewards members.Jan. 4: Because of a weight-balance issue, an unaccompanied minor is kicked off an United express flight from Albany (ALB) to Washington Dulles (IAD)....

How far would you go to make this Valentine’s Day special? Sometimes taking a trip and spending quality time with the person you love goes further than any gift ever could. Cities like Paris and Florence are prime destinations when it comes to lover’s getaways, but what about others? These nine places will surely appeal to you and your partner’s romantic side, whether you prefer relaxing at a beach resort or wine tasting at a vineyard....

Winter weather can throw a wrench in the works of even the best-prepared airports. If you’re planning to fly on a snow day, it’s important to keep an eye on the weather and your carrier of choice — many airlines issue travel waivers granting free flight changes, but often not until the very last minute. You can use these waivers to fly out before or after the storm, usually in the same class of service and without spending a dime on the change....

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.What happens when there are only 30 minutes left until your plane starts boarding and you’ve got an iPhone that’s nearly out of juice? You spin your head this way and that, praying to find an outlet, yearning for deliverance unto electric salvation....

As a New Yorker, I’m used to shelling out major cash when flying into LaGuardia, because there are no real good public transit options to Manhattan and Brooklyn. On a good day with no traffic, you are looking at around $25 for a cab to central Manhattan, with bad days more than double that. Black car service, which is convenient because you can avoid the long taxi-lines, is usually $50 and up....

On Monday morning, Hyatt announced that Mark Vondrasek is its new executive vice president, global head of loyalty and new business platforms. Vondrasek was previously responsible for the popular Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) program, so his arrival at Hyatt could bode well for the future of the chain’s loyalty program at what many would argue is a critical time.Hours after the announcement, we spoke with Vondrasek about his thoughts and plans at Hyatt, especially in regards to the introduction of World of Hyatt earlier this year....

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’m not a huge sweepstakes person, but I figured I might as well post these. The way I look at it, since my site readership has been increasing at huge rates this past year, the chances of a TPG reader winning one is on the rise....

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.Looking to redeem miles for something a bit different next week? United’s latest MileagePlus auction definitely ticks that box. Through 1pm ET on Tuesday, Oct. 9, the airline’s auctioning off two slots to serve as “extras” in the film Spider-Man: Far From Home....

Last year, Cathay Pacific took delivery of its first A350-900. Since then, it’s accepted 10 more frames and has 11 additional on order. In September, the Hong Kong-based carrier announced its first North America route serviced by the A350, which would connect Hong Kong (HKG) and Vancouver (YVR). But now, we know the first opportunity to fly the A350 on a route between Hong Kong and the US.Beginning October 31, 2017, Cathay Pacific will launch thrice-weekly service between Hong Kong (HKG) and San Francisco (SFO)....

As a general rule, it’s never a good idea to touch anything the previous passenger left in the seat-back pocket in front of you. Unless you’re a reporter, and the seat-back pocket holds a bunch of classified national-security documents.That’s what happened to a CNN employee, who recently found highly sensitive documents detailing the US Department of Homeland Security’s response to a counter-terrorism drill for the Super Bowl in Minneapolis, MN.The counter-terrorism exercises were designed to simulate the DHS response in the event of an airborne threat, and “was a resounding success, … not conducted in response to any specific, credible threat of a bioterrorism attack,” said Tyler Q....

“Reader Questions” are answered three days a week — Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays — by TPG Senior Writer Julian Mark Kheel.One of our more popular features here at The Points Guy is our regular Deal Alerts. But TPG reader Alan wants to know if there’s a way to get deals just for his home city…[pullquote source=“TPG Reader Alan”]Is there a website that shows all the deals from a select airport?[/pullquote]Along with our own TPG Deal Alerts — which you can get sent directly to your smartphone by subscribing to text message alerts from our Twitter feed @tpg_alerts — there are a number of popular websites such as The Flight Deal, Fare Deal Alert, Thrifty Traveler, Scott’s Cheap Flights and others which send out airfare deals when they appear....

One of our favorite ways to earn elite status quickly is through a status match. If you’re used to being spoiled as an elite on one airline, it can be rough to go back to the ground floor on another airline or alliance. Status matches allow you to jump to a new airline while still retaining key perks like lounge access, free checked luggage and bonus miles. It’s a win-win: airlines get a valuable new customer while that customer is able to enjoy perks right off the bat....