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TPG reader Chris writes:“I want to surprise my girlfriend and get her a trip to Israel for her birthday! It’s a big birthday for her and she is a Madonna fan and Madonna is starting her 2012 tour in Israel, Tel Aviv.What would be the best award to look at in order to get there? We live in New York. I have plenty of Amex and Chase Rewards.“There are a lot of considerations to take into account here, such as: what class of service and whether you’d be open to connecting in Europe and maybe even building a stopover there to break up the journey....

Traveling can be stressful, especially when you’ve got young children along for the ride — screaming babies and extra baggage fees can easily turn what might have been an enjoyable travel experience into a nightmare.Thankfully, airlines want to help and many tend to have family-specific policies where little things, like early boarding for families with young kids, can seriously reduce the stress of family travel. Below, we’ve put together a list of the best domestic airlines for families based on variety of factors, among them free seating assignments, free checked bags, kid-friendly food options, early boarding for families, in-flight entertainment just for kids, free stroller and car-seat check and the ability to make changes to an itinerary for free....

On October 1, 1931, New York City’s Waldorf Astoria opened its doors to the public. In the 85 years since, the Park Avenue landmark has managed to entice some of the world’s most powerful people to spend the night, including every single sitting president since Herbert Hoover. High-powered lodgers are a fact of life at the Waldorf, and something the building is well equipped to handle. From secret railroads to secret service outposts, this landmark New York City hotel is full of little-known features, many of which have been hiding in plain sight for decades....

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.We’re lucky enough to live in a time when everyone is able to post photos and videos from the road, sharing the best and worst moments of their travels in real time through apps like Snapchat and Instagram....

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.Until recently, traveling to Cuba was tricky for Americans, with the privilege reserved for just a handful with special permission from the government. With ties between the US and Cuba becoming friendlier every day, it’s now possible for the average American to visit via charter flights like Sun Country Charters, guided people-to-people cultural tours or by entering through a third country like Mexico....

A United Airlines frequent flyer of Nigerian descent is suing the airline for removing her from her flight at Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport.Queen Obioma filed a federal discrimination suit in Texas on May 11, alleging that United Airlines racially discriminated against her and her children on March 4, 2016. According to Obioma’s suit, United staffers instructed her to step off the plane after another passenger complained that she had a “pungent” odor....

Between now and June 18, 2012, Air Canada’s Aeroplan mileage program is running a promotion that could mean up to 40,000 bonus miles for transferring points from their partners.Here’s how it breaks down, per the chart below. When you transfer enough points from a partner to get 5,000 Aeroplan miles, you get a bonus of 1,000 miles. When you transfer enough for 10,000 Aeroplan miles (a 20% bonus), you get a 2,000-mile bonus and so on....

Last month there were two major shopping mall mishaps:First the American Airlines AAdvantage shopping site advertised a Verizon headset that would score 83,871 which Gary at View from the Wing covered.Then there was the Delta Skymiles Shopping chargers for 2,300 Delta miles. Not so bad for a $5 purchase.Well, both of them ended up being mistakes, but you can still get some miles out of them if you purchased either.First, for AA all you need to do is submit an inquiry/missing miles request on this page and include the following information:“I ordered the Verizon headset....

Check out this week’s travel contests and sweepstakes to try your hand at winning a dream trip to New Zealand, a shopping weekend in NYC, a Caribbean cruise, a Southwest Las Vegas vacation or a trip to New Orleans.Win a trip to New Zealand. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.Win Your Dream Trip From Air New ZealandYou could win a vacation in New Zealand. To enter, you have to build and submit your dream trip itinerary here....

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 was skeptical when I saw this promotion for 500 Skymiles for a Liberty Mutual car insurance quote, because I don’t even have a car. However, I was successfully able to submit a quote based on my fictional Porsche Cayenne Turbo (insurance would only be $470 a month!...

Many people visit New York City with an itinerary packed as tight as a carry-on and leave thinking: “I could never live there.” But for those us who call the Big Apple home, we’re in it for the convenient (in theory) public transportation, endless job opportunities and indispensable dollar slices. But every now and again, even the most die-hard city slicker needs a getaway.One of the best things about living in New York City happens to be how easy it is to get away, thanks to the solid network of local and regional transportation and a flurry of clever companies and programs designed to get New Yorkers out of the city....

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.Over the last few months, a couple of notable airlines have made news by declaring bankruptcy (Alitalia) or getting dangerously close to bankruptcy (South African Airways). Tuesday, we learned that yet another airline is on the brink: Air Berlin....

ExpertFlyer is one of my favorite tools for searching award and seat availability since it covers dozens and dozens of airlines including all Star Alliance carriers (with the exception of elite upgrade space on United as of last week), as well as being a great resource to search routing options or fare information. What I also love is that the site keeps adding new airline partners whose award and ticket inventory it can search, and it has just added another major one, British Airways....

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 swarm of bees are creating quite the buzz for Mango Airlines. Apparently, the bees, which numbered close to 20,000 according to Newsweek, decided to build a nest – not in the forest or field – but in the carrier’s plane engine....

Here’s a round-up of the week’s points, miles and travel industry news you may have missed:Earn bonus points on Canada Marriott stays.Earn up to 7,500 Bonus Marriott Reward Points for Canada StaysYou can earn 1,500 bonus Marriott Reward Points per night (with a maximum of 7,500 points per stay) at select Marriott properties in Canada. The offer includes stays in a deluxe room and is available seven days a week. You must book with the promo code MRP, which is valid on stays between December 15, 2014-March 15, 2015 (blackout dates may apply)....

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 passenger on board a flight with Russian carrier Red Wings captured a startling video of the aircraft engine suddenly catching fire during takeoff.Red Wings flight 808 took off from Ufa International Airport (UFA) at 5:06am heading for Sochi (AER)....

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’ve been on some pretty… fragrant… airplanes in my day. There are many factors that contribute to a collective in-flight aroma, but one thing’s for sure — “airplane” is a smell I typically wouldn’t want to replicate at home....

Hilton announced their April 1 - June 30 promotion and it’s pretty boring if you ask me. The promotion is a straightforward 1,000 extra points per night, up to 91,000 points during the promotion period. Registration is required.While it is certainly better than nothing, I think this promotion is much less generous than Hyatt and probably more generous than what you’d receive with Priority Club. Of course, a promotion is only as good as it works for you....

Today, I want to share a story from TPG reader Arik, who paid extra to get a flight benefit he didn’t need. Here’s what he had to say:I recently booked a Delta flight and paid for a Main Cabin ticket. I don’t have Delta status and decided this was a better option than Basic Economy so I could avoid sitting in the middle. However, after booking the flight I looked at the seating chart and realized the plane only has two seats on either side....

An Iran Aseman Airlines aircraft carrying 60 passengers and six crew crashed into the mountains near Semirom, Iran, on Sunday morning. A spokesperson has confirmed to Iranian state media that there were no survivors of the crash.The aircraft was operating as Iran Aseman Airlines flight 3704 from Tehran, Iran (THR) to Yasuj, Iran (YES). The cause of the crash is under investigation, but leading suspicions include either a navigational error when descending through the mountains or a mechanical issue on board....