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My dad, Buddy, AKA “Grandpa Points” has a love for travel as fierce as mine, yet our travel patterns are distinctly different. He and my mom are now in their mid-60’s, are (mostly) retired,and are ticking off “bucket list” destinations quicker than they ever thought possible thanks to miles, points, and travel deals. They have an intense love of this country, of its National Parks and treasures, and have no problem with a clean budget hotel room and an economy airline seat on a budget airline as long as it gets them where they want to be....

This is an installment in my Maximizing Elite Status series. Articles include; The Basics and Why People Mileage Run, Using ITA Matrix to Find Cheap Flights, How Much is Elite Status Worth?, Comparing Top Tier Status, Comparing Mid-Tier Status, Comparing Low Level Status, How to Get Elite Miles Without Flying, Understanding Elite Status Bump Thresholds, The Lowdown on Soft Landings, How to Cope with Losing Elite Status.Elite status is a major part of flying these days—both in terms of perks and benefits, as well as mileage bonuses that can up your balances significantly....

Many of you first heard of the term “Mega Do” when I went on the Star Alliance Mega Do this September. In a nutshell, an airline Mega Do is a frequent flyer dream trip - chartered jets full of mileage junkies, airline geeks, travel industry big wigs and everything in between. The Star Alliance event was my first and I was completely blown away - the amount of access the airlines and hotels gave was unprecedented - plus the perks were great too (including Hyatt Diamond status!...

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.The fallout continues after Southwest’s fatal uncontained engine failure this past Tuesday. The airline is canceling dozens of flights across the country as it scrambles to inspect its engines following a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airworthiness directive mandating engine inspections....

I get questions regularly about what type of seating arrangement is most comfortable and practical for a traveling family with a child under two who does not yet require their own seat. I received this question again this week and thought I would share the situation and my suggestions in case they are helpful for anyone else thinking through a similar situation. Of course, I’m most interested in hearing what your family would do - and why!...

One of the best (if not the best) parts of the Super Bowl is the debut of fun and inventive commercials. This year travel brands like Turkish Airlines, Airbnb and Expedia made their voices heard with some heartfelt and moving advertisements aimed at those who love to travel and explore new places. Take a look below if you missed them on game day:Turkish AirlinesWho better to narrate a commercial than Morgan Freeman?...

Find out what life above the clouds is really like for cabin crews with Secret Life Of The Long Haul Flight, a new British documentary that follows a Qantas Airlines flight from London to Sydney — with a stopover in Dubai. The hour-long short film, which premiered in Britain last Friday, offers a taste of the many challenges that go into orchestrating both legs of this 22-hour-total journey. For the flight’s diligent crew, much of those demands come from keeping everything running smoothly....

Transportation Security Administration officers intercepted a Royal Python hidden in a checked bag bound for Barbados at Miami International Airport (MIA) on Monday.A woman in her early 30s concealed the snake by wrapping it in a sack and then placing it inside an external hard drive and packing it in a suitcase that she checked at the airport. The TSA called bomb experts to inspect the bag when they discovered a large mass inside....

Billions of passengers took to the skies on commercial flights in 2017, and almost every one of them made it safely to their destination. According to Dutch aviation consultants from To70, 2017 was the safest year on record for commercial aviation worldwide.To70 searched through the records of commercial flights worldwide for all aircraft with a takeoff weight of more than 5,700 kilograms (12,566 pounds), which is less than a third of the weight of the smallest Embraer ERJ used in regional operations by US airlines....

Colombia is one of the hottest destinations to visit in 2017. Travelers are coming from far and wide to sample Colombian coffee, frolic on the white sandy beaches and consume delicious cuisine. But Bogotá, the capital, is often overlooked, as visitors often head directly to the colonial city of Cartagena or the beaches of Tayrona. And thanks to the popularity of shows like Narcos, travelers wanting to see a big city here often head to Medellín instead....

For those who travel the world, life tends to move pretty quickly — which means keeping track of where you’ve been can quickly become a daunting task. What better way to slow it all down and remember those places near and far than by collecting something to remind you of them?For some, maintaining collections often becomes as compulsive as travel itself. And for those familiar with the frequent flyer community, particularly the points and miles one, it shouldn’t exactly come as a surprise....

Many frequent travelers seem to have a bit of a love affair going with the A350. The latest Airbus jet sports a bundle of passenger-friendly enhancements, in addition to some of the industry’s best airline products, from Qatar’s outstanding Qsuite business class to the new and improved Delta One.The A350 is now flying with Asiana, Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, Delta, Ethiopian, Finnair, Iberia, LATAM, Lufthansa, Philippine Airlines, Qatar, Singapore, Thai and Vietnam — and, as of this week, the A350-900 has now made its way to Air China’s fleet as well....

Social media might be teeming with passengers documenting horrible experiences with US airlines, but flyers actually say they have never been happier with airlines’ performances. Airline passengers in North America are reporting “record-high customer satisfaction,” according to a study released Wednesday by JD Power.Despite several recent high-profile customer service debacles, and shrinking legroom, airlines’ investments in newer planes, improved overhead storage availability and cheaper fares all contributed to flyers in the US and Canada reporting the highest level of happiness with airlines since JD Power began the survey 14 years ago....

As the dollar continues to soar against foreign currencies and the price of oil continues to slump, Delta Air Lines has announced it is significantly scaling back its international network during the fourth quarter of 2015. Certain regions will be impacted more than others, with some areas being cut by as much as 20% and other markets being discontinued altogether.Delta’s long haul fleet could potentially be re-deployed to other domestic routes....

In times of crisis, tragedy and grief, it’s amazing to see when people and companies have a heart and do the right thing. Watching JetBlue take action — flying the victims’ families down to Orlando following the attacks and seeing its flight attendants spontaneously consoling the grandmother of one of the victims — made me think about my role in the LGBT travel community.JetBlue stepped up to the plate in the aftermath of the Orlando tragedy....

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.Last week, Delta flight 248 made news when a passenger caused a commotion on the flight with his political remarks. The flight, which was bound for Lehigh Valley Airport (ABE) from Atlanta (ATL), quickly turned from an average trip to one that would soon turn viral, as a passenger went on a pro-Trump tirade, insulting Hillary Clinton supporters on board....

If you thought you had a rough day at work Tuesday, at least you didn’t hang up the wrong flag for Spotify’s initial public offering.The New York Stock Exchange celebrated the music streaming company’s IPO by hanging up the Swiss flag before opening bell. The only problem? Spotify is a Swedish company—and social media users quickly caught on to the mistake.Not pictured: frazzled NYSE interns Googling “Swedish flag” before swapping the Swiss one out (probably, we can’t confirm this)....

Update: 3/24/17: Since Emirates’ announcement, Turkish Airlines has also announced that it’s introducing an electronics “gate check” option. You can find the full details on the carrier’s website.Since the electronics ban was announced (mistakenly, at first, by Royal Jordanian and then as a US security directive), the airlines that have been affected have had to figure out both how to implement plans to comply. Some have taken to social media to voice their concern, or, in some cases, snarky feedback regarding the ban, and some are scrambling to come up with a strategy for dealing with the implications....

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.Though technically this offer is only good for American Express Platinum cardholders, I won’t debate the ethics of possibly getting status when you actually don’t have a Platinum card, but since I know so many of my readers have the Platinum card, it’s worth mentioning:Simply call 1-888-625-4990 and mention code UI (or if they reject that code, use SN)....

If you are planning to visit Milan in the summer of 2019, or just to transit through its airports, you are in for possible disruptions. Linate airport (LIN) will be closed for renovations from July 27 to October 27 of next year, right in the middle of the busy summer holiday traffic peak.According to Flight Service Bureau, authorities will decide shortly how to allocate flights to other airports. Most of them are expected to go to Malpensa (MXP), the main long-haul airport for Milan, which handled 22 million passengers in 2017, compared with nine million at Linate....