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Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.If you aren’t already a member of the newly unified Marriott loyalty program — or didn’t have an SPG or Ritz-Carlton loyalty account that was converted to a Marriott Rewards account — this may be a promotion worth looking at. The chain is currently offering new members a chance to earn a free night after making two paid stays between Labor Day and January 28, 2019....

It’s like Christmas morning for IHG Rewards members. After tinkering around with the PointsBreaks program over the past few years, the latest iteration went live Monday at noon Eastern time. Over 200 hotels are on this version at one of three points levels: 5,000 points; 10,000 points or 15,000 points. We got a preview of 30 of these hotels on Friday, but the other 170+ were kept a secret right up until they were bookable....

Japan’s bullet trains are known for their high-speed rides and on-time arrivals – so much so that the West Japan Railway Company (also known as JR West) issued a public apology last week for a train departing a mere 25 seconds early. Now, the Japanese railway company will soon be known for not just its punctuality, but also for its Hello Kitty-themed trains.This summer, JR West’s 500-series bullet train will feature exclusive Hello Kitty design on both its interior and exterior....

There’s a negative change to yet another airline mileage program: Korean Air has announced that it’s adding new fees to its SKYPASS mileage program. But, as you can see, these are some rather minimal changes:CurrentEffective August 1, 2017Award change fee—30,000 KRW (~US$27)Award refund fee (<1 year from issue)—500 miles (domestic) 3,000 miles (international)Award refund fee (>1 year from issue)10,000 miles3,000 miles (domestic) 10,000 miles (international)Award change fees: Currently, there’s no fee at all for changing a Korean Air award ticket....

The biggest airline in Europe rolled out a new color scheme barely a month ago, and is now changing it again, in what may be a record in corporate history.When Lufthansa revealed a new, refreshed livery at a press event in Frankfurt in February, many frequent flyers and aviation enthusiasts groaned in disappointment. Where had the airline’s classic yellow gone, and what was this dark blue in its place? Turns out that dark blue may have been too dark, and needs to be changed to something closer to the old blue....

After a week in which Marriott Rewards decided it was too full from Thanksgiving turkey to post a football question, the chain is back today with its “Extra Points Sundays” promotion. To earn 1,000 free Marriott points, you need to answer this trivia question by 8pm Eastern on Sunday, December 3:The question refers to the width of the field, meaning sideline to sideline, not end zone to end zone. So don’t mistakenly answer 360 feet because you think Marriott is looking for the length — the width is 200 feet less than that....

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.More routes= more choices when it comes time to redeem those hard earned miles.Starting March 27, 2011, Delta will operate daily flights from Boston and Miami to London (Heathrow) operated by 767 aircraft with full-lie flat seating in business class....

Traveling within Australia on Qantas soon? You could be in luck if you’re a Netflix binger, Foxtel loyalist or Spotify music guru.The Australian carrier just announced that as of later this month, the first set of Wi-Fi-enabled domestic flights will offer the ability to stream content from Foxtel (an Australian cable TV and digital provider), Netflix and Spotify. The good news doesn’t stop there, though, as Qantas has teamed up with the three paid subscription services to offer travelers free trials....

Update: France, Canada, New Zealand and Germany have since joined the list of countries warning their citizens about visiting the US, citing gun violence, police brutality, and anti-Muslim and anti-LGBT sentiments, as well as the slow spread of the Zika Virus, which is now being locally-transmitted in Miami-Dade County, Florida.Government-issued travel warnings are nothing new to American travelers. Whether it’s in the wake of a terror attack or in anticipation of hurricane season, the U....

Earlier this week I wrote about using miles for emergency/last minute travel and I lauded Delta and United for not charging their frequent flyer members bogus “last minute” redemption fees. For example, American charges $100 for giving you the pleasure of using your miles close to departure and catching a last minute award flight on Continental and US Airways will cost you $75. I was hoping United/Continental would adopt United’s customer friendly policy, but they just announced they’d be taking Continental’s stance and charging their customers more for these awards....

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.Airbus announced yesterday that Vietnam Airlines is planning to expand both its fleet of A350 aircraft and its route network — this time, to Los Angeles. The carrier signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Airbus for 10 more of its A350-900 aircraft, which it has stated will first be made available with service between Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) and Los Angeles (LAX), making it one of the longest flights in the world at 8,169 miles....

Rewind 10 years ago and I was a single 25-year-old freshly off finishing grad school at NYU who was moving to start a new chapter and a new job in Austin. I loved snowboarding, my friends, my dogs, and of course, travel. I shortly thereafter met Josh (he was actually my roommate!) and we started dating. Well, it didn’t take long before I had another trip coming up, and that presented a challenge....

TPG reader Sasha tweeted me to ask about elite status:@thepointsguy – “What airlines offer the best million miler elite status benefits?“To reward long-term loyalty, some airlines offer special lifetime benefits for customers who reach a cumulative total of one million miles flown. My pick for the best million miler elite status would be United, and you can see their benefits listed below.United Airlines1 million miles – Lifetime Premier Gold status2 million miles – Lifetime Premier Platinum status3 million miles – Lifetime Premier 1K status4 million miles – Lifetime United Global Services statusThe best part is that United allows your spouse or significant other to share your benefits, which is the clincher for me, as no other US airline does that....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here – The Hyatt Credit CardTPG reader Jay sent me a message on Facebook to ask about booking Hyatt awards:“I have two free nights from the Chase Hyatt card, and I’d love to use them at the Park Hyatt Paris with my wife and our two-year-old. When I try to reserve for two adults and one child, no rooms are ever available, because it tries to put me in a deluxe room instead of the standard room....

There are a few fun travel contests and sweepstakes going on around the web this week. Here are my top picks to win some great travel prizes!Win a trip to Bora Bora.Win a Trip to Bora Bora: You could win a trip to Bora Bora for two from Pearl Vodka by “liking” their Facebook page. The grand prize trip includes airfare, ground transportation, five nights in an overwater bungalow at Bora Bora Pearl Beach and Spa, one private beach dinner, one all day lagoon tour, daily dinner and breakfast, spa treatments and $1,000 cash....

The FoundersCard is a paid membership that gives entrepreneurs discounts and networking opportunities. I joined earlier this summer on the recommendation of a friend, primarily for the networking opportunities (though not surprisingly I’ve been traveling for any of the key NYC events so far, oops). There have been a bunch of travel benefits added recently that I thought TPG readers might find useful. FoundersCard used to be exclusive, but I’m pretty sure they are on a big membership spree....

One of the hot topics in airline travel these days is TSA PreCheck. I recently wrote about how Virgin America has joined the program and the fact that TSA PreCheck recently expanded to certain international itineraries as well.Personally I love the program since it can be a huge time saver at the airport, letting you speed through security without having to take off your belt or shoes, remove liquids or laptops from your bag, and access expedited lines....

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: The current sign-up bonus for the Amtrak Guest Rewards World MasterCard is 12,000 points after spending $500 in the first 3 months, 2 points per dollar spent on Amtrak, and one point per dollar on everything else....

This is a guest post from my dad, Grandpa Points. He and my mom are in their late-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 low-cost airline as long as it gets them where they want to be....

We all know that airline food is not great most of the time. Heck, sometimes it is downright awful. However, it is handy to be served food at mealtime while flying miles over the earth, so I grade on a big curve when it comes to my own airline meals. I have the fortune of being able to travel with my almost-five-year old with some regularity, and miles and elite status have landed us at the pointy end of the plane where meals are more common a number of times....