Here are a few of this week’s most fun online travel-related contests and sweepstakes:Submit a video of your favorite destination and you could win a Fairmont stay, a GoPro camera and more.My Destination Story from Fairmont & GoPro: Create and submit a unique video of one of your favorite places, and you could be one of 42 winners of a trip for two to a Fairmont Hotels & Resorts property, plus a GoPro camera and a $500 Visa gift card....
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.Checking the Northern Lights off your bucket list is an item usually saved for a trip to Iceland or an adventure in Norway or Finland. But tonight into the early morning hours of tomorrow, travelers in the US and Canada might be able catch a glimpse of the phenomenon....
Air Canada has been in the process of revamping its premium product offering. In 2016, the carrier introduced its new “Executive Pod” business-class product, which is now available on its 787 and 777 aircraft. While its in-flight experience has been getting a facelift, the airline recognized there was more it could do, especially with its ground experience. Enter the carrier’s latest, very exclusive lounge at its Toronto (YYZ) hub, known as the Air Canada Signature Suite....
Back in 2002, Air Canada decided to spin off its internal airline mileage program named Aeroplan. The mileage program was sold to a separate company named Aimia that received a 15-year exclusivity agreement. In the time since the spin off, the mileage program has been a fan favorite of Canadians and non-Canadians alike due to some great redemption options.But in May 2017, Air Canada announced it would launch its own loyalty program in 2020, meaning Aeroplan would be dumped as the Star Alliance airline’s loyalty program....
TPG reader Keith recently tweeted me to ask:@thepointsguy – “I’m a Delta Diamond and get upgraded frequently on domestic routes, and was wondering if I could try and sell my upgrades to coach passengers at the gate?“Keith, you could try this, but I see a lot of opportunity for disaster. The airline could easily find out that you sold the upgrade, which is directly against the rules of the SkyMiles program — as you’ll see in this screenshot:SkyMiles prohibits the sale or barter of Medallion status and award certificates....
Update 1/7/17: Flights to and from FLL resume today. Be sure to confirm your departure time before heading to the airport.Update 4:05pm ET: American Airlines, Delta, United and JetBlue have posted travel waivers for Fort Lauderdale, allowing fee-free changes. Additionally, American has canceled all remaining flights to and from FLL today — AA’s statement is below:The thoughts and prayers of the entire American Airlines family are with the Fort Lauderdale community....
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 Chinese pilot who safely landed a Sichuan Airlines flight with 119 passengers after his co-pilot was sucked halfway out a broken cockpit windshield was awarded five million yuan, or nearly $780,000, last week.On June 8th, the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration and Sichuan Province awarded Sichuan Airlines captain Liu Chuanjian the “China Civil Aviation Heroes Unit” award as the “Chivalry Officer of the Chinese Civil Aviation” for his emergency landing of flight 3U8633, according to a Google-translated version of a story published by China’s Xinhua News Agency....
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’ Silicon Valley outpost, known as A3, launched a project in December which would give airlines the ability to swap prebuilt modules in and out of the body of the plane, letting airlines change the interior of airplanes at will....
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.From constant award devaluations and convoluted Comfort+ policies to frequent procedural changes and some clearly flyer-unfriendly moves, there’s a lot not to like about the Delta SkyMiles program. At the same time, the airline offers a very good in-flight product and service and can provide a lot of value when you’re in a bind, so if you care more about the overall experience and less about the value of your miles, Delta can still be a good option — even for frequent flyers....
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 than 100 passengers were stranded at Stuttgart Airport (STR) in southwestern Germany Friday night after a co-pilot was found drunk in the plane’s cockpit shortly before takeoff.TAP Air Portugal flight 523 was supposed to fly from STR to Lisbon when an airport worker noticed the co-pilot walking unsteadily and smelling of alcohol....
Each Saturday, we round up news stories that you might have missed from the week before, including several that already appeared on The Points Guy and some more that we haven’t covered yet. If you’re an avid TPG reader, scroll down for the new stuff. Here’s the top miles, points and travel news you might have missed this week.Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump’s Helicopter Diverts After Engine FailureA helicopter was shuttling Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner from Washington, DC, to New York City when one of its engines failed and forced the couple to divert to Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA)....
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 flight 915 from New York (JFK) to San Francisco (SFO) was forced to divert yesterday after the lithium-ion battery in a passenger’s backpack caught fire on board the flight. According to passengers on board, the fire caused a commotion after people became aware of the incident about 2....
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.LUV just gave its fans something else to love. Southwest rolled out complimentary in-flight messaging earlier this month on select Wi-Fi enabled routes, TPG confirmed with an airline spokesperson on Wednesday.Customers can check the entertainment portal on board to see if the feature is available on that particular flight, the spokesperson said....
Southwest has increased the fee for upgraded boarding for some of its flights. The fee is normally $30 or $40 each way, depending on the flight. Now, the airline has added a $50 possibility as well.A Southwest spokeswoman told USA Today the $50 fee will only apply to several “high demand” markets, but she would not say how exactly how many markets it affects or name them specifically.The airline also sent this statement to TPG:“Every few years, we review the price of our services in order to align with market and operational conditions as well as uphold the quality of our offerings....
Starwood announced today that they will be offering triple points on every stay from September 6 through December 18, 2011 as long as your stay encompasses a Sunday or Thursday night. I would have liked this promo if it didn’t have the silly Sunday/Thursday requirement, because as a business and leisure traveler, sometimes I have short mid-week stays or simple weekend stays. I guess they want to add incentive to stay earlier or later for weekend stays, but that’s just not feasible for me most of the time or many consultants who travel Monday-Thursday and spending an extra night on the road is not worth missing a night with family or friends....
TPG reader Ron writes in with a success story and a question about getting his credit score back up after an extensive round of credit card apps:“I was introduced to your site at the end of August! I really did not expect much, but I read extensively what you suggested and now, on October 22, 2011 I have:300K AAdvantage miles, 130K Delta sky miles, 50K Chase Sapphire points, Chase Marriot 2 free nights and 30K points, Starwood 10K points (the additional 15K points require $5,000 to spend so I’m holding off on that for now), 60K Continental/United miles, 50K Southwest miles, and 50K Premium Amex Rewards, which I have converted to Delta at a 50% gain, and still will have 25K points transferred back within a month via Email....
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’d all love to spend hours pinpointing the perfect hotel for our next night away from home, be it an unexpected business trip or spontaneous staycation, but time is not always on a traveler’s side. Which is one reason why the last-minute booking app Hotel Tonight has found success so quickly....
In today’s fast-paced and mobile-obsessed world, there aren’t many things more frustrating than a slow cell phone connection. Whether it’s the less-than-reliable Wi-Fi on New York subways or a blocked signal in an Italian wine cellar, it’s hard to post the perfect Instagram photo if you can’t connect.Luckily, Open Signal, a data analytics firm has made it easy for you to chase after the perfect mobile signal. The company recently released new research detailing the countries with the fastest mobile internet connections between November 2016 and January 2017....
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.In the not-so-distant future, gone will be the days of applying for a credit card online and having to wait 5-7 business days for your new piece of plastic (or metal) to arrive in the mail. Bank of America provides an account number for you to use for online purchases, but National Australia Bank (NAB) is the first to advance the effort to eliminate the wait time for in-store purchases....
After a long (and fun) night hitting the night life scene in Hanoi, I was ready to explore another side of the city — its cuisine. One of my favorite things about traveling is being able to see new places, immerse myself in foreign cultures and taste exciting flavors. The Vietnamese food scene is perhaps best well known for pho, the national dish, which is sold pretty much everywhere you go....
