We asked TPG contributor and resident Hilton guru Nick to demystify Hilton HHonors’ complicated Points + Money Rewards to see how they stack up against other programs like Starwood’s Cash & Points, as well as when they can save you points…and money.In one of my recent posts, I took a close look at two of the newest programs in available to Hilton HHonors members: Premium Room Rewards and Room Upgrade Rewards....
Just a friendly reminder for you Virgin America flyers that the special 20,000-point sign up offer for the Virgin America Visa is ending today, August 31, 2012.While 20,000 points might not seem like a huge amount, usually the first-use bonus on this card is just 10,000 points, so this promo is worth double, and equates to spending $4,000 on the airline, or as much as $460 in Virgin America flights since Elevate points are worth about 1....
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.So apparently the company who owns the servers my web host uses had some major technical issues today and over 1,000 different websites were down. There’s nothing I really could have done to avoid it since it seemed like a freak incident, but I’m still evaluating other options so we never have to go through 8 hours of prime-time downtime again!...
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here – Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit CardThis offer has been around for a while and in my opinion its a pretty good offer for Southwest flyers.You get 16 credits with your first purchase, up to 8 more for balance transfers and 2 bonus credits each year with renewal.PLUS$100 gift card after $1,000 spending in the first 3 months$150 gift card after $2,500 total spending in the first 3 months$250 gift card after $5,000 total spending in the first 3 monthsYou usually get your gift card 5 weeks after the statement in which you hit the threshold closes....
Already this year, we’ve seen Hilton, IHG and Marriott announce their hotels that will be changing categories in 2016. And now, SPG is joining the list with the announcement of its properties that will be moving up or down this year.Of SPG’s nearly 1,300 worldwide properties, 282 will be changing categories — around 20% of its portfolio. In total, 168 hotels are moving up at least one category (around 12% of the chain’s portfolio) and 114 hotels are moving down (around 8% of its portfolio)....
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.You don’t have to have ever traveled to Dubai to know that subtlety is not one of the United Arab Emirates city’s strong suits. Like Las Vegas on steroids, Dubai is already home to a list of “world’s biggest” things, including the biggest mall (The Dubai Mall) and the world’s tallest skyscraper (the Burj Khalifa, although an even taller building is currently in the works)....
With The Points Guy being a small business itself, I realize from a first-hand perspective exactly what goes into making a small business work and how to take it to the next level. So, I’m excited to launch a new initiative where we’ll focus on just that — small businesses.As part of the first annual TPG Small Business Week, we’ll be taking a closer look at how you, as a small business owner, can maximize your points-earning strategy to fit your business needs and meet your goals....
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here – Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American ExpressDelta is offering new SkyMiles members the opportunity rack up to 40,000 SkyMiles by flying and engaging in partner activity, kind of similar to what US Airways does in their Grand Slam promo. Per the T&C this is for new members and those who have signed up within the last 30 days and “remain opted in to receive (via email) Fare Sales and Last Minute Deals, your SkyMiles Statement, Delta Partner Offers, SkyMiles Promotions, and Travel & SkyMiles Info....
American Airlines made a major announcement about changes to its AAdvantage mileage program in November, including a huge overhaul of its award chart. While most of the ensuing commentary has focused on how the airline raised the number of miles for many redemptions, it turns out there were other changes as well. TPG Special Contributor Eric Rosen takes a look at some of the major changes in how the regions of the chart are delineated, and what that might mean for flyers going forward....
On Independence Day, one unlucky traveler found herself locked inside the tiny bathroom of a Bombardier CRJ-700 during a SkyWest-operated American flight from Chicago (ORD) to Aspen (ASE).As these things so often are, the crisis was live-tweeted by a fellow passenger, Kent Lassman. “Pilot just announced after an hour on the tarmac that we are headed back to gate,” Lassman tweeted. “The lady from the seat in front of me locked herself in the toilet…”Lassman described how a “hipster kid from the back row” attempted to break the woman free with a credit card, to no avail....
2017 has been a mixed year for airline profitability. The top 5 US carriers are racking up $5 billion in profits per quarter. Meanwhile, other airlines are shutting down. Already in 2017, we have seen the end of Monarch and Air Berlin while Alitalia entered bankruptcy yet again.Now we have news of the death of another airline: Island Air. The United partner and American Airlines interline partner operated around 450 flights per week between the Hawaiian islands....
Earlier this week, American Airlines announced that it would be debuting a new option in the economy cabin called Main Cabin Extra to compete with products like Delta’s Economy Comfort and United’s Economy Plus.According to the details AA provided, the new seating option will add 4-6 inches of legroom compared to standard economy seating, as well as priority boarding, so no worrying about whether you’ll find space for your carry-on in the overhead bin....
TPG reader Marjorie sent me a message on Facebook to ask about changing seats:“Can I request another seat if I get on a plane and the row behind me has a toddler in it? I just had an awful trip from Frankfurt to LAX that involved the children behind me screaming the whole flight and kicking my chair.”If you want to start an argument about the airline industry, ask a group of people how they feel about children on airplanes....
Now through January, 13, 2013, British Airways is offering a 25% bonus when you transfer hotel points to the British Airways Avios program. British Airways hotel partners include Starwood, Club Carlson, Marriott, Hilton, Priority Club, Hyatt, and Shangri-La. To convert points to miles, head over to the hotel partner you want to transfer from and you will complete the transfer from the hotel site. There is no need to register for this promotion....
All this week, Club Carlson will be announcing flash sales on points from their Facebook and Twitter feeds.Yesterday’s sale went live at just before 1:30PM ET and stayed live until 2:15PM ET - so if you want in, you have to act fast - and featured Club Carlson points on sale with a 75% bonus. All you had to do was click on the link in the Facebook post or Twitter feed, log into your account and purchase the points at the bonus level....
Delta and Starwood launched a partnership last year called Crossover Rewards where elite members of both loyalty programs reciprocal benefits. SPG Gold and Platinum members will receive bonus Starpoints on purchased Delta fares.As an SPG elite member, when you book a Delta-marketed and operated flight will receive one Starpoint for every one US dollar. SPG Platinum members will receive priority check-in, priority boarding, and waived baggage fees (and in September, SPG Platinums also got access to complimentary upgrades - though reports of those upgrades coming through are pretty sketchy)....
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 free Lyft rides thanks to Budweiser, as the company continues offering $10 off your next ride this Friday (December 9) through early Sunday morning (December 11) in order to discourage drunk driving. Simply enter the promo code: LYFTHOME into your Lyft app to get the $10 credit....
Alitalia is currently having a 25% fare sale on their site, now through October 26,2012. It’s valid for travel between November 5, 2012 and March 27, 2013, but excludes holiday travel from December 20, 2012 and January 6, 2013. The promo code is SPECIAL, and the best results I have found is to search on the regular Alitalia USA site, as when booking through the promo code site it doesn’t seem to be working....
It’s the final day of JetBlue’s New York City Flight Week where the airline is discounting flights to select destinations up to 80% for limited-time travel.On Monday we saw discounted fares to St. Maarten, Costa Rica and Ft. Myers, Tuesday offered cheap flights to Bermuda, Portland, Oregon, and Grand Cayman, Wednesday’s sale was to Nassau, Bahamas, Oakland, CA, and Samana, DR and yesterday had discounts to LaRomana, DR, Tampa, FL, and Seattle, WA....
Here’s a recap of the interesting points and miles news from this week:Be sure to register for Crossover Rewards.Registration Now Open for SPG and Delta Crossover Rewards: Crossover Rewards is now live, so be sure to enroll by heading to either the SPG Registration Page or Delta Registration page. As a recap, Crossover Rewards provide elite members of both loyalty programs reciprocal benefits. SPG Gold and Platinum members will receive bonus Starpoints on purchased Delta fares....
