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Destination of the Week: San Francisco

On March 7, 2014 · 0 comments

in Destination of the Week

Golden Gate Bridge glimpsed from Lincoln Park

Known as the City by the Bay, San Francisco is a compact, seven-by-seven-mile collection of steep hills, panoramic views, cultural pursuits and farm-to-table cuisine. For today’s Destination of the Week, TPG Assistant Editor Melanie Wynne and TPG contributor Brian Houtz take us to Northern… Read More

Is Delta Not Honoring Platinum Medallion Offer For New York Flyers?

On March 7, 2014 · 1 comment

in Delta, Elite Status

Delta-Logo

Back in January, Delta announced a drool-worthy offer for Seattle-based flyers with a fast-track to Platinum Medallion status. Whereas Platinum Medallion status normally requires you fly 75,000 miles or 90 segments (and starting in 2014 that you spend $7,500 on airfare or $25,000 on a co-branded… Read More

5,000 Point Sign-Up and Fly Bonus For New JetBlue TrueBlue Members

On March 6, 2014 · 3 comments

in JetBlue

JetBlue feat

To celebrate that time-honored institution of excess, sunburn and shenanigans – Spring Break! – JetBlue’s TrueBlue loyalty program is offering new members who sign up, book a flight and fly by April 30, 2014, 5,000 bonus points.
To sign up and register, here’s what you do.

Fill out the form on this… Read More

Delta Releases New Details on 2015 SkyMiles Redemptions And I Am Cautiously Optimistic

On March 6, 2014 · 24 comments

in Delta

Delta-Logo

Last week, Delta dropped a bombshell that it would be massively overhauling its SkyMiles program with a new revenue-based earning structure and a new redemption schedule that would include new features like cash & miles awards and one-way awards.

While the airline released all the details on its… Read More

Garuda Indonesia Now Official SkyTeam Member Airline

March 6, 2014

Back in December, SkyTeam announced that Garuda Indonesia would be joining the alliance in March, though given Garuda’s until-recently spotty record, the actual join date that was set for March 5 seemed like more of an estimate. But lo and behold, March 5 came, and SkyTeam posted the announcement that Garuda is now officially the […]

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Amex Daily Getaway Deals Coming May 2014

March 6, 2014

American Express and the US Travel Association (a non-profit dedicated to promoting US travel) have teamed up to offer various discounts and deals with travel brands and loyalty programs including hotel packages, points/miles purchase promos, rental car deals and more over the course of a month or so. The last time they came around was […]

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Current Mileage Purchase and Share Bonus Promos: American, Avianca, JetBlue, US Airways

March 5, 2014

There are several promotions where you can buy or transfer miles and get a bonus of anywhere from 25-100% right now, so I thought I’d put them all together in one place for a handy reference. Here are the current promos. American Airlines 30% Discount on Shared Miles Now through March 31, American Airlines is […]

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Social Media Recap-News, Contests, Promos, Trends and More

March 5, 2014

Social media is increasingly becoming the method airlines, hotels, credit cards and consumers get in touch with one another about the latest news, deals and promotions. Here’s a look at the latest interesting trending topics and more on social media from the week. I’ll be combing through Facebook posts, Tweets, Instagram pics and more to […]

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Last Day For Southwest 50,000 Point Offers Plus Flight Schedule Extension to October 31, 2014

March 5, 2014

Update: the Southwest 50,000 point offers have been extended through Sunday, March 9. With the Southwest devaluation date looming on March 31, 2014, now’s the time to take a few very important steps to make sure you maximize the program while you still can. Back in January, Chase relaunched limited-time offers of 50,000 bonus Rapid […]

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Hotel Review: Park Hyatt Sydney City Harbour Deluxe and City View Rooms

March 5, 2014

So far in my series on my trip to Australia with TPG Managing Editor Eric, I’ve covered how I used miles to book my award ticket, my flight from LAX-MEL in United GlobalFirst, the day I spent wine-tasting out in the Yarra Valley, a restaurant review roundup of all the fantastic places we ate in the city, my review of […]

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Flight Review: Virgin Australia Hamilton Island – Sydney in Economy

March 4, 2014

So far in my series on my trip to Australia with TPG Managing Editor Eric, I’ve covered how I used miles to book my award ticket, my flight from LAX-MEL in United GlobalFirst, the day I spent wine-tasting out in the Yarra Valley, a restaurant review roundup of all the fantastic places we ate in […]

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The Best Current Airline Credit Card Offers

March 4, 2014

One of the big questions that came up both days at the New York Times Travel Show, was how airline credit cards play into an overall points and miles strategy. While I personally spend more on credit cards that accrue transferable points like the Sapphire Preferred, or the Premier Rewards Gold, since transferable points give […]

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Top 10 Reasons Why I Dumped Delta

March 4, 2014

I was a loyal Delta flyer (and enthusiast) for years. I had top-tier Diamond Medallion status (and used to love it), I was able to use SkyMiles to fly all over the world, I frequented SkyClubs throughout the US and abroad, I appreciated the (relatively) good service and domestic fleet-wide WiFi, and even I defended […]

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My Second NY Times Travel Show Presentation: Tips For Traveling In First Class on a Budget

March 4, 2014

Yesterday I shared my first New York Times Travel Show presentation on Maximizing Credit Cards for Free Travel. For my second Travel Show seminar on Sunday afternoon, I expanded on that concept to include other strategies for my talk on “Travel Pointers for a First Class Lifestyle on a Budget.” In it, I included all […]

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My New York Times Travel Show Presentation: Maximizing Credit Cards For Free Travel, And Reader Meet Up

March 3, 2014

It was a busy weekend in New York! What with all the major airline news last week from Delta and American, I had plenty to talk about at the New York Times Travel Show on both Saturday and Sunday. My talk Saturday was titled, “Maximizing Credit Cards for Free Travel,” and in it I discussed the […]

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Hotel Review: Hamilton Island Reef View Hotel Coral Sea View Room

March 3, 2014

So far in my series on my trip to Australia with TPG Managing Editor Eric, I’ve covered how I used miles to book my award ticket, my flight from LAX-MEL in United GlobalFirst, the day I spent wine-tasting out in the Yarra Valley, a restaurant review roundup of all the fantastic places we ate in […]

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Taking a Deeper Look at Delta’s New Mileage Earning Structure for 2015 and Beyond

March 3, 2014

Delta made a huge announcement last week that its SkyMiles program would institute a new revenue-based mileage-earning structure aimed at frequent business travelers and those customers who purchase premium fares. As a reminder, here are the new rules. Earning The major changes here – at least the ones Delta has released details on so far […]

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United’s Strict New Carry-On Baggage Rules Go Into Effect

March 3, 2014

United put its new carry-on baggage sizing policy into effect yesterday, so we asked TPG Contributor Jason Steele, a Denver-based United flyer, for his take on the policy and its enforcement. If you’ve flown on United Airlines recently, you might have noticed that they have deployed new carry-on baggage sizers at all of their gates, […]

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Which Credit Card To Get: Chase Sapphire Preferred Or Barclaycard Arrival?

March 2, 2014

TPG reader Lance sent me a Facebook message this week to ask me about which credit card he should get. “I already have an American Express Platinum and Starwood cards, but I want to get another card that allows me to use points for travel expenses and statement credits. I’m deciding between the Barclaycard Arrival […]

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How Will US Airways’ Departure from Star Alliance Affect Future Bookings?

March 2, 2014

Later this month, US Airways is officially leaving Star Alliance to join Oneworld, the alliance of its merger partner, American Airlines. I’ve been getting a lot of questions about this on Twitter, like the following two: TPG reader Nat asked: @thepointsguy With US leaving *A, if I want to fly NYC to Cape Town 3/2015, does it make […]

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Can You Transfer Delta SkyMiles To Alaska Miles?

March 2, 2014

It was a big week in airline news with Delta’s announcement that they’re going to fundamentally change the way that flyers earn SkyMiles and, potentially, the way that we redeem them. I’ve been receiving a lot of questions about Delta and its alliance with Alaska. TPG Reader Josh asked on Twitter: “@thepointsguy Question – how does […]

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What Are Some Tips for Traveling With a Small Dog?

March 2, 2014

The next question is close to my heart, as it concerns my experience of traveling with Miles, my furry little “son.” TPG reader Jeanette posted a question on my Facebook page this week: “I am entering the world of a traveler with a small dog…any tips for flying and hotel stays? This is a first […]

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American Express Introduces New EveryDay Cards With 20-50% Bonuses and Full Membership Rewards Earning

March 2, 2014

American Express announced today that it would be launching two new consumer credit cards called the EveryDay cards, with applications opening on April 2, 2014. I talked to Amex’s Senior Vice President of Consumer Lending Products, David Rabkin about the cards and what’s so unique about them. First off, there are two versions of the […]

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Variable 25% – 100% Bonus On Purchased US Airways Miles

March 1, 2014

US Airways is known for liquidating its miles cheaply with fairly frequent 100% bonuses on bought and transferred miles. Lately, these bonuses have been more and more targeted, like one in February just for US Airways Mastercard cardholders. Now the airline is running a variable mystery bonus of between 25% – 100%. You just have […]

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