We’ve spotlighted a few sales with great prices on flights to Rome, but this time, we’ve found a sweet deal for travel to other much-desired destinations in Italy. Airfare to Venice, Milan, Naples, Bari, Genoa, and Turin is now available at substantial discounts. You can depart from a number of East Coast cities, including Boston, Miami, New York City and Washington, D.C. There are even some sale fares from San Francisco. The travel window for this deal is primarily from November through March 2025. You may get lucky and find some sale fares for last-minute travel in late April and May this ye ..read more

Marriott International, with more than 30 brands under its belt, is the undisputed leader in the world’s hotel orbit. However, Hilton leaders Wednesday morning outlined a growth strategy signaling why their cross-town rival in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area shouldn’t get too complacent in its lofty perch. The hotel giant behind brands like Waldorf Astoria, Conrad and Home2 Suites has an array of new brands and partnerships that should add thousands of new hotels and Hilton Honors loyalty program engagement in the years to come. Hilton’s development pipeline of 472,000 hotel rooms worl ..read more

Avianca Airlines just dropped a flash sale on awards tickets from select U.S. cities to Central and South American destinations. The Colombian carrier is offering awards tickets at up to a 30% discount to San Jose, Costa Rica; San Salvador, El Salvador; and Bogota, Colombia. With a couple of routes, you can book one-way fares for as few as 2,200 miles. You have to act fast to take advantage of this sale, as it only applies to flights booked by April 25. The sale fares apply to travel between now and March 2025. Another thing: To find the sale fares, you must go to the airline’s LifeMiles websi ..read more

Breeze Airways is bolstering its summer schedule. The Provo, Utah-based ultra-low-cost carrier on Tuesday announced five new routes launching this summer — each of which will touch a warm-weather, leisure destination on the East Coast. Breeze is adding three new routes to Myrtle Beach International Airport (MYR) in South Carolina, a popular summer beach destination. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. SEAN CUDAHY/THE POINTS GUY It’s also adding a few new options out of Westchester County Airport (HPN) in White Plains, New York, and it’s doubling down on its growth out of Raleigh-Durham International ..read more

Another property from TPG’s list of the most exciting hotels opening in 2024 is welcoming guests — and this time, it’s great news for fans of Japan, wellness experiences and IHG One Rewards. Introducing the Six Senses Kyoto in Japan. IHG Made up of just 81 rooms and suites, Six Senses Kyoto is the first Six Senses property in Japan and part of the wellness-focused brand’s push to enter into more urban spaces (a London property is set to open in the latter half of the year). Inspired by Japan’s Heian period (from 794 to 1185), the hotel offers a “modern interpretation” of the art- and culture-f ..read more

Based in Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE), Starlux Airlines is a new premium airline already flying to 27 destinations across Asia and the United States. Starlux flies from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Taipei, with service from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) commencing Aug. 16. TPG’s Clint Henderson was recently impressed with Starlux’s A350 business-class service from Los Angeles and booked this flight using points and miles. Here’s how to book Starlux Airlines flights using points and miles. Related: A review o ..read more

Airlines will soon face far stricter rules for issuing refunds, the Biden administration said Wednesday. Among the changes, the White House defined what kinds of long delays or cancellations entitle passengers to refunds. Eligible travelers must receive refunds automatically to their original form of payment within seven to 20 days, depending on how they paid, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced as part of a series of new regulations. Meanwhile, the DOT will also require airlines to more clearly disclose fees for ancillary charges like seat selection and baggage upfront. They’ll al ..read more

Just when folks may have been wondering if Hyatt and its popular World of Hyatt loyalty program were losing some luster, the hotel giant’s Mr & Mrs Smith acquisition rollout shows this is no hotel loyalty underdog. Hyatt bought Mr & Mrs Smith last year, but the luxury and boutique hotel booking platform’s hotels weren’t fully integrated into the World of Hyatt loyalty network. That changed today, as more than 700 Mr & Mrs Smith hotels are now bookable via Hyatt booking channels. The partnership comes amid Hilton snatching away the Small Luxury Hotels of the World partnership Hyatt ..read more

JetBlue was the first major U.S. airline to offer free live TV on every flight, and now the New York-based carrier is raising the bar once again for the inflight viewing experience. On Wednesday, the airline unveiled what it’s calling Blueprint by JetBlue, a new software system powering the inflight TVs onboard many of its jets. The software includes a handful of nifty new features, some which the carrier hopes will be a hit with travelers. Perhaps most interestingly, JetBlue will become the first carrier to allow groups of up to six customers to watch the same content at the same time on dif ..read more

Are you a sucker for a status match? If free coffee, a cocktail reception and free laundry service sound like perks you’d enjoy on your next vacation, listen up. For three days only, Virgin Voyages will extend its existing status match offer to include airline and hotel loyalty status matches. Members of Virgin Voyages’ Sailing Club loyalty program have been able to match with other cruise lines’ loyalty programs for a while. However, if you have airline or hotel status, now could be the time to book that voyage you’ve been considering. Here’s all you need to know to take advantage of this off ..read more