For the third straight year, the Sunday after Thanksgiving set the record as the busiest day ever at U.S. airports. Nationwide, the Transportation Security Administration screened more than 3.1 million passengers Nov. 30, as travelers rushed home from Turkey Day celebrations. That narrowly beat the previous record set June 22 — and the crowds seen…

If you go to the airport without a Real ID or approved alternative like a passport, you’ll soon face an even steeper fee than expected — that is, if you want to fly. The Transportation Security Administration on Monday announced it will begin charging travelers $45 to pass through checkpoints when they show up without…

Chase Ultimate Rewards points are a favorite currency among the TPG staff, partly because you can transfer them to a variety of airline and hotel partners. I often transfer my points to Southwest Rapid Rewards, where I can redeem them for award tickets to destinations in North America, Central America and the Caribbean — and…

Making travel purchases through online shopping portals is one of TPG’s favorite ways to stack points-earning deals on top of each other. So imagine my delight when Hyatt joined Rakuten quietly last week, offering 3% cash back on completed hotel stays in the United States, Canada and Mexico. It gets even better. On Cyber Monday,…

I have a lot of rewards credit cards — probably a couple dozen if I took the time to count. As a result, one perk I had completely forgotten about turned out to be a $200 hotel credit, hidden in plain sight. While I do a pretty good job of maximizing the major perks on…

When it’s time to plan a trip, I don’t want to get bogged down switching between tabs or bouncing around airline, hotel and car rental websites just to figure out what’s affordable. I also don’t love using online travel agencies I’ve never heard of, especially when it’s unclear what their extra fees or policies might…

While the period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day is peak travel season in many parts of the world, January offers a welcome pause from the holiday rush. It is an opportune time to hit the reset button, recover from end-of-the-year burnout and, even better, take advantage of off-peak travel deals. To compensate for the…

Best Western Rewards is a program many travelers overlook. After all, it isn’t a transfer partner of any major credit card rewards currencies, and its elite benefits are minimal. But, the program has a mix of luxurious WorldHotels properties, value-oriented SureStay Hotels and Best Western hotels and resorts at various price points where you can…

It’s officially that time of year. Temperatures are plummeting, hot tea is flowing and flu season is here. But that’s not the only illness looming over travelers this holiday season. According to Dr. Waleed Javaid, epidemiologist and professor of medicine at West Virginia University, “Currently, there is a mix of respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19, influenza…

If you crave the sensation of winter sun on your skin amid the slowly dropping temperatures in the United States, a few obvious holiday destinations may spring to mind. Mexico, Florida, the Maldives and Dubai are all classics for a reason, delivering scorching temperatures throughout the shivering depths of December and January. But that also…