New Southwest Sale from $39, The New Electronics Ban Details, Big New Hotel Card Offers, and More!

Good afternoon! I had a great week that culminated in celebrating my 36th birthday with my family. It was a very nice time and it was wonderful to have my parents visiting for the last few weeks. We also saw our time spring ahead – a full two weeks after the US had done it. I tell you, that one hour difference is a big deal to me! I like being 7 hours ahead of the East Coast for blogging reasons and it is nice to get it back! 🙂

Miles, Points, and Travel

• New Electronics Ban on US-Bound Flights from These 10 Cities – This ban was put into affect across these cities as of Saturday. So, check and see which airports are affected if you have travel through them in the next several months. Also, there has been a ton of negative spin on this ban from travel bloggers. None of them (and that includes me) has any expertise in the area of national security or even aviation safety so it was refreshing to read a comprehensive defense of this ban from a fellow BoardingArea blogger that could be considered an expert in various ways – check it out here.
• New Southwest Sale from $39 – Good for Travel Through November 1! – This sale is good through next week so you still have time to net some savings for travel all the way into the fall!
• MLB Tickets & Great Packages Now Bookable With SPG Starpoints! – Have some SPG Starpoints? Check out some of the cool MLB packages you could redeem them for!
• 2017 Marine Corps Marathon Lottery Open – Sign-Up Now! – The “People’s Marathon” is now open for lottery entrants! If you ever wanted to run this marathon, get signed up for the lottery before Wednesday. Before that cutoff comes, check back here for the travel reservations you should make now!
• Credit Card Review: US Bank Cash Plus – Dustin reviews the US Bank Cash Plus. See what he thinks of it and if it would be a good fit in your wallet.
• 5 Great SPG Moments Packages To Check Out – Great Hotels Around the World! – There is a little bit of everything in this post from packages involving some nice St. Regis hotels (including the excellent one in New York City) as well as an opportunity to dine in the sky – 150 feet in the sky!
• How Emirates and Etihad Are Handling the Electronics Ban – Many people were wondering how this electronics ban was going to be handled and this post tells you how Emirates and Etihad are handling it. I have to say, I like Emirates’ way better than the way Etihad is doing it!
• Best Offers Ever! Hilton Cards at 100K & Free Night and 80K Points – The Hilton cards from American Express are at their highest levels ever with the Surpass offering an interesting bonus.
• Ending Soon! Great Hawaii Package Auction with SPG Points – [Expired] This auction has expired but this is a great example of the value that these auctions can give. The winner paid 253,000 Starpoints for 5 nights in a 3 bedroom villa at the new Westin in Maui, 6 days of a Jeep rental, a bunch of property benefits and 50,000 Starpoints back! This package would retail for well over $8,000 so someone got a pretty nice deal!
• New Marriott Card Offer for 107,500 Points! – A new Marriott card offer is here and it brings over 100,000 Marriott points to the table. With the ability to convert these to SPG Starpoints, this is a really nice offer.
• New Amex Offers for Your Weekend – Some new Amex Offers that had popped up over the weekend for you to save more money.
• Deal Roundup: Luggage Sale on Amazon & Gift Card Sale on eBay – The luggage sale is over but there are still some deals to be had on the eBay side!

And that is it for last week! Hopefully, I will have some exciting news this week about a trip I hope to make – next week! Yes, it is really taking some time to find out about this visa for a trip I am scheduled to depart on in one week. We shall see!