New Club Carlson Offer: Up to 50,000 Bonus Points

Delta Air Lines is adding 30 percent more capacity to Latin America and the Caribbean next winter with more flights to popular destinations from Costa Rica to San Juan.

Calling all job hunters: the city of Wellington, New Zealand, is welcoming Americans to move and work in the county's capital — touting its great work/life balance.

The world’s fastest growing sport is becoming a year-round hobby for many. Pickleball, the tennis ping pong hybrid sweeping the nation, has made its impact on New York City this year, with outdoor courts across the boroughs, including in popular landmarks including Union Square and Central Park.

To the list of hotels that offer discounted rates to members of their loyalty programs—Starwood, Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, InterContinental, Choice—can now be added the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group (Quorvus Collection, Radisson Blu, Radisson, Radisson RED, Park Plaza, Park Inn, Country Inns & Suites).

While the Marriott acquisition of Starwood closed in September, the two companies’ integration is far from complete. In particular, Marriott Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest continue to operate independently, although members may now link their accounts, transfer points, and have their status matched.

Bad news for the airlines often translates as good news for travel consumers.

It’s a basic premise of savvy loyalty-program participation that the best return-on-investment is to be had by redeeming points for the program host’s own services. Airline miles are best redeemed for flights, and hotel points are best redeemed for free room nights. Sure, all major programs offer alternative award opportunities—consumer electronics, clothing, event tickets, and on and on—but when you do the math, it inevitably turns out that such options offer very poor value.

Judging by their load factors, U.S. airlines are doing just fine. For June, Alaska Airlines filled 86 percent of its seats; Delta flew 87.7 percent full; other carriers’ results are expected to be similarly robust.

Flying to Europe between now and July 31? Good. Flying on a first-, business-, or full coach-fare ticket? Even better. Because, bonus miles.

For U.S. News & World Report, the road from weekly news magazine to publisher of company rankings has been a long and winding one. The key, though, to its shift toward data-driven ratings of companies and institutions was its 1983 publication of “America’s Best Colleges.”

Following is our regular summary of the latest travel news and best frequent traveler promotions reviewed during the past week.

Are you a current or prospective Hilton loyalist? If so, a credit card linked to Hilton’s HHonors program is a no-brainer. And, for a limited time, one of the HHonors no-annual-fee cards comes bundled with a particularly generous sign-up bonus.