Sweepstakes: What Would You Do with 1 Million United Miles?

Today’s announcement that Southwest has a new marketing relationship with a rideshare company was no surprise. As rideshare services have become an ever-larger part of the travel landscape, such tie-ups have proliferated. It won’t be long before every airline and hotel loyalty program has a rideshare company on its roster of points-earning partners.

Planning a road trip this summer? For the sake of safety and peace of mind, your own and others’, add this to the pre-departure to-do list: a review of your driving habits. After all, while there’s nothing you can do to change other drivers’ bad habits, you are at least in control of your own.

Enter the Liberty Richter “Kitchens of India” sweepstakes by June 15, 2016, for a chance to win the grand prize: a six-day trip for two to New Delhi, India, including air, transfers, and hotel.

By traditional measures, Alaska Airlines is a carrier of decidedly modest size, even after its acquisition of Virgin America. Its own flight network is small, compared to those of American, Delta, and United. And it’s not a member of one of the three global airline alliances.

Enter the Wyndham “Have Points, Will Travel” sweepstakes by March 31, 2016, for a chance to win the grand prize: 1 million Wyndham Rewards points.

Beginning today, many visitors to Disney theme parks will pay more for the privilege of posing for selfies with Mickey & Co. But some will pay less. And others will pay a so-called regular rate, that is actually a price increase. Yes, it’s complicated.

Although Uber has relationships with several airline and hotel loyalty programs, it has so far stopped short of launching its own program. That changes this week, with the announcement of a simple buy-nine-get-one-free offer in conjunction with Capital One.

The long lines, missed flights, and traveler outrage have been front-page news for months. And there’s little prospect that the bottleneck at the TSA’s airport security checkpoints can be ameliorated in time to for the summer travel crush.

How much is a monopoly worth? Plenty, for sure. But it’s no easy matter to precisely quantify its value in any particular situation.

In the airline’s first major initiative since replacing CEO Jeff Smisek with Oscar Munoz, United today announced details of a major upgrade to its international business-class product.

The traditional taxi business is far from dead, but the ever-burgeoning popularity of rideshare services like Uber and Lyft is a clear threat to the survival of the yellow cabs that for decades have been a mainstay of big-city transportation. It’s fair to say that the rise of Uber and its ilk have led to the erosion of taxis, and could eventually lead to their outright demise (or, perhaps, their radical transformation).

Want to fly Virgin America as an elite member of the airline’s Elevate program? If you’ve already earned elite status with American, Delta, Southwest, or United, Virgin America will match that status, for three months.