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Britain’s Monarch Airlines failed abruptly last week, leaving thousands of passengers stranded at resort destinations without a return flight. The British government is helping those travelers return home, but the airline shutdown raises the question of whether a similar collapse could happen elsewhere.

It’s been a long time coming, but it’s now a bare fares world.

Hilton titled the news release announcing upcoming changes to its Honors loyalty program as follows: “Hilton Honors Delivers Even More to Its Members in 2018 with Industry-Leading Earn Rates and New Benefits.”

With 7,800 properties in more than 70 countries, the Wyndham Hotel Group is the world’s largest hotel network. That’s right: bigger than Marriott, even after it absorbs Starwood. Bigger than InterContinental. Bigger than Hilton.

In the week that’s followed the 2016 presidential election reports of racist threats and hate crimes are up, and many Americans have taken to city streets in protest. In response, countries like Turkey and the Bahamas have issued U.S. travel warnings, and the future of foreign travel to the States seems uncertain under a President Trump.

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.

I’m not a fan of flash sales or flash promotions. I understand the motivation from the travel suppliers’ standpoint, but snooze-you-lose offers are manipulative and disrespectful.

As expected, following approval by Chinese regulators, Marriott this morning completed its acquisition of Starwood, creating what the company’s news release touts as “the world’s largest and best hotel company.”

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

Earlier this week, the folks at NPR’s Here and Now asked us an intriguing question: How much would it cost to book a trip to the Rio Olympics right now? The answer, it turns out, may be a lot less than you might expect.

North American travelers looking for bargain transatlantic fares will have lots more options this summer, as European-based low-fare lines expand their reach. Three lines have announced aggressive moves:

In the news release touting its new promotion, Wyndham calls it “the richest offer of the year.” That doesn’t bode well for members of Wyndham’s Rewards program.

Somebody had to be first. And when it comes to the relaunch of scheduled flights between the U.S. and Cuba, following the normalization of relations between the two countries after more than 50 years, it appears that JetBlue is set to snag those bragging rights.

We’re proud to announce the winners of the 2017 SmarterTravel Editors’ Choice Awards. We spent six months and enlisted eight subject experts to select our Editors’ Choice winners, and then turned it over to you, our readers.

With multiple airlines (at the time of writing Delta, Alaska, and American) instituting a “smart luggage ban,” travelers have a right to be concerned if they travel with that pricey smart bag they bought. The part of the product in question is the suitcase’s battery, which with new regulations, must be removed in order to bring the bag onboard.

Yesterday’s crash landing of Emirates flight EK521 in Dubai generated a flood of images of panicked travelers, loaded down with their carry-on bags, fleeing the burning B777-300. The headline of Bloomberg’s coverage of the incident said it all: “Crashing, Burning Planes Don’t Stop Passengers From Grabbing Their Luggage.”

Got a nut allergy? Fine, don’t eat the nuts.

To the modern traveler, “living like a local” has become the name of the game. There is little patience for tourist traps, and convenient hotel restaurants fail to sate the appetites of the culture-hungry traveler. As the world becomes more connected, travelers are looking for authentic experiences and are turning to social media to find them.

There’s nothing new about discounted hotel rates available only to members of the hotel’s loyalty program who book direct. Of the major chains, Starwood was the first to offer member-only rates, beginning last year. And Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, and InterContinental have since followed suit.

On Friday evening—traditional timing for bad-news announcements that companies hope will go unnoticed by the public and unreported by the media—American published the new mileage-earning rates, effective from August 1, for travel on AAdvantage partner airlines.

This year our national neighbors to the north celebrate their 150th anniversary and we’ll be celebrating with them as they do. Each month we’ll focus on one part of their magnificent country and share it with you. From the sky-high trees and brown bears in British Columbia to the kitchen parties and codfish-kissing in the Maritimes, our toast to Canada will give you well over 150 reasons to make this the year you take the trip. This month we’re exploring ocean floors and maritime friendships in New Brunswick.