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Home Loyalty Programs The True Value of Flexible Points CurrenciesThe True Value of Flexible Points Currencies June 24, 2019 by The Points Pundit The Counterpoint The counterpoint is our monthly column, dedicated to having a look at a contrarian view at some of the commonly held beliefs in the miles and points space. Last month, we wrote about how Daily Getaways aren’t really worth your time, given the paucity of quantities and the competition to grab those ‘deals’ in minutes, if not seconds. Today, we’ll go in detail about an aspect about flexible points programs. Flexible Points Currencies Flexible points and miles have always been a favorite in the frequent traveler community. You can accumulate these points across different cards and use them based on your preference and convenience. American Express Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards tend to dominate the space when it comes to flexible points currencies. Their programs cover a … [Read more...] about The True Value of Flexible Points Currencies

JAKARTA — A powerful magnitude 7.3 quake struck eastern Indonesia on Monday, US seismologists said, but no tsunami warning was issued and there were no immediate reports of major damage or casualties. The quake hit at a depth of 208 kilometres (129 miles) south of Ambon island in the Banda Sea at 11:53 local time, the US Geological Survey said. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no threat of a tsunami as the quake was too deep. The strong temblor came hours after a 6.1-magnitude earthquake hit Papua, also in the eastern part of the Southeast Asian archipelago. That quake hit about 240 kilometres (150 miles) west of the town of Abepura in Papua province, at a relatively shallow depth of 21 kilometres, according to the USGS. There were also no immediate reports of casualties after the earthquake. A shallower 6.3-magnitude hit the area last week, but the damage was not extensive. Indonesia experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the … [Read more...] about 7.3-magnitude quake hits Indonesia, no tsunami threat

A view of Sapa Homestay Ta May in Sapa District, Lào Cai Province. — Photo booking.com HÀ NỘI — The number of people coming to Việt Nam combining business with tourism has increased significantly in recent times, and is one of the reasons for arrival numbers to jump in recent years. According to the General Statistics Office, last year 15.6 million international visitors came, 2.7 million higher than in 2017. Nearly 7.3 million have arrived in the first five months of this year. Many opt for vacation rentals and homestays because they find it cheaper than traditional accommodation at hotels. Besides, it enables them to experience living together with locals and so has become a popular choice, especially among young people who like to travel and explore cultures and eat, live and work with homestay hosts. Thanks to its many advantages, homestay tourism is also increasingly preferred by foreign tourists and also many Vietnamese, … [Read more...] about The future of homestays in Việt Nam

The ceremony to present the Vietnam National Quality Awards 2018 takes place in Hà Nội yesterday, — VNA/VNS Photo HÀ NỘI — Seventy-five Vietnamese businesses received awards for their achievements last year in product and service quality and business performance in Hà Nội yesterday. They were honoured at the Vietnam National Quality Awards 2018 ceremony. Twenty-two of the firms won gold prizes, including nine big production businesses, eight small- and medium-sized production firms and small- and medium-sized service companies. Smaller prizes went to 53 other businesses. Congratulating the winners at the ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam said: “To enhance competitiveness, it is necessary to improve productivity and especially quality as customers’ demands have become increasingly diverse and strict." He expressed his hope that more businesses will vie for the awards so … [Read more...] about National quality awards presented to 75 businesses

BRUSSELS — European leaders have failed to agree on a new top team to lead efforts to reform their union for the next five years, and postponed a decision for a least a week. The 28 heads of government on Thursday met for dinner after Brussels' main political factions refused to fall into line behind a single choice to head the European Commission. The successor to Jean-Claude Juncker at the head of the EU executive is the key leadership role in Brussels, and without a nominee the leaders were also not able to agree the broader package of appointments, forcing them to call a crisis summit for Sunday June 30 "The European Council has had a full discussion of nominations," summit host Donald Tusk, the president of the leaders' council, said. "There was no majority on any candidate. "The European Council agreed that there has to be a package reflecting the diversity of the EU. We will meet again on June 30." The new summit comes just two days before the new European Parliament … [Read more...] about EU leaders deadlocked over Brussels’ top jobs