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How to earn Southwest pointsCompare Southwest credit cards Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit CardSouthwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit CardSouthwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit CardSouthwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit CardSouthwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. Transfer points from Diners Club or hotel loyalty programsDiners Club members can also transfer Club Rewards points to Southwest — 1,500 Club Rewards points, for instance, would convert to 1,200 Southwest points. It's also possible to redeem points earned through participating hotel loyalty programs if you'd rather put them toward flights than hotel stays, though redemption rates are pretty low:5,000 Best Western Rewards points = 1,200 Southwest points6,000 Choice Privileges points = 1,800 Southwest points2,000 Radisson Rewards America points = 200 Southwest points50,000 Radisson Rewards America points = 5,000 Southwest points100,000 Radisson Rewards America points = 10,000 Southwest points9,000 Marriott Bonvoy points = 3,000 Southwest points30,000 Marriott Bonvoy points = 10,000 Southwest points60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points = 20,000 Southwest points90,000 Marriott Bonvoy points = 30,000 Southwest points120,000 Marriott Bonvoy points = 40,000 Southwest points5,000 World of Hyatt points = 2,400 Southwest points50,000 World of Hyatt points = 24,000 Southwest pointsNote that World of Hyatt throws in an additional 6,000 Southwest points as long as you're a member, while Marriott Bonvoy adds 5,000 Southwest points for every 60,000 Marriott points transferred. For instance, a $220 Business Select fare would yield 2,640 Southwest points, while a $200 Anytime ticket would yield 2,000 Southwest points, and a $100 Wanna Get Away ticket would yield 600 Southwest points. Earn Southwest points by taking online surveysYou can earn points by taking online surveys through E-Rewards — $15 worth of E-Rewards yields 300 Southwest points, $25 worth of E-Rewards yields 600 Southwest points, $50 worth of E-Rewards yields 1,200 Southwest points, and $100 worth of E-Rewards yields 2,400 Southwest points.

Travel insurance weekly rates at a glance:Average premium: $323.24Average trip cost: $6,795.88Average trip length: 15 daysWhat is travel insurance? See Insider's picks for the best travel insurance »Some credit cards offer a limited amount of travel insurance annually. Insider's Featured Travel Insurance Companies World Nomads Travel InsuranceAllianz Travel InsuranceTravelex travel insurance Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. When calculating your travel insurance premium, travel insurance providers consider the likelihood of a medical emergency. Insider's Featured Travel Insurance Companies World Nomads Travel InsuranceAllianz Travel InsuranceTravelex travel insurance Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options.

☆ Costa Rica says China apologizes for balloon 'incident' over its airspace
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAN JOSE, Feb 6 (Reuters) - China apologized to Costa Rica for a balloon that flew over its territory, the Central American country's government said on Monday, after a separate suspected Chinese spy balloon traveling over the United States sparked a major political and diplomatic spat. According to a brief statement from Costa Rica's foreign ministry, the Chinese government recognized that one of its balloons flew over Costa Rica, and China's embassy in San Jose "apologized for the incident," while insisting the balloon was focused on scientific research, mainly weather studies. Costa Rican officials were told by Chinese officials the balloon flight path deviated from its original plan and it had a limited ability to correct the error, according to the statement. A Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman told reporters at a news conference in Beijing on Monday that the balloon spotted in Latin America was used for civilian purposes. Planes were notified at the time, but no further action was taken, according to the civil aviation director.

☆ Navas steals limelight on mixed weekend for January signings
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Martyn Herman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

January signings can be hit and miss and it was a mixed weekend for new recruits. "But I loved his composure and game management and decision making, I really enjoyed that part of his performance. He came close to a debut goal too, but ultimately it was a frustrating debut as Chelsea's attack misfired yet again. Leicester's Souttar, signed from Stoke City, enjoyed a winning debut as his side overcame Aston Villa 4-2, although scoring an own goal was hardly ideal. But Souttar, along with fellow new signing Victor Kristiansen, impressed, although not as much as another new recruit Tete, who marked his debut with a goal.

☆ Colombian military spots balloon-like object in its airspace
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 5 (Reuters) - A day before a U.S. military jet shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon, Colombia's military confirmed a sighting over its territory of an airborne object similar to a balloon. U.S. military officials on Friday said a Chinese balloon was spotted somewhere over Latin America but did not specify its location. The Colombian statement did not mention China or any other country as the balloon's origin. The statement added that the object exhibited "characteristics similar to those of a balloon," and that the air force monitored it until it left Colombian airspace. The saga of the Chinese balloon, downed off of the U.S. Atlantic coast on Saturday, captivated public attention for days, and was widely seen as worsening U.S.-China relations.

☆ Colombia confirms possible balloon in its airspace
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 5 (Reuters) - A day before a U.S. military jet shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the country's Atlantic Coast on Saturday, Colombia's military confirmed a sighting of an airborne object similar to a balloon flying over its territory. Colombia's air force issued a statement on Saturday providing limited details concerning a possible balloon its air defense system had located Friday morning. U.S. military officials on Friday said another Chinese balloon was spotted somewhere over Latin America but did not specify its location. The statement added that the object exhibited "characteristics similar to those of a balloon," and that the air force monitored it until if left the country's airspace. The saga of the downed Chinese spy balloon off the U.S. coast captivated public attention for days, and was widely seen as worsening U.S.-Chinese relations.

☆ How the end of Netflix password sharing will change the way families watch, especially the ones with college-age children
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Tim Mullaney | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Back in 2014, allowing people to share passwords was a "terrific marketing vehicle for the next generation of viewers," Plepler once told BuzzFeed. And yes, it looks like the crackdown may include families who share passwords with kids who are away at college. Even two analysts who follow Netflix acknowledged that their college-aged children are piggybacking on the family Netflix account for now. The company's terms of use require people to live at the same location to share a password. The company's terms of use already require customers to agree to Netflix tracking this information in order to deliver the service.

☆ The people who live inside airplanes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Jacopo Prisco | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —After losing her house to a fire, Jo Ann Ussery had a peculiar idea: to live in an airplane. She bought an old Boeing 727 that was destined for the scrapyard, had it shipped to a plot of land she already owned, and spent six months renovating, doing most of the work by herself. By the end, she had a fully functional home, with over 1,500 square feet of living space, three bedrooms, two bathrooms and even a hot tub – where the cockpit used to be. Although she wasn’t the first person to ever live in an airplane, her flawless execution of the project had an inspirational effect. Maybe the worst choice for a home.”As a result, Campbell had to work on the plane for a couple of years before being able to live in it.

Persons: Jo Ann Ussery, Ussery, Benoit , Mississippi –, Bruce Campbell, Jo, ”, Campbell, “, Jo Ann’s, Scotty, That’s, Aristotle Onassis, he’s, Joe Axline, Axline, “ I’ve, I’ve, ” Axline, Howard Hughes, Dave Drimmer, Nashville Hall of Famer Red Lane, Lane, Jumbo, “ You’ve, there’ll, Bruce Campbell’s Organizations: CNN, Boeing, Olympic Airways, Florida Air Museum, Nashville Hall of Famer, Airport Locations: Benoit , Mississippi, Hillsboro , Oregon, Mongolia, Greece, Miyazaki, Japan, Brookshire , Texas, Stockholm's Arlanda, Florida, American, Costa Rica, Costa Verde, Sweden, Stockholm’s Arlanda, England, London

☆ Netflix's Latin American password-sharing clampdown trial hints at how the upcoming rollout might work, including primary locations and special-access codes for traveling
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Netflix said last month that it expects to roll out paid sharing more broadly by the end of March. Paid sharing is being tested in Latin America, where it costs up to $3 to add an extra member. Users in the trial areas need to set up a "primary location" through their TV, verified through email or text message. If anyone is trying to access a Netflix account from outside its primary location, then their device will be blocked. Under paid sharing, users can let people from outside their household use their account for an additional fee.

☆ Netflix's password sharing crackdown is coming: What we know so far about how it will work
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Nicolas Vega | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Netflix's plan to stop users from sharing their passwords with each other is starting to take shape. The main hurdle that Netflix will place in front of password sharers is device verification when phones, computers and streaming devices are logged into an account that isn't the primary user's home network. This creates a trusted device so you can watch Netflix, even when you're away from your primary location." Netflix has in the past said that more than 100 million households use a shared password. If you get caught sharing a password, don't worry about being hit with a fee right away.

☆ Costa Rica's economic growth seen slowing down this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAN JOSE, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Costa Rica's economic growth will likely slow this year, according to a central bank forecast released on Tuesday that also estimates faster growth in 2024. The central bank sees gross domestic product growing 2.7% this year and 3.5% in 2024. Income from tourism, a key sector, had increased from a year ago, as had exports, the central bank said. "The performance of economic activity had a positive impact on business and consumer confidence," it said. By 2024, the inflation rate should drop and economic activity was likely to pick up steam, the bank added.

Travel insurance weekly rates at a glance:Average premium: $270.13Average trip cost: $5,793.35Average trip length: 16 daysGet your free travel insurance quote with SquareMouth »What is travel insurance? See Insider's picks for the best travel insurance »Some credit cards offer a limited amount of travel insurance annually. Insider's Featured Travel Insurance Companies World Nomads Travel InsuranceAllianz Travel InsuranceTravelex travel insurance Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. When calculating your travel insurance premium, travel insurance providers consider the likelihood of a medical emergency. Insider's Featured Travel Insurance Companies World Nomads Travel InsuranceAllianz Travel InsuranceTravelex travel insurance Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options.

☆ 10 most welcoming places in the world—see which U.S. state made the list
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Celia Fernandez | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

This year's most welcoming places in the world span five continents. This year's annual Booking.com Traveler Review Awards included a list of the most welcoming places in the world for 2023. La Rioja, SpainEpirus, GreeceOberösterreich, AustriaCounty Down, U.K.Mures, RomaniaMarlborough, New ZealandNinh Binh, VietnamLimon, Costa RicaNewfoundland & Labrador, CanadaNorth Dakota, U.S.One of the most welcoming places in the world is La Rioja, Spain. Costa Rica is one of the happiest places in the world, according to the World Happiness Report. Limon is considered to be one of the most pristine and lush regions of Costa Rica.

☆ A couple who moved from the US to Costa Rica and saves $1,500 a month thinks more Americans should move abroad
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Alcynna Lloyd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Zach Gerth recently moved to Costa Rica, a small country in Central America with many English speakers. Zach Gerth and Anna Sosdian's Costa Rican home. Courtesy of Zach Gerth. Courtesy of Zach Gerth. Courtesy of Zach Gerth.

☆ You've got less than 10 weeks left to let your mom, sister, or partner use your Netflix login
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Netflix told shareholders that it will introduce a paid-sharing account by the end of March. That's because it's trying to stop users sharing their password with those outside their household. Netflix first hinted at a crackdown on password sharing last July, after its first subscriber loss in over a decade — totalling 200,000 users — during the first quarter of 2022. In Sunday's letter to shareholders, Netflix said it would introduce a paid-sharing system during the first quarter of this year. Netflix said account sharing affects over 100 million households, which "undermines our long term ability to invest in and improve Netflix."

Travel insurance weekly rates at a glance:Average premium: $301.00Average trip cost: $5,900.67Average trip length: 16 daysGet your free travel insurance quote with SquareMouth »What is travel insurance? Insider's Featured Travel Insurance Companies World Nomads Travel InsuranceAllianz Travel InsuranceTravelex travel insurance Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. Policy type Average days between purchase to trip Average trip length (days) Average trip cost Average cost of travel insurance Cancellation 53 13 $5,900.67 $362.99 Non-cancellation 16 21 N/A $94.70Source: SquareMouthWhen is the best time to travel? When calculating your travel insurance premium, travel insurance providers consider the likelihood of a medical emergency. Get your free travel insurance quote with SquareMouth »Travel Insurance Rates FAQsHow much does travel insurance cost?

☆ Fact Check-Photos do not show pigeons carrying illegal substances in New York
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Social media posts spreading the false claim that the New York Police Department (NYPD) caught “a group of pigeons with backpacks carrying illicit substances” in January 2023 feature years-old photos of drug busts in other countries. In fact, reverse image searches show the photographs in the social media posts are years old and appear in reports about police drug busts outside of the United States. Reuters published the images in 2015, attributing them to the Costa Rica Ministry of Justice and Peace, (here). Photos of pigeons carrying illegal substances were not taken in New York in January 2023 but correspond to years-old drug busts featuring avian drug smuggling operations in Costa Rica and Kuwait. Read more about our work to fact-check social media posts here .

☆ As South Korean government proposes flexible overtime rules, some fear workers may suffer
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Hyunsu Yim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

It would supersede a 2018 law that limited the work week to 52 hours - 40 hours of regular work plus 12 hours of overtime. For counting periods of a month or longer, up to 29 hours a week of overtime would be allowed, for a total of 69 work hours in one week. In a statement, the Korean Women's Associations United said "only regulations like the 52-hour workweek and pressure from labour unions can protect workers from long working hours". Extending working hours, even temporarily, affects women more than men, said Lee Min-Ah, Professor of Sociology at Chung-Ang University. Other workers say the new plan ignores a lot of the cultural and social nuances of work in South Korea.

☆ Senator calls for probe of mass surveillance tool used by U.S. law enforcement
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Law enforcement agencies have routinely accessed the vast trove of money transfer records without court oversight, Wyden said. The TRAC database was created as part of a 2014 money laundering settlement between the Arizona attorney general's office and Western Union (WU.N). The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, DHS and Arizona attorney general's office have all asked for data from money transfer companies and directed them to send data to TRAC, Wyden said. Western Union, MoneyGram International (MGI.O), Viamericas Corp, and Euronet Worldwide (EEFT.O) are among the companies that have shared customer data with TRAC in bulk, he added. Wyden announced in March that HSI issued custom summonses, a type of subpoena, for millions of money transfer records between Mexican residents and people living in four U.S. states.

In a note to employees, CEO Satya Nadella attempted to address the divergent outlook for different parts of the business. Nadella said the layoffs, affecting less than 5% of Microsoft's workforce, would conclude by the end of March, with notifications beginning Wednesday. Along with Amazon, Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) announced cuts of 11,000 jobs, while cloud-based software company Salesforce Inc (CRM.N) said it would cut 10% of its 80,000-member workforce. Under U.S. law, most employers are required to report staff cuts affecting 50 or more workers at a single location. But growth dropped to 35% in the first fiscal quarter of 2023, and the company projects more declines to come.

The layoffs, far larger than cuts by Microsoft last year, add to the tens of thousands of job cuts across the technology sector, which has downshifted following a strong growth period during the pandemic. Nadella said the layoffs, affecting less than 5% of Microsoft's workforce, would conclude by the end of March, with notifications beginning Wednesday. The cuts reflect broader belt-tightening in the technology sector. The CEO of another company serving enterprises, Palantir Technologies Inc (PLTR.N), this week told Reuters that reducing cloud spending was a top-ten priority for his customers. Microsoft's cloud revenues soared in recent years from an explosion in corporate demand to host data online and handle computing in the so-called cloud.

☆ Kenyan data labelers were paid $2 an hour to label child sexual abuse, bestiality, and other horrific content for ChatGPT creator OpenAI, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Kenyan workers were reportedly paid up to $2 an hour to label explicit content used to train ChatGPT. OpenAI confirmed that it used Kenyan workers to help build out a tool that tags problematic content, according to a statement to Time. "Classifying and filtering harmful [text and images] is a necessary step in minimizing the amount of violent and sexual content included in training data and creating tools that can detect harmful content." Still, the nature of the work has caused severe distress for some data labelers, according to the report. Sama told Time that it provides one-on-one mental health counseling and wellness programs for employees to de-stress.

☆ Amazon employees learned they were laid off by email, not a face-to-face with managers or HR. Read the email they were sent.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Eugene Kim | Katherine Long | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Amazon notified laid-off employees by email only, not face-to-face meetings, multiple sources said. Amazon started reaching out to laid-off employees on Wednesday by email as the company embarked on the largest job cuts in company history. Employees were individually notified just by email, not by face-to-face meetings with their respective managers or with human resources personnel, according to five people who spoke to Insider. Amazon's HR boss Beth Galetti told employees on Wednesday that those affected will soon have meetings with their leaders, as Insider previously reported. Access to internal email, Chime, and AtoZ will be available on your non-Amazon device throughout the remainder of your tenure.

☆ Amazon to lay off staff in U.S., Canada and Costa Rica by end of day
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 18 (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) will cut some jobs in the United States, Canada and Costa Rica by the end of Wednesday as part of its plan to lay off 18,000 employees, the e-commerce giant said in a memo to staff seen by Reuters. The layoffs are the latest in the U.S. technology sector, with companies cutting their bloated workforce and slashing costs to reverse pandemic-era excesses and prepare for a worsening global economy. Amazon.com Chief Executive Andy Jassy said earlier this month the cuts, about 6% of the company's roughly 300,000 corporate employees, would mostly impact the e-commerce and human resources divisions. read moreMicrosoft (MSFT.O) said earlier on Wednesday it would cut about 10,000 jobs and take a $1.2-billion charge. read moreReporting by Tiyashi Datta and Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Shinjini GanguliOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ As Amazon conducts its largest layoff, its HR boss sent another email to employees urging 'support and care' for those laid off
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Beth Galetti, Amazon's HR boss, sent an email asking employees to show support for those affected. As Amazon embarked on the largest layoffs in company history, HR boss Beth Galetti urged employees to show support for each other. In her email, Galetti reiterated that most of the layoffs will affect the retail division (Amazon Stores) and HR (People Experience and Technology). Conversations with impacted employees took place around the world today, and this morning, Pacific Time, notification messages were sent to all impacted employees in the U.S., Canada, and Costa Rica. In other regions, we are following local processes, which may include time for consultation with employee representative bodies and possibly result in longer timelines to communicate with impacted employees.

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