Tour operator has taken over $750,000 and…. disappeared?

Here is some of the best travel news and notes from around the Internet:

Hyatt is offering double points on stays this quarter
California residents are really scoring lately. First it was the nearly free Southwest Companion Pass – now CA residents can get 5000 Alaska miles after joining Mileage Plan and taking 1 flight
Earn IHG points from dining out with Open Table and Grubhub
This is a long read (it’s a newsletter from the Nomad Mania folks and it’s the 3rd story down) but details a long-running situation where a gentleman with the pseudonym William Baekeland has been allegedly mis-representing himself, organizing trips to remote places around the globe, collecting upfront fees in the total amount of (approximately and/or at least) $750,000 and is now missing in action / not responsive to contact
Air France flight attendants were detained in Argentina allegedly for not upgrading a politician’s daughter