Get Etihad Gold Status and a New Suitcase, and Go on an Exciting European Tour

News and notes from around the interweb:

The Girl and Globe (whom some may remember as ‘New Girl in the Air’ on BoardingArea) wrote about her experiences with Competitours (the ‘Amazing Race’-style adventure that my award booking partner Steve Belkin runs).
A First Look At The New Briggs & Riley BRX Rolling Carry-On
Etihad has opened up their Gold elite status match through July 29th. This time they only want individuals with an address in Australia. Fortunately I do have one I can use..
A new card that loads from rewards-earning debit cards and unloads easily.
A new PointBreaks preview list is out. These are IHG Rewards properties that will be bookable for just 5000 points for stays through September 30th. They will become bookable on Monday.

	Bilt Mastercard® Earn Points Paying Rent (up to 100,000 each year) plus earn 3x at restaurants; 2x on travel; as long as you make at least 5 purchases per month. No annual fee.
	Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months (See rates and fees)
	Citi® / AAdvantage Business^TM World Elite Mastercard® For a limited time, earn 75,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $5,000 in purchases within the first 5 months of account opening. AAdvantage miles are the currency I've redeemed most.[See rates and fees]