Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) announces the opening of Four Points by Sheraton Los Angeles in Chile, which opened for business on July 15, 2009. The newly built hotel has an agreement with Hotel Buenas Noches Los Angeles SA (subsidiary of Casino Austria) to manage the property.

Four Points by Sheraton is located in the center of Los Angeles, close to Concepcion, Chile’s second largest city. When driving from Santiago, Los Angeles is the starting point for the Chilean Patagonia circuit and is the natural stop before initiating visits to the national parks and lakes.

An industry trendsetter in presenting permanent, seagoing collections of museum-quality contemporary art, Celebrity Cruises continues its tradition aboard the new Celebrity Equinox with “The Essence of Equinox,” a collection of nearly 500 original works.

“We are thrilled to continue Celebrity’s tradition of offering our guests the opportunity to experience and appreciate art of a caliber rarely seen outside of museums, art galleries and rare private collections,” said Celebrity’s President and CEO Dan Hanrahan. “This incredible series beautifully and impactfully complements the ship’s inspiring style and design.”

American Airlines today announced changes to charges for checking a first or second bag. The charges will increase for domestic-travel tickets that are purchased on or after Aug. 14, 2009. The changes apply for travel within the United States and U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The changes also apply to travelers on American’s regional affiliate, American Eagle, as well as AmericanConnection flights.

For tickets purchased on or after the effective date, the first checked bag will be $20 and the charge for a second checked bag will be $30, up from the current charges of $15 and $25 respectively. The current checked bag charges to and from Canada are not changing at this time.

You have your itinerary, passport, airline tickets and suitcases ready to go. Now you need to decide the best way to pack your wallet. In order to protect your vacation funds, and maximize convenience, AAA suggests international travelers use a combination of various forms of payment, each offering different advantages.

Credit/Debit Cards: For years, smart travelers knew that credit cards were a great way to pay abroad. A credit card, such as the AAA Visa card, is safer than carrying cash, and may offer a great exchange rate in the bargain. Be sure to call your issuer prior to departure to notify them that you are travelling outside the U.S. and to determine what fees are applied to international purchases and current conversion rates. These may be as high as three percent to convert purchases to U.S. dollars.