After days of escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, a ceasefire deal proposed by US President Donald Trump is tentatively holding.
Despite the ceasefire put in place on 24 June, Israel’s defence minister claimed Iran had violated the agreement by launching strikes, which Iran has denied.
After Israel launched airstrikes on Iran on 13 June, the two countries continued to attack one another, and the US got involved when Trump launched strikes on Tehran’s nuclear facilities.
Those travelling to nearby holiday hotspots such as Egypt, are searching for answers about whether it is safe to travel.
Egypt has many popular tourist destinations, and while the UK’s Foreign Office has warned against travel to some areas of the country, many of the popular tourist destinations are still considered safe to travel to, with holiday companies and airlines continuing to operate in the country.
How far is Israel from Egypt?
The nearest major tourist site to the Israeli border is Sharm el Sheikh, over two and a half hours away (Getty/iStock)
Though Israel directly borders Egypt, most of the country’s major cities and tourist destinations are a substantial distance away, and so Egypt has avoided much of the Israel-Gaza conflict.
Sharm el-Sheikh is the closest destination, though it is still over two-and-a-half hours’ drive away from the nearest border town and over five hours away by road from the area around the Gaza border. Cairo, Alexandria, Hurghada and Luxor are even further away.
Will my flight to Egypt be disrupted?
Cairo Airport appears to be operating its flight schedule as normal, apart from some minor delays to departures.
Hurghada International Airport is also operating as normal, apart from a few delays.
What are my passenger rights?
Under air passengers’ rights rules, passengers who begin their journeys in the UK or the European Union are entitled to be flown to their destination as soon as possible.
If your cancelled flight is covered by UK law, passengers can choose between getting an alternative flight or receiving a refund if their flight is cancelled.
If you received less than 14 days’ notice of a cancellation, you may also be able to claim compensation. However, this is unlikely if the cancellation was not the airline’s fault.
What if I have booked a package holiday to Egypt?
Package holidays are operating as usual. If you have an upcoming trip booked and want to postpone, get in touch with your tour operator or holiday provider; they may offer some flexibility. However, if not, there are currently no grounds for travellers to expect a refund if they cancel, nor to claim the money back through travel insurance, as the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has not issued a blanket “avoid all non-essential travel” advisory for Egypt.
If FCDO advice changes to advising against all travel, you can cancel a package holiday without penalty for a full refund.
Your travel insurance could be invalidated if you travel against advice from the FCDO.
What is the Foreign Office travel advice for Egypt?
FCDO travel advice for Egypt (FCDO)
The FCDO has issued new travel advice for those visiting Egypt last week, stating that “following hostilities in the region, a ceasefire between Israel and Iran began on 24 June.
“You should stay up to date with events in the region, check for any transport disruption that may still be occurring, monitor local and international media for the latest information, read the FCDO’s advice on if you’re affected by a crisis abroad and follow the instructions of local authorities.”
The FCDO also advises against travel in certain areas of Egypt. It advises against all travel to within 20km of the Egypt-Libya border and all travel to the North Sinai Governorate.
The FCDO also advises against all but essential travel to:
The town of El Salloum
The northern part of the South Sinai Governorate, beyond the St Catherine-Nuweibaa road, except for the coastal areas along the west and east of the peninsula.
The Ismailiyah Governorate east of the Suez Canal.
The area west of the Nile Valley and Nile Delta regions, except for a list of areas that can be found here.
The Hala’ib Triangle and the Bir Tawil Trapezoid.
It does not warn against travel to any of the main tourist destinations in Egypt, including Cairo, Luxor, Aswan, Alexandria and the two Red Sea resorts of Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada.
The FCDO also warns that “international borders in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) could close at short notice, including the Taba border crossing between Israel and Egypt”.
It advises checking with local authorities and reading Israel’s and OPTs’ travel advice before crossing or leaving Gaza.
“The Rafah border crossing is currently closed. When re-opened, Israel, Egypt and the authorities in Gaza may determine procedures for who is permitted to cross and when,” it adds.
“Humanitarian aid workers cannot enter or exit Gaza through Egypt at this time.”
The Egyptian authorities have said all aid to Gaza must go through the Egyptian Red Crescent. Standard operating procedures can be found on the Logistics Cluster website. The authorities are unlikely to consider requests for humanitarian access made in Egypt at short notice.
If you are concerned about friends or family, or need support from the UK government, call the British Embassy in Cairo.
Telephone: + 20 (0)2 2791 6000. If you have technical difficulties using this number, call +44 1767 667 600 (UK number).
Travelers in Romania are becoming increasingly cautious when it comes to planning their holidays, according to data from insurance market leader Groupama, which has recorded a significant increase in the number of insured individuals over the past four years, reaching 1.1 million in 2025.
Groupama’s data analysis shows a preference for vacations in European destinations, lasting between 8 and 15 days. At the same time, around 35% of individual policies and 32% of family policies are dedicated to short trips, indicating that city breaks remain popular.
Over 90% of family policies and more than 70% of individual policies are purchased for leisure holidays.
In terms of traveler profiles, two major categories stand out: active young people up to 40 years old and cautious families, aged between 41 and 60 years old.
The first category prefers individual trips, lasting at least 8 days, and often chooses complex insurance packages that cover a wide range of risks such as flight delays or lost luggage, trip interruption or extension, or even trip cancellation (STORNO). They also tend to engage in sports with medium to high risk during their vacation, as reflected by the large number of additional insurances for winter or summer sports purchased according to the season.
On the other hand, people aged 41 to 60 generally travel with other family members and prefer extended insurance coverage for air travel or roadside assistance, with travel by personal car remaining one of the preferred options for family vacations.
The ranking of the most purchased extra coverage categories highlights travelers’ main concerns:
Additional insurance for air travel – one of the most frequently used, due to travelers’ uncertainties about flights (cancellations or delays, lost luggage).
STORNO additional insurance – reimburses the value of the travel package if the trip can no longer take place due to unforeseen reasons.
Additional insurance for winter/summer sports – reflects a growing interest in engaging in sports activities while traveling.
According to Groupama data, approximately 60% of claims were related to medical expenses incurred during travel, ranging from common warm-season illnesses (such as gastroenteritis, insect bites, ear infections) to surgical interventions and medical repatriations during the cold season, generally caused by winter sports accidents. Claims paid for additional coverage included canceled or delayed flights, unexpected events during car travel, and unavoidable vacation cancellations.
Clients who purchase a Groupama travel insurance policy have free access to the ÎntreabăMedic service – a remote medical support platform that allows each client to receive free advice from a licensed real doctor through micro-consultations conducted via communication channels such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, or SMS. The client can use this service at any time to receive treatment recommendations or to confirm whether a medical appointment or intervention at a healthcare facility is necessary.
WASHINGTON — Venus Williams made headlines for becoming the second-oldest woman to ever win a tour-level singles match this week in Washington, a story we’ve already covered here at Bounces this week.
But in the days since Venus’ win, I was fascinated to see an unlikely sector where her post-victory remarks made prominent waves and headlines: healthcare and health insurance.
Near the end of her on-court interview with Rennae Stubbs on Tuesday night, Venus brought up her health insurance status nearly unprompted.
“I came back—I had to come back for the insurance, because they informed me earlier this year I’m on COBRA,” Venus said, making a shocked face and laughing as Stubbs ducked out of frame to laugh. “So I was like, I got to get my benefits on! Started training.”
(COBRA, which stands for Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, is a temporary insurance program for people who are no longer on their recent employer’s health program, which has higher costs than what the person would have paid while a current employee.)
“She’s actually not lying about that,” Stubbs, herself a former player, confirmed on court. “Because we talked about that about six years ago, so you’re actually telling the truth—insurance is hard.”
“I’m on COBRA,” Venus reiterated. “You guys know what it’s like. And let me tell you: I’m always at the doctor, so I need this insurance.”
Venus brought the topic up again in her post-match press conference when asked how far she thought she could advance in the tournament.
“Well, I’m just trying to figure out how many wins will it take before I’m off COBRA,” Venus said, smiling. “I haven’t asked the WTA yet, but I gotta just keep winning until finally my insurance kicks back in, so.”
The American model of tethering healthcare access and affordability to employment status is rare (and bad!), and that even a multi-millionaire like Venus Williams was framing her return to work around a need for healthcare coverage was striking for many.
Venus Williams on court Thursday in Washington. ((Wick Photography / Mubadala Citi DC Open)
Venus’ comments were used to spark conversations on all sorts of American news media outlets—ABC, NPR, People, The Washington Post and more.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, classified as “left-wing” for stances that would be seen as centrist abroad, used Venus’s comments as further evidence in his crusade for greater healthcare access and affordability.
“If a wealthy professional athlete needs to come out of retirement to afford to see a doctor, how is our health care system impacting millions of working-class Americans?” Sanders’ account tweeted.
To be clear, Venus Williams can probably afford nearly any bill she’s facing, even with COBRA: with earnings of $42,648,578, Venus is second all-time on the WTA Prize Money leaderboard, behind only her sister Serena’s $94,816,730. Venus has probably earned even more than that eight-digit prize money total through endorsements and other business ventures over her long career.
But still, high medical bills can be shocking for anyone, and Venus’s medical issues over the years have been well-documented, including her struggles in recent years with the uterine fibroids she had surgically removed last year.
I had two questions I wanted to answer as the talk about Venus’s health insurance status grew in volume: how tongue-in-cheek was she being about her comments suggesting health insurance was a primary motivator for her return to tennis? And how does health insurance work for active and retired tennis players?
After her second-round loss on Thursday, I asked Venus to clarify and for her thoughts on the wider topic and conversation which she had joined.
Venus laughed and smiled when I asked her if healthcare really had been a “main motivating factor” in her comeback to the tour, and later said it was “a fun and funny moment,” which I think confirms her statement should be taken with a grain of salt for context. But even though Venus is generally loathe to discuss any overtly political topic, she reiterated that the broader issue of affordable medical care is a serious one.
Ben Rothenberg, Bounces: Your comments after your first singles win about the healthcare stuff generated a bunch of coverage of that and people talking about that. Could you clarify how serious or tongue-in-cheek that was about that being a main motivating factor for you coming back to tennis?
Venus Williams: Oh! (laughs)
Ben Rothenberg, Bounces: Because some people took it literally. And I wonder if you appreciate from this new experience like the importance of healthcare in people’s lives? A lot of people really do have to rely on work to get the healthcare they need.
Venus Williams: Yeah. I mean, nobody wants to be on COBRA, right? That remains an issue in my life.
But obviously healthcare is so important and access to healthcare and being able to see the right and the best doctors for whatever you’re going through. I have had that opportunity. I had that opportunity last year to see, in my opinion, the best doctor ever. That was all possible because, you know, I had insurance. Without that, the bills are quite hefty.
So it is a serious issue. Obviously it’s a fun and funny moment, but it’s an issue that people are dealing with, so it is serious.
I reached out to both the WTA and ATP to find out more about how health insurance works for their players. Tennis players are often talked about as “independent contractors,” and independent contractors rarely receive healthcare coverage from their employers, but both tours do provide health care for the players who qualify as being “members” of the WTA or ATP.
Here’s what the WTA responded with:
All player members have the opportunity to enroll in a best-in-class global medical, dental and vision insurance plan
Player members are notified of their eligibility status following the year-end ranking release in order to enroll for the following year
The insurance plan is provided on an annual basis – Jan 1 – Dec 31
Players who are no longer eligible for membership (based on ranking) but were previously on the plan have access to the health insurance plan under COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) for up to 18 months
According to its rulebook, the WTA healthcare provider is Aetna Global PPO. The WTA further clarified when I followed up about requirements to be a “player member”:
If a player falls out of the current rankings of Top 150 Singles or Top 50 Doubles for Full Membership, they drop down to Associate Membership.
If they fall out of Associate Membership that means that they have not played at least 3 WTA 250 level event or higher (including GS) in the last 12 months and are not ranked inside top 500 singles or 175 doubles.
Though only the WTA coverage would be relevant to Venus, I was curious how the ATP side compared.
Here’s what the ATP provided when I inquired:
ATP player members are grouped as follows: Group 1 (Top 250 Singles, Top 50 Doubles) and Group 2 (all other players with a ranking point).
Group 1 membership includes:
Basic health insurance (with the option to purchase enhanced coverage). Includes limited coverage on dental and prescriptions.
Life insurance (automatically included within health insurance package)
Travel insurance (for travel to and from activities related to professional tennis)
Group 2 players are eligible to purchase health insurance (basic or enhanced) through ATP’s insurance provider.
When I asked about how it works for retired players, the ATP responded that “Currently alumni members can continue their coverage for up to 3 years (paid by the player through COBRA).”
According to one recently retired American ATP player I chatted about this topic with, the ATP uses Cigna as its health insurance provider, and the coverage is pretty robust, including for a player’s dependents.
Admittedly, the particulars of employer-provided healthcare was a pretty foreign topic to me as I set out writing this piece, since I have been freelance/self-employed for my entire journalistic career, and have just been on Obamacare. So if you’re ever inclined to help defray those or other bills—and keep the work I’m doing here at Bounces going strong—I appreciate you subscribing!
Citigroup has launched the Strata Elite credit card, positioned as a premium travel rewards card for frequent travelers with a $595 annual fee. It sits strategically between the more expensive American Express Platinum and Chase Sapphire Reserve cards, offering high-end perks at a lower cost than its direct competitors.
This card is specifically designed for affluent customers—a group with high spending power and strong credit profiles whom Citi aims to attract with hopes of cross-selling wealth management and other financial services.
Rather than overwhelming users with many niche benefits, Citi advocates for a streamlined rewards package. The offering delivers core high-value perks instead of what executives describe as “a coupon book” of benefits, a shift aligned with growing consumer preference for clarity
When cardholders book through the Citi Travel portal, they earn elevated multipliers—12× ThankYou points on hotels, car rentals and attractions; 6× points on airfare and CitiNights weekend dining; 3× points on other dining; and 1.5× points on all other spend.
If fully utilized, the card can deliver nearly $1,500 in annual value through statement credits and premium benefits. Highlights include a $300 annual hotel credit for qualifying stays, a $200 “splurge” credit redeemable with partners such as American Airlines, Best Buy, or Live Nation, $200 in Blacklane chauffeur credits, and a $120 Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit every four years.
Additional perks include four Admirals Club lounge passes annually, complimentary Priority Pass Select membership, no foreign transaction fees, and extensive travel insurance coverage—including trip delay, baggage loss and rental car protection.
Citi extends fee relief to Citigold clients: Citigold Private Clients receive a full rebate the first year and pay $145 per year subsequently, while standard Citigold members get a $145 annual credit toward the fee.
Even at $595 per year, analysts consider the Strata Elite competitively priced compared with the Sapphire Reserve’s $795 fee and AmEx Platinum’s $695. MarketWatch reports that as premium card fees climb, Citi’s simpler value proposition aligns with customer bluntness toward overcomplicated perks.
