Monthly Archives

Monthly Archives for July 2005.

The End of eBay Anything Points

by Gary Leff on July 18, 2005

Jul 18 2005

eBay Anything Points is being phased out. eBay is discontinuing a 2-year-old incentive program for sellers and partners in the United States, the company announced on Monday. eBay Anything Points, which operates like a “frequent flyer” program to stimulate customer loyalty, will be phased out by Feb. 28, the company said. Points earned under the program will be honored through August 2006. …eBay will prevent sellers from offering the incentive points on new listings starting Aug. 15. eBay said it would, on Sept. 30, remove remaining points from listings still offering them. The Anything Points program on eBay Canada will continue. This is very disappointing news for me. Other than signing up for some free trial offers a year ago, I only used this on my Priceline bids. But the value proposition was compelling —…

Wynn Las Vegas Doesn’t Appear to Live up to Expectations

by Gary Leff on July 17, 2005

Jul 17 2005

The travel section in today’s New York Times carries a review of Wynn Las Vegas… as though the property didn’t get enough press when it was opening. This $2.7 billion hotel seems far from offering a flawless experience, and most folks seem disappointed. TripAdvisor reviews are decidedly mixed. I haven’t stayed there yet. Now, no 2700 room property can possibly be a luxury hotel. Personal service seems impossible. Complexes are sprawling. Wait times will occasionally seem interminable, no matter how well the property is designed, when unusually large cohorts of guests decide to make us of the same thing at once (pool, elevators, checkin/checkout). I have nothing against large resorts per se. I have an upcoming stay booked at the Westin Diplomat, and I enjoyed a trip to Wyndham’s El Conquistador in San Juan last…

Double miles on Delta

by Gary Leff on July 16, 2005

Jul 16 2005

Register to receive double miles on Delta for flights in September and October that are booked on Delta.com and paid for with an American Express card.

500 KLM Miles for Online Booking

by Gary Leff on July 16, 2005

Jul 16 2005

Click on this link by July 26 and choose “Reserve Your Free Gift Voucher” in the upper-right hand corner. You’ll get a voucher for 500 free KLM miles when you book a ticket on klm.nl between by January 1, 2006. Thanks to Free Frequent Flyer Miles for the link.

Oops… bad timing

by Gary Leff on July 15, 2005

Jul 15 2005

A new Destiny’s Child pre-paid Visa debit card was introduced last week. It’s probably been in the works for awhile, so I’m sure there were plenty of groans when the executives involved learned that Destiny’s Child is breaking up.

Threats to National Security

by Gary Leff on July 15, 2005

Jul 15 2005

Steven Levitt studies terrorism as an academic and realizes this makes him a threat to the state. It’s dangerous to carry pictures of 9/11 terrorists when you fly… It’s also dangerous, by the way, to claim not to have a bomb or to carry a bible through a security checkpoint.

20,000 Mile Bonus Offer for United Visa Signature Platinum Class

by Gary Leff on July 14, 2005

Jul 14 2005

The new United Mileage Plus Visa Signature Platinum Class, detailed earlier this month, has an offer of 20,000 bonus miles with first purchase along with the other card benefits detailed in my previous post. The application link won’t spell out the bonus miles — these links usually don’t — but the link is from an email clearly promising the bonus miles. In my experience with the United Visa, this works out perfectly well (although if you have any problems receiving the correct bonus, email me at gleff -at- yahoo.com and I’ll forward the text of the email).

Several free items

by Gary Leff on July 13, 2005

Jul 13 2005

Free Dove deoderant sample Free $10 OfficeMax gift card for taking a survey from DHL. Free Bausch & Lomb ReNu contact solution sample. (I signed up for several at the same address, received them all.)

One small step for sanity, one giant leap for my bladder

by Gary Leff on July 13, 2005

Jul 13 2005

The thirty-minute no pee rule at Reagan National has been repealed.

Marketing price increases

by Gary Leff on July 13, 2005

Jul 13 2005

Last year I explained why airlines instituted ‘fuel surcharges’ instead of simply announcing ‘price increases’. One reason is that customers seem to accept price increases more readily when there’s a story that accompanies the change. Another reason is that surcharges are often permitted in negotiated corporate travel contracts that have fixed prices. The dance that accompanies surcharges leads to some absurd explanations. Northwest has announced that it will no longer ‘absorb’ passenger facility fees (which they have to pay to airports that they carry passengers cross), and as a result will be adding those fees onto tickets. Gosh, I never knew that they were kindly ‘absorbing’ a fee for me. Turns out I was getting something for nothing! Airlines have recently instituted ticketing fees for using their call centers or buying at the airport. One…

Monthly Archives

The End of eBay Anything Points

Wynn Las Vegas Doesn’t Appear to Live up to Expectations

Double miles on Delta

500 KLM Miles for Online Booking

Oops… bad timing

Threats to National Security

20,000 Mile Bonus Offer for United Visa Signature Platinum Class

Several free items

One small step for sanity, one giant leap for my bladder

Marketing price increases

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About Gary Leff

	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]