Gary Leff, Author at View from the Wing

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

Insights into How Credit Card Payments Work From the CEO of Plastiq

by Gary Leff on July 18, 2018

Jul 18 2018

Bill payment service Plastiq charges your credit card and then pays the bills you ask them to. That way you can earn credit card rewards for bills you might otherwise pay by check (currently only Mastercards allowed for mortgages), and benefit from convenience and float, charging something at the beginning of a credit card billing cycle and paying it off at the due date weeks after the end of the cycle.

Their CEO did an AMA on Reddit and offered some interesting insights into payments and their business plans.

Cathay Pacific Business Class Awards Bookable Again Without Any Tricks

by Gary Leff on July 18, 2018

Jul 18 2018

Just a few days ago I wrote about the steps that were necessary in order to book Cathay Pacific business class awards since they weren’t appearing available at all to partner airlines like American or Alaska.

There’s good news now, though.

8 Things I Learned From United’s Earnings Call

by Gary Leff on July 18, 2018

Jul 18 2018

United Airlines held its earnings call this morning. The airline’s stock price jumped with release of their performance for the second quarter and during the call.

Since earnings beat estimates it was a more upbeat call than many of United’s recent run-ins with the investor community. It also largely focused on how they plan to drive earnings growth despite potential geopolitical and fuel price challenges.

Hyatt Introduces New Earn or Burn Points for Experiences Website

by Gary Leff on July 18, 2018

Jul 18 2018

For a company invested in being an experiential brand outside of hotel stays, trying to earn a revenue premium by ‘helping you be a better you’ through acquisitions live Miraval and Exhale Spas, Hyatt has been behind its competitors in offering experiences outside of its hotels through its loyalty program.

More options are better, and it’s worth giving these a scan. There isn’t the exceptional value, scale, or true scarcity to the bulk of these experiences. But some of them are going to be interesting, and the value per point is fair though not outsized.

Bikini Airline Orders 100 Boeing 737 MAX Planes

by Gary Leff on July 18, 2018

Jul 18 2018

VietJet’s CEO became Southeast Asia’s first self-made female billionaire. The airline is a discount carrier flying narrowbody aircraft mostly domestically although with several routes now into Asia.

They’ve branded themselves the bikini airline. And the airline’s CEO sees the campaigns and onboard stunts as empowering. Vietnam has a very conservative culture, and the public bikini stunts rebel against traditional notions of female dress in that society.

Skateboards in the Overhead and 300,000 Point Giveaway

by Gary Leff on July 18, 2018

Jul 18 2018

A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.

American Airlines Tells Flight Attendants Not to Hand Out Too Much Compensation

by Gary Leff on July 17, 2018

Jul 17 2018

At the beginning of the year we learned that American Airlines rolled out a new software program called iSolve to let flight attendants compensate passengers for onboard inconveniences like “inflight entertainment issues, broken seats or meal shortages.”

Delta Agents in Seattle Fired For Giving Out Upgrades, But They Say It Was Another Reason

by Gary Leff on July 17, 2018

Jul 17 2018

Four Delta agents in Seattle were fired and were told it’s because they were giving out upgrades.

When flights are oversold in coach but have empty seats in business class, airlines pick out passengers to give ‘operational upgrades’ to. Some airlines will ;prioritize this based on elite status, but that’s not always the case.

Southwest Passengers Gave $530 to Woman in 14C to Help Teach Inner City Kids to Read

by Gary Leff on July 17, 2018

Jul 17 2018

Kimber Bermudez is a first grade teacher based in Chicago. She’s been teaching for just two years. Last Tuesday she flew Southwest Airlines to Florida to visit her parents. She was in seat 14C Her seat opponent struck up a conversation with her, asking what she did for a living.

Passengers around her were listening.

Opinion is Shifting, Nearly Half of Passengers Want to Allow Inflight Cell Phone Calls

by Gary Leff on July 17, 2018

older gentleman taking a selfie with smartphone

Jul 17 2018

Americans generally are against allowing inflight use of cell phones. They don’t want to be trapped listening to their seat opponent yap. However opinion on this may be shifting. A new survey shows that nearly half of Americans want to allow it.

	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]

About Gary Leff

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About Gary Leff