United has updated their elite qualification critieria at united.com to show that next year the minimum spending requirement to earn elite status will go up for each status level by 20%. That’s the exact percentage that Delta is raising their requirement. So United isn’t looking at their elite ranks and figuring out at what spend level they’ll have a manageable number of elites for which they can deliver consistent benefits. They’re cribbing what Delta is doing, assuming that Delta is smarter than they are and must know what they’re doing. (Of course Delta’s business is materially different than United’s, from their customer base to their corporate contracts to load factor to cities served, so United management may find that “your mileage may vary.”) In 2015 you will have to fly and spend: 25,000 miles or…
About Gary Leff
Please Cast Your Ironic Vote for View from the Wing!
Chrstopher Elliott is running a poll about the best travel blog. Somewhat surprisingly, I’m nominated. Now, I can’t imagine actually winning a best blog award voted on by his readers. Goodness knows he and I have had our disagreements in the past, and our audiences – who our writings are likely to appeal to – probably differ greatly. (Although it should be said, despite those differences I do think he does a good job advocating for consumers trapped inside of travel provider bureaucracies.) The top vote getters have about 10 times the number of votes that this blog has so far. But I’d love to at least come out ahead of Peter Greenberg. So please consider voting for View from the Wing! If only because it would be deliciously ironic. You can join the 40,000+…
Why Uber Will Win Its Political Fights: Data on Congressional Use of the App
Readers know that I’m a big fan of Uber, the on-demand car service. You download an app to your phone, request a pickup with the press of a button. You watch your vehicle on a map as it drives to you and shows you how many minutes away the car is. You can stay inside at home or at a restaurant until it shows up. Your payment details are on file, so when the trip is over you just get out and you’re emailed a receipt. There are several options in different markets — like black cars, UberX which is individuals with their own cars that drive you, and in some cities even UberTaxi where you’re just requesting a cab through the app. New customers get a free ride up to $30 in value when…
United Visa Lounges, Prepaid Reloadables at Target, and $150 Off $150 Spend With AT&T
News and notes from around the interweb: I didn’t even know what this was or that it was a thing. American Express has its Centurion lounges now in several airports. The United Visa has its pop up lounges in suburban malls in key markets. The United cardholders lounges will be back at Westfield San Francisco Centre and The Mall at Short Hills, New Jersey this holiday season. Ten tips for a perfect family vacation in Paris Reloadable debit cards spotted at Target Pilot’s eye view landing through a thick cloud in Queenstown, New Zealand. Remarkable. $150 off $150 spend at AT&T. I know which of my cards I’ll be using for my next AT&T bill! You can join the 40,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day — sign up to receive posts…
United 20% Off Europe Award Sale
United is offering a 20% off discount on Europe economy award tickets for specific destinations. Book by December 4 for travel between January 12 and March 12 on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday and you’ll save 20% on awards to Amsterdam, Brussels, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hamburg, London, Munich, Paris and Zurich. Only United flights are eligible, and travel must originate in the U.S. (excluding Hawaii) or Canada. Open jaws are permitted but stopovers are not allowed. This sale makes a 60,000 mile roundtrip award just 48,000 miles. You can also combine a saver award with a standard award, taking the savings one-way and paying extra miles the other, though I don’t generally recommend this approach. There are fewer date restrictions than a similar Delta offering but also fewer destinations. Not something to get excited over,…
The Surprising Honesty Behind the US Airways Chef’s Philosophy of Food
Update: (November 12 7:15pm This post was based on an interview published in the Phoenix New Times with an individual identified as in charge of designing onboard premium cabin menus for US Airways. I’ve since learned that he is not currently an employee there. As a result, it’s not fair to assign weight to his comments as indicative of current thinking at the airline. In a surprisingly honest piece, we get “Nathan Brown, Menu Designer for US Airways, on What It Takes to Make Airplane Food” After culinary school, Nathan Brown worked at The Phoenician, at a golf course, and at Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak as their executive sous chef. He creates US Airways premium cabin inflight menus: The job entails crafting four lunch and four dinner menus for the airline; the different menus are…
Delta Takes a Step Towards Coming Clean About Online Award Pricing
At the end of last month, Delta started charging more for stopovers on international awards when booked online. For instance, if you booked a business class award from the US to Prague via Paris — and stopped over for a few days in Paris — that used to be included in the mileage cost of an award (increased from 100,000 miles to 125,000 miles for the award overall, but still included for no extra miles for the stopover). As part of their preparations for next year’s Skymiles program, which includes five award tiers and finally allows one-way awards, they rolled out a change to their pricing system early: stopovers price as an extra one-way award. Delta didn’t change the published rules of their awards (yet). So stopovers are supposed to be included, but the website…
Why Airports Can Successfully Raise Their Minimum Wage (at Least a Little)
Airlines are suing to block an increase in the minimum wage at Seattle airport to $11.22 per hour in January 2and then $13 in 2017. I won’t delve into the legal merits of the case, just into the unique circumstances of airports. Seattle itself has voted to raise its wages even higher than this, and we’ll see what effects that has, but I suspect that an airport can do it with far fewer negative consequences. An airport is a huge capital investment in an airport, that’s not easily moved or replicated. So passengers (as customers) and airlines (as employers) are captive — there are alternative options, but they’re limited. And many of the jobs don’t have simple substitutes. At a certain margin airports can probably force higher wages without corresponding reductions in employment. Surely there…
My Request for Your Requests: Tell Me What’s On Your Mind, and How I Can Help
Most of the time what I write on a given day is really just ‘whatever pops into my head’ although sometimes the very best pieces are those prompted by reader questions. You’re always welcome to email me of course, but what I’d love is for you to share what’s on your mind here in the comments. What’s important to you in the world of travel? What’s the biggest thing right now? What would you love to understand better? What do you want to know? What do you think I could do a better job of covering for you? What would you like to see me write about? What’s on your mind? I won’t promise up front to cover everything, though I’ll read and ponder everything that’s written here in the comments. I have several upcoming…
American’s Offer is Live to Let You Buy Status Instead of End of Year Flying
As I wrote that I expected yesterday, American is back with their offer to let you buy the difference in miles or segments you need for the elite status you’re after. US Airways will have something that should be identical coming within a few weeks. You don’t have to take an end of year mileage run. You don’t have to spend time in planes, away from family at the holidays. And you don’t have to take seats and upgrades when planes are already full. It’s not inexpensive. In fact it’s quite pricey. But for some, especially those who highly value their time, it could be just the trick. But you’ll need to play it strategically.
