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 »

An Anonymous Airline Pilot Comes After Me In A New ‘Live And Let’s Fly’ Post

by Gary Leff on October 28, 2020

Oct 28 2020

I hope the anonymous airline captain who authored the latest post at Live and Let’s Fly demanding more respect never happens to be flying an aircraft I’m ticketed on because he’s threatening to make things worse for passengers if pilots are criticized, even when the criticism is justified – as the anonymous captain admits that it is.

He takes issue with my post about the Delta captain who kicked a woman off a flight over her F-12 hat, which she took off as he instructed.

U.S. May Require All Foreign Visitors To Submit Biometrics Before Applying For An ESTA Or Visa

by Gary Leff on October 28, 2020

Oct 28 2020

The federal government is looking to require foreign visitors and prospective immigrants to submit “fingerprints and possibly other biometric information..into a new database” prior to being permitted to submit online visa applications and even ESTA requests.

J.P. Morgan Chase: Airlines Will Get Second Bailout, Come Back For Third Because Why Not?

by Gary Leff on October 28, 2020

Oct 28 2020

Jamie Baker, in a research note for J.P. Morgan Chase, points out that if airlines get another ‘payroll support’ bailout they’d have to spend some of that money on extra payroll. In other words it isn’t all money straight into the kitty.

But will it happen? Baker says a new round of subsidies will happen (“We believe PSP 2.0 is a question of when, not if”). And then expect airlines to come back again for a third round.

Last Call: 5 Free Marriott Nights Worth 250,000 Points From New Marriott Card

by Gary Leff on October 28, 2020

picture with stairs around it in a hotel

Oct 28 2020

I’ve just learned that the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless^TM Credit Card offer to earn 5 free nights worth 250,000 points – the richest ever for this card by far, and one of the richest card offers, period – will end October 28, 2020. Today is the last full day to take advantage of it.

First-Ever 100,000 Point Offer For JetBlue Credit Card

by Gary Leff on October 28, 2020

Oct 28 2020

Barclays is offering 100,000 points as an initial bonus for the $99 annual fee JetBlue Plus Card. The offer is also available for the $99 annual fee JetBlue Business Card.

You’ll generally get 1 to 1.6 cents per point in value redeeming for JetBlue flights. Mint (business class) flights will skew towards the lower end. I value a JetBlue point at around 1.25 cents apiece, so a 100,000 point offer means $1250 worth of travel, or $1151 net of each card’s annual fee.