I’ve certainly driven across the tarmac in Frankfurt. Finding yourself behind a Boeing 747 is perfectly common. But what happens when that 747 is replaced by an Imperial AT-AT vehicle? I didn’t even realize that the new Star Wars film directed by JJ Abrams was filming. It is. And someone has faked footage of the Lufthansa airport being used as part of the production. It’s been viewed about 1.5 million times on YouTube over the past 5 days. Not that an airport can’t close down its apron for a video, of course, Munich did it and the results were awesome. Star Wars: Episode VII debuts in theaters in December 2015. Driving behind a 747 in Frankfurt requires only booking an award ticket that gains you access to Lufthansa’s First Class Terminal. (HT: Ron A.) You…
About Gary Leff
I am Shocked! Shocked! To Find Out That Payoffs are Going on Here!
I’ve never entirely understood how VIP immigration services work in much of the world — how private firms are able to arrange for expedited immigration clearance, in some places you do not even have to be present when the ‘service’ gets your passport stamped. No doubt there are places where there is an official fee charged, and the firm has a contract or official arrangement. But I’ve also used services where it’s seemed there’s an ‘understanding’ between the person escorting me and the official working the VIP or diplomatic immigration queue with no line. It’s against U.S. law of course to bribe a public official of another country. Fortunately the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is specific in its prohibition, focusing on intent to obtain or retain business. Still, bribery is frowned upon when made public…
These Were the Most Useful and Interesting Developments in Miles Over the Past Month
I wrote 155 posts in June. Some of them were fun, some were minor notes or links to what other people were talking about. When others have said all there is to say on a subject, and I don’t feel I can add anything useful or unique, I’ll often just link to what they’re writing. But there were also – I think – some posts that were especially useful or interesting. Looking back on June, I hope you were happy with some of the posts and got something out of them. I thought I’d pull together some that were my favorites from the month and share them with you this morning. I’ve broken them up into five categories: Deals How to get Hilton Gold status and make money while doing it. How to buy Hilton…
Turn Your Phone Over to the TSA, Take the Train to Washington Dulles.. in 2018 and See the New Park Hyatt Vienna Close Up
Here’s What Folks Are Talking About: First look at the just-opened Park Hyatt Vienna. Impressive. Several 737s won’t grow up to become airplanes, thanks to a train. How Etihad Designed its New Business Class ‘Studio’ The Washington DC metro’s new silver line starts operating July 26. It’s currently projected to reach Washington Dulles airport in 2018. And these projects don’t often deliver on time. The previous airport bus to the West Falls Church metro ($8) will become a bus to the silver line’s Wiehle-Reston East station ($5). The L’Enfant Plaza/Rosslyn bus to and from Dulles continues to operate. Your cell phone out of juice? The TSA may confiscate it. #TheMoreYouKnow #AndroidPhonesSuckBatteryLife #ApplePlot During the security examination, officers may also ask that owners power up some devices, including cell phones. Powerless devices will not be permitted…
Has Chase Sapphire Preferred Eliminated Its 7% Annual Points Bonus?
7% Annual Bonus Is No Longer Offered. One of the things that makes points less valuable than cash is that you can earn a return (interest, investment gain) on cash but points have a tendency to lose value over time (award chart inflation). Chase’s solution to that, with its Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, is the 7% annual bonus on all the points you earned in the previous year. The card has a great signup bonus — 40,000 points after $3000 spend within 3 months plus 5000 more points for adding an authorized user and making a purchase within that same period. It earns double points on all travel and dining, so earning especially for travelers is really fast. Points transfer to a wide variety of airlines (United, British Airways, Korean, Singapore, Southwest, Virgin Atlantic) and…
Operational Upgrades: How Can You Get a Free First Class Upgrade You Aren’t Entitled To?
The ultimate upgrade is the one you get for free. Here’s how to ask for and get a free upgrade from an airline when you aren’t entitled to one. And I’ll explain when the technique will — and won’t — work. At hotels, elite status is just the entree and excuse, how you ask and act can matter a lot. So here’s how to ask for and get hotel upgrades. The airlines though are much more structured. Most upgrades are sorted by algorithm. There are glitches in how the systems work, and sometimes you can jump the queue ::cough:: ::United:: ::US Airways:: ::cough:: but even then upgrades are going to be awarded almost all of the time to those customers with frequent flyer elite status based solely on upgrade priority and in the case of…
How to Make Sure Your Free Upgrades Clear on Domestic Flights
This morning I’m going to talk about domestic upgrades — how to improve your chances of getting them, how to guarantee you can get upgraded to first class for free. International Upgrades are Different — and Harder International upgrades are tough to get and not nearly as good a value as they used to be. One exception is upgrading from premium economy to business class with Virgin Atlantic or British Airways, where there are no cash co-pays and the mileage increment is cheap. But in general award tickets are a better value than paid travel with upgrades, and a better strategy to pursue for folks that are either chasing elite status or having the underlying ticket purchased by someone else (work reimbursable). So international upgrades are different. What Upgrades are ‘Domestic’ and ‘Free’? By ‘domestic’…
Was the Dad Who Left His Son in the Hot Car Manufacturing Spend?
I wrote a post about how strange and creepy it was to me, seeing a horrible tragedy on the news and then reading that one of the things the police have learned is that the man facing charges for the death of a child had been strategizing to rack up frequent flyer miles. And I shared other glimpses of broader exposure to the hobby that the world gets, both in the broader media and that I’ve seen personally. Clearly it touched a nerve, because the story itself is a horrifying one, and it’s just not possible for most people to reflect on something small as they reflect on something shocking. Since it wasn’t my intention to offend, just to share something personal (I should know better than to do that on the internet), I’ve gone…
Here’s a Fireworks Display Worth Going to Prison For
Drones can be used to target and kill Americans (and also ‘other’ people, because ‘Merica.). Drones can also be used to deliver tacos. And they can be used to take amazing video of fireworks displays. This went up on Youtube a couple of months ago, it wasn’t from last night’s fireworks. But it’s gotten a ton of play over the past 36 hours. The video was taken using a DJI Phantom 2 drone and filmed with a GoPro Hero 3 camera. Here’s a professor arguing that the drone filming fireworks was illegal. I’d contend, however, that juries ought to nullify based on ‘coolness.’ You can join the 40,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day — sign up to receive posts by email (just one e-mail per day) or subscribe to the RSS…
Earn Miles for Free Insurance Quotes
Whether it’s kickbacks for online shopping, or taking a slice back from your own real estate transactions, where there’s money involved there’s usually someone willing to pay to attract the transaction, just like payment for order flow in stock market transactions. And when your transaction has value to someone else, you want to either get a discount or a rebate for it. Whomever is taking value from your transaction, where there’s a competitive marketplace, will probably compete for the business. When talking about hundreds of thousands of miles for real estate I flagged that you can get discounts on commissions from brokers, or rebates, including in the form of miles. Growing up my family did move several times, and each time when a deal was close to done I remember insisting that the broker make…
