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 »

More articles by Gary Leff »

FreePhotoIpods and Infone

I just checked in at the website for the Free 40GB Photo iPod. As you may recall, Gratis Networks will give you a free photo iPod if you complete one of their marketing offers and refer 10 other people who do the same. When I first went to the website, all the marketing offers were unattractive — either they contained some cost (such as shipping) or they said they’d take a couple of weeks to credit as completed. So I went back this morning and they had an offer for Infone. It credits instantly. It costs nothing — it’s an information service that charges you but only after five uses. So if you don’t ever use the service, there’s never a charge — you don’t even have to cancel the service. A credit card number…

Continue Reading »

Delta Holiday Online Shopping Bonus

Delta is offering bonus miles for holiday shopping through its online shopping portal. (Thanks to Free Frequent Flyer Miles.)That alone, though, shouldn’t determine your portal preference — the extensive e-tailer comparison guide should.

Continue Reading »

MORE Free Electronics

From the same people who brought you the free iPod, free desktop computer, and free flatscreen TV comes a new free electronics offer: Free 40GB Photo iPod. Here’s what Apple has to say about the product:Though it’s no bigger than a pack of playing cards and weighs in at just over 6 ounces, iPod Photo delivers a one-two sensory punch. Letting you carry an entire library of your favorite music — up to 15,000 songs — or enough photos — as many as 25,000 — to fill nearly 200 slide trays or cover nearly 5,000 square feet of wall space. The rechargeable battery provides up to 15 hours of music. The device will let you create slide shows set to music, and comes with a cable to hook up to a TV or projector. Pretty…

Continue Reading »

Delta And Air Tahiti Nui to Partner

Delta is working on a codesharing and frequent flyer agreement with Air Tahiti Nui. This is outstanding news for Skymiles members. Air Tahiti Nui has been a partner with American for a few years and just added Northwest as well. The gist of those deals is that you can burn American and Northwest miles on Air Tahiti Nui flights but not earn on those flights. I imagine that if Delta is actually codesharing then there will be the possibility of earning elite qualifying miles on Air Tahiti as well, similar to the Air Tahiti codesharing arrangement with Qantas. To my mind, though, the real benefit is in burning Skymiles. From the US Air Tahiti flies from Los Angeles to Tahiti and in July ’05 they’ll begin JFK-Tahiti service as well. From Tahiti they also serve…

Continue Reading »

Doesn’t Anyone Proofread United Offers, Part II

There’s a new offer of 15,000 United miles for each new SprintPCS line activated online. The offer seems to be valid through January 31. But I’m just not sure how those 15,000 miles are awarded, as the terms and conditions stateCustomers will earn up to 10,000 Mileage Plus miles per new line of service, awarded in two installments – 5,000 miles six to eight weeks after the first and sixth Sprint PCS invoices. Customer will earn up to 5,000 additional Mileage Plus miles – 2,500 miles six to eight weeks after the first and sixth Sprint PCS Invoices – if customer signs up online. But that’s only 10,000 miles.UPDATE: I shouldn’t post (or attempt to understand the fine print of mileage offers) in the middle of the night! The numbers add up just fine, as…

Continue Reading »

Southwest Airlines Enrollment Bonus

Southwest Airlines now offers two flight credits just for enrolling in its Rapid Rewards program. But don’t enroll until you’re about to fly because Rapid Rewards credits expire after a year.And when you do book a Southwest ticket, do it online because they offer a 50% bonus for online booking. (100% bonus if you pay with Visa and fly by December 15.) Hat tip to Free Frequent Flyer Miles.

Continue Reading »

A personal political statement

At this point in the morning it appears most likely that George W. Bush will be re-elected President. I’m a little bit surprised by the outcome. I knew the race was very close, but I also knew that Bush needed to win both Florida and Ohio in order to win. Florida looked a toss up, but nearly all the polls were consistent in showing Ohio several points into the Kerry camp. I’m somewhat torn about the outcome, or even ambivalent. I have absolutely no desire to see John Kerry elected. There aren’t alot of meaningful policy differences that he articulates with Bush. For example, I have a strong negative view of Kerry’s protectionism (racism), but Bush has hardly been a free trader (steel tariffs). Still, I strongly believed it was important to reject Bush, independent…

Continue Reading »

Bureaucratic Mission Creep

The Department of Homeland Security doesn’t just keep our skies safe from nail clippers, they also protect us from copycat Rubiks Cubes. When the two agents arrived at the store, the lead agent asked Cox whether she carried a toy called the Magic Cube, which he said was an illegal copy of the Rubik’s Cube, one of the most popular toys of all time. He told her to remove the Magic Cube from her shelves, and he watched to make sure she complied. After the agents left, Cox called the manufacturer of the Magic Cube, the Toysmith Group, which is based in Auburn, Wash. A representative told her that Rubik’s Cube patent had expired, and the Magic Cube did not infringe on the rival toy’s trademark. Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement,…

Continue Reading »