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 »

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Five Nights at a Priority Club Hotel Yields 10,000 Miles

delta-airline-plane
Sep 20 2006

If you stay 5 consecutive nights at am InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, or Holiday Inn Express in the U.S, Canada or Mexico for 5 consecutive nights or more through December 31, 2006 you can earn 10,000 bonus Delta miles.Not bad. Registration is required and you have to select Delta miles as your earning preference in your Priority Club profile.

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New Hilton American Express Signup Promo

hilton hotel
Sep 16 2006

The Hilton American Express comes with an offer of 10,000 points with first purchase, 2500 bonus points for each of your first four Hilton stays charged to the card, and 30,000 points for spending $5000 on the card by March 31, 2007.

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Another Annoying Minor Devaluation at United

united-plane
Sep 16 2006

As revealed on Flyertalk, United Mileage Plus members booking business class transatlantic or transpacific award flights can only be booked in coach on Singapore connecting segments. S*MPI/STAR-AWARD RULES.R:**NOTE: X/I/O IS NOT OFFERED ON ALL ROUTES. FOR SQ BUSINESS CLASS AWARDS WITH CONNECTIONS/STOPOVERS TO/FROM A TRANSOCEANIC FLIGHT BOOK *I* CLASS FOR TRANSOCEANIC FLIGHT ACROSS THE ATLANTIC/PACIFIC AND *X* FOR ONWARD FLT EXAMPLE – SQ BUSINESS CLASS AWARD LAXDPS BOOK *I* LAX-SIN AND *X* SIN-DPS SQ AWARDS THAT DO NOT INVOLVE A TRANSOCEANIC SECTOR USE *I* FOR ALL SECTORS INCLUDING 2 CABIN AIRCRAFT Lesson is that if you fly Singapore on a business award you’ll want your onward connection on another Star carrier in order to remain in business.

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United Restricts Access to Economy Plus

united-plane
Sep 16 2006

I’ve been meaning to blog this but Upgrade Travel beats me to the punch: United is no longer allowing its partner Star Alliance Gold members to access economy plus seating (they’re not allowing full fare passengers access to these seats either, which is bizarre). Now economy plus is available only to United elites and those who ‘buy up’ at the airport. Economy plus is the same seat as coach with no additional services, just a few extra inches of legroom. It isn’t “premium economy” as the rest of the world understands it. But United sees the ability, presumably, to upcharge. Doesn’t make me happy one bit, even though it’s a seemingly small change.

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Bangkok: Lounges for Everyone

I doubt this will live up to the Thai government’s expectations (I don’t see a 20% increase in connecting traffic through Bangkok), but it’s still an interesting development that the new Suvarnabhumi Airport includes a lounge for economy passangers — not just lounges for business and first. I’m not sure what the value of a lounge where you’re supposed to get away from the masses is. A lounge for everyone is just the main terminal, isn’t it? So there must be more to the story. But at least the list of available amenities is impressive. The lounge, he said, would include televised entertainment such as films, music videos, sports, documentaries and world news, in addition to Internet services. Passengers will also have a rest area that includes plenty of seating and showers in 18,000 square…

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