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 »

Save Skymiles: Total Victory

by Gary Leff on December 15, 2004

Dec 15 2004

The latest NotiFlyer brings news of total victory for the Save Skymiles movement. The threshold for Platinum Medallion qualification reduces from 100,000 miles to 75,000 miles – in line with partners Continental and Northwest. All discount fares will earn a full qualifying mile for each mile flown. First and business class as well as Y, B, and M coach fares will earn 1.5 qualifying miles per mile flown. The minimum miles per segment will be reduced from 750 to 500. Full information on the changes, which go into effect January 1, can be found here.I’m really glad to see all fares earning a full qualifying mile per mile flown. That’s good business and it’s a much simpler system than the craziness that had been spreading across some parts of the airline industry. My one concern…

New Free Electronics Offer

by Gary Leff on December 15, 2004

Dec 15 2004

Gratis Internet has a new free offer — a Free Game System. You can get an Xbox, Nintendo GameCube or Handheld, or a Sony Playstation 2. Click on the link, sign up. Then you’ll be asked whether you’re interested in several marketing offers. Each one has a yes/no. Choose no, as they don’t help you get your Xbox. Once you’re through that screen, you need to choose one trial offer from a long list. I just signed up for a free 30-day trial with eFax (which I’ll cancel in a couple of days once the offer credits to my account). Then you need to refer 4 friends who complete offers. This is the easiest of the free offers yet — the iPod takes 5 offers, the flatscreen 8, the computer 10… so this one is…

View from the Wing in the Washington Post

by Gary Leff on December 13, 2004

Dec 13 2004

This blog is apparently recommended for a very specific niche of traveler. [I]f you’re a road warrior who will make three ugly flight connections for triple bonus points, you may want to go straight to a pro-blogger who focuses on mileage programs, such as WebFlyer (www.webflyer.com/blog) If only “pro” in this context meant “participating for gain or livelihood”…

Ya Gotta Jump On These Offers Right Away

by Gary Leff on December 10, 2004

Dec 10 2004

Looks like Delta pulled the amazing “Dash to the Gate” offer of 10,000 miles for a simple game. The page now says, “So sorry you’ve missed your chance to Dash to the Gate. If you haven’t already played, you’ll have an opportunity in the near future…”

Impeach Norm Mineta!

by Gary Leff on December 9, 2004

Dec 09 2004

Michelle Malkin links to my old Impeach Norm Mineta bumper stickers. Now that Mineta is clearly staying in the Bush Administration, it’s time to resurrect them. Oh, and I’m already getting orders for them via paypal.

Useful advice on upgrades

by Gary Leff on December 9, 2004

Smarterliving.com has two new useful columns on upgrades. First is a piece by Tim Winship on affordable first class and second is an article by Erica Silverstein on upgrading with miles. Both are useful and worth reading, although it’s always worth remembering that any time you try to tackle such a broad subject across a range of carriers, the devil will be in the details and some small items will be wrong or misleading. Contra-Winship, not all carriers offer unlimited domestic upgrades to their elite members. United, for example, does not. Erica Silverstein offers a bit of confusing prose about what fares are eligible for upgrades on US carriers. Northwest allows all but the most deeply discounted fare classes to be upgraded; and Delta only allows full-fare economy economy tickets to be upgraded. She’s correct…

10,000 Delta Miles Free

by Gary Leff on December 9, 2004

Dec 09 2004

The easiest Delta miles ever. Just play the Delta Dash to the Gate game for up to 10,000 miles. It’s a multiple choice game with obvious answers. You’re almost certain to earn the full mileage since (a) the questions are easy and (b) if you don’t earn the points they give you a chance to play the game again for a better score until you do. At first I was skeptical about the offer, but the website is an actual Delta site and it’s quite professionally done. Seems too easy to work. But it should. Update: I’ve already received a confirmation email after playing the game, verifying that I’ll be receiving 10,000 miles. The terms and conditions say the following two useful things: All SkyMiles members worldwide are eligible for this promotion. …Miles will appear…

The Rise of Credit Cards in China

by Gary Leff on December 7, 2004

Dec 07 2004

What a great headline, “Western Plastic Breaches Great Wall”. Anyone looking for signs that China is edging its way into Western consumer culture should consider this: the Bank of China, the oldest indigenous Chinese bank, now issues a Great Wall platinum Visa credit card, and it comes with a frequent-flyer rewards program. Only 1 per cent of Chinese citizens hold Western-style credit cards; usually the wealthiest of urban sophisticates. Most people use cash for everything; they have no bank accounts or have never been offered credit by a bank. What little personal lending occurs is usually informally arranged among friends, family or business associates. Foreign banks will be allowed to offer banking services within China beginning in 2007. Currently 704 million bank cards are in circulation in China, most of which are debit cards.

Don’t smile too much

by Gary Leff on December 7, 2004

Dec 07 2004

Or the US State Department may not give you a Visa. The State Department frowns on toothy smiles, which apparently are classified as unusual or unnatural expressions. According to the Bureau of Consular Affairs, smiling distorts facial features. Officials say smiling can change facial features so much that facial-recognition software would think the passport or person weren’t the real deal. Who knew that terrorists could avoid detection by smiling?

Why Some Passengers Wait for Planes and Why Planes Wait for Some Passengers

by Gary Leff on December 6, 2004

Dec 06 2004

Tyler Cowen offers several explanations for why wait times vary across stores. Some stores put impulse purchase items near the checkout counter, and need long lines to make sales. Some stores have more conflict at checkout than others, rental transactions take longer than cash transactions, and long lines can substitute for raising prices by adding a cost to the consumer (waiting) which substitutes for a cost to the seller (adding staff). The explanation that most interested me in the context of aviation is Long lines may serve the cause of price discrimination. Perhaps the store offers personalized shopper services, free home delivery, or other services at a premium. These ancillary benefits might be more profitable if shopping takes just a bit of time. Low-income demanders won’t mind so much, high-income demanders may be pushed to…

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About Gary Leff

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About Gary Leff