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 »

Hertz Presidents Club Elite Member Sitting In Jail Due To False Police Report

by Gary Leff on February 15, 2022

Feb 15 2022

Apparently your elite status will not protect you. A customer, currently sitting in jail, wasn’t even status matched or given status from a credit card. He’s spent $15,000 with Hertz during the pandemic.

While this isn’t a foolproof strategy, I’ve implored readers over and over renting from Hertz not to change vehicles or extend rentals. The problem certainly doesn’t happen every time but when it does it’s bad enough that each rental with Hertz seems like a risk to me.

Marriott Further Monetizes Bonvoy With Second Way To Buy Points, And New Bonus

by Gary Leff on February 15, 2022

Feb 15 2022

Like airlines, Marriott will now sell you points while making a booking, not just on a dedicated page. That way they have more opportunities to sell points. And they’ve increased the limit on the number of points you can buy. They’re also running a new points purchase bonus of up to 50% more points.

74% Chance Air Travel Mask Mandate To End Before This Year’s Elections

by Gary Leff on February 15, 2022

Feb 15 2022

No matter what your position on continued masking on planes throughout the Omicron wave – that it no longer makes sense to extend the federal transportation mask mandate which currently runs through March 18, 2022.

Betting markets now give 3-1 odds that the mask mandate will be gone before the election. Prediction markets are frequently more reliable than expert commentary because well-informed observers put real money behind their arguments (it’s their revealed expectations, rather than cheap talk).

Airlines Are Dropping First Class Cabins And Leaving Big Profit On The Table

by Gary Leff on February 15, 2022

Feb 15 2022

Any airline with the resources can buy a large flat seat and pay for good catering. Creating a true lifestyle brand experience creates a moat against competition – the opposite of the commodity mindset that most airlines have adopted. Rather than being unprofitable, first class therefore carries the potential to be the most profitable since it’s the most de-commoditized. And in a world where so few do it, it’s easy to get a head start.