General

Category Archives for General.

The CEO Who Lets You Earn Miles for All Spending at the Airport

by Gary Leff

May 23 2016

I’ve gotten value from ‘Thanks Again’ earning miles at brick and mortar retailers when I didn’t expect it. They’ve given me signup bonuses, and mileage-earning with them has counted towards larger partner bonus promotions. But I realized I didn’t actually understand their business model as they’ve moved from local dry cleaners and spas a decade ago to near total penetration across large US airports.

So I spoke with their CEO Marc Ellis, who explained a lot about the business that surprised me, and also shared that people are earning a lot more miles than I thought.

Continue Reading »

AMAZING FARE: $35 Base Fare Each Way Between US and Iran

by Gary Leff

May 22 2016

SecretFlying points to a roundtrip fare on Qatar Airways between Atlanta and Tehran for as little as $536.

The base fare on this itinerary is just $35.50 each way, the rest is all fuel surcharges and taxes. Interestingly, a roundtrip is at least $100 cheaper than a one-way to Iran. And it’s about half the price of a one-way to Doha. So there are interesting ‘throwaway’ opportunities here for someone wanting to travel just to the Mideast.

Continue Reading »

TSA PreCheck Just Got Better — and How to Get it Free

by Gary Leff

May 21 2016

Airport security lines have become insufferably long. It’s costing both passengers(who can wait for hours at peak times) and airlines (when passengers miss flights and their seats aren’t used efficiently, plus they have unhappy customers).

While TSA PreCheck is no guarantee of a fast airport security experience, it’s usually a reliable way to get through in minutes rather than tens of minutes let alone an hour. And it’s just improved.

Continue Reading »