Inside the Way Anbang Lost Starwood to Marriott

by Gary Leff

Apr 02 2016

Starwood’s new 8-K filing with the SEC walks through the timeline of Anbang’s attempt to top Marriott’s offer to acquire the chain.

I believe Anbang’s $78 offer for Starwood was likely better than Marriott’s offer of 0.8 shares and $21. While worth just over $79 at the time the offer was made, the Marriott deal is worth closer to $75 today. The only real benefit of the revised Marriott offer to Starwood’s shareholders is the possibility of tax deferment.

However Starwood’s board disagreed (and the near-doubling of Starwood officers’ golden parachutes in the second Marriott deal surely had nothing to do with it).

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Wide Open Star Alliance Business Class to Europe for 8 or More Passengers from Several Cities!

by Gary Leff

Apr 02 2016

Turkish Airlines is offering amazing award availability between several US cities and Istanbul. I’d act quickly because 8 or more award seats in business class per flight simply will not last.

Turkish flights are feast or famine for award space. They opened business awards every day when they launched their San Francisco route. Historically Chicago – Istanbul has been the easiest flight on which to secure space. I’ve always had a tough time with Washington Dulles – Istanbul.

In the US they serve Boston, Chicago, New York JFK, Washington Dulles, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Houston, and Atlanta.

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Your Miles Aren’t Safe: Devaluations Create the Need for Even More Devaluations

by Gary Leff

Apr 01 2016

When I first started traveling on business 20 years ago, and signing up for all of the loyalty programs of the airlines I was flying, people used to talk about saving their miles up over a lifetime.

It was common to think of miles as a retirement fund. Some people would travel for work and tell an annual vacation with their family on points. But others just wouldn’t have the time, such is the way Americans think of work and leisure. So they’d accumulate miles over many years with a plan to use those miles ‘some day’. And some day was often thought of as retirement, when there’d be nothing but time.

Devaluations changed all of that. It’s clear that the miles you earn now will never be worth more in the future than they are worth today. In fact pretty much any stash that you sit on for more than a couple of years will become worth less.

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These are the 3 Best Airline First Class Products in the World. And One is Better Than the Rest.

by Gary Leff

Apr 01 2016

Emirates, Etihad, ANA, Asiana, Singapore, Cathay Pacific, Swiss — fantastic airlines which offer fantastic first class products. We can (and do!) get into debates all day about which airlines are the best, at least if you’re an ‘avgeek’ like me, and even have intense disagreements over which one belongs in the number 5 spot versus number 6.

But the very best first class products all have something in common. They’re offered onboard the superjumbo Airbus A380s which simply have more space to offer more privacy and more amenities. So the A380 first class product has things in each case that the ‘normal’ first class product does not.

Three airlines, on their flagship A380s, offer a first class that’s beyond all others. And I think any fair-minded observer will rank these as the three best first class offerings in the world, the A380 first class onboard Etihad, Emirates, and Singapore.

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I’m Starting to Use Lyft More Than Uber. Here’s Why.

by Gary Leff

Apr 01 2016

I’ve been a huge fan of Uber since they began disrupting the taxi industry.

But Uber’s market position, while greater than Lyft’s, isn’t really protected by significant barriers to entry.. though in becoming in many cases pro-regulation they’ve tried to impose costs on other services that might start.

I like competition and so I’ve been using Lyft more. Lyft gives out $50 in new rider credits, which is more than Uber’s been doing ($15 – $20).

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