When it ALMOST makes sense to pay the higher mileage award level for a flight

by Gary Leff

airplane
Apr 13 2005

Joel Widzer claimed a premium level first class award on a domestic flight from LA to Dallas. While that strikes me as a little crazy for a midcon flight, I can’t criticize him too much. For the very first time I recently claimed a premium first class award on a domestic flight. It was a last-minute transcon, I was paying out of my own pocket, and the flight would have cost about $1500 in coach. Plus I knew I wouldn’t get an upgrade. I had to fly on one specific return flight, and there was only one first class seat left for sale. Claiming the premium award allowed me to pull a seat from revenue inventory and take that last first class seat. Still, it was a questionable use of miles defensible only based on…

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Best and Worst Burger

by Gary Leff

burger
Apr 13 2005

One of the worst cheeseburgers I ever ate was onboard a United Airlines flight to San Francisco when it made me sick. For awhile in 2001 that became the standard lunch offering on first class transcontinental flights. Occasionally it was edible, but flight attendants had a hard time preparing it and more often than not the bun was served rock hard. It was supposed to be a ‘gourmet’ burger but it just wasn’t. I’ve long grilled my own burgers with a pat of butter inside the patty. It keeps the burger moist and juicy even if I overcook the meat. But Tyler Cowen offers an idea that I hadn’t thought of myself: stuff it with blue cheese as well. Yum! As for me, I’d add some mushrooms and grilled onions and that might be the…

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A Gratis Networks Offer NOT Worth Doing

by Gary Leff

free electronics
Apr 11 2005

The free iPods folks are offering a free I love Free iPods.com t-shirt when you complete one of their marketing offers. No referrals are required for this one, but you do need to do an offer youself. Frankly not worth it. I’ll save doing offers myself for the offers I do want, like the free Playstation Portable or the free digital camera.

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Two articles on tipping

by Gary Leff

tipping
Apr 10 2005

Joel Widzer thinks tipping should be quid pro quo for service. Tyler Cowen points out that this isn’t how tipping generally functions. Apparently there is generally “little relationship between quality of waiter service and size of tip,” tips go up in sunny weather, and waitresses (but not waiters) can increase their tips by drawing a smiley face on the check. Joel’s advice makes intuitive sense to me, but clearly doesn’t mesh with existing norms and customs. In fact, why should Joel’s advice work at all — making it clear to a service person that they’ll be rewarded with a tip? What’s the enforcement mechanism? Once good service has been rendered, why does the strategic tipper need to follow through at all, unless there’s an expectation of iterative interactions? When tipping comes after service, why do…

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100 Free American Airlines Miles

by Gary Leff

american airline plane
Apr 10 2005

Points.com is giving away 15,000 American miles each day, but perhaps more importantly you get 100 miles just for entering. You need to signup for a free Points.com account to enter, or if you’re already a member you can simply sign in for the points. Points.com has unveiled their new interface, and while it appears slick and streamlined there’s no new functionality that I’m going to find personally useful. What’s more, they’ve increased their fees to $10/month for a premium account!

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Instant Free Hilton Gold Status Now Online

by Gary Leff

hilton hotel
Apr 09 2005

Last week I posted a promotion code to receive instant Gold status with Hilton just by calling them up. It turns out that there’s a website where you can enroll with HHonors Gold status online. No phone call required! If you’re an existing HHonors member you still have to call with the promotion code to get the status… or you could open a new account with Gold and then merge the two. Once you’ve created the new account, log in online, choose ‘member services,’ and select ‘combine multiple accounts.’ Add your existing account into your new Gold one.

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Diners Club: on the Comeback Trail?

by Gary Leff

dining
Apr 09 2005

Colloquy says that the comeback of Diners Club continues, noting that US Diners Club cards will benefit from the global acceptance of Mastercard. They do note the devaluation of Diners Club Club Rewards points vis a vis Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards tickets: Diners Club’s effort to make the card easier to use puts it squarely in the sights of competing card issuers and their airline partners. Southwest Airlines has already raised the number of Diners Club points required for a free ticket: Previously, Diners Club customers had to spend just $16,000 to earn a free Southwest ticket; now they will have to spend $24,000. By contrast, it takes $19,200 in spending on Southwest’s own Bank One credit card to earn a free ticket on the airline. The piece doesn’t mention the devaluation for Priority Club…

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