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 »

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North Koreans Once Hid Foreign Fast Food—Now They Empty This Airport KFC Before Every Flight To Pyongyang

Feb 09 2025

At Shenyang Taoxian International Airport in northeastern China, a familiar scene unfolds every time an Air Koryo flight readies for Pyongyang. As soon as passengers clear passport control, there’s a dash towards the KFC in the departures hall. The fast food outpost gets cleaned out of hamburgers and chicken burgers. They’re bringing the burgers back home with them.

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United Airlines ‘Surprise & Delight’ Move – Even Economy Flyers Now Enjoy Jaguar Rides Across The Tarmac For Connections

Feb 09 2025

United is leaving American behind in the dust at Chicago O’Hare, and competed head-to-head with Delta in the ‘premium lane’ of U.S. air travel across the country. So it doesn’t surprise me that they’re investing more in their product, investing in their technology, and consistently surprising customers with inflight milestone recognition. Well, it seems they have something new up their sleeve.

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‘No Washroom or Phone In That Small Cell’: 5 Flight Attendants Held In Zurich Over Missing Crew Member Certificates

Feb 09 2025

Five Air India flight attendants were jailed at Zurich airport after arriving without the mandatory Crew Member Certificate.

Over the past week, two separate Air India flights brought in crewmembers – and across the two, five flight flight attendants were affected – four arrived without any CMC while the fifth carried an invalid version of the document, issued under Air Vistara

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Sheraton Owner Ben Mallah: ‘We Ain’t Gonna Follow Your Rules’ — Exposing Marriott’s Permissive Brand Standards

Feb 09 2025

There’s a great video of the owner of the Sheraton Suites Fort Lauderdale, Ben Mallah, complaining about what Marriott required him to spend on his Sheraton property. He talks about how Marriott was telling him to bring back food and beverage after the pandemic and he threatened to pull the Sheraton flag over it. It’s a clear articulation of how owners believe Marriott will cave to them, and that they don’t need to deliver to customers.

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‘Things You DONT See as a Passenger’: Emirates Flight Attendants Fired After Behind-The-Scenes Video Reveals Rule-Breaking And Boyfriend Antics

emirates business seats
Feb 09 2025

Behind-the-scenes video by a former Emirates flight attendant that garnered over a million views has reportedly triggered the firing of an entire crew from one of her flights. While this flight attendant had apparently left the job prior to releasing the footage, the airline apparently pursued action against other cabin crew members who had worked with her.

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Delta’s Viral Trading Cards Dominate Social Media – But Did You Know United Has Them Too?

Feb 08 2025

Delta Air Lines became a social media and news sensation in recent years for their long-standing program offering aircraft trading cards that pilots can carry to give away to passengers. The program flew under the radar for decades but has become far more well known over the past few years as passengers go viral asking for them on TikTok and Instagram.

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Chase’s 100,000-Mile United Business Card Bonus Is Back—And It’s More Accessible Than Ever

Feb 08 2025

Chase’s UnitedSM Business Card has an amazing initial bonus offer to earn 100,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open. That’s a huge up front bonus, without a huge spending requirement (an average of less than $1,700 per month) and of course you can prepay some bills if you need to. When the card was first introduced it offered 100,000 miles – but required $10,000 spend to earn. United Airlines Business Class The card will earn 2x miles on United® purchases, dining including eligible delivery services, at gas stations, office supply stores, and on local transit and commuting; 1x mile on all other purchases. Cardmembers can enjoy a free first checked bag – a savings of up to $160 per roundtrip (terms apply), 2 United…

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