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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Southwest Airlines DEI Backlash: Promises No Hiring Quotas Going Forward, But Were They Ever Really in Play?

Dec 06 2024

At the beginning of the year, Trump-aligned American First Legal complained to the Department of Labor that American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines were using employment quotes that are illegal as government contractors.

As a result of these complaints, Southwest Airlines now says that they will not discriminate in hiring and promotion.

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‘Unsafe And Unacceptable’: Union Erupts Over American Airlines’ Plan To Cut Crew On New Premium Boeing 787-9s

Dec 06 2024

American Airlines plans to ask the FAA to certify their new Boeing 787-9P with one fewer flight attendant, but has told their union this is just so they could operate the plane that way if they had to – it’s not how they’re going to schedule the aircraft (although I wonder if they would on any domestic or short-haul international segments the plane operates).

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New DOT Plan Would Require Airlines To Pay You Up To $775 For Delayed Flights – If It Happens

Dec 05 2024

A year and a half ago President Biden announced new rules coming to require airlines to pay cash compensation for flight delays and cancellations. Think of it as the U.S.’s answer to Europe’s ‘EU261’ compensation.

They didn’t actually do anything with this while they still could. Their new proposal isn’t yet fully baked, and likely won’t advance farther.

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The Surprising Benefit That Makes My AAdvantage Business Card A Keeper After The First Year

Dec 05 2024

I’m not saying this is the most rewarding card for spending, although it can be an important part of American AAdvantage status-earning. But it makes clear sense to get, given the value proposition of the upfront bonus offer, and for me it makes a lot of sense to keep because I get value out of the wifi rebate alone and then can continue to have the benefits of the card.

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Barclays Cards To Disappear: How Citi’s New Exclusive Deal With American Airlines Will Reshape Your Miles Strategy

Dec 05 2024

American Airlines and Citibank have entered into an agreement to extend their cobrand credit card agreement by 10 years. This deal pushes out Barclays, and makes Citi the sole issuer of American Airlines credit cards in the U.S. starting in 2026.

We will start to see points transfers from Citibank to American AAdvantage and likely more.

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