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 »

More articles by Gary Leff »

Here’s Why You Don’t Want To Book Airline Tickets Through Online Agents Like Expedia

by Gary Leff

expedia bags
Mar 23 2021

Most people use sites like Expedia or Kayak to compare options because they don’t start off knowing they want to fly American Airlines or United. They find the schedule and price they’re looking for, and then book what looks best.

While it can be useful for the average consumer to search flights with Expedia or the like, it’s not actually a good idea to buy travel from them unless they are able to construct complicated itineraries at a lower price than booking directly. These two tweets show why.

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This American Airlines Passenger Story Made Me Cry, But In A Good Way

by Gary Leff

airline cabin
Mar 23 2021

This is exactly what the airline means when it talks about their new-ish slogan, caring for people on life’s journey.

I’m not sure this is something that sets American Airlines apart, but on this day and on this one particular flight the airline’s employees really took care of a passenger by treating them as a person with their own story and their own reason for flying that day.

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When There’s Enough Vaccine For Everyone, Air Travel Mask Rules Should End

by Gary Leff

Mar 22 2021

Masks made sense on planes when, together with HEPA air filtration and downward air flow, they reduced the risk of catching Covid-19 on a plane.

Now vaccines are available. We’re going to have challenges keeping people masked up once they’ve been vaccinated. The rule needs to stay in place now, when most Americans haven’t had a chance to become vaccinated yet. It’s tough to know who has been vaccinated and who hasn’t been.

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