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 »

New California Independent Contractor Rule Means More Transportation Discrimination

by Gary Leff

Dec 25 2019

I used to get in taxis all the time in New York. But before the driver would let me in he’d (and it was always a he) roll down the window and ask where I was going. He didn’t want a ride in the opposite direction of where he wanted to go, and he certainly didn’t want to drive into an ‘undesirable’ (minority) neighborhood. That’s illegal, but the practice was commonplace.

Uber and other rideshare companies changed all that. You enter where you’re going in an app, the driver accepts the ride, but doesn’t learn the destination until you’re in the car and on the way – and they can be penalized for cancelling rides.

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Hilton About To Unveil a New Chain For New Affluents That Hate Tiny Rooms

by Gary Leff

Dec 24 2019

Tired: Hotels ‘for millennials’ featuring tiny rooms that lack desks, where hopefully guests escape claustrophobia to ‘social spaces’ spending money on food and beverage. However millennials as a class don’t have as much disposable income as older generations, and their digital life includes ordering in more interesting food and beverage than the hotel provides.

Wired: Hotels catering to the ‘new affluent’ who prefer experiences over things, so don’t mind small rooms and are sufficiently lacking in experience that they’ll allow the hotel to curate their food and beverage choices in those same ‘social spaces’.

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Etihad And Qatar Non-U.S. Awards Are Back At AA.com

by Gary Leff

airplane docked
Dec 24 2019

American only just introduced online redemption of Etihad awards in May and it was a surprise to see at the time, since American has been in a political war with those two airlines, despite their partnerships, for the past four and a half years – and even terminated codeshares with both. I’m glad to see American continuing to invest in getting online redemption for Etihad and Qatar right.

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Emirates President Stepping Down In June

by Gary Leff

plane with loading dock
Dec 24 2019

Emirates President Sir Tim Clark will leave the role in June and remain as an advisor. He’ll have been with the airline for 35 years, having joined the Dubai-based carrier as part of its founding in 1985. He initially served as the carrier’s head of planning and became airline President in 2003.

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First Renderings Of The New American Airlines Philadelphia Flagship Lounge

by Gary Leff

Dec 23 2019

I like the bar and buffet areas more in these renderings than I do American’s other Flagship lounges. It strikes me that wall the main lounge area design is straight from the pallet of the other lounges, the dining room is darker and a bit more modern. In some ways it feels more like a Cathay Pacific lounge in those areas. This could be their most attractive Flagship lounge.

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Buy IHG Points For Just Half a Cent Each (Matches Lowest Price Ever Offered)

by Gary Leff

drink
Dec 23 2019

IHG Rewards Club – the loyalty program for Intercontinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and related brands — is offering a 100% bonus on purchased points through December 31. This applies to purchases of 7000 or more points.

At a 100% bonus purchases of 26,000 points or more cost just $0.005 apiece which is the lowest price I see them sell points for. Oddly purchases of 26,000 points is cheaper than 25,000 points because the cost per point drops. I believe the points are worth slightly more than this.

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