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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Redeem Hyatt Points for $2300 Private Island Resort in Nicaragua

by Gary Leff

Nov 22 2019

There’s an incredible redemption opportunity at Calala Island which is an SLH Hotel property in Nicaragua. Through Hyatt’s alliance with SLH you can redeem 40,000 Hyatt points per night there.

That’s a lot of points, however it goes from $2300 and up per night with cash; it’s all-inclusive, including flight and boat to and from the Managua airport and not just meals but alcoholic beverages too; and there are just 4 rooms on the private island, 3 of which are redeemable with points.

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Doctor Saves Passenger’s Life Using Just Tape and a Straw

by Gary Leff

Nov 22 2019

There was a medical emergency on board ten hours into China Southern’s Guangzhou – New York JFK flight on Tuesday.

An elderly passenger on board “had a swollen belly and had previously been diagnosed with an enlarged prostate” and a doctor who responded to the crew’s calls for assistance reports that he “was already showing signs of shock and they estimated that there was about a litre of urine trapped in his bladder.”

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Video of Right Engine Surges as Philippine Airlines Los Angeles Flight Declares Mayday

by Gary Leff

Nov 22 2019

Yesterday’s Philippine Airlines Los Angeles – Manila flight declared a mayday and returned to the airport with its right engine releasing bursts of flames. The Boeing 777-300 was carrying 342 passengers and 18 crew. It was in its initial climb out when the right engine began surging. It returned to the same runway it had departed from 12 minutes earlier.

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One Hilton Hotel Banned Staycations

by Gary Leff

Nov 21 2019

A couple was having work done on their home so they needed a one night hotel stay and booked the Hampton Inn nearby. When they handed over their ID and credit card at check-in they were told they couldn’t stay a the property.

The Hampton Inn Bourbonnais Kankakee in Illinois had a policy against staycations by Kankakee residents. The property owner decided not to welcome anyone with a Kankakee address, though after publicity from a recent incident they’ve backed off of the rule.

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American Airlines Tests Effectively Killing Basic Economy

by Gary Leff

Nov 21 2019

American is testing what happens when they eliminate the biggest remaining restriction on Basic Economy fares, the inability to select seats at time of booking.

If American does this they’ll pick up more seat selection revenue, fewer customers will be chased away, but much of the encouragement to buy a more expensive coach fare will be lost. Presumably this test allows American to see which factors are greatest – to see whether Basic Economy is really costing them money as currently conceived.

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LATAM Leaving oneworld October 1, 2020

by Gary Leff

plane on tarmac
Nov 21 2019

One of the most frequent questions I’ve gotten over the past couple of months is from American AAdvantage members with tickets for travel on LATAM, wondering whether they’ll be able to credit the flights to their AAdvantage accounts and earn miles. It looks like the ability to do so will continue through September 2020, based on new information about when LATAM will leave the oneworld alliance.

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