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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Icelandair Fires 45 Boeing 737 MAX Pilots

by Gary Leff

plane tv
Jun 06 2019

The world airline trade group IATA says the Boeing 737 MAX could fly again in August. Not everyone is so sure. Different countries’ regulators are taking different approaches, though the US is pushing for many countries to re-certify the plane at the same time — and quickly.

Icelandair has leased aircraft to pick up the slack for grounded 737 MAXs, and in a move that reveals a shocking lack of confidence in the aircraft returning to their skies any time soon the airline has let go of 45 Boeing 737 MAX pilots.

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Don’t Try to Transfer Points to Lufthansa, They Just Go Into Limbo

by Gary Leff

airplane
Jun 05 2019

Yesterday I wrote about Lufthansa’s “Mileage Bargains” — roundtrip business class awards between the US and Europe for just 55,000 miles.

Commenter Tim noted that “Lufthansa says that as of May 24th 2019 they no longer are accepting Marriott points for transfers to Lufthansa miles.” It turns out the problem is not limited to Marriott transfers.

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Be Careful of Hidden Restrictions Booking Coach Awards on American at AA.com

by Gary Leff

insideairplane
Jun 05 2019

I recently wrote about American’s two different award search tools, and how to access the old one for the better ‘calendar view’ that will also tell you whether you’re getting a saver award or more expensive AAnytime award.

I mentioned that the new award search tool won’t show ‘web special’ awards. That actually isn’t true. They’re just not well-disclosed on the new award search tool.

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British Airways Visa is Being Revamped, New Benefits Coming This Fall

by Gary Leff

airplane first class
Jun 05 2019

Chase and British Airways renewed their US co-brand credit card deal. They have partnered for 26 years and last announced an extension of their relationship in May 2015.

Last month I wrote that Chase was surveying customers about how to redesign an airline card. And now the bank and airline have announced that “[i]n the fall of 2019, Chase, Avios and British Airways will announce new enhancements to the British Airways Visa Signature Card that were developed with cardmember feedback in mind.”

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New Restriction on Transferring American Express Membership Rewards Points to Friends and Family

by Gary Leff

american express card
Jun 05 2019

Up until June 2014 you could transfer American Express Membership Rewards points to whomever you wish. At that time they instituted new restrictions without warning: they would only allow transfers of your points to people who have an authorized user card on your account.

That was always the rule but the website never enforced it up until that time. You could link anyone’s frequent flyer account to your Membership Rewards account and transfer points to it. Now there’s a new rule or rather a waiting period to transfer points to someone else’s account.

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How to Access American’s Old Calendar Search Tool for Better Award Results

by Gary Leff

american flight prices
Jun 05 2019

Knowing how to find the old system makes award search much more convenient, even as American pushes customers into the process for the new and incomplete award search tool.

It’s unclear how long American will run two systems in parallel. However for now it’s a good idea to make sure you’re seeing results from both systems because otherwise you may pay more miles than necessary for your awards.

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