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 »

Dallas Fort-Worth Needs a New Terminal. Will American Airlines Let Them Build It?

by Gary Leff

airport map
Apr 12 2019

American Airlines executives have come to love DFW, because they say it’s in their top tier of profitable hubs. They are the dominant carrier by far, and have incredible scale. They’re on their way to operating 900 flights a day from the airport. And with that many flights adding a new city is easy to make profitable as a result of connecting feed from all over the world.

The future of the airport is being hashed out now. Next year the airport’s 10-year use agreement is up, and a new deal is being negotiated. That’s where the broad plan for the future of the airport gets set — what is the airport going to invest in, how much will airlines pay for the space. The biggest airlines get the biggest say. American Airlines is in the driver’s seat.

Continue Reading »

What Happens to Your Stuff When You Use Credit Card Return Protection?

by Gary Leff

Apr 11 2019

Many rewards credit cards come not just with travel protections like delayed flight and delayed baggage coverage, but also with protections for the things you buy.

Cyberkit resells items that have been returned. That’s interesting because it reduces the cost of honoring return protection. And if you’re so inclined you can buy returned items online at a discount.

Continue Reading »

Why JetBlue’s London Announcement is a Nothing Burger

by Gary Leff

jetblue article
Apr 10 2019

JetBlue announced today that they will start flying Boston and New York JFK – London. That came as a surprise to absolutely no one because they’ve talked about it seemingly in perpetuity.

They’re going to start flying in 2-3 years with indeterminate frequency to an airport to be named later offering an as yet to be determined product.

Continue Reading »

Can Brands Turn Away From Social and Get You to Communicate Directly Through Their Own Channels?

by Gary Leff

Apr 10 2019

Companies are frustrated dealing with social platforms, too. They used to invest heavily in building bases of followers, thinking it would pay marketing dividends for years to come.

I remember airlines giving out miles just for following them on twitter or Facebook. What they didn’t realize at the time but seems obvious in hindsight is that it’s tough to make money long term on someone else’s platform. Instead of having an annuity stream of permission-based marketing, those followers are no longer free to communicate to. Platforms can charge to get a message out to followers companies have already paid to accumulate.

Continue Reading »

Airlines Have Free Stuff On Board If You Know to Ask

by Gary Leff

playing cards
Apr 10 2019

When I was a kid I’d fly and I’d always get wing pins from the airline. If I was bored I’d ask for a deck of cards. I still have several of the decks I received on flights when I was young. I don’t know why it never occurred to me to bring a deck with me, but the airline always had one to give. That era’s over… or is it?

Continue Reading »

Why So Many Credit Cards Miss the Mark

by Gary Leff

credit card wallet
Apr 10 2019

All of marketing, perhaps, boils down to a simple idea: figure out who your customers are, and how to find more people like them.

Too often though products get developed without the first part clearly in mind: the customer. What does your customer need that they aren’t getting now or at least are not getting as well as they could? The most important question to ask when new credit cards come out is: who is the customer for this product?

Continue Reading »