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 »

Marriott Requires $20,000 Spend for Top Tier Status, This Man Tipped $22,000 and Got Arrested

by Gary Leff

Feb 20 2019

Marriott’s new program doesn’t just require 100 nights a year to earn top tier elite status, it also requires $20,000 in spending. That’s odd for a loyalty program with so many hotels in China and elsewhere that rates are super cheap. It’s possible to stay nearly 300 nights with Marriott in a year and still not be a top tier elite.

One man probably wasn’t testing to see whether tips would count towards qualifying spend, though Marriott is at least in the process of rolling out points-earning for food and beverage while not a guest on property (something that Starwood offered for years).

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American Airlines Says Man Wasn’t on the Flight to San Jose. Then How Did He Get There?

by Gary Leff

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Feb 20 2019

So what happened? Presumably he was un-checked in or offloaded by the gate agent in error. This happens occasionally, most often during irregular operations when there may be multiple flights in a booking (backup options).

A customer shows up for their return flight only to find they have no reservation. The airline says “you didn’t take the flight” and the customer says, “then how did I get here?”

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Eastern Airlines Comeback Continues, Wants to Start Scheduled International Service From New York JFK

by Gary Leff

Feb 20 2019

It’s been nearly 30 years since the ‘real’ Eastern flew, and it didn’t have a good reputation even then — for reliability, for service, or even for safety.

So what is next for Eastern Airlines? They have applied to the Department of Transportation to start scheduled international air service from New York JFK>

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Virgin Atlantic 787 Exceeded Speed of Sound, Passengers Arrive Early at Heathrow

by Gary Leff

Feb 19 2019

Virgin Atlantic flight VS8 from Los Angeles to London hit 801 miles per hour over Pennsylvania yesterday.

A ground speed of 801 miles per hour (obtained only briefly, as the plane remained in the jet streak only a brief period of time) is faster than the speed of sound (767 miles per hour). However the 787 wasn’t actually breaking the sound barrier as it was not moving 767 miles per hour faster than the surrounding air.

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Inflight Entertainment Systems Aren’t Spying On You (Yet) But Some Airlines Monitor You With Video

by Gary Leff

Feb 19 2019

A Singapore Airlines passenger took to twitter to share that he had discovered his inflight entertainment system appeared to have a camera installed in it. There has been a ton of media pickup of this.

I’m not aware of any inflight entertainment systems currently in service that are actually ‘spying’ on passengers, though some airlines do have cameras in their cabins.

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Man Flies to Los Angeles in Boxer Shorts, Recreates ‘Living Room Experience’

by Gary Leff

Feb 19 2019

The saga of a man on a Paris – Los Angeles flight coming out of the coach restroom in his boxer shorts and spending the flight just letting it all hang out was chronicled on twitter yesterday.

There are a couple of things that make this story even more bizarre. Somehow a ukulele is involved. And flight attendants refused to ask him to put clothes on. Even when he got cold he left his pants off, but put on a puffy jacket.

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