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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New Government Report: TSA Has No Basis for How It Picks Out Terrorists, Just Makes Stuff Up

people walking in airport
Jul 21 2017

The TSA has had employees roaming the airports watching passengers, using their spidey senses to figure out who might be a terrorist.

Four years ago the Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General concluded that the TSA’s behavior detection efforts didn’t work and racially profiled. I’ve argued that TSA literally has no science in its files to support its efforts. Now the government agrees.

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Special Wedding Photos Attack Delta For Losing Luggage

Jul 21 2017

Feeding the old meme that on Delta Don’t Expect Luggage To Arrive (or ‘Diverts Errant Luggage to Atlanta’), a man whose luggage was lost enroute to his dream destination wedding in Iceland is letting the world know he doesn’t believe Delta can be relied on when it counts.

And he created a special wedding photo to get the message out.

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Another Devaluation — Delta Award Pricing No Longer Even Following Its Hidden Award Chart

delta check in airport
Jul 21 2017

Delta has found a new way to price dynamically. Already they’ve practiced journey control. You might find saver award space on multiple flights, but they won’t allow you to combine those flights into a saver award. Two connecting flights on an otherwise legal routing might price out as more miles.

Now though non-stop saver awards may price out more expensively depending on route.

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Review: Completely Renovated American Airlines Admirals Club New York JFK

Jul 20 2017

The most crucial thing to know about this lounge is that it’s much less crowded than it used to be —
precisely because the Flagship Lounge is open and so many more people now have access there. Everyone flying international business class, American’s mid-tier elites flying international economy, and oneworld partner mid-tier elites used to all crowd into the Admirals Club. Now they’re granted access to the Flagship Lounge and the Admirals Club is used for a narrower passenger base.

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Airline Ancillary Revenue Appears Tied to a Strong Frequent Flyer Program

southwest plane
Jul 20 2017

IdeaWorks has put out a new study on airline ancillary fees (.pdf). They rank the airlines earning the most in ancillary fees, and explain where the money comes from.

I’m not going to focus on the ultra low cost carriers around the world although the data there is interesting. Instead my interest is piqued looking at the major US airlines and the contribution of their frequent flyer programs to ‘other income’ at each.

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