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 Data Shows the Cities Where Airline Competition is Really Heating Up

trophies
Oct 20 2015

Airline Weekly had some great stats this past week comparing the capacity of airlines in their top 10 cities between the fourth quarter of 2014 and fourth quarter of 2015.

Combined with reports on revenue and growth in number of aircraft, and seats per aircraft, we get insight into the strategies the airlines are employing and the new competitive pressures they’re under.

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Sheraton Denver Tech Center and the Truth About Starwood’s Suite Night Awards

Oct 19 2015

I recently needed to stay in the Denver Tech Center area, and settled on staying at the Sheraton. I actually burned 3 Platinum ‘Suite Night Awards’ at the property and was pleasantly surprised.

There are two principles that were at play: Sheratons in the U.S. are hugely inconsistent, and Starwood’s Suite Night Awards, which confirm an upgrade up to 5 days in advance of a stay, are tough to use.

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Review: Gorgeous New Westin Downtown Austin

Oct 19 2015

Austin has had several new hotel developments recently, like Hotel Van Zandt (Kimpton) and the JW Marriott with its The Corner bar and its Burger Bar window. But the one I’ve been most intrigued by is the Westin Downtown.

That’s because it’s right smack in the middle of the music and bar scene, on the edge of Dirty 6th — a great downtown location for music and the bar scene, though I was curious how they’d handle the noise.

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Strategic Uses for British Airways 40% Economy Award Discount from London

Oct 19 2015

British Airways is offering 40% off economy awards originating in London (although it apparently works from other cities in the UK as well) booked by November 2 for travel through March 20 to a variety of destinations.

Since you still pay full taxes, including exorbitant fuel surcharges, this isn’t as great a deal as it might seem. You’ll often pay a substantial portion of what an economy ticket would cost without the availability of a paid ticket and without earning miles. However this can be especially valuable for:

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