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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Etihad Becoming More Like American Airlines? Eliminating Through-Checked Bags on Separate Tickets

Jan 17 2017

Etihad will no longer allow through checking bags when traveling on separate reservations for tickets purchased February 1 onward.

Reportedly separate tickets that are sold into the same reservation will continue to allow through-checking of bags. Most separate tickets have separate reservations, but a competent travel agent can manage to include them in one PNR.

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New Zealand Business Class Awards Wide Open May Through September, Act Fast

Jan 16 2017

Air New Zealand business class award space is wide open, you can book these seats with miles you likely already have, and this surely will not last.

Australia and New Zealand are among the toughest awards out there. So while May through September isn’t peak season for travel to New Zealand, many will want to take advantage and of course it’s easy to hop over to Australia from New Zealand and some will want to use these flights as part of a broader Pacific Islands trip.

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Missed Connections: Woman on Flight from London Wants to Find You

Jan 15 2017

A woman on January 3rd’s Ryanair flight FR2371 from London Stansted to Dublin has fallen for a man she barely spoke to during the journey. Only she didn’t get his number and she’s seeking the world’s help to track him down.

She’s a blond from Berlin living in Dublin. He was in 9D, about 5′ 11″, with dark blond hair. They made eye contact, but didn’t speak until passport control.

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The Dumb, Stupid, Dull-Witted Way British Airways Has Moved to Buy on Board Food and Drink

Jan 15 2017

British Airways now charges for food and drink on intra-Europe flights in economy. They go much father than US airlines, who are actually bringing amenities (like stroopwafels) back to coach.

British Airways now charges for food and drink on intra-Europe flights in economy. They go much father than US airlines, who are actually bringing amenities (like stroopwafels) back to coach.

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