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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American Will Now Charge You for 2 Awards If You Fly Hawaiian Airlines Beyond Hawaii

Sep 16 2015

September 1 we lost the ability to redeem American miles for travel between the mainland US and Hawaii on Hawaiian Airlines. We could still book awards that include Hawaiian for travel with the islands, and to international destinations beyond Hawaii.

It turns out though — and not part of American’s announcement — including Hawaiian Airlines to destinations beyond Hawaii will require redeeming a separate award.

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Little Known Round the World Awards You Can Redeem Your Miles For

Sep 16 2015

Not as many airlines offer round the world awards as used to — but several do, including airlines you probably have access to miles with.

Generally you can fly on an airline and its alliance partners, making several stops, with the caveat that you have to fly literally around the world (crossing both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans). It’s more expensive than a simple roundtrip award, but for the number of places you can visit it can be a strong value.

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United Wasn’t the Only Airline To Run Special Flights for Politicians, Here’s Some of the Bennies Pols Get

Sep 15 2015

Ted Reed , “Why Dump Smisek?” considering that United is hardly the first airline to fly a route at the behest of a politician, or more broadly to bestow favors and favored treatments on politicians.

I think it’s wrong to excuse the behavior because ‘everybody does it’ but it turns out to be far more common than you’d think.

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Quick $100: Hotel 800 Number Records Calls for ‘Quality Assurance,’ Settles Class Action

Sep 15 2015

Supposedly then-Priority Club (now IHG Rewards Club) and their associated brands like Holiday Inn and Intercontinental recorded customer service calls to their 800 number — as most companies do — but between March 1, 2011 and July 18, 2012 they allegedly didn’t inform callers they were doing so.

And now they’ve settled a class action where folks completing quick eligibility forms are expected to get $100.

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