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 »

How Delta Charges You More Miles for Awards Even When Saver Space is Available

Jun 13 2015

Earlier today I wrote about how Delta charges you extra miles for award tickets even when saver space is available on all your flights.

It’s not a secret. In fact, Delta actually spells this out on their website. They won’t publish an award chart, but they’ll tell you why they may not price two segments that have the lowest available inventory at the lowest level when booked together.

Continue Reading »

Banks Don’t Want Your Credit Card Business Unless It’s for the Long-Term

visa and mastercard cards spread out
Jun 13 2015

Banks have in many ways tightened their criteria for issuing premium rewards credit cards over the past year, especially for folks who have had the same product in the past or who have a pattern of switching around their wallets frequently.

It’s not just about avoiding giving customers the same bonus multiple times — it’s also about realizing they need cardmembers to stick with them and keep a card top of wallet in order for the customer to become profitable.

Bonuses are expensive, they recoup the cost over time when a cardmember behaves with typical spend into the future — but not if the consumer is someone who tends to switch products.

Continue Reading »

TSA’s New Plan to Make Screening Less Efficient

Jun 12 2015

Earlier in the month when it was revealed that a government study found the TSA was failing to detect 95% of bombs and weapons, and I predicted (and feared) this would mean a crackdown at the checkpint and limitations on the PreCheck program.

Now the man nominated to head TSA says they need to make screening even less efficient.

Continue Reading »