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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The biggest case of financial

The biggest case of financial mismanagement in American history. And it isn’t what you think. A 100 year-long accounting scandal involving possibly $100 billion dollars. And a cabinet secretary held in contempt of court. I usually write mostly about travel, but this story was just interesting and I had heard only a scant little about it before.

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Just another reason why Alaska

Just another reason why Alaska Air has an outstanding frequent flyer program. When you redeem a free ticket to Australia, they’ll given you another free ticket good anywhere in the U.S. (including Alaska). So what are the other reasons that I like Alaska? First of all, their elite-level is pretty outstanding. Free upgrades from any fare — 2 days out for MVPs and at the time of booking (subject to availability) for MVP Golds. Note also that they have the lowest threshold of any US airline for qualifying as an elite — only 15,000 miles. They even give MVP Golds upgrade coupons to pass out to their friends. Second of all, their partnerships are excellent — American and Northwest, to name a few. Third, they are a good airline, even in coach. They have one…

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