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 Frequent Flyer Community Has Split Into Two Camps, And They’ve Confusingly Taken The Same Name

by Gary Leff

airport
Jul 05 2023

There have been a number of frequent flyer seminars, in-person gatherings to learn about strategy in miles and points. But the “OG” is probably the Chicago Seminar, held each October, at the Holiday Inn Elk Grove Village. It started back in 2010, and I helped out a lot in the beginning. I gave four talks the first year. I spoke multiple times the second year.

This year there are two events, marketing themselves as the Chicago Seminar, over the exact same dates. The Peoples Front of Judea has split with the Judean Peoples Front.

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Upscale U.S. Hotels Are Failing To Deliver Guest Satisfaction

by Gary Leff

Jul 04 2023

For two years hotels complained about lack of staffing and supply chain, offering up excuses for high rates and low service. But that lack of service has in some sense been baked into the equation, as hotel properties try to grow profit margins – focusing on short-term gains while taking on long-term risk to their business. And since guest experience isn’t the key focus, it suffers more than the cost cuts alone would require.

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3 Passengers Held In A Turkish Prison After Filming Flight Attendant Doing Safety Demo

by Gary Leff

Jul 04 2023

Nine Israeli citizens were arrested on arrival in Istanbul after a flight attendant on their Pegasus Airlines flight complained she had been sexually harassed.

The passengers say that the crewmember simply “didn’t like Israelis.” But one member of the group “took a video of her giving the safety instructions before takeoff” and she used that as a pretext for her complaint, though she’d asked the passenger to delete the video and he complied.

Three members of the group have reportedly been held in a Turkish prison on the Syrian border for a week.

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US Government Warns Against Travel To China

by Gary Leff

temple
Jul 04 2023

The U.S. government is warning Americans not to travel to China over laws and practice there allowing for arbitrary detention for political reasons, and for prosecution over the contents of private emails.

New legislation went into effect July 1 allowing the government to take even greater steps. But what about Hong Kong? And transit through the airport there?

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American Airlines Passenger Demands Off A Flight, Thinks Man Seated Near Her Is A Ghost [New Video Copy]

by Gary Leff

Jul 03 2023

Video posted to TikTok shows a woman ranting as she leaves an American Airlines flight prior to departure in Dallas, yelling that she needs off because there’s a passenger on board who “is not real.” And, she says, anyone that stays on board will die alongside that passenger.

A reposting of the original video is garnering millions of views under the hashtag #drunkonaplane although it doesn’t seem that the woman is drunk.

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We Should Allow More People To Come To The U.S. And Stay Here

by Gary Leff

passport getting stamped
Jul 03 2023

The U.S. is losing millions of visitors due to absurd wait times for visas. Last year we saw them get 14 times longer than they were before the pandemic, in some cases nearly three years. Make make it difficult for talented people to come here for work, too, and after a short time we… kick them out.

And we don’t do a great job even figuring out who ‘we’ ‘want’ here in the first place.

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