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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Hyatts Playing Games: 4 Hotels That Don’t Allow You To Use Your Points For Free Nights

May 04 2023

Some hotels don’t want award guests. They might think they can sell all of their rooms not at their average rate but at a premium, at least some nights of the year. Or they may just have a negative view of program members – they like getting paid nights from these members, but not having to host them on points.

Here are four Hyatt hotels that currently do not let members spend their points for free nights when searching the chain’s website or mobile app.

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American Airlines Is Selling Elite Status, No Match Or Challenge Required

May 04 2023

American is sending out marketing emails to members offering to let them straight up buy elite status. This isn’t the usual ‘buy back status you lost last year’ or even ‘buy a level of status higher than what you earned’ (which historically has generated over $30 million per year in revenue).

Instead, American is sending out offers to members who do not have status at all – members who may not have flown them in years – and offing to let them buy Gold or Platinum status through March 2024 directly.

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Hotels Have Eliminated 102,000 Housekeeping Jobs

May 03 2023

Hotels have eliminated daily housekeeping in many cases. All except the top luxury brands won’t automatically clean your room every day, or if they do it’s a ‘light service’ making the bed and swapping out towels on the floor. That means they don’t need to hire as many housekeepers, and a single housekeeper can service more rooms.

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