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 »

6 Reasons Delta Flight Attendants Should Reject A Union

by Gary Leff

Aug 15 2022

The Association of Flight Attendants – Communications Workers of America (AFA-CWA) is trying to organize flight attendants at Delta. They are promising more money, less work and a pony. It costs them nothing to make promises, which are almost certainly not true. In reality, Delta’s cabin crew will pay for union representation, they won’t make as much money as they will under Delta’s unique model in the industry, and their work lives will be worse.

Every Delta flight attendant should ask, are cabin crew represented by AFA-CWA actually happier and better off at the myriad of airlines where the union represents them now – like United Airlines, Spirit, Frontier, and Mesa?

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Marriott, Hilton and Big Hotel Chains Are Jeopardizing Their Entire Business Model, How Much Is Left?

by Gary Leff

Aug 14 2022

When the Marriotts and Hiltons of the world actually owned the hotels that they marketed, there was better alignment of incentives for maintaining and extending their brands (and they found it much easier to deliver promises to guests on-property). An ‘asset light’ model where the chain simply rents out the brand can work – but needs a laser-like focus on defending and growing the value of the brand, not merely living off of and depreciating it.

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Someone Is Selling ConciergeKey Challenges On eBay

by Gary Leff

Aug 14 2022

Shockingly someone is selling ConciergeKey status on eBay! They’re asking $2000 and say that there are 10 available.

This is actually for a ConciergeKey challenge offering 3 months of status, and keeping the status through the end of the current member year (March 31, 2023) for $15,000 spend with the airline in those 3 months.

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One Airline Adds $27 To Your Ticket For “Technology” – But There’s An Old School Way To Beat The Fee

by Gary Leff

Aug 14 2022

This has to be the most absurd fee ever charged by an airline. Startup carrier Breeze Airways, founded by the creator of JetBlue and several other airlines around the world, will hit you with a $27 “technology development fee” when buying a ticket. The reason why – and how to avoid it – will really take you beyond the looking glass of the U.S. airline industry.

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What Happens When Your Marriott Account Gets Hacked?

by Gary Leff

Aug 13 2022

The member was completely locked out of their account while the account was placed under audit. They thought their account might get closed through no fault of their own.

In the end it didn’t take 45 days for the investigation as they were told to expect. Their account was taken of of audit, and points were returned, after 44 days.

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