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 »

Agents Warn ‘Southwest Karen’ You’re Not Flying Spirit!

by Gary Leff

Jul 09 2022

A woman waiting to check in with Southwest Airlines in Los Angeles tells another passenger, an African American man, that he’s entitled – while a Southwest employee asks her to move up in line. It seems like he’d asked her to move forward when there was plenty of room in front of her, she didn’t, and she got mad over having been asked – although exactly what transpired before the video was filmed isn’t clear.

This passenger, dubbed “LAX Karen,” yells and makes a fist at the agent who asked her to move up. That puts her on the verge of being “escorted out” of the check-in area. That’s when another agent jumps into the chat.

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When American Airlines Flagship First Class Compares Poorly To Business Class On Other Airlines

by Gary Leff

Jul 08 2022

About a month ago I came up with 6 reasons to fly American Airlines rather than Qatar Airways on the New York JFK – Doha route, now that American serves the routes. Fly America Act – government travel and you have to stick with a U.S. carrier Price – American is cheaper for a given trip Your corporate deal requires it – what are you going to do? To use systemwide upgrades – better to fly American business than Qatar economy American has premium economy – a great option for passengers not in a position to fly business There’s sometimes semi-decent web saver award pricing on American, useful for times when Qatar redemptions aren’t available Qatar Airways is so obviously the better experience on average, but I thought that there were also edge cases worth…

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Delta Flight To London Without Water, Crew Dump Bottles Down The Toilet Every 20 Minutes

by Gary Leff

Jul 08 2022

Attorney Jordan Acker took to social media to complain about his Detroit – London Heathrow flight on Delta. But it wasn’t one of the usual complaints – delays, long telephone hold times, lost or damaged bags – the seven and a half hour Airbus A330 flight, he said, lacked water. According to crew on the aircraft, water had been an ongoing issue with the aircraft, though Delta did not confirm this.

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New Capital One Exclusive Dining, Sports, Music And Arts Events

by Gary Leff

Jul 08 2022

Capital One launched its entertainment portal in March, and there have been some exceptional deals for cardmembers on Major League Baseball on the back of the card issuer’s 9-figure sponsorship deal. Also in March Capital One launched their new dining portal with curated restaurant recommendations and set-aside tables in 11 U.S. cities.

Both of these have in common special opportunities for being a Capital One cardmember in bigger and more branded ways than Capital One has offered in the past. And they help Capital One become more of a lifestyle brand for its cardmembers, creating more than a transactional relationship.

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Boeing Threatens To End The 737 MAX 10 Unless It’s Exempted From New Safety Requirement

by Gary Leff

Jul 07 2022

Newly certified aircraft have to have upgraded alert systems for pilots. Issues with the Boeing 737 MAX MAX that led to the Lion Air and Ethiopian crashes are, in part, addressed by mandatory new alerts for pilots that will apply to all newly-certified aircraft types. But unless the FAA agrees to exempt the Boeing 737 MAX 10 from this requirement, which they can only do by the end of 2022, Boeing’s CEO says they’ll walk away from the plane project and all of the orders it represents.

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Hertz Toll-Tracking Scam

by Gary Leff

Jul 07 2022

Rent a car, steal the PlatePass toll tracking device, use it as an Uber driver on all your airport runs while the tolls get billed to whomever rents the car next. That seems like a dangerous ploy, since presumably there are photos of your vehicle going through the tolls and you could be easily tracked down. Or perhaps not…

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