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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Here’s Which Marriott Choice Benefits You Should Select

by Gary Leff

outside marriott hotel
Dec 24 2021

I’m going to ignore the math here and just say I don’t need the free night and I’ll enjoy the possible upgrade more if it comes through. In other words I’m going to waste money, perhaps frivolously, on something I’ll enjoy.

Why is it a waste? Because I’m probably better off taking the free night, saving $240 in cash I’d otherwise spend on a room, and using that cash for a better room on another stay or indeed on something other than a Marriott upgrade I’ll enjoy more. I’m going to do the thing that’s irrational because I’m rational enough to know that I’ll enjoy the irrationality.

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Delta Air Lines Wants To Know If Elites Will Use Check-in Kiosks Instead Of Airport Agents

by Gary Leff

Dec 24 2021

Delta Air Lines wants to know if they can save money staffing check-in counters with agents for elite travelers. For years they’ve pushed general passengers to self-service kiosks, while maintaining full service especially for their most frequent customers.

They’re surveying their customer focus group, made up generally of a group of elite customers, about whether they use kiosks in areas outside of air travel, what features they want from kiosks, and whether the pandemic has made them more open to a shift to kiosks (less human interaction).

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United Airlines Melting Down For The Holidays

by Gary Leff

united plane
Dec 23 2021

On November 4, United Airlines sent out a remarkable email to customers where they trolled their competitors for the operational problems they’d had, and promising that United would be the carrier everyone could rely on for their holiday plans.

I wrote at the time that’s called tempting fate and – right on schedule – United’s operation appears to be melting down.

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Glitch: American Airlines Is Confirming Upgrades Even With No Upgrade Space Available

by Gary Leff

inside airliner
Dec 23 2021

American Airlines will let you confirm an upgrade at booking or any time before travel using miles (plus a cash co-pay) or systemwide upgrades (which are a choice benefit for Platinum Pro elite members and above, and given out to million milers upon qualification).

However the airline is super stingy with this space, even on flights that are completely empty and likely to remain so. But a glitch is giving away upgrades to customers that American Airlines didn’t intend to offer.

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Wide Open QSuites Award Space For 4 Passengers From Several Cities For Months At A Time

by Gary Leff

first class cabin
Dec 23 2021

Qatar has one of the best business class product in the world in its ‘QSuites’. These are revolutionary suites with doors and movable partitions that allow two and even four passengers to travel together in their own space. Right now there’s fantastic award availability booking for August through November 2022 for Qatar’s QSuites product – out of several U.S. cities – with four business class seats available.

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Frontier Airlines Is Matching Status – And Now Re-Matching Status

by Gary Leff

frontier plane docked
Dec 23 2021

On December 1 I covered an incredibly generous status match offer from Frontier Airlines. For $49 they’ll match against 15 different airlines and 15 different hotel programs. And they’ll even match up to top tier which basically waives all fees at this fee-based airline and makes tickets cancellable without penalty. This offer runs through December 31.

Two things have changed since the offer launched – including that they will now re-match folks who took advantage of this in 2020.

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Officer Who Punched Passenger In Face At Miami Airport Won’t Be Charged

by Gary Leff

Dec 22 2021

A black woman at the Miami airport yelled at an office with an Hispanic surname that he was really black. She yelled at him, and may have been drunk.

The officer, Antonio Rodriguez, “snaps and punches the woman in the face. He then throws his hands on her and brings her to the ground as officers in the background shout ‘Woah, woah’.” He then claimed “she headbutted me” though the video shows that wasn’t true.

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