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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Hotel Complains About Marriott Elite Members Trying To ‘Scam’ Free Breakfast

Jun 07 2021

At Marriott’s Hotel Distil, an Autograph Collection property located in Louisville, Platinum elite members and above get a voucher for a ‘continental breakfast’ or $15 off anything on the breakfast menu. Only they don’t offer a “continental breakfast” on the menu. And nothing on the menu was $15 with coffee, fruit or juice, tip and tax.

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Hotel Cancels All Summer Reservations To Take More Lucrative Bookings, Hilton Shrugs

Jun 06 2021

The Hilo, Hawaii DoubleTree ownership says on video they went ahead and rented out all rooms at the property under an event contract instead, of honoring bookings, redemption or paid, calling it a “windfall.”

Hilton responded letting me know that the hotel “is an independently owned and operated property” so they “cannot speak on the hotel’s behalf.”

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New “Rich Versus Poor” Attack On Credit Cards Wants To Tax Rewards

credit cards
Jun 06 2021

Vox runs a piece repeating the old trope that credit card rewards benefit the rich at the expense of the poor, because credit card processing fees result in higher prices – including for people who don’t pay by credit card. There’s a unique twist to the piece though since they call for taxing card rewards.

It comes with a TikTok making the argument, which turns out to be highly misleading.

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United CEO Declares Goal To Double MileagePlus Earnings In Four Years

united plane
Jun 06 2021

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby, speaking at the Alliance Bernstein 37th Annual Strategic Decisions Conference on Thursday, explained his cost-cutting vision as eliminating fat from management and unnecessary processes without touching product investment.

He offered that they will “save $2 billion in expense, not a single penny is going to come from customer product, in fact we’re going to spend more on those things” and noted upcoming product announcements will be coming. And he declared a goal of doubling MileagePlus revenue in four years.

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