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 »

The Top 50 Barbecue Places In The World (Ok, Texas, But That’s The Same Thing)

by Gary Leff

Oct 19 2021

The new Texas Monthly Top 50 Barbecue Places is out. It’s often referred to as ‘the bible’ of Texas barbecue, although I find its picks especially controversial this year.

Here’s what you should know to start. The most correct – and best – barbecue is Central Texas barbecue. The focus is on meat, especially beef. You may get onions, peppers or pickle slices, and white bread as an accompaniment. Put your meat on the bread between bites. It’s all served on butcher paper.

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American Express Centurion Lounge Real-Time Overcrowding Monitor

by Gary Leff

Oct 19 2021

When you build a nice airport lounge it’s going to be busier than you expect even after accounting for the knowledge that it’s going to be busier than you expect. People come to the airport earlier. They stay longer. They go out of their way to reach the lounge by changing terminals. Add in that the food and drink is actually pretty good in American Express Centurion lounges and they’ve become so busy nobody goes there anymore.

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Tons Of Business Class Award Seats To Australia Using Chase/Amex/Capital One Points

by Gary Leff

Oct 19 2021

Qantas announced the release of ‘millions’ of award seats as Australia re-opens. So far Australians are expected to be able to leave their country next month (and return!) with rules for what they must do on arrival varying by state. There’s no announced timeline for visitors to come to Australia, but there’s reason to be hopeful.

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Charlotte Airport Has No Water, Passengers Please Use The Lav Before Deplaning

by Gary Leff

american lavatory
Oct 18 2021

A major water main break has deprived the Charlotte airport of water. Restaurants have to close. People can’t use the restrooms, let alone wash their hands (I seem to remember something about needing to do this frequently and for 20 seconds).

American Airlines is telling passengers that they should use lavatories on board their aircraft prior to deplaning.

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How Safe Is Your Car When You Park At The Airport?

by Gary Leff

Oct 18 2021

There’s been a rash of thefts from airport parking lots in Orlando. And the thieves are all going for muscle cars. Airports have some of the toughest security operations in the country, and I don’t mean TSA. There are law enforcement officers of nearly every flavor at major destinations, and cameras everywhere.

But those aren’t deployed to stop crime, they’re often focused on drug interdiction of lifting cash from passengers who aren’t committing any crimes. They’re certainly not protecting cars in the parking lot.

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Air Canada Doubles Requirement For U.S. Members To Earn Elite Status

by Gary Leff

air canada plane tarmac
Oct 18 2021

Air Canada Aeroplan has a very easy and generous status match offer for U.S. frequent flyers. Match your status, and then a single roundtrip will let you keep the status through 2022.

For Americans – and anyone outside of Canada – the spend requirements for earning status are doubling. Aeroplan has allowed those whose primary address is outside of Canada to earn elite status with half the requirements that Canadians face. For 2022 they’re eliminating this easier path to status.

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Here Come The Flex Cuffs For Passenger With Microphone Ranting About Covid

by Gary Leff

Oct 18 2021

A Delta Air Lines flight attendant brought out the yellow flexcuffs to subdue a passenger who brought her own microphone on board in order to rant at the cabin about the origin of Covid-19.

Another crewmember insisted she sit down but the woman ignores this and unleashes her thoughts on unwilling seatmates. That flight attendant managed to handle the situation with help from a passenger and so no zip ties were actually used. During the dispute the passenger with the mic says “I don’t need to be cuffed” “I’m completely harmless” and “I’m not terrible to look at.”

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