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 »

Quirk About American Airlines Upgrades Lets You Skip A Cabin

by Gary Leff

airline seat
May 09 2021

An interesting story American Airlines upgrade story – compounded by terrible customer service – tells me it’s worth reminding that American Airlines does not offer any way to upgrade to premium economy before the day of travel and that no American Airlines upgrade instrument will cover the cost of a premium economy upgrade.

This is actually a good thing because it means that all advance upgrades, and upgrades paid for with a certificate, still skip over the premium economy cabin.

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Papers, Please: American Airlines Cracks Down On Passenger ID Policy

by Gary Leff

May 08 2021

It wasn’t until after TWA flight 800 that the U.S. government began requiring passengers to show ID. President Clinton wanted to be able to announce something to look like he was doing something after the event, since initially there was speculation that the explosion was terrorist-related rather than an accident.

Airlines have wanted customers to show ID for a long time because they don’t want their tickets to be transferable.

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Passengers Break Into Fight Over Masks In Miami, Get Kicked Off Flight Which Only Makes Things Worse

by Gary Leff

May 08 2021

A face mask brawl broke out at the Miami airport just a week after a fight broke out at Miami’s gate D14 over the last seats available to standby passengers on an American Airlines flight to Chicago. In other words, just another day at the Miami airport.

Florida. Masks. Trapped inside a metal tube. And a disproportionate number of first time leisure travelers. All passengers are Spirit Airlines passengers now.

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Are Covid Testing Requirements Spreading The Virus?

by Gary Leff

May 07 2021

The Director of the CDC has stated “vaccinated people do not carry the virus, don`t get sick.” Yet vaccinated Americans have to take a Covid-19 test before flying back to the United States and vaccinated travelers from the U.K., which has far less Covid-19 per capita than the U.S., remain banned from even entering the country.

But what if Covid-19 testing requirements are actually spreading the virus?

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Flight Attendant Tips Off FBI To Passengers Who Stole Nancy Pelosi’s Laptop

by Gary Leff

May 07 2021

Passengers refused to wear a mask on an Alaska Airlines flight. That got them banned from the airline. But it also burned their names and faces into the memory of a flight attendant who had to deal with them in the air.

The cabin crew member stalked their social media, and discovered that the people who wouldn’t wear a mask on their flight were willing to wear one for selfies at the January 6th Capitol Hill insurrection. Digging further it appeared from photos on Instagram that one of them was involved in taking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s laptop. The Alaska Airlines employee tipped off the FBI.

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