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 »

Southwest And American Pressured To Speak Out Against Texas Voting Bill

by Gary Leff

Apr 01 2021

As in many states, Republicans in Texas are pushing voting law changes. They’ve passed a new bill in the state senate that “would limit early voting hours, prohibit drive-thru voting and bar local election officials from proactively sending vote-by-mail applications.”

Now that Delta has embroiled itself in the controversy of Georgia’s new voting law, former San Antonio Mayor, President Obama’s HUD Secretary, and 2020 Democratic presidential primary contender Julian Castro is calling on Texas-headquartered American Airlines and Southwest Airlines to stake out positions on the law.

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We’re Finally Going To Get Answers On TSA & DEA Seizing Travelers’ Cash At Airports

by Gary Leff

civil forfeiture
Apr 01 2021

A year ago a nationwide class action lawsuit was filed against the TSA and Drug Enforcement Agency over seizing the cash of travelers at airports.

The case started when a woman helped her elderly father downsize from a house into an apartment. He didn’t trust banks and kept his life savings of $82,000 squirreled away. She convinced him that she would set up a joint bank account with him, and took the money home with her to Boston – but the government took it all away.

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Alaska Airlines Updates The Safety Dance With Cameos From Across oneworld And It’s AMAZING

by Gary Leff

Mar 31 2021

In December Alaska Airlines introduced The Safety Dance, taking the Men Without Hats’ classic and applying it to air travel during the Covid-19 pandemic.

To celebrate joining the global oneworld alliance today, Alaska Airlines has released a new version of their Safety Dance featuring cameos by employees and executives from oneworld partner airlines. It may just be the best thing that happened in March.

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Delta Reverses Course, Condemns Georgia Voting Law They Helped Write

by Gary Leff

Mar 31 2021

Delta Air Lines told employees they helped write Georgia’s new voting law. They dug in deeper defending their position that they ‘made the bill better’ and refused to criticize it.

Facing online and media controversy, and a supposed-consumer boycott, they’ve now reversed course. After first congratulating themselves on it, and then refusing to criticize it, CEO Ed Bastian now says it’s abhorrent.

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