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 »

Serbia Welcomes Vaccine Tourism With Free Shots

Mar 28 2021

Serbia is giving vaccines away free to visiting foreigners this weekend. Thousands of people have “flooded” Belgrade.

So visit Serbia for the shot, stay and visit Belgrade Fortress and Saint Petka’s Chapel. Grab a Rakija (fruit brandy) and then stroll Knez Mihailova. Return home protected from severe disease.

Continue Reading »

Delta Tells Employees They Were Part Of Crafting Georgia Voting Restrictions Bill

In an internal communication with employees, Delta Air Lines took credit for helping to shape the new voting restriction bill passed last week in their home state of Georgia that President Biden called “Jim Crow in the 21st century.”

In a statement attributed to CEO Ed Bastian, the airline says that the legislation “improved considerably” during this process and actually increases access to balloting, “[n]onetheless, we understand concerns remain..”

Continue Reading »

Hotels Want To Take Your Money Without Even Having To Give You A Room

Mar 27 2021

The hotel industry is asking for a $15 – $29 billion bailout, with 40% earmarked for hotel investors to make mortgage payments to big lenders. This is being pitched as something that ‘goes well with infrastructure’ which the federal government is preparing to spend $3 trillion on. Of course, the hotel buildings already exist and aren’t new infrastructure.

The American Hotel and Lodging Association’s chief lobbyist complains, “You have whole segments of our industry that did not receive any financial assistance whatsoever.” It’s not fair that everyone else has been taking your money and hotels haven’t been able to do so yet.

Continue Reading »

American Express Ends Print Editions of Departures and Centurion Magazines

Mar 26 2021

American Express will no longer publish Departures or Centurion magazines in print. They are in-sourcing both publications which will be available online only. Meredith Corporation, which had been publishing for American Express, has “laid off most of the staff and halted publication of the seven-times-a-year print titles.” According to American Express, We regularly evolve our premium card offerings and have made the decision to transition the Departures and Centurion US magazine benefits to a new digital-first editorial platform. The magazines used to be produced in-house by American Express Publishing, which was sold to Time in 2013 and then Meredith in 2018. The final print issue of Departures is May/June and the final Centurion Magazine is Spring/Summer. These print publications lasted longer than many, since they were reaching a highly targeted affluent cardmember audience. However they’re…

Continue Reading »

Will A Federal Court Overrule Biden’s Transportation Mask Mandate?

Mar 26 2021

The holdings in two recent court rulings against the CDC’s eviction moratorium have caused questions about the legality of the Biden administration’s transportation mask mandate. The mask mandate goes beyond the specified example powers in the statute cited by CDC for its authority, and Congress may not have been able to delegate broader unspecified powers to the CDC even if it had wanted to.

Continue Reading »