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 »

American Airlines Kicks 2 Year Old Off Flight For Not Wearing A Mask, Threatens To Ban Whole Family

by Gary Leff

Dec 31 2020

A husband and wife boarded their flight on American Airlines from Charlotte to Jacksonville along with their 4 year old and 2 year old and two grandparents. American kicked them off because their two year old wouldn’t keep her mask on. They had no issue on their inbound flight, just their onward connection. And the woman says her daughter was eating, which is allowed.

American Airlines staff in Charlotte reportedly threatened to ban the whole family from the airline.

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Proposed U.S. Covid-19 Testing Requirement Will Strand Americans Abroad

by Gary Leff

passport getting stamped
Dec 31 2020

An American citizen presenting themselves at the border is entitled to enter the country. They can be questioned, searched, and required to quarantine as a public health measure. But as a general matter citizens cannot be denied entry into the country.

Here the government places a requirement on airlines to prevent citizens from presenting themselves at the border. You can’t even get tested in much of the world. And there are few places where you’re allowed to go enroute in order to stop for a test.

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Forget No Change Fees, Qatar Airways Makes All Tickets Refundable

by Gary Leff

qatarplane
Dec 31 2020

Doha-based oneworld carrier Qatar Airways has been among the most creative during the pandemic. They’ve let customers get more credit than the value of their ticket if willing to forego a refund, they’ve offered to let customers convert flight credits into miles. They’ve even improved their award chart, reversing a past devaluation.

Now Qatar has announced that all tickets purchased by April 30, 2021 are refundable. And since they’d rather you not refund your tickets, there are no change fees to make an unlimited number of changes for travel through December 31, 2021.

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U.S. Government May Require Covid-19 Tests For Everyone Arriving Into The Country

by Gary Leff

Dec 30 2020

The U.S. government held a call with airlines today discussing a possible Covid-19 testing requirement for all passengers coming to the U.S. following a similar requirement imposed on arrivals from the U.K. on Monday (including U.S. citizens). Airlines hope a negative Covid-19 test will replace an outright ban on non-citizens who have traveled to certain countries in the past 14 days.

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Man Caught With Gun At TSA Checkpoint, Ran Away, But He Forgot His Shoes – And ID

by Gary Leff

Dec 30 2020

When the screener asked the man to “step aside” he promptly ran away, left the terminal, and hopped into a taxi. He didn’t even stop to collect his shoes, which he’d sent through the x-ray machine as well. He left his bag behind, and also his wallet along with three forms of ID, “his boarding pass, a New York learner’s permit and his passport.”

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If You Don’t Want To Fly On The Boeing 737 MAX, Here’s What To Do

by Gary Leff

inside plane
Dec 30 2020

American Airlines became the first U.S. carrier to fly the Boeing 737 MAX again yesterday, after the aircraft’s ungrounding.

Huge mistakes were made engineering this plane. I believe it is now safe, but many people are worried and don’t want to fly the plane. Here’s what American Airlines will let you do if they change your itinerary so that it is operated by a 737 MAX.

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When You Ask A Hotel To Ship Something For You, They Might Look Inside The Package

by Gary Leff

Dec 29 2020

The problem with living outside the law is you lose its protection. And the more people who are involved in your activities, the greater the risk of getting caught. Asking hotel employees to assist in crimes may seem logical, it is supposed to be a service industry after all. And what happens in Vegas doesn’t truly stay there – that level of discretion is a myth. At least unless you tip really well.

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Alaska Airlines Is Ditching Its Airbus A320s. But Could It Soon Order A321XLRs?

by Gary Leff

alaska airlines plane
Dec 29 2020

Alaska Airlines, based in Seattle, has been an all-Boeing operator. They acquired Virgin America which flew Airbus narrowbodies. It’s seemed from the beginning that they’d eventually dump those planes, and now the fate of Alaska Airlines Airbus A319s and A320s is sealed with Alaska’s order of 23 additional Boeing 737 MAX 9s.

Yet it appears Alaska is talking to Airbus about what to do with the 30 Airbus A320neo orders it inherited from Virgin America – and instead of cancelling, it’s possible they could be converted to A321XLRs.

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