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 »

Man Spends 15 Nights At Hotel, Charges Meals For Friends, Has No Money

by Gary Leff

Nov 07 2020

In the U.S. you generally check into a hotel, provide a credit card, and many guests don’t check out. It’s polite to let the hotel know you’re leaving so they can clean and turn over your room for the next guest as early as possible. However about the only selfish reason to check out usually is to make sure you get a copy of the bill.

In many parts of the world, including Asia, checking out is far more customary and can take a surprising amount of time. They’ll run your credit card again with you present and insist you sign before leaving.

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Passenger Steals Flight Attendant’s Meal, Breaks Lavatory Door, Urinates in Seat

by Gary Leff

Nov 07 2020

A man and his son were flying from Larnaca, Cyprus to Mancester, U.K. on British holiday airline Jet2. The father became aggressive with another passenger after being asked to wear his face mask. The men yelled at flight attendants and followed them into the galley, threatened to drag one of the cabin crew off the plane and also to urinate on other passengers.

And it all started out over a flight attendant’s meal – that the man’s son supposedly stole and ate.

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Watch: Police Chase A Honda On The Van Nuys Airport Runway As Driver Waves Out Window And Roof

by Gary Leff

Nov 07 2020

Two police cars followed a Honda that stormed onto the runway at the Van Nuys airport on Friday. The driver moved erratically while waving one hand out the sunroof, another out the side window. Maybe he was steering with his knees, or not steering at all.

When the driver was finally caught around 9 a.m. he “cooperated with officers, but also rambled about being followed by the government and the Mexican cartel.”

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New Transatlantic Budget Airline Says They’ll Charge For Soap, Offer Flights To People With Covid-19

by Gary Leff

Nov 06 2020

Mom Air has sent out a press release, and promises a press conference November 11, announcing the launch of their new budget airline offering transatlantic flights out of Iceland. Bookings are supposed to open November 9 for travel March 1, 2021 onward.

In nearly every respect, including the logo, this appears to be a copy of Wow Air which failed even during better times for the airline industry – except they promise two free seats on every flight (you’ll be able to go to their website and search for available free travel), they’re putting gender equality at the forefront, and they plan segregated flights for those who have Covid-19 (or have been exposed and are quarantining) and those who do not.

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Free Full Breakfast No Longer A Brand Standard For Hyatt Place

by Gary Leff

hotel breakfast food
Nov 06 2020

Hyatt Place is changing its breakfast offerings. They are going to vary by region of the world. Guests will no longer be guaranteed a free hot breakfast at any Hyatt Place in the world, even if they are members of World of Hyatt booking direct. That’s a huge change.

This degrades the premium brand that Hyatt Place has built. You still get reasonably stylish large rooms. I’m a fan of Hyatt Places generally, at least the properties that aren’t ex-AmeriSuites. Fortunately the change shouldn’t affect top tier Hyatt elites.

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This Tyrannosaurus Rex Gave The Safety Demonstration Before A Eurowings Flight

by Gary Leff

Nov 06 2020

Video captured what happens when a Tyrannosaurus Rex gives the inflight safety briefing on Eurowings, the Lufthansa-owned low cost carrier. It’s a little tough for a dinosaur to make nuanced movements, even leaving aside that they’re extinct.

The life vest doesn’t fit over his head and he eventually sticks it in his mouth in order to demonstrate pulling on the cord that would inflate it. Watch to the end, because grabbing the overhead bin with its mouth is priceless.

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FAA Warns Airlines: Covid Disinfecting Could Make Planes Less Safe

by Gary Leff

Nov 06 2020

In the past when airlines struggled financially one of the first areas they cut back was cleaning, going over a year even without a deep clean. Despite Covid-19 being a bigger threat to airlines than 9/11 and the Great Recession combined, airlines have stepped up their cleaning to give passengers confidence to fly. It’s a welcome change that I hope continues even after the pandemic is done.

Nonetheless the FAA has concerns over some of the chemicals being used, and how they’re applied.

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