Frontier Guts Elite Status, TSA Brings Back Gate Access, and Airfare Is Getting Ugly

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The whole gang is here! Ed and Richard are joined by Summer Hull and newly ChatGPT-certified travel genius Julian Kheel for an episode that somehow takes 17 minutes to get to the news—and makes pretty good use of those 17 minutes.

First, there's a celebration: Miles To Go has officially passed 10,000 YouTube subscribers. There's also an update on Richard's missing birthday present, the Flight Wall Mini, and the group examines ChatGPT's scientific determination that there's a "surprisingly strong case" for Julian being a genius.

Then they finally get to the news.

The TSA is testing Gateside, which allows TSA PreCheck members at participating airports to request access beyond security even when they aren't flying. That means meeting someone at the gate—or accompanying a family member who needs help—could once again become possible. Julian loves the idea, Summer isn't planning recreational trips to the gate, and Richard points out that there have always been…other ways to accomplish this.

There's potentially another TSA change coming as well: allowing PreCheck members to bring water through security. But Ed has questions about how smoothly Gateside will actually work when travelers arrive at the checkpoint without a boarding pass, especially given Richard's recent experiences with TSA Touch Free.

After Julian departs, the conversation turns to Frontier's major loyalty changes. Diamond status will become easier to earn, but mileage earning is being reduced across fares and several elite benefits are disappearing unless travelers purchase bundles. Richard says Frontier will become much more situational for his family, especially with Gold members losing seat selection at booking.

But Frontier's changes come at a particularly interesting time because domestic airfare is getting painful. Summer is paying Frontier for an upcoming family trip to Orlando because comparable United tickets were roughly $2,500–$3,000 for four people. Richard faced similarly painful pricing from New York. Without Spirit providing as much low-cost competition, the group discusses whether we're already seeing the effects in leisure markets such as Orlando and Las Vegas.

And miles aren't necessarily saving the day. Summer found United awards running 40,000–50,000 miles for expensive Orlando flights, while international award travel brings its own problem: increasingly painful taxes and fees, particularly when traveling as a family.

There are still wins. Summer snagged business class to Europe for 68,000 United miles per person with minimal fees, while Ed found reasonably priced Honolulu–Sydney awards and used an Atmos Rewards 100,000-mile companion certificate. The game isn't dead—but having flexibility, alerts and the right tools is becoming increasingly important.

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