American and United are still charging solo travelers more on some flights, and the differences can be ridiculous. We dig into Thrifty Traveler's follow-up on solo-passenger pricing, why comparing airfare keeps getting more complicated and where American miles still come in handy. Shawn also shares his first impressions of using Seats.aero inside ChatGPT, and we look at United's huge new Houston lounge. Will 800 seats help, or are we just going to end up with another crowded lounge? Before all that, Shawn explains why he postponed his Asia trip and gave up a hard-to-find STARLUX award. Mark has an emergency hotel stay and a San Diego birthday trip that's turning into a lot of back-and-forth. Plus, scam loan calls that won't stop, iPhone call screening, Epic Universe and the frustrations of planning points trips for friends who aren't into miles and points.

Episode Guide:

  • 0:00 Welcome to MTM Travel
  • 0:21 Mark's emergency hotel night
  • 2:07 Why Shawn postponed his Asia trip
  • 5:48 Giving up a hard-to-find STARLUX award
  • 6:45 Universal Orlando and Epic Universe
  • 7:55 Scam loan calls that won't stop
  • 9:33 iPhone call screening and avoiding scam links
  • 11:48 Planning points trips for friends
  • 15:28 Award availability won't wait forever
  • 17:26 Seats.aero award searches in ChatGPT
  • 18:55 What AI gets right and wrong about trip planning
  • 21:03 United's huge new Houston lounge
  • 22:42 Will bigger lounges fix overcrowding?
  • 24:20 More airport lounge choices
  • 26:11 When airport food beats lounge food
  • 27:16 Why solo travelers are paying more
  • 28:40 Fare buckets and comparing flight prices
  • 29:27 Should airlines be allowed to charge solo travelers more?
  • 32:34 Where American miles still deliver
  • 34:55 Final thoughts

Links

🏆 Diamond Patreon — bonus shows + Slack community
🥇 Gold Membership ($10/mo)
🎧 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
📖 Miles to Memories website

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Podden och tillhörande omslagsbild på den här sidan tillhör Shawn Coomer & Mark Ostermann. Innehållet i podden är skapat av Shawn Coomer & Mark Ostermann och inte av, eller tillsammans med, Poddtoppen.