What TikTok Gets Right and Wrong About Travel Hacks
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Here's your Money Briefing for Tuesday, January 14th. I'm J.R. Whalen for The Wall Street Journal.
What kinds of viral travel hacks are flooding TikTok and other social platforms?
Sweet-talking the airline gate agent to get an upgrade. Mixing yourself an espresso martini before boarding your flight. They're among scores of shortcuts and hacks on social media. Then there's the game of check-in chicken.
Oh, this one drives me crazy. Check-in chicken is this idea where if you don't have a seat assignment, there's a chance as airlines shuffle people around in the 24 hours leading up to the flight, by the time you check in and they assign your seat, you might end up with like an extra legroom seat.
We'll talk to Wall Street Journal travel columnist Dawn Gilbertson after the break.
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Why have travel-hacks hashtags surged in popularity and who creates this content?
That's R-E-L-I-A-Q-U-E-S-T.com.
Our columnist Dawn Gilbertson sorted through travel hacks that many social media users have posted. So what works and which could get you in trouble? She joins me now. Dawn, on TikTok, for example, the travel hacks hashtag surged more than 90% last year. Why have these posts become so popular?
First of all, who among us doesn't want to save money, travel more glamorously, pack a little better? So the content is really rich. And also, these people know that that's what people want to get, so they're serving us more and more of it.
Sometimes when I go to the airport, I see passengers ask the gate agent if there are any upgrades available for first class. They almost always say no. But some people online claim that dressing nicely or sweet-talking the agent might do the trick. Is that likely to work?
No. I mean, 99% of the time, probably not. I mean, unless you have super high status in the airline. If you're just a regular traveler with no status on the airline who has a basic economy ticket, it doesn't matter what the heck you're wearing or how nice you are to the gate agent. Your chances of scoring a free upgrade to first class are slim to almost none.
Some people have posted about something called check-in chicken.
What is that?
Does dressing nicely or flattering a gate agent increase your chances of an airline upgrade?
Oh, this one drives me crazy. Check-in chicken is this idea where if you don't have a seat assignment, don't check in right at the 24-hour mark. Wait, because there's a chance as airlines shuffle people around in the 24 hours leading up to the flight, by the time you check in and they assign your seat, you might end up with like an extra legroom seat. There was a TikToker in Europe last year who went viral by explaining her hack. This was a discount airline in Europe. Once online check-in begins, she keeps an eye on the seat map and watches all these middle seats and other seats disappear. And then she hits check-in. And in one of the cases that she reported on, she got an extra legroom seat and didn't pay anything extra.
But if you wait longer and longer, don't you run the risk of getting a really undesirable seat?
Of course, especially on full flights. The thing is, on these airlines, the budget airlines that don't assign seats and you don't pay for them, your chances of landing in the middle are pretty high. And people buy tickets knowing that. So there's nothing inherently wrong with trying this. But I don't want to get people's hopes up in thinking that, well, I'm going to wait to the last minute and I'm going to end up with an exit row aisle.
It's nice to settle into your seat with a nice cup of coffee, but I've seen some posts of people buying coffee before boarding.
What is 'check-in chicken' and when might waiting to check in help or hurt you?
Then they spike it with all kinds of alcohol. So why did you write that this trick could land them in hot water?
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:01–0:42
2
What kinds of viral travel hacks are flooding TikTok and other social platforms?
0:42–1:57
3
Why have travel-hacks hashtags surged in popularity and who creates this content?
1:57–3:21
4
Does dressing nicely or flattering a gate agent increase your chances of an airline upgrade?
3:21–4:34
5
What is 'check-in chicken' and when might waiting to check in help or hurt you?
4:34–9:03
Speakers
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