Am I the only one who yearns for the days when the most deceiving online airline advice was to dress up so that you can score a free upgrade?
In this post:
I can’t with all of these dishonest, garbage travel tips
As you’d expect, those magical internet algorithms serve me a lot of airline content on platforms like Instagram. Look, I don’t want to be a jerk, but it just blows my mind with what frequency we see advice that’s downright horrible. And that’s being polite — it’s horrible and unhelpful at best, and an outright lie at worst. I’m not meaning to call out any particular person here, but here are a few I’ve seen this morning alone…
For example, take the below guy who has nearly 400K followers on Instagram, who shares a video that starts with another influencer saying “I learned this tip from a friend who is also a traveler, and I’m gonna share it with you guys, because it just changed the game.” Then the video pans over the dude with all the knowledge,.
“I didn’t realize that nobody knew this. You don’t need travel credit cards to access airport lounges. If you don’t want to pay those ridiculous $700 fees for travel credit cards, then Priority Pass is going to be your best friend. Priority Pass will get you access to almost every single airport lounge, for a one-time price of just $74, which gives you access for an entire year.”
Right, the reason “nobody knew this” is because it’s just not true. Yes, you can buy the $74 Priority Pass membership, which gives you zero complimentary lounge visits per year. Then that gives you the privilege of paying $35 per person for each lounge visit. What a detail to leave out, eh? And Priority Pass gets you access to “almost every single airport lounge,” really?
So paying $74 plus $35 per visit is better than picking up a credit card with an annual fee of under $400 per year, which offers automatic credits and miles that basically offset the annual fee, along with a Priority Pass membership with unlimited visits?
This same dude has another video where his friend opens with “there’s nothing you can do to convince me that this isn’t the most fire hack of all time.” Then it pans over to the dude with all the secrets.
“So apparently it’s not common knowledge, you can access every single one of Delta’s airport lounges without needing a Delta credit card. It’s actually through this airline that you probably never even thought about. Kenya Airways is offering a status match by going to this link where they will match your status for basically every single airline out there. And if you have Gold status, you get unlimited access to every single SkyTeam lounge, that includes Delta.”
Right, so that’s great, except for the fact that it ignores some major points. The status match costs $99, and you get access to Delta’s lounges if you’re traveling internationally the same day. That’s kind of an important detail to leave out, no?
Or there’s the below guy, who has some different airport lounge access tips.
“Airports actually let all passengers into lounges, but only if they know how to ask. Most people think that fancy airport lounges are just for business travelers or people flying first class, but what 99% of people don’t know is that you can get in for the price of a sandwich if you know where to look. Here’s what you do. You go to the airport’s website and see if they accept something called day pass, which 95% of all airports do. Then follow the link over to day pass, and purchase a ticket for as little as $20. This will get you and one other person you’re traveling with full access to all the airport lounges. So instead of spending $18 on a dry sandwich and $6 on a water, you now get to sit in a lounge, eat, charge your phone, and chill, for the same price.”
Yeah… no, none of that.
I could go on and on, but this is as much as I’m going to subject y’all to. The problem is that I’d say that every second post I’m served is of that quality. I dunno, maybe the algorithm has decided that I like fake travel news, and that’s why I get it, but it’s certainly a little problematic.
The evolving way media is consumed is concerning
I get that short form video content is very popular nowadays, as it’s how a lot of (especially young) people consume media. Fair enough. I think the challenge is the type of content this encourages, especially with platforms like TikTok, where everything can go viral.
Essentially, every piece of advice online has to be an “elevator pitch” of sorts, and immediately captivate people. Nobody wants to hear “here are five tips that could make your travels better.” They want to hear “here are the tricks airlines don’t want you to know,” or “I can’t believe no one else knows these travel hacks,” or “there’s nothing you can do to convince me that this isn’t the most fire hack of all time,” because of course people are going to click on those things.
Between the proliferation of this type of content, plus the increasing use of AI, it certainly causes some concerns about the level of knowledge people have about things. Admittedly this goes way beyond the travel industry, and probably explains a large part of our bigger societal issues.
Look, don’t get me wrong, all forms of media have their downsides and imperfection. Like, I’m far from perfect, and I make mistakes. But I actually try my best to give decent advice, and have a lot of experience in the things I’m talking about.
Bottom line
It just seems like there’s a huge increase lately in the amount of social media content with “secrets airlines don’t want you to know.” All too often, the only thing that’s true about this content is that airlines do in fact not want you to know, because people learning totally false information doesn’t benefit anyone.
Can anyone make sense of all of this?
i get annoyed at influencers saying "Yo, I flew business class for the price of an economy ticket! YOu can, too!" And they don't mention that you need to spend money to earn the points to fly.
We were all young and stupid!
Let the ignorant live ignorantly...they will smarten up someday when they are old and wise!
No need to help them!
How about the credit card reviews on the major news websites?
I had a four-hour layover at ICN two weeks ago, and decided I'd go check out an area near an AREX station between flights. I inputted the possible stops into ChatGPT, and ChatGPT's comparison favoured an area with great coffee and a new development. Since I'd decided I'd leave the airport on a whim, I didn't think as much to cross-check this information by other sources.
I ended up in a construction site. Turns out...
I had a four-hour layover at ICN two weeks ago, and decided I'd go check out an area near an AREX station between flights. I inputted the possible stops into ChatGPT, and ChatGPT's comparison favoured an area with great coffee and a new development. Since I'd decided I'd leave the airport on a whim, I didn't think as much to cross-check this information by other sources.
I ended up in a construction site. Turns out this was meant to be a snazzy new development area...in 2029.
Day passes rarely even work anymore. Flew out of MIA at 8am last Saturday (hardly a peak travel time/date) and the Admirals Club had a sign outside saying they would not accept day passes. That sign is out there more often than not.
And, then, there's Joe Rogan.
But, seriously folks, I've personally seen one of these influencers staging one of these things with a "cameraman." It's just to put up sensational content. Because it means clicks. Which means advertising revenue. Like the hokey pokey, that's what it's all about.
Lounges seem to have a fascination from people who have never been or don't go very often, and it's evident even in the way they act when they're in the lounges, often more loud, brash, and gorge themselves on food that frankly aren't that great to begin with.
There are lounges which are quite nice and offer great food (mostly in Asia), but in most cases, they end up just being a place where you can get some quiet in a corner and recharge a bit before a flight.
Fake lounge access tips are bad, but then there are AI-generated detailed trip suggestions that send people to non-existent "sacred canyons" in Peru, or recommend watching sunset from a mountain top in Japan and taking the last cable car down at 17:30, except that the cable car actually stops running way before that time.
And I do think that there is real frustration with premium credit cards that come with coupon-book benefits, at least for...
Fake lounge access tips are bad, but then there are AI-generated detailed trip suggestions that send people to non-existent "sacred canyons" in Peru, or recommend watching sunset from a mountain top in Japan and taking the last cable car down at 17:30, except that the cable car actually stops running way before that time.
And I do think that there is real frustration with premium credit cards that come with coupon-book benefits, at least for old fogies who get their own groceries, drive their own car or use public transportation, eat restaurant food in restaurants, and bike outdoors and not on a Peloton :)
This garbage on the internet is not only about travel but everything: food, diet, weight loss, fitness, etc. 100% disinformation.
This is what you get when you don't read the fine print and do your due diligence and research. A modernized version of too-good-to-be-true internet/TV/print media ads.
Also to really know this hobby means making some mistakes and learning from them.
This is similar to what happened in the fitness space in the 2010s online (and is still going on). Not to pat you on the back, but you at least hold yourself to high standards and make a valiant attempt at fact checking and accountability. These folks wouldn't know a fact checker if they smacked them upside the head.
This sort of misinformation has become common in many areas of life.
Still, I do not see perceive it as a threat. Truly curious travels will read OMAAT, or Prince of Travel, to get educated perspectives. Individuals seeking true scientific data on other topics can go to a university's journals. Truth exists, for whoever seeks it out.
This is why I appreciate excellent reporting so much, such as the hallmark OMAAT series " A Downgraded Adventure to Oman."
I agree that truth is out there for those who seek it though it can be hard to find amongst a sea of misinformation. What worries me is the shocking decline in critical thinking skills. How many people would question those posts or do further research to verify what is being said. That is lacking so much these days in all subjects, not just the travel space.
Travel advisors are a dying breed anyway. It's sad what they claim to ger clicks.
I actually didn't know about that Kenya Airways status match. Knowing the conditions, it still sounds like a good deal lol!
Recently, I got the "travel hack advice" that I could load up our travel carseat bag with diapers, baby clothes, etc, and since it's baby-related it gets checked for free.
Learned the hard way when I had to pay $100 for the extra checked bag, because the truth is that only the car seat can be in the carrier bag.
Yup.
I hate this, because travel is bad enough without disappointment from BS social-media tips, especially as increasingly with travel hacking, as with life, you get what you pay for.
I’m too old to consume Instalame shorts, but if I did, then anything that starts with “You will not believe this hack……” and I am outa there!!!
Uncle Ronnie, I must say I appreciate your contributions and you don’t give a vibe of “old man yells at cloud.” Still, your self-identification as too old amuses me.
https://www.dailydot.com/memes/old-man-yells-at-cloud-meme/
I have an employee who travels internationally about once per year. Naturally, she bought the Amex Platinum card so she could access lounges when she travels. You can imagine how upset she was when I told her she could skip the Amex and its $895 annual fee by simply buying a $50 day pass to a lounge on that one day she travels.
She sounds like the kind of person who would redeem 100K amex points for a toaster and feel like she got an amazing deal, LOL
Wikipedia is the best thing ever. Anyone in the world can write anything they want about any subject. So you know you are getting the best possible information.
Actually, Wikipedia is not as bad as you say it is, and I say that as a retired full professor. Yes, everybody can edit it, but other editors will delete incorrect information. If there is an edit war, it is resolved by discussion among uninvolved editors. I’m sure misinformation can linger on a backwater topic, but on active pages, misinformation won’t survive long. There will always be someone to check it.
Even at the end...
Actually, Wikipedia is not as bad as you say it is, and I say that as a retired full professor. Yes, everybody can edit it, but other editors will delete incorrect information. If there is an edit war, it is resolved by discussion among uninvolved editors. I’m sure misinformation can linger on a backwater topic, but on active pages, misinformation won’t survive long. There will always be someone to check it.
Even at the end of my career, I wouldn’t allow Wikipedia citations, but that’s because encyclopedias generally can’t capture the nuances of theoretical concepts. It’s no longer the wasteland it was in its early days, and I even financially support it once in a while.
Uninvolved person resolving things? Ha, no, it is a bunch of teens who vote for each other to be administrators then ban people left and right. It is comical.
Wikipedia is really bad. Once it banned an expert because the expert mentioned their qualifications. Wikipedia thought everyone is equal and mentioning your qualifications is against equality!
Nothing new, just a new way to lie and fool people and make money.
you didnt even mention the worst/most common issue on the points side of instagram: the exaggeration of one-way fares to inflate cpp
"whoa london-NYC would have been 6k one way if booked with cash!!! i got 10cpp!!!!"
Julia/geobreeze for example is usually a smart/fair/overall good content creator but even she succumbs to this garbage and she knows better
Sad to say, point.me does the same thing in its ratings of “good deal “ and “great deal.” Those flags are totally unreliable.
I think it reflects the broader paradigm shift for how Gen Z produces and consumes information: short snappy videos that require relatively little thought and effort.
I don’t think they have desire (or maybe attention span) to actually read your blog for sound advice. Would be interested to know if you have any insight into the age demographics of your visitors
@ Alec -- And it's totally fair to consume short form content. What puzzles me is how people settle for downright lies. Like I said, though, perhaps indicative of a larger problem in our society.
not only do lies get more views because they're punchy and "let you guys in" on "hidden secrets that most don't know," they also generate controversy and iterative engagement cycles when people who actually know things correct the record in the comments.
silicon valley LOVES lies!
A $20 day pass? I can't imagine what such a lounge would be like.
@ George N Romey -- That $20 price is for two people, since it includes a guest, apparently!
Oh, I can imagine what it's like. The IASS Hawaii Lounge in Honolulu. Soda, no food, one TV, and old furniture. Where $10/person is a ripoff.