I Asked ChatGPT To Explain 3 Complicated Travel Hacks to Me Like I’m 12 — Here’s What It Said
Written by
Dawn Allcot
Edited by
Cory Dudak
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While ChatGPT has its flaws, including rampant hallucinations and an overly solicitous manner, many users have found success asking ChatGPT for travel tips. Often, you can get the best answers from ChatGPT by asking it to explain complex concepts as if you were a 12-year-old.
Travel hacking, which ChatGPT described as finding tricks and deals to travel for less money or free, is not as simple as you might think. Here’s how ChatGPT explained three common money-saving travel hacks for easy understanding.
Skiplagging
ChatGPT described skiplagging, also called “hidden city ticketing,” as a travel trick some people use to secure cheaper plane tickets. “Let’s say you want to fly from New York to Chicago, but the ticket is really expensive,” ChatPGT said. “A ticket from New York to Denver with a stop in Chicago might be cheaper — even though it’s a longer trip!”
Instead of buying a ticket to Chicago, you purchase a ticket to Denver, but get off the plane in Chicago and stay there.
ChatGPT shared a few caveats, as well. For instance, you can’t check a bag because it will go all the way to your destination city. You can’t skiplag with roundtrip tickets, either, because if you miss a portion of your flight, the airline might cancel the rest of your ticket.
Finally, ChatGPT said, “You can’t skiplag all the time. Airlines don’t like it, and they might get mad or cancel your tickets if you do it too much.”
Stopover Hack
ChatGPT called “free stopovers” the positive twin of skiplagging. “It’s not sneaky or against the rules — in fact, airlines want you to use it,” the AI said.
“Let’s say you book a flight from New York to Paris on Icelandair. Instead of flying straight through, you could fly from New York and stop in Reykjavik for three days and then continue to Paris,” ChatGPT explained. “Same price. Two countries. Total win.”
To leverage this hack, book directly on the airline’s website, choose a flight with a long layover, and then extend it for a few days.
If you combine this hack with hotel rewards or credit card miles, you might even be able to secure a free hotel stay in your stopover city. Some airlines also offer free hotels or city tours when you book a multi-day stopover, ChatGPT shared.
Credit Card Churning
Most people know you can use rewards credit cards and frequent flyer miles to travel for free or earn discounted flights and hotel stays. But savvy travel hackers use a trick called “credit card churning” to earn huge welcome bonuses on cards with no annual fee for the first year, cash in massive rewards, and then cancel the card.
Churners “plan ahead to make sure they can hit that target without buying random stuff,” ChatGPT said. They use spreadsheets, apps and calendar alerts to keep track of required spending, specific spending categories, and important dates — like how long they have to earn the bonus and when they should cancel the card.
“Some travel hackers open three to five new cards per year or more, but only if they can keep up with the rules and spending limits,” ChatGPT said.
Of course, card churning and other credit card travel hacks only work if you don’t carry a balance that accrues interest, which is personal finance advice even a 12-year-old should know.
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