Latest news with #ClintHenderson
CBS News
18 hours ago
- Business
- CBS News
Delta plans to use AI in ticket pricing. Here's how it could impact the cost to fly
Artificial intelligence could set the price of your next flight. One of the nation's biggest airlines, Delta, is making headlines after its president revealed plans to double down on using AI to dynamically set ticket pricing. The airline plans to use AI to set prices for up to 20% of its domestic flights by the end of the year, up from its current 3%. "We like what we see, we like it a lot, and we're continuing to roll it out," Delta's president said during a recent investor call. Clint Henderson with the travel website says integrating artificial intelligence takes the dynamic pricing model airlines already use and puts it on steroids. "Airlines already have a huge team of revenue managers who are looking to see what demand is like in different markets, what days of the week they should raise, when they should lower prices, how fare buckets are selling or not selling, and adjusting prices accordingly," Henderson said. "So instead of having 10 humans doing pricing, they'll have a machine doing it for them." But Delta's plan is hitting turbulence. Three U.S. senators sent a letter to the airline raising privacy concerns, accusing Delta of using personal data to set individualized prices. We asked Delta for comment, and a spokesperson said the airline isn't using personal data to charge customers different fares. "There is no fare product Delta has ever used, is testing or plans to use that targets customers with individualized offers based on personal information or otherwise," a Delta spokesperson said in an emailed statement. "A variety of market forces drive the dynamic pricing model that's been used in the global industry for decades, with new tech simply streamlining this process. Delta always complies with regulations around pricing and disclosures." However, Delta executives previously said to investors that the technology is capable of setting fares based on what it predicts someone would be willing to pay for that ticket. Fetcherr, the company providing the technology to Delta, previously bragged about "hyper-personalization" of prices before scrubbing it from its site, travel site Thrifty Traveler first reported. Frequent flyer Rebecca Perschon says she worries the high-tech approach could make it harder to know whether you're getting a good deal. "I think we'd be at a disadvantage," Perschon said, noting she and her husband are usually limited to traveling at peak times on weekends and during holidays due to their work schedules. "We just kind of have to build that into our travel budget every year, sadly." Henderson said as more airlines use more data to set prices, inevitably, what you pay will become more personal and less predictable. "Machines are better than humans at setting prices, so prices overall could trend higher," he said. "That's why airlines are investing in this."
Bloomberg
2 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Booking, Caesar's earnings reflect 'summer of savings': Henderson
Clint Henderson, travel expert at The Points Guy, says inbound travel 'has been dropping like a rock.' He tells Romaine Bostick and Scarlet Fu on 'The Close' that domestic travel is also declining, as travelers move away from the era of 'free on everything.' (Source: Bloomberg)
14-07-2025
What to know about secondhand travel booking: Expert tips to get discounts on dream destinations
If your wanderlust has had you wondering how to score travel to a dream destination for less, look no further than secondhand vacations. Clint Henderson, managing editor at The Points Guy, told "Good Morning America" that the "fairly new trend" of buying trips from people who have had to cancel their non-refundable stays has cropped up with an increased interest from travelers hoping to save. Websites such as SpareFare, Roomer, Plans Change and Transfer Travel offer discounted accommodations to would-be travelers who can purchase trips from someone that's no longer able to make it. The sites also offer discounts on hotel room rates, flights and packages that are particularly helpful for anyone looking to go overseas. "They're sort of like eBay," Henderson said. "You can go and bid on 'used' vacations -- people who can't take their trips are selling on these marketplaces." While there are variables to the markdowns, savings are still on the horizon with these sites. For example, a luxury cruise from Virgin Voyages -- five-nights for two adults, complete with an extra-large sea terrace -- that was originally listed at $3,192 is now being offered for just $2,600 -- a nearly 20% discount. One recent Roomer offer in the Netherlands had a five-night stay at Urban Residences Rotterdam, originally priced at $753, available for just $50. As with all travel bookings, Henderson suggests reading the fine print carefully when searching for deals on reseller sites and considering airline vacation packages. "One of my favorites is AA Vacations," he said, referring to American Airlines bundle offers. "A lot of times, I'll find deals up to 40% off. You pick the hotel, you pick the flight you want, you pick the dates." While secondhand sites can provide travelers with another tool in the hunt for bargains, Henderson explained that there's a caveat when it comes to ticket changes. "It is really, really, really hard, especially these days, in a post-9/11 world, to change the name on an airline ticket," he reminded. "You would have to find out if the airline will allow you to change the name. A lot of times, there's fees for ticket name changes, and there could even be a ticket repricing."
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How does a weaker dollar impact US vacationers?
The decline in the value of the U.S. dollar this year has made Americans' vacations abroad more expensive than in recent years, which could stretch travelers' budgets more than anticipated. So far in 2025, the U.S. dollar has declined about 10% relative to a basket of popular foreign currencies, according to The Wall Street Journal's U.S. Dollar Index (DXY). The weaker dollar means that Americans' purchasing power overseas is generally lower than it was in the past few years, with vacationers facing relatively higher prices. "Welcome to inflation again," Clint Henderson, managing editor at The Points Guy, told FOX Business. "You're looking at prices being anywhere from 8% to as high as 14% higher across the board, especially in Europe, due to the weakness of the U.S. dollar." Dollar Slides To 3-Year Low On Report Trump Plans To Name Next Fed Chair Early "To put it in perspective, the U.S. dollar has been on a multiyear tear, so we've really benefited the last couple of years – it's just with the way things are now, prices are going to be slightly higher than they have been the past couple of years for Americans traveling to Europe specifically and also Asia, especially Japan," he said. Read On The Fox Business App Henderson noted that those who had already locked in prices months ago may not see the impact in that line item of their travel budget – though the dollar's decline is likely to still be felt in other aspects of travel spending. "Hopefully most folks have already locked in their hotel prices, so they're not going to be paying a lot more for hotels," he added. "But food costs, transportation costs… everything's going up in price." Trump Announces Higher Tariff Rates For More Countries In Letters Published On Social Media One bright spot for travelers' budgets can be found in relatively cheaper flights to and from vacationers' destinations, Henderson noted. "The good news is, I'm calling this the 'summer of savings' when it comes to airfare, because prices are down substantially for airfare, so hopefully any more expense you're paying when you're traveling has been sort of balanced by cheaper airfare," he explained. The dollar's recent downturn comes after it was relatively stronger than foreign currencies in the last few years. Tariffs Will Revert To April Levels If Countries Don't Make A Deal By August 1, Bessent Says David Bahnsen, managing partner and chief investment officer of the Bahnsen Group, told FOX Business that the main reason "is the fact that it had gone up 10% the year before, and in 2025 was just giving that move back." "The DXY right now is basically where it was three years ago – not higher or lower, though it spent most of the last three years higher than it is now, and it spent most of the ten years before that lower than it is now," he said. The volatility and downward trend the dollar has experienced this year stems from uncertainty over trade policy and tariffs, as markets take the higher costs into account. "The specific catalyst besides the fact that it was over-priced relative to other currencies and due for a correction is this trade and tariff volatility. Imports get more expensive with a weaker dollar even as exports get cheaper," Bahnsen article source: How does a weaker dollar impact US vacationers?
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
3 ways to conduct your mid-year credit check-in
Americans sat on over $1.2 trillion in credit card balances in the first quarter of 2025, according to the New York Federal Reserve. Clint Henderson, The Points Guy managing editor, breaks down how to maximize credit card rewards and avoid costly fees in the second half of the year. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Wealth here. According to the New York Fed, Americans credit balances totaled 1.2 trillion dollars in the first quarter. And as part of our mid-year financial checkup, I want to bring in Clint Henderson, who's the points guy managing editor. Clint, good to see you once again. What should consumers be checking in on at this halfway point of the year? So you want to make sure that you're squeezing every last drop of your statement credits that you get for some of the premium credit cards. Uh you want to check to see if you're in the market for a credit card. So, know your credit score, you know, maybe shop around. We've seen some insanely good uh offers right now in the in the past couple of months. I know several off the top of my head where you can get 100,000 points or miles for signing up for a credit card. Um, but right now you want to be checking that you're getting the maximum value from all your cards. Make sure you set up some uh automatic payment schedules so you're not missing any payments because that really dings your credit score. Uh, you want to make sure you're paying off the balances every month and then like I said, squeeze every, you know, a lot of cards now have, we call it couponning. So, you have to make sure that you're getting all the statement credits that you're eligible for. You can see some of the rules on your screen. Um, you want to not carry balances, avoid foreign transaction fees, a lot of cards have no foreign transaction fees. Um, you want to check to see if you're paying fees for making payments. So, increasingly we're seeing like a 2% or 3% charge to use a credit card. Uh, that's exorbitant and you shouldn't be paying that cuz then you you're erasing any of the benefits you get from having a rewards credit card. Uh, but there are cards out there like the Wells Fargo built card that actually comes, uh, you can pay your rent with that with no transaction fees, uh, some some billing will let you pay without a transaction fee. So make sure you're not getting hit with a transaction fee when you're using your credit cards. If you're in a good position to sign up for a new card, what should you be looking for? Look for a giant sign-up bonus. You know, we just saw a huge sign-up bonus from Chase. I have a feeling more coming down the pike. You know, 100,000 points or miles for for a low annual fee card is a no-brainer in my mind. I think the American Airlines executive card right now has 100,000 American Airlines miles. Uh, you know, some of these cards have really valuable sign-up bonuses and you know, I'm kind of the outlier because I have 27 credit cards. Uh, but you know, that's how I'm able to travel the world in business class because I'm signing up for a lot of credit cards, earning those sign up bonuses, and then downgrading the card after a year if I don't want to pay the annual fee, but you can bet I have a spreadsheet where I track every single card and its benefits and make sure I'm getting all those benefits. Dozens of cards you've told me you had before here. So once you do get a new card, how do you accumulate those points by the end of the year? So, the main thing is you want to meet the terms of the signup bonus. So a lot of the cards, you have to spend a certain amount of money in the first three months of card opening. So make sure you're tracking that. I have made that mistake myself where I signed up for a business credit card, and then I spent $998 instead of a thousand and I did not get the sign-up bonus. So make sure you're getting those sign-up bonuses. And then use the cards that come with bonuses on on certain categories of spending. So the Chase Sapphire preferred card for example, gives you extra points on travel, uh, on things like ride shares and taxis. So you want to make sure that you're using the right card. You know, some people in this hobby go to the length of putting little stickers on their partners cards to make sure they know what to use which card for which store because of the bonus categories. So there's lots of ins and outs. You don't have to get quite that deep into the hobby, but, uh, make sure at least for the main card that you're using that you know what category bonuses it might have. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
