Testing Seats.aero AI redemption tool to maximize ...

I am an enormous fan of utilizing Seats.aero to search out the most effective award availability in seconds. It has reworked how I redeem my factors and miles, as I can search throughout a number of routes, dates and loyalty packages without delay moderately than spending hours trawling by way of airline search platforms that will or might not work correctly.

I take advantage of it day-after-day.

Seats.aero has been steadily including factors and miles redemption instruments, like exhibiting all Lufthansa and Japan Airways first-class award availability, or which routes have Qatar Airways Qsuite award availability and the flexibility to set specific alerts if a seat is not initially available.

Whereas I’ve dabbled in utilizing synthetic intelligence to assist plan my journey (with mixed results), to date I have never actually used AI to redeem factors and miles, believing that ChatGPT or Claude could not discover award availability, not to mention provide recommendation on the best-value redemption choices.

Seats.aero is addressing this with its new AI Assistant.

I just lately had just a few days free and loads of transferable bank card factors throughout a number of packages to make use of. So I put Seats.aero’s new instrument to the check to see if AI might assist me get the most effective worth from my factors and miles, and likewise possibly function a one-stop store for journey planning.

Associated: How (and why) you should earn transferable credit card points

use Seats.aero’s new AI Assistant

What makes this new characteristic stand out is the mixture of marrying skilled redemption recommendation (like the most effective switch associate for every of your transferable bank card factors for a selected flight) with dwell award pricing. To my data, there isn’t any different instrument in the marketplace on the time of publication that may do that.

You may chat with the AI Assistant simply as you’d discuss to Claude or ChatGPT and ask it sure questions associated to journey plans (it might probably’t present you an ideal chocolate chip cookie recipe, sadly).

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The Seats.aero AI Assistant can reply questions in regards to the following journey subjects:

• Airways routes, alliances, switch companions, loyalty packages, cabins operated and dwell award availability
• Journey planning to search out who operates which routes, schedules and close by airport alternate options
• Money prices of typical fares, airline product comparisons
• Resort dwell award searches with comparisons of value, worth and high quality due to sister site Rooms.aero
• Normal journey data, together with vacation spot climate, airport suggestions and itinerary actions

What you achieve in with the ability to marry particular redemption recommendation with dwell availability, you lose on this AI Assistant with the ability to present sure common journey recommendation, together with:

• Forex conversion
• Normal math
• Medical and authorized recommendation
• Non-travel trivia
• Dwell availability of loyalty packages that aren’t supported by Seats.aero.

The interface can also be comparatively primary in which you could’t search earlier chats, department them to new chats and there aren’t any exterior hyperlinks you’ll be able to click on for extra data.

Associated: How AI is transforming the future of travel

Discovering a vacation spot to maximise redemption worth

I gave the AI Assistant the dates I wished to journey, with the instruction to discover a nonstop flight from Boston Logan Worldwide Airport (BOS) to a vacation spot inside 3 hours, for a 3-night journey, the place I might get nice worth from my factors and miles for each flights and lodging.

I additionally listed just a few locations I did not wish to journey to as I had already visited them a number of occasions, together with New York and Washington, D.C., and I suggested which transferable factors I had obtainable to redeem (Chase Ultimate Rewards points, Capital One miles and Citi ThankYou Rewards points).

I did not initially present the AI Assistant with my private journey preferences and dislikes, or with what I hoped to do on this journey, past getting nice worth from my factors and miles.

The AI Assistant gave the next short-listed vacation spot choices:

• Buffalo, New York
• Columbus, Ohio
• Cleveland, Ohio

I settled on Buffalo, as I’ve at all times wished to go to Niagara Falls.

What worth did I get from my factors and miles utilizing this AI Assistant?

The AI Assistant had urged Buffalo primarily for the excessive factors and miles redemption worth, and advisable I guide the next:

• Fly from Boston to Buffalo Niagara Worldwide Airport (BUF) nonstop on American Airways. Whereas I had AAdvantage miles due to the awesome Citi ThankYou Rewards transfer option and will guide this flight for 8,500 AAdvantage miles, Seats.aero discovered a greater worth, with dwell award availability, for simply 6,000 Etihad Guest miles, which I might switch from Capital One or Citi at a 1:1 fee. Similar flight, however 2,500 miles cheaper, noting, nevertheless, that taxes and charges are barely larger through Etihad Visitor than AAdvantage ($19.20 versus $5.60). This saved round $100 on the money worth of the identical ticket.
• Keep on the Hyatt Regency Buffalo for 3 nights for simply 8,000 factors per night time by transferring my Chase Final Rewards factors to World of Hyatt at a 1:1 fee, saving $210 per night time. World of Hyatt members don’t pay taxes or resort charges on redemptions.
• Fly again from Buffalo to New York’s John F. Kennedy Worldwide Airport (JFK) on JetBlue for 8,400 JetBlue TrueBlue factors, which might be transferred from Chase Final Rewards or Citi ThankYou Rewards at a 1:1 fee, saving $84 on the money worth. I wanted to return to New York moderately than Boston for an onward flight, as I defined to the AI Assistant.

Associated: The best Category 1 Hyatt properties

Whereas the flights offered respectable, although not spectacular, redemption worth for my transferable bank card factors (the schedule was extra essential to me than the fee financial savings), the Hyatt redemption was glorious worth, giving me nearly 3 cents per level.

I booked this journey simply earlier than the recent World of Hyatt category changes; nevertheless, I can see that below the brand new five-tiered pricing system, there are dozens of nights at this property this summer time obtainable on the new “Low” fee of simply 7,500 factors per night time.

Associated: A data analysis of Hyatt award chart changes across 1,078 properties

What was the precise journey like?

To check the total capabilities of the Seats.aero AI Assistant, I did no analysis prematurely of the journey past what I requested the AI Assistant. Figuring out I had achieved good worth in redeeming my factors and miles for flights and lodging to Buffalo, I then requested the AI Assistant to place collectively a day by day itinerary, offering some private likes and dislikes and asking it to prioritize the Niagara Falls go to.

The AI Assistant was nice at transport logistics (particularly in comparison with my ChatGPT expertise in Las Vegas final 12 months), providing recommendations for getting from the airport to the lodge through public transport.

The Buffalo lodging was… tremendous.

It was an older-style Hyatt Regency that was beginning to look a bit of dated. It was glorious worth for 8,000 factors per night time with no taxes or charges. If I had paid $200+ per night time, I might’ve been barely underwhelmed, however this exhibits the worth of factors and miles.

I am at all times eager to pattern native delicacies after I journey, so I requested the AI Assistant to advocate some native dishes I need to attempt in Buffalo.

It urged “beef on weck”, thinly sliced roast beef piled excessive on a German Kaiser-style roll, accompanied by au jus, pickle and horseradish. When requested the place to search out the most effective place to have lunch within the metropolis, the AI Assistant searched evaluations of distributors serving this and urged Charlie the Butcher, a brief stroll from my lodge and this was a tasty lunchtime meal.

I hadn’t joined the dots that buffalo wings originated in Buffalo, however the AI Assistant advisable that if I solely eat one factor in Buffalo, it must be buffalo wings. It urged two locations: one close to my lodge and the opposite, the birthplace of this well-known dish, Anchor Bar, which was a 25-minute stroll or a 5-minute Lyft from my lodge.

I opted for Anchor Bar, which proved to be an important alternative (and definitely worth the trek) for each the environment and the wings. They got here with a dozen sauces and rubs to select from, all the things from honey garlic to fiery habanero, and you could possibly decide the warmth degree of the wings.

Warning: Even medium was fairly spicy.

All wings have been served with the normal accompaniments of celery sticks and blue cheese sauce. As somebody who doesn’t love the robust odor and style of blue cheese by itself, I discovered the gentle creaminess of the blue cheese sauce scrumptious and a welcome aid, balancing the warmth of the wings and the sauces.

For my journey to Niagara Falls, the AI Assistant admitted there was no strategy to get there each simply and cheaply. Whereas there are trains from downtown Buffalo to Niagara, they run only some occasions a day, at awkward occasions and cease a couple of 45-minute stroll from the falls.

It additionally urged I might rent a automotive and drive up and again, although it could not present dwell pricing, and checking myself confirmed costs of $100+, which appeared steep for under half a day, particularly contemplating I would want to prime up the tank earlier than returning it.

As a substitute, I opted for a Lyft there and again, which was about $90 round-trip and really handy because the falls are solely a 30-minute trip from downtown Buffalo.

The AI Assistant advisable the Maid of the Mist boat trip, which was terrific enjoyable, I extremely advisable and simply my favourite a part of the go to, because the boat takes you proper up near each the American and Horseshoe Falls, and you actually really feel the ability of the water whereas staying principally dry due to the complimentary memento poncho.

There have been two issues I observed on my journey to Niagara Falls that the AI Assistant did not advise me on.

Firstly, after I appeared throughout the border to the Canadian facet, I might see a glittering Hyatt Regency, the very best constructing within the space, with views proper over the falls. Primary analysis afterward confirmed this was a newly opened property with an enormous 611 rooms and would have had straightforward award availability. Whereas I would not have wished to spend all three nights at Niagara Falls, I want the AI Assistant had flagged that I might spend at the least one night time there with my Hyatt factors.

Secondly, I knew Niagara Falls was on the Canadian border, however what I did not understand till I arrived was which you could simply stroll throughout a footbridge from the U.S. facet of the falls to the Canadian facet, and the view of the Horsehoe Falls is significantly better from the Canadian facet than the U.S. facet, as you’re going through the falls moderately than to 1 facet.

The difficulty? The AI Assistant had not suggested me to deliver my passport, so I couldn’t cross into Canada with out it. I want it had at the least urged I pack it for my day journey, in order that I might have the choice of an important view and picture alternative.

Backside line

Whereas the Seats.aero AI Assistant is good at each discovering the most effective switch choices on your factors and miles and sourcing dwell award availability — it has its limitations. As soon as you have locked in your flights and lodging, it might probably present primary vacation spot suggestions. Nonetheless, do not count on the identical degree of particulars or intuitiveness because the likes of Claude, Gemini or ChatGPT. In equity, it would not declare to be a one-stop store for journey planning.

It is also price noting that Seats.aero doesn’t help each airline and lodge loyalty program, although it’s slowly including them.

If there’s a particular attraction or second you’re constructing a visit round, corresponding to a day journey to Niagara Falls, I might advocate doing a few of your individual analysis (ideally from an actual individual) along with utilizing AI to be sure you are well-informed and do not miss any alternatives. However for factors and miles inspiration, that is one more neat instrument in an already powerful platform and may prevent a whole bunch of {dollars} in your subsequent journey with the consolation of figuring out in case you’ve obtained nice worth out of your factors and miles.

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