Reader success story: I saved $700 on flights I had already booked with this handy tool
We've brought back our popular reader success and mistake stories here at TPG to both celebrate your wins and learn from your errors.
This week's success story is from reader Chris Kosseff, who tried a new way to save on flights he had already booked.
"Several days ago, you had a brief piece about pAiback and similar airline credit programs. It was a lightbulb moment for me, and I immediately set up an account. Within 3 to 4 days, I was notified by pAiback of credits on two different flights on United that totaled almost $500! What an amazing service, and I would never have known about it if you didn't have that article." Since emailing TPG earlier this week, Chris says his savings via pAiback have now increased to more than $700 on those two United Airlines flights.
PAiback is one of several new tools that will track your flights and can help you save money on travel you have already booked and paid for.
PAiback uses artificial intelligence to monitor your flights and automatically issue refunds when prices drop.
To start tracking and saving, you'll need to have booked directly with the airline for the tool to work. You then forward your confirmation email to pAiback, where it will notify you if the price drops. You can also connect your email account, where the tool can search for flight confirmations without you needing to forward them.
It currently works for just four airlines (American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines), but the company hopes to add more in the future.
If the price of your flight drops, pAiback coordinates with the airline to get an eCredit deposited directly into your airline account. PAiback charges a 20% commission on your savings for their assistance, for which you'll need to pay cash separately, but there are no other membership or subscription fees.
Bottom line
We want to thank Chris for sharing his story in the hope that his experience with pAiBack will encourage others to save money and travel smarter using fare-tracking tools like this. (TPG's Summer Hull is also a fan of Junova, which works similarly.)
Have a win or amazing redemption you'd like to share? We'd love to hear more of your reader success stories.
You can also submit your own reader mistake story with the details of what went wrong and what you'd do next time to avoid it. (If you have an ongoing issue with a travel company that you feel owed compensation for circumstances beyond your control, you can reach TPG's ombudsman, Michelle Couch-Friedman, at ombudsman@thepointsguy.com.)
Due to the volume of submissions, we can't respond to each story individually, but we'll be in touch if yours is selected. We look forward to hearing from you!
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