Watch Us On YouTube! Take advantage of our ongoing benefit for annual subscribers of our Slack community. Annual subscribers receive a free Points Path Alerts subscription OR a 30% discount on Points Path Pro. The whole gang is here! Ed and Richard are joined by Summer Hull and newly ChatGPT-certified travel genius Julian Kheel for an episode that somehow takes 17 minutes to get to the news—and makes pretty good use of those 17 minutes. First, there's a celebration: Miles To Go has officially passed 10,000 YouTube subscribers. There's also an update on Richard's missing birthday present, the Flight Wall Mini, and the group examines ChatGPT's scientific determination that there's a "surprisingly strong case" for Julian being a genius. Then they finally get to the news. The TSA is testing Gateside, which allows TSA PreCheck members at participating airports to request access beyond security even when they aren't flying. That means meeting someone at the gate—or accompanying a family member who needs help—could once again become possible. Julian loves the idea, Summer isn't planning recreational trips to the gate, and Richard points out that there have always been…other ways to accomplish this. There's potentially another TSA change coming as well: allowing PreCheck members to bring water through security. But Ed has questions about how smoothly Gateside will actually work when travelers arrive at the checkpoint without a boarding pass, especially given Richard's recent experiences with TSA Touch Free. After Julian departs, the conversation turns to Frontier's major loyalty changes. Diamond status will become easier to earn, but mileage earning is being reduced across fares and several elite benefits are disappearing unless travelers purchase bundles. Richard says Frontier will become much more situational for his family, especially with Gold members losing seat selection at booking. But Frontier's changes come at a particularly interesting time because domestic airfare is getting painful. Summer is paying Frontier for an upcoming family trip to Orlando because comparable United tickets were roughly $2,500–$3,000 for four people. Richard faced similarly painful pricing from New York. Without Spirit providing as much low-cost competition, the group discusses whether we're already seeing the effects in leisure markets such as Orlando and Las Vegas. And miles aren't necessarily saving the day. Summer found United awards running 40,000–50,000 miles for expensive Orlando flights, while international award travel brings its own problem: increasingly painful taxes and fees, particularly when traveling as a family. There are still wins. Summer snagged business class to Europe for 68,000 United miles per person with minimal fees, while Ed found reasonably priced Honolulu–Sydney awards and used an Atmos Rewards 100,000-mile companion certificate. The game isn't dead—but having flexibility, alerts and the right tools is becoming increasingly important. Get hydrated like Ed in Vegas with Nuun If you enjoy the podcast, I hope you'll take a moment to leave us a rating. That helps us grow our audience! If you're looking for a way to support the show, we'd love to have you join us in our Travel Slack Community. Join me and other travel experts for informative conversations about the travel world, the best ways to use your miles and points, Zoom happy hours and exciting giveaways. Monthly access Annual access Personal consultation plus annual access We have witty, funny, sarcastic discussions about travel, for members only. My fellow travel experts are available to answer your questions and we host video chats multiple times per month. Follow Us! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/milestogopodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@milestogopodcast Ed Pizza: https://www.instagram.com/pizzainmotion/ Richard Kerr: https://www.instagram.com/kerrpoints/ ✈️ What We Cover in This Episode ✈️ Is Julian officially a genius? ChatGPT weighs in Travel intelligence: 9.5/10 Vacation skills: considerably lower The proposed "Julian Kheel, Genius*" nameplate Why asking AI this question may have been a terrible idea ✈️ M2G hits 10,000 YouTube subscribers A milestone for the show Contract-renegotiation jokes immediately follow ✈️ Richard finally gets his Flight Wall The mysterious missing birthday package Life as a New York City doorman in the Amazon era Tracking flights in real time from Richard's office ✈️ TSA brings back access to the gate Gateside access for TSA PreCheck members Meeting arriving passengers at the gate Helping family members through the airport Why Ed is skeptical about how smoothly it'll work ✈️ Could TSA let you bring water through security? A potential future PreCheck benefit Giving pre-vetted travelers more flexibility Why Julian thinks it's a logical expansion ✈️ Frontier takes a chainsaw to elite status Easier Diamond qualification Lower mileage earning Elite perks disappearing Bundles required to regain some benefits Why Richard's Frontier strategy is changing ✈️ Family airfare is getting ridiculous $2,500–$3,000 trips to Orlando Frontier becoming the rational choice despite its changes The potential impact of reduced Spirit competition Vegas airfare reportedly up sharply ✈️ Miles aren't necessarily solving the problem 40,000–50,000-mile domestic awards School-calendar constraints International taxes and fees Why repositioning may be increasingly important ✈️ There are still great awards out there Summer's 68,000-mile United business-class tickets Ed's Honolulu–Sydney redemption Atmos Rewards companion certificates Why flexibility and alerts matter more than ever ⏱️ Episode 454 Timestamps 2:26 – ChatGPT decides whether Julian is actually a genius 6:10 – M2G celebrates 10,000 YouTube subscribers 8:07 – Richard finally gets his Flight Wall birthday present 15:07 – Points Path Flex Alerts and finding better award availability 17:04 – TSA Gateside: going through security without a boarding pass 21:15 – Will TSA's technology actually make Gateside work? 24:22 – Frontier guts elite benefits and changes mileage earning 26:02 – When Orlando airfare costs $2,500–$3,000 for a family 31:14 – Domestic award prices are getting painful, too 32:19 – International award fees, repositioning and finding the remaining deals
