Best and Worst Carriers for Standby and Same-Day Changes — and How to Capitalize (Video Episode)

Speaker 1 Have you ever stared at your flight time and thought, Why am I leaving at 5 a.m.?

Speaker 2 And should you pay to fix a terrible life choice you made when you booked it?

Speaker 1 Good news: same-day changes and standby tricks can actually save you money if you know how to work the system.

Speaker 2 And yes, there is a system. Some airlines make it easy, some make it weird.
And while some let you do same-day changes for free, some still do charge you money.

Speaker 1 Today, we're breaking down how to hop onto a different flight, ideally without paying any fees.

Speaker 1 Welcome to Smart Travel, a deep dive into the tips, tools, and tactics to maximize your travel dollars. I'm Megan Coyle.

Speaker 2 And I'm Sally French.

Speaker 1 And we're the travel nerds ready to help you plan your next big trip.

Speaker 2 And that next big trip might be when you actually want to cut short by flying home a little earlier.

Speaker 1 Or maybe staying a little longer.

Speaker 2 That's true. We will get to today's episode on last-minute travel changes up next.

Speaker 2 But first, our disclaimer, and that is that we'll talk about a few credit card companies that are nerd wallet partners in this episode. That does not influence how I discuss them.

Speaker 2 The benefits, terms, and fees mentioned were accurate at the time of posting, but things can change. Some offers may have expired by the time you're listening.

Speaker 2 So for the latest details, follow the links in the episode description.

Speaker 1 Let's start off this week's news by talking about an airline promotion that's, well, kind of adorable or necessary.

Speaker 2 Depends on how you feel about humanity when it is time to board the plane.

Speaker 1 So Delta just launched a new holiday promotion called Centennial Cheer to celebrate its 100th year of service.

Speaker 1 So from now through January 5th, they'll be recognizing 100,000 acts of kindness during travel.

Speaker 1 Things like helping someone with their bag, sharing a charger, or I don't know, not stampeding the gate the second pre-boarding is announced.

Speaker 2 Truly heroic behavior. Delta employees will be handing out these limited edition holiday medallion cards to customers they see doing something nice.

Speaker 2 And no, these are not tied to medallion status or how many flights you take.

Speaker 2 They are genuinely supposed to reward people just for being pleasant human beings, which I got to say at an airport airport in the holidays is ambitious.

Speaker 1 If you get one, you can redeem it on Delta's website for a surprise gift.

Speaker 1 They range from exclusive swag all the way up to a limited number of centennial gift sets, which include trading cards, but more importantly, a $500 Delta gift card.

Speaker 2 That's a pretty big prize for being the person who helps the four foot 10 person get their bag in the overhead bin.

Speaker 1 Sally, aren't you buff enough to just overhead press your bag into the overhead compartment? I think you'll be fine.

Speaker 2 Megan, I am, but that assumes I am using the overhead bin, which I pride myself in usually not using.

Speaker 2 Anyway, medallion members will also get this special holiday edition job well done certificates to hand out to Delta employees. So this whole thing is basically a big circle of self-enforced niceness.

Speaker 1 I wonder if it'll actually change any behavior. Like, will people be kinder because there might be a prize involved? Or will holiday travel crowds remain, you know, like really, really snarky?

Speaker 2 I'm an optimist. I'm rooting for kindness, but I've also seen what happens when they call zone one.

Speaker 1 Moving on. Now, Sally, I know you were in Vegas for the opening of the new Chase Lounge in Las Vegas last week, but we have another piece of Chase Lounge news that's the opposite.

Speaker 1 Chase announced that its Hong Kong Sapphire Lounge will close on January 5th, 2026.

Speaker 2 And that was the first Chase Lounge to ever open. But for what it's worth, do not panic.

Speaker 2 If you are a Chase Sapphire Reserve card holder with a Hong Kong trip, Hong Kong International Airport is absolutely loaded with lounges that are on the Priority Pass network.

Speaker 2 That's a benefit you get through the Chase Sapphire Reserve, as well as other cards with Priority Pass, such as the Platinum Card from American Express, Capital One Venture X card, to name a few.

Speaker 1 And of course, Chase's lounge network is not really shrinking. If anything, it's expanding.
Right.

Speaker 2 As you said, I was just at the new Chase Sapphire lounge in Las Vegas in early December. That is easily the best lounge in Las Vegas airport.
I am calling it. It's got its own little champagne parlor.

Speaker 2 It's got amazing food from Mama Fuku.

Speaker 1 And there are even more U.S. lounges on the way.

Speaker 1 We are still waiting on the dallas and los angeles locations which are both slated to open in the near future i'm waiting for los angeles to open hopefully in 2026 you and me both that los angeles lounge scene is otherwise pretty bleak speaking of luxurious things the three big hotel players marriott hilton and hyatt all basically showed up to the same party in cann yes quite a party that was that was the international luxury travel market basically a big fancy luxury travel trade show and they all said the same thing within days of each other, which is luxury is where they're putting a ton of focus for 2026 and beyond.

Speaker 2 Yeah, you know, if you have felt like every new hotel announcement lately is either a wellness retreat, a lakeside hideaway, a five-figure penthouse you'll only ever see on Instagram, you are not imagining it.

Speaker 1 Let's start with Hilton.

Speaker 1 They just put out what they're calling their luxury and lifestyle hotlist and said they now have about 1,000 luxury and lifestyle properties with almost 500 more in the pipeline.

Speaker 1 So that's a lot of growth for brands like Waldorf Astoria, Conrad, LXR expanding into splashy destinations.

Speaker 2 Yeah, there's the Waldorf Astoria London Admiralty Arch. That one overlooks Buckingham Palace.
There's some luxury debuts in Kuala Lumpur, big new resorts in Greece like the Conrad Corfu.

Speaker 2 I just went to Corfu this summer. It was amazing.
I'm itching to go back. Really excited about that.
Also ultra boutique options. There's the San Blue Santorini, the LXR in Santorini.

Speaker 2 All these properties, all the marketing materials lean lean in hard into words like immersive, multi-generational.

Speaker 2 I'm really just saying the headline here is more high-end properties in very expensive destinations.

Speaker 1 And Marriott is also doing the same thing. They said they're bringing in this idea of the era of high life worth, which is basically their way of saying luxury isn't about stuff.

Speaker 1 It's about emotional return on investment.

Speaker 2 Or luxury is just about them getting as much of your travel budget as possible.

Speaker 3 True.

Speaker 2 Anyway, their luxury group includes brands like Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis.
They've got more than 550 luxury hotels now and roughly 35 more openings just in 2026.

Speaker 1 They're also framing a lot of these spots as far more than just a bed. There's a lot of wellness-focused properties like the Lake Como Edition and the JW Marriott in Bali.

Speaker 2 Also, a lot of branded residences and yacht-style experiences. I'm talking about the Ritz-Carlton yacht collection.
Then there's those luxury condos.

Speaker 2 I think this is them capitalizing on how Airbnb made us fall in love with the idea of multiple multiple bedrooms and dishwashers and laundry and all that, but presumably none of the uncertainty that comes with booking a literal Airbnb.

Speaker 1 Then Hyatt is also joining this luxury craze with the Miraval Red Sea, which will be the brand's first resort outside of the U.S., and a big wellness-focused retreat in Saudi Arabia, plus new Park Hyatt openings in places like Mexico, Vancouver, and an Aalila coming to Mexico.

Speaker 2 Those are just a few. In fact, their pipeline has 170 luxury hotels, which is a lot for Hyatt, which is not as big as Marriott and Hilton overall in their hotel footprint.

Speaker 1 So what does this mean if you're listening and you're thinking, cool, but I'm not booking $2,000 a night suites?

Speaker 2 Yeah, so a few things here. One, if you're loyal to any of these brands or collect their points, you're going to see more aspirational places to redeem.

Speaker 2 You know, we mentioned Lake Como, Santorini, these high-end Red Sea resorts. This is what makes those things like the free night certificates more valuable.

Speaker 2 The second thing is I do think luxury tends to trickle down in the form of at least better design or wellness features in their not quite luxury brands over time.

Speaker 2 So I am optimistic five, 10 years from now, we'll see nicer options even at those middle of the road hotels.

Speaker 1 That's interesting. I hope that's true.
I will say the experience language stuff isn't just marketing either.

Speaker 1 So when you're looking at hotels, don't just look at the rate, but also consider the types of experiences you might be getting. So for some hotels, that might be things like a kids club.

Speaker 1 So you don't have to find a babysitter. Those types of amenities and features could be worth it.

Speaker 2 Yeah. I know so many people are turned off by resort fees and so am I.

Speaker 2 I agree. It would be nice if they just wrapped it all up in the price, but I have seen this trend of more hotels offering these built-in experiences, these wellness experiences.

Speaker 2 And these are only offered to the hotel guests, which means even if you're paying a higher upfront price point, if you can get those things inside your hotel, it could make it more worth it.

Speaker 1 Sally, I have a confession. You know how so so many hotels offer like a free yoga class? Oh, yeah.
I always go in with the intention of being like, yeah, I'm going to do a yoga class on vacation.

Speaker 1 I've never once made it.

Speaker 3 Not a single time.

Speaker 1 Since we're closing in on the end of this year, this is your friendly reminder that. This month is the finish line for a lot of credit card benefits.

Speaker 3 Right.

Speaker 2 A surprising number of credits reset on a semi-annual, annual, or even quarterly basis. For many cards, December 31st is that absolute final day to use them.

Speaker 2 We are talking about those things like the airline fee credits, the hotel credits, the food and beverage credits, the shopping credits, all those perks that feel like little gifts until you realize that they expire at midnight on December 31st.

Speaker 1 And the kicker is that for a lot of these travel credits on your travel credit cards, you don't actually have to take the trip by December 31st. Yeah.

Speaker 1 You just need to put the charge on your card before the year ends. Great tip.

Speaker 2 I will say, as always, check the terms for your specific card and please learn from the collective pain of the people who waited too long last year. I have done this before.

Speaker 2 Do not go out on December 31st trying to use that SACS credit from your Amex Platinum card. Many of these reimbursements take two or three days or sometimes more to post.

Speaker 2 If the clock strikes midnight before the credit hits, you are out of luck. So you are listening to this early in December.

Speaker 2 Book those things now so you actually have time for the statement credits to post.

Speaker 1 And speaking of deadlines, elite status clocks also run out on December 31st for some of the major airline and hotel loyalty programs.

Speaker 1 So if you're just one flight away, a couple thousand miles, maybe some spending, this is when travelers start to plan what's lovingly or maybe not so lovingly called a mileage run or a mattress run so that they can meet the requirements to earn elite status for next year.

Speaker 2 This is basically when people take a flight or book a hotel stay, not because they necessarily want to go on this place, but because the value of holding elite status next year outweighs the cost of that one flight or that one hotel stay.

Speaker 2 Nerdwallet actually breaks down all the best elite status programs. So you can find out whether or not that flight is actually worth making that mileage run for.

Speaker 2 We will link to that in the episode description.

Speaker 1 Happy shopping, everyone. We've got a couple weeks left.

Speaker 2 The following is a paid sponsorship, not an endorsement by NerdWallet's editorial team. Today's episode is sponsored by Built.
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Make sure to use our URL so they know we sent you.

Speaker 3 So Sally, today we're talking about that last minute travel, especially for flights, and it is so stressful. You're like, I need to take a different flight, but it's going to cost me so much.

Speaker 2 It's stressful for many people, but for me, I'm a little bit unhinged. And I think of it as a little bit fun.
It's one of these travel hacks that if you do it correctly, can actually save you money.

Speaker 3 And I think frequent travelers use this hack a lot. So it makes you feel like, okay, I'm doing this right.

Speaker 2 You do have to do some gambling. And I will say, I just did this hack when I was in Vegas and it is the only gambling I did the whole trip.

Speaker 3 Okay. And did you come out a winner?

Speaker 2 Oh, yes, I did, but I will not take that good karma to the slot machines.

Speaker 3 All right. So let's talk about taking advantage of some of these last minute travel rules.

Speaker 3 I usually recommend like people book their flights early because that way you know you're getting a price that you're comfortable with.

Speaker 3 You can always set the price alert, maybe rebook it if the price goes down. But, you know, a lot of things can change.
And I think people shouldn't be afraid to change their flight if.

Speaker 3 you know, at the last minute, they see something cheaper or they need to do something else.

Speaker 2 Yeah. And this comes up often.
You and I travel so much for work and sometimes the meeting ends early and you just want to go home or you're on a trip with friends and you also just want to go home.

Speaker 2 That's when sometimes changing your flight at that same day can be really beneficial.

Speaker 3 So there's a couple of different ways to do this. One way that, you know, people might not think of first is maybe just booking a whole new flight.

Speaker 3 That new booking with that last minute price might be really expensive in cash, but on points, it might be really affordable, especially if you have some points to draw from.

Speaker 2 And then I also do want to let people know if they are booking a flight at the last minute, that they should be flexible.

Speaker 2 If you can be more flexible with your time, sometimes flights are sold out and you can't get the one you want. So be flexible with your time and also be flexible with your destination.

Speaker 2 A lot of people assume when they're going to my home city of San Francisco, they need to fly into San Francisco airport and they forget that theirs, Oakland is almost equally close.

Speaker 2 Same if you're going to DC. Can you fly into BWI? That also might make sense.

Speaker 3 Because we so rarely see these last minute cash deals on flights, again, looking at those points flights and seeing what kind of credit cards you have that could help you actually save on the award travel you might be able to book last minute.

Speaker 2 Yeah, so this is funny because so many people I hear say flights are too expensive right now, but I need to go on this specific date. So I'm just going to wait and hope that fares drop.

Speaker 2 And I'm like, oh my gosh. Fares do not drop if you wait until the last minute.
But that applies to fares booked in cash, not to fares booked in points.

Speaker 3 Right. So when we did our big valuations project, we found that there were two U.S.

Speaker 3 airlines when you actually use your points for an award flight just 15 days out, you know, that's two weeks out, your points are actually more valuable.

Speaker 3 That means you usually get more bang for your book.

Speaker 2 When you book at the last minute. Yep.

Speaker 3 The two airlines are Alaska and Southwest.

Speaker 2 Okay, Southwest. We've been throwing them a lot of shade recently, but maybe they deserve some love.

Speaker 3 This is a really common thing you see where airlines will drop the price of the flight in points because they're not able to sell it for the cash, but they think that maybe a loyal member might be able to use their points and fly that way.

Speaker 2 You also brought up credit card benefits. And I know you were just talking to Caitlin, who's an editor on our team, and she had an amazing credit card hack.

Speaker 3 She used the mileage discount on her United Quest card to book a last-minute flight. She was having a medical emergency.
She needed to leave right away.

Speaker 3 So she was able to book a flight for really cheap on points with this discount. And we can link to the whole story of that in our episode description.
What card reaches? She had the United Quest card.

Speaker 2 You know, that's so interesting. When I was researching this episode, I was shocked to learn how many credit card benefits apply specifically to same-day changes and cancellations.

Speaker 2 Really good ways to make it easier. So for example, Delta card holders get a 15% discount on award flights, which is a great way.
If you, we mentioned points are often cheaper at the last minute.

Speaker 2 And then with the Delta card, you can get that extra discount. Yeah.

Speaker 3 And that applies to any flights, not even just last minute flights. Right.
Right.

Speaker 2 Any award flights. Yes.
And then the Alaska Atmos Summit card, and that is a relatively new card, gives cardholders up to $50 with waived fees for same day confirmed Alaska flight changes.

Speaker 3 Yeah. So let's talk about what those same day flight changes are.
So let's say you need to change your flight.

Speaker 3 And most of the time, if you do it, you know, a couple weeks, months in advance, you'll have to pay a fair difference to be able to change the time of your flight.

Speaker 3 But if you are okay taking a flight in the same calendar day, you can usually call the airline or look in the app and you can get a same day confirmed change, usually for a flat fee.

Speaker 3 So instead of taking a 6 a.m. flight that day like you had originally planned, you like call your airline and you're like, hey, can I take the 2 p.m.
flight instead?

Speaker 3 And then they're like, sure, here's the fee. And you pay it.
You have a ticket for the 2 p.m.

Speaker 2 flight. Yeah.
And fees vary by airline. There are some airlines that don't have fees and we'll get to those, but typically the fee is around $60 to $75.

Speaker 2 I will say though, caveat, sometimes you can just book a different ticket and just pay the fare difference. And that fare difference might be actually less than, say, a $75 fee.

Speaker 2 So you do have to do the math for yourself.

Speaker 2 The fee might not apply if you have elite status or if you bought like a premium ticket, like, you know, first class or something like that and i will also add often this fee is only for a same day confirmed change right if you want to roll the dice like you did in vegas i know i love to do that then you can fly same day standby and very rarely is there a fee to fly same day standby this is more that gamble option where you wait at the gate or sometimes the app will tell you but basically 30 minutes out if people haven't checked in then they will give away those remaining seats.

Speaker 2 But of course, that's risky because you still have to be there. And then there's a chance you don't even have a confirmed seat.

Speaker 3 Sometimes like you're not even allowed to stand by for a later flight. You can only do it earlier.

Speaker 3 So definitely make sure you know all the rules around all of these same day changes and standby, which we're about to go over.

Speaker 2 Yes. And I will say one more caveat is.
Often we'll see airlines say free same day standby.

Speaker 2 This is embarrassing, but when I was a little kid, I used to think that same day free standby meant that you could just like roll up and get a free flight, whatever was left.

Speaker 3 Toddler Sally showed up for her free flight. She's like, hi, I'm flying free standby.

Speaker 2 Yeah, so you do need to have a confirmed seat on a flight later in the day. And then you can do standby for free, but you still paid for an airfare.

Speaker 3 Okay, so let's talk about some of those differences between airlines for standby or same day changes. And we'll just focus on like the big differences.

Speaker 3 Sally, do you have a favorite airline for working some of these tactics?

Speaker 2 Megan, I'm so glad you asked because I do.

Speaker 2 This is an airline that we have been dunking on a lot recently, but it still has number one best policy for same day changes and standbys, and that that is Southwest Airlines.

Speaker 3 Oh, gosh. Well, I'm glad they have something.
They still have something going for them.

Speaker 2 Yes. So I do want to say caveat that their generous policy applies only to fares that are called choice fair.
That is at least their second highest fare and above.

Speaker 2 So if you have a basic fare that is formally known as want to get away. These policies do not apply.
So you do need to at least have a number two class or higher fare to get this. Here is the deal.

Speaker 2 I recently used this when I was in Vegas and I wanted to get home early. It was 105 degrees in Vegas.
I was like, please take me back to my 60 degree August in San Francisco nice and early.

Speaker 2 And what they allow you to do is have a same day confirmed change. So this is not just hoping that you can get on the flight.
It is a same day confirmed change and the fee is $0.

Speaker 3 Okay, but there's a catch.

Speaker 2 Well, so the same day applies the day. So at 12.01 at midnight, effectively, that's when I go on the app and then I go ahead and change my flight.
What's interesting is I was on a 4 p.m. flight.

Speaker 2 I wanted to get on the 11 a.m. flight.
Initially at booking, the 4 p.m. flight was so much cheaper than the 11 a.m.

Speaker 2 flight, but because it's a same day free change, I was able just at 12.01 to lock in that earlier flight that would have cost me more in cash, but I was able to get on it and I still paid the 4 p.m.

Speaker 2 price. Amazing.

Speaker 3 Okay. The only tough part is staying up till midnight.

Speaker 2 Yeah. Well, so I will say, you, I, I could have honestly done this at 10 a.m.
for an 11 a.m. flight, but I didn't want to gamble that bad.

Speaker 2 I wanted to go to sleep knowing that I actually had a confirmed ticket. So that's, I was like, I'm doing it at 12.01 because if I sleep and then someone else got it, I don't want that to happen.

Speaker 2 But you could do this up to 10 minutes before departure.

Speaker 3 That would stress me out. I would also say that's a really unique thing about Southwest.
A lot of these other airlines will also do same day confirmed changes, but.

Speaker 3 Those start 24 hours before your departure time. So if you have a 2 p.m.

Speaker 3 flight, then this window where you can do the same day change would be 4 p.m the day before right so one of those airlines we were talking about i know is your favorites american yes

Speaker 3 i used to use american uh same day changes when i was in college i would literally book like a really inconvenient time to fly home for thanksgiving and then i would just call them and be like hey i want to fly this other flight on the same day and they'd be like okay great it is 60 and i was like okay you know that was less than the flight cost you know the fair difference and so i was like i'm doing it.

Speaker 2 Yeah, sometimes the flight at 10 p.m. is like $300 cheaper than the flight at 10 a.m.
when everyone wants to go. So, this can be kind of a hack to only pay $60 to do that same-day confirmed change.

Speaker 2 Again, you're rolling the dice. And then, again, I do want to say, Southwest does not charge for this privilege, and American Airlines charges $60.

Speaker 3 Yeah, but as we'll find out, there are a lot of other airlines that charge more.

Speaker 2 We will talk about those after this.

Speaker 3 United, the other big airline, they don't have same-day confirmed changes for a flat fee like we've been talking about. So you actually are stuck paying the fare difference most of the time.

Speaker 2 Yes. And I really want people to know this fare difference at the last minute can be so high.

Speaker 2 I've seen so many flights that if you book a month out, it's $100 and then you book that same flight the day of and it's like $500, you are on the hook for that fare difference.

Speaker 2 So this is often not a good idea with an airline like United.

Speaker 3 I will say there is a workaround though, and that's if you have elite status. It's called Premier Status and you can get a free same day confirmed change if it's available.

Speaker 3 But if you don't have elite status, unfortunately, you're out of luck.

Speaker 2 That is a good reminder because lately I feel like I have been saying elite status is so overrated. But on an airline like United, that is such a valuable benefit.

Speaker 2 Or maybe I'll just say that's pretty rude of United that they don't let you do it if you don't have elite status.

Speaker 3 The other thing I'll say about elite status is it puts you at the top of the list for the standby wait list. So I've flown standby many times.

Speaker 3 I have just the lowest level of elite status, but I'm often seeing myself no lower than three on the standby waitlist whenever I fly standby.

Speaker 2 Yeah.

Speaker 2 Well, so let's talk about standby because with United, we were just talking about same day confirmed changes, but you can do same day standby with United, even if you don't have any sort of elite status.

Speaker 2 I have done this before and you can get on their app. So I will always say sign up for the airline's app.

Speaker 2 One of their top benefits is you can get on the waitlist and then you can track your spot on the waitlist because often there will be like five open seats and then you're like spot number number five and you want to track and like make sure that you're still on there.

Speaker 3 I'm like constantly refreshing it when I'm doing that. I will say it's also good because you can put yourself on the standby list sometimes even before you get to the airport.
Yes.

Speaker 3 Before you get to the gate, you just like put it in the app that you want to be on standby. And so.
I sometimes do that when my flights are delayed.

Speaker 3 I'm not sure if I'll be able to make the earlier flight, but I'll just put myself in standby just in case that I get off and get to the gate in time.

Speaker 2 I will also give United a nice little happy plug is that with their app, they actually actually notify you through the app if you got a spot on the wait list.

Speaker 2 There are some other airlines we'll talk about later that you actually have to show up at the gate.

Speaker 2 But what's nice about United is you can just chill out at the lounge, vinovolo, and they'll let you know if you've got a confirmed seat on that same flight.

Speaker 3 Yeah. Our next airline does not do that.
This is Delta Airline.

Speaker 2 It's funny because I usually love Delta and they fall a little bit flat for that reason.

Speaker 3 You can share like how you actually almost missed your flight because you had to run from the lounge.

Speaker 2 I was in New York. I was doing a nerd wallet trip in New York and they said you need to do the last flight out on Friday because you have meetings all day on Friday.
And guess what?

Speaker 2 No meetings, which thank you, NerdWallet, for canceling all my meetings. I love a new meeting.
No meeting Friday. So I was like, you know what? I want to get out of here.
I want to go home.

Speaker 2 And so with Delta, I had a Delta main ticket. This does not apply, much like Southwest, it does not apply to their Delta Basic Economy Fair.
So another great reason to have that Delta economy fair.

Speaker 2 But with Delta, I was able to, through their app, get on their same-day standby list. And there was no additional fee to do a same-day standby.

Speaker 2 You can do same-day confirmed for $75, but Save with Sally is not about that life.

Speaker 2 So, I got on their same day standby list, and I could see there were 10 open seats, and I was number 10 on the standby list.

Speaker 2 However, with Delta, you have to go to the gate to get your actual seat assignment and get your ticket.

Speaker 2 And here's the catch is if you're not at the gate, then they could just give your ticket to the person number 11 in line.

Speaker 2 So, and they were like, come 30 minutes in advance. And I was like, well, I'm hanging out at the Delta lounge.
Like, do I leave?

Speaker 2 And I would be so mad if they gave away my seat just because I was like eating another cookie in the lounge.

Speaker 2 So I left the lounge like 50 minutes early because I'm like, I'm waiting at the gate for them to call my name. And they did call my name.

Speaker 2 It was a happy ending, but it is definitely kind of stressful to go this route.

Speaker 3 Yeah, you have to go in person. I also just want to call out that, I mean, you mentioned Delta's same-day confirmed change fee is $75.
That is higher than Americans.

Speaker 2 Yeah, $15 higher. Yeah.

Speaker 3 But if we're ranking them, you know, Delta's a little lower on the list.

Speaker 2 And let's also go to one other big airline we talk about often on the show. That is Alaska.

Speaker 3 They have actually different fees depending on where you're flying, even within the U.S.

Speaker 2 That's so weird.

Speaker 3 So the same day confirmed change fee for travel between. Seattle and Portland or non-stop intrastate travel is $50.

Speaker 3 Okay. Okay, so less than American, less than Delta, but all other same-day confirmed changes are $75.

Speaker 3 The nice thing is you can do this if you have a saver fare, which is their basic economy, but that's another $40 on top of this. So this is all really starting to add up.

Speaker 2 Ooh, interesting. Okay, Alaska, big fee menace.

Speaker 3 Talking about big fee menaces.

Speaker 2 Okay, so we are going to get to the worst airlines for same-day changes in standby. Those are the budget airlines, Spirit and Frontier.

Speaker 3 No surprise there. I mean, they'll get you with a fee for anything.
So I fully expect to pay $100 just to be able to change my flight the same day. Yeah.

Speaker 2 So I want to talk about Frontier. However, we do a lot of research on these airlines for the show.

Speaker 2 I spent so many hours on Frontier's website and could not figure out their same day change and cancellation policy. Frontier likes to make their roles very opaque and then just add on fees everywhere.

Speaker 2 And I was like, the fact that I can't figure this out is very stressful to me. I emailed their media team and said we're going to talk about Frontier on the show and they never responded.

Speaker 2 So let's just be clear. We honestly don't really even know what Frontier's policies are.

Speaker 2 However, here is my understanding of it is you can do a same day confirmed change, but you owe both a same day change fee, which is $99. Okay.
And then you also owe the difference in fare.

Speaker 3 Oh, no. I know.

Speaker 3 So, I mean, it's. And like I said, $100, I was pretty on it.

Speaker 2 And remember that last minute fares are super expensive. So basically don't change your flight if you're flying Frontier.
Yeah. You're committing.
Godspeed and pay lots of fees.

Speaker 2 frontier also has a same-based standby list but also this is so wacky to get on the standby list you have to talk to a gate agent and again this is my vague interpretation of their their very unclear website uh-huh but to talk to a frontier agent you owe another 25 fee gives you the privilege of talking to the gate agent so i wish people paid me 25 every time they emailed that would be great but You have to pay $25 to speak to an agent to get on the standby list.

Speaker 2 And that doesn't even guarantee that you got on the list.

Speaker 3 That is so sad. I know.
I was over.

Speaker 2 You call this with the grain of salt. Again, we can't understand their website, but that's it.
But let's also talk about spirit. Okay.

Speaker 3 I'm again guessing it's $100 to change your flight because it's another budget airline. They will hit you with the fees.

Speaker 2 Yes. So they charge you $99 to change your flight.
And then they also charge you the fair difference, like what Frontier does.

Speaker 2 So once again, that fair difference last minute is probably going to be really expensive.

Speaker 2 Often I've been in situations where I booked like a $39 spirit flight and then I'm like, oh no, I need to fly out the next day.

Speaker 2 And then I'm like, wait, it would cost me $99 to change this flight, but the flight on the next day is also $39.

Speaker 3 So I would just be cheaper to just buy the flight new. Right.
Yeah.

Speaker 2 I will give them one little nice plug is that they don't charge any change or cancellation fees if you have a premium economy or spirit first fare, but you do owe the fare difference.

Speaker 3 Okay.

Speaker 3 Okay. So similarly, like the higher class of fare you buy, usually the policies are a little bit more flexible.

Speaker 2 Absolutely right. All right.
Let's let's talk some strategy here, some tips to actually save money or guarantee a spot on that standby list.

Speaker 3 I don't know if we can guarantee anything, but we'll try. We'll try.

Speaker 2 All right. Well, my first one is, I will say always download the app.
I am the person who hates having a million apps, but often the app is the best way to easily get on the standby list.

Speaker 2 And then also check your position on the standby list.

Speaker 3 I would say number two, join the list as soon as you can, because that is also one of the things that they rank.

Speaker 3 So, you know, if you want to get really into it, like they rank by elite status, they rank by the fair class, all these types of things. And also when you join the list.

Speaker 3 So if you can beat out even just a couple people, that might be the difference between you making the flight and not.

Speaker 2 Yeah, I know a lot of people are like, what is the benefit of checking in at that 24-hour mark? But the ability to get on the standby list first is definitely one.

Speaker 2 Okay, my next one is just be flexible. Typically, you'll find that that red eye or that 2 a.m.
flight is just going to be emptier than the flight when everyone wants to go at like 10 a.m.

Speaker 2 So if you can scoot and wake up early and get on that earlier flight, you're probably more likely to make a standby list.

Speaker 3 I agree. Yeah, you want to fly when there's less people flying.
So hopefully there's an open seat for you. And then last tip, don't underestimate what the gate agent can do for you.

Speaker 3 You know, we just talked about how it's kind of annoying to like have to go in person to put yourself on the standby list. But I don't know, sometimes you can make a connection.

Speaker 2 You can help the gate agent.

Speaker 3 Like if you're really like. Looking at them, I feel like a couple smiles, like, you know, they know that you really need to get on this flight and they might might help you out.
Who knows?

Speaker 3 I mean, it doesn't hurt to ask. I think that's what we've learned in travel is like, these are people.

Speaker 2 And I like what you wrote in the show notes. The squeaky but polite wheel gets the grease.
I love that. Same with Sally loves this tip.
Travel light.

Speaker 2 It is so difficult to get on standby when you're like, but wait, I checked all my luggage. So the best way to make sure your luggage gets with you is to just have it with you.

Speaker 3 That would be a reason that the gate agent wouldn't want to put you on. They're like, I'm not messing around with this person.
It's too hard to figure out where it is. Yeah.

Speaker 2 All right. That was our same day change in standby tips.
Let's move into today's hot takeoff.

Speaker 3 Sally, I believe you have one for us.

Speaker 2 Oh, I do. And this is about when you walk into a hotel room and the TV is on and it says, Miss French, we welcome you.

Speaker 2 Why do they do that?

Speaker 3 I think they're trying to make it personalized to you.

Speaker 2 Megan, I have to say, I get so many pitches from PR people who represent hotels that are like, our hotel is the most environmentally friendly hotel.

Speaker 2 And then I'm like, I walk in and i'm like this tv has been on for 10 hours just to welcome me yeah i think there's other things they could do to personalize the experience for you and the tv is not really the best one the tv was cool in like 2006 when you didn't really know that this was a possibility and you're like wow how does the how does the tv know that i'm here and i'm like yo it is 2025 like this is just a massive waste of electricity yeah yeah you know what i would like a handwritten note Yes.

Speaker 3 I love those. They're so cute.
Yeah. And it makes me feel special.

Speaker 2 Yes. I do realize that traveling in general is not the best for the environment, but the least they could do is turn off the hotel TV.

Speaker 3 Make sure to follow Smart Travel on your favorite podcast app, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, and you'll automatically download new episodes.

Speaker 3 And if you're listening on Spotify, please drop us a comment. You can do it right there in the app.

Speaker 2 You can also email us your comments to travel at nerdwallet.com. And you can also leave comments about this show.
We want to know and we also want to see your five-star reviews.

Speaker 2 We do take any reviews, but five-star reviews are the best.

Speaker 3 This episode was produced by Cody Goff and edited by Nick Charismy. Thanks to Hilary Georgie and Claire Soci for the editing, and thanks to this beautiful studio at Edom Visuals.

Speaker 2 And our brief disclaimer: we are not financial or investment advisors. This info is provided for general educational and entertainment purposes and may not apply to your specific circumstances.

Speaker 3 We hope you're inspired to keep your passport full and your wallet even fuller. See you next time.

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