Claim a travel credit when your airfare drops after booking
Have an agent watch the fare on a flight you already booked, and request the difference as a credit if the price falls.
What happened
Business Insider reported on October 11, 2026 that David Pawlan of Merit Systems used the Instinct agent to track fares on his United flights. When prices fell, he used a phone tool run through Claude Code to request travel credits, and said he recovered $73 across three flights at about five minutes each. This is one person's reported result.
Our verdict
Small amounts, but nearly free to collect. Whether it works depends on the airline and the fare type, so check that first.
Tools
Personal agents that can track fares; any chat assistant to check the policy and draft the request
Prompt to copy
I booked [airline, flight number, date, route, fare class] for [price] on [booking date]. The same flight now costs [new price]. Check [airline]'s current policy on fare drops after booking for my fare type, tell me whether I can get the difference as a credit and how long it would be valid, and write a short request I can send or read to the airline.
Before you try it: Many basic economy fares do not qualify. A credit is not cash, and it usually expires, so note the date. Rebooking can lose seat assignments or upgrades, so confirm nothing else changes before you accept.