Updated
Updated · The Points Guy · Jun 3
Seats.aero AI Finds 6,000-Mile Award, Saves More Than $300 on Buffalo Trip
Updated
Updated · The Points Guy · Jun 3

Seats.aero AI Finds 6,000-Mile Award, Saves More Than $300 on Buffalo Trip

2 articles · Updated · The Points Guy · Jun 3

Summary

  • Seats.aero’s new AI Assistant built a 3-night Buffalo itinerary from Boston and surfaced a cheaper redemption than the obvious option: 6,000 Etihad Guest miles for an American flight instead of 8,500 AAdvantage miles.
  • The tool paired live award availability with transfer-partner advice, also recommending a Hyatt Regency Buffalo stay at 8,000 World of Hyatt points per night—about $210 nightly value—and an 8,400-point JetBlue return to JFK.
  • That mix saved roughly $100 on the outbound flight, $84 on the return and more than $600 on the hotel stay, with the Hyatt redemption delivering nearly 3 cents per point.
  • On the trip itself, the assistant handled logistics and local recommendations well, including transit tips, beef on weck, buffalo wings and the Maid of the Mist excursion at Niagara Falls.
  • Its planning limits still showed: it missed a possible Hyatt stay on the Canadian side of the falls and failed to suggest bringing a passport for the easy cross-border walk, underscoring that users still need independent trip research.

Insights

This AI saved a traveler $400, but a passport mistake nearly ruined the trip. Is this the future of travel planning?
With 91% of travelers using AI planners but only 35% trusting them, what will it take to bridge this massive gap?