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In the consumer world, dynamic pricing has become king: Lyft and Uber rides are more expensive on weekends, hotel prices during a convention soar through the roof, and food delivery prices spike at dinner time. Delta Airlines, which has long used dynamic pricing, is now expanding its use of artificial intelligence to automate and refine fare adjustments.
While trends of dynamic prices for consumers are on the uptick, there are ways to still save on airfare with credit cards.
Automated Markups
Delta announced in a July 10 earnings call that it currently uses AI-pricing for 3% of its tickets and will implement the model to 20% of its tickets by the end of the year. It aims to accomplish the pricing shift with the help of Fetcherr, an Israeli price and inventory management company that hopes to “revolutionize airline revenue management.”
In a blog post, Fetcherr clarified that its technology relies on “ethical AI” using a mathematical model for dynamic pricing, which adjusts fares based on external factors like weather, current events, and competition. It’s important to note that this differs greatly from surveillance pricing, which relies on personal data for pricing decisions, like income and ZIP code.
“Picture a real-world scenario: A major sporting event gets canceled, a competitor drops their prices, and a weather system threatens to disrupt flights—all within the same hour,” the company said. “AI-driven dynamic pricing handles all three simultaneously, adjusting prices across your entire network before you’ve even finished reading about the first incident.”
Delta President Glen Hauenstein announced at the company’s Investor Day in November that the airline plans to move away from static pricing after a limited run of the dynamic-pricing technology, revealing “amazingly favorable unit revenues,” as reported by Fortune.
The Fetcherr blog cited a study from BARC, an analyst firm, to explain that airlines only utilize 40% of the information available at their disposal in decision-making.
“That’s 60% of your airline data, on average, sitting there, unused, and not providing any value to your company or operations.”
Why Delta’s AI Pricing Model Isn’t New
Travelers are aware that airfare prices may vary depending on the time that you book, flight class, and whether or not your flight is refundable. Booking early usually meant access to cheaper fares and last-minute flights got expensive, but the rules shepherded everyone.
While Delta isn’t tapping into surveillance pricing, the concept of ancillary airfares measuring a dozen more factors means that pricing could get increasingly volatile.
Expanding pricing to include more external factors, now readily available at company disposal, means that prices may range wildly from person to person, depending on the scenario.
A Delta spokesperson told Forbes Advisor in a statement that the company won’t move toward the use of personal data to adjust its price models.
“There is no fare product Delta has ever used, is testing, or plans to use that targets customers with individualized offers based on personal information or otherwise,” Delta said in the statement. “A variety of market forces drive the dynamic pricing model that’s been used in the global industry for decades, with new tech simply streamlining this process. Delta always complies with regulations around pricing and disclosures.”
How You Can Still Save on Airfare With Credit Cards
Algorithmic pricing may rear its head, but free flights and points can help you keep costs low.
The best travel rewards cards, though they come with high annual fees, frequently offer generous sign-up bonuses and travel credits to make up the difference for frequent travelers. Here are a few of our top picks to earn on airfare and travel.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card presents applicants with the opportunity to earn 75,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. The card itself boasts an annual fee of $95.
For those who will spend the minimum required to earn the welcome bonus in that timeframe, the points are worth hundreds and are an easy no-brainer. Points are redeemable for flights in the Chase Travel℠ Portal. Cardholders also earn 5 points per dollar on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3 points per dollar on dining, select streaming services and online grocery purchases (excluding Walmart, Target and wholesale clubs), 2 points per dollar on all other travel purchases and 1 point per dollar on other purchases.
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (rates & fees) is a mid-tier annual fee travel card that offers a similar welcome bonus. With an annual fee of $395, applicants can earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening.
The card allows travelers to earn 2 miles per dollar on all eligible purchases, 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Travel, 5 miles per dollar on Capital One Entertainment purchases through 12/31/25 and 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars when booking via Capital One Travel for future travel. Though the annual fee is high, the card also offers an annual $300 travel credit for bookings through Capital One Travel and an anniversary bonus of 10,000 points (worth $100), helping the card effectively pay for itself.
Citi Strata Premier® Card
The Citi Strata Premier® Card offers 60,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, with an annual fee of $95.
Cardholders can earn 10 points per dollar spent on hotels, car rentals and attractions booked on CitiTravel.com, 3 points per dollar on restaurants, supermarkets, gas & EV stations, air travel and other hotel purchases and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases.
Anyone who flies or travels at least once a year will benefit from the Strata Premier, with generous bonus categories that make the annual fee worthwhile year after year.