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September 8, 2026 | View Online
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I love traveling, but I hate airports, and you can see why that puts me in a bit of a pickle. Luckily, these hilarious (and rage-filled) one-star reviews of airports made me feel seen. If I can’t fix it, I guess I’ll just laugh at the chaos.
In today’s edition:
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United launched two new features (one awesome, one meh)
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Six travel trends shaping 2026
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Let's settle the debate: VPNs vs incognito mode
Misery loves company,
Arijana
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| US AIRLINES
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United Rolls Out Two New Features to Help Travelers
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United is on a roll lately, launching 10 new destinations (scroll to the bottom of this newsletter to read about those) and two new travel features on its app.
✈️ Better help for delays and cancellations
First, United is launching a major upgrade regarding flight delays and cancellations. The airline will have an automatic three-flight standby to its mobile app. What does this mean exactly?
Well, it means that if you experience a delay or cancellation, you can place yourself on standby for three eligible earlier flights to the same destination. And don’t worry, your rebooked flight won’t be cancelled unless one of those standby seats opens up and you accept it.
I think this is an incredible addition for travelers. We all know there is no worse feeling than a travel day getting longer and longer through no fault of our own, so I like how proactive and easy this could be for travelers.
🤳 Order food right to your gate
The other feature United is testing is for all of you who get hangry at your gate. The new service would allow travelers to order food, drinks, and other travel essentials through United’s app, and the items will be waiting for you at your gate.
Currently, the new feature is being tested on select flights out of Newark, but there are plans to roll it out to Houston later this year as well.
While this is a cool feature for anyone in a pinch. I personally don’t think I’d use this very much unless I had an emergency where I need a charging cord. As we all know, airport surge pricing is a bit out of hand, so I’d rather pack my own snacks rather than pay the exorbitant prices. Still, it’s great that United is thinking of the traveler and rolling out a lot of new updates.
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| PERMANENT VACATION
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The Shortcuts to Life on Permanent Vacation
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A month-long stay in an Italian villa...
A winter spent in the Caribbean sun...
Gourmet dinners out...
Your own housekeeper and gardener...
You don’t have to be super wealthy and famous to live a high-flying international life or enjoy a retirement that’s rich with experiences you’ve always wanted to have.
It is 100% possible to live in comfort and not worry about whether you’ll outlive your
nest egg, you just need to know the shortcuts.
Watch this video to learn how you can start living your dream life.
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| TRAVEL TRENDS
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Travel + Leisure Reveals Six Trends Shaping 2026 Travel
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It’s safe to say air travel is very different from how it was back in the day. Heck, it’s even different from a few years ago, pre-COVID. Still, the travel landscape is rapidly evolving, and it’s interesting to see how far we’ve come. Recently, at Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Summit, industry leaders identified six trends shaping 2026 travel.
📍 Travel is becoming more niche
The nice thing about traveling is that anyone can find a place that fits their interests. And in an age of micro-cultures, this means people can visit the destinations of their favorite TV shows, stay at a hotel that a book based its setting on, or join fellow crafters on a weekend retreat. I think we will see more and more of this, as well as people traveling to enjoy their hobbies versus just experiencing a new destination.
🤝 Experiences and connection are key
I believe there is a reason we see more companies like Airbnb rolling out Experiences and local guides becoming more popular. People want to dive in and immerse themselves in a city, and we are all craving more connection. It’s not enough to get the Instagram shot; it’s time to get the expert-led tour and experience something you won’t find in a TikTok reel.
💻 AI doesn’t replace expertise
AI is taking over every industry, and travel is no exception. However, AI tools lack the nuance necessary for travel research. Although AI may be a good jumping-off point for tracking or trip research, asking people and word of mouth are still the best travel tools out there.
Want to see the rest of the trends? Click here.
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| TRAVEL TIPS
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Fact or Fiction: The Truth About Using VPNs and Incognito Mode
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We’d love to tell you that simply switching your flight search to Google Flights in an incognito browser will instantly find you $300 mistake fares to Europe in business class. However, the idea of finding deals with incognito mode is, sadly, a myth.
Yes, the flight you were eyeing occasionally increases in price an hour after you were looking at it, but this is not because you’re being monitored by Google Flights.
Flight prices change because airline prices constantly fluctuate, based on an extremely complicated algorithm.
However, using a VPN for cheaper flights is not a myth; it can be a useful tool to change your point of sale to see alternative airline pricing. Your VPN could help you search from countries with cheap flight options.
You should use a VPN for cheaper flights not to avoid being tracked, but to change your point-of-sale location. One of the amazing features of VPNs is to be in America but make a website think you’re in another country.
This is important for cheap flights because occasionally, airlines or online travel agencies can price flights differently in different parts of the world. For example, some travel experts claim setting your VPN to the country you’re traveling to can reduce the price. If you’re traveling to Japan from the US, try setting your VPN to Japan and see if the flight prices drop.
The real trick, however, is to learn how airlines price flights and to learn when the best booking window is for your flight. Click here to read our full guide to finding cheap flights.
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| REEL OF THE DAY
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I could watch this video 1,000 times in a row. So pretty I had to make sure it wasn’t an AI trick
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