If you’re only paying attention to National Parks as you plan your summer vacation road trips, you may be missing out on some incredible State Parks that are just as worthy of a visit. We’ll play with that idea a bit, and will also discuss Delta’s increased use of AI, their hints at a Basic Business class product down the road, CLEAR’s “Concierge” product, no more shoes-off at TSA, and more.
A Biologist Reveals 6 ‘Hidden Gem’ U.S. State Parks — Some Are Better Than National Parks
Before you read any further, I want you to look at the picture below and just make a guess as to where it was taken…. Did you make a guess? Ok now you can proceed.
I’m all about finding less-crowded, hidden gem alternatives to popular travel destinations, so lists like these always catch my eye. The first State Park on this list (Robert H. Treman State Park in Ithaca, New York) is I think a favorite for our own Stephen Pepper but otherwise I was not familiar with any of the other State parks mentioned.
As usual, I would like to add one honorable mention of my own (which actually isn’t even a State Park, incredibly). The Cranberry Wilderness is a favorite hidden gem of my local area here in West Virginia. It’s a diverse stretch of nearly 50,000 acres in the Monongahela National Forest which houses a wide variety of ecosystems and plant life, even carnivorous pitcher plants in the Cranberry Glades. Some portions of this wilderness area look like rainforests while others look like the scrubby terrain of the far North. It’s one of my favorite natural sites in the region. (In fact, by the time you read this, I may very well be chilling in a tent somewhere out in those 50,000 acres.) But the point is, if the competitive and crowded nature of National Parks has you overwhelmed this summer, don’t forget about State Parks, National Forests, Wilderness Areas… there are many ways to get outside this summer!
Delta Using AI For Pricing Tickets, To Manipulate Market, Increase Profits
Is it just me, or does it feel like not a week goes by where we’re not discussing AI? This time it’s Delta who aims to use AI for 20% of its ticket pricing by the end of the year (as compared to the ~3% of ticket pricing it’s handling now.) To better understand what this might realistically mean for customers, Ben did a bit of a deep dive into the company who Delta’s partnered with for this project (Fetcherr) and concluded that this may likely mean a higher frequency of price fluctuations and more price customizations. I for one agree with Ben’s suspicion that this will ultimately not benefit we the consumers. I don’t want a “customized” price if that’s going to mean a more expensive one.
Delta Plans “Basic” Business Class: Will Premium Unbundling Work?
Ben had another Delta-related post of interest this week, thanks to their recent Q2 earnings call. In this post, Ben unpacks the various hints Delta has dropped about rolling out a “Basic Business Class”, also referred to as an “unbundled” version of the business class product. Just like the “basic economy” experience, this would essentially separate the seat and basic amenities from the other nicer amenities (like lounge access and special on board amenities) which could be left out of the “basic” experience. Reading the quotes in Ben’s post, this certainly sounds like something Delta is actively testing and even planning on rolling out. They even said “I think we’re gonna reserve comments on that until we roll it out.” Notice they didn’t say “if we roll it out”, for example.
CLEAR launches concierge program to help expedite you through expedited security
While we’re on the topic of product segmentization, CLEAR has launched two new levels of their product which they’re calling “CLEAR Concierge” (which Doctor of Credit cleverly states “expedites your expedited airport security”). This CLEAR Concierge comes in the form of “CLEAR Concierge Express” for $99 and “CLEAR Concierge Gate Service” for $179. This service does sound very concierge-like with assistance right from the curb when you arrive at the airport. You’ll need to pay the fee for each use (though not each person in your party) and you’ll need to schedule the service 10 hours ahead of time. Maybe some day they’ll invent a “Basic Clear” for which someone simply holds your bag for you in the ordinary security line. (I jest).
DHS to End ‘Shoes-Off’ Travel Policy
Coming straight from TSA themselves, the era of shoe-removal for security screening is coming to an end – at least for domestic flying. They say this will greatly decrease wait-times and efficiency…and I’m just sitting here wondering how much they paid for insight like that. Snark aside, I’m glad to hear this. Maybe this will add so much efficiency to the standard security process that products like CLEAR will become obsolete. (A person can dream.)
Casino loyalty programs (MGM Rewards and Caesars Rewards for example) may have trouble ahead because of the way gambling winnings will soon be taxed, or more specifically, because of how these changes might affect sentiment towards the recording of gambling behavior. If I’m understanding all of this correctly, the tax changes are as follows: you’ll essentially go from deducting 100% of gambling losses against gambling wins (so you’re only taxed if you have a net gain), to now (starting in 2026) only deducting 90% of gambling losses against winnings. This means you may still have to pay taxes on your gambling winnings even when you have no net winnings at all, and even if you have net losses! Gary includes a helpful table of what this could actually look like. For example, someone who wins 100K and loses 100K would still have to pay taxes on 10K of their winnings because only 90K (90%) of their losses can be deducted from the wins. Gary’s suggests this may inhibit willingness to sign up for casino loyalty programs, which require users to give visibility to their gambling activities. While these loyalty programs obviously don’t change what a person owes, there may be folks who intend to evade such taxes by simply not reporting their gambling winnings. Obviously we’re not recommending such an attitude, simply acknowledging that some folks may no longer want their gambling behaviors monitored by anyone at all, even for the purpose of loyalty perks.
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The longer and more you gamble, the more likely it is you will be a net loser with a probability of as close to 100% as it gets. That’s just the way probability works. The only possible exception might be games where there is some skill involved (poker, horse racing, etc.) but it’s exceedingly hard to do this.
I don’t think any losses can be deducted against winnings today. You pay full tax anytime you get a W-2G ($1200 gain), and losses can only be deducted if you itemize deductions, otherwise you can deduct no losses against your gains.
Your description of Cranberry Wilderness sounds a lot like Dolly Sods. How would you compare the two? Also are there good campsites there that are not impossible to get on the weekends?
It actually is quite similar to Dolly Sods, especially in certain areas (for example the Tea Creek area or the Big Spruce Knob area). And it is way less crowded than Dolly Sods. For example this weekend I was able to choose from a whole row of empty campsites at the Tea Creek Campground even though I didn’t even get there until 6:30pm on Friday. The best spots by the water were taken, but there were almost a dozen other spots still empty. It really is like the under-visited version of Dolly Sods. (And because of a lack of nearby accommodations, I expect it will stay that way for quite some time.)
Ah The Delta Effect: get less, pay more, and if at all possible, both.