Several years ago the story went viral about a man who ate free for a year buying a refundable ticket, accessing the China Eastern lounge in Xi’an, China, and the refunding his ticket. Every. Day. Around the same time Lufthansa sued a passenger and won 200 euros after the man booked and cancelled 36 tickets in a year for the purpose of obtaining business class lounge access.
Another man was arrested after living in 9 different Priority Pass lounges at the Singapore airport over the course of 3 weeks. And still another lived temporarily in an airport because he couldn’t afford the change fee on his ticket.
I suppose memories of stories like these are behind a rather strange idea that’s gone viral on Twitter: that homeless people just need airport lounge access.
why don’t homeless people just get a platinum amex for $50/month and enjoy unlimited food and showers at airport lounges?
— Blair Dulder CPA™ (@runaway_vol) May 18, 2025
Panhandle to buy one refundable ticket, get access to airport, cancel/ reschedule before boarding. Infinite shower/ food hack. I swear, the homeless are just lazy.
— Trader ZeroCool (@BillyRaeSirus) May 18, 2025
The idea here, I guess, is to shift the burden of homelessness off of society at large and onto airlines and other lounge operators even where those lounges have extremely limited space and too much demand, and they’re expensive to maintain – and lack social services. What could possibly go wrong?
You might as well ask, ‘why don’t they sign up for credit cards that come with free room nights’ and also transfer bank points to hotel programs for somewhere to stay? Banks aren’t in the business of extending credit to homeless people without a steady income or fixed place of residence from which to collect.
Besides, in many cases the homeless don’t just ‘lack a home’ but face other challenges as well (i.e., many aren’t just temporarily down on their luck) but that alone might disqualify them from a premium rewards credit card offering free hotel nights. After all, banks offer those free nights as marketing expense to acquire profitable customers.
And many lounges do close overnight. Some airports do as well precisely to keep out the homeless, so they’d have to re-clear security every day with a new boarding pass.
Presumably offered tongue in cheek, the suggestion that he homeless just get an Amex Platinum card has ‘one weird trick’ vibes to it. Like when I was a senior in high school and the national debate topic was social services for the homeless. My debate partner and I argued that what the homeless needed were lawyers to advocate for them, while some teams argued they needed P.O. boxes to receive checks. Little did I know at the time but during the back half of that year, Priority Pass was founded.
Oh, unsolicited bad advice and other ‘hot takes’… yeah, ‘welcome to the internet…’ (have a look around). @L737, Bo Burnham, anyone?
More stupid people online with really dumb ideas. It would be very doubtful that the homeless could qualify for a credit card that allows lounge entrance. Where would said person wash their laundry? I doubt there’s a lounge at there with complimentary washers and dryers.
There’s a huge homeless problem in this country but the grifters within the Homeless Industrial Complex will only find ways to make the matter worst. Just look at California.
@George N Romey — Ah, so you did read Abundance, after all, did ya? Cut that ‘red tape,’ re-zone, YIMBY, finally build affordable housing, and end both homelessness and poverty, eh??
…Oh, wait, never mind; I know you, George; you were just villainizing those poor folks and scapegoating your perceived political opponents, like usual. Got it. No solutions. Just whinin’. Cool.
@Geroge N Romney – What the hell is the “Homeless Industrial Complex?” An industrial complex refers to a concentration of industrial activity in a specific location, often characterized by interdependencies between firms and businesses…not people living in tents just trying to get by.
You know, you and others love to slam California…but if you actually bothered to look at education, healthcare and general wellness outcomes, California’s outcomes exceed nearly every state you say is a better place. Personally, I’d live in a place where people look out for one another rather than a state where people would just as soon shoot you rather than help you. It’s a shame that your parents never taught you that everyone is entitled to our compassion…even if they are poor.
@Parker — Thank you for the backup, and well said, sir. Yup, it’s a common tactic, mostly by right-wingers, to denigrate our fellow country men and women, specifically those in so-called ‘blue’ states and cities. Personally, I find it cheap. It’s also tired, and ineffective. False narratives of dystopian hellscapes are not reality. NYC, SF, Chicago, etc. are all just fine, like any other city, some good parts, some not as good parts; some folks are thriving, others need help. It’s a ‘human’ thing, not a ‘right’ or ‘left’ thing, yet one ‘team’ overplays this nonsense frequently; it’s their propaganda. George is not alone, but he is out-numbered. There are still more decent, welcoming folks in all places, than hate and fear mongers. Wish he and the others would do this less, but that’s on them, and we can and should keep calling them out time. We should treat each other better than this.
*calling them out (each) time
Well, at least you know a human writes it, because I presume AI would use a spell check or grammar check before hitting ‘post’ (I swear, I try to proof-read, but I’m not perfect, and no ‘edit’ button either, which is just fine, all good, Gary…)
A couple of you should stop listening to Jasemine Crockett and instead check out some real reporters on social media that do not have a political bias. The Homeless Industrial Complex is real. It involves taking millions of state awards to “cure and house” the homeless, pay out huge salaries and administrative costs and never really tackle housing issues not to mention mental health and substance abuse issues. Solving the problem or bringing back to where it was 50 years ago would mean these various NGO/charities would no longer be needed and with it the director making $500K a year. The was a recent video on Youtube will give you a flavor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HMe5nPz-G4
And BTW, know that at one time in my life I lived in a homeless shelter. It was a long battle back but those times will never leave me (but I don’t dwell on that time). While I was grateful for the place, it certainly beat living on the streets, it wasn’t pleasant. 70% of the people in the shelter were openly gaming the system and the counselors really had little in the way of resources to help those that were not. At best you got a 15 minute session biweekly.
Now you can go back like this person saying have them get lounge credit cards and tell yourself how virtuous you are.
@George R…Is it possible that Parker has never heard the term “Military Industrial Complex”? Is the allusion a little too vague for him?
https://thomas699.substack.com/p/lahsa-oopso
>if you actually bothered to look at education, healthcare and general wellness outcomes, California’s outcomes exceed nearly every state you say is a better place
Yeah, that’s why there are floods of people moving there from places like FL and TX and ID.
Wait.
I did just watch Tim Dillion’s Netflix special, and his opening bit is basically jokes on this topic. (Gary, he filmed it in Austin, which according to him, as ‘just the right amount of homeless people.’ Bah!) Dillion says, they used to be ‘fun,’ you know, you could ‘throw ’em nickels,’ and they would ‘do a jig.’ But, he feels that they’re all crazed drug addicts today (which is not necessarily true, but for the sake of hyperbole, it gets a few laughs). He goes on, so ‘what’s the solution?’ and responds: ‘…I don’t even know what the problem is!’ They say, it’s a ‘cost of living issue… the interest rates! or, just needs a job…’ (he then proceeds to mock ‘Skid Row.’) It was a bit dark (a bit too ‘punching-down’ for my taste). Again, no real solutions, just cynicism, which I guess gets some laughs these days…
@toomanybooks — Oh, please. As much as people left big cities during the pandemic, there’s no mass exodus from blue to red states. Yes, there’s a regular exchange of people. Specifically, many higher educated folks have left ‘red’ states, following Dobbs. Some would call that a ‘brain drain.’ Sure, California, New York, Massachusetts, do have higher taxes, and we tend to get more for it. As for Idaho, that’s an odd one to include. I’ve been a few times, once in the past year. It’s still way under-populated and there isn’t much to do there. Like, I’d rather be in Utah. So, c’mon, folks are not moving to ID in droves, at all.
won 200 euros
The article linked says 2000** euros
@1990 — Haha pretty much! “Anything and everything all of the time” What will the internet think of next…also that Tim Dillon special is on my list. no spoilers!
I did overhear in a lounge once someone asking why people don’t just buy a LCC ticket and not fly. That’s a sign of a good lounge, ha.
@L737 — If only the fares were as cheap as Ryanair in Europe, like €20 sometimes, could book just to go to a Cap One or Sapphire lounge, dine, then take a flight credit, rinse and repeat. I’d pay the $2.90 MTA subway/bus to LGA for that. Would be cheaper than 1-2 drinks at most restaurants in the city. Find the loopholes while you can!