In a viral video, a flight attendant shared a hack for how to get upgraded on a flight for relatively cheap.
The video started off with a stitch of @tacoreacts asking, “What’s a company secret that we shouldn’t know, but you’re just like, ‘Fuck it, I hate this job.’”
In reply, popular influencer @cierra_mistt, who is also a flight attendant based in Salt Lake City, Utah, shared what passengers should do if they want perks like a free upgrade to first class, unlimited drinks, or any other kind of special treatment.
The hack is simple: “Bring us a gift card.”
The flight attendant shared that it doesn’t matter if it’s a $100 gift card or a $5 one (especially since the flight attendant won’t know the amount until they get off the plane).
“The things that we do for passengers that bring us like the sillies little gifts and quirky sh*t. Like anything that gives us just a sliver of joy in our lives because we are peasants,” @cierra_mistt said.
Going off on a tangent, she said that she knows there will be a “little pesky employee who takes his job way too seriously” who will send her video to Human Resources (HR) or advise crew members against accepting any gift or nicety.
She said nobody likes that person, including their own employer, and they’re only kept around to tattle tale.
“Anyway, get your flight attendant a gift or a gift card and the watch the magic strings that she’ll pull for you,” @cierra_mistt said.
@cierra_mistt #stitch with @Taco reacts ♬ original sound – Cierra Mistt
The video is nearing 100,000 views and has about 100 comments.
“Flight attendant travel hack that works *everytime” the caption read.
Commenters pointed out a circumstance where this hack wouldn’t work, even if the flight attendant wanted to give a person a perk.
“That assumes that there is room for you to move us to a better seat… which right now isn’t gonna happen because all the flights are so full,” a commenter wrote.
“I have done this multiple times, and brought candy… nothing happened because the flight(s) was full,” another added.
Others said they’ve done this and gotten mixed reactions.
“Literally did this with my kids. (3 and 2 at the time) they handed them to them and not even a thank you or smile from them. was super disappointed,” a viewer shared.
“I have personally done this saw my gate agent drinking Starbucks got her a $10 card and she didn’t say anything until I scan to board upgraded,” another said.
The Daily Dot previously reported on another flight attendant who was bringing awareness to the wages flight attendants earn and why they need to be paid better. She shared that even if senior flight attendants got paid $92 an hour, because of how their pay is calculated, it would only translate to an $84,000 year salary.
This is because flight attendants must show up at the airport an hour and a half before departure to perform tasks like assisting with the boarding process, arming the doors, and serving pre-departure beverages in first class. But none of that labor is paid, and if there’s a delay, they’re also not getting paid during that extra time they’re at the airport and away from their loved ones. Instead, flight attendants are paid based on their flight hours.
She added that flight attendants aren’t paid for a 40-hour week. Instead, their flight hours are 75 to 80 hours a month.
The Daily Dot reached out to @cierra_mistt for comment via Instagram direct message.
