SMS messaging & consent

How TripGelt collects consent to text you, what it sends, and how to stop. This page describes every opt-in path in full.

Opt-in path 1: verifying your mobile number in the TripGelt web console

This is how every TripGelt account holder opts in. It is a web form in the signed-in console; there is no other place a number can be added, and TripGelt never buys, imports, or uploads phone numbers.

1. The person creates a TripGelt account in the web console at tripgelt.com and reaches the phone-verification step (during onboarding, or later from Settings → Profile).
2. They type their own mobile number into the phone field.
3. Directly beneath the field is a consent checkbox, unchecked by default, reading exactly:
   I agree to receive text messages from TripGelt at this number: a one-time verification code when I sign in, replies to questions I text, and a notice when my account is opened. Msg frequency varies. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help, STOP to opt out. Consent is not a condition of any purchase.
   The words “Privacy Policy” and “SMS Terms” beside it link to this Privacy Policy and these SMS Terms.
4. The person ticks the box themselves. The submit button stays disabled until they do, so no message is ever sent to a number whose owner has not affirmatively consented.
5. They submit the form. TripGelt sends one one-time passcode to that number:
   Your TripGelt verification code is 123456. It expires in 10 minutes.
6. They type the code back into the console, which proves possession of the number. Only then is the number attached to the account.
7. TripGelt sends one confirmation message, which repeats the program terms:
   TripGelt: You're verified! Text this number anytime to ask about the trips you've shared. Msg frequency varies. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help, STOP to opt out.

After that, the account holder receives a one-time passcode whenever they sign in:

Opt-in path 2: texting the TripGelt number

An account holder who has completed path 1 can text the TripGelt number at any time; each message they send is a request for a reply, and they get one reply to it: a single text, or up to three texts when an answer needs more room. A typical exchange:

A longer answer, sent as two texts:

If a number that is not linked to any TripGelt account texts the number, it receives exactly one reply pointing at signup, and then nothing further — at most one such reply per number per hour, and no further messages at all unless that person goes on to complete path 1:

An inbound text is never treated as consent to a subscription, and it never adds a number to any list.

Opt-in path 3: turning on trip update alerts in Settings

Trip update alerts, plus notes about money you may be owed after a disrupted trip and updates on claims you make, are a separate, optional program. It covers your own travel: the trips you share with TripGelt, which include flights, hotels, cars and other modes of travel. Completing path 1 does not turn them on, and no account holder receives one until they turn them on here themselves.

1. An account holder who has verified their mobile number (path 1) opens Settings in the signed-in web console at tripgelt.com.
2. The “Text me trip updates” section has a checkbox, unchecked by default and disabled until the account has a verified mobile number, reading exactly:
   I agree to receive automated service texts from TripGelt at my verified mobile number about my own travel: the trips I share with TripGelt, which include flights, hotels, cars and other modes of travel. They cover updates about a trip that is coming up or under way, messages about a trip once it has happened, notes about compensation I may be owed, and updates on claims I make. TripGelt never texts me marketing. Msg frequency varies. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help, STOP to opt out. Consent is not a condition of any purchase.
   The words “Privacy Policy” and “SMS Terms” beside it link to this Privacy Policy and these SMS Terms.
3. The person ticks the box themselves. TripGelt records when they did, and which version of the wording above they agreed to.
4. Unticking the box, or replying STOP to any message, turns trip update alerts off immediately.

What TripGelt sends

• One-time passcodes: to verify ownership of your number and to sign in.
• An opt-in confirmation: once, when you first verify your number.
• Conversational replies: one per question you text about the flight reservations you forwarded to TripGelt, in up to three texts when an answer needs it, or a single notice asking you to slow down if you text faster than the assistant can answer.
• A signup pointer: the one reply a number that isn't linked to any TripGelt account gets when it texts us (path 2 above), at most once per hour.
• A waitlist pointer: the one reply you get if you text us while your account is still waiting to be opened, at most once per hour:
  TripGelt: your account is still on the waitlist, so the assistant can't answer yet. We'll text this number once it's open.
• An account-opened notice: sent once, if and when your account is opened. TripGelt is a small private service and new accounts are opened by hand, so this is the one message we send you that isn't an answer to something you sent us or an alert you turned on:
  TripGelt: you're in. Sign in at app.tripgelt.com to connect Gmail or forward your bookings, flights, hotels, cars and trains. Then text this number anything about your trips. Reply HELP for help, STOP to opt out.
• New features and account questions: occasional texts about new features, which you can turn off with “Tell me about new features” in Settings or by replying STOP, and one-time account questions, such as whether you go by other names on bookings.
• Trip update alerts: only if you turn on trip update alerts in Settings (path 3 above). They are about your own travel, the trips you share with TripGelt, which include flights, hotels, cars and other modes of travel: updates about your upcoming flights, such as changes to your flights or seats, cancellations, and reminders about options your airline offers, the departure gate or terminal when your airline emails one, plus notes about money you may be owed after a disrupted trip and updates on claims you make. None between 10pm and 7am local time, and none after you turn them off or reply STOP. For example:
  TripGelt: Dana and Sam got bumped to First on UA 214 San Francisco-Newark, Thu Oct 9. Seats 2A, 2B.
  TripGelt: schedule change on UA 214 San Francisco-Newark, Thu Oct 9: leaves 8:25am (was 7:40am), lands 4:50pm (was 4:05pm).
  TripGelt: your airline emailed a gate for UA 214 San Francisco-Newark, Thu Oct 9: Terminal 2, gate B24. Gates change, so check the board.
  TripGelt: meal pre-order is open for UA 214 Thu Oct 9 (closes Wed Oct 8 9pm San Francisco time): Pasta, Chicken, Salad. Choose: https://www.united.com/
  TripGelt: 3 of your trips last year were disrupted. You may be owed about $950 on 2. Want me to draft claims? Reply DRAFT.
• A trip check-in: only if you turn on trip update alerts in Settings (path 3 above): one text a few hours after the last flight of a trip has landed, asking how the trip went, at most one per trip however many flights it had. Replying is optional, your reply reaches the assistant like any other text you send it, and TripGelt never contacts an airline about it. None between 10pm and 7am local time. For example:
  TripGelt: you're back from Lisbon. How was the trip? Tell me and I'll keep a note on it, good or bad.
• A question about a claim's case number: only if you turn trip update alerts on in Settings (path 3 above): one text after you tell TripGelt you have sent a claim or a complaint to an airline, asking whether the airline gave you a case or claim number, at most one per claim. Replying is optional, your reply reaches the assistant like any other text you send it, the number you send is kept on your own case file so TripGelt can recognise the airline's reply when it arrives in your own mail, and TripGelt never contacts an airline about it. None between 10pm and 7am local time. For example:
  TripGelt: did United Airlines give you a case or claim number for the claim you sent them? Text it to me and I'll keep it on the case, so I can spot their reply.
• A check-in reminder: only if you turn on trip update alerts in Settings (path 3 above): one text the day before a flight, when check-in has opened and no boarding pass for it has reached TripGelt, at most one per flight. It names the flight, when it leaves, and, when your airline publishes a recommended arrival time and we have checked it against that airline's own page, what that airline says. When your airline has sent a check-in reminder of its own, this text may also carry that airline's own check-in link, so you can check in with them. None between 10pm and 7am local time. For example:
  TripGelt: check-in is open for UA 214 San Francisco-Newark, Thu Oct 9. It leaves 7:40am and United Airlines says be at the airport by 5:40am. No boarding passes on file yet, so check in with them: I can't do that for you. https://www.united.com/checkin
• A boarding pass notice: only if you turn on trip update alerts in Settings (path 3 above): one text when boarding passes for a flight arrive in the mail you share with TripGelt, at most one per flight, and only when your airline emails them to you. It names the seats, the boarding time and the boarding zone your airline gave, and carries that airline's own link to the passes. None between 10pm and 7am local time. For example:
  TripGelt: boarding passes are in for UA 214 San Francisco-Newark, Thu Oct 9. Dana 12A, Sam 12B. Boards 7:05am, zone 2. Your passes: https://www.united.com/boardingpass
• A note-received confirmation: only if you turn on trip update alerts in Settings (path 3 above): one text when an airline emails you to confirm it received a compliment or a complaint that TripGelt sent to that airline's own feedback form for you, after you read the note and said yes to sending it, at most one per note. It says only that the airline confirmed it got your note, never the note itself and never anything the airline's email says. None between 10pm and 7am local time. For example:
  TripGelt: United Airlines confirmed they got your note.

TripGelt never sends marketing or promotional messages, and never sends messages about anyone else's trips.

HELP and STOP

Reply HELP to any message for help, or email support@tripgelt.com. Reply STOP to any message to stop all texts from TripGelt; you will receive a single confirmation of your opt-out and nothing after it. Opting out of texts does not delete your account — the web console keeps working, and account settings still holds the one-action delete.

Privacy

No mobile information will be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. Text messaging originator opt-in data and consent will not be shared with any third parties. Full detail is in the Privacy Policy; the program terms are in the SMS Terms & Conditions.

Questions about this program: support@tripgelt.com · 137 N. Larchmont Blvd, Suite 807, Los Angeles, CA 90004