What Happens Automatically on Free vs Pro?
Understand what SeatMax does behind the scenes on each plan — flight tracking, SMS check-ins, ride checks, email branding, and billing.
Flight tracking
SeatMax monitors every traveler's flight and updates arrival times, terminals, and delay status automatically.
Free: Flights are checked once every 24 hours leading up to the event. On event day, checks increase to once per hour.
Pro: Flights are checked every hour in the days before the event. On event day, every scheduled check runs — so delays and gate changes are caught as quickly as possible.
Both plans support manual refresh from the event page at any time (with a cooldown to prevent overuse of the flight API).
Landing check-ins
After a flight lands, SeatMax texts the Rider to confirm they've arrived and are heading to the pickup zone.
Free: One text is sent 15 minutes after the estimated landing time. No follow-ups — if the Rider doesn't reply, the system moves on.
Pro: The first text goes out 10 minutes after landing. If there's no reply, SeatMax follows up every 15 minutes for up to 2 hours, then stops. This ensures Riders who are delayed at baggage claim or customs still get connected with their group.
Pre-flight ride checks
SeatMax can ping Riders before their flight to confirm they still need a ride. This prevents no-shows and empty seats.
Free: 1 check (24 hours before the flight). Configurable to Off.
Pro: Up to 5 checks — at 24h, 12h, 6h, 3h, and 2h before departure. Choose how many you want in your event settings. If a Rider declines, they're removed from grouping and groups restructure automatically.
Email branding
Both plans send Riders email notifications for ride assignments, invites, and pre-checks.
Free: Emails include a small "Sent by SeatMax on the Free plan" footer and an upgrade prompt.
Pro: Clean SeatMax footer with no upgrade messaging. Your Riders see a polished, professional email.
Billing
SeatMax charges a flat 25% of verified savings — the difference between what solo rides would have cost and what the grouped rides actually cost.
Free: No card required. You can use SeatMax for free to see the savings, but billing features are inactive until you add a payment method.
Pro: After event day, SeatMax automatically calculates savings and charges through Stripe. You'll see a detailed breakdown in your billing panel — baseline cost, grouped cost, savings, and the SeatMax fee.
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