For Claude

Ask Claude to book a flight.
Watch it try.

Claude can reason about travel, analyze your points, and plan your trip. But when it comes to actually booking a flight — it draws a blank. Here's what that looks like.

01 — Without AgentTravel

Claude tries to book. The infrastructure isn't there.

👤
Book me a flight from JFK to Tokyo next month. Business class. Under $3,000.
✗ No API
Claude (Anthropic)
Searching web for flight options...
I don't have access to real-time flight pricing or booking systems. I can describe what typical routes look like, but I can't verify current prices, seat availability, or actually book anything.
No travel API connected. Search abandoned.
✗ No API
Claude tries: Expedia
$ curl https://api.expedia.com/flights/search
I can't access Expedia's booking system — they don't have a public API for AI agents. Only for approved partners with NDAs and annual contracts.
401 Unauthorized — API requires business partnership
✗ Search only
Claude tries: Google Flights
Connecting to Google Flights...
I can see some flight options, but I can't complete a booking — Google Flights is a search interface, not a booking engine. Prices shown may be stale, seats unverified, and I have no way to click "book."
Search only. No transaction capability. Dead end.

Claude had the right intent — and zero ability to act. No booking API. No loyalty optimization. No confirmation.

02 — Why this happens

The gap isn't in the model. It's in the tooling.

EX

Expedia Group

$100B+ annual bookings

Processes over $100 billion in travel bookings per year. 400+ airline connections. Zero public agent API.

Walled garden
BK

Booking.com

28M+ listings

Over 28 million accommodation listings. Massive travel infrastructure, B2B partner APIs for enterprise only.

Enterprise only
AT

AgentTravel

MCP-native

Built specifically for AI agents. MCP server at /mcp. Every method: search_flights, search_hotels, optimize_points — just works.

Built for agents

Every major travel company built the world's best infrastructure — then locked it behind consumer web UIs. AgentTravel is the bridge: an MCP-native travel layer that gives Claude the full booking stack, end-to-end.

03 — With AgentTravel

Same prompt. Claude books the flight.

👤
Book me a flight from JFK to Tokyo next month. Business class. Under $3,000.
✓ Connected
AgentTravel MCP
$ Claude activates AgentTravel MCP
AgentTravel MCP initialized. Searching flights via Duffel API...
✓ Results
5 options returned
Airline Route Departure Price
ANA JFK → NRT Jul 12, 11:40am $2,740
JAL JFK → NRT Jul 13, 2:15pm $2,890
United EWR → NRT Jul 14, 6:00am $2,510
Filtered to 5 results under $3,000. Sorted by price.
✓ Points found
Loyalty optimization
$ Checking points/miles transfer options...
AMEX MR → ANA: 80,000 points covers this fare. Current transfer bonus: 30% bonus until June 30. Effective cost: 61,538 MR points (~$770 value).
Points route found. Saving ~$1,970 vs. cash.
✓ Booked
Confirmation sent
Booking confirmed
ATL-7829XK
ANA 172 · JFK → NRT · Jul 12 · Business 81,538 AMEX MR transferred · Balance confirmed
Done. Confirmation emailed to your inbox.

4 steps. One prompt. Booked and confirmed — including points optimization. This is what Claude looks like with AgentTravel.

04 — Setup in 60 seconds

Add one block to your Claude config. That's it.

Drop this into your claude_desktop_config.json. Restart Claude Desktop. Travel is now a capability.

claude_desktop_config.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "agenttravel": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@agenttravel/mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop. search_flights, search_hotels, optimize_points — now available in every conversation.

05 — What Claude gets back

Not just flight data. Reasoning.

The difference between a list and an answer. Every MCP response includes structured data plus the reasoning your agent needs to act confidently.

MCP response — search_flights result
{
  "query_cost": "$0.79",
  "stripe_x402": "charged",

  "options": [
    {
      "id": "NH-001",
      "airline": "ANA",
      "price": "$2,740",
      "cabin": "business",
      "stops": "0 (direct)",
      "departure": "Jul 12, 11:40am → Jul 13, 3:45pm+1",
      "miles_earned": "55,000 ANA miles",
      "confidence": "high"
    },
    {
      "id": "JL-002",
      "airline": "Japan Airlines",
      "price": "$2,890",
      "cabin": "business",
      "stops": "0 (direct)",
      "departure": "Jul 13, 2:15pm → Jul 14, 6:20pm+1",
      "miles_earned": "58,000 JAL miles (3x Amex Plat)",
      "confidence": "high"
    }
  ],

  "reasoning": {
    "best_deal": "ANA-001 at $2,740 is the lowest cash price; direct to NRT, no connections",
    "points_angle": "AMEX MR 80K → ANA at 1:1 transfer (30% bonus active) = 104K ANA miles. Sufficient for this fare at 55K mile cost.",
    "alternative": "JAL direct — $150 more but earns 3x JAL miles on Amex Platinum, making effective cost difference ~$27",
    "warning": "Both flights under $3,000 budget. Confirm seat availability before booking."
  },

  "recommendation": "ANA-001 — best cash price on a direct flight"
}
Raw data
Prices, times, airline, cabin, stops — everything Claude needs to present options
Reasoning
"ANA is $150 cheaper, but JAL earns 3x on Amex Platinum — the effective gap is $27 after points."
Recommendation
"For your query, I'd recommend ANA-001" — your agent can surface this or act on it
Confidence
High / medium / low on each option — your agent knows when to flag uncertainty to you
06 — Pricing

Pay per query. Nothing more.

Stripe x402 charges the exact token cost rounded up. No subscription. No commitment.

Query Type Tokens (est.) Price
Single flight search ~500 $0.49
Flight + hotel comparison ~1,200 $0.79
Full trip (flights + hotels + points optimization) ~2,500 $1.49
Multi-city with loyalty strategy ~4,000 $1.99

Estimates. Stripe x402 charges exact token cost rounded up. First query: up to $5 free with registration.

07 — How to connect

Add one block to your Claude config. That's it.

Drop this into your claude_desktop_config.json. Restart Claude Desktop. Travel is now a capability, not a limitation.

MCP for Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Claude.ai

Once installed, Claude has access to: search_flights, search_hotels, optimize_points, book_flight, book_hotel, get_insurance_quote.

claude_desktop_config.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "agenttravel": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@agenttravel/mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop. search_flights, search_hotels, optimize_points — now available in every conversation.

Works with Claude Desktop, Claude Code (terminal), and Claude.ai (Pro). AgentTravel MCP initializes automatically when Claude starts a conversation that involves travel.
07b — How we stack up

Built for agents. Not adapted for them.

Skyscanner, Amadeus, and Google Flights API were built for human clickstreams. AgentTravel was designed from scratch for how AI agents actually call tools. See the full dimension-by-dimension breakdown.

🔌
MCP server built-in vs. manual REST + auth boilerplate
📊
Structured JSON vs. inconsistent, opaque field formats
💳
Self-serve API key + Stripe x402 vs. partnership applications + GCP projects
🏅
Points/miles optimization vs. none across all alternatives
08 — FAQ

Common questions.

How does the agent pay without a human?

Your registered email or phone is associated with a Stripe payment capability. The agent carries that capability in the x402 header. When it queries AgentTravel, we charge the registered Stripe account for the query cost. No human involvement needed.

What if the query is ambiguous?

AgentTravel reasons through ambiguity and returns the top options with an explanation. If there's genuine uncertainty, the response includes a "confidence: low" flag so your agent can surface the ambiguity or ask a follow-up question.

Can I run multiple agents under one account?

Yes. One registration covers all agents and all sessions. Each query is charged individually. Your Stripe dashboard shows per-query charges with agent identifier if provided.

Is this available now?

Developer preview is live. First query is free (up to $5 in credits). Sign up below to get access and MCP setup instructions.

09 — Get started

First query is on us.
Up to $5 free.

Register your agent with an email. Get $5 in free credits + MCP setup instructions. No credit card required.

What we capture: email or phone + project name → used for credit allocation and follow-up. That's it.

After credits: $0.49–$1.99 per query. No subscription. No commitment.