Warning To Instacart Shoppers — The App Is Testing How Much More It Can Charge You For The Same Groceries [Roundup]

by Gary Leff on December 10, 2025

News and notes from around the interweb:

• Don’t trust Instacart prices.

  Right now, Instacart is quietly running experiments on millions of us while we shop for groceries online. They are trying to figure out exactly how much they can get away with charging you for breakfast cereal, lunch meat, pasta, and everything in between. How do I know? 1/9 pic.twitter.com/sbmcBUrczg

  — Lindsay Owens (@owenslindsay1) December 9, 2025

  Instacart charged shoppers different prices for about 75% of the items in the basket–sometimes they charged as much as 23% more for the exact same item. Using Instacart’s own estimates, we find that the Instacart tax could cost households as much as $1200 a year. 3/9

  — Lindsay Owens (@owenslindsay1) December 9, 2025

• The earnings aren’t game-changing, but most people don’t realize that in addition to points with Alaska or Bilt and stacking that with credit card rewards, Chase credits, and potentially even card-linked offers, you can also stack earning with ThanksAgain. Those points can be converted to gift cards or JetBlue points (gift cards are the better value).
• All the airlines do it, but this is such a bad customer experience.

  @AmericanAir “You have to check you bag. There’s no overhead room left.”

  ?????? pic.twitter.com/5HKNH8BZ2D

  — kellybeanz (@kellyjelly103) December 9, 2025

  Reviving this account for the sole purpose of complaining to airlines again…@united care to explain why group 2 needed to gate check every single bag? He’s a sample of the more than a dozen empty overhead bins available. I lost track because every bin was like this!! pic.twitter.com/6K0QQIMixj

  — Corinne Beemer (@CorinneBeemer) December 8, 2025

• Austin to offer $5 million in tax subsidies to Southwest Airlines for growing jobs. This part is just made up:

  According to council documents, the city estimates Southwest expansion in Austin would create 2,000 new jobs in the airline industry “with an average wage of ~$180,000.”

• American Airlines says that since the government is reducing the fine imposed for mistreatment of wheelchair passengers, they’ll spend the money on getting better. But doesn’t this mean they were resolved not to improve otherwise? “[I]nstead of money simply going to the U.S> Treasury, American iwll invest millions more to further improve…”

  American agreed to spend money to better track wheelchairs so they stop losing them, and lifts to transport them more safely at 3 hubs. But these are investments that the airline that’s been worst at dealing with this should have already made, before they were fined $50 million and certainly since.

  Here is @AmericanAir statement https://t.co/WbYxtF4IFR pic.twitter.com/wkGoZ0nQjS

  — David Shepardson (@davidshepardson) December 9, 2025

• Nancy Mace acknowledges cursing out TSA agents but takes exception to the idea that she’d call them idiots.

  Mace: I use vulgar language frequently. I mean, the president does… the idea that I would call somebody an idiot, I have never done that in my life. And to me it was an incredible hit job.

  Collins: And who do you think was doing the hit job?

  Mace: Oh, it was the attorney… pic.twitter.com/wtcNEt41nT

  — Acyn (@Acyn) December 10, 2025

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