How Did Rory Afford To Travel On The 'Gilmore Girls' Revival? She's Got A Lot Of Privilege

When Rory wasn't making delightfully terrible decisions during the Gilmore Girls revival, she was hopping on a plane. It seemed like every other scene would end with Rory excusing herself so that she could catch a flight to London, where old flame Logan Huntzberger was waiting for her. Despite the fact that Rory was between jobs in the new episodes and seemed to be very low on funds, she had no problem booking expensive flight after expensive flight. That left many fans wondering: how did Rory afford to travel on the Gilmore Girls revival?

The simplest answer is also the most obvious: she's rich. Don't buy into Rory's normal girl with a budget vibe: she is rich. Rory may not be wealthy on her own merits yet, but that doesn't mean she's without access to money. Though she protested it now and then, Rory has always benefited from the wealth of her family. In fact, Amy Sherman-Palladino cited Rory's family and friends when explaining how she paid for all that travel to and from London, but also gave a nod to Rory's thriftier side.

During a recent interview with TV Line, Sherman-Palladino stated that, "A lot of it was points. When you travel that much you have points." She also added that:

She's flying economy. She's flying JetBlue on a deal. And she's using her points. We didn't really focus on money because, quite frankly, I don't think anyone's worried that Rory is going to starve. Between Emily Gilmore, Lorelai Gilmore... Logan… there were so many [well-off] people in her life that would've made sure she didn't fall through the cracks.

That may be an unsatisfying answer for those who were hoping to find that Rory had turned into some kind of hyper-independent media mogul in the time between the Season 7 finale and the revival. Self-sufficiency was always an important part of Lorelai's story, after all, even if the entire series hinged on the fact that Lorelai had to go crawling back to her rich parents to afford Rory's schooling. But despite similarities, Lorelai and Rory are not the same person, and Rory has been more comfortable accepting favors in the past.

Sure, she kicked up a fuss when Emily outfitted her dorm room in expensive furniture and technology (in the episode titled "The Hobbit, the Sofa, and Digger Stiles"), but it was also something Rory came to accept. Just like she accepted the redone pool house her grandparents let her move into, and accepted moving rent-free into Logan's fancy apartment when Paris kicked her out during their college days. She let Logan pay for expensive meals, exciting adventures, and even a Birkin bag, once (remember "Welcome to the Dollhouse"?). Why wouldn't she accept a couple of flights here and there?

Rory has always been a person with immense privilege. That's all there is to it — and that's why she was able to go jet-setting off to London whenever possible. If only we were all so lucky.