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I think (I hope?) that I have finally seen the end of a long struggle with United Airlines. For the impatient, the moral of the story is to never, ever try to book airline tickets for more than one person together if one of them is redeeming any sort of credit or voucher.
A year and a half ago, I turned down a job interview at one particular college because I had already gotten a more appealing offer. That meant a canceled flight, which translated into a credit for future travel (minus a $100 cancellation charge, frustratingly).
I tried to redeem that credit last Christmas, but that turned into a tremendous headache: United initially tried to claim that I had actually used one leg of the flight (how did they think I gotten home?), and after talking to three different customer service representatives on the phone I was forced to actually drive to the airport to sort everything out. When the dust settled, rather than being given cash back for the amount in dispute they gave me an exchange voucher. I wasn't pleased, but it seemed like the best I was going to get. To add insult to injury, though, we were charged an extra $15 telephone booking fee because I booked Kim's ticket over the phone at the same time that I was dealing with my headaches.
Fast forward to this year. I was booking flights for a wedding again, and I had to call on the phone to redeem the voucher (since the online system still won't handle this). I asked whether it would be possible to book Kim's ticket at the same time without an extra fee, and the representative said that no, the voucher had to be applied to a reservation where I was the only passenger. Fine. But when he put a hold on the price, he was kind enough to ask how many passengers were traveling (and Kim's name) so that we'd both get the same fare. I would have to go to the airport in person to hand over the voucher, and the final payment details would be handled there.
So the agent on the phone stated the price of the tickets, adding, "Plus a $15 telephone ticketing fee." I asked what exactly that fee was for, and he said, "Oh, sorry, my mistake; that fee is waived." Kim and I then proceeded to go to the airport to turn in the voucher. Everything went perfectly smoothly until the very end, when I was told "And of course we're adding a $20 airport ticketing fee, since your wife's ticket could have been handled online."
I'm not terribly happy with United just now. But at least this whole credit/voucher headache is finally behind us.
A year and a half ago, I turned down a job interview at one particular college because I had already gotten a more appealing offer. That meant a canceled flight, which translated into a credit for future travel (minus a $100 cancellation charge, frustratingly).
I tried to redeem that credit last Christmas, but that turned into a tremendous headache: United initially tried to claim that I had actually used one leg of the flight (how did they think I gotten home?), and after talking to three different customer service representatives on the phone I was forced to actually drive to the airport to sort everything out. When the dust settled, rather than being given cash back for the amount in dispute they gave me an exchange voucher. I wasn't pleased, but it seemed like the best I was going to get. To add insult to injury, though, we were charged an extra $15 telephone booking fee because I booked Kim's ticket over the phone at the same time that I was dealing with my headaches.
Fast forward to this year. I was booking flights for a wedding again, and I had to call on the phone to redeem the voucher (since the online system still won't handle this). I asked whether it would be possible to book Kim's ticket at the same time without an extra fee, and the representative said that no, the voucher had to be applied to a reservation where I was the only passenger. Fine. But when he put a hold on the price, he was kind enough to ask how many passengers were traveling (and Kim's name) so that we'd both get the same fare. I would have to go to the airport in person to hand over the voucher, and the final payment details would be handled there.
So the agent on the phone stated the price of the tickets, adding, "Plus a $15 telephone ticketing fee." I asked what exactly that fee was for, and he said, "Oh, sorry, my mistake; that fee is waived." Kim and I then proceeded to go to the airport to turn in the voucher. Everything went perfectly smoothly until the very end, when I was told "And of course we're adding a $20 airport ticketing fee, since your wife's ticket could have been handled online."
I'm not terribly happy with United just now. But at least this whole credit/voucher headache is finally behind us.
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--Beth
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Sometimes, though, one's choice of destination limits one's choice of airlines. For example, going home to Lincoln, Nebraska means having just a couple of real options. (We have more choices if we fly into Omaha, of course, but there isn't always a convenient alternative airport like that.)