ytjk

I'm trying to book some awards--- using Grandma's miles for grandson. Grandma lives in Germany. We have been buying her tickets for years.

I'm booking a 30,000 mile 1 way award to Germany.

Costs $5.60

Grandma doesn't have a credit card. She's not really into that.

When I try to pay the $5.60 I get rejected because the billing name does not match the miles account name.

Gives me a hard stop. I put the reservation on hold.

Just checking if I have an option that doesn't include "call them and pay the (Not sure) $25 or $35 booking fee..........

Thanks
YTJK

JY1024

I'm not sure you'll even be able to do that... The last few times I've checked with AAgents, the system is much more strict now about making sure that the name on the credit card matches the name of the AAdvantage account being redeemed.

I think it'd certainly be worth asking AA about how to handle this: given that Grandma doesn't have or want to use a credit card, how is she supposed to redeem her miles? (Assuming she's also not into PayPal, etc.)

dungeonlurker

As JY1024 said, I'm not sure you can use someone else's credit card at all.

Short of adding her as an authorized user on a card that she doesn't have to really use, only thing I can think of is if she puts the itinerary on hold and visits an AA Ticket Counter in person to finish the ticketing with cash.

ytjk

Ok. I didn't see a paypal option, maybe I missed that. I haven't redeemed miles since the merger. I'd be glad to open a paypal account and put 50 bucks in it for her whatever.

I find it very strange that you can redeem the miles and put any old name on the ticket but to pay the $5 in fees the names need to match.

I will call them and see what they say! Thanks for the help

rjw242

I'd guess that, in many if not most cases, something fishy is going on when the account holder's and credit cardholder's names don't match. So it's a reasonable safeguard

ebuck

Might want to check out this thread (which has links to other threads on a similar topic):

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...card-name.html

I recently used my child's account to purchase two award tickets for my spouse and child, but used my credit card. Went through without a problem. But I've read on this board that AA allows minor accounts to redeem miles without the name matching the credit card.

Some have suggested in the linked post that you can enter a different name for the credit card (so that it matches the AA mileage account holder) and AA doesn't check to see if the name actually matches the credit card.

Often1

Call AA and they will run you through a series of questions. As it can't be done online, the fee will be waived. Part of the problem is not only the name match, but the fact that the account address and CC address are in different countries.

The wages of fraud by others being paid by gramma.

ytjk

I called and in fact they wouldn't put me through the series of questions. We did work together (agent was great) and escalated to a supervisor.

They told me in the end the only option is to have grandma (85 and a 3 hour ride from the airport) drive to the airport and pay cash. For a $5 fee

Obviously I will attempt the other techniques mentioned in the thread.

flymonthly

Visa/Mastercard don't have automated name verification, so use one of their cards to pay the fees and put Grandma's name as the billing (credit card) name with your billing address & phone #. Amex can verify the name, but I'm not sure if AA uses that security feature or not.

SfoDtwFlr

You may also be able to buy grandma a prepaid card with her name on it that functions online as a regular credit card. I bought one once for someone and am now on AMEX's email list. They claim there are no purchase fees through 6/30/2015 if you use the code MDAYBC before 6/30/2015. In my experience, these work easily online.

https://www.americanexpress.com/gift-cards

ytjk

I was able to get this done. Had to be a little creative while booking a minor, but the suggestions above were a big help.

Was even able to avoid the london connection with the BA fees so the RT only cost us about $110 this time. Which is nice when a free ticket actually is almost free.

Cheers
YTJK

cactus47

I'm wondering about issues with the credit card used when booking an award ticket for someone else.

The most recent thread I can find on this is here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...ders-name.html (Feel free to merge, but the thread is a year old.)

I'm going to book tickets on Finnair (AY) for my brother using my AA miles. Based on the above-linked thread, it sounds like I will have to pay the fees using my credit card. That's fine. Not ideal, but the fees are actually fairly low for this flight so whatever. Is that still correct?

Here's the real question: Do I need to lend him that credit card when he travels? Will Finnair need to see the card? I have read stories online of some airlines needing to see (at the airport) the card used to pay the fees. I'd rather not have to deal with that if we can avoid it.

(This is all on the up-and-up. Last names match (he's really my brother), so that shouldn't be an issue.)

Thanks!

princeville

I booked award flights for my husband using AA miles (combo of AA, BA and IB flights) a few months ago. I had to go through an agent since IB can't be booked online and she insisted that the card used had to have his name on it. Since he wasn't home I had to call back to finish the booking when I had that. I don't know if anyone actually asked to see his card when he travelled, though.

ESpen36

Yes. It is possible that you will need to show the credit card at the airport if the names do not match (name of traveler and name on credit card used to pay the fees). This requirement is to help AA detect potentially improper usage of miles that is against the AAdvantage T&C.

PlatinumScum

I've probably booked 20-30 award tickets for extended family members over the years. None have ever been asked to show my credit card.