US Airways Dividend Miles (Pre-FlightFund Merger) - Clubs can't collect $$$ for add/collects!

I guess I'm the last to know this -

I had a $30 fare difference to pay due to a change on my return leg of a RT. On the phone when I made the change, I asked the agent if I could just pay at the airport.

Using my normal routine of going straight to the club, I was surprised that the agent was not allowed to take my credit card and charge the add/collect! I had to slug back down to the ticket counter where, after I showed my ID and gave my flight number, she gave me my boarding pass WITHOUT ASKING FOR THE FARE DIFFERENCE!@! She was quick to ask for my upgrade cert., though.....

ON a related note, when US switched to SABRE, it was for about a year after that where the agents absolutely HATED it and often missed collecting for upgrades, fare differences, etc. I've noticed in the 3 years since, however, that they've become accustomed to the system.

What exactly flags them on the screen to ask me for the add/collect and upgrade certs, and why did one agent in the club see it and the ticket counter agent miss it?

Bringing this thread forward...no replies yet?

I used the clubs years ago, and they did have credit card machines. Could this club perhaps not have had a working one?

I don't know about a flag in Sabre. The old system, Pacer, they would just have to read the remarks in your record, and it would say something like:
m-1sc$75 plus $30adcol

Interesting the club rep would not just waive this. The ticket agent probably just decided to waive it for you, as opposed to having a technical problem collecting it.

But this post raises an interesting issue, again which has no responses yet......which is what are the best strategies specific to US re getting change fee/adcol waived?

The clubs certainly have some capability to collect money from CC's, because I've:

1) Bought a membership there
2) Bought upgrade certs there

Beckles -

Yeah - I've paid for my memberships there too. They have no qualms taking your money for that, do they!

It seems that they are just not in the business of taking $$$ for tickets, as silly as that sounds. What a pain in the a** to trudge back down to the ticket counter!

I know that the B Concourse Club in CLT is able to process change fees as the club rep processed the $75 charge using their SABRE terminal and printed up the voucher to be signed by me.

So maybe it's dependent on who you get and where you are.

(And on an unrelated note, I'm pleased to say that this post just got me to FT Evangelist level. Now just put your hands on the radio ...)

[This message has been edited by CLTFlyer (edited 02-17-2001).]

Our club membership is in my wife's name as she is the business flyer in the family.

Last fall, we renewed her membership at PHL club. They issued her a temporary card in the guise of a boarding pass after charging our Amex.

Of course, they also managed to charge us for the renewal of the guy in line behind us!! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/eek.gif A quick call to Amex fixed that problem.

Answering my own question, on other airlines, I have found that often you can get a waiver/favor at the same time you pay for your club membership in person. E.g. you buy a club membership from a rep you are working with in the club, and then ask them to change your ticket. The idea is you hope that they've collected your club membership fee, and that they will then decide to waive the change fee on your ticket. E.g. to make you feel good about the purchase they will do you a favor to reenforce in your mind that you made a good decision to join the club.

But another question....are club reps more strict than gate agents about collecting upgrade certs, or change fees? They might have more senior people working in the clubs, and probably they are either going to be less strict or more strict........perhaps depends on agents personality, feeling about way company operates its business, etc. On one hand, the agents in the club may have more time, to collect fees, and not have the pressure associated with getting a flight out on time. On the other hand, maybe they are more likely to be able to want to reward the carriers top customers who frequent the club???

Usually I just talk to them a bit, and try to get a sense (an intuition) on whether they are a go-by-the-book type, and if yes, then go to another agent somewhere else, and if no then try to make whatever change I may want to make, etc. If I had to answer this question, from years poast experience, I would say that then on balance club reps were stricter than gate agents but obviously with some exceptions.

I just took the shuttle from DCA to BOS, and bought a club mebership at DCA while checking in. I wanted to get on a flight that left like 3 hours before mine. The agent in the club called rates, and said I could either pay $75 to change it or go stand-by. She really seemed to be interested in the fare basiss, and had that will to do by the book in her. I told her many times that the shuttle gate agents usually just change the ticket, and she said she would do it since there were 73 seats left on the flight. Talk about poor service for a new club customer, and a Gold. I don't pay to join these clubs for the coffee alone, I consider part of the fee to give you a higher level of customer service. However, it would seem the club is a bad place to do these changes at least in some cases. I know the P Club on CO I would say I am at about a 60 40 average in terms of getting things waived, etc.

Clubs do not do ticketing (or related functions), On the other hand, if they have terminals which can issue boarding passes, they presumably have the necessary hardware. In actual fact, I believe the new res system has programming written that prevents the issuance of ticket changes without the collection of a fee. I believe they can override this by processing it as an involuntary reroute, but they are required to initial all such changes, which leaves them exposed if someone at corporate decides to review these transactions. I am finding more and more that the Club personnel are pretty indifferent. Recent case at DCA, I noticed my bag check (I was connecting) appeared to only have a reference to DCA, not the final destination. I asked the rep at the desk if she could check the record locater to be sure the tag was complete to the final destination, and she instead sent me all the way to the baggage office, saying her computer wouldn't give that kind of info. At the time, there were hardly any club members in the place. She just didn't want to do it.

duplicate

[This message has been edited by deelmakur (edited 02-19-2001).]

[This message has been edited by deelmakur (edited 02-19-2001).]

The US Airways Club at DCA is great. The agents who work the desk out front are, however, the most by-the-book agents I have run into anywhere in the US universe. I find gate agents are much more, shall we say, flexible... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

This might warrant an inquiry letter to USAirways Customer Service. Why would some clubs allow ticketing/boarding pass issuance and others not? That's very inconsistant in terms of service levels, and it seems like such a rudimentary function that most would expect to be available.

Originally posted by PHL:
This might warrant an inquiry letter to USAirways Customer Service. Why would some clubs allow ticketing/boarding pass issuance and others not? That's very inconsistant in terms of service levels, and it seems like such a rudimentary function that most would expect to be available.

ALL clubs in my experience issue boarding passes and check you in for the flight (NOTE: On MetroJet you used to have to get BP's ONLY at the gate...not at the club or the ticketing counter, although they could assign seats...thanks to complaints you can now get seats in advance and get boarding passes at club or ticketing counter). The question is whether or not they can do future ticket issuance, etc. I think it depends on the crowds (CLT, PHL, or PIT at rush hour is too busy checking everyone in to do future ticket issuance; while TPA on a Sat am will be more than happy to do such).