Brazil - The horror of booking domestic flights.

I have worked out an itinerary and checked airline schedules (on Azul, TAM, GOL, Webjet and Avianca) I am aware that I can't make reservations on all airlines as I am not a Brazilian resident. I have tried to book a GOL flight, the entire booking process has been a nightmare, I have no ticket, just a PNR number and GOL's solution is to extend the reservation until the day I fly so that I can try to pay for the flight at the airport. That doesn't give me a lot of confidence that the reservation will be alright.

I'd like to know which, if any Brazilian airlines allow online bookings using a foreign Visa or Mastercard.

Thanks in advance.

I have worked out an itinerary and checked airline schedules (on Azul, TAM, GOL, Webjet and Avianca) I am aware that I can't make reservations on all airlines as I am not a Brazilian resident. I have tried to book a GOL flight, the entire booking process has been a nightmare, I have no ticket, just a PNR number and GOL's solution is to extend the reservation until the day I fly so that I can try to pay for the flight at the airport. That doesn't give me a lot of confidence that the reservation will be alright.

I'd like to know which, if any Brazilian airlines allow online bookings using a foreign Visa or Mastercard.

Thanks in advance.

TAM international sites do allow booking with foreign CCs. On some routes prices are the same as on the local site, on some other routes, prices are higher. I don't know about the others.

As far as I remember, TAM's sites only work with a credit card from the corresponding country. So if you have a (say) Canadian credit card, you cannot book if there is no Canadian TAM site.

As far as I remember, TAM's sites only work with a credit card from the corresponding country. So if you have a (say) Canadian credit card, you cannot book if there is no Canadian TAM site.

My credit cards are issued in Canada. Can FTers please let me know if this is still the case. I'm beyond fed up with trying to book domestic tickets in Brazil.

As far as I remember, TAM's sites only work with a credit card from the corresponding country. So if you have a (say) Canadian credit card, you cannot book if there is no Canadian TAM site.

I have indeed used a card from the country on which site I made the reservation. However, if you select country, there is "other countries". I guess this should work for all type of CCs. Otherwise, I wouldn't see the sense of this selection.

I can't help the OP, but I've encountered the same issues in the past.

In any case, it's just pathetic that even *A carriers make it this difficult for foreigners to book a flight in Brazil.

I'd like to know which, if any Brazilian airlines allow online bookings using a foreign Visa or Mastercard.


None that I know of.
I certainly understand how frustrating it can be, and how annoyed all the new tourists for the games could get. And how much business may be lost, but, like many things about the Brazilian "burro-cracy" that never seems to register.

GOL has in the past sometimes been able to be booked with a foreign credit card from the Argentine site, quoted in pesos and written in Spanish.
I have seen reports of UK residents calling the TAM center in the UK to book. Don't know if there is a price difference between online and that call center.
The others seem to be a lost cause for online booking.
(I have Brazilian friends who are willing to help, so I have been lucky.)

I can't help the OP, but I've encountered the same issues in the past.

In any case, it's just pathetic that even *A carriers make it this difficult for foreigners to book a flight in Brazil.

At least some U.S. airlines require a credit card with a U.S. billing address if you book through their U.S. offices. What you don't know is whether it's the carriers or Brazilian law that puts up the obstacles.

I've booked domestic Brazilian TAM flights through Expedia.com, using a U.S. credit card (and getting billed in U.S. Dollars rather than Brazilian Reais, as you'll likely be billed if you book with an airline's Brazilian site). Travel agents should also be able to book the flights. I've seen posts from people saying confidently that TAM charges a higher prices for foreigners booking abroad, but I've run into both situations: lower through Expedia and lower through TAM's Brazilian site. Even someone from Canada can call TAM's U.S. number toll free and ask if they can book by phone. I've only booked Gol within Brazil so can't offer advice there, but I've seen posts on the Lonely Planet Web site from people who said they were able to book Gol flights using their Agentina Web site and one person who said they were able to book Webjet (owned by Gol) by phone.

My credit cards are issued in Canada. Can FTers please let me know if this is still the case. I'm beyond fed up with trying to book domestic tickets in Brazil.

I can certainly book TAM flights here in the UK through TAM's UK site: but I don't because domestic flights are inevitably more expensive than those available in BR (and sometimes by a very wide margin). If you have no Canadian site, there might be a default "other international" site. Otherwise you might find flights on the Expedias et al. From the UK these display TAM's gringo fares.

Webjet was certainly accessible, bookable and payable by phone as of last year. But you need deep pockets (or Skype!), a deeper measure of patience and some competence in Brasilian Portuguese.

GOL is (was?) a breeze to book overseas (through its "international" site), but it accepted only Amex.

What you don't know is whether it's the carriers or Brazilian law that puts up the obstacles.

And this is something that I would very much like to know. It's hard to believe that these carriers are simply this incompetent in this day and age.

And this is something that I would very much like to know. It's hard to believe that these carriers are simply this incompetent in this day and age.

Hard to believe: but true. Economic regulation of air transport in Brasil operates a very light-handed approach, and in terms of tariffs allows carriers a great deal of freedom.

While TAM has an easy mechanism to restrict its lowest fares to local purchase, and is able to get away with it, it will.

Just so I know, are the "local" fares available to anyone or only to someone who lives in Brasil? e.g. If I'm somehow able to book a ticket at a local price, will I be turned away if I don't have Brasilian residence?

Just so I know, are the "local" fares available to anyone or only to someone who lives in Brasil? e.g. If I'm somehow able to book a ticket at a local price, will I be turned away if I don't have Brasilian residence?

You don't have to be a Brazilian resident.

Incidentally for TAM flights, you can go to www.tam.com.br and change your billing country to something other than Brazil.

Just so I know, are the "local" fares available to anyone or only to someone who lives in Brasil? e.g. If I'm somehow able to book a ticket at a local price, will I be turned away if I don't have Brasilian residence?

Absolutely no problem in booking "local" tickets, if you can find your way around the barriers. There is no legal basis whatsoever in the discrimination between resident and non-resident.

Great to know! Thanks!

Could you not just have booked a multi city ticket through Expedia or some other online travel agent?

GOL is (was?) a breeze to book overseas (through its "international" site), but it accepted only Amex.

This is, and has been, the case for a long time (as other threads will attest to).

It's how I booked my flight in Feb 2012. Currently it's Amex or nothing.

Just so I know, are the "local" fares available to anyone or only to someone who lives in Brasil? e.g. If I'm somehow able to book a ticket at a local price, will I be turned away if I don't have Brasilian residence?

Technically it's illegal to fake or use someone else's CPF number, and you might get asked to show it (though I've never heard of incidents). I wouldn't risk it.

Technically it's illegal to fake or use someone else's CPF number, and you might get asked to show it (though I've never heard of incidents). I wouldn't risk it.


According to NPF's post elsewhere http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/18709857-post19.html
airlines are not entitled under the law to require a customer to provide a CPF. Whether it is illegal to fabricate a number that is being illegally requested is a matter open to debate. As yet the actual law that is being broken by the customer hasn't been identified by anyone posting here,although I can well imagine that there is some regulation covering it - but the detail of the law would be what determines whether it is being technically broken or not in this set of circumstances. If the check-out operator at Pao de Acucar wouldn't sell me my groceries without me providing a CPF I would make one up on the spot without hesitation. I don't see any difference in buying an airline ticket online if the Brasilian Government does not have legislation restricting the sale of these fares or general website commerce to CPF holders and the fare rules do not make any such restriction. You may be breaking some as yet unquoted regulation by using a pseudo-CPF to register on the airline website, you are breaking no law/regulation that I know of by purchasing tickets on the website. You could be conceivably thrown in jail for providing false information to a website for registration purposes if such a law exists in Brasil but not for any commercial crime for purchasing an airfare online.

Regardless of that, almost all the Brasilian airline websites that I have purchased from require you to provide a CPF to register to use their website. To actually make a purchase once you are registered on their website does not require you to input your CPF (real or fake). I don't believe that the airline link the purchase/ticket directly to the CPF provided in the website registration although they without doubt link the purchase to your registration profile. In the cases of the dozen or so tickets I have purchased using a computer generated pseudo-CPF I have never had any questioning at check-in to provide any evidence of my CPF - they want a government-issued photo ID, not the Receita Federal CPF number. NPF's post linked above gives a good explanation of what the CPF is and from his explanation and my experience it would seem the likelihood of having any problem trying to travel on a ticket purchased under the circumstances outlined above is remote

So, I tried to OLCI for a GIG-XXX flight tomorrow, but website only checked me in for the return flight on Friday (had no clue BTW you could check in at T-72 in Brazil including the return flight, before flying the outbound). Thought that was weird in any case and cancelled the return check in.

Called CS and he tells me he sees me checked in for both flights. I reply I never received a BP for the outbound and moreover cancelled the inbound OLCI. Hang up and try OLCI one more time with the same results. Call CS again.

He stills sees me checked in for both flights, even though the website clearly shows "not checked in" for the outbound and with no way of doing it. He tells me he can guide me through the OLCI process using IE. I tell him I used Firefox and Safari with the same results and don't have IE on my Macbook. He replies that TAM's website is designed to work only with IE.

I give up. Hopefully, I'll be able to check in at the airport tomorrow.

This is, and has been, the case for a long time (as other threads will attest to).

It's how I booked my flight in Feb 2012. Currently it's Amex or nothing.


You mean this Gol site http://www.voegol.com/ ?

I believe Expedia shows only TAM flights for domestic flights in Brazil. I've seen Gol/Varig show up only as part of an international itinerary involving another airline (e.g., American). I've seen Expedia costing less and costing more than the regular TAM Web site. I don't think it'd show the sales announced on weekends, but they seem to be pretty limited on routes involved.

if anyone know a Brazil travel agent who would book for me a domestic TAM flight from RIO to MAO on August 11 for 2 ppl I would appreciate it as it is much cheaper on the Brazilian tam site.

Last minute decision to use BA sale for LHR - GRU. Has anybody any experience of a Brazil Air Pass ?

http://www.brol.com/air%20passes/

I have no ticket, just a PNR number and GOL's solution is to extend the reservation until the day I fly so that I can try to pay for the flight at the airport. That doesn't give me a lot of confidence that the reservation will be alright.

I've done that a few times and it's always been fine. Negotiated through Gol chat as well.

What I don't get it why Gol insist a foreign credit card has MasterCard SecureCode or Verified by Visa, yet won't take them anyway :confused:

I bought a TAM one way BSB-SDU in august for £52...happy with that. It didn't seem any cheaper in Reais.

I've bought tickets on other airlines 'in person' at tourist agencies in Brazil, but this has been pricey (probably as it was last minute)

I'm a gringo with a CPF but as yet haven't tried to use it...Suspect I'd still need a Brazilian credit card

Last minute decision to use BA sale for LHR - GRU. Has anybody any experience of a Brazil Air Pass ?

http://www.brol.com/air%20passes/

Never used the product, but price the segments you need, I found the air pass too expensive for my needs. Really depends on your itinerary and how many flights you need. Note, you can't use the air pass on all TAM flights, some flights have a surcharge when bought with the air pass. Think GOL's flights didn't have any surcharges when bought with an air pass.

Could you not just have booked a multi city ticket through Expedia or some other online travel agent?

No, because I will be using FF miles to tavel to Brazil. Therefore, I couldn't just add the domestic flights to my international ticket. This is a good suggestion for people buying tickets to Brazil, booking your domestic flights on the same record locator as your international flights will save you the headache of trying to book domestic flights.

Has anybody any experience of a Brazil Air Pass ?

http://www.brol.com/air%20passes/

Make sure you check the prices of the individual flights you intend to take. Very often, the total is less than the airpass legs on the same routes.

Never used the product, but price the segments you need, I found the air pass too expensive for my needs. Really depends on your itinerary and how many flights you need. Note, you can't use the air pass on all TAM flights, some flights have a surcharge when bought with the air pass. Think GOL's flights didn't have any surcharges when bought with an air pass.


I'm also a gringo with a CPF and permanent residency card, and have run into this. Even one travel agent would not accept my U.S. cards. Booked through Expedia.com, and saved money on that one trip, as noted, but in other cases it was more expensive.

U.S. airlines do typically do the same on their end-- require a credit card with a U.S. billing address-- when booking through their U.S. phone numbers.

I'm an ex-pat living in Brazil, but I only have a foreign credit card and I'm encountering the same problem. Gol and TAM both claim to accept foreign credit cards on their websites through the "Verified by VISA" program, but neither of them works.

I have already talked to Gol's customer service 3 times through the chat facility, and they keep insisting that the site works and there must be some problem with my card. But I even called my card provider and they confirmed that the Gol site hadn't even contacted them to try to authorize the charge, which I knew anyway since the error message was instantaneous and not after several seconds (like when a card is rejected or a charge declined). So apparently the only way I can pay for my reservation is to go to a Gol store.

So then I tried TAM, who seemed to be contacting "Verified by VISA" at least, but then did not prompt me for my password but instead came back with the message "The transaction has not been authorized. No debit has been applied. Please wait a few minutes and Verify that your personal information is correct. Try again." So I did try again with the same result.

Then I called up my credit card company who said that TAM had in fact authorized two separate debits in the amount of the ticket price. So now I still have no ticket (or at least no confirmation of a ticket) but am expecting to see two $450 charges on my card tomorrow (my spending limit has already been reduced by $900).

Needless to say, all this is extremely frustrating! Really amateur hour from the two biggest Brazilian airlines.

Needless to say, all this is extremely frustrating! Really amateur hour from the two biggest Brazilian airlines.

I'm thinking amateurism permeates the whole aviation sector in Brazil. Last week, I was at CWB "international airport" waiting for my delayed flight to GIG. I was really surprised that gate announcements for all airlines - Gol, Tam, Webjet, Azul, etc. - were made only in Portuguese.

There were dozens of foreigners in the terminal, probably connecting to/from Foz do Iguaçu, who were just clueless about delays, expected departure times, boarding procedures, etc. Simply pathetic for what's considered one of the best or most developed cities in the country.

For what it is worth, I managed to book and pay GOL flights in their site this January with an European MasterCard. I used my passport number as CPF, I think it was mentioned somewhere (might have been some other site though). I don't remember if the MasterCard SecuriCode (same as Verified by Visa) was used.

No problems whatsover, expect that I didn't realize in my first GOL flight that the flexible economy ticket which I had gives you an access to the priority boarding queue.

I'm thinking amateurism permeates the whole ...; of what is often referred to, for good reason, as the Brazilian burro-cracy. (rsrsrsrsrs)

You can book domestic tickets without problems on avianca.com.br

If you have a relationship with a travel agency in Brazil (or anywhere?) they also maybe able to help you. As northernstar84 mentions Avianca works with international cards and I suspect Azul will work. Azul was founded by David Neeleman, founder of JetBlue, he was born in Brazil and moved to the US when he was 5.

What about booking flights on Trip or Passaredo direct? I need the route GYN-CGB and they are the only ones who have it. I know you can book some flights as codeshares on Gol or Tam but much more expensive this way. I have Australian Amex and both USA and Aussie Visa & Mastercards available to use but no CPF unless I fake one which I am reluctant to do.

just try and see if the site asks for a CPF
By the way, I've always assumed the CPF must be the one to which the credit card is issued, but if people use fake CPFs successfully, I don't see any reason to ask for one when booking

If you have a relationship with a travel agency in Brazil (or anywhere?) they also maybe able to help you. As northernstar84 mentions Avianca works with international cards and I suspect Azul will work. Azul was founded by David Neeleman, founder of JetBlue, he was born in Brazil and moved to the US when he was 5.

I got this e-mail from Azul in December 2010:

"Em atenção ao seu e-mail informamos que em nossa Companhia são aceitos cartões de todos os lugares do mundo. É válido lembrar apenas que o cliente deve ter autorização do banco emissor para transações em outros países e/ou on line."


In the end I think I booked with a Brazilian friend's credit card, can't remember why...maybe I couldn't get it to work

Haven't tried since then, but as there's a little American flag in the top right of the website, surely international payments are possible?

just try and see if the site asks for a CPF
By the way, I've always assumed the CPF must be the one to which the credit card is issued, but if people use fake CPFs successfully, I don't see any reason to ask for one when booking

Lazy thinking and programming, neuromancer. They want a unique identifier to assign to each customer, it's easier (or so they think) to use CPF for that.

I'm thinking amateurism permeates the whole aviation sector in Brazil. Last week, I was at CWB "international airport" waiting for my delayed flight to GIG. I was really surprised that gate announcements for all airlines - Gol, Tam, Webjet, Azul, etc. - were made only in Portuguese.

There were dozens of foreigners in the terminal, probably connecting to/from Foz do Iguaçu, who were just clueless about delays, expected departure times, boarding procedures, etc. Simply pathetic for what's considered one of the best or most developed cities in the country.

Crap, I thought trying to book was bad enough. At least I've been sounded out that my aggrevation with Brazilian airlines will no doubt contine once I'm at the airport. Having travelled to more than 100 countries, I've never had such problems with any airlines in the past.

How is Brazil going to handle the Olympics and the World Cup? Surely the airlines are aware of these problems and don't care to do anything. Why give me the option to pay with a Visa or MC if you know it will
not be accepted?

Azul doesn't accept bookings without a CPF number. I've read some cases where people have been denied boarding if they couldn't provide a CPF number, don't remember which airline(s) had done that.

I've booked with Azul without a CPF Number (Feb 2012), so you might want to check again or ensure you're on the right version/country of the site.

What about booking flights on Trip or Passaredo direct? I need the route GYN-CGB and they are the only ones who have it. I know you can book some flights as codeshares on Gol or Tam but much more expensive this way. I have Australian Amex and both USA and Aussie Visa & Mastercards available to use but no CPF unless I fake one which I am reluctant to do.
I lucked into a solution, maybe the LATAM merge going through had something to do with it. I found a TRIP flight for sale on TAM at a good price, close enough to the TRIP price and I was able to book it on the US billing version of TAM and pay with a Chase Sapphire Visa. No CPF required! So if anyone is after TRIP, maybe recheck the TAM site!

I just book a flight on Tam using my US credit card. Using the site mentioned here it is again (www.tam.com.br) click on Billing Country it will also change the site to that language. Here are the countries you can book from Argentina,Chile,France,Germany,Italy,Paraguay,Spai n,United Kingdom,United States

I hadn't experienced this before, the prices on Tam's Brazilian and foreign sites always seemed similar to me.... But now I'm looking at booking a one way flight, and the price on non-Brazil sites is double that of the Brazilian site :confused: Stupid me for leaving it late, but what's the way around this? Get a Brazilian friend to buy it for you?

I'm thinking amateurism permeates the whole aviation sector in Brazil.

^

I've read some cases where people have been denied boarding if they couldn't provide a CPF number, don't remember which airline(s) had done that.

By all means if you use a fake CPF you should write it down, but beyond that there's nothing the airlines can really do. There is no such thing as a CPF card any more in Brazil. So if someone asks you for it (which has never happened to me post-booking), you simply have to parrot back whatever number you used.

If you have anyone in Brazil who can book a flight for you, that is hands down the easiest way to avoid all these problems. Just make sure the airline won't require you to present the card used to make the booking (again, never happened to me in Brazil).

Otherwise, save yourself the hassle. Book though Expedia or one of those sites.

Quite shocked by this... but I just booked a domestic flight with Gol, through their international site...with no problems :eek: (except when I stupidly kept selecting the wrong kind of card)

Considering I barely ever fly, would it be best to credit the miles to my near empty Delta Skymiles account, or open a Gol Smiles account?

In response to Galego, credit Gol flight miles to your Delta account. Avoid opening accounts with any of the Brazilian airlines if you can help it. Both TAM and GOL have set expiration for miles regardless of activity, and their customer service, just like web site sales, is incredibly inconsistent.

For this thread as a whole, the Brazilian sales sites are inconsistent. Sometimes they will accept a US credit card, other times they will not. I live here, use cards from both countries, and have had it work some times and not others. Don't expect consistency.

Easiest way for a foreigner to buy is www.decolar.com, Brazil's most popular general travel site. I just did it successfully for my American boss, with his US Amex. He was denied the first time because of a security alert, so you'd be smart to call your US card company first and tell them you are about to buy a ticket via this web site.

The only questionable info decolar asks you for is a CPF. My boss entered his US social security number, and his purchase went through fine.

TAM offers competive prices (cheapest I have seen is ~25 euros for GRU-SDU) when booked through European OTAs or non-Brazilian site. Most Gol flights can be booked quite easily using Verified by Visa without having to pay "gringo taxes" so these problems can be avoided quite easily without having to pay decolar's service fees.

Brazil-based FF programs offer better value for some fliers, especially for those who want to use miles for international flights within South America which in some cases can be more expensive than flights to Europe. LANPass can be useful for those who travel with TAM to/from South America. It goes without saying that LatAm-based programs are mostly targeted to people mostly flying to/from/within LatAm.

In response to Galego, credit Gol flight miles to your Delta account.

Tried to do taht, but the miles didn't show up in my Delta account. I then noticed that this fare class only credits 30% or 50% to Delta, so now I'm thinking I should leave them in Gol?

Similarily, the TAM flights I've booked are worth 0% to my US Airways Dividend Miles account...so may as well leave them there :confused:

Easiest way for a foreigner to buy is www.decolar.com, Brazil's most popular general travel site. I just did it successfully for my American boss, with his US Amex. He was denied the first time because of a security alert, so you'd be smart to call your US card company first and tell them you are about to buy a ticket via this web site.

So Decolar does work for Gringos? It seems to give you the option to buy, but the FAQ on the site says it doesnt accept foreign credit cards


Does anyone know if Avianca Brasil works in any particular browser? Made a reservation in chrome, but the page never forwarded to the credit card payment page.... I called up their Customer Service several times who said it'd be fine, just pay at the airport (they dont take foreign cards over the phone)... Naturally my reservation was quickly cancelled and I had to buy another more expensive one :mad:


Right now TAM have a deal where kids fly free. However, it only works when going through the Brazilian site (where you cant pay with a foreign card)

Where do you live? If not in Brazil, can't imagine those few Gol miles doing you any good, but Delta's minimums for free flights are also pretty bad. If you think dealing with Delta Sky Miles by phone can be difficult, try it with Gol or TAM. Call Delta directly regarding having any Gol miles credited. They may ask for a copy of the boarding pass, but if you have the confirmation #, maybe not. I have 25k with Delta, and doubt I'll ever use them except maybe for a short domestic flight (recently I used 25k on United to fly first class across the country).

For TAM, if you're in the U.S., maybe try phoning their U.S. offices regarding the special you found. http://www.tam.com.br/b2c/vgn/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=f9de09f1157f2210VgnVCM1000000b 61990aRCRD

Avianca Brasil is sort of on its own right now. formerly Ocean Air, it's operating separately from Avianca International (which is in Star Alliance now), though presumably will move to the Star Alliance should TAM move from Star to Oneworld as a result of its merger with LAN. My wife flew on them when they were Ocean Air and liked them, but it doesn't surprise me their site isn't oriented towards international bookings.

In Brazil, my wife booked a domestic Webjet flight for her nephew using Decolar, and discovered she'd erred in his name, and Decolar said she'd have to pay more than the price of another ticket to change (Webjet said they wouldn't have charged but it was up to Decolar). She bought a second ticket, directly through the airline. I've not used them so can't vouch one way or another.

I've had Gol credit to my Delta account in 2012 but it took a LONG time. I didn't need to put in any enquiries. I recommend that you ensure the minimum period of time has passed as stated on Delta's site before enquiring. It is 6+ weeks from memory.

Where do you live? If not in Brazil, can't imagine those few Gol miles doing you any good, but Delta's minimums for free flights are also pretty bad. If you think dealing with Delta Sky Miles by phone can be difficult, try it with Gol or TAM. Call Delta directly regarding having any Gol miles credited. They may ask for a copy of the boarding pass, but if you have the confirmation #, maybe not. I have 25k with Delta, and doubt I'll ever use them except maybe for a short domestic flight (recently I used 25k on United to fly first class across the country).

For TAM, if you're in the U.S., maybe try phoning their U.S. offices regarding the special you found. http://www.tam.com.br/b2c/vgn/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=f9de09f1157f2210VgnVCM1000000b 61990aRCRD

Avianca Brasil is sort of on its own right now. formerly Ocean Air, it's operating separately from Avianca International (which is in Star Alliance now), though presumably will move to the Star Alliance should TAM move from Star to Oneworld as a result of its merger with LAN. My wife flew on them when they were Ocean Air and liked them, but it doesn't surprise me their site isn't oriented towards international bookings.

In Brazil, my wife booked a domestic Webjet flight for her nephew using Decolar, and discovered she'd erred in his name, and Decolar said she'd have to pay more than the price of another ticket to change (Webjet said they wouldn't have charged but it was up to Decolar). She bought a second ticket, directly through the airline. I've not used them so can't vouch one way or another.

Decolar charges a service fee that airlines do not and cancelling and changing with them is a pain. If you have a brazilian card you can use any airline otherwise you can use International Amex on Gol and Avianca sites.

For TAM, if you're in the U.S., maybe try phoning their U.S. offices regarding the special you found. http://www.tam.com.br/b2c/vgn/v/inde...000b61990aRCRD

I'm in Brazil and will be for a while..... not that I'll be flying much, but after so many years of not collecting miles, I don't want to waste any!

I in fact called up Tam's Brazil office about the kiddes flying free deal. The lady initially said "no, there's no such deal".... I responded with "what? I'm looking at the Tam home page right now". I guess even they dont keep up with the deals. She informed me that there was no way of doing it with a foreign card

I reserved the flight to be paid in a "caixa economica" (not a boleto at a bank) but then decided I couldnt be arsed, and flew with a different airline.

Any tips on how to successfully book with Avianca :confused:

Speaking of mergers....now Webjet and Trip are no more, it would appear the expensive Brazilian domestic fares will only get worse :(