Booking AirAsia.com with a USA credit card

Old Aug 28, 2010, 5:15 am
  #31  
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Originally Posted by seanthepilot
Any resolution would need to come from within Air Aisa. They appear to insulate themselves from any guest contact. I'm surprised that a company that is otherwise successful and provides a good product could be so detached from obstacles facing its customers'.
well said....
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Old Sep 8, 2010, 3:47 pm
  #32  
 
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After several frustrating weeks of trying to book an AirAsia flight from CEI to BKK with my US-based credit card, I was finally able to do it today. This was my last attempt before giving up and booking the whole thing with TG.

My preference for AirAsia in this particular instance was not just due to the fact that it was half the price but its afternoon flight gets into BKK several hours earlier than the TG flight. Of course, it will probably be "re-timed" anyway.
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Old Sep 9, 2010, 6:22 am
  #33  
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Originally Posted by LarryU
it will probably be "re-timed" anyway.
unfortunate but true....
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Old Sep 9, 2010, 8:46 pm
  #34  
 
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I guess I was lucky. I had no problems last week making my bookings with my US based credit card. I used a chase priority club card and I had to login with the verified by visa deal and all was good.
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Old Oct 21, 2010, 10:59 pm
  #35  
 
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Air Asia Booking Problems US Credit Card: A solution

Many of you have written that you are having problems paying Air Asia with your US credit card. I have found 2 solutions.

1. Book through http://www.bestflights.com.au/. Their fees, however, are quite hefty. A USD$142 ticket bumped up to $200 after they tacked on their fees. Yikes.
2. A better alternative is http://www.alternativeairlines.com They specialize in booking on low-cost airlines which are not covered by the big aggregators. A USD$142 bumped up to $160.

Its not bad considering the alternative was paying $300+ on a regular airline.
I googled alternativeairlines.com and found no major complaints.
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Old Oct 23, 2010, 1:24 am
  #36  
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Originally Posted by flyingillini
Many of you have written that you are having problems paying Air Asia with your US credit card. I have found 2 solutions.

1. Book through http://www.bestflights.com.au/. Their fees, however, are quite hefty. A USD$142 ticket bumped up to $200 after they tacked on their fees. Yikes.
2. A better alternative is http://www.alternativeairlines.com They specialize in booking on low-cost airlines which are not covered by the big aggregators. A USD$142 bumped up to $160.

Its not bad considering the alternative was paying $300+ on a regular airline.
I googled alternativeairlines.com and found no major complaints.
welcome to ft flyingillini....i have had problems booking with my US credit card but eventually the transaction goes through....thanks for the solutions presented above....even with an increased fee, i'm sure some people would still buy the ticket if they didn't have an alternative....
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Old Oct 23, 2010, 5:56 pm
  #37  
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Originally Posted by seanthepilot
I'm surprised that a company that is otherwise successful and provides a good product could be so detached from obstacles facing its customers'.
Sean, they are definitely successful, but providing a good product? It seems with FD, AK etc you get what you pay for, which isn't much.

You will get there, eventually, but a good product? That I'm not so sure about.

In the handful of flights booked online with my US based CC I've never had a problem. Out flights priced in Baht go to my better half's Thailand based card.
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Old Oct 25, 2010, 10:13 am
  #38  
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Originally Posted by dsquared37
Sean, they are definitely successful, but providing a good product? It seems with FD, AK etc you get what you pay for, which isn't much.

You will get there, eventually, but a good product? That I'm not so sure about.

In the handful of flights booked online with my US based CC I've never had a problem. Out flights priced in Baht go to my better half's Thailand based card.
Doug, have you flown Air Asia much? They seem to me to have clean, well maintained planes, a good safety record, and a dependable and growing fleet/destination base.

They, despite giving NO extras, offer fantastic prices between cities, some of which only had extortionate fares.

The biggest fault of Air Asia is the top end of their sliding fare structure where the final 10 or 20 seats are priced far too high, often far above a full service airline.

Their additional weaknesses are the nitpick charges for selecting a seat adjacent to your travelling partner, and for checked bagage, and the terrible unusability of a ticket if you cannot fly on the day booked (fee structure, or within 48 hours).

However, Air Asia is a winner in my books. They chopped the price of the consumer's airfare, expanded to a great selection of cities (I'm patiently waiting for Vancouver ), and are getting rich in the meantime.

As far as flight delays, I can only comment on FD, Thai Air Asia, but I see no relation with flight delays, other than the rampant problem in Thailand of VIPs temporarily closing airports and delaying every carrier.

I say, Long Live Air Aisa! faults and all.
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Old Oct 25, 2010, 2:27 pm
  #39  
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Originally Posted by seanthepilot
Doug, have you flown Air Asia much? They seem to me to have clean, well maintained planes, a good safety record, and a dependable and growing fleet/destination base.

They, despite giving NO extras, offer fantastic prices between cities, some of which only had extortionate fares.

I say, Long Live Air Aisa! faults and all.
well said....i take about a dozen air asia flights a year & i love their prices....

last month i flew kul-del on their premium class & for $175 it was a fantastic deal....trip report with pictures here....
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Old Oct 25, 2010, 8:55 pm
  #40  
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Originally Posted by seanthepilot
Doug, have you flown Air Asia much? They seem to me to have clean, well maintained planes, a good safety record, and a dependable and growing fleet/destination base.

They, despite giving NO extras, offer fantastic prices between cities, some of which only had extortionate fares.

The biggest fault of Air Asia is the top end of their sliding fare structure where the final 10 or 20 seats are priced far too high, often far above a full service airline.

Their additional weaknesses are the nitpick charges for selecting a seat adjacent to your travelling partner, and for checked bagage, and the terrible unusability of a ticket if you cannot fly on the day booked (fee structure, or within 48 hours).

However, Air Asia is a winner in my books. They chopped the price of the consumer's airfare, expanded to a great selection of cities (I'm patiently waiting for Vancouver ), and are getting rich in the meantime.

As far as flight delays, I can only comment on FD, Thai Air Asia, but I see no relation with flight delays, other than the rampant problem in Thailand of VIPs temporarily closing airports and delaying every carrier.

I say, Long Live Air Aisa! faults and all.
Sean I have flown them, enough to know I only will fly them if they severely undercut the competition or the flight times are significantly better for my needs.

The most recent hassle was checking in for a flight HKT-BKK and being given the window seat in the back of the plane. When I inquired about changing it, i don't like the back of the plane if it can be avoided and we were among the first to check in, was told they cannot. Turns out it was the last row. And, because of a full flight, I sat in a 3/4 seat takign up a sizable chunk of the one next to me.

I've been on some absolutely awful planes being held together by duct tape. Literally.

Had a flight, KUL-BKK, when we were well into Thailand when we turned back to KUL because there was a problem with the navigation system. A 4 hour connection window was missed. My loss.

When combined with general delays i would say that more than half the flights I've taken on AK/FD have had problems.

So, due to these hassles I've limited my exposure to AK/FD to those times when they are my only option (such as BKK-UBP in the morning). I know what to expect, very little. If they deliver more I'll be unexpectedly happy.
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Old Oct 25, 2010, 11:57 pm
  #41  
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Point taken.

I've had my periods of being furious with them too.

I've had international flights where they have assigned seats seperately from my travelling companion and refuse to put us together unless I pay. If I want to choose my seats, fine, but sitting together, in any seat, is a courtesy given when flying most every airline.

The worst had me being assaulted by a Station Manager who refused to let me on the jetway with my oversized carry-on. As is the case in Thailand, I reached in and emptied my pockets. With a combination of Thai Baht, loose change and Singapore Dollars, I was then allowed to board. Later, through the same airport, I got them to printout the reciept of that overbaggage charge and noted that only part of the money I handed him made it into the FD coffers. Important to note that this employee no longer works for the company. The point here is that their policies result in certain side affects. In this case I was wrong (first), but the question is why to have policies that stem into customer dissatisfaction.

Thai Air Asia has received many complaints that their sliding scale fares charge the last minute flyer too much. I agree that when/if they are cheaper, they are a reasonable choice. But for the same price or more??? I can't understand why they fill the last seats at those prices.

Anyway, I love Air Asia. But wanted you to know that it wasn't because I hadn't experienced some of the same frustrations.
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Old Oct 27, 2010, 7:20 pm
  #42  
 
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Same problem here in using a Chase United Mileage Plus Visa. Absolutely frustrating...
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Old Nov 9, 2010, 10:36 am
  #43  
 
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Originally Posted by Slave Daddy
Same problem here in using a Chase United Mileage Plus Visa. Absolutely frustrating...
Just tried about 6 times on my Chase United Visa. No luck.
Tried a different card, same error message.



EDIT : Tried again a few hours later. Used my other card (not my Chase United MP Visa) and it worked flawlessly on the first attempt. I didn't even try the Chase card after doing some Googling.

Last edited by CrazyInteg; Nov 9, 2010 at 12:15 pm
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Old Nov 24, 2010, 9:59 am
  #44  
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Originally Posted by atcanobbio
AirAsia reps are pretty useless, i called and they said that it must be due to a high amount of users on their website, they told me that last night and again today...other than suggesting me to come back later, they can't do anything else.

haha i get the same thing on their web chat tool last night. i called my bank and theres is no attempt to charge so its on air asia side. ill try the suggestions listed above and let everyone know

I do know when i'm booking i see a visa.com website name on the browser bar for a few moments. hope that works. May have to ask my GF if i can use her card

*Update 1* Verified by visa is not available on my card type through Bank of America

*Update 2* My girlfriends mastercard went though without even registering with Mastercard secure code

Last edited by CDKing; Nov 24, 2010 at 12:54 pm Reason: Ticketed
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Old Nov 29, 2010, 3:16 pm
  #45  
 
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No issues using my CapitalOne and Charles Schwab (by FIA) cards this morning. I use these cards for foreign currency purchases anyway to avoid foreign transaction fees.
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