Qatar Airways Online Booking: Big Problem: What Can I Do?

I booked a Qatar flight about six months ago online and got an e-ticket to my email address. They said I MUST present my credit/debit card upon check in.

Six months have passed, I have a new debit card (with new expiry dates etc) and I suddenly realised that maybe I should not have destroyed the old card.

I (eventually) got through to a Qatar Airways office and stated my case. I was advised that there was NO WAY I could board the plane without showing the ORIGINAL debit card.

The ticket fee (paid by Lloyds TSB by debit card) was deducted from my current account six months ago, and now they are not honouring my e-ticket.

The cost was just under 500 GBP.

I am at my wits end what should I do?

Can you ask if a statement from your bank with the transaction details would suffice instead of the debit card? I feel your pain man!

Get a letter from the issuing institution stating that the new card (details xxxxxx) has replaced the old card (details: xxxxxx). That should do the trick. I was in the same situation a year or two ago and it worked well.

I will do that, but previous phone calls to Qatar Airways have yielded no assurance. For example I suggested that I bring my bank statement from six months ago, clearly showing the money paid in full (and not contested within 6 months).

I think Qatar Airways are just being bloody-minded and will reap the extra profits of those who try to check-in after an internet booking.

Don't call their res offices as they are all handled 'down under' but above equator call centres, if you know what I mean.

Go to their offices in London if you're in London if you need to or call the ticketing office there instead of the res office. They're located in earls court.

I don't think this is a case of ripping off people but more a case of QR staff following their rules to the extreme.

I once bought QR tickets on the net for my family and when it became clear that I (together with the credit card) could not drop them off at the airport I went to their local office to have the card verified. It took the station manger to actually verify the card - 'normal' staff would not do it.

He probably was the only one to waive the check in procedures with an override or something.

So if someone bought a non-refundable ticket online, does this mean that if they showed up at the airport and claimed that they didn't have the credit card used to purchase the ticket that they would get a full refund.

The usual procedure would be for the airline to issue a refund to the original form of payment and then collect payment for a new ticket either in cash or another credit card. What if the passenger didn't have enough cash and does not have another card?

This, once again, shows the complete and utter moronic nature of the beast that gets employed within the airline industry. With 1 hand they push internet bookings, kick travel agents in the teeth and cry via that Big Baby Apologist Bisagnani that they are losing money because of everything and everybody except themselves...and then they pull a stunt like this making their product difficult to purchase, inconvenient to purchase, and negating themselves in their hype of the internet as their salvation from "distribution costs".

Haven't they ever heard of expired cards? Lost or stolen cards? If a purchase was made 6 months ago, and it has not been disputed within 30 days of statement date, then it is a valid charge and they have their money. It would be interesting to try to say, if one had a non-refundable ticket and now didn't want to travel, that "don't have the credit card"...when they refuse to take you because of it, dispute the charge THEN with your c/c stating they didn't provide service as contracted to...and get the refund back for the trip you didn't want to take in the first place and which was non-refundable...turn around and bite these greedy, arrogant airline buffoons in their own pockets.

I'm not sure if this is relevant, but CX has a similar policy of requiring the original CC at the time of check-in. I have never been asked for it. One time, I booked a ticket for someone else using my CC, they asked them for the card (I assume due to ID mis-match). In this case, they issued a refund on my card and charged the passengers card for the same amount.

Do QR typically ask everyone at check-in for the card? Never traveled with them.

However, on CX, if you use "Verified by Visa" or the Mastercard equivalent to "Verified by Visa", this requirement is waived.

You will first need to obtain an online shopping password from your Visa/Mastercard issuer before purchasing the tickets online.

Yes, they do. On occasions I even had to show the credit card more than once on the same itinerary, i.e. they checked both in CPT and MUC/LHR on a CPT-DOH-MUC/LHR return flight. Now, that doesn't make sense at all.

I have sent a total of eight emails concerning my problem to Qatar Airways help desk. Not one has been answered.

When I call the helplines, I get the feeling I am talking to idiots who just don't understand my problem. When I ask to talk to someone experienced, they take my telephone number and NEVER call back.

My last hope is to visit a Qatar Airways office directly, but that will mean a long unecessary and expensive 2 hour train journey.

Hi FFlyer189,

I am contacting you from UK Qatar Airways office. Apologies for all the trouble you had to experience with regards to the credit card issue. As you can appreciate, it’s necessary for us to have procedures in place for verifying credit cards which were used for payment online. However in your case (as I understand) if your booking was made more than 130 days prior to travel then you will be ok to travel with no problems. Hope this helps. Please contact me via [email protected] if you need further information. Thanks you for your interest in Qatar Airways.

Welcome to FlyerTalk. We appreciate having a member of Qatar staff responding to a traveler's concerns.