cblaisd

I have found a decent fare for a quick mileage run HNL-OGG-LAX-OGG-HNL

It comes up on both ITA and the US site as $514.

The first and last legs are a codeshare on HA; the OGG-LAX-OGG legs are on United metal.

When I called reservations I got quoted a priced of well over $2000 for those flights.

I have a US Airways gift card that I want to use, but I don't think I can do that online.

Am I simply SOL?

me4yankees

Call back and get another agent or ask for a supervisor? Or price the itinerary first, then tell them you have a gift card? Other than that, this looks to be another QIK/SHARES glitch.

AZ Travels the World

Try calling the website support line at 800-327-7810. When regular agents aren't able to get fares I see online, I call them and they're typically able to do it. I learned of this by a CP phone agent who transferred me there when simply couldn't duplicate what I was getting online.

They book full-service revenue tickets, so I would expect they'd be able to take your gift card, but I don't have any experience with that aspect of your issue.

cblaisd

Thank you!

Will they be able to put the reservation on a 24 hour hold while I get the gift card in my hands?

CIT85

Yes, they can hold a reservation for 24 hours before ticketing.

cblaisd

OMG.

Web "support."

I call.

I say that I have a gift card and want to hold an itin. She says we can't hold itins.

OK.

So, I say, let's go over my proposed itinerary. We do that (although I have to repeat myself numerous times because I keep giving her the US codeshare numbers and she keeps responding with UA/HA numbers. Or she comes back with a Mesa flight instead of an HA flight).

Finally, she's able to build the itinerary correctly.

She says "I have to book this point to point, because these are not valid connections in our system (????) and the computer won't give me any price at all for such an itinerary."

I say: But why can I book it online then?

She: "I don't know. But we can't help you, and you can't hold an itin via web support, and you can't apply a gift card to an online reservation, and I can't duplicate the online price, and so I'm just not very much help, am I?"

"No, you're not. But thank you."

Did I just get a bad one???

SuperFlyBoy

At least she tried.

cblaisd

True.

I think I may try, masochist that I am, once more.

If it makes any difference, the fare basis is SLP7SC

SuperFlyBoy

Might as well try again - it won't hurt!

cblaisd

Been on hold twice.

Been told gift cards can't be applied to code shares.

If you give them the US Airways codeshare flight number, they don't know how to find it because their system doesn't have that information.

The rep had to go to the US Airways website to find the flights, and doesn't understand why her reservations system doesn't have the same info.

This is fun.

Back on hold

To be continued.

EDITED TO ADD:

A much more helpful CSR, all in all, this time.

After she talked to her help desk twice, she told me that these fares are sent to them by the other airlines but she can't seem them "in Quick" (sp???).

Her help desk suggested faxing a screenshot of the purchase page of the itin to Customer Service. Thus:

URGENT/
\Response requested
at your earliest convenience


TO: US Airways Customer Service

I am sending this at the suggestion of [name redacted] in your Web Support department; she is the *THIRD* person I have talked to today trying to purchase a ticket from you.

Here is the situation:

1. I have a US Airways Gift Card I want to apply to a reservation.

2. Gift cards cannot be used online.

3. Please see the attached itinerary that is bookable on your website

4. THREE calls to reservations and web support tell me that they simply cannot even see the flights that you have as codeshares on this itinerary and that there is no way for them to duplicate this reservation at the price offered on the website.

5. [Name redacted], at web support, suggested I fax you the enclosed screenshot of the itinerary I am trying to book and the price and that you would likely honor that price.

I would appreciate it if you would do so. I would also appreciate your putting this on hold with that price so that I can indeed call and apply my gift card.

As you might imagine, there is a certain time sensitivity to this planning on my part so I hope you might be able to respond quickly.

You may fax me at xxx-xxx-xxxx , email at XXX or call my cell phone at xxx-xxx-xxxx

I hope you might be able to honor this and put this itinerary at this price on hold, and that you will let me know the Record Locator so I can complete this transaction. It would be helpful if you could also confirm that US Airways gift cards can indeed be used on code share flights.

Thank you for your assistance,

cblaisd

cedric

I think the roadblock in your plan is attempting to redeem a US Airways Gift Card on an itin which includes partner flights. The Gift Card T&C are here http://www.usairways.com/awa/content...onditions.aspx

In particular, these two points seem relevant:

• Gift cards are redeemable for air travel and related taxes and security fees for flights on the US Airways network when purchased through Reservations at 800-428-4322.
• Gift cards are currently redeemable only by calling Reservations at 800-428-4322. At this time you cannot redeem your gift card online.

Although it may be possible to circumvent the second point by calling website support and having them attempt to match the fare (which they are usually pretty good at), my guy feeling is that they will hold you to the "flights on the US Airways network" thing as that is what the cards are designed for.

cblaisd

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_0 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5A347 Safari/525.20)

"on the US Airways network" seems very ambiguous or poorly worded, though. One would think that if they meant "no codeshares" that would have been easy enough to say? Dunno....

cblaisd

Well, I am at some loss to know what to do.

TWO faxes to US Customer Relations (with the name of the agent who suggested such in the faxes), ZERO response.

There doesn't appear to be an actual voice number one can call to talk to someone in Customer Relations either.

me4yankees

[email protected]
[email protected]

cblaisd

Thank you.

We shall see.

If I don't have any response within a couple of hours, I will file a complaint with the DOT and BBB.