Two weeks ago American Airlines called me to let me know that my flight had been cancelled, the route was being shut down (San Jose-Taipei) and I could either fly another carrier or get my money back. As this was a mileage run, I didn't care much, so I rushed to the airport (only office open around here) to get my refund. I also asked about the miles I had used to upgrade, and they said they will be refunded to my account as well.

After two weeks and no money/miles showing in my accounts, I decided to call them today to see what's going on... To my surprise, they told me it will take between 2 to 3 "billing cycles" meaning months in my language until the money is refunded into my account. Also, it could be another 4 weeks before the miles are credited back too...

It amazes me how fast airlines will ask the government (us!) to bail them out at hard times, but yet they charge whatever they feel like charging and return your money whenever they feel like it… Of course they will gain plenty of interest on it, and I will have to pay my credit card to avoid additional interest on something that I couldn’t use…

Monday I finally became Platinum, not with a company’s money, but with my own little business, and I feel treated so bad that I wonder why even bother to fly the same airline, loyalty is a two way street, well, not in all cases I guess...


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[URL=http://www.davidrod.com]www.davidrod.com /URL] It is nice to be important, but it is more important to be nice...