Moderator please move if this belongs in the "other Asian PAC airlines" forum.

I was recently denied boarding for a Sri Lankan airways flight to MLE because I didn't have the credit card I used to purchase the tickets with me on my person. I turn credit cards so of course I don't carry all of my credit cards with me when I travel. I didn't read the information on my tickets which states I must have the credit card with me, so I accept that I'm probably screwed. However, I wanted to ask the FT experts if there is anyway I can get a refund for the tickets. I think I bought it with a card that has flight cancellation but not sure if this would cover my case.

I wasn't offered to Rebook on the flight the next day by UL gate agent. I just booked my flight on another airlines which departed a couple of hours after the UL flight.

So is this a hard lesson learned or can I recover some of my money?