A few weeks ago I booked a ONT-IAH-MSP flight departing 12/23 and returning 12/27 on co.com for $452. Knowing that this wasn't a great fare, but that it wasn't going to get any cheaper, I went ahead and booked it right away.

Today I wanted to confirm my arrival time with a friend so I went to co.com to pull up the res and it wouldn't com up.

I called co's 800 # and the res agent said that my itinerary had been cancelled due to lack of payment. I said that wasnt possible, and asked if could she double check. She called the internet desk and said that the itinerary was merely held and not paid for. I KNOW that I put in my credit card number and reserved seats, et al.

So I went back to the website and did a dummy booking. The flights I was booked on had gone up $1000 and I couldn't see where I could just hold a res for 24 hours without paying anyway. Does this option exist? Do I have any recourse or am I stuck away from my fam this Christmas?