Originally Posted by johnasmith

I learned 3 important things as a result of this experience:

1: American Airlines has no real customer relations dept. They just let their computers send out sincere apologies without addressing the issues. See attached message I got after filing a complaint.

2: I can always count on members on FlyerTalk Forums to assist. I did locate the needed transaction numbers on my credit card statement and successfully used the online refund request. Today I received emails notifying me my refunds were being processed. Apparently I will never get an explanation why they held my money. They were not holding it as a credit, because I have since booked flights.

3: Probably the most important thing I learned is the definition of KLUDGE. It is a haphazard or makeshift solution to a problem and especially to a computer or programming problem. :-)